G U I TA R P L AY E R . C O M
JOE BONAMASSA: MY CAREER IN FIVE SONGS
M FRO
PLAYE
R
PETERS FRA LYLE WMPTON O ARIEL RKMAN CHEAP POSEN TR BUCK ICK DHAR MA
Robby Krieger on the group’s final chapter
PLUS JOHN DENSMORE • BRUCE BOTNICK • INSIDE JIM MORRISON’S NOTEBOOKS
TRACKS
Joe Bonamassa and friend in London
My Career in Five Songs
Joe Bonamassa reveals his “survival rig” as he tells the tales behind a handful of favorites from his catalog. B Y
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M c S T E A
TO CA L L J O E B O N A MASSA prolific
to keep my profile raised. I’ve got all this
sharp. We’re going to do five shows to
would be an understatement. In an age where
music that I want to record and release; I love
truncated audiences, working with whatever
artists can go for years between releases,
making records. If I was on a major label,
rules are in place at the venues. One of the
Bonamassa regularly turns out a couple of
they’d never agree to releasing albums at the
shows, in Austin, Texas, will be livestreamed
albums per annum. Whether they are solo
rate that I do it, but my career has never been
on pay-per-view.
releases, one-off projects, team-ups with
based on the normal way of doing things.”
esteemed collaborators such as Beth Hart or supergroup outings like Black Country
shrewd operator,
Communion, the constants are Bonamassa’s
always looking to
absolute commitment to excellence and his
maximize potential in a
relentless work ethic.
music business that is
According to Joe, the reason for his
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Bonamassa, as ever the consummate professional,
Bonamassa is a
a shadow of its former
“IF I WAS ON A MAJOR LABEL, THEY’D NEVER AGREE TO RELEASING ALBUMS AT THE RATE THAT I DO IT ”
underscores the reason why he is trying to keep live events going for his own band. “I don’t want us to get too rusty,” he explains. “If we come
prodigious output is simple. “If you’ve got
self thanks to
something to say, then say it!” he exclaims.
streaming services that
“The cycle of music is much faster now. You
have decimated artists’
can put a record out in May, and in September
incomes and the
guys are asking, ‘Have you got anything new?’
global shutdown. “I have friends in heritage
it’s gonna take some time to knock that rust
We’re releasing preview tracks weeks before
rock acts who haven’t really done anything
off. Of course, fans will want to see us live,
the album, which is not the way it used to be.
for a year,” he says. “I wonder how easy it will
and we really want that interaction. We did a
Having said that, I’m not releasing records just
be to get back in gear again. I want us to stay
live pay-per-view show at the [Nashville]
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back in the fall or next spring and we haven’t played for two years,
G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
COLUMN
Spin Doctor The Fender Vibratone rotary-speaker cabinet had the cure for common guitar tone. MOST GU I TA R I STS WHO have plugged into a whirling, sound-warping, Doppler effect–inducing Fender Vibratone can recall the major impression that playing through a rotary-speaker cabinet made on them. It’s unlikely any compact electronic rendition of the effect will fully satisfy them. The occasionally crosspollinated worlds of vibrato and chorus have been immensely popular with guitarists in their many forms since they first became available. From the late-’60s Univox Uni-Vibe to the mid-’70s Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble and today’s contemporary re-creations of those and other beloved analog pedals, each is an electricguitar classic in its own right. But the trail begins with the granddaddy of them all: the Fender Vibratone. Produced from 1967 to 1972, it’s a hulking electromechanical sound swirler that produced what is still the most hypnotic and enveloping version of this effect. Fender licensed the Vibratone from an original rotary-speaker design by inventor Don Leslie, who introduced his rotary-speaker cabinet for use with
big Leslie Model 122, 142 or 147. Aptly called
Hammond organs in the 1940s. The most
Tone Cabinets, these beasts weighed upward
rotary-speaker effect virtually since its
popular of these units were formidable
of 150 pounds, were housed in louvered wood
incarnation, and occasionally adapted Leslies
beasts that contained their own power
cabinets, and included a built-in tube amp, a
for use with the six-string, these cabinets
amplifiers as well as two different types of
15-inch woofer firing downward into a ported
really weren’t well suited to the instrument.
rotary speakers. That trenchant swirl you hear
rotating drum, and a dual-horn tweeter that
Aside from being huge and monstrously
from a great Hammond player like Jimmy
spins on a horizontal plane. (One of the horns
heavy, the contribution of the upper tweeter
Smith, Booker T. Jones, the Heartbreakers’
is a dummy that simply acts as a counter-
section was often regarded as less than ideal
Benmont Tench and the E Street Band’s
weight to its partner to maintain balance.) A
for reproducing the guitar’s frequency range,
Danny Fenderici is most often the result of a
crossover splits the lower and higher
and the built-in amp was seen as redundant,
frequencies between the woofer and horn,
since most guitarists were already plugged
respectively, and both the drum rotor and
into standard amps that they liked. What’s
horn spin, speed up and slow down at
more, the Leslie cabinet took its power
different rates, creating a veritable maelstrom
through a cable connected to the organ,
of sound when the drum and horn are
making the adaptation of one for guitar a
spinning at full tilt. Standing in a room or
particularly complicated endeavor.
