Innehållsförteckning för November 2020 från Guitarist

We’ve all let guitars go that we wished we’d kept – and few sales are more regretted than the bits of gear that we let go when they were out of fashion, which later become regarded as classics. I remember reading an ad in Guitarist’s classified columns in the 90s, offering an original Fender Rhodes electric piano for £50. Even adjusting for inflation (that £50 would now be worth £104, according to the Bank of England) that listing would still be a steal, as good examples of the classic Marks of Fender Rhodes go for about two or three grand these days. I also remember turning my nose up at a Klon Centaur in a London vintage guitar shop where it was on sale for £120 at the time! It…

PRICE: £699 ORIGIN: Indonesia TYPE: Offset double-cutaway solid body electric guitar BODY: Mahogany w/ maple, rosewood, panga panga and purpleheart mosaic top NECK: 3-piece Canadian hard maple, bolt-on SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”) NUT/WIDTH: Floyd Rose locking/42.85mm FINGERBOARD: Ebony, 400mm (15.75”) radius FRETS: 24, jumbo HARDWARE: Black Floyd Rose Special double-locking vibrato, Cort die-cast tuners STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 54mm ELECTRICS: 2x EMG Retro Active Hot 70 humbuckers, 3-way pickup selector lever switch, master volume, master tone, WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.6/7.14 OPTIONS: None RANGE OPTIONS: Cort X300 (£449) has the same spec as X300 LE Mosaic apart from American basswood with flame maple top body in Brown Burst, Grey Burst and Blue Burst finishes LEFT HANDERS: No FINISHES: Mosaic (as reviewed) PROS A classic 80s rock and metal beast with great feel and…

PRICE: £479 ORIGIN: Indonesia TYPE: Double-cutaway, centre-blocked thinline semi BODY: Laminated mahogany top, back and sides with mahogany centre block NECK: Mahogany,‘Modern Thin U’ profile, glued-in SCALE LENGTH: 629mm (24.75”) NUT/WIDTH: Composite/42.85mm FINGERBOARD: Indian rosewood, pearloid dots (5mm), 320mm (12.5”) radius FRETS: 22, narrow tall HARDWARE: Guild tune-o-matic bridge with stud tailpiece, Guild open-back vintage style 18:1 ratio tuners – nickel plated STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 51.5mm ELECTRICS: 2x Guild HB-2 humbuckers, 3-way toggle pickup selector switch, individual pickup volume (with pull-push coil splits) and tone controls WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.15/6.93 OPTIONS: Available with licensed Bigsby vibrato as the DC GVT, £569 RANGE OPTIONS: The double-cut Starfires start with the IV at £1,135 with harp tailpiece; the IV ST has direct mount tune-o-matic with stud tailpiece at £1,090 and as a 12-string…

THE TRAGIC FATE OF ‘BETTY JEAN’ Bassist Billy Cox has revealed the fate of Hendrix’s single-pickup Danelectro Shorthorn 3012 from his army days. The guitar was nicknamed ‘Betty Jean’ after Betty Jean Morgan, a woman Hendrix was dating when he served in the army. It was during this time that Hendrix and future bandmate Cox would meet, and they played early jams and gigs with this guitar. “I was told, ‘If you ever found that guitar in Nashville it’d be worth $5 million.’ I found out where it was,” Cox explained to NAMM’s Music History Project podcast series.“He had pawned it to the guy who owned the Del Morocco [a Nashville club that Hendrix had played during the early 60s] for about $150, something like that,” Cox recalled. “And he…

The importance of practice reared its head for me this month, as I was in a private studio in central London for a week recording an album for a very well-known theatre composer (I’m not sure if there are confidentiality issues here, so I’ll leave you to guess who!). I’ve spent a lot of time writing production or library music over the past few months, so my physical chops aren’t quite on full form. I was reminded of this when I was told, “Tuesday’s sessions are all 12-string.” Normally, I wouldn’t bat an eyelid but I realised quickly that six hours of barre chords on 12-string might be a touch painful. Much like a professional athlete, I don’t think anyone is ever at the stage where they can or should…

This week, I’m progressing through a very unique (for me) project: a trio of tenor guitars. All based on the Selmer-Maccaferri guitar design from the golden era of swing, these instruments are a period twist on the guitar we now closely associate with Gypsy virtuoso Django Reinhardt. A smaller body size, 23-inch scale length and CGDA tuning set these apart from their six-string counterparts, and as both a player and maker I’ve found myself in fairly new territory. “The soundboards I’m looking at are a varied selection, showing off the full range of growth patterns that a single tree is capable of” In line with my usual style of building, though, I’m embellishing the original factory-made guitar designs with some more modern appointments, namely arm bevels and a couple of…

