Innehållsförteckning för October 2020 från Guitarist

Not every player takes a close interest in acoustic guitars and that’s a shame but in some ways it’s understandable. Sitting alone with an acoustic guitar can feel almost intimidating at times. There’s no amp to make you mighty, no pedals to flatter you. It’s just you and the music. Yet that’s exactly why every player should return to acoustic from time to time. Playing acoustic offers a truly direct connection to music that becomes richer and more enjoyable the more you focus on it. If you haven’t picked up an acoustic for a while, another benefit of going unplugged more often is that it will likely reconnect you with the act of music-making for others, as opposed to noodling for your own amusement – as fun as that is.…

PRICE: £2,009 (inc case) ORIGIN: USA TYPE: Single-cutaway solidbody electric BODY: Ash NECK: Slab-sawn maple,‘50 Broadcaster ‘U’ profile, bolt-on SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”) NUT/WIDTH: Bone/41.84mm FINGERBOARD: Maple (neck face), black dot markers, 241mm (9.5”) radius FRETS: 21, vintage tall HARDWARE: 3-saddle vintage-style strings-through-body Tele with brass barrel saddles, vintage-style split post ‘Fender’ logo’d tuners – nickel/chrome plated ELECTRICS: Fender Custom Shop Designed ’50-’51 Blackguard set, 3-position toggle pickup selector switch, individual pickup volume and tone controls WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.57/7.85 OPTIONS: None RANGE OPTIONS: American Original ’50s Telecaster (£1,699) LEFT-HANDERS: Yes, American Original ’50s Telecaster (£1,699) FINISHES: Blackguard Blonde – all gloss nitrocellulose Fender Musical Instruments EMEA 01342 331700 www.fender.com PROS Good vintage-specific build and details but it’s the sound that makes it valid CONS The optional wiring ‘kit’ is cursory;…

George Marios Daffodil Independent Release A rich combo of influences results in a powerful debut George Marios is a Greek-born songwriter and session player, currently carrying out touring guitar duties in cult prog band The Pineapple Thief. With influences as diverse as Sting, Pink Floyd and early Dream Theater, George has produced an album full of surprises and endearing maturity. Tracks such as Waking Up and Your Mind bristle with imagination and musical invention. And then there’s the guitar, which never dominates but enriches every track and acts as the perfect foil to George’s powerful lead vocals. Not strictly a concept album, George tells us, a common theme is “the redemption of self through the courage and power of the human spirit” and it’s dealt with beautifully throughout. We hear…

DIGITAL REVOLUTION As a person of a certain vintage, born just a couple of years before the first Telecaster, I was a confirmed analogue man. I have a possibly excessive number of pedals collected over the years going back to the original Tone Benders. Apart from an ill-fated flirtation with a Line 6 POD some years ago, I have studiously avoided the digital options, until a year ago when I was seduced by online reviews into buying a Boss MS-3. The fact that it offered pretty much the whole range of Boss effects and more, plus the carrot of having three loops to incorporate three or more of your own pedals into the mix, did the trick. After a few weeks of fairly inept experimentation, I perceived that the unit…

From the bandmates scattered into solitary lockdown, to the fans left wondering if they have felt the hot crush of the front row for the final time, these have been hard months for all who thrive on rock ’n’ roll’s fundamental push-and-pull. Larkin Poe have keenly felt the loss of live music. Since 2014’s debut album, Kin, the onstage telepathy between Rebecca and Megan Lovell has been something to behold, the Nashville-residing sisters switching up instruments as they stoke a setlist taking in rock, blues, soul and psychedelia. Thankfully, while the live scene revives, this year’s anthemic Self Made Man album is the closest thing to the shivers of a night out in their company. What’s the backstory to Self Made Man? Megan Lovell (lap steel/backing vocals): “We did a…

Eddie Green has worked in the aerospace industry for many years, contributing to the construction of jet fighters such as the Jaguar, Tornado and Lightning, as well as specialising in stress analysis at English Electric and BAE Systems. But he’s also a keen luthier, at one time working at Fylde Guitars with Roger Bucknall. It’s a rare combination you have to admit. Furthermore, Eddie is also the author of The Mechanics And Construction Of The Acoustic Guitar, so who better to ask for a wholly individual view on the inner workings of the humble acoustic guitar? Whereas acoustic guitarists might spend hours in deep conversation about the effects of the different timbers and methodologies of the world’s guitar builders, as well as the usual talk of strings, nut materials, scale…

How we chose these guitars Every guitar in this guide has been reviewed in Guitaristand has gained a 9/10 rating (or equivalent) or 10/10 rating, achieving either a GuitaristChoice or GuitaristGold Award,or has otherwise been highly commended. That means we feel their build quality, sound, playability and value for money are not in question at their relative price points. Scale length Scale length is important because it has a direct effect on the tension of the strings and therefore how the instrument feels to play: the longer the scale length, the higher the tension of the strings for a given pitch. There can be a tonal effect, too. Common ‘longer’ scale lengths are around 645 to 650mm (25.4 to 25.6 inches): most dreadnoughts and jumbos, for example. Common ‘shorter’ scale…