> Ported rotating drum > 10-inch speaker > Chorale (slow) and tremolo (fast) speeds > Cable set and interface between amp and cab > Two-button foot switch
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onstage amid such a storm of sound can be a
As it happened, the Fender Vibratone was
heady experience. Indeed, play through a
based on the somewhat smaller, black
Leslie and you’ll discover why many guitarists
Tolex–covered Leslie Model 16, which
will never settle for anything less than the
required the use of an external amplifier and
sound of a true rotary-speaker cabinet.
contained only a single 10-inch speaker firing
G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
I MAG E D BY HERI TAG E AUCTIO NS HA.COM
ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS
While guitarists have lusted after the
BLUES POWERS Meet 10 guitarists who are keeping the blues alive and well for a new generation of players.
What does blues
Duane Allman’s opening solo lick on “Stormy Monday” from the Allman Brothers’ At Fillmore East.
mean to you?
The blues is our American musical roots. It’s an essential building block for most American popular music today. Without the blues, the current musical landscape would look totally different. And, because of that, the blues is as alive as ever.
guitar playing to make your style and sound unique?
Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Duane Allman, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robert Johnson, Eric Gales, Taj Mahal and many more.
I don’t try to achieve a unique sound. My guitar voice is a natural extension of me, and I believe it comes from my heart, hands and head, in that order. The players that stand out have their own recognizable sound. In my book, if a player achieves that, then he’s unique. I’d rather listen to a mistake-filled solo that is unique and adventurous than someone sounding like a technically perfect Clapton, SRV or Hendrix clone. I think the greatest honor for a guitarist is to be recognized for his own sound.
What was the first blues song or lick you
How do you interpret the blues for a
learned?
modern audience?
Who are your blues guitar heroes?
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What do you try to achieve in your own
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I like to blend elements of rock, soul, R&B, jazz and funk, and all those influences help me express the sound in my head. A great example of this is the track I recently worked on with Bootsy Collins and Snoop Dogg, “Jam On,” for Bootsy’s new album, The Power of the One. What are your favorite pieces of gear?
My D’Angelico Brandon Niederauer Atlantic signature model guitar and my Analog Man King of Tone pedal. What song in your catalog best exemplifies your approach to the guitar?
I think that would be one of my original compositions, “Find a Way.” The song structure allows me to play super melodically, approaching the guitar part slowly at first before building my solo, simmering things back down, and then exploding, if I want to.
SCOTT LEGATO/G E TTY IMAGES
BRANDON “TAZ” NIEDERAUER
G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
ERJA LYYTINEN
Carlos Santana called her “the future” of guitar music. Naturally, she knows a thing or two about the blues.
F B Y
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B I E N S T O C K
INNISH GUITAR MAVERICK Erja Lyytinen has been putting her own spin on the blues for close to two decades, in the process earning a European Guitarist of the Year award, sharing stages with the likes of Carlos Santana and playing to more than 80,000 in her hometown of Helsinki for a televised New Year’s Eve concert. In addition to approaching the blues from a fresh perspective both musically and geographically, she possesses a powerful, emotive voice and a devastating slide technique. It’s no wonder her 2019 autobiography was titled Blueskuningatar (The Blues Queen). You released a live album, Lockdown Live, during the pandemic. How did that work?
In Helsinki we had three weeks of total lockdown, and when that time ended, me and my band thought, Okay, let’s get out of here. We traveled up to Kuopio, where I’m from, to do this gig at a warehouse, and we did a livestream and recorded it at the same time. The coronavirus had just started two months before, so we were still like, “Yeah, we’re going to be gigging soon.” We were still full of energy and giving our best, and that’s why I think people have received it very generously. They like the powerful, energetic feeling that it has.
ADAM KE NNE DY
Blues is commonly viewed as a distinctly American sound. What led you to it growing up in Finland?
I’ve just always really loved blues and soul music. I remember being 16 and G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
having a band and covering stuff from Koko Taylor and Johnny Winter and all these different kinds of blues artists. I really love that genuine feeling in blues and how strong the performers are onstage. It’s so honest. The emotions feel so real. Of course, I have my own roots, and I have my own kind of Scandinavian sound in my playing, too. But I’ve always been drawn to American and British blues. And everywhere you go, there’s always somebody who plays or listens to the blues. It’s a universal language. One of the calling cards of your playing style is your distinctive slide work. How did you develop your technique?
and I might use a capo, but then I’ll also use a Whammy Pedal, wah, distortion, and delays and modulation effects. For me, slide is like an adventure. Do you recall the first blues song or blues lick that you learned?
I was playing Koko Taylor’s music and I was trying to do the vocals and then play the blues riffs in between the lines. When I finally got that going, I was like, “Yeah, this is a new, different world!” How do you interpret
“I HAVE MY OWN ROOTS, AND I HAVE MY OWN KIND OF SCANDINAVIAN SOUND IN MY PLAYING, TOO”
Slide started to fascinate me when I was around 20 years old, and I kind of picked it up on my own. I think because nobody really taught me to how to play slide guitar, I’ve been really open-minded with it, and I use a lot of different effect pedals when I do it. Of course I play in open tunings,
the blues for a modern audience?
I bring in different elements and styles. I’m really open to anything. With my previous studio album, [2019’s] Another World, I was very open in my interpretation of the music. And, you know, in roots music you wouldn’t necessarily need to use any effects, but I use them quite a lot. I have two separate pedalboards with around 12 or 13 pedals. For me, using pedals is a big way of expressing myself as a guitar player. J UN E
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PLAYERS
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Robby Krieger and John Densmore unmask the myths behind the Doors’ final album, 1971’s L.A. Woman. B Y
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LARRY HULST/MI CHAEL OC HS ARCHI VES/G E TTY IMAG ES
YTHS AND MYSTERY pervade nearly everything about the Doors. But at the heart of those myths are real people. And real people are never one-dimensional, are they? The same may be said about the Doors as a collective, and perhaps even more so, as individual men. Transmuting mythology and erotic intrigue into the raw material for a blues-based, jazz-conscious and soul-savvy sound, the Doors distilled an unlikely alchemy of confrontational, cutting-edge pop-rock, experimental theater and potent poetry. That volatile chemistry would explode into public consciousness less than two years after their auspicious first rehearsals by the warm sands of Venice Beach, California, in the early summer of 1965.
