Riff Journal | Summer 2017 | Issue 11 by Riff Journal

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

GEEK GROWS UP: THE CASE FOR DIGITAL MODELING

THE AXE-FX EFFECT: THE RAP ON FRACTAL AUDIO SYSTEMS

by Anthony Stauffer

by Chris Buono

70 DAISY PEDAL PICKIN’: SETTING UP YOUR PEDAL BOARD by Jeff McErlain

76 SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

84 T E C H TA L K

STUDIOWIRE: DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS (PART III) by Tommy Jamin

TABLE OF CONTENTS

GEAR BAG: GET UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH EDUCATORâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PERFORMANCE RIGS Guitars, amps, pedals oh my...

106

96 SUMMER PLAYLIST: TOP EDUCATORS SHARE WHAT MAKES THEM GROOVE

137 RIFFAGE, VOL 11: JAM TRACK JUNCTION

Artists, albums new and old awe and inspire...

Download the practice rhythm tracks for working with the Lesson Portfolio

Special Announcement We are proud to announce that our work in Riff Journal was shortlisted as a finalist in the 2017 Communication Arts Design Competition (Editorial Category), which is the most prestigious international competition for creativity in the graphic design industry.

RIFF 3

RIFF BAND

“A song can take you back instantly to a moment, or a place, or even a person. No matter what else has changed in your world, that one song stays the same, just like that moment ” - Sarah Dessen.

ALISON HASBACH Editor-in-Chief

BRAD WENDKOS Publisher

JEFF SCHEETZ Educational Department Editor

AMBER NICOLINI Creative Director

TOMMY JAMIN Studio Department Editor

ZACH WENDKOS Technology Department Editor

KYLER THOMANN Music Editor

@riffjournal

riffjournal@truefire.com

facebook.com/riffjournal

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER A couple of years ago, we were invited to a late night jazz jam session in Frankfurt, Germany. It was Music Messe week and players from all over the world had converged on the city to light it up with mirth and music. This particular jam night seemed like a United Nations of musicians; everybody from a different country, everybody speaking a different language. Unlike the United Nations however, there were no translators present and so socializing was somewhat challenging backstage.

players was magical in every sense of the word.

That all changed the moment everybody took to the stage. Without a word being spoken, tunes, tempos and keys were agreed to with just a measure or two of melody from the player calling the tune. Although they couldn’t communicate via the spoken word, the musical conversation between these top

As you would with any language, you need to expand your vocabulary to learn how to express yourself. You also need to learn how to comprehend and process what you’re hearing as well. That’s what this double-wide issue of Riff is all about.

Our educators talk about the “language of music” quite frequently in their courses, especially when focused on improvisation. The importance of listening to and conversing musically with the other musicians that you’re playing with is also always stressed. That night in Frankfurt amplified those teachings for me in an unforgettable way — music is indeed the “universal” language.

A WORD FROM THE PUBLISHER

Fair warning though — This Riff is free for the asking, but the content herein may trigger involuntary spending while disrupting your lazy, dog days of Summer by compelling you to hit the shed for extended periods of time. Forewarned is forearmed — so stop reading now and work on your tan, or dig in and work on your chops. You can blame Jeff Scheetz, our Director of Education, for pulling you off the beach and driving you to the dark and lonely confines of your practice room. He cherry-picked the 17 top student-ranked lessons, from 17 of TrueFire’s top educators, presented here in this issue’s Lesson Portfolio. Practice rhythm tracks for these lessons are featured in this month’s Riffage. Towel off and grab your guitar! For those of you who choose to hang on the beach just a little bit longer, we’ve cooked up a special Summer Playlist section that you can dial in and listen to at your leisure while sipping umbrella drinks. We asked 21 TrueFire educators to share what they’re listening to this Summer and we’re pretty sure you’ll be as pleasantly surprised and inspired as we were when we perused their playlists.

OK, here’s the costly rub with this issue of Riff… 20 TrueFire artists and educators give you a rundown on their live gig rigs and tell you why that rig helps them sound so good. You’ll be lucky to get through the Gear Bag section without tapping your rent money to pick up a new pedal or two. In addition, Tech Talk articles from Chris Buono, Jeff McErlain and Anthony Stauffer may make matters potentially even more expensive for you. We’ll round out your Summer Riff experience with another Studiowire installment from Tommy Jamin, our head of production. Tommy shares more key learnings and photos from our new studio construction adventure. This Riff’s for you…

Brad Wendkos || Head Smoke Jumper

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

lesson

directory SLIDE SUPERNATURAL

RHYTHM REVOLUTION

60 Lessons // 145 Minutes

47 Lessons // 235 Minutes

Sonny Landreth

Robben Ford

Comprehensive Master Class for Slide Guitar from the master himself, Sonny Landreth

Master class for blues rhythm guitar with Robben Ford

FULL DESCRIPTION ONLINE >>

Blues

Comping

Slide

31 Lessons // 106 Minutes

52 Lessons // 154 Minutes

Angus Clark

Shane Theriot

Play your way through 10 Performance Studies, which include a performance demonstration and detailed move-by-move breakdowns

Techniques, patterns & fills for blues, soul & funk rhythm guitar from Shane Theriot FULL DESCRIPTION ONLINE >>

Blues

Rock

ESSENTIALS: RADIO ROCK SOLOS

RHYTHM MOJO

Blues

Memphis

Rhythms

FULL DESCRIPTION ONLINE >>

Rock

Soloing

ROCK SAUCE FOR LEAD GUITAR

ESSENTIALS: CHORD TONE SOLOING 33 Lessons // 105 Minutes

72 Lessons // 167 Minutes

Jeff McErlain

Jennifer Batten

Ramp up your improvisational skills with chord tone soloing essentials

Techniques, patterns and fills for modern rock rhythm guitar from rock queen Jennifer Batten FULL DESCRIPTION ONLINE >>

FULL DESCRIPTION ONLINE >>

Blues

Rock

Soloing

ESSENTIALS: TEXAS BLUES SOLOS

Rock

Soloing

Double Stops

S.W.A.T. SESSIONS: JAZZ ROCK 44 Lessons // 114 Minutes

32 Lessons // 127 Minutes

Corey Congilio

Carl Verheyen

Corey Congilio will guide you through 10 Texas blues solos that pay homage to 10 masters of the genre

Carl Verheyen will be demonstrating and breaking down for you over 14 performance studies in this Jazz Rock edition of SWAT Sessions

24 SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

FULL DESCRIPTION ONLINE >>

Blues

Soloing

33 | ONLINE LINK DIRECTORY | RIFFJOURNAL.COM/LINKS-V11

FULL DESCRIPTION ONLINE >>

Jazz Rock

Fusion

Improvisation

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ESSENTIALS: BEBOP ETUDES

SOLO FLATPICKING HANDBOOK

32 Lessons // 159 Minutes

44 Lessons // 144 Minutes

Sheryl Bailey

Roberto Dalla Vecchia

Learn 10 essential bebop etudes in the style of the giants of jazz guitar

Solo Flatpicking Handbook of essential concepts, techniques and creative approaches to take your flatpicking chops to the next level

FULL DESCRIPTION ONLINE >>

Jazz

Triads

ROCKABILLY SURVIVAL GUIDE: LEAD

Acoustic

ACOUSTIC POETICA: FINGERSTYLE ETUDES 32 Lessons // 98 Minutes

Jason Loughlin

Peppino D’Agostino

Essential techniques and insight for rockabilly lead guitar from Jason Loughlin

Develop technical skills, and master key expressive techniques in this acoustic guitar course with Peppino D’Agostino.

Country

Rockabilly

Soloing

SONIC TELE

FULL DESCRIPTION ONLINE >>

Acoustic

Fingerstyle

ESSENTIALS: ROCK BASS GROOVES

67 Lessons // 195 Minutes

32 Lessons // 86 Minutes

Jim Campilongo

Stu Hamm

Become a more versatile and expressive guitarist with Jim Campilongo

10 rock bass grooves you must know presented by Stu Hamm

FULL DESCRIPTION ONLINE >>

Flatpicking

39 Lessons // 155 Minutes

FULL DESCRIPTION ONLINE >>

Country

Blues

Soloing

FULL DESCRIPTION ONLINE >>

Bass

Funk

Slap

ESSENTIALS: WALKING BASS LINES

ESSENTIALS: OPEN TUNING

26 Lessons // 100 Minutes

35 Lessons // 130 Minutes

Andrew Ford

Vicki Genfan

Andrew Ford guides you on an illuminating exploration of 8 versatile Walking Bass Performance Studies

Performance studies focused on the essentials of 11 popular open tunings FULL DESCRIPTION ONLINE >>

Acoustic

Open Tuning

FULL DESCRIPTION ONLINE >>

Bass

Jazz

Walking Bass

ESSENTIALS: FINGERSTYLE BLUES 31 Lessons // 106 Minutes

David Hamburger Play your way through 10 Performance Studies, which include a performance demonstration and detailed move-by-move breakdowns

FULL DESCRIPTION ONLINE >>

Acoustic

Blues

Fingerstyle

RIFF

Lesson portfolio

riff journal

Lesson portfolio

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

UMMER IS HERE! That means it’s time for lounging on the beach, catching some waves and rays, finishing that backyard deck project…no, no, no! Forget all that - it’s time to play some music!

We’re thrilled to present in this issue of Riff a special educational supplement… like lessons on steroids…a hand-picked selection of lessons across a variety of styles and topics from some of TrueFire’s best-selling authors. From the Bebop of Sheryl Bailey to the slide mastery of Sonny Landreth your chops will get a workout! Whether you would rather rock out with Angus Clark or groove out with the memphis sound of Shane Theriot, you’ll find a lesson in here that will help keep your mind and fingers deep in the music. Not only do the lessons have the video breakdowns, but you will also get tab, charts and jam tracks to help you work with the material. We also feature 13 jam tracks in the Riffage download so you won’t have to play alone. Take a break this summer from all that sun and spend some time in the woodshed with this batch of lessons. You won’t get sunburned, and your playing will surely improve.

Jeff Scheetz, Director of Education RIFF 9

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

Selection From:

RHYTHM REVOLUTION BY ROBBEN FORD

SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE Lesson Selection

NORTH CAROLINA BY ROBBEN FORD Years ago Steely Dan recorded Aja, and the opening song is called “Black Cow.” Larry Carlton is one of the guitarists featured on the record. The riff he used inspired me to write a song called “North Carolina,” which I did on my first solo record called The Inside Story. So I took that and ran with it. I’m playing sixths on the B flat chord. Then the four chord, then the five chord. Something that you really should understand is that so much can be played just off of a major scale. The piano is the most brilliant way to view this. It’s the most visual instrument, more so than even the guitar. All of the white keys on the piano are all notes from the C Major scale. It’s important that you understand that a major scale and simple things - thirds and sixths played in a linear way - is music. You’re playing a scale in a soulful way. I covered my chord voicings here. I’m adding something of myself to something very basic. Without you, the guitarist, it’s just bones. You are the blood that runs through the body, you put warmth and beauty to these notes; they can’t do it on their own. You have to do it. That’s the great joy of making music.

LEARNING TOOLS PRACTICE TRACK

NORTH CAROLINA

VIDEO LESSONS

NORTH CAROLINA SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

North Carolina Performance Music by Robben Ford

NORTH CAROLINA

= 92 3

B 1

6 6

(6)

X X

E 4

(6)

X X

(6)

8 8 10 10

(6)

8 10

X X

8 8

X X

(6)

X X

6 8 7 8

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1/5

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

NORTH CAROLINA (CONTINUED) 13

6 8 7 8

4 6 5 6

(4) (6) (5) (6)

6 8 5 7 6 8

X X

6 5 6

8 7 8

6 8 7 8

4 6 5 6

1 1

X X

3 3

1 1 1

E 16

(1) 3 (1) 3 (1) 3

X X

8 7 8

X X

(6)

9 X 10

8 X 8

6 6

(6)

X X

8 8

(6)

6 6 6 6 6 4 4 4 4 4 X X X X 5 5 5 5 5 X X X X

X X X X

9 9 10 10

X X

9 9 8 6 4 10 10 8 7 5

X X X X

9 9 10 10

X X

8 8

6 7

4 5

3 3

5 6

X X X X

9 9 10 10

X X

9 9 10 10

8 8

6 7

4 5

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

2/5

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

NORTH CAROLINA (CONTINUED) E 28

X X X X

9 9 10 10

X X

9 9 8 10 10 8

6 7

8 8

6 6 6

6 6 5 X 6

6 6 6 6 6 X XX X 5 XX X XX X X XX 6

6 6 5 X 6

6 6 6 6 6 5 X 6

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 X X X X 5 X X X X X X X X X 6

X X X X

9 9 10 10

X X

9 9 10 10

8 8

6 7

4 5

7 7 X X 8 8 X X

7 X 8 X

7 8

5 6

4 5

3 4

4 2 5 3 X X X X

8 8

9 9

8 8

4 4 4 3 5 5 5 4

2 3

3 3 2 2 3 3

2 3

3 2 3

X X

9 9

8 8

6 6

(6) (6)

X X

13 15 13 15 X 13 15 X

13 13 13

15 15 15

13 13 13

X X X X X X

11 12 10 11

X X

11 12 10 11

11 11 12 12 X 10 10 X 11 11

11 12 10 11

X X

11 12 10 11

X X

13 13 13

15 15 15

13 13 13

X X

11 12 10 11

11 11 12 12 X 10 10 X 11 11

11 12 10 11

X X

3/5

RIFF

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

NORTH CAROLINA (CONTINUED) E 41

X X

11 10

13 11

11 10

13 11

11 10

11 11 10 10 11 11

11 10

8 9

11 12 X 10 X 11

11 12 10 11

11 11 11 X 10 10 10 X 11 11 11

9 9

X X

B 43

X X

13 13 13

15 15 15

13 13 13

15 15 15

X X

11 12 10 X 11

11 12 10 11

X X

10 10 10

11 12 10 11

10 10 10 9

8 8 8 7

X X

8 8 8 7

X X

8 8 8 7

X X

6 6 6 5

X X

9 9 8 7

6 6 6 5

X X

B 47

(6)

9 9 8 7

X X

10 10 11 11 10 10

X X

10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 10

8 8 8

6 6 7

X X

X X X X

10 10 11 11 10 10

X X

10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 10

8 8 8

6 6 7

X X

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

4/5

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

NORTH CAROLINA (CONTINUED) 51

X X

10 10 11 11 10 10

X X

10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 10

8 8 8

6 6 7

X X

X X X X

10 11 10

X X

10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 10

8 8 8

6 6 7

X X

E 53

X X

9 9 9 9 9 9 9 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 X X X X X X X 11 11 11 11 11 11 11

8 8 8

6 6 6

6 6 7

8 8 8

X X X X

9 9 11 11 10 10

9 9 9 9 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 10

X X

8 8 8

6 6 6

6 6 7

8 8 8

X X

B 55

10 10 9 9 10 10

X X X X

X X

10 10 10 10 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 10

8 8 8

X X X X

10 10 9 9 10 10

X X

10 10 10 10 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 10

8 8 8

9 9 9

8 8 8

(8) (8) (8)

6 6 6

B 59

(6)

RIFF

5/5

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

Selection From:

RHYTHM MOJO

BY SHANE THERIOT

SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE Lesson Selection

MEMPHIS MOVES BY SHANE THERIOT Being a phenom lead player is all well and good, but it’s one’s rhythm chops that keep the phone ringing off the hook. Rhythm Mojo’s musical focus is in the sweet spot of Rock Funk, New Orleans, Gospel, Blues, Memphis Muscle Shoals, Zydeco, Swamp, Soul Jazz, Classic Funk and Hard Funk. In this lesson, I’ve got a great-feeling R&B soul progression and I’ll show how to apply triads, double stops and 3rds in the style of of Cropper, Curtis and other R&B players. You’ll want to keep that driving pulse going around your fills to really make the track work. However, the main point of this lesson is that sometimes it’s just in the right hand (or strumming hand). Note how I’m just using standard bar chords, nothing fancy here. The chunk on the bottom strings is the meat of the whole riff. Note the use of the 6th chord, this is a nice sub for a dominant 7th chord sometimes. The hammer-ons are classic and should be a point of study on their own. I also slide into the chords on the approach, which makes it bounce a little more.

