Innehållsförteckning för Holiday 2023 från Guitar World

THIS ISSUE’S COVER story was inspired by something Michael Astley-Brown, our digital editor-in-chief, said to me back in June, which went a bit like this: “I was reading our feature on 24-year-old Towa Bird, and I was struck by the fact that Jimi Hendrix was the catalyst for her learning guitar. It reminded me that I see this from a lot of younger players of all genres — Hendrix more than any other classic rock artist, with Polyphia being probably the highest-profile new artist to cite him as their reason for starting.” Inspired by this, I did some research on my own, which basically involved revisiting more than a year’s worth of print stories, and — egads! He was right. The bottom line is, when Guitar World — print or…

TUNE-UPS NEWS + NOTES Central Blues Co. Live at Park Street Tavern (Burning Tree Records) SOUND CBC are a blues/rock power trio from Columbus, Ohio — but they clearly put the emphasis on blues. More early ZZ Top than Cream, the band’s muscular, riff-based songs serve as the launch pad for guitarist/singer Jason Allwood’s fluid, supple lead lines that hint at SRV and Bonamassa. With blistering versions of faves from the band’s catalog, the new live album serves as an ideal intro. KEY TRACK “Magic Stixs” Insensate Machine War of the Worlds (Bandcamp) SOUND New York-based, old-school thrash metal that’ll excite fans of Slayer and Metallica. The notion of a concept album might seem redolent of the age of angular prog, but with singer/guitarist Billy Davis at the helm, the…

“THESE DAYS, I’M much more influenced by events in my life than other artists,” Angel Vivaldi says. “If something makes me feel a certain way, I’ll let that seep into my writing.” To be sure, as evidenced by his latest EP, Away with Words: Part 2, Vivaldi is true to his word. Moreover, the EP continues the New Jersey guitarist’s tendency to lean toward the conceptual side of things — but that doesn’t mean the EP’s five tracks are loaded with bouts of guitar extravagance. “I often focus on the relationship between the human psyche and my guitar,” Vivaldi says. “Each of the five songs on this EP has a unique color. And once I had them in place, I proceeded to my studio in those colors. It’s something I…

“IF YOU OPENED for us, it was a sure sign you were going to make it,” Dave Meniketti says. As guitarist, singer and all-around main man for the Bay Area hard rock stalwarts Y&T, he’s seen a lot of up-and-comers breeze by during the late Seventies and into the Eighties. “Van Halen opened for us, and so did Metallica. Poison opened shows for us. As a matter of fact, back in 1981 Mötley Crüe played their first gig ever when they opened for us at the Starwood in L.A. It’s in their book.” He laughs and adds, “We used to have a saying: ‘We know how we’re going to make it big. We have to open for ourselves!’ It seemed like there was a time when every band that went…

ALCHEMY. THAT’S how John Baizley describes it. The most inventive guitar duos always combine their strengths into a singular chemistry that creates something unpredictable and new. Think Angus and Malcolm Young. Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield. Slash and Izzy Stradlin. On Stone, Baroness’ sixth and latest album of searing progressive metal, the pairing of guitarists John Baizley and Gina Gleason has arguably achieved similar heights, in its own way. “This is one of the most fun and challenging records for me to ever put together, because that was the goal the whole time,” Baizley tells GW. “It was almost improvisational sometimes, to where Gina and I don’t really have to show each other what we’re doing; we just have to listen and feel it. Maybe we started as two…

EVER WONDER WHAT it might have been like to see the Jimi Hendrix Experience in action before they achieved international fame? Until now, if you weren’t there, you’d probably be left wondering forever. Thankfully, Experience Hendrix L.L.C. partnered with Sony Entertainment’s Legacy Recordings to give fans a taste of what they’ve been missing via Jimi Hendrix Experience: Hollywood Bowl, August 18, 1967. Sure, we all know that Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell were a sight to behold live, but the Hollywood Bowl show was notable because it found the trio in front of 17,000-plus Americans who — for the most part, anyway — had no idea who these three loud, interesting-looking dudes were. And considering that most of said attendees were there to dig on the dreamy sounds…

FENDER’S VINTERA SERIES electric guitars and basses have remained a big hit since their introduction back in 2019, thanks to the models’ designs inspired by various vintage eras (including a few examples with modern refinements and modifications) and wallet-friendly prices. The brand new Vintera II series remains true to those basic ideals while dispensing with the “modified vintage” products, offering 16 new models with only a few crossovers in common with the previous Vintera series (namely a handful of Strat, Tele and Jazz Bass models). The new lineup is more expansive and inclusive, providing ’50s, ’60s and ’70s Strat and Tele models, ’50s and ’60s Precision Bass models as well as coveted “cult” axes like the ’50s Jazzmaster, ’70s Competition Mustang guitar and bass, ’60s Telecaster Thinline, ’60s Bass VI…