For fans of the classics of yesteryear, acoustic guitars should simply not have cutaways. Conversely, it’s almost odd when you see a ‘modern’ acoustic, like a Taylor, without one. Sonically, the jury’s out on whether non-cut or cut is better, and when you consider the top itself is doing very little at the point of the cutaway you begin to understand why. So, aside from aesthetics and possibly sound, the obvious reason to go with a cutaway is simply down to how you play. If you’re spending your time below the 10th fret you don’t need it. However, jazzier or more virtuoso and electric-like styles can easily take you up the dusty end and a 14-fret-to-the-body non-cutaway, let alone a 12-fret, might simply be too uncomfortable. Take Martin’s brand-new SC-13E…

FENDER FA-405 £21 Give your dread a fighting chance with this budget gigbag. The rugged 400-denier polyester outer layer takes moderate abuse on the chin, while the 5mm inner padding keeps your guitar scratch-free. TAYLOR WARE 61030 £80 It’s not just Taylor owners who can enjoy its gigbags. This distinctive tan case is made from water resistant 600-denier nylon and it offers reassuring protection inside with high-density closed-cell foam and an inner sponge absorber. MONO M80-AD £168 This brand’s reputation for quality is well earned, and this surprisingly light hybrid shell case is a significant but worthy investment with patented Headlock to stabilise the headstock in the case during transit.…

LR BAGGS ALIGN SERIES SESSION £192 A studio-quality live sound is a footswitch away with the Session pedal, with frequency-specific compression EQ and tone-shaping saturation control to serve up warmth and harmonics. ORANGE ACOUSTIC PRE £649 This stereo preamp/active DI gives two flexible tone-packed channels. Choose between Channel A’s warm valve circuitry and the softer analogue solid state of Channel B; or blend together. PALMER ACOUSTIC POCKET AMP £121 This scores high for flexibility, offering input options for both piezo and mag pickups, 3-band EQ tuned for acoustic instruments and a mode selector that flips your tone from vintage to modern.…

Sustainable woods and eco-friendly practice are rightfully informing our choices, with brands increasingly seeking out sustainable timber sources. Bob Taylor’s work with ebony and koa is just one example but Martin, Yamaha, Fender, Gibson and PRS have nodded towards more sustainable wood supplies. Plenty of smaller makers are choosing less threatened and more unusual woods: Surrey-based Turnstone Guitars is a shining contemporary example, promoting English-grown woods in its ‘E’ series. Other makers are following similar paths but do your homework: ‘alternative’ doesn’t always mean sustainable. Planet-friendly guitar-making is more than wood choice. Some say buying used is the best choice; others encourage us to support local makers. A complex topic that we’ll continue to focus on.…

ERIC CLAPTON Unplugged (1992) The ‘unplugged’ session that started a craze, with everyone ditching their electrics to demonstrate their songs in a new stripped-down arrangement. Glean a few secrets by watching up close. ERIC CLAPTON Me And Mr Johnson (2004) Clapton gets back to his roots here by performing covers of songs by his hero Robert Johnson. This album is full of his acoustic playing, so gets almost as many votes as the aforementioned Unplugged. LED ZEPPELIN Led Zeppelin III (1970) The most acoustic-based of all Led Zep’s albums, this demonstrates almost every aspect of Page’s acoustic style featuring altered tunings, bottleneck and lush strummy 12-strings. NO QUARTER: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded (1994) This 1994 duet with Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant shows Jimmy continuing to pioneer new tunings…

The world of fingerstyle guitar is so vast and verdant that it can sometimes seem overwhelming. So rich is it in various stylistic roots, from Brazilian bossa nova to the traditional folk songs of Britain, that knowing where to start is a problem in itself! So here we aim to arm you with some fingerstyle essentials that can cover a variety of styles. For those new to fingerstyle, it is important to begin with a solid foundation – crisp note production and solid timing. Pattern 1, rolling arpeggios, will serve you well here because it is focused predominantly on playing single notes at a time, while Patterns 2 and 3 – folky fingerstyle and alternating bass – are indicative of the classic playing of great American fingerpickers such as Paul…

With its street price of around £1,500 Gibson’s J-45 Studio is a modern take on the company’s vintage workhorse round-shouldered dreadnought. It offers great value, too. The walnut body and Sitka spruce top means it’s pretty close to the Taylor AD17 in construction, and with a Fishman Sonitone pickup it’s ready for stage action. One of the true all-mahogany classics, Martin’s D-15M (£1,389) features a highly playable ‘low oval’ neck shape, East Indian rosewood fingerboard and vintage-style open-geared tuners. Also boasting Martin’s traditional X bracing, it’s a modern-vintage icon. One of the other great USA marques, Guild brings us the all-mahogany USA-made D-20 (£1,365). It’s a square-shouldered model and comes fitted with LR Baggs’ excellent Element pickup. It also features rosewood fingerboard and bridge, plus bone nut and saddle, and…