LEARNING TOOLS PRACTICE TRACK

MEMPHIS MOVES

VIDEO LESSONS

MEMPHIS MOVES

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

Memphis Moves Performance Music by Shane Theriot Transcribed by Jeff Pouring

MEMPHIS MOVES

= 100 A 0:25

5 5

5 7

X X X

6 5 7

X X X

5 5 3

X X X

3 3 4

8 8 9 10

X X X

5 6 5 7

X X X

5 5

X X X

5 5 7

X X X

Am7

8 7 9

X X X

8 9

8 7

8 9

6 5 7

X X X

5 5 7

3 6 6 7 6

X X X

8 8

X X X

10 10

10 10 10 10 10

10 10 10 10 12 10

1/4

RIFF

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

MEMPHIS MOVES (CONTINUED) G

8 8 9

X X X

5 5

1 1 2

3 3 1

X X X

5 5 5

X X X

3 3

X X X

6 5

X X X

5 5

Am7

5 7

6 8

8 7 9

7 9

X X X

8 8 9

X X X

10 10 10

X X X

10 10 10 8

5 5 5 5 7 5

X X X

6 6 7 6 8 6

Am7 18

5 5

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

(5) 5

5 5

3 3

2/4

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

MEMPHIS MOVES (CONTINUED) B 01:10 B 7 20

3 3

X X X

6 6 7

X X X

6 6 7

X X X

6 6 7

6 8 7

6 6 7

Am7 22

5 5 5

X X X

5 5

E 7

5 5

6 6 6 8 6 6

X X X

6 6 6

X X X

6 6 6

X X X

5 7 5 7 5

X X X

5 7 5 7 5

(5) (7) (5) (7) (5)

10 10 11 12 10

8 7 9 10

X X X

8 8 9

X X X

8 8 9

X X X

5 6 5 7

5 5

RIFF

3/4

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

MEMPHIS MOVES (CONTINUED) G

3 3 4 3

X X X

5 5 5

X X X

1 1 2

X X X

Am7

5 5 5

B 7

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

X X X

5 5 5

X X X

1 1 2 1

X X X

5 5 5 5

X X X

6 6 7 6 8 6

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

Selection From:

ESSENTIALS: CHORD TONE SOLOING BY JEFF MCERLAIN

SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE Lesson Selection

BIRD OUT BY JEFF MCERLAIN This is the end progression for the song “Hummingbird” that BB solos over. It’s a very common progression that can offer some cool ways to use chord tone soloing. The progression is Bb-F-C7, and that puts us in C Mixolydian (C-D-EF-G-A-Bb-C), which is the same notes as F major. The magic BB’s box is a mix of Cmaj pentatonic and Fmaj pentatonic scales, which I explain in the video. Spend a lot of time with BB’s box, as it’s an essential scale for blues and blues-rock soloing. I start off this solo grabbing some chord tones to create a cool descending melodic line. The progression is Bb-F-C7, and the first note I play is Bb, which is the root of the Bb chord. I then lower this a half step to A, to play the 3rd of the F chord. I’ll move down the scale to play G, which is the 5th of my C chord, which is very simple conceptually, extremely effective musically, and a tried and true approach to creating melodies. I discovered this technique largely by thinking about chord tones, and even though these notes are contained in the C Mixolydian scale, that doesn’t mean we would automatically see the melodic line. It’s only by looking at the notes within each chord that these things become apparent. I cannot stress enough what an epiphany this was for me after many years of playing. Like me, your teachers have been telling you for years to work on triads. Now once you have a handle on that, start adding in one new note at a time. That’s the way to get it done; don’t get overwhelmed, one note at a time is the key. Even if all you do in that week or practice session is get that one note into your playing, you’ll have moved forward. LEARNING TOOLS PRACTICE TRACK

BIRD OUT

VIDEO LESSONS

BIRD OUT

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

Bird Out

Music by Jeff McErlain Transcribed by Glen Morgan

BIRD OUT

= 84 B

full

(10)

(5)

(8)

full

13 (13)

full 15

full

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

full

1/2

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

BIRD OUT (CONTINUED) B

full 15

full

(13)

full (15) 13

full 13

(13)

(15) 13

full 15

(13)

full

(15)

full

13 15

full

13 15

full

13 15

full

13 15

full

13 15

full

(5)

(15)13 15

Â½ 13

(13)

8 9

(5)

RIFF

2/2

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

Selection From:

ESSENTIALS: TEXAS BLUES SOLOS BY COREY CONGILIO

SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE Lesson Selection

VOODOO YOU DO BY COREY CONGILIO The first time I heard Kenny Wayne Shepherd was on his break-out record Deja Voodoo, and I’ve composed a solo around the changes and groove of the title track of that recording. The solo is over a vamp and not any type of 12-bar progression. This vamp toggles between E7#9 and A7 sounds and is full of quintessential Texas Blues goodness. KWS draws a lot of influence from Stevie Ray Vaughan, and oddly enough, so do I! One of the signature things we both took from SRV was the idea in bar #1. I love playing those quick bends, then continuing with a gradual bend. I think you’ll dig that. The rake technique is something I’m often asked about so, I made sure that this solo had some of that as well. The form of the solo is 12 bars, but with a fun groove like this, you could solo for days! You’ll also see that I’m working straight out of Em pentatonic for this solo. I’m not using a lot of tricks, however I’m really trying to evoke that aggressive vibe that KWS and other Stevie-influenced players contain. As always, I’m using repetitive phrasing like a good blues player would. My advice with this one is to just go for broke—try to break a string, pick or whatever to get that sound! LEARNING TOOLS PRACTICE TRACK

VOODOO YOU DO

VIDEO LESSONS

VOODOO YOU DO

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

Voodoo You Do Performance Music by Corey Congilio

VOODOO YOU DO

= 110 E( 7)9

full

full 12

12 15

Continue E7#9 to A7 vamp throughout 3

15 12

12 14

12 12 14 12

Rake 5

Rake 6

RIFF

1/2

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

VOODOO YOU DO (CONTINUED) Rake 7

¼ 12 12

14 12

12 10 12 10

12 10

¼ (14)

full

14 14 12

12 15

full

12 15

full

12 15

full

12 15

full

12 15

full ¼ 17

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

14(12)

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

Selection From:

SLIDE SUPERNATURAL BY SONNY LANDRETH

SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE Lesson Selection

SLIDE STUDY BY SONNY LANDRETH Slide guitar would not be slide guitar without Elmore James. He played in open D tuning a lot and that is what we are using on this tune as well. I love open D and shuffles. In this tune, we’re going to use a D tuning for a blues progression like a song of mine called “Gemini Blues.” We’re going to alternate between fretted notes and slide notes and we’re also going to use the right hand palm to chug out a rhythm that gives the groove more impact. First up, we’re going to bar on the 12th fret with the slide to get the D chord. Next, I am going to fret behind the slide of the top two strings on the 10th fret to give me the b7th and the 11th of my D chord. Remember to keep that slide right over the 12th fret! Now for my IV (G) and V (A) chords I’m going to use some basic old country blues fingerings. This will spring me off to using the slide on the high string back up to the chugging figure on the top. I have some delay effect on the guitar to help pronounce the rhythm. Next, I’ll do one of my favorite things and let the strings ring out by lifting up my palm close to the bridge. I will also fret the same notes before behind the 12th fret. Next I’ll go down to the open V chord and slide up a cool little octave move. Return to the IV chord, and back to the main rhythm. Finally I will imply the V chord by fretting on the 10th fret of the fourth string while keeping the slide over the 12th fret. Spend some time on this final lick, as it is very useful. LEARNING TOOLS PRACTICE TRACK

SLIDE STUDY

VIDEO LESSONS

SLIDE STUDY

RIFF

Slide Study 06 Performance

LESSON PORTFOLIO

Music by Sonny Landreth Transcribed by Jeff Pouring

B L U E S G U I TA R

Open D 1=D 4=D 2=A 5=A 3 = Gb 6 = D

SLIDE STUDY

= 130 3

A D7 1

12 10 12 X 10 12 X 10 X

X X X

10 10 10 10

12 12 X X

X X X

3 (3)

X X X

X X X X X X

X X X

3 (3) 0 1

X X X

12 10 12 X 10 12 X 10 X

X X X

10 12 10 12

12 10 12 X 10 12 X 10 X

X X X

12 12 10 12 10

X X X

12 10 12 12 12 12 X X X

2 0 1 2

X X X

4 0 3 4

2 0 1 2

0 0 1 2

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

12 12 12

1/2

12 10

12 12

X X X

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

Selection From:

ESSENTIALS: RADIO ROCK SOLOS BY ANGUS CLARK

SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE Lesson Selection

HIGHWAY TO ANGUS BY ANGUS CLARK In this solo study, we’ll look at the legendary Angus Young from AC/DC. Their appeal cuts across genres, with hits in 2 different decades. What’s interesting is that AC/DC’s music is simple from a strictly “bookish” perspective, but this simplicity is what makes it so strong and so fragile at the same time. When there are only three chords at play, you better make each note count! The licks here are pretty straight forward. More important are the position shifting and resulting structure of the solo. As you work with this study, note the three fret trick to get from minor to parallel major pentatonic scale, particularly Angus’ use of a descending bend from the b7 to the 6th on the 4th string - this is a signature move of his. Another signature element to pay attention to of this style is Young’s rhythmic pocket - it’s scary good!

LEARNING TOOLS PRACTICE TRACK

HIGHWAY TO ANGUS

VIDEO LESSONS

HIGHWAY TO ANGUS

RIFF

LESSON PORTFOLIO

Highway to Angus

R O C K G U I TA R

Performance Music by Angus Clark Transcribed by Jeff Pouring

HIGHWAY TO ANGUS = 115 A

full

5 5

7 7

5 5

¼ (5) (5)

(7)

full

5 4

(4)

12 13

(2)

12 13

full

(20)

20 17

20 19 17

19 17

full

1/2

A 10

full

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

7 7

(19)

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

Selection From:

ROCK SAUCE FOR LEAD GUITAR BY JENNIFER BATTEN

SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE Lesson Selection

BLUESY DOUBLE STOPS BY JENNIFER BATTEN In this musical study, I’ll overview our target technique (bluesy double stops) over the rhythm track and then perform a solo designed to showcase them in a real world musical context. Double stops have a much more intense sound (especially if you have distortion), than any single notes. They can act as an exclamation point in a phrase. With distortion, you can get some wicked overtones with various combinations of two notes. It gets even more wicked if you bend one or both of the two notes. Slamming into a flat five interval at the beginning of a phrase is a sure attention getter, because the sound is very tense and abrasive. Unison bends (a static note plus a note bent up to that note, played simultaneously) are probably the most powerful way to play a single pitch. Try adding more double stops than you’re used to in your soloing. Don’t be afraid of using very abrasive combinations of notes. You can always resolve them or just use them for a split second for a dramatic effect. In the second phrase, I used a trick where I played out of a minor pentatonic fingering, and then moved the exact same fingering down a minor third. The harmony is C sharp 7 (dominant). The C sharp minor pentatonic gives it a minor sound while the A sharp minor pentatonic gives a major sound (against the C sharp root). Try playing pentatonic scales and patterns with this concept of switching back and forth between a minor sound and major sound. LEARNING TOOLS PRACTICE TRACK

BLUESY DOUBLE STOPS

VIDEO LESSONS

BLUESY DOUBLE STOPS

RIFF

Bluesy Double Stops

LESSON PORTFOLIO

Performance

R O C K G U I TA R

Music by Jennifer Batten Transcribed by Jeff Pouring

BLUESY DOUBLE STOPS

= 103 3

A 00:09 1

½ ¼ 15 14

16 16 14

16 13

13 12

16 14 16

13 13 14

13 14

16 16

(16)

B 00:19 4

full 12 15

full

9 12

full

7 10

full

9 11

full

(9) (11)

X 11

11 11 11 11

9 9

full

¼ 8

7 9

7 9 7 9

(7)

C 00:33 3 9

½ 9 57

9 57

9 5 6

6 8 9

9 11 11

11 9 11

¼ 9

(11)

1/2

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

LESSON PORTFOLIO B L U E S G U I TA R

Selection From:

S.W.A.T. SESSIONS: JAZZ ROCK BY CARL VERHEYEN

SKILL LEVEL - ADVANCED Lesson Selection

C MINOR 6/8 VAMP BY CARL VERHEYEN Jazz Rock fuses the tone, feel, bends, hammers and other rock-centric embellishments and expressions with the sophistication of jazz harmony and improvisation. Playing over changes, the use of exotic scales and modes, crafting more complex lines and solos – are all approaches for the modern jazz rock soloist. In this vamp, we’ll focus on alternate pentatonics like the G minor pentatonic and the D minor pentatonic and how they’re all contained in the C minor Dorian mode. Let’s work this out! First, I rock the typical C minor Dorian mode for a handful of bars before seeking out some “strange fruit” up a whole step in D minor. Then after a brief foray back to the C minor zone, I drop down to the 3rd fret for some G minor action. I find that the inclusion of the 4th (F) against the C minor sounds refreshing to me. I should do that more often! Next, let’s go over the superimposition of the alternate pentatonics, and then I’ll demonstrate a slowed down multipentatonic line. After that, I’ll show you one of my favorite simple intervallic lines in slow motion.

