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DICK DALE
The Surf-Guitar Legend’s Lost Interview LESSONS
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PENTATONICS
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Vol. 53 No. 6
JUNE 2019
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{ From the Editor }
EDITOR
CONTENT Christopher Scapelliti,
chris.scapelliti@futurenet.com SENIOR EDITOR
Art Thompson,
arthur.thompson@futurenet.com PRODUCTION EDITOR
issue, Robin Trower reflected on his own mortality, a subject that informs his latest album, Coming Closer to the Day. It’s a recurring theme among legendary guitarists these days, as witnessed by the death of surfguitar pioneer Dick Dale on March 16 at age 81. Dale’s professional career is one of the longest in rock and roll, and certainly one of the more tragic. In his early 1960s heyday, Dale was the epitome of the era’s California guitar player: He was handsome, athletic (the dude actually surfed) and exuded the sense that everything would be fine if we all just spent more time hanging out on the beach, twisting to the music he made. By the middle of that decade, however, Dale cut a far different figure. After the British Invasion killed off his brand of rock and roll, cancer nearly took what was left of him. Dale recovered, but he spent his final years once again battling the disease, touring constantly just to make enough money to pay for his medical supplies. Dick Dale talked to many journalists in his time, including Elliot Stephen Cohen, who makes his debut as a Guitar Player contributor this month with his previously unpublished interview with the surf-guitar legend. It’s well known that Dale’s tales tended to grow with each telling, but in fairness, it takes a larger-than-life personality to keep one step ahead of death. What’s known for certain is that, in addition to creating the surf-rock guitar sound and style, he played a role encouraging and helping Leo Fender to develop more powerful amps, which ultimately resulted in the Dual Showman. But read the man’s words for yourself in Elliot’s wild and wide-ranging interview. We were likewise saddened to learn in recent weeks that Peter Frampton is in the early stages of Inclusion Body Myositis, a rare auto-immune disease that will ultimately impede his ability to play guitar. Frampton is undertaking what will be his final tour, but, fortunately, that doesn’t mean the music will stop anytime soon. As senior editor Art Thompson learned when he interviewed the guitarist for this issue, Frampton will still be able to play his instrument, just not always to his own perfectionist standards. He’ll continue to record as his health allows, and to that end he’s getting a head start by cutting enough tracks for a pair of new blues albums. So, yes, there is good news among the bad, which leads me to the subject of this issue’s cover: Don Felder and American Rock ’n’ Roll, his new album that features a slew of guitar greats, including Slash, Joe Satriani, Richie Sambora, Alex Lifeson, Sammy Hagar and even Felder’s old pal Peter Frampton. The album marks the former Eagles guitarist’s return to the music scene after a seven-year absence, and it finds him —as always — turning in the kinds of memorable licks, riffs and solos for which he became known on hits like “One of These Nights” and his own composition “Hotel California.” Richard Bienstock got the inside scoop on the project from Felder, along with insights from some of the guest guitarists. Finally, we’re thrilled to bring you a special guitar treat in this issue: six rare Gibson L-5s that reside in the collection of guitarist and collector Bill Pearlstein. Bill was kind enough to speak about the instruments with contributing editor Dave Hunter and invite us into his home to shoot the guitars in detail. We hope you enjoy this closeup view of these beautiful guitars.