Taylor Guitars officially started on 15 October 1974. Bob Taylor and his partners, Kurt Listug and Steve Schemmer, had purchased the store where they worked building guitars – the American Dream – from owner Sam Radding. They found they couldn’t actually use the name at the time because Sam’s brother who ran an American Dream retail outlet objected, so originally the venture ran under the title Westland Music Company. But they still needed a name for the guitars that they planned to make. “I can see the three of us sitting around in the shop,” remembers Bob today, “Kurt, Steve and myself. ‘What are we going to call the guitars?’ It was quite a discussion. See, Kurt and Steve grew up across the street from each other and they were…

PRICE: £799 ORIGIN: Korea TYPE: Single-cutaway semi-hollow electric BODY: Composite top and back over solid-wood frame NECK: Maple, C profile, bolt-on SCALE LENGTH: 635 mm (25”) NUT/WIDTH: Bone/42mm FINGERBOARD: Pau ferro, small white dot inlays, 356mm (14”) radius FRETS: 21, medium HARDWARE: Hardtail U3 bridge with adjustable saddles, 3-on-a-plate Gotoh Deluxe tuners (aged) STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 54mm ELECTRICS: Twin Alnico 6 Vintage 50s single-coil lipstick pickups, 3-way toggle, stacked volume/tone for each pickup WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.7/5.94 OPTIONS: None RANGE OPTIONS: The only other single-cut Dano is the ’56 Baritone (£629) LEFT-HANDERS: Not this model but lefty versions of the ’59M NOS+ (‘Page’ model), Vintage 12 String and Baritone are available FINISHES: Limo Black (as reviewed), Jade Green – both with cream coloured vinyl sides PROS Like the ’59 Divine, this…

What was the first serious guitar that you bought with your own money? “My own money? I have to say that it was kind of a loan. My grandmother took me to 8th Street Music in Philadelphia in 1968 and so I was 17. I’d been playing a little while and I had a bunch of cheap, really crappy electric guitars that were terrible and that year an album called Super Session cameoutandMikeBloomfieldwas playing a Les Paul, so I decided that’s what I had to have. “My grandmother loaned me $200 – I think I had maybe $100 saved up and so she covered the rest and I paid her back when I worked after school – and we got one of the 1968 reissue Goldtops with the P-90s in…

Q I have owned many guitars over the years. I must have bought and sold close to 100 guitars in my search for the ‘perfect’ one. Anyway, one of the guitars I had on my journey was a Japanese Fender Francis Rossi signature Telecaster. I didn’t have it very long because in those days I only ever had one guitar at a time rather than the small collection I have now. This particular guitar was fitted with a G&L bridge and played very well. I think I sold it for roughly what I paid for it, about £600. After I sold it, I heard there were only a limited number of these ever made. Some report 200 but I have also heard 500. Over the years, I have seen them…

Gibson Trini Lopez Standard In August this year, Mexican-American guitar legend Trini Lopez – the man once hailed by Gibson as “probably the most exciting young star in the music business” – sadly passed away at the age of 83 after contracting COVID-19. Born Trinidad Lopez III and hailing from Texas, Trini formed his first band as a teenager and began his recording career in his early 20s. Having eventually scored a residency at PJ’s nightclub in Los Angeles, he was promptly scouted by Frank Sinatra for his new label, Reprise Records. The Top 10 debut live album Trini Lopez At PJ’s soon followed in ’63, spawning a smash hit single, If I Had a Hammer, and with Trini pictured on the LP cover cradling his beloved Gibson Barney Kessel…

1. SERIAL NUMBER Six-digit serial number impressed into rear of headstock 2. HEADSTOCK Asymmetrical ‘non-reverse’ Firebird style; unbound; no headstock motif; black finish; gold Gibson logo decal 3. BODY ES-335-style double-cutaway thinline; arched top and back; laminated maple top, back and sides; solid-maple centre block; 16 inches wide; 1¾ inches deep; two single-bound diamond-shaped soundholes; single-bound top and back; Sparkling Burgundy finish 4. PICKUPS & ELECTRICS Dual T-top humbuckers; individual volume and tone pots; three-way pickup selector switch; front-mounted jack 5. HARDWARE Six-in-a-row Kluson Deluxe tuners with metal buttons; chrome-plated: pickup covers, Tune-o-matic bridge; stop tailpiece (standard specs include trapeze tailpiece with raised diamond and rosewood/ plastic nameplate shield reading ‘Trini Lopez Model’) 6. PLASTICS Five-ply (b/w/b/w/b) raised pickguard with bevelled edge; black pickup surrounds; black ‘bell’ truss-rod cover 7.…

Difficulty 10 mins per example Tutor: Robbie Calvo | Gear used: Yamaha Revstar 720B, Line 6 Helix Solo Strategies THIS ISSUE we’re welcoming a new contributor, Robbie Calvo. Now based in Hawaii, the London native is a long-time Nashville session player, having spent two decades recording, teaching and performing in the States. Robbie is an alumnus of the Guitar Institute (GIT) in Hollywood, a Yamaha Guitars and Line 6 artist, Yamaha Guitars trade-show clinician and vlog contributor. He also has a host of instructional DVDs to his name, and he’s ready to impart some lead skills here in Trading Licks. Over to you, Robbie… Did you know that the five-note minor pentatonic scale contains all four chord tones of an A minor 7th chord plus an additional 4th? This means…