LEARNING TOOLS PRACTICE TRACK

C MINOR 6/8 VAMP

VIDEO LESSONS

C MINOR 6/8 VAMP

RIFF

LESSON PORTFOLIO J A Z Z G U I TA R

C Minor 6/8 Vamp: 2 Performance

C MINOR 6/8 VAMP

= 70

Music by Carl Verheyen

Cm7

B /C

Cm7

(5)

B /C

6 5

11 8

Cm7

B /C 8

13 9

11 7

B /C

11 10 (10) 8

Cm7

(6)

8 (8)

B /C

Cm7

(4)

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

4 5

8 10 5

1/4

LESSON PORTFOLIO J A Z Z G U I TA R

C MINOR 6/8 VAMP (CONTINUED) B /C

Cm7

B /C

Cm7

8 10 13 10 10

12 10

8 13 10

B /C

Cm7

(8)

B /C

Cm7

B /C

Cm7

8 8

(8)

11 10

(13)

RIFF

2/4

LESSON PORTFOLIO J A Z Z G U I TA R

C MINOR 6/8 VAMP (CONTINUED) B /C

Cm7

full

B /C

Cm7

(22) 18

B /C

Cm7

11 13

11 10 13 10 11 10

13 11

B /C

Cm7

½ 8

(8)

½ 10

½ 8

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

3/4

LESSON PORTFOLIO J A Z Z G U I TA R

C MINOR 6/8 VAMP (CONTINUED)

B /C

Cm7

full

½ 11

B /C

Cm7

3 3

full

16 13

13 (13)

13 14 13

B /C

16 13

11 15 11 15

15 13

Cm7

full

½ 10

B /C

Cm7

RIFF

LESSON PORTFOLIO J A Z Z G U I TA R

Selection From:

ESSENTIALS: BEBOP ETUDES BY SHERYL BAILEY

SKILL LEVEL - LATE INTERMEDIATE Lesson Selection

PETITE TOURNESOL BY SHERYL BAILEY Fast tempos, instrumental virtuosity, ear-bending improvisations, advanced harmonies, complex syncopation, altered chords, chord substitutions, asymmetrical phrasing and intricate melodies are all bebop rules of engagement. In constructing these etudes, I’ve shared some of my favorite harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic techniques. For this lesson, let’s get modal with my take on the chord progression to the Freddie Hubbard classic, “Little Sunflower,” now named “Petite Tournesol.” This one is always a favorite at jam sessions of all levels and a progression that jazz players will frequently encounter. This etude employs diatonic triads, but in an uncommon way; breaking up the shapes and rhythms to create “hills and valleys” in the melodic line. The secret to playing interesting solos on a modal progression is to imply harmony by using the diatonic triads of the key. There are lots of creative ways to develop melodies on these essential shapes, using them to create a more “horn-like” line. Also, in the second half, check out the “major triad” pairs to get into some extended harmony as well as the use of the “major triad hexatonic.”

LEARNING TOOLS PRACTICE TRACK

PETITIE TOURNESOL

VIDEO LESSONS

PETITE TOURNESOL SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

LESSON PORTFOLIO J A Z Z G U I TA R

Petite Tournesol "Performance" Music by Sheryl Bailey Transcribed by Hemme B. Luttjeboer

PETITE TOURNESOL

= 144 Dm7 1

2 5

5 2

5 1

(5) 2

4 5

5 2

5 3

E maj7(#11) 17

5 6

(5)

1/4

RIFF

LESSON PORTFOLIO J A Z Z G U I TA R

PETITE TOURNESOL (CONTINUED) Dmaj7 21

Ebmaj7(#11) 25

6 3

3 7

Dmaj7 29

(5)

7 6

(4)

Dm7 33

(7)

5 4 3

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

5 4

3 6

(5)

7 3

10 7

LESSON PORTFOLIO J A Z Z G U I TA R

PETITE TOURNESOL(CONTINUED) 41

4 2

5 4

3 5 7 5

2 4

5 2

4 2

5 4

Ebmaj7(#11) 49

(5)

9 8

Dmaj7 53

(4) 5 7

5 7

4 6

(5)

Ebmaj7(#11) 57

6 5

8 6

8 5

6 8

(7) 8

5 8

RIFF

LESSON PORTFOLIO J A Z Z G U I TA R

PETITE TOURNESOL (CONTINUED) Dmaj7 61

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

LESSON PORTFOLIO J A Z Z G U I TA R

Selection From:

ROCKABILLY SURVIVAL GUIDE: LEAD BY JASON LOUGHLIN

SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE Lesson Selection

ROCK AND ROLL BY JASON LOUGHLIN Early Rockabilly can be boiled down to just a marriage of rock and hillbilly music. Some of it can be thought of as the orchestration of boogie piano. The other side of that coin are the tunes that are sped up versions of Appalachian or hillbilly tunes with the accents shifting from beats 1 and 3 to 2 and 4 or what people call the backbeat. The vocal stylings pull from the crooners like Bing Crosby for tone, Appalachian phrasing and blues inflections. Of course, it’s impossible to put every rockabilly artist under this umbrella, but it’s a good place for us to start. Those early rockabilly guitar heroes were drawing early on from blues and country fingerstyle blues for their solos. It wasn’t long though until elements of swing, rock and roll, and yes even Latin music, start to show their influences on their improvisation. In this performance study, I’ll first demonstrate the track and then break it down measure-by-measure, technique-bytechnique. This is a straight up rocker tune, which is very Chuck Berry inspired. With a driving shuffle like this, you don’t want to go for nuance. You want to use concepts that create energy and anticipation. So we are going to use double stops, blues scales, the Bigsby and whole tone scales. I tend to lean to playing more aggressively on the rock and roll shuffles as well. LEARNING TOOLS PRACTICE TRACK

ROCK AND ROLL

VIDEO LESSONS

ROCK AND ROLL RIFF

LESSON PORTFOLIO C O U N T R Y G U I TA R

Study 1 - Rock and Roll Performance Music by Jason Loughlin

ROCK AND ROLL

= 175 G 1

6 5

3 3

5 5

6 5

3 3

5 5

3 0

2 2

3 3

3 3 4 4

5 5

3 3

5 5

3 3

5 5

3 3

3 3 5 5

5 5

4 4

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

5 5

6 6

7 7

8 8

9 9

1/3

LESSON PORTFOLIO C O U N T R Y G U I TA R

ROCK AND ROLL (CONTINUED) C 9

3 Â½ 8 8

11 10

8 8

10 10

10 11

10 10

8 8

10 10

8 8

11 12

9 10

10 10

8 8

5 5

(5) (5)

(3) (4)

G 13

4 5

5 7

6 8

2 3

7 9

3 4

4 5

5 6

6 7

8 9

3 (8) (9)

10 10

11 11

12 12

10 11

D 17

5 2

RIFF

2/3

LESSON PORTFOLIO C O U N T R Y G U I TA R

ROCK AND ROLL (CONTINUED) 19

G 21

G 6/9 23

3 3 2 2 2

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

3/3

LESSON PORTFOLIO C O U N T R Y G U I TA R

Selection From:

SONIC TELE

BY JIM CAMPILONGO

SKILL LEVEL - LATE INTERMEDIATE Lesson Selection

COUNTRY TRAIN BY JIM CAMPILONGO In this study, we’ll be focusing on behind the nut bending phrases along with some lines using harmonics, while playing over the familiar progression of E, A7, B7. I recommend listening to the performance of Country Train a few times, paying particular attention to the chord changes. Having the changes clear in your head will help you when you start to work our your own parts over the practice track. One of the key techniques I used to great impact on my own creativity and expressive abilities is behind-the-nut bending. If you are new to behind-the-nut bending, I recommend going slowly and getting a feel for how the different bent notes sound. Don’t be afraid to dig in and test the sound of what you can do behind the nut. Try gradual bends, quick bends, bends of varying degrees etc. Once you are comfortable, you will start to get a feel for the technique and can really start to open the door to some very expressive playing. Let’s dig in! LEARNING TOOLS PRACTICE TRACK

COUNTRY TRAIN

VIDEO LESSONS

COUNTRY TRAIN

RIFF

LESSON PORTFOLIO C O U N T R Y G U I TA R

Country Train Performance

COUNTRY TRAIN

Music by Jim Campilongo Transcribed by Jeff Pouring

= 125 *'s indicate bending behind the nut

E 1

full 0

(0)

full 0

(0)

* A7

full (0)

full 0

(0)

½ 0 0

(0)

<7>

(<7>) 0

<12> <12> <12>

* E

(<12>) (<12>) (<12>)

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

1 1

<7> 2 0

<4>

<4> <4> <5>

<5> <5> <5.8> <5.8><5.8> <7>

1/2

LESSON PORTFOLIO C O U N T R Y G U I TA R

COUNTRY TRAIN (CONTINUED) *

¼ 0 (0)

0 0

(0)

0 0

* E 13

¼ 0 2 0

(0)

RIFF

LESSON PORTFOLIO A C O U S T I C G U I TA R

Selection From:

ESSENTIALS: OPEN TUNING BY VICKI GENFAN

SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE Lesson Selection

D SUS 4 TUNING BY VICKI GENFAN Probably the most recognized open tuning, DADGAD, has permeated Celtic, American roots, blues, and fingerstyle genres, just to name a few. Many trace the tuning back to Davey Graham, one of the most influential guitarists in the British folk music scene of the 60’s. Graham had a great influence on guitarists as diverse as Bert Jansch, Wizz Jones, John Renbourn, John Martyn, Paul Simon and Jimmy Page, who in turn influenced players such as the French-Algerian guitarist, Pierre Bensusan who uses DADGAD exclusively in his music, which is most often characterized as Celtic, folk, World music, New Age, or chamber jazz. The etude I’ve composed for this tuning reflects two sides of this uber versatile tuning; a modal, roots feel showing its blues influence, as well as a more new age or folk feel, which highlights the lush, rich chord voicings that are so easily found here. Take note of the basso ostinato in the first section where we allow the low 6th string (E) to ring throughout the first three chord changes. In the first section, when playing the single note descending scale phrase, see what works for you - you can pick each note or you may want to do some pull-offs. Notice the middle finger of my left hand subtly muting the 6th string on the C#m11 chord in the second section. Can you do that? It’s a great skill to have. After a while, it becomes second nature! LEARNING TOOLS PRACTICE TRACK

D SUS 4 TUNING

VIDEO LESSONS

D SUS 4 TUNING SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

LESSON PORTFOLIO A C O U S T I C G U I TA R

D SUS 4 TUNING DIATONIC CHORD CHART

D (I)

Em11 (ii)

F#m11 (iii)

Gmaj9 (IV) 5 7

A7sus4 (V)

Em11/B (vi)

C# (vii )

5 7

ADDITIONAL CHORDS

A7sus4

Em11

Gmaj9

x 5 3

3 7

F6add9

RIFF

LESSON PORTFOLIO A C O U S T I C G U I TA R

Dsus4 Tuning Performance

Open Dsus4 4 =D 1 =D 2 =A 5 =A 3 =G 6 =D

Music by Vicki Genfan Transcribed by Glen Morgan

D SUS 4 TUNING

= 77 (Chord names are in reference to the nut) E5

E7/ D

Bsus4/ E

Capo. fret 2 ¼

0 0 2 0 0

0 2 0

0 0 0 2 2 0

0 0 2 0

2 0

0 0 2 0

0 0 0 0

0 2

0 0 0 0

4x 0 0 0

B7sus4

0 0 2 0 0

0 0 2

2 0 0

0 0 2 0 0

0 0 0 0 0

0 0 4 0

0 2 0

0 0 2 0

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

0 0 0

0 0 0 0

0 0 0 2 0

0 0 2 0

0 0 0 2 0

0 0 2 0

0 0 0 0

1/3

LESSON PORTFOLIO A C O U S T I C G U I TA R

D SUS 4 TUNING 1.

C m11

Amaj9

Asus2

1 1

0 0 0 4 4 2 2

0 0 4 2

0 0 0 4 2

0 0 0 0 2

0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 2 0 2

0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 5 5

0 5 5

Amaj9

Asus2

0 4 5 5

0 5 5

0 0 0 4 5

0 4 5 5

0 0 0 4 5 5

0 0 0 0 5 5

0 0 0 0 0 0

Asus2

1 1

0 0 0 0 5 5

0 0 5 5

0 4 5 5

F m11 1

0 0 0 0 5

0 4 5 5

0 0 0 0

0 0 4 4

0 0 0 0

Amaj9 Asus2

Asus2

1 1

2 2 2

0 2 2 2

0 4

0 4 2

0 0 4 2

0 0 0 2 2 2

0 0

0 0 0 2 2

0 0 0

0 4 4

0 5 5

0 0 0 0

0 0 5 5

0 4 5 5

0 0 5 5

0 5 5

0 0 0 0 5

0 0 0

0 4 4

0 0 0

RIFF

LESSON PORTFOLIO A C O U S T I C G U I TA R

D SUS 4 TUNING 2.

