Innehållsförteckning för October 2019 från Guitarist

This month’s issue was partly put together on the ocean wave, as I went aboard the Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea cruise in the Mediterranean. Hosted by man of the hour Joe Bonamassa, the boat was filled with some of the most exciting blues-influenced guitarists working today, from Eric Gales to stellar sister-act Larkin Poe, who are featured on p50. Watching formidable players, such as Megan and Rebecca Lovell or Philip Sayce (whom we briefly caught up with on p36 of this issue to talk strings), it would be easy to get dispirited by one’s own progress – or lack thereof – on the guitar. Sayce is a veritable box of dynamite on his Strat and never seems to run out of articulate, intensely virtuosic licks. And how could…

PRICE: £2,200 (inc case) ORIGIN: UK TYPE: Single-cutaway, semi-solid electric BODY: Chambered swamp ash with AAA quilted maple top NECK: Roasted maple, bolt-on SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”) NUT/WIDTH: Bone/42mm FINGERBOARD: Rosewood, rectangular acrylic inlays, compound 254-305mm (10-12”) radius FRETS: 22, medium (Jescar FW55090) HARDWARE: Gotoh Strat-style hardtail bridge with block saddles and through-body stringing, vintage-style split-post tuners – nickel-plated STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 53mm ELECTRICS: Bare Knuckle Boot Camp Old Guard neck and bridge humbuckers, 3-way toggle pickup selector switch, master volume and tone controls WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.74/6 OPTIONS: Include mahogany body, flamed maple cap, ebony fingerboard. Sealed semi construction (with Bare Knuckle True Grit humbuckers) RANGE: The current PJD range includes the double-cut Woodford and offset St John – both come in various styles from approx. £1,750 LEFT-HANDERS: Yes, to…

PRICE: £2,634 (inc hard case) ORIGIN: Czech Republic TYPE: OM cutaway electro-acoustic TOP: AAA Grade Sitka spruce BACK/SIDES: AAA Grade Indian rosewood MAX RIM DEPTH: 102mm (4”) MAX BODY WIDTH: 380mm (15”) NECK: African mahogany SCALE LENGTH: 650mm (25.5”) TUNERS: Schaller M6 NUT/WIDTH: Tusq/45mm FINGERBOARD: Ebony FRETS: 20 BRIDGE/SPACING: Ebony/55mm ELECTRICS: LR Baggs Anthem WEIGHT (kg/lb): 1.9/4.18 OPTIONS: Pickup options include (all LR Baggs) EAS VTC (€208), Stagepro Element (€208), Anthem (soundhole mounted €397). Available in: dreadnought, dreadnought cutaway, grand auditorium, grand auditorium cutaway, OM, OM cutaway, OOM, OOM cutaway RANGE OPTIONS: Orange SW (Sitka spruce & black walnut) from €2,509 LEFT-HANDERS: Yes FINISH: High Gloss Furch Guitars +420 519 417 285 www.furchguitars.com PROS A well-built, high-quality instrument with a lot of character and great sound CONS Slightly weighty and…

REUNION BLUES CONTINENTAL VOYAGER £189.95 Reunion Blues enjoys an enviable reputation for its high-end gigbags, so if you have a special guitar that you want to keep well protected on the move, without the faff of a full flight case, the company’s Continental Voyager looks just the ticket. Features of this pro-grade gigbag include a tough, shock-absorbing ‘Flexoskeleton’ to protect your precious instrument; a reinforced neck-brace system that secures the instrument firmly during transit, with additional protector pads at headstock and bridge; plus a ballistic-grade ‘Quadraweave’ exterior with water-resistant zippers to shield your main squeeze from abrasions and the elements. As you’d expect for a premium case, it comes with a limited lifetime warranty. No need for the blues after all. https://reunionblues.com KMA MACHINES LOGAN TRANSCEND DRIVE £175 The concept…

What? Gibson Custom 61 SG Les Paul Standard, Faded Cherry VOS Where seen? Peach Guitars, Colchester Price? £2,499 Description? When I failed to play my own lick, I instantly blamed my tools and told myself the Les Paul’s less than finger-friendly upper frets were the cause of my woes.‘Ah, an SG it is then,’ I reasoned.As if by magic, friend of the mag Stuart Ryan emailed a link to an instrument he’d seen on Peach Guitars’ website. It’s the perfect era for an SG: still bearing the Les Paul moniker but quite clearly has the devilish pointy outline with chamfered edges that I’ve always adored. It’s a used one, too, so nearly a grand less than it would have retailed for.And in that faded Cherry VOS finish, with Custom Bucker…

When we combine harmonious intervals to create chords, there are various conventions we follow (consciously or otherwise) to avoid unpleasant dissonances. Here, we’re going to do no such thing! We will head boldly into a world of discord with our eyes wide open and see what unexpected delights can be found. The most discordant interval is arguably the minor 2nd (a semitone), so the goal is to find chord shapes/voicings that incorporate it. Generally speaking, the lower the interval is in the context of a chord, the more profound its effect. For this reason, none of the featured chords has a minor 2nd in the bass – but never say never… We’re sticking with clear, unambiguous root notes at the bottom, adding in the weirdness in the mid to high…