MY FASCINATION WITH building things ended a long time ago when I played with Legos. Since then, I’ve become more of a prima donna when it comes to assembling anything, but I still know many musicians who love tinkering with and building gear. So, for my brethren who fall under the latter category, Mod Electronics has provided them with the satisfaction of building their own pedals and amplifiers with DIY component kits that come with detailed, step-by-step instructions. From what I’ve gathered, as long as you have patience, a steady hand and decent soldering skills, you can tackle any of these kits. Now, while I didn’t take part in building the Mod Electronics Phase/Off pedal that was sent for review, I’m going to use this space to relay how incredible…

COLUMNS MELODIC MUSE OVER THE LAST two columns, I detailed the intro and verse sections my song “Winterland,” which I had recorded with the Andy Timmons Band for our 2016 album, Theme from a Perfect World. We also looked at the “channel” section that sets up the tune's powerful chorus, which I'll now detail how I play. FIGURE 1 illustrates the chorus, which is 20 bars long. Throughout this section, I utilize low bass notes, often sounded on open strings, to both fatten up the sound of the guitar part and offer a fuller picture of the harmony as it unfolds. In bars 1 and 2 and the preceding pickup bar, I sound the tonic, or root note, via the open D string. When I move to the…

“DISPOSABLE HEROES” Metallica THIS EIGHT-MINUTE epic from Metallica’s classic 1986 album is a thrash metal tour de force, featuring a complex, fast-paced ensemble arrangement with shifting tempos and time signatures, a multitude of intense, pummeling single-note and power chord riffs, tightly doubled by guitarists James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett, and a blistering, well-crafted solo from Hammett. Drummer Lars Ulrich and original bassist Cliff Burton turn in amazingly precise and powerful performances as well, lending the song a tight-fisted impact. Hetfield and Hammett employ their celebrated down-picking technique throughout the song, the only exceptions being the 16th-note and eighth-note triplet rhythms, for which, out of technical necessity, they resort to alternate picking (down-up-down-up, etc.), unless hammering-on or pulling-off. When used in conjunction with pick-hand palm-muting (P.M.), which the two guitarists apply…

I PERSONALLY CONSIDER the Guild jumbo 12-string acoustic one of the greatest engineering feats of the 20th century, right up there with electricity, the vacuum tube, personal computer, interstate highway, space shuttle, jet airplane, television, etc. Sure, it may simply be a flattop acoustic guitar model developed rather late in the game during the Sixties, but to many players the Guild jumbo 12-string is to the acoustic guitar what a Steinway Model D concert grand is to the piano. Jimmy Page rather eloquently described his first encounter with a Guild jumbo 12 (a very rare early Seventies F-612 model) in his book Jimmy Page—The Anthology: “I was in Manny’s guitar shop in New York when the guy working there said, ‘There’s a guitar here you’ll want to buy, a Guild…

Greg McCaffrey AGE: 54 HOMETOWN: Alexandria, VA GUITARS: A variety from Fender, Gibson, EVH, Jackson and PRS. Current favorites are my Gibson Les Paul Honeyburst Tribute, Fender American Vintage II Strat and EVH 5150 Deluxe SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING: Stevie Ray Vaughan “The House is Rockin’,” Boston “Peace of Mind,” Rodrigo y Gabriela “Terracentric,” Rush “Limelight,” Social Distortion “Reach for the Sky” GEAR I MOST WANT: Gibson Dave Grohl DG-335; Gibson Custom 1958 Korina Explorer Juni Moon AGE: 58 HOMETOWN: Talihina, OK SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING: “Are You Experienced,” “I Don’t Live Today,” “Purple Haze,” “Stone Free” and “Voodoo Chile” by Jimi Hendrix, plus “Day of the Eagle,” “Too Rolling Stoned” and “Lady Love” by Robin Trower GEAR I MOST WANT: Jimi Hendrix Monterey Special Edition Stratocaster Garth Bradley Hileman…

TUNE-UPS NEWS + NOTES Q: What was your first guitar? It was a Stella acoustic that I got when I was a high school freshman, around 14. I enjoyed the rhythm and blues and doo-wop that was prevalent in the late Fifties, and I wanted to play along to the music on my record player. Q: What was the first song you learned to play? Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock.” Though the song sounds simple, there’s nothing easy about that lead guitar break [played by the late Danny Cedrone]. To this day, playing that solo correctly has been one of the mysteries of the rock ’n’ roll world. Q: Do you remember your first gig? It was with my high school folk group called the Islanders. I played guitar…