IN LAST M ON T H ’S
Alice Pattillo,
alice.pattillo@futurenet.com ART EDITOR
Rosie Webber,
rosie.webber@futurenet.com LOS ANGELES EDITOR
Jude Gold,
judegold@gmail.com FRETS SECTION EDITOR
Jimmy Leslie,
jl@jimmyleslie.com LESSONS EDITOR
Jimmy Brown,
jimmy.brown@futurenet.com
Matt Blackett, Jim Campilongo, Jesse Gress, Dave Hunter, Michael Ross
CONSULTING EDITORS
MUSIC COPYISTS
Elizabeth Ledgerwood, Jeff Perrin
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Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne Non-executive chairman Richard Huntingford Chief financial officer Penny Ladkin-Brand Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244
G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
JUNE 2019 VOLUME 53 NUMBER 6
34 PLAYERS 34 Don Felder
GUITAR AFICIONADO 62 Six Rare Gibson L-5 archtop electrics
44 Peter Frampton
LESSONS 76 1990s Guitar Techniques 82 Parallel Pentatonic Modal Vision
FRETS 70 Rodrigo y Gabriela
54 Dick Dale
COLUMNS 28 Classic Gear 1962 Gretsch White Falcon Stereo 29 Foley Files Joanna Connor
88 Acoustic Recording, Part 3
RECORDING 18 J.J. Cale
30 Tech Support Build a True Bypass Switch/A-B Switcher
Cover Photo by Neil Zlozower/Atlas Icons
TONE 20 Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
31 Vinyl Treasures Johnny Paycheck, At Carnegie Hall
© G ETTY
54
RECORDING 24 Ryan Bingham
70
© CAMI LA
SESSIONS 22 Will McFarlane
32 Whack Job Mid-1960s Victoria Mod Job
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Guitar Player (ISSN 0017-5463) is published monthly with an extra issue in December by Future, 11 West 42nd St., 15th Floor, New York, NY 10036. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Guitar Player, P.O. Box 2029, Langhorne, PA 19047-9957. COVE R IMAGE © N EI L ZLOZOW ER /ATL AS I CO N S | COV E R I M AG E O F B O B W E I R © C I N DY O R D /GET T Y
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© N EIL Z LOZOW ER/AT LAS ICON S
CONTENTS
AUST IN LORD
44 GEAR 90 Danelectro ’64XT and ’59X12 92 Ernie Ball Music Man Majesty 6 Tiger Eye 94 ZT Custom Shop Jazz Club and Lee Ranaldo Club Combos
96 Kay Barney Kessel Gold K Signature Series K1700V Pro, K6700V Artist and K8700V Jazz Special 98 Copperhead Audio Engineering Model 1950
100 D’Angelico Excel Tammany OM 102 Aclam Dr. Robert 104 Martin Konter Ukulele
OPENING NOTES 16 Win an Electro-Harmonix Flatiron fuzz pedal! Plus, GP readers weigh in. HERO 114 Jeff Healey
94 102 104
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FOR CUSTOM REPRINTS & E-PRINTS PLEASE CONTACT Wright’s Media : (877) 652-5295 or newbay@wrightsmedia.com LIST RENTAL: (914) 368-1024, jganis@meritdirect.com PLEASE DIRECT ADVERTISING INQUIRIES TO GUITAR PLAYER, 11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10036. Tel. (212) 378-0400; Fax (212) 378-0470; jonathan. brudner@futurenet.com. EDITORIAL REQUESTS TO chris.scapelliti@futurenet.com. PLEASE DIRECT SUBSCRIPTION ORDERS, INQUIRIES, AND ADDRESS CHANGES TO GUITAR PLAYER, Box 2029, Langhorne, PA 19047-9957, or (800) 289-9839, or send an email to guitarplayermag@icnfull.com, or click to subscriber sevices at guitarplayer.com. BACK ISSUES are available for $10 each by calling (800) 289-9839 or by contacting guitarplayermag@icnfull.com. Guitar Player is a registered trademark of Future. All material published in Guitar Player is copyrighted © 2018 by Future. All rights reserved. Reproduction of material appearing in Guitar Player is prohibited without written permission. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, photos, or artwork. All product information is subject to change; publisher assumes no responsibility for such changes. All listed model numbers and product names are manufacturers’ registered trademarks. Published in the U.S.A.
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G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
OPENING NOTES
Interact! JOIN THE GP COMMUNITY!
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SOUND OFF! GET EXCLUSIVE NEWS.
This month, we’re giving one lucky reader a chance to win an Electro-Harmonix Flatiron Fuzz
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CHRISTOPHER SCAPELLITI
Sweet Treat
Editor
Great interview with Brian Setzer [GP, May 2019]. I’m stoked about the new Stray Cats
chris.scapelliti@futurenet.com
album. It’s welcome news to hear the band is back on track. But the best part of the article was the interview with [Setzer guitar tech] Tyler Sweet. I loved getting those behind-thescenes stories about working with Brian and all the things Tyler goes through making sure
ART THOMPSON
his boss’s performances run smooth. I wish you’d do more articles like this, where we get to
Senior Editor
learn deep details about gear and performers’ quirks. It really sheds light on the art of playing live. Kudos to Guitar Player for one of the best articles I’ve read in a long time.
arthur.thompson@futurenet.com
—MORRIS McGREGOR JUDE GOLD
Trower Power I can imagine the sh*t storm unleashed by Mr. Trower’s statement of his belief that “all the
Los Angeles Editor judegold@gmail.com
great blues artists have African blood in their veins.” No doubt Mr. T was simply reminding us all that every one of us has descended from ancient ancestors hunting and gathering their way to musical genius on the African savannas of a few million years ago. [Or] is he seriously flogging that long-dead horse “can anyone other than black Chicagoans and Delta dwellers really, truly play the blues?”