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mercurial manic-to-morose performances. The self-medication. The madness. The militancy. The mellifluous-to-murderous vocal timbres. The majesty and agony of it all. And yes, the mystery of Jim’s untimely passing, for which these pages are not the suitable venue for speculation or surmise. All told, while they may have just been four bright collegeaged kids with a taste for mischief, Mary Jane and music, the Doors, it seems, were simply too much mind expansion for the 20th century to mentally manage. So it was all conveniently converted into myth. How do you unravel a myth? Let’s start with music. It’s proven good for a lot of things.
DO IT, ROBBY, DO IT
Of all the band’s enigmas, their taciturn and unflappable guitarist, 75-year-old Robert Alan Krieger, remains the least unraveled, in no small part because
P HOTO ©FRANK LI SCI ANDRO
T
he mythological motifs, militant stance and nods to both classical and avant-garde theater that singer Jim Morrison weaponized as broadswords in the culture wars of the late ’60s were quickly met by a quadruple counterpunch of adulation, controversy, commercial success and, finally, legal jeopardy following his arrest in Miami, Florida on March 1, 1969, on questionable charges of public obscenity and inciting a riot. Rocked by the harsh reaction and rejection from promoters and the public, Morrison and his bandmates — late keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore and their quietly virtuosic guitarist and co-songwriter Robby Krieger — collected themselves and carried on doing what they loved most: making music together as a team. Strained synapses and all. In the last few turbulent years of his life, then, Morrison helped the Doors deliver two arresting and accomplished albums, boasting a clutch of enduring “ROBBY’S FINGERS staples of rock radio, including WOULD SORT OF Morrison Hotel’s barreling “Roadhouse CRAWL ACROSS THE Blues,” as well as L.A. Woman’s “Riders on the Storm,” “Love Her STRINGS LIKE A CRAB. Madly” and the indelible title track, a seven-minute post-modern bluesIT GAVE HIM THIS noir epic for the ages. L.A. Woman, VERY UNIQUE LIQUID the album that began to bloom only STYLE, A GLORIOUSLY when the band’s longtime star producer Paul Rothchild quit the IMPRESSIONISTIC project in evident disgust in its formative stages, turns 50 this year. It SOUND” is a bittersweet anniversary. — JOHN DENSMORE With leading-edge audio tools wielded by album producer/engineer Bruce Botnick, and the help of realignment technology from Plangent Processes, the upcoming 176kHz/24bit remasters of the L.A. Woman 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition have been restored to their proper “true azimuth” tape speed. The tracks sound as vivid, immediate and urgent as they must have sounded during first playback through the Langevin 12-input solid-state console at the Doors Workshop studio at 8512 Santa Monica Boulevard, in West Hollywood. To be fair, it was a makeshift studio at best: a highceilinged but compact room with a few baffles, a couple of acoustic wall panels and few frills — except for plenty of cold bottled beer. Critical and commercial redemption for the Doors would not be long in coming, though sadly Morrison would not be there to bask in it. Jim Morrison died in the Le Marais district of Paris on July 3, 1971. He was 27 years old. Fifty years later, the group’s critics and fans are still trying to sort it all out: The music. The
G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
he’s the only surviving member not to have written a memoir — yet. (“I saw what happened when the other guys published theirs,” he says. “Nothing but trouble.”) That will change this November, when Little, Brown is set to publish Krieger’s long-awaited biography, Set the Night on Fire. Krieger is easily among the most underestimated guitar players in the pantheon of 1960s rock. His distinctive playing synthesizes ideas from a galactic range of artists: flamenco master Sabicas, jazz titan Wes Montgomery, blues great Mike Bloomfield, the Ventures’ Nokie Edwards, Indian sitar icon Ravi Shankar, the great Chuck Berry and, notably, the early ’60s folk and blues revival. What’s more, Krieger wrote the lion’s share of the Doors’ major hits, both the music and the words, including “Touch Me,” “Light My Fire,” “Love Me Two Times” and “Love Her Madly.” “Robby was so incredibly gifted, from his playing to his songwriting G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
abilities,” says Doors drummer John Densmore, whose own most recent book, The Seekers: Meetings With Remarkable Musicians (And Other Artists) (Hachette Books), explores his personal connections to luminaries from Jerry Lee Lewis to his drum hero, Elvin Jones. “Interestingly, Robby never played with a pick — he had these long fingernails on his right hand from playing flamenco, so when he’d take a solo or play a riff, he would play it with his fingers. They’d sort of crawl across the strings like a crab. It gave him this very unique, liquid style, a gloriously impressionistic sound.” All those popping, ultra-present pentatonic riffs like “Break On Through,” “Love Me Two Times,” “Maggie M’Gill” and the iconic E-blues figures on “Roadhouse Blues”? Every single one of them was played with the fingers of Krieger’s right hand, a clawhammer-like thumb-index-middle talon technique that included clacking the pickups (“The
The Doors with Jerry Scheff and Marc Benno in the Workshop studio recording L.A. Woman. (from left) Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, Scheff, Benno, Robby Krieger and Jim Morrison
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ETHAN MI LLE R/GE TTY IMAG ES
PLAYERS
Peter Frampton performing on Finale: The Farewell Tour, Red Rock Resort, Las Vegas, September 28, 2019
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G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
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SOLOS to leave you
SPEECHLESS On Frampton Forgets the Words, the rock icon lets his Les Paul do the talking. B Y
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G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
THE
GREAT UNKNOWN For more than 30 years, Lyle Workman has been the go-to sideman, session player and film music composer for discriminating artists. On Uncommon Measures, he revels in his own artistic identity.