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, augmented is defined as “having been made greater in size or value”. And in terms of a musical note, this translates as “denoting or containing an interval which is one semitone greater than the corresponding major or perfect interval”. In this case, we’ll talk about intervals contained within the context of a chord. Admittedly chord-naming conventions are something of a minefield, with a lot of names taking a simplistic approach, presuming certain details are ‘understood’. For example, a C7 chord contains a flat 7th (Bb) and a C9 chord adds a D to an existing 7th (b7th!) chord… The good news is these augmented chords are based purely on the premise of a raised/sharpened/augmented 5th, no other intervals have been altered. You will find…

Want to see something in the mag? Tell us at guitarist@futurenet.com Reader Tony Marsland wonders if the low side of the road might hold some unexplored interest… Although I have been playing guitar for 50 years and although I am a frequent reader, I seem to have overlooked any reviews of baritone guitars. I was unsure what they were useful for until I saw Cory Wong playing one on YouTube. Amazing! I never realised how interesting they could sound. So how about a piece on baritones including who uses them, and how they fit into a live setting, plus a review of variety of baritones on the market briefly covering a low-to-high price range? I’d also like to learn more about how to get the most from a baritone from…

Few players are immune to the charm of old guitars. Yet the instruments we’ve all grown up idolising are, in many cases, way out of reach of the average player’s budget. As the saying goes, an object is only worth what people are willing to pay for it – and that also rings true with vintage guitars, where the desirability of golden-era instruments propels them to six-figure values in some cases. But it’s important to remember that those ‘perfect’ guitars are driven up in price by the needs of collectors, for whom originality, condition, rarity and provenance of a guitar are paramount. Most players aren’t collectors, however – they just like the feel of old, played-in guitars and the character that years and use impress upon an instrument. So that…

“The word ‘vintage’ isn’t a very accurate term as far as guitars go,” concedes veteran guitar trader Richard Henry. “When I was just getting into guitars in my early teens, they were just used guitars. I started off playing a ’64 [Fender] Mustang – Olympic White with a tortoiseshell ’guard – and I thought it was cool. My first serious guitar was a ’78 Les Paul Custom. Today, it’s over 40 years old and could be considered ‘vintage’ but when I got it, it was eight years old!” “There was always a rule of thumb that early 70s and prior was ‘vintage’ as far as guitars go,” recalls Luke Hobbs of Gardiner Houlgate auction house. “But now, people are calling 80s guitars ‘vintage’. It’s almost the ‘new vintage’ era. 80s…

Maintenance and repairs are an inevitable part of any workhorse guitar’s life, the hard-won battle scars more often than not proving its worth as a great-playing guitar that’s been well loved, rather than showing any signs of potential shortcomings. “As a player, I wouldn’t necessarily discount anything, whether it be a refinish, changed pickups or a headstock repair,” says Paul Tucker of Vintage ‘n’ Rare Guitars. “I think it’s really down to how the player thinks the guitar feels and sounds, and if they think it looks cool. Those are the important things – every time. It’s easy to get too hung up on the intricacies. As long as the guitar you’re buying is fairly represented and you like how it looks, how it sounds and how it plays then…

Want a piece of late-50s luthiery for under a grand? You could do far worse than this vibey Hofner Senator, currently on sale at Vintage ‘n’ Rare Guitars in Bath for just shy of £600. Matt Gleeson says European archtops can make great players with bags of sonic and visual character – but it pays to be aware of common faults they can have if not professionally set up. “With things like the semi-hollow Hofners, the bridges weren’t fixed and often the feet aren’t completely flat – while some are wonky as hell. Maybe if you play light fingerstyle that might be okay but if you want to hit it a little bit harder, nine times out of 10 that bridge is going to fall over. Also if it’s slipping…