FENDER VINTERA ’50S TELECASTER MODIFIED £869 ’60S STRATOCASTER MODIFIED £849 ’60S JAZZMASTER MODIFIED £899 In recent years Fender has refreshed, refocused and renamed virtually all of its key series. The creation of the American Professional range, which gave the long-running American Standards a considerable reboot, was one of the most inspired we’ve seen. Then it was the turn of the American Vintage guitars; they became the decade-specific American Originals – and that’s the style we have here. The new Mexican-made Vintera series amalgamates the previous Classic and Classic Player ranges into one, creating, says Fender, “a line of vintage-inspired models that embody a period-specific vibe. Each model delivers the authentic look and feel of its era, as well as decade-specific tones from the 50s, 60s and 70s.” The reorganised range…

PRICE: £869 (inc gigbag) ORIGIN: USA TYPE: Single-cutaway solidbody electric BODY: Ash NECK: Maple,‘Thick soft V’ profile, bolt-on SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”) NUT: Synthetic bone FINGERBOARD: Maple, black dot markers, 241mm (9.5”) radius FRETS: 21, medium jumbo HARDWARE: 3-brass-saddle strings-through-body Tele bridge, vintage-style tuners – nickel/ chrome plated ELECTRICS: Fender Custom Shop vintage-style single coil Tele (bridge), Custom Shop ‘Twisted’ single coil Tele (neck), 4-position lever pickup selector switch, master volume, master tone w/ S-1 push-switch to change phase OPTIONS: The alder-bodied Daphne Blue and Surf Green versions are £849 RANGE OPTIONS: Other Teles include the ’50s (£749), ’60s Modified (£849), ’60s Bigsby (£819), ’70s Thinline (£999), ’70s Custom (£829) and ’70s Deluxe (£829) LEFT-HANDERS: Not currently FINISHES: Butterscotch Blonde, Daphne Blue, Surf Green – gloss polyester (body); satin urethane…

1 Wait, are these Martin guitars made in Mexico? If anyone is feeling a bit squeamish about this iconic American brand building guitars outside the USA, we’ve all had plenty of time to get used to the idea. Martin launched its Road Series back in 2001. 2 What’s the background? It’s all very straightforward. With the Road Series you get a guitar with some US-level Martin spec at a more affordable price. That includes the popular Performing Artist neck shape and High Performance Taper fingerboard, er, taper… 3 So these guitars are part of a bigger range? The Road Series plays host to 11 electro-acoustic models based around dreadnought, 000 and Grand Performance body shapes. The spec sheets reveal a choice of solid body timbers including Sitka spruce and sapele.…

PRICE: £1,149 (inc soft case) ORIGIN: Mexico TYPE: Dreadnought electro-acoustic TOP: Solid Sitka spruce, gloss finish BACK/SIDES: Solid sapele,gloss finish MAX RIM DEPTH: 124mm (4.88”) MAX BODY WIDTH: 397mm (15.6”) NECK: Select hardwood with hand-rubbed finish, Performing Artist profile SCALE LENGTH: 645mm (25.4”) TUNERS: Nickel Open Gear with butterbean buttons NUT/WIDTH: White Corian/44.45mm FINGERBOARD: Richlite, High-Performance Taper w/‘Mother-of-Pearl Pattern’dot inlays, 406mm (16”) radius FRETS: 20 medium BRIDGE/SPACING: Richlite ‘Modern Belly’ shape with compensated White Tusq saddle/54mm WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.12/4.11 PICKUP/PREAMP: Fishman Sonicore pickup, Fishman MX-T preamp with soundhole-mounted tuner, phase switch and volume and tone controls RANGE OPTIONS: Unless specified, all feature solid Sitka spruce tops, sapele back/sides, and Fishman Sonicore pickups/MX-T preamps: D-10E sapele top (£815); D-10E (£899); D-12E koa back and sides (£1,395); D-13E siris back/sides (£1,225); DC-13E…

1 That’s a funny-looking amp… It’s way more: a tuneable load box, cab simulation, digital effects, multiple outputs, IR-capable and it’s got MIDI. Yes, there’s a 100-watt amp, too. But you don’t need to plug speakers in – it can work without them. 2 I thought Boss just made effects? Until a few years ago, then the company unleashed its own ‘boutique’ Waza Craft brand on the guitar universe, with several products including a couple of superb amp heads. More recently, that technology has filtered into the excellent Katana and Nextone amp ranges. 3 This isn’t for use with the Katana or Waza amps, though? Absolutely not. The clue is in the name. It will only work with a valve (aka tube) guitar amplifier.…

BIGFOOT ENGINEERING Yak Face XL £199 UK-based Bigfoot claims to put every mid-60s ‘Blackface’ tone in one box, plus studio-quality three-band passive EQ, with gain and volume knobs. LOVEPEDAL HERMIDA AUDIO Zendrive £189 Another pedal that delivers dynamic touch-sensitive low-to-medium gain overdrive, the Zendrive is a somewhat ‘Dumble’-like OD. FREE THE TONE Fire Mist £368 The Integrated series’ companion piece to the String Slinger offers pretty much the same format but will serve up some widescreen Plexi-ness.…

Mario, great idea using amp-in-a-box (AIAB) pedals to give you a plethora of ‘amp-like’ sounds. This will give you a great bang for buck ratio and limit the amount of amps you need to buy. 01 Pedal placement is an endless issue and one that needs to be approached logically to achieve the best results. Essentially, there is no international agreement with regards to pedals and, as such, some work better together than others. Factor in different amplifiers, guitars and customer needs and you have trillions of permutations to meet. That being said, I personally believe that a good dirt ’board should be wired in ascending gain level: low-gain through to high-gain. This changes slightly in that I also like to place a totally clean boost/EQ at the end of…

