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g u i t a r p l a ye r. c o m
NOIZE N OI ZE FROM Fr o m THE Th e EDITOR Ed ito r V o l . 5 0 , N o . 7 , J U l y 2 0 1 6 Editor in chief
I f yo u ’ r e r e a d i n g t h i s m agaz i n e , yo u a r e
BRYAN TURN ER
likely what Jeff Beck recently stated he no longer wishes to be—a guitar nerd. You can read the full quote in the Community section (p. 13), where I polled some of our Facebook friends to comment on Beck’s little missive. There was also a bit of a Facebook scuffle going on between some industry executives and music journalists who took great delight in lighting up Guitar World and Guitar Player for focusing more on gear than the application of creativity. I respect all of the folks who were tossing stun grenades in the direction of our livelihood, so the commentary hurt just a bit, because: [1] Some of the criticism was from people who admitted they had not consistently read either GP or GW in quite some time, [2] A few remarks implied that we covered gear so much simply because we were bending to the whims of manufacturers in order to keep our ad pages healthy, and [3] Many of the people engaging in the conversation insisted we really are more interested in “stuff ” than nurturing the brain matter and heart and soul and fingers that ultimately craft great music. And there was also a small appetizer of certain writers patting themselves on the back for NOT being what we are, but that’s a subject I’m just letting go. (Having said that, GP readers are well aware I always maintain that no writer, musician, or other creator can really call themselves “good” at anything—it’s the audience who decides our worth, popularity, success, and ratings.) You may think that I’m going to get all defensive here. I’m not. Sorry about that. I’m sure it would be a gas to make fun of my paranoid objections. I would. But no. What I want to do is take the opportunity to ensure that the Guitar Player you are getting is the Guitar Player you really want to get. After all, Jeff Beck makes a good point. Guitar playing should be as much about artistry as circuitry. So what do you feel is the optimum mix of gear coverage, artist interviews, and lessons? It’s also true that our artist interviews often do include a lot of information about the gear a guitarist deploys to craft their tones. Do you feel we spend too much text on detailing the gear story, and not enough content on what’s in the player’s head? Please understand that nothing here is black and white. I talk to a lot of you at gigs and through email conversations and Facebook messages, so I know that many of you are “gear nerds”—no disrespect meant—and you enjoy hearing about the tools used by other guitarists, as well as the innovations and new products released by manufacturers. I doubt it would be possible to diminish gear content significantly and still keep that crew happy. But if GP is covering gear too much for even the gear zealots, than I’d love to know how you’d counsel us to keep the content better balanced. I always like to check in with you on these subjects, because we do serve your needs, and we live or die based on whether you feel Guitar Player is a valuable resource to spend your time enjoying, absorbing, and learning from. If we do it right, more players join the GP family, and that’s good for the community of players, the editors, and, yes, the manufacturers who make the gear we all use to make our own noises. The GP staff is thrilled to listen to you and learn from you. And, hey, it would even be fantastic if Mr. Jeff Beck would drop me a line and give me hell for whatever he feels we are doing wrong. I’m at mmolenda@nbmedia.com.
Michael Molenda mmolenda@nbmedia.com Managing Editor Kevin Owens kowens@nbmedia.com senior Editor Art Thompson athompson@nbmedia.com Associate editor Matt Blackett mblackett@nbmedia.com los angeles editor Jude Gold judegold@gmail.com FREts section editor Jimmy Leslie j@jimmyleslie.com
Consulting Editors Art Director Assistant art Director MUSIC COPYIST Production manager
Jim Campilongo, Jesse Gress, Henry Kaiser, Michael Ross, Leni Stern, David Torn Paul Haggard Laura Nardozza Elizabeth Ledgerwood Beatrice Kim
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CONTENTS J U ly 2 0 1 6 | V o l u m e 5 0 , N u m b e r 7
GP COMMUNITY 12
We can all use a sense of community. Share your photos, gear and CD/DVD reviews, likes/dislikes, favorite amps and guitars, tone and technique tips, gig stories, and more with the Guitar Player reader community. Come on‌ join in!
OPENING SHOTS 14
We get up close and personal with the gigs, the gear, the guts, and the glory that make playing guitar the coolest thing in the world.
RIFFS 16
Gary Brawer gets greasy, Lyle Workman feels the Love, Kiefer Sutherland goes collecting, Jennifer Batten jogs your memory, Jim Campilongo spins Harvey Mandel, and more!
COVER STORY 46
Carl Verheyen
The fretboard master talks about carving a niche with a new album, a truckload of gear, and the most intense practice regimen ever. Bonus lesson! Verheyen helps you play better and sound better right now.
FEATURES 26
Prince
34
Ana Popovic
40
Larkin Poe
Classic Ad 138 Fender (from the inaugural issue of GP from 1967)
E ric k A nderson
Cover photo: Erick Anderson POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Guitar Player, Box 469073, Escondido, CA 92046. Guitar Player (ISSN 0017-5463) is published monthly with an extra issue in December by Newbay Media, LLC, 1111 Bayhill Drive, Suite 440, San Bruno, CA 94066. Periodicals postage paid at San Bruno, CA, and at additional mailing offices. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2.
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LESSONS
GEAR
MORE ONLINE!
56
Tribute Lesson
24
New Gear
Expand your experience far
Prince
84
Knaggs Choptank Trembuck Hollowbody, Severn Trem Hollowbody, and Steve Stevens SSC
60 Feature Lesson Joe Diorio’s Intervallic Designs
68
88
Guide to Acoustic and Electric Strings
Style Lesson
92
Lentz JR Reserve S
Neighbor Tones
96
Tone King Ironman II Mini & Radial Engineering Headload Attenuators
Artist Lesson Megadeth
72 76
Classic Riff Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Scuttle Buttin’”
78
Delay Lesson Getting the most out of your delay pedal.
82
New Column: Music Reading
106 Classic Gear
the Code!
• Dig the Wampler Tumnus at guitarplayer.com/video • Check out the BluGuitar BluBox at guitarplayer.com/gear guitarplayer.com/lessons • Catch up with Axl Rose at guitarplayer.com/artists
Facebook Get news and post
104 Crucial Audio Time Warp
This month: Cracking
COOL STUFF 24/7!