PRICE: £419 (inc gigbag) ORIGIN: China TYPE: Limited-edition single-cutaway solidbody electric BODY: Mahogany back w/ maple cap NECK: Mahogany, glued-in SCALE LENGTH: 629mm (24.75”) NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech NuBone/ 42.79mm FINGERBOARD: Bound rosewood, crown-style inlays, approx. 305mm (12”) measured radius FRETS: 22, medium HARDWARE: Wilkinson tune-omatic bridge and stud tailpiece, Grover 102C Original Rotomatic tuners, chrome/ nickel plated STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 51mm ELECTRICS: 2x Wilkinson WOCHB hot ceramic humbuckers, 3-way toggle pickup selector, individual pickup volume and tone controls WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.95/8.69 OPTIONS: None LEFT-HANDERS: Not in this 25th Anniversary guise but three lefties to choose from starting at £419 FINISHES: Silver Burst only PROS Stylish modern single-cut, good weight, impressive neck profile, and overall setup and playability CONS Unless you like your single-cuts rock-aimed ’n’ beefy, it’s a bit one…

Kemper is Fractal’s main rival and the Kemper Profiler Stage (£1,389) combines the Kemper Profiler digital guitar amplifier with the company’s Profiler Remote foot controller. Line 6 is now probably the best known company for providing amp modelling and effects floorboards in the form of its Helix family. The Helix Floor (£1,467) is the brand’s flagship floor unit but there’s also the Helix LT (£989), which is closer in price to the FM3, and the smaller HX Stomp (£524) that sits on your tabletop offering a 2-in/2-out USB audio connection for recording. HeadRush has the Pedalboard (£899) and the smaller four-footswitch Gigboard (£519), which both have seven-inch touchscreen displays.…

What was the first serious guitar you bought with your own money? “1954 hardtail Strat, serial number 0707, $4,250. I was 13 years old. I wanted a Stratocaster with a maple neck and I’m still one of the few that is a maple-neck devotee. Eric Clapton had a live record in the 70s called Just One Night, which had a version of Further On Up The Road on it and that was really my introduction to electric blues rock guitar – and he had a black Strat with a maple neck. A collector buddy had this guitar, it was $6,000, and I think we gave him $4,250 and that was it. I had that guitar till I was about 18 and then I sold it and saw it come back…

1. SERIAL NUMBER Six-digit serial number impressed into upper rear of headstock 2. HEADSTOCK Pearl-inlaid Gibson logo and crown motif; unbound 3. BODY Double-cutaway; arched laminated maple top and back; laminated maple rim; solid maple centre block with spruce inserts; 16 inches wide; 1¾ inches deep; two unbound f-holes; triple-bound (w/b/w) top; single-bound back; sunburst nitrocellulose finish 4. PICKUPS & ELECTRICS Dual gold-plated humbuckers; individual volume and tone pots; three-way selector switch; six-position Vari-tone (filter) switch; front-mounted stereo/TRS jack (isolated pickup signals) 5. HARDWARE Gold-plated: Grover tuners (Kluson Deluxe standard); Tuneo-matic bridge; trapeze tailpiece with raised diamond; Vari-tone switch plate (numbered 1-6) 6. PLASTICS Five-ply (b/w/b/w/b) raised pickguard with bevelled edge; black pickup surrounds; two-ply (b/w) ‘bell’ truss rod cover reads ‘STEREO’; four metal-capped bonnet knobs; black ‘chickenhead’ Vari-tone knob;…

GARY CLARK JR Blak And Blu While Gary is also a very capable vocalist, his playing speaks loud and clear on When My Train Pulls In, Bright Lights and Numb. All three songs display his love of rough-edged,‘fuzz’-flavoured distortion and a keen ear for unusual twists on ‘roots’ pentatonic riffs, melodies and solos. Elsewhere, Gary gives us a modern take on Motown in Ain’t Messin’ ’Round and country-tinged rock ’n’ roll in Travis County. JEFF BECK You Had It Coming As a guitarist who came up through the classic era of the British Invasion, Jeff has continued to blaze a trail like no other into previously unheard territories, most of them acknowledging and building on his blues/rock ’n’ roll roots. Check out Roy’s Toy, Rollin’ And Tumblin’ (featuring Imogen Heap…

Machine Head Activist and sonic adventurer Tom Morello looks back on a career raging against the machine, guitar in hand, on p48 Star Potential Guild’s Starfire Mark I DC & SC GVT semis could be exactly the affordable hollowbody you’ve been looking for. Read our full review on p16 Looming Problem Want to upgrade your guitar’s electronics to vintage or boutique spec in one fell swoop? Get the lowdown on wiring looms on p40…