TOM DE LLI NG ER
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Lyle Workman onstage with his Thorn SoCal R/S with Shoreline Gold finish
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AFICIONADO
SWORD PLAY With its wildly asymmetric body, Yamaha’s SG-7 earned the nickname Flying Samurai when it debuted in 1967. B Y
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E W A N
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impossible to view a vintage SG-7 in person and not want to lay your hands on it. In fact, Yamaha aimed the SG-7 at its own domestic market, using design input from Takeshi Terauchi, a homegrown star who was chasing an American-born breed of music that was wildly popular in Japan at the time. In his late teens, Terauchi was inspired by the sound of the Ventures, then behind a G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
GUITAR COURT ESY OF EMPIRE GUITARS R.I.
F
E N D E R A ND G I BSON set Country, among many others. The the standard for arena-rock SG2000 showed off Yamaha as a maker tones by the mid 1970s, but of professional-quality electric guitars by then many players were and helped erase the impression that aware that neither company Japanese guitars were cheap imports. was making them quite like they used to. But lest anyone forget, Yamaha’s Norlin-era Les Pauls were but a pale ability to turn out eye-catching solidbody imitation of their late-1950s, PAF-loaded electric guitars predates that explosion predecessors, and the CBS-owned by a full decade. The company launched Fender was at a similar nadir with its SG — for “Solid Guitar” — line in respect to its ever-popular Stratocaster 1966 after enjoying considerable success and Telecaster models. in the acoustic market. The SGs Such lax quality set the stage for comprised a range of attention-grabbing Japanese guitar makers to show axes with unusually shaped American guitar players what they could asymmetrical bodies. They included the do, with Yamaha chief among them. The SG-3, SG-5, SG-12 12-string and, the company jumped into the fray and blew flagship of the line, the SG-7, as seen away all preconceptions of the cheap here in our 1967 example. With its Asian import in irresistibly quirky 1976 with the Italianate features SG2000, a double— including an THE SG-7 LOOKS A cutaway Les elongated horn on LITTLE LIKE SOMEONE Paul–inspired the treble side and a instrument with hockey stick–style ATTACHED THE NECK deluxe construction headstock — the IN THE WRONG PLACE and appointments. SG-7 looks a little Developed partly in like someone consultation with Carlos Santana, the decided to attach the neck in the wrong SG2000 received rave reviews and was place… and maybe forgot a big hunk of used by not only Santana but also the body’s upper bout as well. Be-Bop Deluxe’s Bill Nelson, Boz Skaggs, And yet, this is one irresistibly Stiff Little Fingers’ Jake Burns, and scrumptious electric guitar. Whichever Stuart Adamson of the Skids and Big way your own tastes run, it’s nearly
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GEAR
Fender
AMERICAN ACOUSTASONIC JAZZMASTER T EST E D BY J I M M Y L ES L IE
blend knob with A (counter-clockwise) and B
Neither? Both? How about all of the above!
sides offers 10 distinct voice pairs, plus myriad
body is so resonant that for position 2A we
The third iteration of Fender’s Acoustasonic
blending opportunities.
treated it in the same vein as a traditional
moves the series forward with fresh sounds,
Fender Acoustic honcho Billy Martinez
acoustic-electric, where the body does the
features and colors on the Jazzmaster’s offset
says, “We’ve always looked at the
work and the undersaddle piezo picks it up.
body shape while providing the hybrid
Acoustasonic as an acoustic first, with the
Roll the blend knob toward side B, and the
platform and easy-playing electric neck
electric element as icing on the cake. People
DSP adds a raw crunch via impulse-response
profile of its predecessors, the Acoustasonic
naturally want to apply pigeonhole tonal
interaction layered with digital electric guitar
Telecaster and Stratocaster. The Jazzmaster
comparisons to the electric counterparts and
images. That’s the most mesmerizing sound.
form wears the Acoustasonic aesthetic
other Acoustasonics, but our goal for each
It’s not coming from the humbucker at all,
particularly well, but there’s more to this story
iteration is to create a distinct instrument.”
even though it kind of sounds like it could be.
than a beautiful new body. Each incarnation
The hybrid design includes such absolutely
This is actually the first Acoustasonic not to
of the Acoustasonic offers opportunities to
acoustic elements as phosphor-bronze
have a position that blends the magnetic
fuel the Fishman-designed Acoustic Engine,
strings feeding an ebony bridge, which makes
pickup with the piezo. The whole premise of
which digitally interacts with the body’s
deeper comparisons to an electric Jazzmaster
the Acoustasonic platform is innovation, and
unique properties to create a novel tonal
with its unique tremolo bridge system and
we wanted to set the Jazzmaster apart. We’re
palette. Being the largest Acoustasonic so far,
single-coil pickups rather irrelevant. The
getting a lot of excitement from artists about
the Jazzmaster naturally offers a bit more.
Acoustasonic Jazzmaster is an entirely
the position-2 tones.”