Amaj9

Asus2

1 1

0 0 0

0 5 5

0 0 5 5

0 4 5 5

0 0 5 5

E7/ D

0 0 0 5

0 5 5

0 0 0 0 5 5

0 0 0 5 5

0 0 0 0 5 5

Bsus4/ E

0 0 2 0 0

0 2 0

0 0 2

0 2 0

0 0 2 0

E7/ D

2 0

0 0 0 0

0 2

0 0 0

0 0 0 0

Bsus4/ E

0 0 0 3

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

0 0 2 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 0 0

0 3

0 0 2 0

0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0

0 2

0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 2 3

(3)

0 0 2 0 0 0

(0) (2) (0)

LESSON PORTFOLIO A C O U S T I C G U I TA R

Selection From:

ESSENTIALS: FINGERSTYLE BLUES BY DAVID HAMBURGER

SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE Lesson Selection

JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS BY DAVID HAMBURGER This tune is a 12-bar blues in the call-and-response vein and, instead of a slow blues, we’ve got a more up-tempo groove, in the jump blues vein. Jump blues was (and still is) an ensemble style, popularized initially by the likes of T-Bone Walker and Louis Jordan, so it’s both challenging and fun to try and channel this sound in a solo fingerstyle context. To do so, we’re using a steady bass to hold things down, and answering a series of triplet- and eighth notebased licks with repeating 13th-chord figures on top. This kind of half-stepping into the chords happens all over the blues, at various tempos, and the compact three-note 13th chord voicings we’re using here pack a lot of sound into just a few notes. If you’ve never encountered them before, it may take a little practice before you can just grab them quickly, but they don’t use any more fingers than any open chord you know. That’s what I tell myself, at least, when I run into some weird new voicing that’s giving me fits. To help strengthen your feel for both the melody and the groove, try playing through the tune a couple of different ways. You can leave out the melody, and just concentrate on where the chord hits fall over the steady bass. Then, forget about the chord hits, and just play through the melody, taking care to still place each lick in its rightful spot in the progression. This way of isolating the elements of a tune can actually be more challenging that playing it intact, but it’s a great step to take once you’re ready to start varying the original tune yourself. LEARNING TOOLS PRACTICE TRACK

JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS

VIDEO LESSONS

JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS

RIFF

LESSON PORTFOLIO A C O U S T I C G U I TA R

Jumping to Conclusions Performance

JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS

= 112

Music by David Hamburger

E 1

¼ 0

0 2 1

3 2 1

1 0

¼ 3

3 2 1

0 2 1

3 2 1

¼ 0 0

2 0

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

0 0

8 7 6 0

7 6 5

1/2

LESSON PORTFOLIO A C O U S T I C G U I TA R

JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS (CONTINUED) 3

3 7

¼ 3

0 2 1

3 2 1

1 0

B7 9

¼ 0

2 2

3 3 2 3

0 2 1

E 11

¼ 3 2

0 2

3 2 2

0 2

0 5

(0) (5) 0

0 2 1

3 2 1 0

RIFF

LESSON PORTFOLIO A C O U S T I C G U I TA R

Selection From:

SOLO FLATPICKING HANDBOOK BY ROBERTO DALLA VECCHIA

SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE Lesson Selection

RED HAIRED BOY BY ROBERTO DALLA VECCHIA Popularized by players like Doc Watson, Norman Blake and Tony Rice, flatpicking was developed by guitarists arranging old-time American fiddle tunes on the guitar, expanding the instrument’s traditional rhythmic role by adding melodies and occasional bass runs on the lower strings. I’ve developed a series of tunes designed to help you learn essential concepts, techniques and creative approaches to take your flatpicking chops to the next level and help you develop a flatpicking repertoire designed specifically for solo performance. In this popular fiddle tune, called “Red Haired Boy,” I decided to focus simply on learning one single technique here: floating. The idea with floating is to create a cascade of notes that makes our guitar sound like a harp. In order to do so, we’ll alternate fretted notes with open strings and leave the fretting hand fingers planted as long as we can. This way there is always more than one string ringing, usually two or three. Just like cross-picking, floating is all about the right hand. So before beginning with Red Haired Boy, it’s a good idea to practice this move so that you can get it comfortable under your fingers. This fiddle tune is in the key of A, played with the capo at the 2nd fret using G shapes. It’s actually in G Mixolydian, so remember the flattened 7th - F natural. Give it a try! LEARNING TOOLS PRACTICE TRACK

RED HAIRED BOY

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

VIDEO LESSONS

RED HAIRED BOY

LESSON PORTFOLIO A C O U S T I C G U I TA R

Red Haired Boy Performance

RED HAIRED BOY

Capo II

C .0 .

& 3

≥

≤

≥

≤

≥

≤

≥

# j œ 0

≥

≤

# œ

j œ œ

# C . j . œ œ

# œ

j œ

≥

≤

œ 1

œ ≤

œ 0

≥

≤

nœ

œ 2

≥

≤

≥

≤

Traditional, arranged by Roberto Dalla Vecchia

œ 0

˙ 0

. .

RIFF

LESSON PORTFOLIO A C O U S T I C G U I TA R

TRUEFIRE - Red Haired Boy

RED HAIRED BOY (CONTINUED) F

# nœ

# œ 1

& 13

# œ

œ 0

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

œ 1

œ 5

œ nœ

œ 2

œ 0

œ 2

œ 0

œ 3

œ 0

LESSON PORTFOLIO A C O U S T I C G U I TA R

TRUEFIRE - Red Haired Boy

RED HAIRED BOY (CONTINUED) F

# nœ

# œ

& 21

# #œ G1

œ 0

œ 2

œ 1

œ #œ

0 8

œ 0

œ nœ

œ #œ 0

œ 2

˙ 3

RIFF

LESSON PORTFOLIO A C O U S T I C G U I TA R

Selection From:

ACOUSTIC POETICA: FINGERSTYLE ETUDES BY PEPPINO D’AGOSTINO

SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE Lesson Selection

SLIDING SWEETNESS BY PEPPINO D’AGOSTINO Developing the requisite technical skills, mastering key expressive techniques, and learning how to perform songs are the rites of passage that every guitarist must travel through on their path to becoming a great fingerstyle player. These etudes I’ve prepared are designed for students to use these techniques and creative approaches in your own daily practice routines and as tools ultimately for your own compositions. In this etude, we’re going to work on sliding. Sliding from one fret to the next can hurt your fingertips, especially if you’ve never done it before. The good news is that if you keep on practicing, you’ll slowly build calluses and everything will become much easier! In this etude, you’ll be sliding essentially from the 5th to the 7th fret of the 2nd string with your ring finger. The only exception is on measure 14, where you’ll be sliding from the 5th to the 3rd fret of the 1st string with your index finger. The bass notes are keeping a straight 3/4 waltz tempo. LEARNING TOOLS PRACTICE TRACK

SLIDING SWEETNESS

VIDEO LESSONS

SLIDING SWEETNESS

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

LESSON PORTFOLIO A C O U S T I C G U I TA R

Sliding Sweetness SLIDING SWEETNESS

q = 97

Peppino D'Agostino

                                              3



E B G D A D

0 0



0 0









    

  

0 0

7 0





 

7 0

5 0 0 0

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2 0



2 0

0 0

     

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    

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        

      8

7 0

   

  0 5 0



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 

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LESSON PORTFOLIO B A S S G U I TA R

Selection From:

ESSENTIALS: ROCK BASS GROOVES BY STU HAMM

SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE

Lesson Selection

ROCK FUNK BY STU HAMM The role of the bass player in a rock setting is critical -- you’ve got to lock up with the drummer rhythmically to establish the groove, and at the same time, provide a harmonic foundation for the vocalist and other instruments to play off of. Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers introduced a whole generations of rock bass players to the possibility of using thumb and slap bass techniques to add a little funk to their rock. Here’s a groove designed to get you started in that direction as well. It’s designed for us to target slapping and popping techniques, as well as playing triplets. Plus, it’s got a great groove and is fun to play. When you listen to this groove, note the rhythmic notation alerting us that we’ll be swinging the feel in this song, also getting to slap and pop full triplets in C, D, and G. You have to remember to play this with a light touch when you are slapping and popping to achieve a full, solid tone. Hitting too hard with your right hand will make for a very percussive and tinny bass tone. LEARNING TOOLS PRACTICE TRACK

ROCK FUNK

VIDEO LESSONS

ROCK FUNK

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Rock Funk Performance

= 130

Music by Stuart Hamm

ROCK FUNK

S = Thumbslap, P = Finger Pop

3 S

5 7

3 S

5 7

3 S

2 (0)

1/2

(2) 0

2 0

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LESSON PORTFOLIO B A S S G U I TA R

Selection From:

ESSENTIALS: WALKING BASS LINES BY ANDREW FORD

SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE Lesson Selection

SUNNY SIDE UP BY ANDREW FORD Every bass player needs to know how to play walking bass lines. It’s THE foundation of jazz bass playing and dates back to the 1800’s when the sound was used by classical composers. Jazz greats like Paul Chambers, Ray Brown, and Ron Carter refined the walking concept and you’ll hear it all over contemporary pop, blues and even popular rock tunes. Learning to play walking bass lines is essential in many ways. First, it’s a great way to navigate chord changes, the sound really propels a song forward, and ultimately understanding the foundations of walking bass lines is definitely gonna help you get and keep more gigs. This lesson’s walking bass line is based on Leroy Vinnegars performance on the song, “Sunny Side of the Street.” Leroy’s nickname was “The Walker” so I thought it was appropriate to include his style of walking in this collection. Also, he was self-taught, less technical, and really all about the feel. In this first, one we will check out some 2-5 and 2-5-1 patterns and examine how simple and sometimes repetitive note choices and patterns can still make solid, great sounding bass lines. Let’s dig into this one. LEARNING TOOLS PRACTICE TRACK

SUNNY SIDE UP

VIDEO LESSONS

SUNNY SIDE UP

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LESSON PORTFOLIO B A S S G U I TA R

Sunny Side Up Performance

SUNNY SIDE UP

= 142

Music by Andrew Ford

Bm7( 5)

C 1

Am7

Bm7( 5)

Am7

Gm7

G dim7

F 19

Dm7

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LESSON PORTFOLIO B A S S G U I TA R

SUNNY SIDE UP (CONTINUED) D7

Am7

(3)

G dim7

G7(sus4)

Dm7

Am7 29

Bm7( 5)

Dm7

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Geek Grows Up

“ Despite Despite my my love love of of glowing glowing tubes, tubes, I’m I’m also also very very fascinated fascinated by by the the idea idea that that algorithms algorithms could could eventually eventually capture capture and and recreate recreate the the magic magic of of aa warm warm tube tube amp. amp. “

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Geek Grows Up

T E C H TA L K

started learning about tube amps as a college student in the late 90’s. Back then, there was no debate about digital modeling vs tubes. If you were serious about tone, tube amps were it. I learned as much as I could by hanging out on forums, studying amp schematics, and trying to memorize tube pinout charts.

People who play blues are supposed to be tone snobs. We’re supposed to turn up our noses at digital modeling gear, regarding it as a cheap trick. But I’m not very good at ignoring technology. Despite my love of glowing tubes, I’m also very fascinated by the idea that algorithms could eventually capture and recreate the magic of a warm tube amp. Between the late 90’s and 2010, I occasionally dipped into the world of digital modeling, each time coming away disappointed. Then, in 2011, I had the opportunity to use an Avid Eleven Rack for a few months. The Eleven Rack was incredibly close to being good enough (in my opinion), but not quite. It didn’t close the gap for me, but I remember thinking that this was probably the last generation of modeling gear that would be “almost good enough”. In 2014, I was scheduled to shoot my second course for TrueFire. This course (50 Monster SRV Licks) was going to cover a few different song styles and I wanted to have a distinct tone for each section. My own amps would be useless because I’d be flying to Florida to shoot the course in the TrueFire studio. While they have a nice selection of amps to use, I wanted to plan out my tones in advance so I wouldn’t have to think about it during the shoot. After spending months researching the Kemper Amps Profiler, I took the plunge and bought one. It was a good decision. It only took a few minutes to figure out that digital modeling had reached the point where it was beyond “good enough”. It was the perfect tool to use for my TrueFire course. I spent about a week tweaking the tones at home, knowing that they’d sound exactly the same in the course videos. During the shoot, the Kemper made it possible for me to focus entirely on the content, never once thinking about my tone.

“ The The tone tone is is far far beyond beyond “good “good enough”. enough”. Not Not every every profile profile is is created created equal, equal, but but when when you you stumble stumble onto onto a a real real gem, gem, it’s it’s almost almost scary scary how how good good it it sounds. sounds. “

When the TrueFire shoot was done, the Kemper went back on the shelf in my studio. My real amps were already setup

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Geek Grows Up

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the way I liked, and my favorite microphones and cabinets were ready at a moment’s notice. I really didn’t have a need for the Kemper on a regular basis. That all changed in 2015. My family moved across town, and I began the long process of renovating a barn on our property to be my studio. I still needed to be working on courses and lessons, but lacked the time to setup cabinets and mics for each shoot. That’s when I began using the Kemper regularly, telling myself that it was only a temporary solution to the problem. But weeks turned into months, and months turned into a year, and pretty soon the Kemper was no longer a temporary fix, it had become my first choice. Long after my precious amps were back in place and ready to rock, I still chose to use the Kemper when shooting videos. Here are the primary reasons why this transition happened. 1. Tone 2. Convenience 3. Predictability 4. Volume

TONE

The tone is far beyond “good enough”. Not every profile is created equal, but when you stumble onto a real gem, it’s almost scary how good it sounds.

CONVENIENCE

Setting up mics on a real cabinet is time consuming. Sometimes I have an idea on a Friday morning for a lesson that needs to be published by 2pm. The last thing I want to do in that situation is spend 20 minutes moving a mic around the cone of a speaker trying to find the sweet spot. With the Kemper, I can spend 5 minutes testing out different profiles, pick a few pedals if needed, and be shooting a few minutes later.

PREDICTABILITY

Sometimes a shoot spans multiple days. If I were using real amps and cabinets, I’d have to be very careful to mark down all the settings and mic positions to make sure everything was the same the next day. With the Kemper, I can dial in a profile exactly the way I want it, save it, and the next day it will sound exactly the same. It’s not affected by temperature, humidity, or fluctuations in the electrical wiring.

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T E C H TA L K

“ But digital modeling isn’t going away, and it’s only going to get better.“ VOLUME

This might be one of the biggest reasons I keep using the Kemper for video shoots. A real amp needs to be cranked to get the best tone. This creates a problem because the louder the amp gets, the more it bleeds into my vocal mic while I’m talking. That screws up my audio mix later, because I’m also recording the guitar on a separate track. I’ve tried using ClearSonic shields to remedy this, and they do an amazing job. But that’s another step in the setup process that takes time. It is difficult to capture the beauty of a cranked up tube amp, while also trying to keep it as quiet as possible. I record the Kemper directly to the guitar track, but also monitor it through a powered PA speaker. I can turn the speaker up when tweaking up the profile, then turn it down while shooting. Even at whisper-quiet levels, it still sounds better than a muffled amp behind a shield.

I no longer pick sides in the “tubes vs digital” debate. There is no one solution for me. I choose the best tool for the task at hand. And in my current situation, the Kemper is the best tool for most of what I do. I still love my amps, and my collection will continue to grow. But digital modeling isn’t going away, and it’s only going to get better. This tube amp lover is a digital convert, and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

www.texasbluesalley.com

RIFF

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T E C H TA L K

Simply put, the more cable and true bypass pedals you use in your chain, the more your tone degrades.

e live in a pretty cool time as guitar players. The amount of gear, boutique or otherwise, is at an all-time high. The downside to that is that there are so many options and variations on basic themes that it can be overwhelming. Gear forums can be helpful, but they can also make you go broke and cause severe GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). So step away from the Buy-It-Now button and let me talk you through some basic concepts on pedals and how, in my opinion, the best way to get the most sonic benefits. Your mileage may vary. I must, however, state three disclaimers. 1.

NOTHING you buy will replace practicing time on the instrument. Your tone is in hands, so work on that and you will solve most problems...like 90% of them. You do not need to buy the most expensive pedal available. There are many fantastic affordable options. See #1.

In this article, I’m only going to cover the basic effect food groups as I see them (there are too many cool noisemakers out there for me to discuss in their entirely).

HERE ARE THE THREE BASIC GROUPS FOR A CLASSIC GUITAR SOUND: 1.