PRICE: £899 ORIGIN: Indonesia TYPE: Offset double-cutaway solid body electric guitar BODY: African mahogany w/ AAAA 7mm flame maple top NECK: African mahogany w/ graphite bar reinforcement bolt-on SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”) NUT/WIDTH: Graphite/42mm FINGERBOARD: Ebony, 305-406mm (12-16”) radius FRETS: 22, jumbo stainless steel HARDWARE: Chrome Cort CFA-III 6-saddle vibrato with push-in arm, Cort staggered-post locking tuners STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 53mm ELECTRICS: 2x direct mounted Cort Voiced Tone VTH-77 humbuckers with satin finish covers, 5-way pickup selector lever switch, master volume, master tone WEIGHT (kg/lb): 4.4/9.5 OPTIONS: None RANGE OPTIONS: Cort G290 FAT (£579) has the same spec as LE except swamp ash body and flame maple top, birdseye maple neck and fingerboard in Antique Violin Burst and Bright Blue Burst LEFT HANDERS: No FINISHES: Lagoon Beach (as reviewed) 440…

PRICE: £569 ORIGIN: Indonesia TYPE: Single-cutaway hollowbody w/ bridge block electric BODY: Laminated maple top, back and side, with bridge block NECK: Maple, ‘Modern Thin U’ profile, glued-in SCALE LENGTH: 629mm (24.75”) NUT/WIDTH: Composite/42.5mm FINGERBOARD: Indian rosewood, pearloid dots (5mm), 320mm (12.5”) radius FRETS: 20, narrow tall HARDWARE: Guild tune-o-matic bridge with stud tailpiece, Guild open-back vintage style 18:1 ratio tuners – nickel plated STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 51.5mm ELECTRICS: 2x Guild HB-2 humbuckers, 3-way toggle pickup selector switch, individual pickup volume (with pull-push coil splits) and tone controls WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3/6.6 OPTIONS: Available with tune-omatic bridge and stud tailpiece as the SC at £479 RANGE OPTIONS: Starfire III: thinline single-cut design but with Bigsby, LB-1 humbuckers and wooden-foot tune-o-matic bridge (from £1,090). Starfire II: direct-mount tune-o-matic and stud tailpiece (£819);…

You may recall, in previous issues, I mentioned I’d been recording an album of my own songs. It’s the first I’ve done and it’s at (what I deem to be) a ridiculously advanced age for one’s ‘debut’. While I shouldn’t really be using my column to plug it, such was the catharsis I derived from creating something from scratch, that I wondered if a few words about my project might inspire you to do the same? “One thing I did notice was how my confidence built… As time went on, I grabbed hold of the project and clearly expressed what I wanted” I’ve done a lot of recording over the years, from helping mates out on their albums, to regular studio sessions back in the 90s, and of course 25…

Most of us have swapped out pickups or pots on our guitars but increasing numbers of guitarists are now opting to replace the whole wiring loom that came as stock on their factory-built guitars with a high-end aftermarket replacement. Such ready-made looms are available to fit most major models of electric guitar and are produced by a number of specialist companies, including Monty’s Guitars, which is run by Matt Gleeson. Matt joins us to talk about the pros and cons of fitting a new wiring loom spec’d out with vintage-correct capacitors, pots and other high-spec components. First up, we asked him when is the right time to consider a replacement loom, not just the odd component? “The decision-making route I take is this,” Matt says. “First, set the guitar up.…

ELECTRICS Gibson SG Standard 1962, sideways vibrola, pat# H.B.s. In new case, some issues but unbroken hence £6,500. 07773 276815 Cumbria Gibson SG Special, 1963, white, P-90s, period VMB-12 vibrola, in ohsc. £4,500. 07773 276815 Cumbria 1955 Gretsch 6120 Eddie Cochran batch build number original. Truss rod problem, original case. £15,550. For more details email swgb54@gmail.com Guitar collection for sale: Tokai Love Rock 2001, Tokai Goldstar 1984, reasonable condition. Fender Roadworn Strat 1997, heavily modified tone machine. Squier JV ’57 Strat 1982, first series. Contact Rob on 07920 482261 for prices Hendrix Flying V, 1995, (‘25 years’ on truss-rod cover), black, Lopez inlays, gold plated, £2,750. 07773 276815 Cumbria ACOUSTICS Lakewood M18 acoustic 2014 with Hiscox/Lakewood hard case, vg condition. £750 ono. Phone 07828 515083 or email garry_bastin@yahoo.co.uk. Cash on…