JIMMY LESLIE Frets Editor jl@jimmyleslie.com
In the ’70s, Johnny Winter produced a series of Muddy Waters albums, starting with Hard Again. Johnny not only produced the album, he also, along with Bob Margolin, played guitar on every track. Margolin said in the liner notes of the CD re-issue of Hard Again, “I remember a review from when the album was originally released, which remarked that Muddy’s slide playing sounded fresh and powerful, but it was Johnny playing.”
DAVE HUNTER Gear Section & Video Contributor dhunterwordsmusic@yahoo.com
Can that be the last word in this debate, please? — J O H N W H I T M A N
Photo Finish I just want to say thanks for all the detailed captions on your photos. Ever since the new
ALICE PATTILLO Production Editor alice.pattillo@futurenet.com
editorial change at Guitar Player, I feel like the magazine has become even more informative, and the photo details are the crowning touch. Keep up the good work. — C R A I G L E T T I N G A ROSIE WEBBER
Getting Into Gear
Art Editor rosie.webber@futurenet.com
Your Brian Setzer issue was a gear feast! First up were all those great shots of Brian and his guitars and posing with his tech and a stack of Roland tape echoes. Next was the treat of seeing Steve Earle’s vintage guitars and gorgeous mandolins, and — the final thrill — your Aficionado feature on vintage Beatles-style gear. I imagine we all read this magazine because we are guitar players and love guitars. As long as you keep giving this 40-year subscriber these kinds of stories, you will have me as your reader. — S T E V E N E L S O N
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RECORDING
Guitar Man
JJ Cale’s last songs and recordings come to life on his posthumous album, Stay Around B Y
A R T
T H O M P S O N
P H O T O G R A P H
B Y
M I C H A E L
P U T L A N D
/
G E T T Y
I M A G E S
Cale’s career was fast-tracked by
A LTH OUG H H E I S known to many for his
to his ultimate success was an unwavering
tunes that other artists made famous, JJ Cale
devotion to songwriting. He realized early on
Clapton’s recordings of “Cocaine,” “Travelin’
was a consummate guitarist and songwriter
that it gave him the best chance of making a
Light” and “I’ll Make Love to You Anytime,”
who wrote a huge number of songs during a
living at music. And it paid off big time.
and his fame was further bolstered by Lynyrd
career that spanned from the 1950s until his
“I had already given up on the business
Skynyrd releasing “Call Me the Breeze” in
unexpected death on July 26, 2013. A new
part of the record business and had moved
1975. His songs always seemed ideal for
album titled Stay Around (Because Music)
back to Tulsa and gotten me a job playing
interpretation, which helps explain the
presents 15 unreleased songs that were
with some friends of mine,” Cale said. “When
diverse cadre of artists that recorded or
recorded, mixed and produced by Cale in his
Eric [Clapton] cut ‘After Midnight,’ it opened
performed his tunes, including Johnny Cash,
home studio, and which were chosen by his
up a bunch of doors, and I drove over to
the Band, Chet Atkins, Freddie King, Santana,
wife, Christine Lakeland Cale, and his friend
Nashville, and that’s when Naturally [Cale’s
the Allman Brothers Band, Maria Muldaur,
and longtime manager, Mike Kappus.
1971 debut] was done.” He went on to make
Captain Beefheart and, later, Widespread
another 15 albums, his last two being 2006’s
Panic and moe.
John Weldon Cale started his career in the early 1960s as a sound engineer, but the key
The Road to Escondido and 2009’s Roll On.