For the uninitiated, each Acoustasonic model features three pickups — a piezo under
As a percussive player, I gravitate toward
different animal.” It offers four completely new voices. Two
the middle position because it’s the only one
saddle, an enhancing body sensor and a
of them, Mahogany Jumbo and All-Mahogany
that incorporates the Fishman Enhancer body
model-specific magnetic in the bridge
Small Body, reside in position 4. The sounds
sensor with a turn toward side B, and, boy,
position — all on a bolt-on chambered body
seemed to match their designations and felt
does it offer all the pop any slapper/tapper
featuring an innovative ported chamber
different as well. I could readily distinguish the
could ever need! I loved the detailed midrange
lighter, more
dubbed the Stringed Instrument Resonance
fundamental-
System. The articulate analog tone is like a
of the Rosewood Auditorium voice on side A, and blending in a bit of that body builder goes
cross between a resonator, a banjo, a
forward mahogany
a long way. I found myself falling back on the
flattop and a naked electric
voices from their
Rosewood Dreadnought voice in position 5A
guitar. A five-way voice
woolier, more
most often for a traditional tone.
selector and
complex rosewood counterparts. Two other brand-new voices, Lo-Fi Piezo and Lo-Fi Piezo Crunch, reside in position 2. The former sounds more like a typical acoustic-electric, while the latter sounds
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Martinez explains: “The larger Jazzmaster
IS IT A N ACOUST I C or an electric?
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Only position 1 features the humbucker, which was designed by Fender’s chief engineer and pickup guru Tim Shaw. The Shaw-bucker is downright rowdy. Fire it up and you’re instantly in lead mode, able to shred in the short rows more easily on the Jazzmaster because its carved neck heel
like a gnarly version. Acoustic aficionados
provides easy access to the upper register.
typically eschew such tones, but they
Position 1A is Fat/Semi-Clean, and that little
certainly honor the Jazzmaster’s legendary
humbucker produces a hot, sharp sound.
punk spirit.
Backing off that attack is a bit of an issue
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S P E C I F I C AT I O N S
Acoustasonic Jazzmaster CONTACT fender.com PRICE $1,999 street, deluxe gig bag included NUT WIDTH 1.69”, Tusq NECK Mahogany, modern “Deep C” profile FRETBOARD Ebony, 25.5” scale, 12” radius FRETS 22, narrow tall TUNERS Fender standard cast; sealed,
staggered with chrome finish BODY Mahogany body with solid Sitka spruce
top BRIDGE Ebony modern asymmetrical with
GraphTech Tusq saddle PICKUPS Fishman Matrix undersaddle piezo,
Fishman Enhancer internal body sensor, Acoustasonic Shawbucker (bridge) CONTROLS Volume, blend knob, 5-way blade
switch (for selecting voice pairs) POWER Rechargeable lithium-ion battery.
Metal output jack plate houses mini-USB charger slot and battery status indicator Fender’s Billy Martinez says, “This is the first Acoustasonic not to blend the magnetic pickup with the piezo.”
FACTORY STRINGS Fender Dura-Tone 860CL
coated phosphor bronze .011–.052 WEIGHT 5.5 lbs BUILT USA
because there is no tone control. I wound up
got carried away. I appreciated the hybrid
KUDOS Infinitely versatile hybrid tonal
employing a Fender Smolder Acoustic
Jazzmaster sounds on their own merits, and
spectrum. Easy playability and a
Distortion pedal for tone shaping and
had a blast creating all sorts of interesting
straightforward interface
smoothing overdriven tones.
tonal blends. My favorite position for the
CONCERNS Humbucker is hot and sharp, with
blend knob was usually somewhere in the
no tone control. Requires A/B box to split into
mysterious middle.
dual amps
Like its Tele and Strat siblings, the Acoustasonic Jazzmaster takes on its alter ego when plugged into an electric amp. Now
There is a bit of dilemma for die-hard
the Shaw-bucker knifes through a band mix
dualers such as myself that want it both
Acoustasonic Jazzmaster is the iconic brand’s
like a machete through a jungle. Blend toward
ways. You can’t split the piezo and magnetic
most sonically diverse guitar to date. It’s hard
side B, where onboard overdrive processing
signals, even with a stereo cable, but you can
not to agree. In the March issue’s Frets
resides, to enter feral “Rebel Rebel” territory.
use an A/B splitter box to get the full benefit
feature, Jimmy Buffett mentioned that if he
Having overdrive onboard is sure handy. The
of the summed acoustic-electric signal. Most
were starting out right now, he’d go with an
acoustic settings take on different characters
players probably won’t fuss with that, but the
Acoustasonic because it delivers the most
through a touch-sensitive tube amp such as
dual-amp tone is a hybrid dream. Performers
bang for the buck on the modern market.
the 1983 Fender Super Champ I used for
need to choose whether this ultra-versatile
That’s hard to argue with as well.
testing. The Acoustasonic Jazzmaster is
axe is primarily an acoustic or electric vehicle
outrageously responsive, and I was able to go
on any given occasion and feed the signal into
troubadours should by all means audition one
from hushed articulate tones to blazing
the appropriate amp. Your playing will wind
of those Acoustasonics. Fans of a bigger
sounds à la Neil Young and Crazy Horse
up leaning that direction as well. The good
acoustic sound, jacks-of-all trades and
simply by strengthening the attack, or
news is that you can’t lose either way. The
players looking for a dazzlingly distinctive
blending toward side B in positions 2 and 3.
Acoustasonic Jazzmaster sounds great direct
acoustic-electric will likely dig this Jazzmaster.