SCOTT CAMERON SC RELICS Scott’s the finish expert behind SC Relics and he’s performed meticulous refinishing work on scores of vintage guitars in need of restoration https://screlics.co.uk LUKE HOBBS GARDINER HOULGATE Luke wields the hammer at one of the world’s most popular vintage guitar auction houses, Gardiner Houlgate in Corsham www.gardiner houlgate.co.uk/ departments/6/Guitars RICHARD HENRY RICHARD HENRY GUITARS From teching for some of rock’s biggest names to trading rare old guitars, Richard has serious vintage savvy https://reverb.com/shop/ richard-henry-guitars-ltd PAUL TUCKER VINTAGE ‘N’ RARE GUITARS Paul is a hugely experienced vintage expert at Vintage ‘n’ Rare Guitars in Bath and has seen it all over the years www.vintageandrare guitars.com MATT GLEESON MONTY’S GUITARS With over two decades of top-flight repair, setup and hardware experience under his belt, Matt is the maestro…

“My top pick sleeper guitar from the 60s is the Gibson ES-120T,” says Vintage ‘n’ Rare Guitars’ Paul Tucker. “They’re thinline but instead of a P-90 they have a Melody Maker-style single coil mounted into an all-in-one pickguard. It was an entry-level instrument into the ES line, and they kept the design very basic, but those things sound massive. They’re really good-sounding guitars and you can pick them up for pretty reasonable money at the moment.” “A lot of the Guild stuff is just as good as Gibson-made guitars,” reckons guitar auctioneer Luke Hobbs of Gardiner Houlgate. “Sometimes you’re looking at a fifth of the price of an equivalent-spec Gibson. It’s ludicrous because they’re not one fifth the guitar. We’ve just got an old M-30 in, which is lovely small-bodied…

1. 60S HARMONY ELECTRICS In its 60s heyday, Harmony was the USA’s largest manufacturer of electric guitars, with notable examples including the DeArmond goldfoilequipped Rocket models, the Dan Auerbach-endorsed H78 and the Silvertone-branded, Gibson mini-humbucker-loaded Chris Isaak 1446L. This player’s-grade Harmony H75 was snapped up at Vintage ‘n’ Rare Guitars and is a fine example of a great-sounding vintage bargain. “I think the old 60s Harmony electrics should be worth more,” says Luke Hobbs. “I mean, you can sometimes pick them up for about £700 to £800 hammer, so topping out at about a grand including fees. They’re great!” 2. SMALL-BODIED ACOUSTICS This three-quarter size 1950s Gibson LG-2 belongs to guitarist Martin Barre who paid $15 for it at an early Jethro Tull gig. “Not all of the…

Music was Jeff Bridges’ first love, since discovering the joys of the guitar while still at school in the early 60s. Initially torn between pursuing a career as a musician or an actor, he harboured ambitions of transitioning between the two. His debut album, Be Here Soon, was released in 2000, but it wasn’t until his Oscar-winning role in Crazy Heart in 2009 that he was finally able to fully showcase his musical abilities. His portrayal of an alcoholic country singer in decline pointed the way to the country/ Americana route he has continued to follow with his own music. Since the release of his self-titled album on the Blue Note label in 2011, Bridges has toured consistently with his band, The Abiders, named after his character in The Big…

PRICE: £419 (inc gigbag) ORIGIN: China TYPE: Limited-edition single-cutaway solidbody electric BODY: 2-piece American alder NECK: Maple, bolt-on SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”) NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech NuBone/ 42.46mm FINGERBOARD: Maple, approx. 254mm (10”) measured radius FRETS: 22, medium HARDWARE: Wilkinson WTB with 3 compensated brass saddles, Wilkinson WJ55 tuners, chrome/nickel plated STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 53.5mm ELECTRICS: Wilkinson WVTB (bridge) and WVTN (neck) single coils, 3-way lever pickup selector, master volume and master tone WEIGHT (kg/lb):: 3.6/7.92 OPTIONS: None LEFT-HANDERS: Not in this 25th Anniversary guise but the V52 Reissued lefty costs £389 FINISHES: Silver Burst only PROS Tidy build, good weight, quality hardware and pickups; good neck shape, setup and playability with the sounds to match CONS Originality aside, at this price we can’t moan…