Although he also played bass, piano, pedal steel, banjo and flute, guitar was a centerpiece for Cale, and he had a style all his
Cale at his home near
own. Call it the Tulsa Sound or whatever, but
San Diego, 1989
he had the knack for playing exactly what the song called for and making everything sound so easy and so right. Said Neil Young, “Most of the songs and the riffs — the way he plays the f*cking guitar is so great. And he doesn’t play very loud, either, and I really like that about him. He’s so sensitive. Of all the players I’ve ever heard, it’s gotta be Hendrix and JJ Cale who are the best electric guitar players.” On the new album, you can hear it in the tantalizing guitar arrangement on the title track, “Stay Around,” with its clean, plucky guitar and sweet slide parts; in the dobro and gritty guitar solo on “Chasing You;” in the bluesy resonator and slide tones on “Girl of Mine;” and on the banjo-driven “Wish You Were Here.” In fact, Cale’s guitar tones and recording skills are in full bloom throughout these tracks, one of which, “My Baby Blues,” was penned by Christine Lakeland Cale, who recently spoke with GP about the new record. “That was actually the first song that John and I cut in the studio when we met in 1977,” Christine says. “I found it going through John’s
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G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
musical bits and pieces, and it was an
record six different solos, and he would pick
and also a Sony preamp [possibly an MPX-
outtake. He cut his version of it in 1980, so it
the one that fit the song the best, whether it
3000] that we had for decades. He liked
was one of those many outtakes over the
was a fat-sounding guitar or something with
certain things that allowed him to get
years, where songs are cut and then not used
an edgy rock tone. On one tour we did, a
there quickly so he didn’t lose the mood
on the next project. When I found that he had
friend named Steve Ripley had made a deal
or the idea. He didn’t want to spend time
gone back and overdubbed and done some
with Kramer, and so for a while on that tour
fixing something. His gear was always set
things to it, I thought, Oh, my goodness, he
John played a Ripley Kramer [RSG-1]. And we
up so he could go right to it and record for
liked that song enough to fool around with it
did that with a stack of Marshalls. So that
an hour or two, or spend all day at it.
again. It kind of tied everything up in a bow
was a few weeks of a totally different sound,
and finished it, if you know what I mean. I was
because it was the complete opposite of his
What motivated him to write and
afraid it might be frowned upon, but I was
folk/blues quiet side. It was more the
record as much as he did?
encouraged by Mike Kappas, who had worked
power-rock side, and it was great fun. John
He always said, “I make records so other
with John for decades. When I told him, it
was always curious and willing to try all kinds
people can hear my songwriting.” For
wasn’t written by John, he said, ‘That’s fine,
of things.
him, it was okay that he didn’t think he
you should put it on there.’
was a great singer. There were so many
What did he play around the house?
people that covered John’s material, and
self-indulgent, I’ll own this one.”
He always played acoustic, but he loved to
if they heard a demo of a song and then
plug into amps, too. I think that was one of the
did it in their own way, that was exactly
How was it for you playing in the
things he loved about not having neighbors
what John hoped would happen.
JJ Cale band?
close by — because you can make noise and
I was scared when I started, because there
no one is going to complain. Having lived in
Do you recall how “Cocaine,” one of
was no rehearsal and it was just “wing
places where that does happen, he really
his biggest songs, came about?
it.” That was my early lesson. I wasn’t as
appreciated being able to play freely at home.
John was always an observer of life, even if
experienced as the other players in his band
he didn’t live it. John didn’t do coke. He used
were, but I was often replacing someone that
What was his home studio like?
to say something like, “I didn’t spend money
had left. It was like, “I need to replace so and
He had his own home setup, and he was
on cocaine, but I made money on it because
so… So you come on the gig.” John was always
very comfortable with it. When asked why
of the song.” He observed what a hold it had
very sure that everything would be fine. Over
he didn’t ever go into ProTools, his answer
on a lot of people, but other than recording
the years, I think he enjoyed the magic that
was he trusted his ears more than his eyes,
a song about it, he wasn’t interested in
“So if people are going to think I’m being
it. He preferred smoking marijuana.
“ H I S G EA R WAS A LWAYS SE T U P SO H E COU L D GO R I GHT TO IT A N D R ECO R D FO R A N HOU R O R T WO, O R S PEND A L L DAY AT I T”
How did John like working with Eric Clapton? They got along famously, and there was a lot of good energy when they were around one another. It didn’t happen super often, but the times when they were together, it was such an upper. The music was always
happens when you’re just playing in the
and for him to start editing on a screen was
challenging because they were trying
moment and everything is unpredictable.
too much of a stretch. He’d done it his way
to deliver the knockout punch. But they
too long, and he was comfortable with his
had a mutual admiration society. John
What guitars did John like most to play?
gear. He’d say, “I won’t be making music,
thought the world of Eric, and vice-versa.