Jamie Dickson Guitaristeditor Jamie is as happy with steel wool in his hand as he is with Steely Dan in his headphones, and loves vintage-gear restoration and ambitious signal chains. Dave Burrluck Guitarist’s assiduous reviews editor is also the author of numerous guitar books.Very handy with a fret file and indeed any aspect of a finely fettled six-string. Ed Mitchell After 18 years in guitar retail Ed turned to journalism as reviews editor of Total Guitar,then as a contributor to Guitarist.He’s also edited the mags The Bluesand Country Music. Neville Marten Edited Guitaristfor 13 years, after working for both Fender and Gibson as a repairer. From desirable Les Pauls to dream Strats, he’s owned and worked on the lot. Nick Guppy Guitarist’s amplifier specialist has built up a wealth of…

When it comes to guitars of the Les Paul variety, the Recording model is often far from the top of people’s list. But for Les Paul himself, it remained a go-to instrument until his passing. Along with a pair of his long-favoured low-impedance stacked humbucker pickups, it boasts a version of his trade-secret custom electronics – the details of which remained a troubling mystery to Gibson until the late 60s when, thinking he might retire from performing, Les finally revealed all. Subsequently, in 1969, the company introduced two solidbody electric models to the recently resurrected single-cut Les Paul line (in addition to the $575 Custom and $425 Deluxe) based largely on Les’s personal collection of professionally customised instruments: the aptly named Les Paul Personal and Les Paul Professional (priced $645…

When Leigh Dovey contacted us last year to see if we were interested in looking at one of his PJD guitars, a Hybrid Woodford, we weren’t sure what to expect. What we got was a very cleanly built double-cutaway guitar with a fairly unique acrylic top – a guitar we thoroughly enjoyed. Since then, plenty has happened. UK dealer Guitar Galleries has taken on sales and distribution of the fledgling PJD range, and Leigh and his single assistant are busy. Very busy. The trim range, which includes that Woodford and a very in-fashion St John offset (plus a new bass model), centres on the Carey Elite we have here – Leigh’s original design. Opening the very neat fitted SKB case (included in the price) and pulling out the striking blue-finished…

The Furch story starts back in the 70s when Frantisek Furch began making instruments in what was then socialist Czechoslovakia. In those days it was difficult to find good guitars, banjos and so on in the country and anybody setting up a building service was taking a risk as such things had been forbidden under the former communist regime. Imports were prohibitively expensive and so Frantisek – a metalworker by trade and keen musician by night – began to build instruments in his garage and word about their quality soon spread among his colleagues. Fast forward to 1989 and the final collapse of communism in Czechoslovakia and Frantisek, free from the former political restrictions, opens his first factory. By that time his reputation as a first-class guitar builder had grown,…

John Mayer 13 to 18 October London, Dublin, Manchester In his parallel existence as a household-name type of celebrity who is also highly respected in the guitar community for all the right reasons, Mayer’s only living comparison is Clapton. Indeed, he told us himself the dichotomy isn’t lost on him. “When I think about how far I’ve come as a guitar player,” Mayer muses about the celebrity world, “those guys don’t care about that. They don’t know about that stuff – how many people exiting restaurants and taking photographs know the difference between a Mullard 12AX7 and Telefunken 12AX7? How many know Wes Montgomery Four On Six and know what the hell that is? Nobody knows that stuff, only us and others of our ilk… Yeah, you can take my…

This is a piece I would rather not have written. Paying tribute to a long-time friend, a guitar man through and through, and a mate who stayed at the top of his game for 40-plus years. I met Alan Rogan when he was working at the Top Gear guitar shop in Denmark Street in the mid-70s. He had moved to London from his native Gateshead. I was into my third year as a pro – I was a regular visitor to the shop, but Alan could spot an up-and-coming player. Alan loved guitars. He was a decent player but wise enough to realise that his future was not going to be on the stage but the weird and wonderful world of backstage. Al was in a few bands, but went…

As a contrast to last month’s mega-budget film sessions over at British Grove studios, where I took everything but the kitchen sink (because I had a roadie to help), I’ve just returned from recording a couple of tracks for my friend Andrew Small’s album at his rather splendid home studio. And it was here that I thought I’d experiment with minimal gear due to knowing roughly what kind of style I’d be playing (Scofieldesque jazz-funk) and also that it would be a DI recording rather than an amp. Andrew is recording a new album ahead of a couple of shows we’re playing at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in Soho, late October. He’s enjoyed a good deal of success as a drummer and musical director for acts such as Kylie Minogue…

If you’ve ever seen Philip Sayce perform live, you’ll know just how ferociously he attacks the instrument, leaning into giant bends and setting off avalanches of cascading licks during his virtuosic solos. So who better to kick off a series of articles on strings and tone than Sayce – who must surely be one of the world’s most demanding players when it comes to tone, durability and feel? Sayce is best known as a Strat player, so we kick things off by asking what his go-to choice of strings is… “I use D’Addario strings and I pivot between 11s and 10s; 0.011 to 0.054 or 0.010 to 0.054,” he explains.“And really that just depends on how many shows we’re doing, depending on how things feel. If you play five or…

IN MODS WE TRUST Excellent feature on modding in issue 449! Like many of us, I’ve tinkered with every guitar I’ve ever owned to some extent – whether it’s just the pots and pickguard or maybe replacing that bridge humbucker for one with a little extra stink. Recently, I decided to take the plunge with an unloved Squier Standard Strat I’ve had for donkeys’ years – and never really used as much as it deserved. I kept it because there was something about the sound and resonance from the body that hinted it had more to give – even though it was not to my taste in terms of the generic-feeling neck, dull pickups, etc. So, wallet out, toolbox out, here we go. I sanded down the sunburst body, refinished…