PRICE: £1,799 (inc case) ORIGIN: UK TYPE: Single-cutaway, chambered body electric BODY: 2-piece swamp ash back (chambered) w/ separate 2-piece top NECK: Quarter-sawn roasted figured maple, standard C profile, bolt-on SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”) NUT/WIDTH: Bone/42.7mm FINGERBOARD: Quarter-sawn roasted figured maple, rectangular black acrylic inlays, compound 254-305mm (10-12”) radius FRETS: 22, medium (Jescar FW55090) HARDWARE: Gotoh Strat-style hardtail bridge with block steel saddles and through-body stringing, vintage-style split-post tuners – nickel-plated STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 53mm ELECTRICS: Bare Knuckle Boot Camp Old Guard soapbar single coil (neck) and humbucker (bridge), 3-way toggle pickup selector switch, master volume and tone controls WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.63/5.79 OPTIONS: No-charge options include rosewood fingerboard and f-hole. Look out for special-edition versions in different colours RANGE OPTIONS: PJD’s core guitar is the Carey Elite from £2,399 LEFT-HANDERS:…

FRACTAL FM3 AMP MODELER/FX PROCESSOR €1,266 CONTACT G66 PHONE +49 461 1828 066 WEB www.fractalaudio.com Fractal Audio’s take on amp and effects modelling has plenty of admirers but when its flagship Axe-Fx III rackmount unit is combined with one of the FC-6 or FC-12 controllers for a fully functional stage/studio rig it doesn’t come cheap. If you fancy some of that, though, the new FM3 offers a more affordable option. It’s the company’s only all-in-one floor unit now that the AX8 and FX8 are discontinued, and offers amp modelling, effects and the ability to use IRs. While having about half of the processing power of the Axe-Fx III, it still comes with heavy-duty DSP and offers the same ARES amp modelling. There’s plenty of connectivity including an effects loop, headphone…

THE BACKGROUND RYAN HAYNES, Via email I can’t seem to find a definitive answer to this anywhere so I thought I’d ask you: do you think we will get to a stage where guitar pedals will be obsolescent? Do bits of kit like Kemper and the forthcoming Neural Quad Cortex mean that all pedals will be modelled in the digital realm? Should I invest in compact guitar pedals or get an all-in-one unit like those mentioned? Will I lose lots of money if I do either? THE ANSWERS I feel like this question is philosophical in nature, like the meaning of life for pedals. I’ll try my best to answer but bear in mind some of the views are my opinion only and any counter-opinion is equally as valid……

Whether it was being dwarfed by the ample stature of blues behemoth Freddie King, or dwarfing Michael J Fox in the chronologically challenged feature film Back To The Future, the 345 sat betwixt the groundbreaking 335 and the top-of-the-line 355 as the middle child in Gibson’s double-cutaway semi-hollowbody family. Although the 345 made a cameo appearance in the aforementioned film during a scene set in 1955, it was actually unveiled by Gibson in the spring of 1959, in the wake of the seminal ES-335T (developed during 1957 and released in spring 1958) and the upmarket ES-355T (released in late 1958). Upon its release, the 345 was originally designated as the ES-345T and cost $345 in a standard sunburst finish. Later in ’59, its model name was altered to include a…

Difficulty 10-20 mins per example Tutor: Robbie Calvo | Gear used: Yamaha Revstar 502TFM, Line 6 Helix and Powercab 212 Plus Creative Scale Sequences THE YEARS OF PRACTICE time spent learning chord and scale shapes burns them into our minds and muscle memory. We’ve all developed a repertoire of stock licks that we can package and repackage at will over most musical situations. I truly advocate having those phrases at your disposal and also believe that those lines define our personality and unique voice on the guitar. However, I also believe that we should pursue the ability to have independence from those phrases and the freedom to choose what we play and how we play it. In other words, we control our hands, not the other way around! Let me…

Last year, Cort released the sub-£1,000 G290 FAT, the greatest giant killer since David smacked Goliath on the nut with a pebble. Priced at a mere £579, this exceptional guitar set its sights on the boutique market and minds were blown. Now the brand has released a limited-edition mahogany-riddled version and what looks like a strummable chessboard. Time for some cross examination… The G290 LE on trial today is a limited-edition version of that groundbreaking G290. The standard model features a flame maple-topped swamp-ash body and bolt-on birdseye maple neck and fingerboard. Our LE is packing a flame maple top on an African-mahogany back. That top is a 7mm slice of AAAA flame maple. That’s two more As than the Bisto Kids used to describe their gravy. That’s how tasty…