COMING UP THROUGH SKIFFLE, BLUES, ROCK ’N’ ROLL, FOLK, then a fairly well-known rock band that encompassed all of this and more, Jimmy Page has never been afraid to take radically different approaches to both his playing and composition. However, he always manages to put his stamp on everything he does. I’ve transcribed a lot of Jimmy’s playing over the years, and it’s always a challenge to reduce it to strokes of the pen on manuscript paper. His phrasing, timing and pitching is uniquely expressive, and often falls ‘between the cracks’ of standard musical notation. Usually, I tend to rationalise/quantise the timing but include instructions to lay back or push forward against the beat. Capturing every nuance would be virtually impossible to write or read, and I believe would take…

Welcome, Maestro This issue sees the debut technique column from guitar whizz Robbie Calvo, whose aim is to buff your playing to a shine Dream Come True Taylor’s American Dream series of acoustics brings the Californian maker’s coveted US acoustics within reach of the average player Walter Trout He’s survived everything from addiction to liver failure and is still belting out top-notch blues. We join Walter Trout to talk about guitars he’s loved…

Fender Limited Edition Vintera Road Worn Guitars £1,099 CONTACT Fender EAS PHONE 0845 305 1122 WEB www.fender.com If there’s one thing that looks cooler than a pristine Fender Strat or Tele, it’s one that looks like it’s been through the years. To that end, Fender has announced some beautifully beat-up Road Worn examples of four of its popular Vintera guitars. You get the choice of a ’50s Stratocaster and Telecaster, a ’60s Stratocaster and the perennially ‘Marmite’ ’70s Telecaster Deluxe. These guitars are designated as limited editions – so don’t hang about otherwise you’ll be the one beating yourself up... VINTERA ROAD WORN ’50S STRATOCASTER £1,099 In case the photo hasn’t already sealed the deal, Fender has baited the ’50s Stratocaster hook with terms such as “maximum authenticity” and “bell-like…

FAREWELL CHRIS ECCLESHALL Guitarist was saddened to hear of the passing of luthier Chris Eccleshall on 13 August, aged 72. One of the UK’s finest guitar builders and repairers, he made custom-built electric and acoustic guitars and was also an authorised repairer of Martin, Gibson and Guild instruments. Eccleshall also made reproductions of Selmer-Maccaferri jazz guitars and had received the blessing of Mario Maccaferri himself. Over the years Eccleshall’s customers included Rory Gallagher (he was Rory’s long-time tech between 1971 and 1985), David Bowie, Pete Townshend and Eric Clapton. RIP PETE WAY UFO co-founder and bassist Pete Way passed away on 14 August, aged 69, after sustaining serious injuries in an accident at home two months before. Following his first departure from UFO in 1982, Way also formed Fastway with…

Thankfully, this month has seen the (tentative) return of studio sessions in the larger studios. Predictably, after five months of working mostly online, the first two sessions I had come in – both at Abbey Road, at Studios 1 and 2 respectively – were for the same day and the same time. The first was for a small corporation you may have heard of called Disney, and the second session was backing tracks for Britain’s Got Talent, which I’ve been involved with to one degree or another for the past few years. “How they thought getting a 90-piece symphony orchestra to use the bathroom in a 15-minute break would work still remains a mystery…” As my first commitment was with Disney, I unfortunately had to turn down the BGT session,…

The time has come, at long last. Musician friends in my social media feeds this week are announcing their first real outdoor gigs since March, welcome news for us all who have been otherwise confined to our laptops and tablets for live-stream videos and awkward socially distanced music videos. The slow reemergence of the music industry has had me reflecting on my position in it as a guitar maker and the unique challenges facing us musical creatives in these peculiar times. “Just as jobbing musicians spread themselves between session work and gigging, many luthiers do more than building guitars” For the most part, independent guitar making is a pretty resilient business by virtue of the fact that many of us work in relative solitude. Daily life as a guitar maker…

JUNIOR LUTHIER Dear Guitarist, having seen the recent photos you’ve published of lockdown guitar builds, I thought I’d send along the project my little boy Ezra has just completed, with only a little help from his dad. As an inveterate tinkerer with a decent collection of guitars, I’m often performing surgery on the kitchen table. Ezra is fascinated with building things (thanks, Lego!) and is always volunteering to help, including with a partscaster I made earlier this year. Thus, for his seventh birthday, I ordered a Harley Benton guitar kit for him to have a go with. When the kit arrived, I was sufficiently impressed with the supplied neck and body to feel they merited some better quality gubbins, so I raided my parts box for a pair of Kent…