Be careful bringing in the body enhancer as it
into a P.A. or recording interface. Plug-and-
It’s a bold-sounding, shape-shifting guitar
acts kind of like a mic and is quite powerful. It
play studio applications alone could keep a
Swiss Army Knife. And are there perhaps
will push the tubes and is liable to produce
player busy for the rest of the pandemic.
more Acoustasonics in Fender’s future?
feedback or potentially overwhelm a low-power amp, as it did my Champ when I
G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, Fender claims that the American
Stratocaster cats and Telecaster
Martinez says, “We haven’t even scratched the surface.”
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85
GEAR
Rush
PEPBOX FUZZ PEDAL T EST E D BY DAV E H U NTE R B O RN I N T H E earliest years of the fuzz box’s rich history, the Rush Pepbox might be the most legendary fuzz pedal you’ve never heard of… unless you have. It was created in London in 1964 or early ’65 by engineer Pepe Rush as a modification of his first effort, the Fuzzy, itself based roughly on the Maestro Fuzz-Tone that had just set the British pop world on fire via Keith Richards’ signature riff for the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” Rush was himself a notable
The Rush PepBox is housed in the same wedge-
figure in the gear-and-inventions chapter of
shaped box as the original and features a circuit
the British Invasion, though he has received
(below) built on a reprint of the original.
too little recognition over the years. In addition to building amplifiers and studio electronics in the ’60s, he ran a recording
session at Abbey Road Studios in April 1966.
old-school authenticity — no converter input
studio and was the engineer behind the
Given the clamoring for an authentic and
jack. In one concession to modernity, the
Shadows’ original demo version of their hit
original version of the PepBox, in the wake of
pedal is wired for true bypass, using a DPDT
“Apache.” He also built massive mixers for
an unaffiliated WEM replica built by British
stomp switch, since there’s no status light.
London-based television companies and
Pedal Company, Pepe Rush and his daughter
outfitted Pete Townshend’s home studio.
Lucy began building period-spec re-creations
After building the first several units himself, Rush licensed the design to Charlie
of the original design in the 2010s. After her father’s death in late 2018, Lucy
Watkins of WEM and oversaw the initial few
carried on the tradition, and it’s from her
runs while WEM ramped up to build the box
hands that we’ve received the Rush PepBox.
in-house. Rush and WEM versions were used
The current handwired Rush PepBox is as
by Georgie Fame, the Animals, Zoot Money
close to the original — and perhaps any
and others, and one was famously seen under
original ’60s fuzz — as you’re likely able to get,
the foot of John Lennon during a recording
quirks and all. Housed in the same wedge-
S P E C I F I C AT I O N S
Each pedal includes a ribbon-tied “scroll” comprising a certificate of authenticity signed
shaped, hammered-finish metal box as the original, the circuit is built on reprints of
PepBox Fuzz Pedal
Pepe’s board, with its two germanium
CONTACT rushamps.com
transistors neatly folded down and inserted
PRICE $399 street
into holes cut in the board itself. Controls for Pep (fuzz) and level are on the front face,
CONTROLS Pep, level EXTRAS Hardwired output cable, NOS
which is also where you’ll find the input. The output is a hard-wired five-foot cable
germanium transistors, true-bypass switching
terminating in a 1/4-inch jack. Arguably, this
SIZE 6” x 3.25” x 2.25”
emulates the original version a little too
BUILT Assembled in U.K.
accurately, but that’s how it was done back in the day. It works fine as a long-ish patch
88
KUDOS A rich, warm, luscious germanium fuzz
cable, but players going straight into the amp
tone that’s appealingly ’60s voiced, in an
will want a female-to-male extension cable,
authentic hand-wired re-creation
or might even consider replacing it with a
CONCERNS Lower control settings are virtually
standard output jack. There’s also a nine-volt
useless (but so it goes with this design)
battery clip inside, and — again with the
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G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
GEAR
Pigtronix
CONSTELLATOR AND SPACE RIP PEDALS T EST E D BY DAV E H U NTE R A RGUA B LY T H E CU T EST cadre in all of the pedal brotherhood, the mini pedal has been with us for several years now. But rarely has anyone packed as much into it as Pigtronix has with its new series of stubby wonders. The company has a strong reputation for instilling its minis, including the Philosopher’s Tone Micro and Octava Micro, with clever features and deep-think designs. Thus, each of the new offerings delivers more than you might expect to find on even a standard-sized pedal.
We tested the Constellator Modulated Analog Delay and Space Rip Analog PWM Synthesizer, a pair of four-knob wonders
S P E C I F I C AT I O N S
Editors’ Pick
S P E C I F I C AT I O N S
stuffed into small metal enclosures. While the
Constellator Modulated Analog Delay
Space Rip Analog PWM Synthesizer
diminutive pedals have no room for a battery,
CONTACT pigtronix.com
CONTACT pigtronix.com
the savings in real estate means you can fit
PRICE $179 street
PRICE $179 street
(The new range also includes the Moon Pool
CONTROLS Time, mix, mod, repeats. Feel
CONTROLS Rate, tune, mix, sub. Shape and
Tremvelope Phaser, which was not available
switch
octave switches
for review at the time of writing.) We tested
EXTRAS True-bypass switching, LED indicator,
EXTRAS True-bypass switching, LED indicator,
both pedals into a tweed Deluxe-style 1x12
center-negative 9V DC adaptor input
center-negative 9V DC adaptor input
combo, a Friedman Small Box head and 2x12
SIZE 3.75” x 1.5” x 1.5” (excluding feet and
SIZE 3.75” x 1.5” x 1.5” (excluding feet and
cab (with the Constellator delay both in front
knobs)
knobs)
and in the effects loop), and a Fractal Axe-FX
BUILT Assembled in the USA
BUILT Assembled in the USA
Gibson Les Paul, a Fender Stratocaster and a
KUDOS A great-sounding analog delay with
KUDOS A wildly fun and great-sounding
Novo Serus J.