Boosts, overdrives, distortions, and fuzzes Modulation effects such as chorus, phase, tremolo (actually a volume effect), flangers, and univibes (or anything that makes a swishy or worbly sound) Ambient effects like reverb and delay

To start with, let’s talk about running a chain of pedals into a clean amplifier. So I’ve put together how I would run my basic board that I’d bring to gigs and rehearsals. In those situations, I am always assuming I will be playing into a clean amp. This will maximize my amount of control I will have over my sound.

TUNER > MODULATION > BOOST > OVERDRIVE > DELAY > REVERB This is a simple setup that you will find most pro players using as it can cover a lot of ground. I will change out one or two pedals, or add, depending on the gig. I usually put the tuner first in line. There are some great mini tuners on the market

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A buffer changes a guitar signal to high impedance, which restores your signal level and clarity. But they do change your tone somewhat, higher quality buffers usually sound better.

that are easy to use and very accurate. Invest in one, because if you are out of tune, nobody will notice how great your tone is! Let’s talk about the overdrive (OD)/distortion position first. In this situation, I use the pedal as basically an amp in a box. It’s designed to emulate the sound of a tube amp, where we turn it up to the point where we overdrive the tubes into distorting (hence the name). Depending on the gig or kind of music you play you may keep it on all the time. A boost can be placed in two spots, both serving a different function. I like to put it before the OD; this is the classic spot for something like a Tube Screamer. Here I would usually set the volume pretty high to boost the signal going into the OD pedal. This will give me somewhat of a volume boost, but more importantly, it will increase the gain and sustain. If I put the boost at the very end of the chain, it will boost just the volume. If you are going to do that, make sure the pedal is only a clean boost. You could always do both. I like the sound of modulation before overdrive. The perfect example of this is Van Halen using the flanger before his distorted amplifier on “Unchained”. Jimi Hendrix’ classic UniVibe tones are derived the same way. I prefer that sound. You can also place the modulation effect after your overdrive pedal; this will make it more pronounced. For example, if you want a classic 80’s sound, you would want to place your chorus after your overdrive. Experiment for what suits your own tastes. Last in the chain are the ambient effects like delay and reverb. At the end, these effects function as they would if you had reverb in your amp. I suggest placing the reverb last (unless you are using a boost at the end of the chain) and delay before it. You can experiment with ambient effects before overdrive or distortion, but they can sound splashy and harsh, post-OD is smoother and more pleasant to my ears. Once again, that is a taste issue. Van Halen ran his delay into an overdriven amp, it’s a cool sound, but it can limit how much delay you can use. Fuzzes are tricky beasts, but I love them. They can be very picky about where you place them, especially if the fuzz is germanium-based. If you have a pedal with a buffer in it, put the fuzz before it. Fuzzes don’t react well to buffers.

TRUE BYPASS (NON-BUFFERED) VS BUFFERED PEDALS There is a lot of buzz about all of this and which one is better. Well once again, there is no definitive answer. But I like a buffer in my signal chain somewhere. A guitar pickup output is a low impedance signal, and cables add capacitance. The more non-

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T E C H TA L K

I suggest placing the reverb last ( unless you are using a boost at the end of the chain) and delay before it. You can experiment with ambient effects before overdrive or distortion, but they can sound splashy and harsh, post- OD is smoother and more pleasant to my ears.

buffered pedals and cable you are using, the more capacitance you add. This loads down your signal causing it to degrade. Whaaa? Simply put, the more cable and true bypass pedals you use in your chain, the more your tone degrades. Try this, take the shortest cable you own and plug directly into your amp. Then plug in the longest cable you have into your amp. Do you hear a difference? Most likely your tone will be brighter and stronger with the short cable…don’t hear a difference? Good for you, don’t worry about it! ;) A buffer changes a guitar signal to high impedance, which restores your MODand clarity. But they do change your tone somewhat, higher signal level quality buffers usually sound better. Once again, it’s up to you. Hendrix MIX didn’t have any buffers. David Gilmour’s rig has buffers. Not sure if your pedal it true bypass or not? Remove the battery or unplug it, step on the DELAY pedal a few times, if you hear no sound when in both positions, it is a REGEN buffered pedal. If there is no sound in one position, it is true bypass.

FX LOOPS Many amps have effects loops in them. So how do we use one properly and which effects work in the loop? That’s a fairly easy question to answer. Think of your amp as the overdrive in the signal chain on my pedal board. It works exactly the same way. Ambient effects go in the loop, modulation is up to you. I don’t recommend overdrives or distortions in the loop. But, you can put a clean boost in there for a volume boost. As we can see there are no absolutes here, just what sounds right to you. I have simply laid out what sounds best to me, as well as the groundwork to understand context and relationship. The main thing I can say is if it sounds good to you, then it is good!

www.jeffmcerlain.com

RIFF

VOLU

FUZZ

FUZ

To illustrate some of the key concepts discussed in this article, I’ve included the following 4 chain and settings diagrams, along with some demonstration videos from my Guitar Effects Survival Guide, which are available online. As you experiment with your own chains and settings, and then find combinations that work for you — log and save those so you can re-create whenever you need to.

CLASSIC VIBE

VIDEO EXAMPLE

CLASSIC VIBE

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| ONLINE LINK DIRECTORY | RIFFJOURNAL.COM/LINKS-V11

T E C H TA L K

HARMONIZED DELAY

VIDEO EXAMPLE

HARMONIZED DELAY

| ONLINE LINK DIRECTORY | RIFFJOURNAL.COM/LINKS-V11

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PHASE BEFORE OVERDRIVE

VIDEO EXAMPLE

PHASE BEFORE OVERDRIVE

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| ONLINE LINK DIRECTORY | RIFFJOURNAL.COM/LINKS-V11

T E C H TA L K

WET LEAD

VIDEO EXAMPLE

WET LEAD

| ONLINE LINK DIRECTORY | RIFFJOURNAL.COM/LINKS-V11

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T E C H TA L K

The Axe-FX effect

he Fractal Audio Systems Axe-Fx preamp/FX processor has been a mainstay in my recording arsenal since 2010. It’s also served me well in traveling for gigs in far away places most notably with Karsh Kale and Dweezil Zappa. Starting with the first batch of Guitar Gym courses I’ve used an Axe-Fx on every TrueFire release to date including my Foundry courses and In the Jam: NYC Funk. Coming off nearly ten years working extensively with myriad Line 6 products including the DL4 and the PODxt Live, I was no stranger to the pros and cons of modeling. The PODxt Live introduced me to advantages of a vast array of modeled amps, cabs, effects and mics at the ready for tone creation. In fact, I produced my first ten TrueFire courses with one. Eventually the shortcomings of the unit outweighed the positives. At the same time, I was at an impasse with my pedal and amp rigs. I needed a change that sounded great, afforded me more control and included a more economical as well as healthier way to travel. After doing extensive research, reaching out to every Axe-Fx user I could find and deeply weighing my options, the Axe-Fx was hands down the way to go. Starting with an Axe-Fx Ultra and upgrading to the Axe-Fx II and finally to my current Axe-Fx II XL, I’ve always had the latest version of an MFC-101 MIDI Foot Controller nearby. Armed with Roland EV-5 expression pedals, every Fractal Audio app ever coded

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(and a few other tricks up my sleeve), I’ll turn you on to the work of Cliff Chase and company, which is a big part of my workflow. When it comes to preset design, I approach tone creation the same way I would with real amps and effects. I call up an amp/cabinet combo that makes sense for what I’m going for and set the EQ controls flat. From there I add and subtract effects tweaking them as well as the amp. Once I get a basic tone I will start to spend a lot of time considering cabinet IR (impulse responses) while tweaking the amp and the effects. I can’t stress enough the affect speakers have on your overall tone. In fact, I discovered this revelation when I started working with the PODxt Live. In addition to the cab models that come with the Axe-Fx I’m a huge fan of Ownhammer IR’s. I like to do all of this in Axe-Edit – Fractal’s PC/Mac application for creating, viewing, editing and managing presets. Take note: While I’ve enjoyed the ease of use in the working with an editor going all the way back to the POD I always make sure I can navigate any piece of hardware from its UI. You never know when you’re going to need to put your hands on the actual unit for what could be (always is) a crucial tweak or adjustment or, more than likely, a fix to a potentially crippling problem. The Axe-Fx is not only an incredibly powerful preamp/processor it’s also a formidable audio interface. On many occasions – most often when I’m on the road – I connect the Axe-Fx directly to my Macs via USB. With some simple adjustments in Ableton Live, Propellarhead Reason or Apple Logic’s preferences and track settings I get no perceivable latency when tracking and monitoring in real-time. Even better, I get incredible tone without taxing the host processor! I used this exact setup to record my filtered dotted 1/8 note delay-laced track for a tune called “Parallax” on Steve Jenkins’ latest album. Another productive Axe-Fx attribute is its capability of seamlessly interfacing with other

The Axe-FX effect

T E C H TA L K

MIDI-equipped gear. This allows me to create complex rigs that afford me extremely useful options. For example, I play fretless guitar. There are more than a few occasions where I need to quickly switch between both fretless and fretted guitars during a performance – often within a song. One of the guitars will be on an Mbrace stand that holds the guitar in place (right out of the prog rock playbook, proudly I might add). Plugging the two guitars into a Lehle 3@1 switcher and the 3@1 into the Axe-Fx’s input I set up my preset changes to generate PC messages on a discrete channel only the 3@1 is listening to. Those messages tell the switcher which input to activate and let through to the Axe-Fx making for smooth changes from guitar to guitar. This setup was used with great results when touring with Karsh to support his award-winning Cinema album. It should come as no surprise my Axe-Fx II XL plays the nicest with my MFC-101 Mark III. The control options you have at your feet with this pair are scary. From simple preset changes

to instant access (IA) switching to bursts of complex MIDI messaging the possibilities are deep. With an MFC-101 set to Axe-Fx mode it’s quick and easy to access proprietary functions such as the ever-important Scenes. If you’ve ever experienced latency when switching from preset to preset in other MIDI devices Scenes are Fractal’s way around that. Scenes are variations of the preset’s contents in form of on/off states, output levels and another proprietary function called X/Y states. You can switch between Scenes within a preset and feel not a nanosecond of lag. It’s what I used in my In the Jam sessions with Steve Jenkins and Keith Carlock to quickly move between tones in “Fewschuczy.” At the end of the day, it’s hard to imagine doing all that I do with TrueFire and so much more without the Axe-Fx and its related Fractal Audio Systems creations. They’ve all become an indispensible part of my arsenal.

www.chrisbuono.com

RIFF

Devilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in the Details (Part III) WRITTEN BY TOMMY JAMIN

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S T U D I O W IR E

T E C H TA L K

SO W E END UP W I T H T W O D E D I C A T E D BR E A K E R BOX ES AND THE P OW E R F R OM T H E L I GH T I N G N E V E R CREATES A STAN D I N G E M F SI GN A L I N T H E A UD I O EQUIPM ENT, W HICH M E A N S T H A T W E D ON ’T SP OI L G REAT RECORDIN GS W I T H E L E C T R I C A L H UM .

fter a few long days of manual labor climbing through the rafters above the new studio, I’ve just completed pulling thousands of feet of audio/visual cabling and installing the mic tie-line panels to the framing members. As each one of these days draw to a close, I pull off my sweat-soaked clothes and reflect on the accomplishment I feel after working with my hands. It feels good, hand-crafting an element of this studio’s critical infrastructure myself, springing forth the ornate (albeit hidden) nervous system upon which the productivity of our sessions will be built. It’s a nice departure from the typical day to day in front of a computer screen. Our culture has produced a seemingly infinite number of quotes about the importance of “paying attention to the details” in executing any plan with excellence; this hold true in every sphere of our existence. Great athletes, chefs, artists, businessmen, you name it, they all attribute their secret ingredient to the focus they put on the details of their trade. Looking back to when we began this project nearly a year ago, we were consumed with the macro-level aspects of this endeavor, and it was the job of our architects to worry about the details. As we transition now from plans on paper to physical manifestation, I’ve noticed my own perspective on the project evolving into something altogether much more micro. These days are all about the details. When we start digging into the plans with the pros that actually do the work with their own hands, the right kinds of questions get raised. How exactly will the compound, concave angle of the front wall of the control room come together? How in the heck will we route the thousands of feet of video, audio, and data cables throughout the facility and maintain future-proof flexibility for when transmission protocols unquestionably change? What can we do to ensure that our audio lines are free from electromagnetic frequency distortion? How will we avoid the pesky drone of air flowing through the AC registers? Ultimately, how do we make the most of our budget and what tasks can someone like myself do?

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We started with a freshly-poured concrete floor in the control room. Because we were burying PVC pipe to route cables between the desks and the machine room, the openings of the pipes in the floor had to be placed in extremely precise locations. We referenced a page in the plans with specific x- and y-axis and meticulously followed those coordinates to a T. We measured out the locations, buried the pipes in the dirt, measured again, re-adjusted, and re-checked everything just prior to pouring the concrete. Framing the rooms brought about its own challenges. On the one hand, we had a set of plans drawn by an acoustics expert. His M.O. was to design the rooms to act as finely-tuned musical instruments. Think of a beautifully crafted arch-top guitar and the elaborate structure of the sound box, hand-shaped and braced in just such a way to best articulate the

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sound of that instrument. On the other hand, we had another plan set drawn by a structural engineer solely focused on load support, meeting building codes, and the structural integrity of the rooms. The structural engineer was calling for larger, stouter truss joists and changing the direction of some of the ceiling members in the control room. We were able to work out a solution that satisfied both mindsets; our framing subs came, they saw, we huddled up all the minds and we conquered this job. The front wall leans toward the engineerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s desk to angle the main speakers down at our ears while the entire room has non-parallel walls to accomplish a reflection free zone for accurate listening. For the electrical rough-in, we also had some details to consider. For one, we have two different types of power circuits throughout the studio. One type is for

T H E H UM T H A T V I D E O L I GH T I N G, I N P A R T I C UL A R , C R E A T E S I N A C I R C UI T C A N E A SI L Y SP OI L A N A UD I O SI GN A L

lighting, computers, and other equipment. These are what we call our “dirty power” outlets. The hum that video lighting, in particular, creates in a circuit can easily spoil an audio signal, so the other type of circuits (which we refer to as star-ground or “clean power”) maintains a completely isolated ground signal from the dirty circuits. So we end up with two dedicated breaker boxes and the power from the lighting never creates a standing EMF signal in the audio equipment, which means that we don’t spoil great recordings with electrical hum. Another critical aspect of the rough-in was the mounting of the electrical boxes themselves. The acoustical finishes of the various walls in the studio will have different thicknesses: some are floated 1 ⅜” off of the studs with hat channel and isolation clips, some have 2” of Owens Corning 705 acoustic dampening, some

have binary amplitude Diffsorbor panels, and on and on. Because of this variation in the wall depths, the electrician had to pay extra attention to the plans, placing the electrical boxes at an appropriate depth to accommodate wall treatments that currently only exist as ideas on paper. For air conditioning, we’ve installed two separate systems: one is for our control room, our machine room, and the amp closet. The other system handles cooling all of the artist spaces: our main tracking room and the two sound locks. It sounds pretty straight forward, but once you start working through the design characteristics of these systems, a whole new light gets shed here also. Being that our specific application requires a critical air velocity at the registers so as not to introduce any unwanted drone

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T H E E LECTRICIAN HAD TO P A Y E X T R A A T T E N T I ON T O T H E P L A N S , PLACI N G THE ELECTRICAL BOX E S A T A N A P P R OP R I A T E D E P T H TO ACCOMM O DATE W ALL TR E A T M E N T S T H A T C UR R E N T L Y ON L Y EX I S T AS I D EAS O N PAPER.