Rebecca: “My absolute favourite acoustic guitar is one that was recently built for me by Paul Beard. He is traditionally a resophonic guitar maker – he makes dobros and slide guitars. But he recently started this Deco series of acoustic guitars [pictured here] and it’s just beautiful. So I’ll definitely give a shout-out to him. I also have a really old Kay acoustic guitar that I bought off eBay, because it was $250 and at the time the price tag was really appealing to me – luckily it’s wound up to be a really cool guitar. The action is so high that I’ve used it more as a slide guitar.” Megan: “On acoustic, I’ve got a little National lap steel that I’ll pick up if I’m just wanting to kinda…

ANDY PO WERS Master luthier and designer for Taylor Guitars www.taylorguitars.com ALIST ER ATKIN Chief craftsman and founder at Atkin Guitars www.atkinguitars.com GEORG E L OWDEN Founder and design head at Lowden Guitars www.lowdenguitars.com CIARAN M cNALLY Master craftsman and luthier at McNally Guitars www.mcnallyguitars.com ALEX BI SHOP Luthier and designer at Alex Bishop Guitars www.alexbishopguitars.com For this section on that much-asked question of where great tone lies in an acoustic guitar, we cast our net far and wide to assemble some of the finest luthiers. The knights of our virtual round-table discussion are Andy Powers, George Lowden, Alex Bishop, Alister Atkin and Ciaran McNally, and the first thing we turned our attention to was the myth that a smaller-bodied instrument offers a lower output in terms of volume than…

SITKA SPRUCE Picea sitchensis Found in North America and Canada, this is the most common wood for tops. It offers a good mix of strength, clarity and dynamic range over a variety of styles and looks. Find it on everything from budget boxes to high-end Martins. GERMAN SPRUCE Picea abies Not to be confused with Engelmann (right), it’s also often called European spruce (as are other European spruces!), and is popular for classical guitars, violins and, increasingly, flat-top steel-strings. Similar to Adirondack, many believe. ENGELMANN SPRUCE Picea engelmannii Native to western America and Canada, this is usually an upgrade from Sitka, albeit ‘different’ rather than ‘better’. It’s lighter and less stiff; it can give a subtly richer sound than Sitka, depending on guitar. ADIRONDACK SPRUCE Picea rubens The King Of…

Going straight through the PA live is all very well, but taking back some control of your sound and expanding your horizons is better. Boss may well have solved problems you didn’t even know you had with its VE-8 Acoustic Singer (£334) unit by putting a lot of features at your feet. For guitar, it offers reverb and chorus effects, plus a useful feature Boss calls Acoustic Resonance – an effect that you dial in for more of a natural ‘acoustic’ sound for your piezo. There’s also a looper with 80 seconds of recording time for you to try out ideas when songwriting or add extra layers live (you can loop guitar and vocals independently). There’s a whole array of vocal features, too; an Enhance effect improves clarity with compression…

Torrefied guitar tops might be something you’ve read about already, and they’re a feature we could be hearing a lot more about in the coming years. Torrefaction is a process used by brands including Gibson, Martin, Takamine and Taylor, among others, and involves heating acoustic guitar tops at high temperatures, then super-drying them (some also bake the bracing) in controlled conditions to accelerate the ageing process. Torrefaction is the latest method designed to make instruments sound older, more mature… more vintage. The process essentially cooks the wood in a controlled way to remove the oils and resins on ‘new’ wood that would gradually disappear over years. Young tonewood tends to have more of a harder edge to its sound, but after years it can be enhanced with warmer vintage character…

FENDER ACOUSTASONIC 40 £209 Fender markets the 40 as a simple ‘grab and go’ solution, but the spec sheet belies the competitive price tag. From the onboard reverb to the whizzer cone that works alongside the six-inch speaker for better high-frequency response, this combo is punching above its weight. LANEY A-DUO £299 Laney’s latest value-packed combo is a 60-watter designed to be sat on, and its main controls are arranged at the side with this in mind. As well as a host of input and output features, the four EQ preset switches are useful. AER COMPACT 60 4 £890 Don’t be fooled by the squat appearance: this German-engineered twin-channel slugger has the tools to satisfy any road warrior.There’s a useful multi-band EQ on each channel for dedicated tone-shaping, plus delay,…

PRICE: £1,715 (inc soft case) ORIGIN: USA TYPE: 14-fret Grand Pacific acoustic TOP: Solid spruce with revealed edges and V-Class bracing BACK/SIDES: Solid ovangkol MAX RIM DEPTH: 117.5mm MAX BODY WIDTH: 406.4mm NECK: Mahogany SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”) TUNERS: Schaller style, individual sealed NUT/WIDTH: Black Tusq, 45.4mm FINGERBOARD: Eucalyptus, unbound, with 4mm acrylic dot inlays FRETS: 20, medium BRIDGE/SPACING: Eucalyptus with compensated Micarta saddle/56mm ELECTRICS: None WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2/4.4 OPTIONS: Electro version available, the AD17e Blacktop (£1,919) RANGE OPTIONS: The American Dream AD17 (£1,619), with electro system (£1,835), has the same spec as the AD17 Blacktop but with natural satin finish top. Also see AD27 (as reviewed) LEFT-HANDERS: No FINISHES: Clear satin unbuffed with Blacktop Taylor Guitars 00800 23750011 www.taylorguitars.com PROS A fabulous, head-turning instrument that plays and sounds great…