JOIN THE GP COMMUNITY!
102 Hall & Collins Signature Echo
Reading is fundamental!
Player at guitarplayer.com
• Get your speed on at
100 Vox AC10C1
105 Singular Sound BeatBuddy Mini
beyond the pages of Guitar
comments at facebook. com/guitarplayermag GP Forum Debate, shock, educate, and share with
1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb
fellow readers at guitarplayer.com Twitter Follow daily tweets at
FRETS
twitter.com/ guitarplayernow
109 Makana 116 Review D’Addario Nickel Bronze Acoustic Strings
118 Vintage Excerpt Mike Auldridge on Reading Charts (from the November
AFSHI N SHAHEE DY
1979 issue of Frets)
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gp community com munity p eer com m en t s
Happy P lace Politics, wars, mass shootings, earthquakes, refugees, climate change, mass animal extinctions, starving children, famine, fear, etc. And then my new GP magazine arrives, and for a little while I can escape into a happy world of guitars, stompboxes, amps, reviews, stories, and just plain joy. Thanks a million for a chance to recharge with you guys. You are doing a really cool thing that seriously helps me get through another day. —L e w i s M o c k
P rofanity
What’s In a Name? It was recently revealed that the Zappa Family Trust is barring Dweezil Zappa from using the “Zappa Plays Zappa” title for his reverent and awardwinning tribute to his father’s music. The trust is controlled by his brother, Ahmet, and sister, Diva, (Dweezil and sister Moon are beneficiaries of the trust, but not trustees), and Ahmet says he is merely maintaining the integrity of the Frank Zappa estate. What did GP readers think? Here are some of your comments… “It’s disgusting. Dweezil has been the only ambassador from that family for Frank’s music since he has been gone. Frank must be rolling in his grave. What’s even more pathetic is that Frank had to endure interference from Warner Brothers, and now Dweezil has to from his own family!” — M i c k C ô t é “To paraphrase FZ, ‘Shut up and let Dweezil play his guitar.’” — J u s t i n Am r h e i n “The rest of the family hides in the shadows while Dweezil tries to keep his dad’s memory alive and make a living.” — J o s e p h J . C r o t t e a u “Ridiculous. Dweezil keeps Frank’s music fresh and in the public eye. And he does it brilliantly. Sad.” — J o h n H o w l e y “This makes me literally sick. Dweezil’s Zappa Plays Zappa is one of the best things in music today. Frank must be losing his mind.” — G r e g o r y W e i s s “Come on, Zappa Family—get your sh*t together.” — S h a w n Sl a u g h t e r
I love Guitar Player, but I find it a little disconcerting that you’re stuck in the Eisenhower administration when it comes to quoting interviewees. Is there some overriding reason why, in 2016, you still insist on spelling profanity as “sh*t” or “f**k”? I find it a little hard to reconcile the way you “keep it real” in so many other ways, while taking such a conservative stance here. — D o n B e r t r a m That’s all on me, Don. I worry that parents and teachers might not allow the many pre-teen and teen guitarists out there to use GP as an educational resource if outright profanity was in these pages. Am I being too paranoid? I’m happy to let GP readers send me some opinions on the subject so that I can, at least, consider moving myself up to the Kennedy Administration. —M M
F r ipp Found! I loved the Bowie feature [April 2016], and I understand you’re looking for a Robert Fripp quote. I interviewed Robert Fripp in 1992 for Replay. I asked him about his fantastic guitar sound on “It’s No Game, Part 1” from Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps). He replied: “David asked me to play like early Richie Blackmore. I had no idea how early Richie Blackmore sounded. So he told me to play how I thought early Richie Blackmore sounded. So I did. After what I thought was a rehearsal, I found the track was finished. David worked very fast.” I hope this is interesting. —C r a i g C a b e ll
12
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GOT A QUESTION FOR YOUR COMMUNITY? guitplyr@musicplayer.com
Interact!
“G u i ta r Ne r d s ” Co m m e nt !
Join the GP community! SOUND OFF! GET EXCLUSIVE NEWS.
Wh i l e “ n ot p romoti n g ” hi s u pcomi n g al bum to guita r
COMMENT. CRITIQUE.
magazines at a listening party in mid April, Jeff Beck was quoted as saying, “Rather
SHARE TIPS AND TECHNIQUES.
than do a guitar-nerd album, I thought, ‘If I don’t change course now, I’ll be stuck
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR e-NEWSLETTER.
with that Guitar World thing, and that’s not where I come from at all.’ Even though Publicit y ph oto by Tree Faerie Fotos
I’ve been on about 400 of their front covers, I’m not that person.” Here’s a sampling of what GP’s Facebook hordes had to say… “JB has always marched to his own drum, and that’s what I’ve always liked about him. I’m not really into that whole guitar sub culture thing—it bores me.” —Ori o n F o o te
“Guitar virtuoso complains about fame for playing technical music. He’s not famous for his experimental tracks—he’s famous for shredding the f**k out of the guitar.” —E ric C he n ier
facebook.com/guitarplayermag twitter.com/guitarplayernow guitarplayer.com
Michael Molenda, Editor In Chief
“As a former reader of both magazines, I can understand how Beck feels. The writers keep rewriting the same
mmolenda@musicplayer.com
columns about the same guitarists they worship over & over & over again. I got so sick of reading the same regurgitated crap each month about Hendrix, Van Halen, Clapton, SRV, etc. Guitar mags are predictable and stale. Jeff Beck is not.” —Ke n n eth E . M ac A lister , J r . “Four-hundred magazine covers and ‘I am not that person.’ What? Actually, Jeff Beck, you are that person, and to pretend otherwise is foolish.” —J erem y W il k ers o n
Art Thompson, Senior Editor
“Because music ‘by the guitar, for the guitar, and about the guitar’ is getting old. Write some songs.”