He was a lover of the guitar, and there
I’ll be trying to learn all this new stuff.” I
are a lot of instruments that I intend to
think if he had been younger he would have
skin. He knew who he was, and he didn’t
find new homes for, because there’s way
embraced ProTools in a heartbeat. He just
put on airs or pretend around people. I think
more than I need. He had everything from
wanted to use what he was familiar with, so
that was appreciated by people who can’t
a Ramírez classical to a Casio [PG-380]
he was recording digitally on the obsolete
always tell if somebody is being straight with
synth guitar. He had a few Gibson acoustics
Alesis HD24, which had a hot swappable
them. When they’re coming on to you with
and several Martins, including one that
hard drive. I had to go through all those
one thing or another, you become a little
they made to his specs called the JJ Cale
hard drives to find out where he might
more guarded. I think that people in famous
[a 000-45 created for Cale in 1991]. It’s
have recorded bits and pieces of things.
roles just appreciate it when somebody is
I think John was comfortable in his own
coming from a clear straight place, with no
on the cover of the album Guitar Man. What sort of outboard gear did he use?
bullsh*t. John guarded his privacy so much
liked to play everything. He would try several
He had some different preamps: a Langevin
because, as he used to say, “If they know
guitars on a song on a home demo. He might
[Discrete Dual Microphone Preamplifier]
I’m somebody, it changes everything.”
He had Fenders and Gibsons, and he just
G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
J UN E
2 019
19
© RORY D OY LE
TONE
Swimming with the Big Fish Blues phenom Christone “Kingfish” Ingram gets a little help on his debut album from Keb’ Mo’ and Buddy Guy B Y
J I M
B E A U G E Z
P H O T O
R O R Y
D O Y L E
CH R I STON E “ K I N G FI SH” I N G RAM
years old, then switched to guitar at 12 while
can ease on by. Ingram may be the heir
may play guitar like he’s on fire, but there’s
enrolled in the Delta Blues Museum’s Arts and
apparent to the Mississippi blues tradition,
no hellhound on his trail. Growing up in
Education program. In the eight years since,
but there’s more than a touch of Jimi Hendrix
Clarksdale, Mississippi, in the shadow of
the 20-year-old has been hailed as a prodigy,
in his playing. Even so, it’s unfair to saddle him
Robert Johnson’s fabled crossroads, the
performed before stunned audiences on both
with his influences; he’s quickly playing his
20-year-old guitarist was destined to find the
sides of the Atlantic, and earned the respect
way out of them and is intent on establishing
blues. It’s just that he found them in church,
and friendship of blues legends like Buddy
his own style. “I’m still learning,” he says. “I’m
not in a juke joint or down a dusty Delta road.
Guy. On his debut album, Kingfish (Alligator),
always on the search for somebody who’s
Ingram plays with the same intensity he
better than me, ’cause I can always learn and
uncles played bass and guitar,” Ingram says.
brings to the stage, clutching his pick with a
grow from others who play totally different
“Just looking at them playing in church made
commanding grip while his left hand wrings
styles from what I’m normally listening to.”
me want to do it.”
the tone out of every scorching note.
“On my mom’s side of the family, all of my
Ingram picked up bass when he was eight
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But anyone looking for the next B.B. King
As Ingram prepped Kingfish for release, followed by supporting dates with Guy and
G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
Vampire Weekend, Guitar Player caught up with the guitarist to find out how the blues hooked him. You received most of your formal training at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale. What inspired you to play? Pretty much all the regular blues stuff. I already knew who B.B. King was, but I didn’t know Albert King or Freddie King. So when I and rawness — that’s what made me want to go full in. How deep into theory did those lessons go?
© PAU L N AT KIN
first heard those guys — you know, that power
WIth Buddy Guy
Our mentors showed us the pentatonic scale for blues, obviously, so that’s pretty much
The guitar I’m playing at the moment is an
how I learned. They were showing us different
LP-style guitar made by Mike Chertoff [of
scales and all, but they would teach us songs
Chertoff Custom Guitars] in New York. It’s a
as well. I picked up the Dorian stuff and
really powerful guitar. I can plug that straight
Mixolydian stuff. That’s what I’m doing at the
into an amp and it just sounds massive. I got
moment, trying to incorporate that a whole
interested in LPs and humbuckers when I was
lot more into what I’m playing.
into Gary Moore for a spell. I always loved that fat, distorted tone, and I felt the LP was right
Buddy Guy guests on your first single,
up my alley. For the few songs that need a
“Fresh Out.” How did you two hook up?
trebly tone, I break out the Strat. Some nights
I opened a show for him back in 2012, and I
I’ll stick with the LP, and some nights I may
sat in with him at the Waterfront Blues
not play it at all and use the Strat instead.