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S T U D I O W IR E

into our sonic canvas, things like the size and shape of the duct work, the materials that the ducts are fabricated from and hung with, and even the number of 90 degree turns between the handlers and registers all play a critical role in the equation. And of course, back to my beloved low-voltage systems. I can’t say that I’ve become an expert in the field, but I’m learning from the best. There are nine MTL panels throughout the studio; these are similar to the outlet boxes that provide electrical connections throughout your house, except these are for audio/visual/data cabling. For that task, we needed to be sure that we could support a video feed or an audio recording in any room, a headphone cue system in the sound locks for an acoustic guitar or vocal performance, or a surround mix in the control room. High quality Gotham Audio instrument and speaker cabling make it so that the musicians can be in one room and the amplifiers can be cranked to eleven in pristine-quality in another. Furthermore, 4K is already here to stay and the future is likely VR or 360 degree video, so in order to keep up with the tech, we had to run the right kind of video cable with enough redundancy to support it with dual-link and quad-link connections. For what the future brings, we also ran 2” empty raceway pipes to support installing fiber optic lines or whatever protocols the industry throws at us next year, and beyond.

4 K IS ALREADY H E R E T O S T A Y A N D T H E F UT UR E IS LIKELY VR O R 3 6 0 D E GR E E V I D E O, SO I N O RDER TO KEEP UP W I T H T H E T E C H , W E H A D TO RUN THE RIGH T K I N D OF V I D E O C A BL E W I T H ENO UG H REDUN D A N C Y T O SUP P OR T I T W I T H DU AL- LINK AND Q UA D - L I N K C ON N E C T I ON S . Now that the framing, electrical, low-voltage, and HVAC have been installed, I take a step back to admire what we’ve done so far. It’s already looking amazing, and knowing firsthand all of the elements that went into its execution, it just continues to blow my mind. I’ve gained an even greater appreciation for the skilled tradesmen who’ve graced this jobsite with their expertise, and their attention to detail has been testament to the mastery of skilled craftsmanship. It’s still early, but as I look around at what we’ve erected from the cold, featureless concrete, I marvel at the scope of what we’ve accomplished here and how incredible this studio is going to be when it’s finished.

RIFF

R E M M SU ST I L Y A PL

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

SPULMAYMLISETR

“What’s on your playlist?” is a question that always pops up whenever we get to hang with our educators after their sessions here at TrueFire’s Studios. More often than not, there’s always an artist or two that we get turned on to. But there’s also always an artist or two on their playlist that you’d never guess would be there. We asked 23 of our top educators to share what they’ve been listening to recently and we’re happy to share those playlists with you here in this edition Riff. Tune in and turn on!

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SPULMAYMLISETR

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

SPULMAYMLISETR

ANDREW FORD

“

ALBUMS

THE SEARCH FOR EVERYTHING HAS SUPERB BASS PLAYING, SONGS, GUITAR PLAYING, DIVERSE, JUST EXCELLENT IN

John Mayer, The Search for Everything [2017]

EVERY WAY. - A N D RE W F O RD

ANDY ALEDORT

ANGUS CLARK

ARTISTS

ALBUMS

Pat Martino, Allan Holdsworth, Don Patterson, Joe Henderson, Jimi Hendrix, John Scofield, Pat Metheny

DareDevil Squadron, “Last Resort (Maxi Single)” [2016] Michael Schenker, Rainbow [Early 8 Blackmore albums]

“

ANTHONY STAUFFER ALBUMS Tony Vega Band, Black Magic Box [2016] Rival Sons, Great Western Valkyrie [2014] Chris Stapleton, Traveller [2015]

TONY VEGA BAND IS ALL ABOUT BLUES THAT CAPTURES THE BIG SWINGING TEXAS SOUND. MY FAVORITE LIVING GUITARIST AND SINGER. - A N T H O NY STAU F F E R

“

ARIANE CAP

I LOVE THIS BEATLES ALBUM MIMI FOX PUT OUT WITH MADS TOLLING. WITH MIMI’S SOARING GUITARS, IT’S REALLY FUN TO LISTEN TO TUNES YOU KNOW SO WELL WITH SUCH INTERESTING AND MUSICAL TWISTS! - ARI AN E CAP

ARTISTS Snarky Puppy

ALBUMS San Francisco String Trio, The Sgt. Peppers Project [2017] Rostam, “Gwan” [2017]

“ RIFF

SPULMAYMLISETR

“

GLEAVES AND HUGHES

CATHY FINK

HAVE BEAUTIFUL DUET

ARTISTS

HARMONIES AND SIMPLE,

Sam Gleaves & Tyler Hughes, The Mammals

EFFECTIVE OLD TIME

ALBUMS

COUNTRY SOUND IN FIDDLE, BANJO, GUITAR, MANDOLIN. - CAT HY F I N K

“

Adam Hurt, Artifacts [2016] Tom Paxton, Boat in the Water [2017] Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore, Love Runner [2014]

CARL VERHEYEN

COREY CONGILIO

ARTISTS

Derek Trucks

Lucie Silvas, Brothers Osborne, Chris Stapleton

ALBUMS Jimmy Herring, Subject to Change Without Notice [2012]

ALBUMS

“

Dawes, We’re All Gonna Die [2016]

DAVE CELENTANO META IS SCARY GOOD AND ACTUALLY JUST PLAIN SCARY. - C H RI S B U O N O

CHRIS BUONO

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

“

ALBUMS Van Halen, Van Halen [1978] Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin I & II [1969] ZZ Top, ZZ Top’s First Album [1971] Michael Bloomfield, Super Session [1968]

DAVID BECKER

ALBUMS

Car Bomb, Meta [2016]

Various Artists, Message to Attila [2015]

“

I’M CURRENTLY ON TOUR

WITH LUCIE SILVAS OPENING

FOR BROTHERS OSBORNE AND CHRIS STAPLETON. JOHN

OSBORNE IS LITERALLY MY NEW FAVORITE GUITAR PLAYER. HE’S INCREDIBLE AT ALL STYLES AND IS AN ACCOMPLISHED MANDOLIN AND BASS PLAYER. HE’S INSANE! AND STAPLETON... WHAT ELSE CAN YOU SAY. HE’S GOT ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL VOICES OF ALL TIME. - COREY CONGILIO

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SPULMAYMLISETR

FRANK VIGNOLA

ARTISTS Ed Bickert Trio, Art Farmer & Jim Hall Quartet

“

ALL OF THE RECORDS AND ARTISTS ON MY LIST ARE EITHER SUPER JOYFUL OR MASTERS AT SUMMER MOOD - JAS O N LO U G H L I N

NORMALLY I WOULDN’T PLUG OUR OWN CD, BUT CATHY FINK IS THE BEST BANJO

“

JASON LOUGHLIN ALBUMS

PLAYER AROUND. I DON’T

Manuel Galban, Mambo Sinuendo [2003] Les Paul and His Trio, Hawaiian Paradise [1949] The Four Freshman, The Four Freshman and Five Guitars [1959] Beach Boys, Pet Sounds [1966] Chet Atkins, Teensville [1960] Neil Finn, Try Whistling This [1998] Henry Mancini and His Orchestra, The Versatile Henry Mancini [1959] Martin Denny, “Quiet Village” [1959] Jason Loughlin, Peach Crate [2011]

LISTEN TO OUR CD BECAUSE CATHY PRACTICES IN THE CAR. IT’S A LITTLE TOO EXCITING ON THE FAST TUNES. IT’S HARD NOT TO DRIVE TOO FAST DOWN THE HIGHWAY. NEXT TO HAVING CATHY IN THE CAR, OUR CD MIGHT BE THE

“

NEXT BEST THING. - MA R CY M ARXE R

MARCY MARXER

JEFF MCERLAIN ALBUMS Peter Green and Danny Kirwan (of Early Fleetwood Mac) Fleetwood Mac, Live at the Boston Tea Party [1998] David Bowie, Blackstar [2016]

ARTISTS Frank Vignola

ALBUMS John Fogerty, Blue Moon Swamp [1997] Oscar Peterson Trio, We Get Requests [1964] Don Stiernberg, Mandoboppin’! [2016] Lyle Ritz & Herb Ohta, A Night of Ukele Jazz Live at McCabes [2001] Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, Get Up and Do Right [2017]

“

PRESTON REED WAS THE BEST ACOUSTIC TAPPER ON THE PLANET WITH A KILLER STRONG GROOVE. - P RE STO N RE E D

“

JENNIFER BATTEN

BRUCE KAPHAN IS THE ULTIMATE AMBIENT SLIDE MUSIC AROUND. - J E N N I F E R BAT T E N

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

“

ALBUMS

Preston Reed, Imogen Heap, Weather Report or Joe Zawinul Afro Celt Sound System [Early CDs] Bruce Kaphan, Slider [2001]

SPULMAYMLISETR

“

MASSIMO VARINI

THE HISTORY OF THIS [BEATLES COMPILATION, 1] IS IMPORTANT.

ALBUMS

- M AS S I M O VA RI N I

Van Halen, 1984 [1984] The Beatles, 1 [2000] Duran Duran, Greatest [1998] Madonna, The Best of [1998] Ed Sheeran

“

I LIKE “OLDIES AND GOLDIES” OF VAN HALEN 1984 AND BECAUSE EVERYTHING (FOR ME)

“

STARTED THERE - M AS S I M O VA RI N I

“

ALBERT KING IS A BIG MAN, BIG TONE, BIG LICKS! HE WILL ALWAYS BE WORTH LISTENING TO - ANY ALBUM IS GREAT. BACK TO THE ROOTS! - R O B E RT RE N M A N

“

AN INCREDIBLE ALBUM BY AN INCREDIBLE GUITAR PLAYER. PAY ATTENTION TO THE LAYERING OF GUITAR TONES, AND THE FANTASTIC OVERALL SOUND. IT DOESN’T HURT THAT THE COMPOSITIONS AND PLAYING IS STELLAR EITHER... - RO B E RT RE N MAN

“

ROBERT RENMAN ARTISTS Albert King

ALBUMS Scott Henderson, Vibe Station [2015]

“ RIFF

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“

BRYAN SUTTON’S ALBUM HAS ALL THE INGREDIENTS THAT I LOVE: GREAT SONGWRITING (THE TITLE TRACK IS WORTH THE ENTIRE CD), GREAT SONG ARRANGEMENTS, VARIETY IN THE SONG STYLE (BLUEGRASS, OLD TIME, AMERICANA, FOLK, BLUES) AND SOME AWESOME SOLO FLATPICKING GUITAR (CHECK OUT THE AMAZING ARRANGEMENT TO AN OLD STANDARD “ARKANSAS TRAVELLER”). A VERY INSPIRING ALBUM! - R O B E RTO DA L L A VE C C H IA

“

ROBERTO DALLA VECCHIA ALBUMS

Bryan Sutton, The More I Learn [2016]

“

ALWAYS LISTENING TO CHICK COREA’S “MY SPANISH HEART” AND “LIGHT AS A FEATHER”

FOR HEART WRENCHING

SHERYL BAILEY ALBUMS

Chick Corea, My Spanish Heart [1976]

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

HARMONY AND FLAWLESS TECHNIQUE. - S H E RYL BA I L E Y

“

SPULMAYMLISETR

“

RON “BUMBLEFOOT” THAL SEEMS TO BE ABLE TO CRAFT MUSIC FOR ANY OCCASION. SO, THIS SUMMER (LIKE ALL THE PAST ONES) YOU CAN BE SURE THAT HIS TRACKS ARE MIXED IN ON MY PLAYLIST. - TO NY S M OT H E RM A N

“

TONY SMOTHERMAN ALBUMS

Yngwie Malmsteen, Mattias Eklund Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal Johann Sebastian Bach, The Goldberg Variations [1956] Lute Suites [1986]

“

FOR QUIET TIMES TO REFLECT, NOTHING RESONATES WITH ME DEEPER THAN JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH, THE GOLDBERG VARIATIONS AND LUTE SUITES ARE SOME OF MY FAVORITES! - TO NY S M OT H E RM A N

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The music industry thrives on guitar and bass players’ life-long hunt for the ideal rig. If we all had a dollar for every piece of new gear we’ve purchased over the years, we’d all be playing ukes on the beaches of Tahiti. Checking out what other players are using on the gig is likely responsible for triggering 90% of those purchases. So fair warning… reviewing the following live gig rig descriptions from 23 of our educators may very well be an expensive proposition. But at least this edition of Riff is free!

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

Frank vignola One Eastman FV Signature designed by Ryan Thorell and one AER compact 60. I love the consistency of how good the amp works in all venues whether indoor or outdoor. The direct out of the back of the amp sounds great into any system. The guitar is just what I like from an archtop. No feedback, great, consistent, in tune sound all over the fretboard.

Eastman FV Signature

AER compact 60

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A RTIST GEA R GU ID E

A R IA N E CA P A N D HE R G RUV G EAR F RETWRAP

ariane cap OVERVIEW My Marleaux basses have been my axes of choice for well over a decade now. Their necks are so comfortable (nice and thin) and the instruments are very versatile sound wise. I have the programable electronic and can get anything from a Jaco-like funkiness to a big bottom reggae to a sweet upright-sounding Jazz tone just by flicking a few buttons and positioning my right hand just right according to the pick ups. TYPICAL GIG Depends a bit on the gig, but for a typical band gig, my Marleaux Consat 5, my Revsound cab (itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so light it makes me fly. Plus: blue!), my TC RH450 head, and, if there is any funkyness involved, my MXR Envelope filter.

Marleaux Consat 5 Revsound cab TC RH450 head MXR Envelope filter

DUO GIG For a gig with my duo: six-string Marleaux Consat and a whole pile of pedals (Infinity looper, EBS reverb, Pigtronix distortion pedal, Nova Delay by TC). For the duo gig, I may bring two cabs and heads and wire it up for true stereo. My gruvgear fret wraps are always part of the show! The TC head has a fantastic EQ with the three-button foot switch I can store any settings I like for the room and access them at a click of a button.