athompson@musicplayer.com
—J o e A rri n gto n
“Us guitar nerds are the ones that kept him relevant all these years!” —B asil S imbah o n
Matt Blackett, Associate Editor mblackett@musicplayer.com
Partner in Crime
Kevin Owens, Managing Editor kowens@musicplayer.com
H e r e ’ s m y s e l f - b u i lt c l o n e — w h i c h I ’ v e n a m e d “Soliloquy”—that’s intended to mirror Alex Lifeson’s Gibson ES-355. I
Jimmy Leslie, Editor, Frets section
love this guitar because of the tone. It can be dirty and nasty, or clear-
j@jimmyleslie.com
as-a-bell acoustic sounding. It’s kind of heavy, but it plays and sounds so good, that I don’t mind the weight. The white-lacquered body is basswood with a maple top and bottom reclaimed from a 150-year-old house that was being torn down. The neck is maple with a rosewood fretboard and medium-jumbo frets. I installed Guitar Fetish Vintage ’59 pickups, a Bigsby B7-style tremolo, and a Stew-Mac roller bridge. Soliloquy is strung with a .009 set of Ernie Ball Cobalt strings.— R o bb H i n d le
paul haggard, Art Director phaggard@musicplayer.com
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OPENING Opening SHOTS Shots
J OSE PH McCARTNE Y
14
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Memphis Man Lonnie Mack’s passing on April 21, 2016 was completely overshadowed by the death of Prince on the same day, but history won’t forget the impact that Mack’s soulful voice and explosive guitar playing had on Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Mike Bloomfield, Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, SRV, Ray Benson, and many others. This photo was taken on October 11, 1985 at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, California.
CL AYTO N CALL
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Riffs mu si c s co r ing
Two (Musical) Views of Netflix’s Love
By Lyl e Wor km a n I compose the music for
Vin tag e B e at
Kiefer Sutherland on Guitar Collecting
guitars for me,” relates Sutherland, who tracked Down In a
As an actor, Kiefer Sutherland is no stranger
I was ten years old in Toronto, I would go to Steve’s Guitar
to danger. His newest leap into hazardous duty isn’t in a movie
Store when the other kids were out playing, and I’d stare at all
script, however—it’s baring his soul throughout his debut
these Explorers, SGs, Les Pauls, Strats, and Teles. They looked
album, Down In a Hole (produced by long-time friend and
so beautiful to me. Then, when I was 20 years old, I had a lot
co-founder of Ironworks Records, Jude Cole). Recorded in a
of friends who were great players—Jude was certainly one of
small studio located on a farm where he sang out in the ele-
them—but they had really sh*tty guitars because they had no
ments to avoid vocal bleed into the drums, Sutherland joked
money. I was in Norman’s Rare Guitars [Tarzana, California]
he was “probably the only guy singing on a record who was
all the time, I’d buy something I liked, and I’d end up lending
in danger of being attacked by coyotes.”
my guitars out. Eventually, they started coming back to me,
Years before he stepped in front of the cameras, Sutherland
16 gpr0716_riffs_ph3.indd 16
PAULHAGGARD
the Netflix series, Love. The show is set in Los Angeles, and as I want to underscore the environment with a Latin/Hispanic influence, I often use a family of Mexicanand Spanish-born nylon-string instruments. These include the jarana, requinto, and guitarrón. While the sounds impart an
ethnicity, I don’t adhere to pure folk tradition, because I want the music to reflect that Los Angeles is a melting pot. I have two methods. My “layered overdubs” music starts with guitar (or other stringed instrument) in hand while I watch specific scenes and write basic foundations. I record to a Pro Tools session running video in tandem. Then, I overdub layers with other guitars, bass, percussion, keys, or whatever each piece calls for. The “live band” music is not written to a scene, but is composed while thinking of the emotional arc of the show in general, and then recorded with a full band performing together. We rehearse a few times, but we always record everything, just in case magic happens right out of the gate—a common occurrence when ideas are fresh and musicianship is of a high caliber. After these tracks
became obsessed with guitars, and he ultimately assembled a large and impressive vintage collection. “Some people collect cars, some collect art, and it was Hole with a beloved ’59 Gibson Country Western. “Ever since
because a lot of those musicians were doing well. However,
G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / J U L Y 2 0 1 6
5/4/16 4:07 PM
are mixed, a music editor edits the material to fit certain scenes. As you can now hear the music from Netflix’s Love on iTunes, I thought you might enjoy some examples of each approach.
V i n y l T r e a s ur es
tone. I used a ’60s Univox Super Fuzz, a Catalinbread Manx Loaghtan, and a Death by Audio Apocalypse. The clean rhythm was a ’50s Tele into a Fender Deluxe Reverb. I used an EBS MultiComp for a little more spank.
Harvey Mandel The Snake
li v e ba nd “Good Crazy.” I played a 1959
“Fanarlito’s Way.” The clean
ES-335 through a late ’40s Gibson EH-185 amp. For the solo, I stepped on a Fulldrive 2 Overdrive and kicked in a Leslie simulator patch from the Strymon Mobius. Coguitarist David Hidalgo played a Strat straight into a tiny Top Hat combo with an 8" speaker—once again proving that a minimal setup in the hands of a gifted musician is all that’s needed.
arpeggio at the top is a Rick Turner Baritone, an EBS Multi Comp, the Strymon Mobius’ VB-2 vibrato patch, and a Catalinbread Echorec routed to my trusty Fender Princeton. The driving electrics in the middle section are a ’66 Gibson Trini Lopez into a Divided By Thirteen 9/16 head and a Vox AC30 cabinet. I mic my amps and cabs with a Royer 121 and acShure SM57, two ’70s Quad Eight mic preamps, and two Purple M77 rack compressors.
“Gus” This piece had Val McCal-
lum on second guitar, playing a mid-’60s Jaguar into a ’60s Fender Princ eton. I noticed a raspiness in my tone, which I later found out was due to a ripped speaker. But I love that Gibson EH-185 so much that I let it pass, and I recorded the whole day with it.
lay er ed ov er du bs “Love Theme.” For the heavy riffs,
W ay b a c k i n 1 9 7 2 , m y
rhythms with Mandel playing
eldest sister Fran turned me on
compression-laden, Hendrix-like
to Harvey Mandel’s The Snake. I
tones that sound simultaneously
immediately purchased it with
controlled and unhinged. Also,
my paper route money, so the
it’s extraordinary how much of
album has always been around
his playing sounds “backwards.”
“Shelter,” “Blu-Ray Guy,” and “What If I Do Amazing?” These
and close to my heart.