“ OT IS RUS H . M A N , H IS V IB RATO IS P RE T T Y. A L B E RT K IN G, TOO. I PAT T ER N E D M Y V IB RATO A F T E R T H OS E GU YS”
Festival [in 2015]. He took a liking to me, I think, and one day we got a call saying that
What amps do you prefer these days?
Sometimes I tweak it if I’m playing a song
he wanted to help me with a record. Matter of
Pretty much Peavey, and if a Peavey isn’t
with some chords and I need some fattening
fact, “Fresh Out” was the song Buddy chose
available, I’ll use a Fender. At home I use a
to fill in the gaps.
for me to do. When we recorded it and played
Peavey Delta Blues 210, and I also like the
it for him, he liked it and he got on it. It was
Peavey Classic 50. I like using those on the
Your tone is so thick. It sounds like you’re
really dope.
road. They have this really cool clean tone,
playing .012s, but the strings look like
and I love that. That’s why Peavey’s been my
.008s when you’re bending and adding
Your song with Keb’ Mo’, “Listen,” has such
first-choice, go-to amps. When it comes to
vibrato. It looks like you’re playing
a different flavor from the rest of the
Fender, just a Fender Twin or a Fender Hot
spaghetti noodles up there.
record. It’s really laid back in an Allman
Rod DeVille is fine.
[laughs] I used to use .012s, but it got bad for my fingers. Now I use .011s. My technique was
Brothers kind of way. I wasn’t expecting that song to come out like
What do you use to get such a saturated
just something I worked on. I was listening to
that. Most of the album is traditional blues,
yet clear lead tone?
Otis Rush. Man, his vibrato is pretty. Albert
but I wanted to go out of the box a little bit
I’m always changing distortion pedals. I have
King had a pretty vibrato, too. I patterned my
and have something for everybody. And that
three that I alternate between. The first one is
vibrato after those guys, and that’s how I
was a perfect moment, you know?
the MXR Sugar Drive, and then I have a Keeley
figured it out.
Keb’ actually played rhythm guitar on
El Rey Dorado, which is really dope. I like really
some of the other tracks, and he’s playing
high-gain distortion pedals. What I’m using at
Your songs are built on a traditional blues
slide on “Hard Times.” So he had already
the moment is an EWS Brute Drive. My Sugar
foundation, but as soon as you step away
been on the album, but the idea for me to put
Drive is heavy, but it’s more low and clean,
from the mic, you play like you’re on fire.
him on a song as a singer came maybe a
and the El Dorado and Brute Drive, those are
What drives you?
month later.
just full-on high-gain and really heavy rock
Man, just the thought of being onstage.
tones, and that’s what I’ve been going for
You know, for many of us, that’s our happy
You played Strats early on, but now you
lately. I also use an MXR Echoplex delay with
place — just being up there doing what
seem to prefer Les Paul–style guitars and
the tap tempo. If I’m soloing on a slow blues, I
I love. Being able to do it gives me the
humbuckers.
have this fast but almost subtle delay.
drive to go in and try to do my best.
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me an MXR Distortion +. It saturated the tone a little, so I could get those one-note slide things.” These days he favors Dunlop’s Moonshine and Keb’ Mo’ guitar slides. “The Keb’ Mo’ is a little glassier and makes an acoustic sound almost like a resonator,” he says. “Whereas, I use the darker Moonshine on my electric for that fat, slow thing.” McFarlane was living in Los Angeles while touring and recording with Raitt, but after a few years he and his wife had enough of the West Coast scene. Fate intervened when he met Jimmy Johnson while the legendary Muscle Shoals guitarist was in Los Angeles getting MSS — as in Muscle Shoals Sound — Records started. “I played him one of my songs, and he said, ‘Jerry Wexler’s in Muscle Shoals producing McGuinn, Clark & Hillman, and I want to get that song on the record,’” McFarlane recalls. Johnson flew him down to the Alabama studio and put together a band to demo the song. Among the musicians were drummer Roger Hawkins and bassist David Hood, from the legendary Muscle Shoals
Soul Man
Rhythm Section, a.k.a. the Swampers. Shortly after, McFarlane moved his family to the Alabama area, where he signed to a
From Bonnie Raitt to Muscle Shoals, Will McFarlane has been an in-demand gun for hire over more than four decades B Y
M I C H A E L
P H O T O G R A P H
R O S S B Y
B O B
publishing company and began working as a session guitarist. “When Malaco Records bought Muscle Shoals Sound and started bringing in Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland, Little Milton and Johnnie Taylor, I was the guy they were using,” he says. “FAME was still going, and owner Rick Hall had guys he would use, but every now and then he would want
S E A M A N
something different. The first time he hired me, it was to play slide. I brought my ’59 tweed Fender Bassman and my ’54 Strat. He wanted one lick. It was a double-scale or
AT T H E T I M E that Alabama’s Muscle
scale-and-a-half overdub session. I know I did
Shoals Sound Studio and FAME Recording
his style from the masters. “The things that
it right the first time, but he didn’t want to pay
Studios were celebrated in Greg Camalier’s
caught my ear were Cornell Dupree’s pretty
me the full fee for five minutes, so he kept me
2013 documentary, Muscle Shoals, Will
licks on Brook Benton’s hit ‘Rainy Night In
doing it for a couple hours.”
