Innehållsförteckning för December 2023 från Guitar World

FIFTY YEARS OF Aerosmith! Of course, if you look at the band timeline that starts on page 54, you’ll notice we’re actually dealing with 53 years. And if you do the math, you’ll notice that our April 1997 cover (shown below) celebrated Aerosmith’s 25th anniversary using 1972 as their Ground Zero. So, what’s that — 51 years? Let’s just say that — for the purposes of this issue, we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of their self-titled debut album, the one that gave us “Dream On.” But does the exact number really matter anyway? The point is, these guys are still here. And — here’s a true rock ’n’ roll miracle for you — it’s the same five guys. What other major band from that era can make that claim? Often…

TUNE-UPS WHAT'S ON MY PLAYLIST 1 “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” Father John Misty I love the beauty and simplicity of this song. The slow build with the drums, the raw-sounding guitar, the incredible vocal melodies and the lyrics really capture the imagination. A perfectly orchestrated song. 2 “Down on Freestreet” The Hellacopters This band has been one of my favorites since the early 2000s. This is a great example of what they do; it’s rock ’n’ roll! And while you can hear other influences, it’s unmistakably the Hellacopters. Their tones and playing are incredible and have been a reference in my tone hunt for years. 3 “Veil of Pain” Soft Kill The use of delays and reverbs is incredible, along with the driving, hypnotic melodic vibe.…

WHEN IT COMES to his day job as the six-string protagonist in Welsh reggae metal quartet Skindred, Mikey Demus admits he’s been incredibly fortunate. Most guitar players get to hone in on one or two styles in any given project. With Skindred, who are releasing their eighth full-length, Smile, this year, he gets to wear all sorts of different hats and showcase a variety of musical personalities. “That’s a good way of putting it, actually — playing these different characters,” he tells GW. “I get to cover a lot of ground, from how I play to the sounds I dial in and the gear I use. It’s a lucky coincidence.” On their latest recordings, songs like “Our Religion” and “If I Could” document his love for high-gain metal tones while…

ANY GUITARIST WHO calls herself “Annie Shred” had better prove it — and Annie Grunwald, the seven-string-wielding front person for the L.A.-based band Shadow Cliq, does so in grand fashion. On videos posted to her various social media pages, she sweeps, taps and blitzes her way through a dizzying assortment of well-known solos and licks (everything from Rage Against the Machine to Gorija) as well as her own bruising metallic runs. And just to keep everybody on their toes, she throws in a curve or two, like her shimmering cover of the Killers’ “Mr. Brightside.” “People have really responded to the clips I’ve done,” Grunwald says. “As a guitarist, it’s been validating and exciting to see the reactions I get from viewers. If there’s an agenda to it all, it’s…

IT LASTED FOR just over seven minutes, but what a glorious 420-plus seconds it was. Judas Priest’s pioneering guitarists Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing were back onstage together for the first time in more than 11 years playing some of their biggest hits to a worldwide audience. The celebration took place November 5, 2022, in the Microsoft Theater (Los Angeles) at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, where Judas Priest received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Following a brief introduction by Alice Cooper, the band barreled through “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming,” “Living After Midnight” and “Breaking the Law” as celebrities including Dave Grohl and Drew Barrymore raised their fists and sang along. Downing was joined on stage by the band’s current guitarist, Richie Faulkner, and both seemed…

”BRAD IS A WICKED SOLOIST. IN MY BOOK, SOME OF THE BEST SOLOS IN OUR CATALOG ARE ONES BRAD DID” JOE PERRY HAS STILL GOT IT. THAT much is true. Considering he’s 73, you’d think he’d be slowing down, but here’s the thing — he’s not. Perry is as nimble-fingered as ever. And as I prepare to settle in for what amounted to a two-hour call with the veteran gunslinger, it becomes apparent that Perry is not only nimble but busy, too. “I’ve been running around all week getting ready for the [Hollywood] Vampires tour,” Perry says. “It’s been crazy. It blows my fucking mind how busy we’ve been. When we started, I never expected to be this busy, but it’s been great. I’ve got all my guitars loaded up,…