Great stuff.
Guitarist/composer Mandel
What I learned from this record
were written on a jarana—a small acoustic instrument native to Mexico that’s strung with 8 strings in five courses. The string relationships are similar to a guitar, tuning-wise, but are transposed higher. Playing familiar chord shapes made it easy to get a harmonious sound instantly. The instrument is designed for flamenco-style strumming, but I found it compelling for fingerpicking. g
was born in Detroit, Michigan,
is that guitar instrumentals can
in 1945, and has been an active
be melodic and innovative, and
and creative musician throughout
yet keep an eye on the audi-
his long, distinguished career—
ence. There’s no need to alien-
collaborating with the likes of
ate the listener—or the integrity
Canned Heat, the Rolling Stones,
of the song—with self-centered
Don ”Sugarcane” Harris, Charlie
pyrotechnics. Mandel and com-
Musselwhite, John Mayall, Henry
pany combine great chops while
Kaiser, and Steve Kimock. The
grooving hypnotically hard. The
instrumental LP, The Snake, was
Snake has fine playing by a large
released in 1972 on the Janus Label
cast of fine musicians, including
and was co-produced by Mandel
Pure Food and Drug Act alumni—
and Canned Heat’s Skip Taylor.
Adolfo de la Parra, Randy Resn-
They did a great job balancing a
ick , Victor Conte, Paul Lagos, and
multitude of instruments into a
Don “Sugarcane” Harris—as well
when Jude and I started Ironworks Studio, collecting became a disease. I’d
distilled audio picture, and, con-
as Chuck Domanico, Freddie Rou-
have a rack with these beautiful Strats—a ’59 and a ’64—but there would
sidering this record was released
lette, and the great Earl Palmer.
be some slots left, and I’d have to fill them. That started my binge buying,
in 1972, Mandel attains many oth-
I’ve been listening to this
and I had close to 100 guitars at one point. I thought that was embarrass-
erworldly, incredibly compressed
underrated guitar record—which
ing and ridiculous, and I managed to pare it down to about 35 guitars. That
guitar sounds in conjunction
I feel wasn’t reviewed fairly back
was a really hard thing to do.
with low-down blues tones that
in the day—for 40 years. It’s in my
still sound early-morning fresh
DNA, and it remains in my Top
to my ears.
10 instrumental records—right
“For me, the look of a guitar is certainly the instigator to acquire it. But I’m also smart enough to go up to the guy who is running the store and ask, “What’s your favorite piece here?” Then, we’ll talk about tone and playabil-
However, not all of the com-
up there with Buddy Emmons’
ity. Right now, I’m looking at two perfect 1954 Les Paul Juniors, and they’re
positions are standard blues
“Black Album,” Jeff Beck’s Blow by
as clean as if you bought a brand new one today. I love the fact they’re per-
fare. Songs like “Pegasus” and
Blow, and Jimmy Bryant’s Coun-
fect, but right next to them is a ’67 Telecaster with a crackled white paint
“Divining Rod” have great cine-
try Cabin Jazz. Not every track on
job that also looks stunning. In my opinion, because you’re attracted to the
matic changes that Mandel rips
The Snake hits it out of the park,
look of a cool guitar does not make you shallow. I think certain guitars inspire
over melodically. “Bite the Elec-
but when this great group con-
you to play, and they inspire you to play differently.”
tric Eel” is a great fusion of tribal
nects, it’s a grand slam. g
— Michael Molenda
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J U L Y 2 0 1 6 / G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M
Marco van Rooi je n
I layered several tracks with a 1998 ’59 Historic Les Paul and a Fender Princeton. I changed fuzz pedals after each pass to get a wide, beefy
By J i m Ca m p i lo n go
17 5/5/16 1:36 PM
Riffs P R ACTICE S M A RTER
Jennifer Batten’s Five Tips for Mastering Memorization By N ikki O ’N ei ll
watched a neuroscience seminar on how the brain processes and stores new information, and this knowledge has really freed me up.” Here are her top five tips for memorizing new and/or challenging material…
Recently, I had to memorize 24 Black
Sabbath songs for a gig. With two solos per song, and Tony Iommi’s lead style being very different from mine, the pressure was on. I practiced day and night, but I still had days when progress was frustratingly slow. If only I had the opportunity to talk to Jennifer Batten beforehand. While Batten is used to learning large repertoires and difficult parts in minimal time, even she has changed her learning strategy lately. “I used to spend hours jamming material into my brain,” says Batten. “Then, I
Limit the T ime Frame “After 15-20 minutes of practicing the same thing, it becomes counter-productive, because the brain can only absorb new information for that amount of time,” says Batten. “So practice one song for 15 minutes, and then move on to another.”
Swi f t Ve r d ict s
Mozart Castrato Arias
How Music Dies (or Lives)
Baptist Town
Reckless
José Feliciano &
Ian Brennan
Mike Eldred Trio
Martina McBride There’s nothing particularly reck-
Arno Raunig
Subtitled “Field Recording and
Named for a small neighbor-
Backed by the Symphony Orches-
the Battle for Democracy in the
hood outside of Greenwood,
less about this record, but it’s
tra of Sofia, Bulgaria, Felici-
Arts,” my old SF music buddy
Mississippi, where Robert John-
perfectly crafted pop-country
ano accompanies Arno Raunig,
not only risks his neck recording
son met his maker in 1938, Bap-
with glistening acoustic guitars
a male soprano. The Austrian’s
in sometimes dangerous places
tist Town evokes the scent of
and spot-on electric work cour-
five-octave range is as unique as
(Rwanda, Malawi, South Sudan),
damp Mississippi dirt as it jour-
tesy of co-producer and Nash-
Feliciano’s bluesy string bends.
he uses the experience of docu-
neys though the deep south,
ville mainstay Dann Huff. Huff,
Andrés Segovia and Charlie Byrd
menting folk and modern music
touching the picturesque
who also turns in sweet per-
to pose questions about artis-
and often haunting legacies
formances on bass, mando-
tic authenticity. Thought-pro-
of the region. Eldred’s soul-
lin, and sitar, is a freaking hook
voking, heavy, and a must-read
ful guitar and vocals fire up
machine with perennially stel-
for anyone who dares to call
tunes like “Hunder Dollar Bill,”
lar tone. (Anybody remem-
themselves an artist. — M M
“Sugar Shake,” and “Hoodoo
ber his band Giant from the late
would be proud.