McFarlane had already been a session player
Georgia,’ and Steve Cropper’s opening to
in those parts for more than 30 years. His
‘Soul Man,’” he says. Eventually he learned to
company wasn’t a mere matter of luck. The
story began in the early ’70s, when Bonnie
play lead and even slide. “Bonnie loved slide
guitarist was steeped in the music of the area
Raitt’s manager, Dick Waterman, brought his
and would sometimes want that sound while
long before he relocated there. “I had a buddy,
charge to a Boston club where McFarlane
playing rhythm on her [Gibson ES-] 175,” he
Paul Siegel, who may be my biggest musical
was playing. “She came in at the end of a set,”
says. “Little by little, I started playing more
influence,” he recalls. “In 1972, he turned me
he recalls. A formidable lead player, Raitt was
slide. Initially, it was all in standard tuning,
on to the Staples Singers record, Be Altitude:
not in the market for a flashy soloist. That
which helped me learn to mute.”
Respect Yourself, with ‘Respect Yourself’ and
made McFarlane a good fit. “I wasn’t a real
22
The guitarist learned the fills that inspired
Back when McFarlane began touring, the
McFarlane’s invitation into this exalted
‘I’ll Take You There’ on it. That was the first
lead player. I was a fill guy,” he explains.
pedals we enjoy today didn’t exist. “I went
time I ever saw a picture of the Muscle Shoals
“Playing rhythm guitar and locking in to the
straight into the amp for the first tour,” he
guys.” Like so many others, McFarlane was
hi-hat was my thing.”
says. “There was a guy in our crew who gave
shocked to learn they were white. “Eddie
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G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
SESSIONS
Hinton was on ‘I’ll Take You There,’” he says.
As for his key guitars, McFarlane favors a
“Eddie may have been the funkiest guitar
custom-built TMG Tele-type out of Australia,
player ever from Muscle Shoals. He was like
a ’55 Telecaster he’s had since he toured with
Otis Redding as a singer and like Reggie
Raitt and a Danocaster S-type. “My main
Young on guitar.”
guitar with Bonnie was a ’54 Strat,” he says.
As “the youngest of the old guys” at
“It’s serial number 0533. The guy before me
Muscle Shoals, McFarlane worked with OG
bought it from the original owner, then saw
Swampers Hinton, Johnson, Hawkins, Hood
Hendrix at Woodstock and got a factory refin
and pianist Barry Beckett. He also logged
because he wanted a white Strat. It has the
hours with later guitar pickers like Wayne
original bobbins, but they’ve been rewound
Perkins, who played on the Rolling Stones’
by Seymour Duncan, and I have a five-way
Black and Blue; Duncan Cameron, who
switch in it.”
worked on “Smuggler’s Blues” for Glenn Frey;
His guitars are strung with D’Addario .010s,
and, more recently, Kelvin Holly of the
except for the ’54 Strat, which is strung with
Amazing Rhythm Aces. In the beginning,
.011s for playing slide in his band, Big Shoes.
Jimmy Johnson served as McFarlane’s main
The name is a takeoff on Little Feat, because
mentor, with Roger Hawkins helping as well.
at first they exclusively covered tunes recorded
“When Jimmy moved to the other side of
by that iconic band. Recently, though, the group
the glass, I became his alter ego,” he says. “I’d
released a record of original compositions
done sessions in L.A., including playing on the
called Step On It (Biglittle Records).