BRIAN MAY My favorite Aerosmith guitar moment? Probably the entire Rocks album. Joe gave me a cassette copy of it before it was released, which I still treasure. But probably the greatest of all for me is the headbanging riff in “Sweet Emotion” that follows the verses like a kind of chorus. Stupendous! And it’s always a crackin’ moment drenched with heavy emotion when they do it live. I love Aerosmith. NIKKI SIXX “Last Child” from Rocks comes to mind of how important the dueling guitars are to the Aerosmith sound. From the spooky minors being picked in the beginning to the simplified boogie in the verse to the multiple layers as the song heads toward the end, this is Aerosmith at its finest. WOLFGANG VAN HALEN I’ve always liked…

I’M PRETTY SURE signature guitars have outpaced most standard production models. After all, an artist’s collaborative input often brings into focus a nouveau guitar that might offer a refreshing update or integrate timeless looks and modern features, with the potential to surpass anything that came before it. With that, there’s no point arguing with the fact that Sterling by Music Man’s new Valentine Chambered Bigsby guitar encapsulates both of the latter views; however, I also believe the brand’s Valentine collection has somehow flown under the radar for most players considering an artist model. And that’s a shame because I always felt the Valentine is a beautiful offset design that paired the stripped-down nature of a Tele with the diminutive shape of an ES-339. Still, now, with the Valentine Chambered Bigsby,…

LAST MONTH, WE looked at the intro to “Winterland,” which is a tune I originally recorded for the 2016 Andy Timmons Band album Theme from a Perfect World. This month, I’d like to present the guitar parts I play during its instrumental verses. FIGURE 1 illustrates the 16-bar “Winterland” verse, which I perform unaccompanied in the column’s video. Even though this example is not played over a bass-and-drums backing track, the guitar part actually incorporates and conveys the chord progression in a subtle chord-melody style via the inclusion of the root note of each implied chord. The verse is followed by a short, four-bar “channel” section, shown in FIGURE 2. Here, two-note figures on the G and B strings reference a change from Bm to F#m, followed by a big…

“LIVIN’ ON A PRAYER” WORDS AND MUSIC BY JON BON JOVI, DESMOND CHILD AND RICHIE SAMBORA. COPYRIGHT © 1986 UNIVERSAL MUSIC PUBLISHING INTERNATIONAL LTD., BON JOVI PUBLISHING, UNIVERSAL - POLYGRAM INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING, INC., SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING (US) LLC AND AGGRESSIVE MUSIC. ALL RIGHTS FOR UNIVERSAL MUSIC PUBLISHING INTERNATIONAL LTD. AND BON JOVI PUBLISHING ADMINISTERED BY UNIVERSAL MUSIC WORKS. ALL RIGHTS FOR SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING (US) LLC AND AGGRESSIVE MUSIC ADMINISTERED BY SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING (US) LLC, 424 CHURCH STREET, SUITE 1200, NASHVILLE, TN 37219. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. USED BY PERMISSION. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF HAL LEONARD LLC.…

STAY CONNECTED WITH GUITAR WORLD ON AND GET THE LATEST GUITAR NEWS, INSIDER UPDATES, STAFF REPORTS AND MORE! Thanks for the Steve Bartek feature! I can’t tell you how surprised and excited I was when I came across the Steve Bartek interview in your October 2023 issue. He’s been a guitar hero of mine for more than 20 years and I always felt like he deserved more recognition. He has a really unique approach that fit Oingo Boingo so well, but his talent goes far beyond that, as your enlightening interview shows. Thanks for featuring one of my favorite guitarists — it made my day! — Taylor Roelofs Tallying votes for Talking Heads and Sonia Anubis Hello. Longtime reader and subscriber — almost from the beginning. You simply must put…

TUNE-UPS NEWS + NOTES ON NEARLY EVERY Gaslight Anthem album, barring the new History Books, where he paired a Fender Jaguar and a Gibson ES-330 with an Orange Custom Shop 50, you can hear the results of guitarist and vocalist Brian Fallon’s constant tinkering with amplifiers. But one album in particular — their 2008 breakthrough release The ’59 Sound, arguably their most revered album to date — derives so much of its identity from his tweaked-out guitar tone that the amp he modified, a ’59 Fender Bassman reissue, is right there in the name of the record. “I was just trying to get it to sound as good as Bruce Springsteen at the Hammersmith Odeon [the 1975 live recording],” he says. “That guitar sound is my favorite thing in the…