— M a r k C . D av i s
Man,” and with a guest lineup
’80s? I do!) He gets help from
that includes David Hidalgo,
Dan Dugmore, who, among other
John Mayer, Robert Cray, and
things, plays a great lap-steel
the Emmanuel Church Inspira-
solo on “The Real Thing.” — M B
tional Choir, this record radiates vibe like a hot coal stove. — AT
18
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T EC H B e n ch
Gary Brawer on Maintenance Fretboard Treatment
Va ry You r Lear n in g “Get away from the instrument and just listen. Use sheet music as a visual modality. At GIT, Howard Roberts had us use our picking hand as a virtual guitar, putting our fretting hand over it as if fingering a fretboard. This forces you to visualize. Your brain work is half the battle—not necessarily your motor skills.”
Sticky fretboards—we’ve all been there: trying to bend notes and sticking halfway through the bend, sliding up to a note only to chatter on the fretboard as you move around. From the repair side there are some precautions we can take to keep the fretboard and the strings slick and fast. As a player there are a number of traditional and non-traditional things you can try. I was inspired to do some research after this recent experience: I was working a gig with
S leep
Neal Schon, who was opening the show play-
“In many cultures, we get brownie points for getting by on less sleep, but it’s actually the worst thing you can do. Your brain needs to recharge and heal, and it still processes information while you’re sleeping.”
ing with Santana and then closing with Journey—a long, hot, sweaty show. Before he went on, I was handed a plate of sliced salami to set on his amp. Early in his career there was a great deli next to his rehearsal space known for their salami sandwich. After eating it, Neal noticed his fingers were slick when he picked up his guitar.
Dep loy T ec hn olo gy
(Oddly enough, Wes Montgomery was said to
“I had a gig with [keyboardist] Jeff Lorber where some parts were originally written on keyboards, which made them slightly awkward to play on guitar. I put them into Seventh String Software’s Transcribe!, taking on four bars at a time at a lethargic 25-percent speed, and soon I was able to play the parts flawlessly. Also, a mix can play tricks on your hearing. So in Transcribe! I often use the Bass Remove preset and the Karaoke Mode—which drops out the center track, and is great for zeroing in on chord parts. Technimo’s iReal Pro is helpful for seeing how well you know a song, because you can play along with a virtual band without any melodies or cues. If I have a lot of songs to learn for a project, I’ll make playlists with loops of the most difficult parts. I’ll dig into those first— before learning the song forms—and, at night, I’ll listen to the full songs.”
do the same thing.) If you have heard him play, it works! I have been working on his instruments for 20-plus years and I have seen no ill effect on his guitars, nor can I smell a thing. Some other homebrew tricks I have heard about include Jaco’s greasy chicken bone he is said to have kept in his case and Steve Cropper
Above: Some inedible fretboard treat-
using Chap Stick to not only slick up his strings
ments. Below: Neal Schon’s delicious
but to also take some of the brightness out of
alternative.
them. A guy I used to work with had an old 1960 SG/Les Paul, and he rubbed 3-In-1 oil into his fret-
up the feel of playing. I don’t know about all of
board with his fingers really fast so it heated up.
that, but I like the way it feels.
I though he was nuts but it was the best feeling
If you have ever seen Jeff Beck or Richard
fretboard ever! I personally would go with min-
Thompson play, maybe you have seen a white
eral oil. I think it is a little safer with fewer chem-
dust cloud. That’s baby powder or talc powder.
icals. One thing to stay away from is WD-40 or
Graph Tech now offers a powder called Dry Glide.
anything with silicone in it. People have asked me
You can make your fretboard feel better with-
about that over the years and I have seen it gum
out adding anything just by cleaning it. If, when
up fretboards and actually make things worse.
you’re done, it is still too sticky, try lightly wiping
Maybe you want to try something but want
down the ’board with Bestine (rubber cement
to be a little more conservative in your experi-
thinner from art stores). It is one of the few sol-
ments. Fast Fret and Finger Ease have been on
vents that cleans without hurting any finish or
the market as long as I can recall. They are both
leaving any oil or residue. When all else fails I
still available and worth a try. One interesting new
find that works like a charm!
Know t he H a rm o n y
product is Chops PrePlay from Graphtech. They
“When learning solos, be aware of the harmony underneath. This way, you ‘glue’ the memory of a line to a chord.” g
claim it balances your skin’s pH, which should
Gary Brawer is bald, he’s bad, and he gives a
prevent corrosion of your strings and hardware
sh*t about your guitar. His many clients include
while adding natural oils to you hands to slick
Joe Satriani, Metallica, and Neal Schon.
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g
19 5/4/16 4:07 PM
Riffs C are e r Co u n s e l
Networking
By M i c h a el A. Aczo n
A skill worth developing as much
as your guitar chops is the fine art of making solid contacts in the music industry. From fumbling around in high school to find a bass player, to working the room at a blacktie event shaking hands with high-powered industry execs, the phrase “It’s who you know” never gets old. Some musicians find the word “networking” to be distasteful—one that conjures up insincerity, overachieving, and making up for talent or hard work. By and large, those who succeed in the music industry attract key people into their lives because they are sincere, ambitious, talented, work hard, and believe in themselves enough to share that belief with others. Networking is the process of letting those of like mind know who you are. Here are a few tips to increase your success when making your connections… Go Where the Contacts Are. Being a
regular part of your home town’s music community, joining a music-trade organization, and attending music-industry conferences all increase your chances of meeting other people on the same career trajectory as you. Be In the Now. Regardless of your skill level, fan base, or status in the industry, industry contacts will access information about you immediately. Review your website, bio, social-network posts, and online music demos to make sure they reflect the best and most up-to -date state of your artistry. Follow Up. After you meet an industry person that you resonate with, follow up immediately to remind them of who you are and what you do. Ask for their permission to keep them in the loop as you progress. Keep the relationship professional and special. Have Realistic Expectations. There is no fairy godmother in the music industry. While there are stories of artists being singled out
from the crowd and launched into superstardom, they are usually the result of an established business team finding an artist to fit their needs. The odds of your random meeting of someone in that circle are astronomical, so develop a realistic long-range plan of making contacts in the business that will all eventually rise together. Beware of the “F” Word. Professional courtesy does not equal “friend.” Accept that the producer, manager, executive, and other musicians you encounter along the way are professionals who are not all going to go to a ballgame with you. Enhance the Relationship. The development of solid people skills is the key to effective networking. Just like playing music with your peers, becoming a good listener and understanding when it’s your turn to add your line to a shared story will result in a solid network of music-business professionals you can succeed with over time. g
Recording Welcome to My Nightmare, Part II As I mentioned in last month’s column, “Welcome
S e ss i o n Fi l e By Ste v e Hun te r
one hour before downbeat every single day and practice.