Fender Kenny Wayne Shepherd Stratocaster £1,899 CONTACT Fender EAS PHONE 01342 331700 WEB www.shop.fender.com Just another pretty Fender Stratocaster… When was that ever a bad thing? Okay, we admit, on the face of it this is your classic early 60s Strat. The beautifully contoured body; a bolt on slim C profile maple neck; not to mention a rosewood fingerboard with your old-school 184mm (7.25-inch) radius.These are the kind of details you’d expect blues rocker Kenny Wayne Shepherd to spec on a signature guitar. That said, this glimpse at the spec sheet is just the jumping off point for something a wee bit different… And what, pray tell, does this Kenny Wayne Shepherd character know about Strats? KWS has been Greyfriars Bobby-level loyal to Stratocasters for over 25 years. Along with…

When Rivers Meet We Fly Free One Road Records Rootsy, empowered, duo-sonic blues Like the musical equivalent of hydrogen, blues seems to be the most common element in guitar music. So it’s a tough job to make a new, blues-based record that really arrests the listener’s attention. Difficult or not, that’s what husband-and-wife duo When Rivers Meet have achieved with We Fly Free. Built around Grace Bond’s smouldering vocal presence, the band’s sound is built of simple but powerful elements, handled with taste but delivered from the gut. Aaron Bond’s muscular guitar work provides traction through the swampiest of the band’s arrangements, such as the propulsive, earthy blues of Kissing The Sky. But Grace Bond’s vocals are the emotional centre of gravity here – and sensibly Aaron doesn’t get in…

Kid Rock “As a kid, I had a little acoustic guitar that I probably plucked Smoke On The Water on. But at that age, I had no ambitions beyond jumping around on the sofa with it. Then, at 15, I had a couple of guitar lessons that didn’t really take because they wanted to teach me how to tune the guitar and play the B major scale – and I wanted to learn Black Dog and Detroit Rock City. But from 19 years old, I became obsessive-compulsive. Guitar felt like a religious calling. It bordered on some kind of mental disorder. I couldn’t not do it. It was a compulsion that steered my life.” High Flyer “In my high-school band, we practised so hard to play Born To Be Wild…

When it comes to collectability, an original finish is all important. Historically, a non-original finish could potentially devalue a guitar by up to 50 per cent – equating to several thousand pounds when it comes to the likes of a pre-CBS Fender. However, as far as guitars go, one person’s trash is another’s treasure, and as players increasingly seek out refinished instruments, not only do they continue to save vast amounts of cash but they can also relieve themselves of the anxiety associated with handling a precious item (even if it is being used for its intended purpose!). After all, devaluing a guitar isn’t exactly what most people want to think about when they’re trying to concentrate on practising, writing and performing music. “Refins are a no-no for collectors and…

“Old stuff can be good – but you’ve got to remember that just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s great. It can still be absolutely toilet-grade” says Matt Gleeson of Monty’s Guitars, who has set up and repaired a huge spectrum of old and new guitars during his 20-plus years as a pro guitar tech. “So try as many as you can get your hands on. One will be different to another example and one might speak to you more than another. Sometimes the ones that are a little cosmetically ropey are actually the better ones – but you won’t know till you check them over and play them,” he advises, adding that the most important thing is that the guitar connects with you in an easy and natural way.…

PRICE: £419 (inc gigbag) ORIGIN: China TYPE: Limited edition double-cutaway solidbody electric BODY: 2-piece American alder NECK: Maple, bolt-on SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”) NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech NuBone/ 42.92mm FINGERBOARD: Bound Lignum Rosa, crown-style inlays, approx. 305mm (12”) measured radius FRETS: 22, medium HARDWARE: Wilkinson WVC vibrato, Wilkinson WJ55 E-Z-Lok tuners, chrome/nickel plated STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 54mm ELECTRICS: Wilkinson WOHZBb humbucker (bridge) and WOVaS single coils (middle and neck) single coils, 3-way lever pickup selector, master volume, tone 1 (neck and middle) tone 2 (bridge) w/ pull switch coil-split WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.68/8.1 OPTIONS: None LEFT-HANDERS: Not in this 25th Anniversary guise but there are two V6 lefty options at £379 FINISHES: Silver Burst only PROS Good weight; excellent neck, hardware and playability; classic-to-heavier rock voicing CONS The cream plastic parts look…

1 PJD? No, you got me there… Based in York, PJD was founded by Leigh Dovey in 2010 and became a fully professional operation in 2017. For a limited period the instruments were only available from Guitar Galleries but other dealers will now be added. The PJD range centres on the Carey Elite, which we looked at back in issue 451. 2 This sounds like more than just one man in his shed… You’re right. When we last caught up with Leigh he was building with just one assistant, outsourcing the finishing, and making around eight guitars a month. A team of three now builds the guitars and aims to produce about 12 to 16 instruments per month. 3 Who are these aimed at? While the 10th Anniversary Custom edges…