4th Labyrinth Better 4th Labyrinth Music Cambridge-based proggy outfit shows great promise Some bands follow styles, others mix up their influences to such an extent that something fresh emerges. Such is the case with 4th Labyrinth. This is their second release, the first strong enough to propel them onto the festival circuit, playing alongside such luminaries as Carl Palmer and Focus. There’s certainly an element of classic progressive rock about the band, the album’s opening track, suitably titled Intro, is a typical drone-laden entrée that wouldn’t sound out of place on a 1970s prog album. But the punky guitar riffs that follow contradict such preconceptions, and so the stylistic rollercoaster ride continues throughout the album. Certainly a band to watch out for. [DM] Standout track: Keep Me From Falling For…

1. Martin’s Fylde mahogany 12-fret Custom is a favourite 2. The Martin 000-18 that Simpson values so much for recording has a warm, clear tone that really sings when used for fingerstyle pieces 3. The Taran ‘Tirga Mhor’ acoustic is one of the most bewitching instruments in Martin’s collection and is built of Australian blackwood and Alpine spruce 4. The extensively restored Washburn 1897 New Model acoustic 5. Martin’s Sobell Mark 3 Simpson model acoustic is built of African blackwood and, somewhat gothically, Transylvanian spruce…

What types of courses do you offer? “We run a one- and two-day repair and maintenance course. We then get onto the building courses, where we offer a five-day, which is our standard 9am to 5pm course. You can do something like a Tele style, Strat style, flat-top, Les Paul flat-top – something simpler. We then move on to the six-day course, which is a longer day of 9am to 7pm. You do something like a Les Paul type with a carve, or a PRS style with a carve, or something more complicated. We then move onto our two-week course, which is the start of more learning about it rather than getting a guitar out of it, if that makes sense? We also do a three-month intensive course for extreme…

“As with the American Original Series, Vintera is a ‘greatest hits of the periods’, so we selected features in a broad-brush way,” explains Fender’s chief engineer, Tim Shaw. “The Classic Player models, for example, didn’t have a unified focus – like the Mexican Standard models, they evolved over time and guitar A didn’t necessarily have anything in common with the specs for guitar B. As with American Professional, American Performer and the Mexican Players [which replaced the Standards], the Vintera models have what’s typically called Line Logic, or this unified focus, but that also means they make sense to the rest of us as well!” Each model’s pickup set shoots for “era-specific magnet, wire and winding spec”, adds Tim.“The pickups were designed and voiced in sets and each pickup is…

PRICE: £849 (inc gigbag) ORIGIN: USA TYPE: Double-cutaway solidbody electric BODY: Alder NECK: Pau ferro,‘Modern C’ profile, bolt-on SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”) NUT: Synthetic bone FINGERBOARD: Pau ferro, white dot markers, 241mm (9.5”) radius FRETS: 21, medium jumbo HARDWARE: 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo with Vintage-Style Stamped Steel Saddles, vintage-style tuners – nickel/chrome plated ELECTRICS: 3x Fender Vintage-Style ’60s Single-Coil Hot Strat, 5-position lever pickup selector switch, Master Volume, Tone 1 (neck/middle pickups), Tone 2 (bridge pickup), S-1 switch adds neck pickup to positions 1 & 2 OPTIONS: Colour only RANGE OPTIONS: Other Strats include ’50s (£749), ’50s Modified (£849), ’60s (£749), ’70s (£769) LEFT-HANDERS: Not currently FINISHES: Burgundy Mist Metallic (as reviewed), Olympic White – gloss polyester (body); satin urethane neck back) gloss to front PROS Classy era-specific build modded with…

FENDER SQUIER J MASCIS JAZZMASTER £519 If you’re tempted by a Jazzmaster, we highly recommend you don’t overlook this hidden gem. Aside from an indecipherable squiggle on the back of the headstock, there’s little to denote this guitar as J Mascis’s current signature model. Nor is it obvious that, despite the ‘Crafted in China’ decal adjacent to the signature, the J Mascis Jazzmaster remains one of the best bangs for your buck in Fender’s entire catalogue. FENDER JIMI HENDRIX STRATOCASTER £799 Jimi Hendrix popularised the Strat beyond measure and created some of the most widely adored electric guitar tones in the history of music. How? Mainly, because he was Jimi Hendrix, of course, but it was also partly down to his distinctive ‘flipped’ Strat specs. With its reverse headstock and…

It’s pricier but you should look at the Guild M-20E as an alternative to the 000-10E. This is the rebooted version of the concert-bodied model, often dubbed the ‘Nick Drake’ guitar; an all-solid mahogany body drives the price up to around £1,500. As for the D-12E, the Chinese-built Yamaha FGX3 featured in issue 450 is a worthy opponent. For £975, you get all-solid mahogany back and sides, a solid Sitka spruce top and Yamaha’s Atmosfeel system that features a blendable under-saddle pickup, internal microphone and contact sensor.…

MARTIN LX1R £459 Described by Martin as a modified 0-14 fret, this ‘little guitar’ is designed for students and those looking for a dependable travel companion. The LX1R features a solid Sitka spruce top combined with rosewood pattern High Pressure Laminate back and sides. HPL is made from wood fibres that have been impregnated with a resin before being pressed and heated. The process is similar to that used in the birth of the Richlite deployed in this guitar’s fingerboard and bridge, and those of our Road Series Martin 000-10E and D-12E. MARTIN 000CJR-10E £659 The JR in the model name is your first clue that this isn’t a regular 000-body Martin. The 000CJR-10E has been whittled down slightly and includes a shorter 609mm (24-inch) scale length. The ‘C’ in…