to My Nightmare” and “Escape” were literally the beginning and end,
Even though we were hired as session guys for the album, we felt
respectively, of Alice Cooper’s Nightmare, and they were tracked with a
like a band. It was a really smart move on [producer] Bob Ezrin’s part
different rhythm section. The core band for the rest of the album was
to bring us in, because we already knew each other, and, more impor-
pretty much the same group that toured
tantly, we knew how to play well with each other. So even though we
with Lou Reed in 1973, and recorded the live
were learning the songs on the floor as we were recording them, every-
albums Rock n Roll Animal (1974) and Lou
thing felt tight. I think that comes across on the album. We sound like
Reed Live (1975): Dick Wagner and myself
a band, as opposed to a bunch of session guys. I was really excited to
on guitars, Prakash John on bass, and Pentti
begin the sessions, because I knew there would be some really cool
“Whitey” Glan on drums. The only exception
musical things happening. I think the rest of the guys felt pretty much
was that keyboardist Ray Colcord was on
the same.
the Reed tours, but Joey Chirowsky was the
I didn’t know then—nor do I know much today—about what hap-
keyboard player on Nightmare. Ray co-pro-
pened to the Alice Cooper Group. I was friends with all of those guys,
duced Aerosmith’s Get Your Wings (1975) with Jack Douglas, and later
and they are still my friends today. I loved that band. However, I learned
became a very successful film and TV composer. Ray passed away ear-
early on to keep my nose into the music and nowhere else. All I did know
lier this year, and I miss him. He was a terrific, funny, and intelligent guy.
was that I was going to be a part of Alice Cooper’s first solo album, and
Joey was formerly with the Canadian band Crowbar, and he was an amazing player—just check out his awesome clavinet solo on the title track. He also made us feel guilty, because he would come into the studio
20
because I had been such a fan, I was really eager to get started. Stay tuned, boys and girls—next month we dive into recording the album.
G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / J U L Y 2 0 1 6
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5/2/16 3:09 PM
Riffs
MU S T HAV E
This Month’s Fab Photo From the Bob Bonis Archive Smilin’ George
Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, August 19, 1966
It was a bit rare for Beatlemaniacs
to see unbridled joy from the often-guarded and steely cool George Harrison—especially when his attention was directed at his toppermost concern of playing guitar well. But it’s even more surprising to see a smile here in Memphis, after the Fab Four received death threats and endured angry protests (including a Ku Klux Klan picketing of the venue)—all thanks to John Lennon’s quoted-out-of-context remarks about the Beatles being “bigger” than Jesus. The concert was even held back an hour due to a bomb threat. Thankfully, a cherry bomb tossed onstage during the Fabs set was the only thing that went “boom” that day. Ultimately, the allure, talent, songs,
and charisma of the Beatles won over the Memphis fans, and all the “Go Home Beatles!” signs and tripled security were forgotten in the roar of screams that typically accompanied their concert appearances. The furious reaction of the Bible Belt to the words of a rock star was one of the early indications that the media scene was transforming from journalists asking silly questions about hair length to now having to deal with more serious discussions by intelligent and socially conscious musicians such as John Lennon. I was too young in 1966 to fully understand the cultural significance of the controversy, but I knew the news infuriated my dad, who couldn’t believe the disrespect these
“English girls” leveled at the United States of America. That’s all I needed to know, and I secretly and silently applauded my music heroes for pissing off my parents, and all the other adults who couldn’t stop nattering about those “awful” Beatles— even though, at the time, I failed to grasp what all the agita was about. But a line in the sand was certainly drawn by Mr. Lennon—and some other rockers, as well, to be fair—and with the San Francisco Summer of Love just a year away, things were going to get a lot more interesting and complicated for the world’s parents and their now-questioning children. Pop stars were becoming social forces. —Michael Molenda
In a partnership with the Bob Bonis Archive, Guitar Player is thrilled to offer limited-edition, fine-art prints of never-before-seen photographs of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones from 1964-1966. Bonis (1932-1992) was the tour manager for all three U.S. tours by the Beatles, as well as the first American tour by the Rolling Stones. He was also a talented photographer, and the Bob Bonis Archive was founded in 2008 to honor his legacy. To own this historic image— and/or other shots of the Stones and Beatles—simply click to bobbonis.com/GuitarPlayer. A portion of sales benefits the GRAMMY Museum® at L.A. Live.