DANELECTRO ’57 GUITAR & ’59 DIVINE £799 & £899 CONTACT JHS PHONE 01132 865381 WEB www.danelectro.com What You Need To Know 1 Are Danos still made from plywood and hardboard? Back in the 50s, Danelectro pioneered a very different construction using a wood frame (poplar and/or pine) topped front and back with Masonite, better known in the UK as hardboard. These new models use a “semi-hollow body with centre block…[with] a composite/solid wood construction”. 2 These don’t seem particularly cheap, do they? Agreed. Since owners the Evets Corporation started making reissues of the originals back in 1998, prices have slowly crept up. The guitars are made in Korea, not China, and with the exception of the tuners use virtually zero ‘off the shelf’ parts. Our models also feature upgraded Vintage…

Nat was all about making high-quality amps and guitars at prices beginners could afford History might have consigned Danelectro to the cheap and cheerful basket but Nathaniel Daniel shone very brightly back in the forward-looking America of the 1950s and 60s. He’d begun making amps in the bedroom of his parents’ New York apartment before moving to a loft in Lower Manhatten, becoming Daniel Electrical Laboratories. His first big customer was Epiphone. Post-WWII he reopened his business in Red Bank, New Jersey, as the Danelectro Corporation, soon picking up large contracts with the two major retail chains Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward to supply amps under the respective names of Silvertone and Airline. He moved into the guitar business in 1954 (making both Danelectro and certain Silvertone models) and relocated…

PRICE: £899 ORIGIN: Korea TYPE: Double-cutaway semi-hollow electric BODY: Composite top and back over solid-wood frame NECK: Maple, C profile bolt-on SCALE LENGTH: 635 mm (25”) NUT/WIDTH: Bone/42.69mm FINGERBOARD: Pau ferro, small white dot inlays, 356mm (14”) radius FRETS: 21, medium HARDWARE: Hardtail U3 bridge with adjustable saddles, 3-on-a-plate Gotoh Deluxe tuners. STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 54mm ELECTRICS: Twin Alnico 6 Vintage 50s single coil lipstick pickups, 3-way toggle, stacked volume/tone with pointer knobs for each pickup WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.7/5.94 OPTIONS: None RANGE OPTIONS: Shorthorn designs include the ‘modded’ ’59M NOS+ (from £599). The Stock ’59 is the closest to original spec double-cut (£489) LEFT-HANDERS: See ’57 Guitar FINISHES: Fresh Cream (as reviewed) Dark Walnut, Flame Maple – all with cream coloured sides PROS Smartly made version of the original Deluxe…

THE BACKGROUND GERRARD JAMESON, via email I have come back to the guitar after a 10-year hiatus but I’m struggling to find inspiration in my guitar sound. I love guitar music from the 80s so, in theory, I should have some big refrigerator-sized rack units made for me (which is not so practical). Anyway, why is there such a wide price range in pedals? If I were to build a ’board of 10 pedals, would I notice the difference between the two extremes for my home setup? And can I achieve those effects-laden 80s tones? THE QUESTIONS 1 WHY DO SOME PEDALS COST £20 AND OTHERS COST £750 AND UP? 2 IN A 10-PEDAL ’BOARD WOULD I NOTICE A DIFFERENCE IN THE PRICES? 3 CAN YOU ACHIEVE 80S TONES…

Gibson’s dreadnought designs have been a mainstay of the flat-top world ever since its debut, the Jumbo, was released in 1934. The concept was developed in 1916 when Martin made the mahogany-bodied ‘Extra Grand’-sized 111 and 222 models for music retailers Ditson, while the Dreadnought name was introduced to the Martin line in 1931 with the mahogany D-1 and rosewood D-2 (later renamed the D-18 and D-28). Taking inspiration from the name of a battleship, Martin applied the Dreadnought/‘D’ designation to its 155/8-inch wide, square-shouldered 12-fret-neck flat-tops, and when 14-fret necks became standard in 1934 the Dreadnought design finally settled into what many consider to be the archetypal all-American acoustic guitar. Indeed, the Dreadnought’s popularity was so widespread that the brand name eventually became a generic reference for similar-shaped flat-tops…

1958 ES-335 released Late 1964 First production models; 111/16” nut; nickel-plated hardware; Cherry finish 1965 T-top humbuckers; nut width decreases; chrome-plated hardware; c. 320 shipped 1966 Sparkling Burgundy and Cherry finishes; c. 485 shipped 1967 ‘Bonnet’ knobs change to ‘witch hat’ knobs; c. 785 shipped 1968 c. 240 shipped 1969 c. 110 shipped 1970 Discontinued; c. 25 shipped 2009 Custom Shop reissue; limited run; trapeze or stop tailpiece; Antique Faded Red finish 2019 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Reissue (Artist Collection)…