Six-string Marleaux Consat Infinity looper EBS reverb Pigtronix distortion pedal Nova Delay by TC GRUV GEAR FretWrap

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ARTI ST GEAR G U ID E

A C LOS E U P OF CA R L V E R HEYEN’ S PEDALS

Carl verheyen OVERVIEW The CVB rig I use is a 4 amp system involving a 1976 HiWatt 100 watt and a 1965 Fender Showman for the clean side. On the distortion side I use a Dr Z SRZ-65 to generate crunch tones in a wet / dry combination with a 1969 100 watt Marshall. I use THD cabinets and a Lehle A / B pedal to switch between the 2 rigs. Each has its own delay, reverb and distortion pedals set up in a board and small rack, and I use an LsL CV Special Signature Strat-style guitar along with various Gibsons and acoustics. I’ve tried it all: Channel switching, midi, huge rack rigs, etc. The beautiful thing about an A/B rig is how organic it sounds. The reverbs and delays hang in the air on the clean sound as I switch to the solo sound and visa-versa when switching back. There’s never a sonic cutoff of a tone when going to another, and in a trio setting that seamlessness is important.

1965 Fender Showman Amp 1976 HiWatt 100 watt Amp Dr Z SRZ-65 1969 100 watt Marshall LsL CV Special Signature Strat-style guitar Various Gibsons and acoustics

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JE N N IF E R BAT T E N A N D H E R B LUG UI TAR // PHOTO S BY HANS CO LI JI N

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

ARTI ST GEAR GU ID E

jennifer batten BluGuitar Amp1

Batten String Damper

BluGuitar BluBox DI/speaker simulator

Fishman Fluence pickups

Washburn Parallaxe PXM10

D’Addario NYXL strings

Lock-It guitar strap

BluGuitar FatCab

Fishman TriplePlay Wireless MIDI system

Sensaphonics 3D Ambient in ear monitors

OVERVIEW Amp1 is a 100 watt 4 channel tube driven amp and weighs less than 3 pounds, so it’s perfect for flights (99.9% of my gigs). You can never rely on an amp being provided for you so taking this gives me consistency and control with great sound. I use the 4 cable method to get only effects from the Digitech. The Digitech RP1000 gives me 10 banks of 10 user preset sounds, so I have sounds for different gigs in different banks. I’ve painstakingly compared this unit to many other current multi effects, and none are better quality. The Lock-It strap insures the guitar won’t drop from a faulty strap hole and the security is spring loaded and built into the strap, so no hardware is needed. The new BluBox speaker simulator gives me 16 different speaker cab IR’s to choose from, plus a virtual mic placement knob. Going direct gives more control over being mic’d. It also has a speaker thru port so you can have a cabinet as well. The Washburn Parallaxe PXM10 has a super slick 24 fret neck with the Stevens cutaway that allows extreme comfort up to the highest fret. I have 3 of these Parallaxe guitars and two of them have Fishman Fluence pickups loaded in them; 2 singles and their “Modern” in the bridge.

The Fishman TriplePlay Wireless MIDI system allows access to any sound a keyboardist gets access to via laptop or iPad I can trigger bass, keyboards, orchestral sounds... you name it. When I can get it, I use the BluGuitar Fat cab (1X12) which is ported to cover a much wider area than any 4X12 cab. I use my own “Batten String Damper” I sell on my site, which is mandatory for clean tapping, but I also use it for most other playing as well to keep the open strings quiet. I’ve been using the NYXL D’Addario strings. I’ve found they last a long time and are not prone to breakage. The most crucial piece of gear is the Sensaphonics 3D ambient in ear monitors. They have a couple drivers per ear, as well as a mic in each ear so you can choose how much outside ambience you want in your mix. I use them whether I get a mix feed or whether there’s no feed at all. In the last case I’ll use the mics only and dial down the volume to my liking.

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AN GUS C LARK // PHOTO BY ALISON HASBACH SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

A RT IST G EA R G U ID E

angus clark OVERVIEW Non Fly Dates: I would bring the head. Fly Dates: I would not bring the head and be sure that there is a Marshall head and cabinet backlined. Strat Gigs: The Strat comes and the V stays home. Non Strat Gigs: The Flying V comes and the Strat stays home.

GUITARS Fender ‘62 RI Stratocaster with David Allen “Echoes” pickups Fender USA Deluxe Telecaster with Seymour Duncan “LIttle ‘59” in the bridge Gibson “Flying V” with Seymour Duncan “Duncan Distortion” pickups

AMPS Marshall 2205 JCM800 50-watt “split-channel” amplifier head (later version) Marshall 4x12 cabinet with Celestion Speakers

WIRELESS Shure GLX-D Wireless head (later version)

PEDALS Dunlop “Cry Baby” wah pedal Boss NS-2 Noise Supressor Electro-Harmonix “Small Stone” phase shifter Xotic “SP” Compressor pedal Paul Cochrane “Timmy” Overdrive Z-Vex “Box Of Rock” Strymon “El Capistan” delay pedal (in the fx loop if possible) Pedal Board Pedaltrain Jr. w/ Carry bag Pedal Power by Voodoo Labs

STRINGS D’Addario

CABLES Conquest Sound Cables RIFF

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MASSIMO VARINI Hamer Mirage: I’ve had this guitar since 1995 and its tone is unique. It’s a mahogany guitar with a Koa top (neck thru body); 2 mini humbuckers (Seymour Duncan miniJB for the bridge, a little 59 neck and Vintage Rails center); every time that I’m looking for a specific tone I know that my #1 has that tone. It could be dark and deep as a Les Paul or sparkling as a Strat! For the Effects: Eventide H9 (max) has everything and I can control it with my iPhone or iPad (nothing is impossible with it)! For the amp: Marco Brunetti is an Italian “tube guru,” we’ve been friends since 1990 and we work together to build my amps, so the sound is perfect for me! GUITARS

PEDALS

Eko Aire Relic

Eventide H9

Hamer Mirage (1995)

Elektron Multi Drive,

Acoustic: Eko MV

Jam Pedal MV Signature multi pedal BOSS CS-3 compressor

AMPS

Fulltone Chorus

Brunetti CustomWork Acoustic Amp

TC Electronic 2290 for acoustic: H9 Eventide

Fishman Loudbox Artist

BOSS RC-3 Looper

MAS S I MO AND HI S S I GN ATURE EKO GUITAR // PHOTO BY AL ISON HASBAC H SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

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S HE RYL AND HE R S IGNATU R E MC C U R DY ME R C U RY // P HOTO BY ALIS O N HAS BAC H

SHERYL BAILEY OVERVIEW These rigs represent the many diverse playing situations I’m in: creating funky/quirky shredding sounds for clarinet virtuosos David Krakauer or Anat Cohen, playing with my organ trio or quartet, playing acoustic music with the acoustic duo Plucky Strum. All of this gear features top craftsmanship and makes it easy for me to do my job as an artist fluently and with beautiful sound McCurdy Mercury Sheryl Bailey Signature Series Guitar McCurdy “Jazz Master” solidbody featuring Lollar Pickups Headstrong Amplifier Acoustic Image Amplifier Earthquaker Devices Stonebridge/Furch Guitar Wilcox Lightwaves Guitar

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

TO NY’S V IGIE R AND R EVO LT R IG

TONY SMOTHERMAN OVERVIEW The Vigier Guitar has such an organic sound. There’s a process the wood goes through to pull all the moisture out, I can hit a note unplugged and the length of sustain is unbelievable, that’s a true testament that the process really works. I prefer a sound that’s as natural as possible, hearing the wood and strings is what it’s all about to me. I rarely use any kind of effects, but love the Morley Bad Horsie Wah, it’s as close as you can get to making the note actually talk, the folks at Morley and Vai got it right! Revolt Amps out of Chicago created a signature Tony Smotherman Tube Overdrive Pedal, which allows me to get a creamy tube tone if I don’t have a tube amp available for a live show or clinics. It’s really as easy as plugging into a solid state amp and hitting the button on this little gem. Instant warm tube sound and I can literally fit it in the palm of my hand. When I can take my gear, Revolt built me a custom head and cabinet that just sings. Great sustain and overall sound. Similar to maybe a hot-rodded Marshall, but absolutely has it’s own distance voice and sound. I really like their stuff and am proud to endorse it. Dr Strings makes THE best strings in my opinion, nothing comes close to the sound, feel, and overall quality. I like using the High Beams in a gauge 9, the Pure Blues strings they make are really responsive too. As far as picks, once I started using the Dunlop Jazz III pick I never looked back. When something feels right, you don’t change it, and I’ve been using them for a long time now.

Vigier Excalibur Guitar

TS Tube Overdrive Pedal

Revolt Amps Barbarian50 Watt head and cabinet

Dr Strings High Beam’s

Morley Bad Horsie Wah

Dunlop Jazz III Picks RIFF

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A RTIST GEA R GU ID E

Bill kirchen OVERVIEW These Kelly guitars are made with 200 year old pine bodies and necks, no truss rods. My main one is the lightest Tele I’ve ever hoisted, with the fattest neck I’ve ever grabbed. The light weight body and massive neck with no hollow for a truss rod add up to an unusually resonant tone, delivered through Don Mare pick-ups. The super light body saves my back, and the fat neck surprised me by relieving virtually all my left-hand stress The old Deluxe Reverb with 1 x 12” Jensen Neo and the new Magnatone both hit the sweet spot for a wide variety of stages, small enough crank when you want to and large enough to work mic’ed on big stages, without needing to go through the monitor. I use the Pro Jr with outboard reverb for solo and duo work, and even some full band situations. I’ve flown my Deluxe everywhere bubble wrapped in a soft-sided suitcase, now upgraded now to 1/2” high density foam liner in a roller bag. At 49.5 lbs the rig flies free on Southwest Air. I realize, one day it’s gonna show up like a bag of potato chips, but so far so good. I’ve saved way more than the cost of

quite a few amps by avoiding excess baggage fees. Also sparing me from the cursed road cases are Studio Slips soft covers, canvas with 1/2” of padding, w. or w/o a pocket. I have one for every amp I take out of the house. Guitars go in MONO bags, single or double. In hundreds of flights on Southwest Air, they have never ever made me check my guitar. As Teles are virtually indestructible, the gig bag is more of a courtesy, so my Tele doesn’t escape and rough up decent folks’ axes. Kidding aside, those are the most protective soft cases I’ve found. They actually support the guitar inside the bag. The Reddverb has nice reflections for those bouncy stages when you can’t use your spring ‘verb, plus a built-in adjustable clean boost. The Zia Drive is a another layer of low compression transparent drive. I get gain by letting the Zia hit the front end of my low wattage amps a little harder, rather than relying on distortion from a pedal itself. The ’verb and analog delay used sparingly gives it all a little air.

GUITAR

AMPS

One or two Rick Kelly Bowrey Pine Teles

1968 Fender Deluxe Reverb, modified by Cage Amplifiers in Maryland

Curt Mangan 10-46 strings

New Magnatone Twilighter

Single or double MONO gig bag

Fender Pro Jr all in Studio Slips covers

OTHER

PEDALS

Curt Mangan 10-46 strings

Boss TU-1 tuner

Single or double MONO gig bag

DM-3 analog delay Durham Electronics Reddverb Durham Electronics Zia Drive

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

BILL KIRC HEN â&#x20AC;&#x2122;S RIG // PHOTOS BY KY LE SW EEN Y

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SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

GEAR STIL L LIFE ARTFUL LY ARRANGE D A ND S H OT BY JE FF MC E R LA IN

jeff m c erlain I will try to bring my own amp on just about every gig, if that’s not possible, I have had the best luck renting something like a Fender Hotrod Deluxe or DeVille, running it clean and using pedals. That way I am in control of as many variables as I can be. To me it comes down to a great amp first, the amp is the basis of your tone, and a great amp will help you discover a great guitar. I recently started working with Two Rock and I am ecstatic about this amp. It’s the Classic Reverb Signature and it’s a 6L6 based amp with a touch of Dumble style amps in there. Coming from Marshall amps it was a bit of a change, but the amp has been inspiring me to play. I am playing a lot cleaner lately and really seeing and feeling the benefits. I do attribute this partly to the Two Rock that makes this possible. Your amp should make you happy whatever make or model. Some people see the amp as somewhat of an afterthought. Go try some truly great amps and you may be changed forever!

GUITARS

PEDAL BOARD

AMPS

It’s usually between two, my

TC Mini Tuner

Main amp is a Two Rock Classic

Michael Tuttle Carve Top

Fulltone Octafuzz

Reverb Signature into either

Standard and Classic T.

DryBell Vibe Machine

a Two Rock 2x12 or 1x12 cab

Mad Professor Twimble Simble

depending on the gig

Klon KTR Strymon El Capistan

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STAG E P E R S P ECT IV E OF C H R IS BUO NO ’ S P EDAL BOARD

Chris buono For local gigs, the guitars depend on the gig. On being a Vigier Surfreter fretless. The other could be my 73’s Strat or First Act PP-5 or lately my Gibson ‘59 RI Les Paul. For effects that’s always per gig, but I mainly use effects from the following: Pigtronix, Strymon and Amptweaker along with a Digitech Whammy II, a Boss DD-7 and a Bogner Uberschall. I either plug them into one or two ‘64 Fender Deluxe amps or a Line DT25 head/cab rig. For touring, I use the Fractal Audio Axe-Fx II XL into active monitors that are provided by the venue/promoter/booking agency. I use their MFC-101 III to control it.