AS A MEMBER of Toto, Steve Lukather’s melodic solos and slick songwriting defined a generation of AOR-loving fans throughout the Eighties. If you can recall the sweet sounds of pop-leaning rock classics like “Hold the Line,” “I’ll Supply the Love,” “Africa” and “I Won’t Hold You Back,” then surely you’ve dug into Lukather’s inspired licks. Of course, a player as inspired as Lukather can’t be held down, as evidenced by his expansive career as a sideman with the likes of George Benson, Michael Bolton, Michael Jackson, Cher, Peter Criss, Ringo Starr, Elton John and about a million others (including one especially cool appearance with George Harrison in 1992). So, yeah… it goes without saying that Lukather has impacted the masses unimaginably. Through big hits, endless songsmithery and immense restraint in…

“IT SEEMED LIKE HE WAS THE ROOT THAT SO MANY GUITAR PLAYERS FROM HIS GENERATION — ALL THE WAY UP TO MY GENERATION — CITED AS THIS MONUMENTAL, GAME-CHANGING ARTIST”— AYLA TESLER-MABÉ THE STAGE WAS DARK when Melanie Faye began her solo performance at the closing session of Summit LA18, an invitation-only gathering of ideas and innovators held in downtown Los Angeles in November 2018. The lights slowly rose as she picked jazzy notes from a surf-green D’Angelico semi-hollow guitar, and by the time she segued into a rendition of “Little Wing,” they had revealed a stage nearly empty except for Faye. A fresh face in the guitar pantheon, Faye had only become “internet famous” the previous year when a simple smartphone video shot as she sat on a floor…

FOR ANDY ALEDORT’S VIDEO OF THIS LESSON: GUITARWORLD.COM/HOLIDAY2023 JIMI HENDRIX IS rock’s most important and influential guitarist, rightfully revered as one of the most significant musicians of all time. More than a half-century ago, the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s 1967 debut release, Are You Experienced, included this bold proclamation: “Be forewarned. Used to be an Experience meant making you a bit older. This one makes you wider. Jimi Hendrix breaks the world into interesting fragments, and then reassembles it. You hear with new ears after being Experienced.” Sixties record-company hype? Absolutely, but also 100 percent true. All these decades later, Hendrix’s playing on Are You Experienced and his subsequent recorded performances remains among the freshest and most exciting music ever heard, and his influence as a guitarist, composer and sonic innovator…

LAST MONTH, WE initiated a deeper dive into Magic Sam’s guitar tour de force, the live version of his classic blues instrumental “Lookin’ Good,” also known as “Sam’s Boogie.” The elusive techniques Sam uses to play this tune have eluded many players for years. While I was touring with Dickey Betts a few years back, one day he asked me to teach him how to play “Sam’s Boogie.” I didn’t know how! So I set about learning it, and it was quite a challenge. Once I had a handle on it, Dickey and I got together and would work on all the intricacies involved in trying to recreate the variety of techniques Magic Sam employs on this classic track. FIGURE 1 picks up from 0:29 into the recording, where Sam…

FOR MORE THAN 30 years, Wata and her band, Boris, have made a concerted effort to avoid explicit associations with any single genre. And, for the most part, despite critics continually hanging names like “experimental” and “doom” upon the Japanese group’s mantle, they’ve managed to accomplish that feat. “I don’t really focus on continuing to push the limit or keep experimenting,” Wata tells Guitar World. “This band has occupied a big part of my life and has so much freedom. Each member is irreplaceable, and many things are naturally born from that relationship. Other than that, I’m greatly influenced by people around me, such as people we’ve collaborated with, people we’ve met and people whose music I’ve listened to.” As a guitarist, Wata consistently straddles the razor-thin line between light…

WE ALL HAVE our own favorite guitar hero — that player who first inspired us to pick up a guitar and whose style informed our individual approach to playing. But the sensational tale of Akio Sakurai — a Japanese guitarist who dedicated three decades to quite literally become his hero, Jimmy Page — takes this phenomenon to the extreme. Sakurai’s story is the subject of a new documentary, Mr. Jimmy, which charts his journey from aspiring guitar player all the way to adopting the persona of the film’s title character — and beyond. But Sakurai’s desire to become Page extends far beyond the fretboard; Sakurai adopted the chops, persona and style of Page in an unrivaled display of passion and devotion to his idol. As per the film’s description, Sakurai…

THE NAME JON Dretto might not ring any immediate bells, but chances are you’ve already seen his handiwork. Over the past year, the 24-year-old New York-based guitarist has racked up more than 100 million views online for his hilarious video series, “Pretending to Be a Beginner, Then Shredding.” In each clip, Dretto strolls unassumingly into a music store, where he elicits smirks and chuckles from clerks and onlookers as he struggles to pick out a few notes on a (sometimes outrageously expensive) guitar. Then in a flash, he lets loose with a dizzying and immaculately played flurry of fretboard wizardry… leaving jaws agape. “The whole thing’s been a lot of fun,” Dretto says. “I wanted people to laugh and think, ‘This kid is gonna get roasted.’ In the end, everybody…