optional modulation. Impressively versatile,
analog synth pedal that boasts broader
especially for its size and price
applications than its size might imply
CO NST E L L ATO R M O DU L ATED
CONCERNS Modulation speeds are fixed, and
CONCERNS Proper function might require
A NA LO G D E L AY
vibrato might be a bit fast for some tastes
some practice for the uninitiated
couple of decades have relied upon the
parameters, while the last sets the depth of
standard-sized enclosures, and likely blows a
wonders of digital signal processing (DSP).
the modulation effect and dials it out
few out of the water as well. All of the
They’ve been constrained in part by the size of
altogether if desired. There is also a
Constellator’s controls function as their
the tech necessary to do it in analog style,
push-button labeled Feel, which toggles
names would lead you to expect, and each
especially when anything more than the basic
between two chorus types, when pushed in,
provides a broad range, with a smooth and
features was desired. Thanks to a pair of
and vibrato, when popped out. As a nifty
usable taper. More importantly, perhaps, the
reproductions of the vaunted Panasonic
feature, the LED indicator changes from red
sound of the repeats is both lush and rich
MN3005 bucket-brigade chips, the wee
to blue when vibrato is engaged.
even before you dial in modulation, and it’s
about 30 of them on the average pedalboard.
III with studio monitors. Our guitars were a
Many of the more compact delays of the past
Constellator achieves an impressive 600ms maximum delay time, with texture-enhancing
way, which is to say don’t look at this little
modulation thrown in to boot.
box purely as an option for space-challenged
Controls include time, mix, repeats and
mod. The first three govern the usual echo
90
In use, the Constellator delivered in a big
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20 21
sky’s-the-limit-lush once you start rolling up that knob.
The mod control is especially useful,
situations. For tone and function, it competes
allowing you to dial it out when you don’t
admirably with many analog delays in
want it, add the slightest flutter to thicken
G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
GEAR
Fender
’68 CUSTOM VIBRO CHAMP REVERB-AMP T EST E D BY A RT T H OM PSO N INT RO DUC E D I N 19 6 4, the tremoloequipped blackface Vibro Champ was a distant cousin of Fender’s Champion 800 and 600 models from the late 1940s, which evolved into the Champ-series amps in their various incarnations during the 1950s. These popular tweed models — which Duane Allman and Eric Clapton famously used on records such as (respectively) Layla and Other
speed and intensity controls on the Vibro
eight, the Vibro Champ Reverb is fun to
Assorted Love Songs and 461 Ocean Boulevard
Champ. Equipped with an eight-inch speaker,
pummel with a humbucker or P-90, producing
— were produced until 1964 and had the
the new Champs were favored for their warm,
a fat, crisp tone that’s very responsive to the
distinction of being the last of Fender’s original
clear tones and mild overdrive when cranked.
guitar volume and cleans up beautifully when
tweed amplifiers. In fall 1964, Fender introduced the
Champ Reverb is a modified version of the old
you roll down. The sounds have good balance and
blackface Champ and Vibro Champ models.
classic that is decked out in late-’60s
presence, and the low-end delivery and
Both retained the single 6V6 power tube
drip-edged garb, with a silver control panel
volume are impressive for the size. It’s bigger
running in single-ended Class A but added
and a silver/turquoise grille with aluminum
sounding than I expected and has more of
bass and treble controls and a three-knob
trim. On the inside it features a 10-inch
everything — including gain — than my stock
tone stack, as well as a “vibrato” circuit with
Celestion Ten 30 speaker and a foot-
1965 Vibro Champ. Of course, a lot of the
switchable DSP hall reverb with a level control.
credit goes to the ceramic-magnet Celestion
The amp has a modern-style PCB that grips
Ten 30, which is an excellent speaker choice
most of the smaller components, however,
thanks to its focused delivery at all levels and
’68 Custom Vibro Champ Reverb-Amp
the output and power transformers (both
detailed presentation when driving it hard. The
CONTACT fender.com
from Schumacher, as per original spec), AC
reverb also sounds surprisingly sweet and
PRICE $749
switch (which is now on the back and replaces
natural. Turning it up to a shade under three
the original’s front-panel slider switch),
was perfect for a classic blackface response
CHANNELS 1
receptacle for the detachable AC cord, and
that sounded cool with a little grit added from
CONTROLS Volume, treble, bass, reverb,
hand-wired ceramic socket for the 6V6 are
either a Fulltone OCD or a Hermida Zen Drive.
speed, intensity
mounted to the steel chassis. The plywood
And you can wick up the ’verb for a splashier,
POWER Six watts
cabinet is neatly covered in black Tolex, and
more reflective sound and the DSP stays clear
TUBES Two Groove Tubes 12AX7s, one Groove
the amp weighs in at just over 22 pounds.
and noise-free. Add some juicy pulse of the
S P E C I F I C AT I O N S
Tubes 6V6GTA power tube
92
Debuting in 2021, the ’68 Custom Vibro
I tested the Vibro Champ Reverb with a
unique (at least for Fender) tremolo, which
EXTRAS Digital Hall reverb, hand-wired
Reverend Greg Koch signature Gristlemaster,
uses preamp-tube bias shifting to create a
output-tube socket, speaker jack and
and a Gibson Historic ’59 Les Paul and ’63 Les
distinctly deep sound over a wide range of
foot-switch jack (for optional two-button
Paul Junior, all of which sounded terrific
speed and intensity levels, and you’ve got a
switcher)
through this little dynamo. The Class A circuit
righteous combination that makes this amp so
SPEAKER 10” Celestion Ten 30 (3.2Ω)
delivers a rich tone, with clarity and sparkle to
fun and inspiring to play.