The Waza Tube Amp Expander’s most obvious competitor is Universal Audio’s OX Amp Top Box (£1,170), which has proved very popular, but is perhaps better suited to studio than live use, with fewer front panel controls and rear panel connection options, only six preset patches and no MIDI. Two Notes’ Torpedo Studio (£1,269) is a seriously powerful solution that’s also most suited to the studio, with digital ins/outs and the ability to run two speaker simulations at the same time and mix them to taste. If you don’t need the digital stuff but still want the absolute best in reactive loads and speaker emulation, Rivera’s RockCrusher Recording (£699) is hard to beat. Designed by amp legend Paul Rivera Sr, the all-analogue RockRec features a special 11-band graphic EQ that can…

ORIGIN: UK TYPE: Phaser pedal FEATURES: True bypass, tap tempo with 8 divide/multiply options, CV (expression pedal) speed and width control, external VCO control of phasing speed and sweep range CONTROLS: Shape, Width, Speed, Blend, Normal/Skewed/Scattered switch, Colour switch, internal Feedback trim-pot, bypass footswitch, Tap/Sync footswitch CONNECTIONS: Standard input, standard output, CV1, CV2, External Tap POWER: 12V power supply, capable of use worldwide, included DIMENSIONS: 187 (w) x 125 (d) x 70mm (h)…

Gibson can’t do anything without the whole guitar community passing comment. Near financial collapse, a raft of ill-advised models and features, new management, QC issues, pricing… on it goes. For some, Gibson-bashing is quite the pastime. So far this year we’ve looked at seven new Les Pauls – three models from the old regime in issue 443 and four from the new current range in issue 448. After I’d caused a bit of a furore in that earlier feature by saying the guitars needed a bit of TLC (a couple of readers felt this was unacceptable on a new guitar), I didn’t touch a thing on any of the Les Pauls for our second four-guitar round-up. Without checking it even worked, I took this Les Paul Classic to a rehearsal…

Any chance you can help me with something? I want to fit a vibrato unit to my Fender Telecaster. I don’t want to rout the body, so a whammy that installs with the minimum of fuss would be smashing. I’m thinking a little something from Bigsby. What are your thoughts? R Challis, via email Yeah, our first thought was Bigsby. That relationship between Fender and Bigsby goes back to the early 50s. They were very close neighbours. A Bigsby works great on a Tele and looks epic, but it’s not the only choice you have. Take a look at what we’ve found… 1. Bigsby B5 True Vibrato Tele Kit c£239 This kit features the Tele-correct B5 with the Fender ‘F’ casting. The replacement bridge plate is an easy…

1. SERIAL NUMBER Six-digit serial number stamped into upper rear of the headstock 2. HEADSTOCK White holly headstock face veneer; mother-of-pearl Gibson logo inlay; black finish (front); transparent Walnut finish (rear) 3. BODY 14 inches wide; two inches deep; single rounded cutaway; three-piece laminate ‘sandwich’ construction (mahogany/ maple strip/mahogany); single-bound top; transparent Walnut finish 4. HARDWARE Individual chrome Schaller tuners; chrome tune-omatic bridge and stop tailpiece; two chrome pickup surrounds with adjustable screws; chrome pickguard bracket 5. PICKUPS & ELECTRICS Two low-impedance stacked humbuckers; three CTS pots (volume, bass and treble); 11-way Decade rotary switch (capacitor array); two-way phase switch slider; three-way tone selector switch; three-way pickup selector switch; side-mounted jack; high-/low-impedance transformer/ switch (non-factory mod) 6. PLASTICS Four black metal cap knobs labelled 0 to 10 (volume, Decade, bass…

Difficulty 10 minutes Tutor Phil Hilborne | Gear used: 1963 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster into a six-watt Cornford Harlequin MK1 combo, mic’d with a Sennheiser E906. Effects: vintage Japanese Boss SD-1 for the solo; reverb and light compression added in the mix via Logic WHEN JIMI HENDRIX was asked what it was like being the world’s greatest guitarist, he (apocryphally) answered: “I don’t know, go ask Rory Gallagher.” Needless to say, Rory was a groundbreaking guitarist. Other famous players who cite him as an influence include Brian May (who bought his first Vox amp after hearing Rory), Slash, Johnny Marr, The Edge, Vivian Campbell and James Dean Bradfield. He began playing when his parents bought him an acoustic guitar at the age of nine and he joined his first professional band,…

DOC WATSON Doc Watson Doc Watson has recorded a wealth of material in this style, including many greatest-hits-style compilations, but his self-titled debut is a great place to start – and as soon as Nashville Blues starts playing, you’ll know we’re in good hands. Born About Six Thousand Years Ago is another good example of what we’re looking at here, plus Doc’s Guitar, which should keep most of us busy for quite some time to come… MOLLY TUTTLE When You’re Ready Molly is an astonishing cross-picker, as well as a singer-songwriter. Though the record producers often seem to home in on the latter rather than the former, there is some great acoustic playing to be heard here on tracks such as Take The Journey, The High Road and Sit Back…