Urban Cowboy soundtrack and Bonnie’s
“A wonderful drummer, Andy Peake,
records, but he helped me learn how to
wanted to do a Little Feat tribute, and they
compress my dynamics so they sat well in
needed a slide player,” McFarlane says. “I drove
the mix. I also learned how to make my tone
up to Nashville for the first rehearsal, and we
articulate, so when they pan my part to the
clicked. We’d go and play an hour and a half of
side and mix it low you still feel it. Roger had
Little Feat tunes. But all the guys in the band
a great expression when he produced. I would
write, and little by little we started saying,
be playing something and he would stop the
‘Let’s be a band, and not just a tribute act.’”
tape and go, ‘No truth in that.’ It’s about believing in what I’m doing.” When it comes to gear, in Muscle Shoals less is more. “You very rarely use distortion,”
McFarlane still does sessions, both in Muscle Shoals and in Nashville. Asked to explain the difference between them, he explains, “In Muscle Shoals, we’re not a 10,
“ M USCLE S HOA LS I S THE B EST SOU N D P E R DOLLAR I N THE WO R LD” McFarlane explains. “I might use an overdrive
two and six town,” referring to the strict
pedal like the Klon. I use a volume pedal and
three-hour groupings of work in Tennessee.
a tuner. I have a restored ’69 Fender Princeton
“An artist may want to cut 11 tracks in three
that is a mystical little amp. I bring it up to
days. We might get five or seven the first day.
about three. If you hit it with an overdrive
Or the session may start slowly, and we may
pedal, it does great power chords.”
not get one for a while, so we only cut four the
McFarlane has known JHS Pedals owner
first day, but we come in the next day and
Josh Scott since the manufacturer was three
cut six. Then we might say, ‘You want to
years old and employs some of that
leave one more for tomorrow, or hang
company’s effects. “I have a Moonshine
around?’” As relaxed as that may seem, the
overdrive for a little more saturation,” he says.
job gets done in a way that is musically and
“It’s good for slide tone. I use an analog delay
financially economical. More and more artists
he sent me, the Cub Panther. I’ve been using
are drawn to that economy and to the
his Pulp ’n’ Peel compressor because you can
historical magic embedded in the multiple
blend in the compression. I don’t always like
studios and talent of the Muscle Shoals area.
to commit to full compression, especially
Notes McFarlane, “We’re the best sound per
with humbuckers.”
dollar in the world.”
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9000
RECORDING
“ WE ’ D G RA B A COU P L E OF J - 45 s , STA N D BAC K FOU R F E ET F ROM T H E M IC, A N D B OO M , W E’ D G ET T H AT ROL L IN G STON ES V IB E GOIN G ”
Born to Run
On American Love Song, alt-country troubadour Ryan Bingham chases the blues with help from Charlie Sexton B Y
J I M
B E A U G E Z
RYAN B I N G H A M G R E W up in a family
styles that make up the soundtrack of his life.
and Texas guitar legend Charlie Sexton as
that was constantly on the move, something
“I really wanted this album to go back to my
producer and collaborator, Bingham went to
that has had a lasting influence on the
beginnings,” he says. “I was trying to reflect all
Austin to create American Love Song. The
singer-songwriter. His parents shuffled
these different regions and places I’ve lived in
track “Pontiac” layers Cajun fiddle over a
around the U.S. southwest in pursuit of work,
while growing up, and throughout my life.”
stomping blues riff and dueling slide guitars.
a journey Bingham continued on his own
“Beautiful and Kind” is a droning, fingerpicked
starting at age 17. Along the way, he absorbed
a bar his parents operated in New Mexico,
acoustic-blues homage to East Texas legend
the border-town Tejano, southern Louisiana
Bingham picked up a love for artists like
Lightnin’ Hopkins. And, of course, the record
zydeco, and dusty, West Texas red-dirt
Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson
gives Bingham and Sexton plenty of
country music of the towns he encountered.
and Bob Wills. For years after the business
opportunities to play off each other.
On American Love Song (Axster Bingham
closed and the family ranch sold, that record
“We’d track together,” Bingham says. “I’d
Records), his sixth set of acoustic guitar–
stash became one of the only constants in his
play an acoustic and he’d be on electric, and
driven folk-country, Bingham sets his
life as the clan hopped from oil field to border
he’d show me new chords to play. He’ll pick
desert-parched rasp to a bluesy blend of
town and back again.
up a guitar that’s completely out of tune and
influences, meandering among the musical
24
Through a record collection assembled at
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After recruiting longtime Dylan sideman
just make the chord up as he goes. When you
G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M