Difficulty 10 mins per example Tutor: Richard Barrett | Gear used: Knaggs SSC, Vox AC15 C1 Example 1 THIS FIRST EXAMPLE begins with a no-holds-barred Chuck Berry-type repeated phrase. Though the transcription shows six identical repeats, don’t take this too literally. If you play this in a spirited enough fashion, small irregularities are bound to creep in and this brings us closer to challenging 1968 to ’70 Jimmy Page more closely than earnestly playing through perfectly. In bar 3, we shift a down three frets to change to E major pentatonic while playing the same scale pattern – this is also classic early Page. Example 2 THERE ARE ESSENTIALLY THREE COMPONENTS to this idea, all of which have been heavily favoured by the man himself. Firstly, the chromatic runs mix…

LED ZEPPELIN Led Zeppelin Jimmy is on fine form as an already experienced session guitarist now given free rein in the recording studio. Much of the Led Zep sound is already fully formed with Jimmy’s solos on Good Times Bad Times, Communication Breakdown and I Can’t Quit You Baby. Worthy of an honourable mention here is his wonderfully varied and dynamic acoustic playing on Babe I’m Gonna Leave You, which gives an early demonstration of Jimmy’s concept of ‘light and shade’. LED ZEPPELIN Led Zeppelin IV Considered Zeppelin’s defining album by many, Jimmy’s playing has certainly lost none of its fire, though the intervening years of heavy touring and the recording of two further albums have given him the confidence to develop his unique phrasing, rather than going all out…

While we were enjoying the sunshine and positive vibe of this year’s NAMM Show in California back in January, there were a few corks being popped on the Fender stand. 2020 marks the 70th anniversary of the year this game began, when Leo Fender and his small team first started making what was to become the Telecaster – a virtual stone’s throw away from the vast Anaheim Convention Center in Orange County. You’ll know the story. Technically, the single-pickup Esquire was the first Fender electric Spanish guitar, initially displayed at a Chicago trade show in July 1950. And although dual-pickup versions are documented, it was the dual-pickup Broadcaster that was the first electric Spanish guitar built in any quantity – hence its claim to being the first production solidbody electric…

My last live gig was on Saturday 16 March 2020. At that point, we had anywhere from three to six shows a month in the calendar, plus a 30-date autumn tour fully scheduled. But after the government announced lockdown a mere week after that last outing, one by one, week by week the other dates got pulled. I say ‘pulled’ but, in fact, they’ve all been rescheduled for 2021. If you regularly gig, you will relate to that horrible situation, especially when, as with some of the guys in our band, the playing represents a significant proportion of your income. Weirdly, though, one of our shows stayed on the gig sheet. It was for early October and we all thought it was simply an oversight. An aberration. Yet there it…

Improvisation and composition have always been about working with harmony – and that’s where we’re headed this month. Diminished chords are not commonplace but they feature in many jazz, pop and rock songs, as well as neo-classical! Half-diminished sounds a little more mysterious at first so some relate more with its alternative name, minor 7th flat 5th (or m7 b 5). These also feature in many songs but are perhaps most commonly found in jazz standards. First, let’s deal with the intervallic structure of each chord. Half-diminished (m7 b 5) consists of; Root, b 3rd, b 5th and b 7th (see below for examples). A diminished chord follows an identical structure but flattens the 7th by another semitone, giving a ‘double-flat’ 7th, or bb 7. That would make it a…

Reader Paul Kelly wants to see more inexpensive guitars, recording tips and diverse British makers in the mag in coming issues... Hi, just want to throw in a few thoughts about the mag! Quite a few of the last issues have been superb, featuring bands such as Khruangbin, Dweezil Zappa, Cory Wong and even the occasional jazz player. I am on the wrong side of 70 but I have always been into new bands and guitar players who bring something new to the art. I would like to see a feature on Pat Martino and maybe one on Terje Rypdal, who are both awesome guitar players. I would also like to see fewer articles on instruments costing way more than a car, although the exception to that would be Emerald…

For many players, the acoustic guitar can be a bit of an afterthought. It’s ironic that many guitarists for whom only Custom Shop stuff will suffice for their electric needs will content themselves with a single modestly priced acoustic to cover their unplugged music-making. No-one’s suggesting that you have to spend thousands on an acoustic, but take a look at the music that defined rock’s golden era and you’ll find as much great acoustic tone as you will amplified. From Joni and Neil Young to The Beatles, the backbone of their most famous work is acoustic guitar. Same with ostensibly heavier acts such as Led Zeppelin and prog legends such as Pink Floyd. Even if you’ve no aspirations to earning a platinum disc, we’d argue that getting serious about your…

TAYLOR GS MINI from around £550 This serious small-bodied/travel guitar has a big voice and a tidy build with solid top/laminated back and sides construction, 597mm (23.5-inch) scale length, and 42.8mm (1.685-inch) nut width. It comes with a gigbag and optional pickup. YAMAHA SLG200N SILENT GUITAR from £588 This design breaks down into an easy-carry rifle-shaped gigbag and is a perfect practice/travel guitar with a set of headphones. The nylon-string versions have two nut widths (50mm and 52mm) and a 650mm (25.6-inch) scale length. FURCH LJ-10 from £1,000 This all-solid wood (cedar/mahogany) foldable guitar takes the travel concept up a level. It stays in tune after reassembly and comes with a backpack-sized carry bag. Scale length is 614mm (24.2 inches) and nut width is 44.45mm (1.75 inches).…