Electrics Duesenberg Alliance Series Joe Walsh, black/gold, 2017, unused, Duesenberg case, strap and documents. £1,995. Contact Alan on 07975 775449 or email alanbryan@ymail.com Gibson Flying V, 1995 RCA Victor version of Jimi’s custom, black, one of 25. £2,750. Contact 07773 276815. Cumbria Gibson Les Paul Classic Gold Top Ser # 060624 original, in mint condition but has crazing with Gibson hard case, bereavement sale. £1,800 ono. Contact Joe on 01643 702313. Minehead Gibson 1976 LP Special single-cut ‘55’, Limited Edition, dark sunburst, P-90s, wrapover bridge, in Protector case. £2,250. Contact 07773 276815. Cumbria Gibson SG LP Standard, 1962, remnants of PAT number decals, new case, fitted retro Klusons. Offers around £8,000. Contact 07773 276815. Cumbria Gibson USA Les Paul Junior 2018. Vintage Sunburst with ohsc and all case candy. £800…

NAME: PJD Guitars CONTACT: Guitar Galleries 01723 370613 WEB: www.pjdguitars.com FOUNDER: Leigh Dovey LOCATION: York, UK STATUS: Founded in 2010; fully professional from 2017 EMPLOYEES: One FIRST GUITAR SHIPPED: 2010 CURRENT OUTPUT: Approx. eight per month STYLE: Bolt-on electrics CAD/CNC: Yes PICKUPS/HARDWARE: Bare Knuckle, Gotoh FINISHING: Out-sourced, currently in York. Originally thin poly; thin nitro from mid-2019 REPAIRS: No CUSTOM ORDERS: No, only options on actual models DEPOSIT/BUILD TIME: N/A; see Dealers WAITING LIST: N/A DEALERS: PJD guitars are exclusively available via Guitar Galleries www.guitar-galleries.co.uk PRICE RANGE: From approx. £1,750…

PRICE: £1,100 ORIGIN: Czech Republic TYPE: Grand auditorium cutaway electro-acoustic TOP: AA Grade western red cedar BACK/SIDES: AA Grade African mahogany MAX RIM DEPTH: 114mm (4.48”) MAX BODY WIDTH: 398mm (15.7”) NECK: African mahogany SCALE LENGTH: 650mm (25.5”) TUNERS: Furch chrome NUT/WIDTH: Tusq/45mm FINGERBOARD: Ebony FRETS: 20 BRIDGE/SPACING: Ebony/55mm ELECTRICS:LR Baggs Stagepro Element WEIGHT (kg/lb): 1.81/4 OPTIONS: Pickup options include LR Baggs EAS VTC (€208), Stagepro Element (€208), Anthem (soundhole mounted €397), plus Stagepro Anthem (€397). All models available in: dreadnought, dreadnought cutaway, grand auditorium, grand auditorium cutaway, OM, OM cutaway. Gigbag €76; Hiscox case €254 RANGE OPTIONS: The Blue range includes SA(spruce/zebrawood) €1,131; SW (spruce/walnut) €1,181, Blue Plus CM (cedar/mahogany) €1,128, Blue Plus SA (spruce zebrawood) €1,288, Blue Plus SW (spruce/walnut) €1,338 LEFT-HANDERS: Yes FINISH: Open-pore PROS A nice…

Starry Signature Models £Various Guitars associated with legendary players have always been a banker for the big guitar brands, but 2019 has seen Fender and Gibson get thoroughly star-struck, with a glut of big-name replica instruments hitting the market – many commanding a premium higher than a Woodstock acid casualty. Here’s our pick of the most notable ‘Sleb signature models to roll out the red carpet for this autumn. JARGON CRUNCHING NOS: Stands for New Old Stock, which denotes – in the context of Fender’s Custom Shop – the most pristine, lightly aged vintage finish option they offer, to wit: “An all-lacquer finish that looks as if it hasn’t aged at all – as if you went back in time and bought it new.” Fender Eric Clapton Crossroads Blind…

As this column is largely about gear, and the many vagaries surrounding it, I thought I’d discuss that age-old problem of ‘Do I really need another guitar?’ More specifically, ‘Do I really need another one of those guitars?’ I know many Guitarist readers are avid collectors and giggers who own a plethora of instruments (and many others that think it’s all but obscene), but when I ordered my red Strat from the Custom Shop it was everything I could have expected. The Strat I had at the time was what I refer to as a ‘Buddy Holly’ – that is, Two-Tone Sunburst, ash body, maple neck, and so on. I loved that guitar (it had Abigail Ybarra hand-wound pickups), but felt I couldn’t justify two, so it went. I regretted…

GIVE TRI-SONICS A TRY I’ve never been a fan of a three-pickup Telecaster, as I always felt there was something jarring about how they looked. But then I made one – or at least a guitar inspired by one… This guitar has been in my head for many years and is now a reality. Looks are subjective, of course, but I happen to think this T-style guitar is beautiful. It also plays wonderfully and has a massive range of tonal options – you can see what I did there with the pickups and controls! The guitar has a mahogany body with a maple cap, which I stained using pen ink. The neck is roasted maple with an ebony fretboard, and both body and neck were custom-made by usacustomguitars.com.It has Gotoh…

What was your first gig and how did it go? “My first gig was as a little boy: I played guitar at a fire station grand opening and they couldn’t have been more disinterested. So it started me on that path of not getting too uptight if people ignored me. The first paid gig I did I was 15 and I was asked to play at this pub and played all night long for four, five hours, four or five sets, and at the end of the night the lady said she wasn’t going to pay us. So the first gig I ever did I got stiffed.” Describe your current rig… “I’ve been using amplifiers made by Phil Bradbury called Little Walters. I have two heads – one’s a 50-watt…