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

GUITARS Vigier Surfreter fretless 73’s Strat Gibson ‘59 RI Les Paul PEDAL BOARD Pigtronix Effects Strymon Effects Amptweaker Effects Boss DD-7 Bogner Uberschall

AMPS ‘64 Fender Deluxe amps Line DT25 head/cab rig

MONITORS + Fractal Audio Axe-Fx II XL MFC-101 III RIFF

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MARCY’ S MAD BEAN P EDA L AN D HER M AN D OLIN ON THE RIGHT // M AN D OLIN PHOTO BY ALISON HASBACH

marcy marxer FOLK FESTIVALS This summer’s gigs require several different setups. As Cathy Fink and I head out to Folk Festivals, I’ll tote my MM-3HC (signature model) Martin acoustic guitar, a Cyclops resonator guitar made by Paul Beard, a 5 string Arrow mandolin made by Paul Lestock and a tenor Kala ukulele. All of these instruments sound fabulous played through my amazing AER Acoustic amp. MM-3HC (signature model) Martin acoustic guitar

5 string Arrow mandolin by Paul Lestock

Cyclops resonator guitar by Paul Beard

Tenor Kala ukulele

COUNTRY GIGS For Country gigs a T-Style guitar covered in silver sparkles made by Steve Dikkers brings some mighty twang. My favorite foot pedal of all time is the old pink Boss Analog Delay. Danny Gatton gave me one back in the day. It was often the only pedal he used. He was amazing. He got most of his tones with hands. What a great guy! A real hero! The AER Acoustic Amp is so easy to carry and sounds so great it’s almost unbelievable. It makes both indoor and outdoor stages feel as comfortable as a living room. T-Style silver sparkle guitar by Steve Dikkers Pink Boss Analog Delay

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

AER Acoustic Amp

CATHY FIN K AN D M ARCY M ARXER // PHOTO BY A LIS O N H AS BAC H

cathy fink

CATHY ’S VIN TAGE, SIGN ED BANJO

I take an acoustic guitar- either my William Laskin 6-string or 1987 Santa Cruz OM, A 1926 Tubaphone pot banjo with Larry Sifel neck, either Kala Marcy Marxer model Ukulele or Collings tenor uke, Boss footswitch tuner and Headway DIs. When flying it’s the Santa Cruz and a different tubaphone banjo. I often perform with just miss and no “gear” besides instruments. If I feel the sound system and engineer will honor this, it’s my first choice. DI’s are a backup plan, or sometime used for a 50/50 blend of instrument and DI.

William Laskin 6-string

Collings tenor uke

1987 Santa Cruz OM

Boss footswitch tuner

1926 Tubaphone pot banjo with Larry Sifel neck,

Headway DIs

Kala Marcy Marxer model Ukulele

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robert renman The guitars give me a wide range of tonal options. The amp is very basic, but it takes pedals extremely well, which makes the rig exceptionally versatile. The Line M9 is chock full of great effects. I have found that I only need my preferred gain pedals on the pedal board - all the reverb, delays, eq, boosts/light gain, modulation and filters are all from the Line 6 M9. By having a basic, simple amp like the JTM-50 or the Suhr Badger 18 and a small cabinet, and my pedal board, I can get any tone I will need for my style of playing. Most of the time, I just use the Fender or the Suhr for single coil work, and the Swede for humbucker tones. The other guitars are with me for jazzier needs.

GUITARS

PEDAL BOARD

Suhr Pro C1

KO Amps 12th Street Special

Hagstrom Swede

Lunastone True Overdrive

Fender American Standard Strat + Zexcoil pickups

Rockett Pedals The DUDE & a Line 6 M9

Hagstrom Viking

Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Angelico EX-SS AMPS Marshall JTM-50 clone Suhr Badger 18 & a 1x12 open back cabinet

SUMMER 2017 | ISSUE 11

L TO R : KO A MP 1 2 T H ST R E ET SPECI AL PEDAL, HAG ST RO M SWEDE, F ENDER WI T H ZEXCOIL PICKUPS, HAGSTROM ON SUHR // PHOTOS PROVID ED BY R. REN M AN

CLO S E UP O F RO B’ S BOGN ER SHIVA 20 TH AN N IVERSARY AM PL IFIER HEAD

rob garland My main gigging guitar is an Xotic XSC Custom California Classic in custom Shell Pink, with Xotic Raw Vintage pickups, S-S-H. My current gig amp is a Bogner 20th Anniversary Shiva amplifier head (EL34 model) with matching 2x12 extension cab loaded with Vintage 30’s, made in custom purple. My pedalboard has a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2+, Strymon El Capistan Tape Echo, Eventide H9 Max and Tech 21 MIDI Moose controller. I’m using Hell Guitar Parts Super Blacks picks (2.5mm prototype) and my guitar strap is by Moody Straps. I use D’Addario EKXL 10-46 strings. I’ve been using D’Addario strings since I was 18 and the EKXL strings have reinforced ball ends for players like myself that tend to abuse the whammy bar. The main reason this rig works is that my amp is purple and the guitar is pink! The Xotic guitar feels and sounds like a vintage strat, I had the back of the neck left unfinished and the roasted maple gives it a lot of resonance and sustain, which is further enhanced by the clarity of the pickups. The Bogner amp is very versatile and has a wide range of tones available, from Marshall Plexi style distortion to a shimmery Fender-like clean tone, plus the amp has additional tone shaping options such as the shift and mode controls. I recently began using the Eventide H9 Max, which in my trio format, allows me to expand the sonic palette with effects such as backwards reverbs, lush choruses and ring modulators! The picks were (clearly) forged by dark magic and the indented grip allows them to stick to my hand under the hottest stage lights. The hand polished synthetic material lends itself to better tone and improved picking speed.

GUITAR

PEDAL BOARD

Xotic XSC Custom California Classic in Shell Pink + Xotic

Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2+

Raw Vintage pickups, S-S-H

Strymon El Capistan Tape Echo Eventide H9 Max

AMPS Bogner 20th Anniversary Shiva (EL34 model) Matching 2x12 extension cab loaded with Vintage 30’s + Custom purple finish

Tech 21 MIDI Moose controller STRINGS & MORE Hell Guitar Parts Super Blacks picks (2.5mm prototype) Moody Strap D’Addario EKXL 10-46 strings

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R OB E RTOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; S S IG N AT U R E CO LLI NG S

roberto dalla vecchia When I play live I want the amplified sound of my acoustic guitar to be as natural as possible. I think that the Anthem along with the Para DIBox works very very well. If you add my vintage Neumann KM84 to the mix, the result is just what Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m looking for: very natural, very consistent from venue to venue and no feedback problems. That being said, I always use John Pearse medium strings, I love their tone and balance. My favorite pick is a BlueChip TPR 50, nice and smooth. In my live set, I use a capo quite a bit and what I like about my Paige capo is the fact that it stays behind the nut, always ready to be used. Besides I can adjust the tension using the screw reducing out of tune problems to a minimum.

Collings D2H amplified via L.R. Baggs Anthem SL

BlueChip TPR 50

Reference Cables

L.R. Baggs PARA DIBox

John Pearse Strings #700M

Boss Tuner T-U3

Neumann KM 84

Paige Capo

AER Acousticube II

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The DB signature model has two pick-ups. A Seymour Duncan humbucker in the neck position and an piezo pick-up in the bridge. This allows me to get a variety of sounds out of the guitar. The Ditto pedal is very reliable for looping and allows me to bring the loop in and out of each piece of music because it has an on/off foot switch. The delay is great because I can always get the right amount of ambience in any system in play through. I have it set to about 420 milliseconds. Heritage “David Becker” Signature Model TC Electronics X2 Ditto Pedal Boss DDL-7 Delay Pedal

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DAVI D BEC KE R’ S S IGN AT UR E H ER ITAG E GU ITA R // PH OTO P ROV ID E D BY D . BEC KE R

david becker

ARTI ST GEAR GU ID E

dave celentano One of my Gibson Les Pauls, Fender “Blues Junior” amp, Truetone “Jekyll & Hyde” distortion pedal, Xotic “EP Booster” volume boost pedal, and MXR “Phase 90” effect pedal. This combination of gear gives me a super clean tone to downright heavy distortion and everything in between. I use the “EP Booster” pedal to give me a little extra volume for solos and other parts of the song needing a boost that the soundman won’t catch. I set the “Phase 90” pedal to a slow sweep (like early Van Halen) for an added textural element.

Gibson Les Pauls Fender “Blues Junior” amp Truetone “Jekyll & Hyde” distortion pedal Xotic “EP Booster” volume boost pedal MXR “Phase 90” effect pedal

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ASSO RTM E N T OF JAS ON ’ S FAVOR IT E PEDALS

jason loughlin All depends on the gig, how we are traveling and if I’m using backline. Most of the time, I’m not traveling with my amp. So I usually ask for a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe as backline because I know I’ll have plenty of headroom and they take pedals well. Sometimes I travel with an RCA preamp tube and switch it out to warm the amp up a bit. I’ll use an RC boost to dial in some grit at low volume and hit the amp a little harder. I’m either riding the volume knob or sometimes I bring an EP boost to put in front of the RC. After that I’ll dial in some kind of overdrive. Lately, I’ve been liking the Boiling Point by Rockbox. Then a delay (DD3, Strymon, Echoplex pedal - depends on the music) and a Strymon Flint for tremolo and ambient reverb. The Flint can save you if the backline amp’s reverb is bust. Up front I use a Goodrich volume pedal and a PolyTune Mini. When I’m home and playing country and swing gigs the rig is very simple. Almost no pedals if I can help it and either my 1965 Deluxe Reverb or my 1965 Princeton Reverb. On tour I’m trying to be prepared for every scenario. What if the reverb on the amp breaks? What if I have to be super quiet on stage, but still need to sound gritty? What if I’m getting buried volume-wise and I need to boost my sound? What if my power supply kicks the bucket? What if a cable goes bad? A string breaks? I just try to make sure I have spares of all the necessities and can sound like the recordings at any volume.

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

DD3 Delay Pedal

Goodrich volume pedal

RCA preamp tube

Strymon Delay Pedal

PolyTune Mini

RC boost

Echoplex Delay Pedal

1965 Deluxe Reverb

Boiling Point by Rockbox

Strymon Flint

1965 Princeton Reverb

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COREY ’S VIEW O F H IS P E DA L R IG

corey congilio I’m back to using vintage Fender or Fender style amps these days. Basemans, Deluxes, Princetons and Bandmasters are some my favorites. I also use a 3rd Power Citizen Gain amp in the studio as it provides wide range of tones and can give me the Marshall thing if I need it. I’ve scaled my pedalboard down quite a bit for a few reasons. 1. Air travel 2. Type of gig/music I’m playing. 3. Functionality and efficiency.

I’ve found myself gravitating towards Gibson style instruments more than ever. I’m enjoying the shorter scale and low output humbuckers. I find that this combo works for my playing style. That being said, I love teles, starts, and jazzmasters! My small pedal rig consists of a few drives, a boost, tremolo, delay and reverb. This chain works for what I do. I do like to get crazy with pedals but, for the most part I’m comfortable with keeping it simple.

GUITARS

AMPS

PEDAL BOARD

Gibson Style

Vintage Fender/ Fender Style Amps

Several Drives

Teles

Basemans

Boost

Starts

Deluxes

Tremelo

Jazzmaster

Princetons

Delay

Bandmasters

Reverb

3rd Power Citizen Gain (Studio) RIFF

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andrew ford I always carry my tablet because it contains multiple fake books that I can use for any situation I am called for. The portable hand truck is to save my back, which over years can take a beating carrying heavy equipment. I have settled on high quality, more powerful, but smaller combo amps, which are perfect for most applications. You never know when you will break a G string, but I must say since I have switched to Elixir brand, that has not happened. bass, combo amp, instrument cable, strap, power chord, tablet computer, music stand, bass stand, portable hand truck, extra set of strings.

andy aledort The KR-12 is 40 watts w1x12 80 watt Celestion, powered by 2 EL34s and sounds fantastic at all volume levels. It can get loud. The Teese wah is a 1/1 and is custom made to be like a 1966 Vox Clyde McCoy and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perfect. The other pedals create an appealing sound for their respective applications (distortion, delay, modulation). I prefer a clean, clear representation of the sound of the guitar and this simple array of a few pedals and a great sounding amp will deliver. 1961 Fender Strat 2006 Gibson Les Paul Louis Electric KR-12 1967 Fender Super Reverb Teese wah Suhr Shiba-drive Fulltone OCD Sweetsounds Ultra-Vibe MXR Carbon Copy

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ARTI ST GEAR G U ID E

anthony stauffer The SRV Strat is my go-to guitar for E-Flat tuning. Big neck, big frets, and upgraded pickups, tuning machines & bridge saddles. The Super Deluxe Thinlin Tele is actually my most “fun” guitar to play, and my favorite for standard tuning material. The Zexcoil Convertible pickups offer both single coil and humbucker tones, so it’s very versatile. The buffer might be an unusual choice, but I’ve been using a guitar buffer for so long now I can barely stand the sound of a guitar through a 10 foot cable without one. The two Wampler pedals work very well together. The Clarksdale is my go-to TS style pedal, and the Tumnus offers a slightly different voice for boosting the amp (or the Clarksdale). I like the Helium Octave Fuzz because it has a lot of fiddly switches for tweaking the feel of the octave up effect. The Depths Vibe has stayed on my board because it sounds wonderful, but mostly because of the “Voice” control that can drastically change the midrange character of the effect. That’s very useful for dialing in the right voice. The Peterson tuner is the most accurate tuner I’ve owned. It takes me longer to tune with it because I end up doing more fine adjustments, but the end result is much more consistent. Lastly, the Kemper would be my first choice for playing live for two reasons. First, it means I’ll have the exact amp tone I want, not dependent on mics or volume restrictions. And second, it sounds the same from start to finish, it doesn’t get more flabby as it heats up. For a gig where I know more about the room and setup, I’d probably choose one of my regular amps, but when there’s a lot of variables at play, I’d take the Kemper every time.

Fender SRV Strat (heavily customized) Fender Super Deluxe Thinline Tele Creation Audio Labs Redeemer Buffer Wampler Clarksdale Overdrive Wampler Tumnus Overdrive Malekko Helium Octave Fuzz Earthquaker Devices The Depths Vibe Peterson Stomp Classic Tuner Kemper Profiler

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ANDREW FORD

ANDY ALEDORT

ANGUS CLARK

ANTHONY STAUFFER

ARIANE CAP

BILL KIRCHEN

CARL VERHEYEN

CATHY FINK

CHRIS BUONO

DAVE CELENTANO

DAVID BECKER

FRANK VIGNOLA

JASON LOUGHLIN

JEFF MCERLAIN

JENNIFER BATTEN

MARCY MARXER

MASSIMO VARINI

ROB GARLAND

ROBERT RENMAN

ROBERTO DALLA VECCHIA

SHERYL BAILEY

TONY SMOTHERMAN

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| ONLINE LINK DIRECTORY | RIFFJOURNAL.COM/LINKS-V11

RIFFAGE: JAM TRACK JUNCTION VOL. 1 Usually we feature our artist and educatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original music in Riffage, but this edition includes 13 practice jam tracks, which correspond to 13 of the lessons featured in this edition of Riff. These are the tracks that the artist used to demonstrate the performance segment of their lesson. In turn, you can use these same tracks to practice those performances on your own. Dig in!

Sunny Side Up - Andrew Ford Highway to Angus - Angus Clark C minor 6/8 Vamp - Carl Verheyen Voodoo You Do - Corey Congilio Rock and Roll - Jason Loughlin Bird Out - Jeff McErlain Bluesy Double Stops - Jennifer Batten Country Train - Jim Campilongo North Carolina - Robben Ford Memphis Moves - Shane Theriot Petite Tournesol - Sheryl Bailey Slide Study - Sonny Landreth Rock Funk - Stu Hamm

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