1970 Aerosmith form in Boston when Joe Perry, Joey Kramer and Tom Hamilton’s Jam Band play the same venue as (drummer) Steven Tyler’s Chain Reaction. Tyler insists he’ll join — but only if he’s allowed to sing. ...1970... Tyler’s childhood friend Raymond Tabano is hired as a second guitarist, playing his first gig November 6 at Nipmuc Regional High School in Mendon, Massachusetts. 1971 Berklee School of Music attendee Brad Whitford replaces Tabano. 1972 Aerosmith sign a management contract with David Krebs and Steve Leber, who pitch the group to major labels. ...1972... Krebs and Leber invite Columbia Records’ Clive Davis to see the band at Max’s Kansas City in NYC. Aerosmith sign with Columbia for $125,000. 1973 Aerosmith release their self-titled debut album in January. Tracks include “Dream On”…

SOUNDCHECK ONE OF THE tougher decisions guitarists face is whether they should save up to buy the best instrument they can afford or spend that money on a variety of less expensive guitars to enjoy a broader range of tones. The PRS Modern Eagle V, which PRS recently added to its Core lineup, offers a tantalizing third option, which is — why not get a supremely well-crafted high-end guitar that provides an incredibly versatile variety of world-class tones from a single instrument? Previously only offered via custom order from the PRS Private Stock and Wood Library programs, the Modern Eagle V is freshly available at a reduced price, which will allow more players to enjoy its ingenious humbucker/single-coil setup that covers the all the bases for the most desirable tones,…

ONE OF THE greatest Chicago blues guitarists ever is Samuel Gene Maghett, AKA “Magic Sam.” Maghett moved from Grenada County, Mississippi to Chicago in 1956 and began recording singles for Cobra Records, the first of which was 1957’s “All Your Love.” Sam signed with Delmark Records in 1967 to release his first LP, West Side Soul, often cited as the template for modern blues. Tragically, Sam would pass away of a heart attack at the age of 32 in late 1969. Among the many fantastic tracks on West Side Soul is “Lookin’ Good,” an instrumental tune with a tricky signature lick. Sam expanded on “Lookin’ Good” for his high-octane rendition at the 1969 Ann Arbor Blues Festival, dubbed “Sam’s Boogie.” The “Lookin’ Good/Sam’s Boogie” lick is built on a uniquely…

Marcelo Roascio AGE: 54 HOMETOWN: Buenos Aires, Argentina GUITARS: Ernie Ball Music Man Luke III, Sterling by Music Man LK100, DOH Series, Fernandes Ravelle Deluxe, Ibanez R335GF, Fender Jeff Beck Strat SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING: Originals for my instrumental trio (Roascio RCM), plus Deep Purple “Black Night,” Gary Moore “The Loner” and Whitesnake “Fool for Your Loving” GEAR I WANT MOST: Valeton GP-200, Orange Super Crush 100, Godin Fairmount CH Scott J. Ham GUITARS: PRS Angelus, Ovation Celebrity and ESP LTD H-100 SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING: Fates Warning “Ivory Gate of Dreams 1. Innocence,” Rush “A Farewell to Kings,” DMB “Grey Street” GEAR I MOST WANT: Martin D-28, Ernie Ball Music Man JP6, Mesa Boogie Mark V combo Richard Dazin AGE: 59 HOMETOWN: Salon de Provence, France GUITARS: Martin D-35, Martin 0018, Gibson J25, two Japanese Takamine C100…

TUNE-UPS NEWS + NOTES Q What was the first song you learned to play? I had a Beatles songbook, and the first song I mastered from it was “Please Please Me.” All you had to do was play the backing chords; there was no solo or anything. Later, when I heard Eric Clapton’s “Crossroads” solo, that’s when I really started to learn how to play lead guitar. Q Do you remember your first gig? It was at some sort of high school dance with a band called the Catalinas. I was around 16. As we were all into automobiles at that point, we decided to call the band that name [The Pontiac Catalina was produced from 1950 to 1981]. I think we made $25 from the gig. Q Ever had…

TUNE-UPS NEWS + NOTES Garrett T. Willie Same Pain (Garrett T. Willie Records/Orchard) SOUND Sounding like the unlikely offspring of George Thorogood and Tom Waits, Canadian-born Willie’s guitar spits and snarls venomously blistering blues lines, while his vocals convey a depth of emotion way beyond his 23 years. The songs eschew tired 12-bar cliches, mixing ferocious slide lines with sinewy, insidiously melodic minor-key workouts. KEY TRACK “Black Shiny Shoes” Atena Subway Anthem (Indie Recordings) SOUND These Norwegians combine elements of hardcore, hip-hop and electronica. At times sounding like a cross between Slipknot and Faith No More, Vebjorn Iverson’s imaginative guitar lines turn on a dime, from bright jangle to doom-laden, grinding thrash. Jakob Skogli’s distinctive vocals take the music to unexpected places. KEY TRACK “Ultra Ultimate Opus Power” Velvet Insane…