GAUGE & CORE Acoustic strings are usually thicker than electric strings, which means stiffer string tension. Broadly speaking,‘standard’ acoustic sets are 0.011 to 0.052 (extra light) 0.012 to 0.054 (light) and 0.013 to 0.056 (medium). There are many other variants and hybrid gauge mixes to suit different tastes. The wound strings’ steel core thickness has an effect, too: thicker core/thinner wrap gives you more volume and string tension; a thinner core/thicker wrap the opposite. MATERIALS There are two main types for acoustic wound strings: Phosphor bronze (typically 92 per copper, eight per cent tin) is the modern ‘standard’; a good all-round choice that sounds less bright than bronze when new, and maintains a more consistent tone over the strings’ lifespan than… Bronze (also called ‘brass’, 80 per cent copper, 20…

TC ELECTRONIC BODYREZ £78 This mini pedal-sized ‘acoustic pickup enhancer’ for under-saddle pickups helps to deal with plasticky piezo ‘quack’ with one control for Body; the more you dial in, the more low-end compression you get so it’s a matter of balancing that for your needs. XVIVE MIKE £69 The Mike takes a different approach to enhancement with nine presets that seek to reproduce the room sound of a number of different acoustic model/mic combinations. So it’s a matter of finding the one best suited to your guitar with a bit of careful tweaking. BOSS AD-2 £114 Boss might call this a preamp but there’s no traditional EQ settings in sight: instead you have the Resonance feature found on its VE-8 unit and Acoustic Stage amp with an ambience (reverb)…

Although both primarily known for their electric work – Clapton in the Blues Breakers, Cream, Derek And The Dominos and as a solo artist, and Page primarily in Led Zeppelin and various collaborative forays – these two British icons have also done much for the furtherance of the acoustic guitar as a serious instrument of rock and blues. While their styles are very different, with Page more influenced by the folk scene and world music, and Clapton maintaining his blues roots, both guitarists display great touch on the instrument. I’ve taken some of their best-known approaches and laid them bare in the following pages, so you can pick apart the acoustic styles of these legendary players. Eric Clapton Heavily inspired by the likes of Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters, Eric…

PRICE: £1,619 (inc soft case) ORIGIN: USA TYPE: 14-fret Grand Pacific acoustic TOP: Solid mahogany with V-Class bracing BACK/SIDES: Solid sapele MAX RIM DEPTH: 117.5mm MAX BODY WIDTH: 406.4mm NECK: Mahogany SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”) TUNERS: Schaller style, individual sealed NUT/WIDTH: Black Tusq, 45.4mm FINGERBOARD: Eucalyptus, unbound, with 4mm acrylic dot inlays FRETS: 20, medium BRIDGE/SPACING: Eucalyptus with compensated Micarta saddle/56mm ELECTRICS: No WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2/4.4 OPTIONS: Electro version available, the AD27e (£1,835) RANGE OPTIONS: See AD17 and also AD17 Blacktop (as reviewed) LEFT-HANDERS: No FINISHES: Clear satin with Urban Sienna stain PROS Down home and earthy acoustic that’s brimming with bluesy vibe and, despite austere appointments, looks very cool CONS Reduced bottom- and top-ends means it’s a specialist, not so much of a versatile all-rounder…

Silvertone’s 1303/U2 (£199) is a very affordable take on the Danelectro U-2, though it’s spec’d with a mahogany body and maple top. The quality of the 1423 (£279) we took on Longtermers test back in 2018 really wasn’t bad. Godin’s Radiator (£799) is far from a Dano in looks but thanks to its full-face scratchplate in mother-of-toilet-seat pearloid, it certainly evokes the 50s. Powered by dual Godin Custom humbuckers, it features a wrapover bridge. Eastwood’s range of retro-inspired electrics is a treasure trove of retro designs inspired by the likes of Airline, Mosrite and Wandre. There are even versions of old Yamaha and Ibanez classics. Alongside the Dennis Fanodesigned Rivolta models (from £834) is a repro of Charvel’s Surfcaster (£772) with a pair of Dano-style lipstick pickups.…

Writer ROD BRAKES Guitarist, Writer Armed with a seemingly limitless array of possibilities, can Rod find the sounds he needs to put music to poetry using Empress Effects’“modular synthesizer in pedal form” – the almighty Zoia? Empress Effects’ Zoia has achieved a virtual cult following since its release, with a generous community of users keen to share their patch-building mastery online (patchstorage.com boasts more than 640 downloadable patches at the time of writing). Granted, it’s an unusually high-tech device for a guitar pedal – something between a computer system and a piece of Monome hardware – but that takes it far beyond being just another hip and quirky stompbox. It can also be a virtual pedalboard of effects. It can be an instrument in itself. Or a looper. Or a…