PRICE: £3,199 (inc case) ORIGIN: UK TYPE: Single-cutaway, chambered body electric BODY: 2-piece swamp ash back (chambered) w/ separate centre-joined ziracote top and single bass-side f-hole NECK: Quarter-sawn roasted flame maple, standard C profile, bolt-on SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”) NUT/WIDTH: Bone/42.63mm FINGERBOARD: Ziracote, rectangular grey acrylic inlays, compound 254-305mm (10-12”) radius FRETS: 22, medium (Jescar FW55090) HARDWARE: Gotoh Strat-style hardtail bridge with block steel saddles and through-body stringing, vintage-style split-post tuners – aged nickel-plated STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 53mm ELECTRICS: Bare Knuckle Mule neck and bridge humbuckers with aged nickel covers, 3-way toggle pickup selector switch, master volume and tone controls (w/ coil-split for bridge pickup) WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.95/6.49 OPTIONS: Not on this 10th Anniversary model but the Custom will be retained, not least for custom one-off orders RANGE OPTIONS: See…

1 Fractal? They make the Axe-Fx rackmount modellers, don’t they? That’s right. The Axe-Fx III is the flagship of the range but this offers Fractal sound in a stage-ready and relatively compact floor unit. 2 So, is it a cut-down version? Well, it has less processing power and fewer blocks to build a preset but it runs the same algorithms so sounds the same when identical settings are used. 3 Are three footswitches going to be enough? Maybe. Fractal has gone out of its way to accommodate different types of use: there is a series of ‘Layouts’ that are basically presets bringing in different functions for the footswitches.…

Old Blood Noise Endeavors describes its new Visitor pedal as a ‘Parallel Multi-Modulator’. It runs two modulation effects (Primary and Secondary) in parallel, the idea being that they interact to offer a range of shifting sounds and textures. For the Primary effect you get a choice of tremolo, chorus or phaser selected via a toggle switch, and there are standard Depth and Rate knobs to adjust the effect. The Secondary effect can either be tremolo or chorus and there is a single knob to adjust this. If you keep that knob at minimum you can simply have your Primary effect, but advancing it adds and intensifies the Secondary effect. The knob adjusts four parameters simultaneously. First up, the volume ramps up to unity and stays there for the rest of…

Why don’t you try the ‘overdub’ guitar?” asked my songwriter and recording buddy as we discussed one of those songs that wasn’t quite working. The overdub guitar. Ha! That’s a pretty apt description of this borrowed Nik Huber Piet, an instrument that during the long months of lockdown got more playtime than any other. Despite the constant stream of review guitars coming through the work schedule, whenever I’ve found time to hunker down to recording, the Huber has had the gig. If I’m honest, it’s become a bit of a talisman and I’ve become oddly in awe of it. I even kept the original strings on for a lot longer than I should have – I didn’t want to change a thing just in case the mojo left. Ridiculous! I…

Spring 1959 ES-345T released; stereo/Vari-tone; stop tailpiece; optional vibrato; PAF humbuckers Late-1959 Vari-tone switch plate changes from black to gold 1960 Sunburst and Cherry finishes; Natural finish discontinued 1961 Shorter pickguard standard (does not extend below bridge) 1963 Cutaway horns less rounded 1965 Trapeze tailpiece with raised diamond motif; T-top humbuckers; nut width decreases 1967 ‘Bonnet’ knobs change to black ‘witch hat’ knobs; Sparkling Burgundy finish available 1968 Walnut finish available (ES-345TDW) Late-1970s Renamed ES-345TDSV 1982 Discontinued…

Difficulty 10 mins per example Tutor: Richard Barrett | Gear used: Knaggs SSC, Laney Cub Super 12 Blues For Today THIS ISSUE WE FOCUS on how the blues lives on in today’s music, with the torch being carried by players such as Gary Clark Jr, whose track When My Train Pulls In was one of the main inspirations behind my solo. It’s not too hard to trace the blues lineage, with the riff-based beginning including some open strings for a particularly old-school/John Lee Hooker feel, leading to some melodic pentatonic phrasing. A notable feature here is the inclusion of notes from outside the usual pentatonic remit, something Gary is very fond of doing. Adding in the 9th (from the major or minor scale; it’s the same note) is a really…