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G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / J U L Y 2 0 1 6
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G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / j uly 2 0 1 6
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FEATURES
Pr
hangingwith by a rt th o m pso n
Of a ll the interviews I ’ve d one in my 2 0 -plus ye a rs
AFS HIN SHAHEE DY
on the Guitar Player staff, by far the most intriguing and challenging were the two that I did with Prince. The first was in November 2000, as Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic was nearing its release date. Being invited to talk with Prince—who was still calling himself “the Artist” at the time—was an exciting opportunity to say the least, and to make the most of it we opted to do separate stories for GP and Keyboard magazine. That was the easy part. Things got a little more more problematic as we tried to figure out how to accommodate Prince’s request that no recording devices be used during the interviews. Since neither myself nor Keyboard’s associate editor at the time, Ernie Rideout, had any shorthand skills, we came up with the idea of hiring a court stenographer to sit with us and type everything that was said. Prince seemed to be cool with the concept, so all was set as we headed off to Minneapolis. On Day 2 we checked in at Paisley Park and waited around outside until Prince rolled up in his purple Plymouth Prowler. I lost a coin toss as to who got to take a ride through his “neighborhood” in the two-seat coupe, but getting to wander around the inner sanctum of Paisley Park on my own made up for it. I’ve also got to say that all the stories I’d heard about how mercurial this pop superstar was faded right away, because Prince was totally cool and seemed genuinely appreciative that we were going to put him on two magazine covers. I was glad, however, that I wasn’t first up to interview him, because he promptly sent the stenographer packing as Ernie kicked off his interview. It probably seemed too much like giving a court deposition with the stenographer clicking away, but we were suddenly left to pad and pen for jotting things down. I kinda freaked out about that, although I came to understand later that Prince really wasn’t all that interested in being documented verbatim. Perhaps to him, speaking to a journalist was like showing a musician a part— he expected you to put your spin on it. Prince played tracks from the new record for me as we sat in one of the control rooms. He was easy to talk to, he showed me guitars, he tinkered with the Linn Drum he’d used for 1999, and he let his guitar tech, Takumi, detail his live rig (which can be seen in
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G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / J U L Y 2 0 1 6
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S
RON AKI YAMA / ATL AS I CON S
P rince
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FEATURES
> > > P RI NC E
WI LLI AM HAMES / ATLAS ICO NS
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G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / J U L Y 2 0 1 6
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the January 2000 issue). When the interview was over we went to a sort of replica diner inside Paisley Park where, as if on cue, bassist Larry Graham and his wife suddenly appeared, both dressed in their Sunday finest after a day of going door-todoor spreading the gospel of Jehovah. Fortunately, Larry was more interested in talking to us about about Sly and the Family Stone, Graham Central Station, and his NPG gig. My second interview with Prince took place at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 2004. This was during the Musicology tour, and one of the interesting things about it was that everyone in the audience got a free copy of the CD. Something like 50,000 copies were being handed out each week just to promote the new album. When I spotted Prince that afternoon he was whizzing around in a golf cart with a wireless mic, apparently evaluating the acoustics of the room after the sound check. When we got together a bit later backstage in this
decked out tent they’d set up for him, he offered me some tea and we rapped for a half hour before the show started. Again, I had to rely on scribbled notes and whatever I could manage to keep in my head. Prince was characteristically circumspect about his guitar playing or—God forbid— any gear details, but Takumi had already given me a tour of the stage and all the amps, cabs, and effects housed beneath it. As I left to go talk to his boss, he quipped, “Don’t tell Prince I showed you this stuff.” Gleaned from both interviews, here are some of the things Prince had to say:
O n A rtistic Fr e e d o m “The benefit of having your artistic freedom is that there won’t be anyone forcing you to do a remix or anything else you don’t want to do. I don’t believe in remixing songs that are in the key of life. When the record people get in there and say, ‘Why don’t you do it like this?’ Well, that’s their prerogative if
gpr0716_feat_prince_ko3.indd 29
they own the contract. But bands break-up over contracts—just talk to the Eagles about that. I’ve asked record execs why they aren’t under contract with each other, and all I get is, ‘That’s a very funny idea, Prince.’”
On G roov e “On some songs, I just like the way I play drums and keys better than anyone I know. My drummer, John Blackwell, can certainly do things I can’t do, but, if I bring him into the studio, there are things he’ll do differently than how I envisioned them. You know, I can’t even play ‘When Doves Cry’ the way I originally envisioned it. It’s like a painting—it is what it is. You know how [legendary director] Billy Wilder got such a seamless quality to his films? It was because he wrote and directed everything himself. It’s the same for me.”
On Ego “I’m competitive, and I’ve definitely let
J U LY 2 0 1 6 / G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M
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FEATURES
> > > P RI NC E
my ego control me. But I’ve discovered that when it comes to music, ego has to sit down.”
O n T he Audie nce “I like the audience to be as sophisticated as my music is, and, sometimes, I’ve had more fun doing challenging things in after-show concerts than playing the hits at the main show.”
O n Style
RON AK IYAM A / AT LAS ICON S
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“My guitar style was influenced by Sonny T. [one of the early members of New Power Generation], Freddie Stone [guitarist, Sly and the Family Stone, and Tony Maiden of Rufus.” “I’m always trying to work in the bass notes when I’m playing funk rhythms. It’s the same way that Freddie Stone would always play the same parts as [bassist] Larry Graham, but just a tad higher.” “A lot of cats don’t work on their rhythm enough, and if you don’t have rhythm, you might as well take up needlepoint or something. I can’t stress it enough. The next thing
is pitch. That’s universal—you’re either in tune or you ain’t [laughs]. When you get these things down, then you can learn how to solo. Guitarists should listen to singers for solo ideas—especially women singers. Women haven’t had a chance to run the world yet, so you still hear the blues in their singing. Try to play one of the runs that Beyoncé or Ella Fitzgerald does and you will surely learn something.” “The best players used to play rock and roll. The first time you heard Boston, it was this huge, amazing sound with all that guitar doubling. Same with Brian May—nobody sounded like him. I still think of Return to Forever as a rock band. Those guys could really play, but there ain’t nobody doing that in rock these days.” “Kids don’t learn to play the right way anymore. When the Jackson Five came up, they had to go through Smokey Robinson and the Funk Brothers, and that’s how they got it down.”
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STRINGS
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“I always know what the whole thing is going to sound like. It’s all in here [taps his head], but it’s here, too [points at the console].” “I use punch-ins and spot-erasing as a compositional style; that’s how I build and edit arrangements and performances. I’m quick enough with the Record button that I can shave a letter off a word. But that’s because I’ve been doing it for 20 years.” “I generally build my tracks one at a time, but sometimes I use the band to get the rhythm down. In a way, it’s more fun to get it out of people. You know, an idea is still yours even if you give it to someone.” “A lot of times, I’ll sample a guitar that I’ve recorded, and then overdub the same part with a keyboard. The attack of the keyboard gives guitar lines more impact and punch.”