WEIGHT 22.3 lbs (as tested)
spare, and the two-band EQ facilitates getting
BUILT Mexico
great sounds from humbuckers and single-
could be the most flexible single-ended, true
The ’68 Custom Vibro Champ Reverb
coils in clean and distorted modes. The amp
Class-A amp Fender has ever produced, and
KUDOS A great-sounding, updated version of
produces smooth grind that starts at around
kudos to them for keeping the old-school
the tremolo-equipped tube combo from 1968
four on the volume knob and becomes
charm of this little classic alive. If you’ve never
CONCERNS Two-button reverb/vibrato foot
progressively more saturated and sustaining
gotten your vibe on with a Champ, this is a
switch not included
as you turn up. With the volume at around
great way to experience the magic.
JUNE
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G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
9000
Blue Öyster Cult onstage, July 30, 1976. (from left)
LEGACIES
Allen Lanier, Eric Bloom, Buck Dharma, and Joe and Albert Bouchard
How I Wrote…
“(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” Buck Dharma’s rocker about love after death roared to life on 1970s radio. J O E
B O S S O
“ I F E E L B L ESS E D for having written it,”
something after death — you didn’t have to
“I didn’t have it on the demo, and we didn’t
Buck Dharma says of Blue Öyster Cult’s iconic
fear it, and love could stay strong.”
record it with the band,” Dharma says. “David
1976 hit, “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.” “I’d like to
While working on the song, he crafted the guitar riff into the song’s recurring musical
with that. We had no idea people would latch
is great.”
motif. “It’s a crosspicked riff. The open G is
on to it.”
The hypnotic rocker turned the Long
played on the upstroke, and it just spins out
Island–based quintet into arena headliners
while the other parts move,” he reveals. “So I
“REA PER” IN A BOTTLE
and propelled their fourth album, Agents of
had that down, but the rest of the song took
Once they finished recording, the band
Fortune, to Platinum status. The song has
eight weeks. I had to figure out the story, the
regarded the song as a strong album track,
long been revered by guitarists for its
payoff and where the bridge would be.”
but they had no idea it would become their first hit, let alone their signature song. “We’d
immediately recognizable riff, but in 2000 it attained pop-culture status after the
A F E V ER FOR COWBELL
never had a hit, so we didn’t know what a hit
legendary “more cowbell” Saturday Night Live
Dharma recalls that the band and its
was,” Dharma says. “Gradually, though, FM
skit, starring Will Farrell and Christopher
producers — Sandy Pearlman, Murray
stations started picking up on it. There was no
Walken. “I loved it,” enthuses Dharma, BÖC’s
Krugman and David Lucas — liked his demo.
big promo push, but once it took off, our label,
lead guitarist and singer. “A couple of the
“The only reticence was that it wasn’t as
Columbia, got records out. They came
things Will Farrell did on popular artists were
heavy as our other material,” he says.
through righteously.” Dharma admits that he
pretty brutal, but he was really funny in the
“[Rhythm guitarist] Eric Bloom is our major
wasn’t terribly enthused about the single edit,
cowbell sketch. It was hysterical.”
belter; he would sing the rocking stuff. But
aimed at AM radio. “They cut out the big
BÖC are eclectic, so we decided to record it.”
guitar break in the middle. The full version is
IT ’S A L L I N T H E U PSTROK E
Recording at New York City’s Record Plant,
much more dramatic. I prefer people hear it that way.”
“(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” began to take
the band stayed closed to Dharma’s demo
shape in 1975, after Dharma purchased a
arrangement, trimming only a few bars in
TEAC four-track recorder to help him write. As
select spots. “They played beautifully and put
similarity between “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”
soon as he got the unit, he plugged his guitar
a real sheen on it,” he says. For the intro guitar
and the Police’s 1979 hit “Message in a
Over the years, music fans have noted a
in direct and began to play
riff, Dharma borrowed
Bottle.” Dharma reveals that Sting himself
a riff. “It just came right
Krugman’s Gibson ES-175
graciously owned up to the lift.
out of me. I thought, This is kind of cool, and I tried to make something of it.” Almost immediately, the first couple of lyrics came to him, and then the
“USUALLY, I COMP MY LEADS, BUT THE ‘REAPER’ SOLO JUST FLEW”
and ran it through a Music
“I saw the Police live and went backstage,”
Man 410 combo. The
he says. “Sting was very nice and said that he
guitarist used his own ’69
ripped off ‘Reaper.’ He kept the rhythm, but he
Gibson SG for the song’s
changed the melody around, so it wasn’t a
searing leads, which he
real steal. I said, ‘Well, you’re welcome to it
played in one take.
because you did a nice variation on it.’ I was
overall idea of the song unfolded. “I thought
“Usually, I comp my leads, but the ‘Reaper’
totally awed by the Police. I don’t get upset
of a couple that is reunited on this other plane
solo just flew. One pass and I had it.”
about reusing music. All these plagiarism
of existence after one of them dies,” Dharma says. “That was my premise, that there is
98
was a famous jingles guy, and he came up
have five more ‘Reapers,’ but just having one
JUNE
20 21
As for that driving cowbell, it was an afterthought that Lucas sprung on the band.
suits really bother me, actually. It’s all been done before somewhere.”
G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
MIC HAE L PUTLAND/G E TTY I MAG ES
B Y