ESOTERIC AS HE is, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Trevor Rabin has crafted a record that’s “stylistically tough to categorize.” But if one were to try, you could call Rabin’s latest, Rio, a guitar-driven, proggy, yet oh-so very poppy, country-and-western opus. Oh, and it’s loaded with political and social undertones regarding his native stomping ground of Johannesburg, South Africa, too. How’s that for an earful? Of course, if you’re Rabin, this eclecticism is par for the course. After all, this is the man who wrote beloved radio staple “Owner of a Lonely Heart” yet still seems comfortable refuting all labels slung his way, instead “visiting other genres, and injecting influences along the way.” And that’s saying something considering Rabin’s work with Yes is nearly universally loved, with “nearly”…

ALLY VENABLE My favorite Hendrix moment or song would have to be “Castles Made of Sand.” Jimi’s writing is remarkable, and I just love the way he bases this song with the chords he plays. I was fortunate enough to get to play this song in Austin at the Jimi Hendrix Experience 80th birthday show last year. It was a surreal moment for me. It is also one of his most difficult songs to play and sing at the same time, so it was really fun because it challenged me. AYLA TESLER-MABÉ One thing that makes his playing so fiery, expressive, amazing and soulful is the way he bends with vibrato. I feel like there are a lot of players who will bend, and then they release the bend and…

JONES, TAYLOR AND Wood… It sounds more like the name of a law firm than the surnames of the three phenomenal guitarists who have served alongside Keith Richards during the Rolling Stones’ six-decade-plus career. Now that they’ve announced and teased Hackney Diamonds, their first album of orignal material since 2005’s A Bigger Bang, it’s an ideal time to reflect on the contributions that Brian Jones, Mick Taylor and Ronnie Wood have made to the evolution, vitality and uncanny longevity of the Stones. Each guitarist’s tenure with the group — seven years for Jones, five for Taylor and an amazing 48 for Wood — serves to define and delineate three key phases in the Stones’ stellar career. Here’s how it all happened. 1962-1969 BRIAN JONES: THE ROCK STAR AS TRAGIC HERO…

THE SAD FATE of a travel guitar is it can never be more than just that — an occasional travel companion that gets played out of sight in a hotel room or lazily strummed on a beach. Such clichéd views have often made it seem frivolous to own one since it’ll be less likely that you’ll ever use it except when on vacation. But that notion will dramatically change once you unfold the Ciari Guitars Ascender Standard — a full-sized professional electric guitar with pioneering foldable tech that neatly folds the guitar in half, allowing it to be easily stowed in an overhead bin or tucked under an airline seat when you travel. Best of all, there’s nothing gimmicky about it, because it’s not your run-of-the-mill travel guitar. The Ascender…

TODAY’S FEATURED AX is a 1964 Firebird V. For those unfamiliar, Gibson made four different versions of the Firebird in the mid-Sixties. A Firebird I, played famously by Eric Clapton for a spell during his days in Cream, has dot inlays and only one pickup; a Firebird III has dot inlays and two pickups; a Firebird V, like this one, has trapezoid inlays and two pickups; and a Firebird VII has block inlays, an ebony fretboard and three pickups, with all gold hardware. Back then, the decision as to which guitar was best for you came down to what you wanted to spend; the Firebird I was the least expensive and the Firebird VII was the top of the line. I like Firebird V’s the best, simply because this is…

AS WE HAVE been discussing over the past several columns, a great way to add melodic and harmonic variety to a guitar solo over a blues progression is by incorporating the use of such devices as chromaticism, diminished chords and ii - V - I turnarounds. Each approach has the potential to yield musically surprising results and can carry the listener — and the player — to unexpected places. As I pointed out last month, the truly effective incorporation of these devices only works well when they don’t sound obvious or contrived. And the only way to get to that place is to study and assimilate all of these things to the point where they become second nature to you and can serve as available options at any given moment.…

“THE WELL” WORDS AND MUSIC BY MARCUS KING, DANIEL QUINE AUERBACH AND RONNIE BOWMAN. COPYRIGHT © 2019 BIKE MUSIC, KING’S MOUNTAIN PUBLISHING, PROFIT DANIEL, SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING (US) LLC, ECLIPSE ONE MUSIC AND WHENEVER YOU’RE AROUND MUSIC. ALL RIGHTS FOR BIKE MUSIC AND KING’S MOUNTAIN PUBLISHING ADMINISTERED BY CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING. ALL RIGHTS FOR PROFIT DANIEL (BMI) ADMINISTERED BY WIXEN MUSIC UK LTD, O/B/O WIXEN MUSIC PUBLISHING, INC. ALL RIGHTS FOR SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING (US) LLC, ECLIPSE ONE MUSIC AND WHENEVER YOU’RE AROUND 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.…