The roots of Americana extend to some unexpected places. We’re somewhere in the Mediterranean, reporting on the Keeping The Blues Alive cruise for Guitarist. Sisters Megan and Rebecca Lovell, better known as Larkin Poe, are one of the stellar acts aboard and they’re gamely posing for photos as the sea breeze gusts so hard over the rail that it nearly knocks our photographer’s light stand over. Still, Larkin Poe are something of a breath of fresh air themselves. Their sound is as raw as gasoline but tempered by dulcet vocal harmonies and a sure melodic instinct. As sisters inspired by bluegrass and country-blues guitar, they follow in the grand American tradition of pioneers such as Maybelle and Sara Carter – though theirs is a decidedly heavier sound, as well it…

Jakko Jakszyk joined King Crimson back in 2013, but spiritually he’s been with the band far longer. At one time he even formed a tribute outfit with some Crimson alumni – The 21st Century Schizoid Band – to play the band’s music, little thinking that one day he’d get the invitation from Fripp to join Crim’s division one. “I was about 11, I think, when my next-door neighbour played me …Schizoid Man,” Jakko says. “It completely blew me away. He’d been playing me music from the 60s, which I liked, and then this came out of nowhere.” Many fans of the band remember where they were when they heard the opening riff to 21st Century Schizoid Man followed by Robert Fripp’s aggressive fuzz chords and Greg Lake’s distorted vocals. It…

PRICE: £899 (inc gigbag) ORIGIN: USA TYPE: Double-cutaway offset solidbody electric BODY: Alder NECK: Pau ferro,‘Modern C’ profile, bolt-on SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”) NUT: Synthetic bone FINGERBOARD: Pau ferro, white dot markers, 241mm (9.5”) radius FRETS: 21, medium jumbo HARDWARE: 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo with Vintage-Style Stamped Steel Saddles, vintage-style tuners – nickel/chrome plated ELECTRICS: 2x Fender Vintage-Style ’60s Single-Coil Hot; Lead circuit: 3-position lever pickup selector switch, master volume Master Tone, 2-position rhythm/ lead switch; Rhythm Circuit: Thumbwheel controls for neck pickup Volume and Tone OPTIONS: Colour only RANGE OPTIONS: The only other Jazzmaster is the ’60s (£799) LEFT-HANDERS: Not currently FINISHES: 3-Colour Sunburst (as reviewed), Surf Green – gloss polyester (body); satin urethane neck back) gloss to front PROS A tidy era-specific build with modded bridge and vibrato placement,…

PRICE: £815 (inc soft case) ORIGIN: Mexico TYPE: 000-size electro-acoustic TOP: Solid sapele with satin finish BACK/SIDES: Solid sapele, satin finish MAX RIM DEPTH: 102mm (4”) MAX BODY WIDTH: 385mm (15.1”) NECK: Select hardwood with satin finish, Performing Artist profile SCALE LENGTH: 632mm (24.9”) TUNERS: Chrome Enclosed Gear with kidney buttons NUT/WIDTH: White Corian/44.45mm FINGERBOARD: Richlite, High-Performance Taper w/‘Mother-of-Pearl Pattern’dot inlays, 406mm (16”) radius FRETS: 20 medium BRIDGE/SPACING: Richlite ‘Modern Belly’ shape with compensated White Tusq saddle/54mm WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.08/4.10 PICKUP/PREAMP: Fishman Sonicore pickup, Fishman MX-T preamp with soundhole-mounted tuner, phase switch and volume and tone controls RANGE OPTIONS: All feature solid Sitka spruce tops and Fishman Sonicore pickups/MX-T preamps: 000-12E koa ‘fine veneer’ back/ sides (£1,395); 000-13E siris back/ sides (£1,225); GPC-11E sapele back/ sides and cutaway (£1,060); GPC-13E…

BOSS WAZA TUBE AMP EXPANDER £1,143 CONTACT Roland Corporation WEB www.boss.info/uk The humble load box has come a long way over the years. Back in the early days of rock ’n’ roll, there was never a need for one. Early amplifiers were mostly low-powered anyway, and PA was practically non-existent, so the impetus was to increase backline volume rather than tame it. As the 1970s faded into the 80s, PA systems became more sophisticated and way more powerful. Filling a stage backline with rows of 4x12s and 100-watt heads still looked impressive, but not for the FOH engineer trying to balance levels for the audience, much to the annoyance of guitar players who wanted to turn their valve amps up to make them sound good. Today, many modern professional concert…

PRICE: £1,143 ORIGIN: Malaysia TYPE: Multi-function reactive load box/cabinet emulator FEATURES: Variable impedance amp input, built-in 100W amp, series/ parallel effects loop, mono (fixed level) and stereo balanced line-outs, built-in digital effects (comp/delay/EQ/reverb), remote amp control, MIDI, USB editing and audio CONTROLS: Presence and resonance impedance matching, speaker out, rig write/recall, reverb level, loop/effects/EQ/amp control select, line-out level, phones level CONNECTIONS: Amp in, speaker out x2, headphones out, mono line-out XLR, stereo line-outs XLR, effects loop send/return, USB B, MIDI in, out/thru, footswitch and GA-FC controller jacks, amp control jack POWER: AC mains DIMENSIONS: 80 (w) x 296 (d) x 110mm (h) WEIGHT (kg/lb): 7/3.2 PROS Good basic set of audio interface features; dedicated guitar input and reamping output; facility to connect external control pedals/ switches; two line-outputs to send…

VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra As we saw last issue in our review of its Delta-Trem, Effectrode is a British company specialising in pedals that use valve technology. The company has also recently revamped its Phaseomatic Deluxe, which was originally released in 2009. The most notable update to this latest incarnation of the photo-optical phaser is the addition of a fourth knob labelled Shape to adjust waveform shape – selected from three toggle-switched banks of 16 – that joins the Width, Speed and Blend trio from the original unit. From that toggle switch, you get the Normal symmetrical linear sweep waveforms, a selection of Skewed lopsided waveforms, plus the Scattered bank’s set of harder transition, stepped and pulse waveforms. Those waveforms contribute to a really wide range of phaser flavours, but the…

Japanese pedal company Free The Tone will probably be most familiar to readers of this magazine for its large complex pedals such as the Flight Time delay, Tri Avatar chorus and Ambi Space reverb. The String Slinger, however, is quite different. This relatively compact three-knob overdrive pedal came about when Free The Tone celebrated its 15th anniversary by starting the new Integrated series, initially consisting of two overdrive pedals – one, the Fire Mist, to recall the British rock sound typified by a Marshall ‘Plexi’ amp, and the other, the String Slinger, representing the ‘American Blues’ sound typically delivered by a Fender amp from the ‘Blackface’ period. Build quality is never skimped on by FTT and this pedal weighs at least twice as much as any comparably sized overdrive we’ve…

THE BACKGROUND MARIO CAFARO New Hampshire, via email I’ve recently put together a ‘modulation’ pedalboard, which contains a POG2, delays, phasers, chorus, trem and reverb. It goes to the input of my amps and is controlled by a switcher. I’m now working on my ‘noise’ ’board for fuzz, compressors, drives, etc. The guitar will connect to this ’board unless I plug in the wah ’board. The ’board will also be controlled by a switcher and will include analogue OD or boost pedals based on specific amps. I use SansAmp Liverpool and Leeds, EarthQuaker Acapulco Gold, Boss [Fender] ’59 Bassman and Wampler Euphoria. My goal is to use these pedals as a sort of preamp. Where should I place the pedals that mimic the amps? I tried at the end…

CALL OF THE WIDE I’m a longtime subscriber of Guitarist, but a first-time emailer to the magazine. My gigs involve backing traditional Irish music (mostly strumming) and fingerstyle accompaniment of singers, but I’m hitting a crisis point with something. I’m looking for a steel-string acoustic, which needs good bass and midrange for the genre. I have a Martin D-18, but I really struggle with the size and depth of the body. I’m much more comfortable on my standard nylon-string. What I’m looking for is something that can be of some use acoustically, sounds great plugged in, with a small body but not a travel size. I find the nut width and fretboard width too narrow on my D-18, while the nylon-string is a little too wide. I live in a…

I’m seeking a great 60s style fuzzbox. I want to go down the boutique root because, well, that’s what I always do. What should I be looking for? I want something that’ll nail the nasty Satisfaction thing but also go a bit warm and synthy when I team it with the neck pickup on my guitar. I want quality, but £300 is the absolute max spend for me. K Miller, via email The first thing is to decide whether you want your box stuffed with germanium or silicon transistors. Germanium is all about early to mid-60s. Keef. Kinks. Early Led Zep. Silicon is more late 60s/early 70s. The latter trannies are harsher-sounding to our ears. A bit more Metal Mickey than Robby The Robot. Your budget opens doors to plenty…

1969 Les Paul Personal and Professional released; Walnut finish; low-impedance output only 1970 Les Paul Personal and Professional first and last catalogue appearance; neck volute standard 1971 Les Paul Recording released; Natural Mahogany finish; knobs in curve; low-/high-impedance switch 1973 Peak production (1,759 guitars shipped); Natural Walnut finish 1974 915 guitars shipped 1975 Natural Mahogany or White finish 1976 Knobs in straight line; pickup selector on upper treble bout; 2x jacks (high-/low-impedance) 1977 362 guitars shipped 1978 Ebony, White, Cherry Sunburst or Walnut finish; 180 guitars shipped; final catalogue appearance 2013 Les Paul Recording II released (limited edition of 600); high-impedance pickups…

Difficulty 20 mins Tutor: Richard Barrett | Gear used: Atkin J45T Acoustic Cross-Picking IF YOU HAVEN’T HEARD the term before, cross-picking uses a ‘flat pick’ (as opposed to a thumb pick) to articulate patterns across the strings, in a way that may initially seem easier to achieve with the thumb and fingers. However, the cross-picking technique gives increased volume and consistency, plus the ability to switch instantly to strummed patterns. It’s a technique that became widely known in the 1950s, thanks to players such as Doc Watson and George Shuffler – though classical mandolin players had arguably pioneered it decades beforehand. This piece is designed to give an overview of the cross-picking style, using a mixture of down and upstrokes of the pick – sometimes alternating, but not exclusively so.…

Guide example to formatting your adverts CATEGORY: Electrics ADVERT: Fender Stratocaster, USA Standard, 2001, black, white scratchplate, three Lace Sensor pickups, vgc, never gigged, Fender hard case, £435 ono. Phone Joe on 01234 567890, email joebloggs@youremail.co.uk, Runcorn Send your ads to: guitarist.readerads@futurenet.com PLEASE NOTE: Due to the section’s popularity there can sometimes be a period of around a month before your advert will appear. We are unable to send a notice of receipt for your advert. Guitarist magazine reserves the right to omit or change any reader ads which fail to meet the above guidelines or infringe any company’s registered trademarks, ie Strat copy, Gibson copy, and so on. Please write concisely and double check phone number and e-mail address! You get 21 words max, and they’re all free! FREE…