2006, Omar Rodríguez-López was a towering, Jimi Hendrix-like figure within the world of modern progressive rock. Guitar World dubbed him one of “The New Guitar Gods,” and he joined a jaw-dropping murderers’ row — Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Eddie Van Halen, Kirk Hammett and John Mayer — for Rolling Stone’s “Guitar Heroes” cover story. Despite these accolades, the Mars Volta bandleader wasn’t convinced of his own merit on the instrument: “I’ve never considered myself a guitarist, and I’ve never liked the guitar,” he told us. “I feel like an imposter in a really beautiful, magical place,” he admitted to Rolling Stone during a photo shoot for the aforementioned interview. “And I feel like any minute somebody’s gonna go, ‘That guy!’ and I’m gonna have to leave.” He’s managed to stick…

COVER FEATURE BRAD WHITFORD HAS BEEN ON THE MOVE — but he’s finding peace in a pocket of downtime. And he’s going to need it, as Aerosmith is about to embark on its Peace Out farewell tour in a matter of weeks. Some would say it’s been a long time coming, while others hoped the road would never end. But none of that matters to Whitford; he’s got a job to do, and for now, at least, all is well, “It’s kind of early on,” he says. “We’ve still got a ways to go, but if rehearsals are any indication of anything, it’s just slamming. It’s sounding so good. I’m just smiling from ear to ear. I love being out there with the guys.” Whitford has long been a positive…

NO OTHER GUITARIST has been more associated with the unmistakable sound of the chorus effect than Andy Summers, guitar emeritus of the legendary band the Police. The glaring irony, of course, is that Summers actually used a flanger — specifically, an Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress — to create those shimmering chorus textures on hits like “Walking on the Moon” and “Message in a Bottle” in the band’s early years. Obviously, taming the swooshy flange required Summers to dial back certain knobs on that vintage pedal to achieve his heavily chorused guitar sound. Even the man himself admits, “A big part of my guitar sound at that time in the Police was the flange sound, which we have here today in this great new pedal.” But figuratively speaking, many experienced players like…

TODAY, I’D LIKE to discuss “Famous Amos,” an infamous 1958 Gibson Flying V. This guitar originally shipped from Gibson on May 28, 1958, to Arthur’s Music Store in Indianapolis. Sometime around 1959/1960, it was sold to a guy named Pete Mitchell, who was the guitar player for country music star Ernest Tubb. In 1965, Mitchell traded this Flying V for a Gretsch Country Gentleman. I don’t suggest doing that now! But that is what happened back in 1965. In 1971 or ’72, Norm Harris from Norman’s Rare Guitars in Tarzana, California, purchased the guitar, so there’s a six- or seven-year blank spot in the guitar’s history. The V sat in Norm’s secret stash until 2015, when he was kind enough to sell it to me. “Famous Amos” is an historic…

OVER THE LAST few months, I’ve been discussing the three devices I like to use to connect chords when soloing within a blues progression: chromaticism, diminished chords and ii - V - I turnarounds. I offered a lot of different examples of how to use each of these approaches when formulating an improvised solo. When I’m improvising a solo over a blues progression, however, I don’t want to be thinking too much about this stuff, but rather feeling the music and breathing life and emotion into the spontaneous lines. I’m never thinking, “Oh, I need to play a bunch of ii - V - I’s now!,” or, “This chorus is going to be all about chromaticism.” Instead, I’m just following my inner voice and playing what I hear musically, doing…

“TOYS IN THE ATTIC” Aerosmith THIS CLASSIC UPTEMPO rocker and title track from Aerosmith’s blockbuster third album showcases guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford’s excellent arranging teamwork, as they effectively combine different, complementary parts with their similarly overdriven Gibson Les Pauls that mesh together beautifully. The song kicks off with an instrumental iteration of the chorus, with Perry deftly picking a busy, grinding E minor pentatonic riff in 1st position while Whitford provides a supportive yet unobtrusive power chord part punctuated with percussive, fret-hand-muted “chucka” strums. The two guitarists come together at the end of the repeating four-bar phrase (bars 5 and 6) by doubling power chord accents then stay together as the first bridge unfolds at section B. As the verse gets under way at section C, the two…