A Hig h e r Ca ll “When I changed my name back to Prince, I went into intense study of the bible with
my friend Larry Graham. It gave me a sense of the world that I didn’t have before. For a long time, I was into living life to its fullest in every way possible—including spending as much time in the studio as I could. And while I still spend so much time in the studio that people say I should be in a 12-step program, at least now I know where I’m headed. Any musician who learns everything about their instrument will only know who they are if they spend the time to know God. That’s why I don’t like to talk about gear. People will go out and buy that stuff thinking it’s going to make them sound like me, and that’s not where it’s at. Go get your own stuff and come up with your own sounds. If you need a path to follow, a good place to start is by listening to Ike Turner—he was as tight as they come—or James Brown, who is all about rhythm. Put any colors you’ve learned from Joni Mitchell on top of that, and then you’ve got something!” g
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Ana Popovic
The Fearless Blues Burner Once Again Does Exactly What Common Wisdom Tells Her Not To By Mich a el Mole n da
From a commercial standpoint, with artists struggling over whether albums are still relevant or not, you took a stand and said, “Not only am I doing an album, I’m going to make it a triple LP.” Kind of a ballsy thing to do, don’t you think?
I’ve been playing in between “the rules” for 15
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years, because the music business is constantly changing. When I started, they said I couldn’t sing in English, but I was all over the television in Serbia singing in English. Then, they said, “You can’t go to the United States. They have plenty of musicians over there. It’s never going to work.” But it did work. Somehow, playing blues music on the guitar is beyond the rules. Record companies sell us a different story—like, there is no money involved, and nobody’s going to buy the records. But blues fans come out to the shows, and they want to purchase a CD. They also order stuff online. But many musicians are just dropping songs for nothing, and I feel that people’s attention spans are so short that if you don’t make a big bang with something—something really different—then it’s going to be even more difficult to get people’s attention. I thought releasing what are actually three records simultaneously—and with completely different bands and styles—would be a great story, and it would also give people a lot of information. Yes, it’s a gamble, but if I believe in a project, I get 100 percent behind it. Why drop a song tomorrow and have people forget about it. Make an impact. Trust your audience. Give them something it will take time to absorb. Well, a lot of artists are concerned about doing business in a rapidly changing music landscape. It’s scary out there, and no one wants to make a commercial mistake.
Everyone is trying to track the market, but it’s so difficult to predict. And what happened to being creative and believing in your art? Why chase after
KE N SE TTL E
Never one to play it safe, Ana Popovic’s
Trilogy [ArtisteXclusive Records] is far from just a groovy album title. The Serbian-born blues guitarist actually delivers three different styles (funk, blues, jazz) in three sets, and to do so, she played with three different bands, was guided by three different producers, and recorded in four different studios. Everything was worked out to deliver ultimate authenticity, from the players to the environments, and even her choice of guitars. Perhaps more surprising is her insistence on giving fans a ton of songs to absorb at a time when single downloads appear to be ruling the world of music commerce. Trilogy is separated into three sides (yes, it really is a triple album)—Morning, Mid-Day, and Midnight—and guest artists include heavies such as Joe Bonamassa, Robert Randolph, Bernard Purdie, and Ivan Neville. “I got the idea about four years ago, when I realized that fans were making their own mix tapes of my blues, rock, R&B, and funk songs,” explains Popovic. “I’ve always tried to be diverse and have fun, but suddenly it was like, ‘Hey, maybe my fans want me to expand stylistically on a single album. Of course, I got crazy and expanded the idea into three completely different recording projects.”
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trends? Why give away your music? Who were your main influencers for the three sessions—Morning, Mid-Day, and Midnight—that make up Trilogy?
Morning was comfortable for me. It’s really a dance record if you want to dance, and I love to dance. It also shows my love for the grooves of James Brown, Mandrill, and War, and I mixed things up with some soul and that New Orleans vibe. Mid-Day was kind of inspired by how Stevie Ray Vaughan approached his funk-driven songs. When Stevie did “Superstition,” for example, he didn’t cop Stevie’s vocal performance, or even try to be as funky as he was. He basically made it into a rock guitar song, and united the guitar and horn licks. So for my cover of Rufus’ “You Got the Love,” I was hearing those corny ’70s keyboard parts on guitar. And [Rufus vocalist] Chaka Khan is an incredible performer, but I always heard that song as a rock version. I thought, “I’m just going to step completely away from
the Rufus version, and try to do something almost as a Lenny Kravitz song.” Midnight is a whole other thing, because I love Django Reinhardt, Wes Montgomery, and that old-school jazz playing—the bluesy side of jazz. And for a jazz record like that, I needed a completely different guitar tone, so I used a Gibson for the very first time—an ES-175, which I plugged right into a 1966 blackface Super Reverb. I also used a D’Angelico hollowbody. What was the gear for Morning and Mid-Day?
I used my ’64 and 1957 Reissue Stratocasters the most, and they are strung with .010 and .011 sets of DR Strings.The amps were a Fender Bassman, the ’66 Super, and a Mesa/Boogie Mark IV—all running at the same time. Then, we’d pick between the tones, or blend them together. My pedals were two Ibanez Tube Screamers, a Boss Chorus, a Line 6 delay, and my Vox “British flag” wah.
As you’re such a Strat person, were there challenges to playing the ES-175?
I had a week to practice with it, and that was good, because I never sit down and play. I’m always standing up and rocking out. It’s a whole different hand position when you sit down, but I wanted to push myself to be comfortable with that, because I really wanted that type of sound. There’s also nothing to cover bad technique—you have to play clean. The rehearsal time was absolutely necessary for the record, and it was worth all of the trouble, because I was blown away by the tone. It was exactly what I was hearing in my head—that old-school Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery sound. You’re doing elements of rock, jazz, funk, and R&B—all in the space of a single release. Was it fairly easy for you to shift your brain between the different styles?
It all depends on the band. I can absolutely do it, but I can’t do it if the band
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can’t do it. Do you know what I mean? I take everything from the groove side, and I approach everything from the blues. I’m not trying to copy James Brown, for example. If I do funk, it’s from the bluesy side. If I do jazz, it’s from the bluesy side. So for this record, I needed musicians to be able to back up the different styles. That means
you call, say, George Porter Jr. to do a funk record, and you get Bernard Purdie to do his “Purdie Shuffle” for a jazz session. You need masters at what they do. I mean, this record really opened my eyes. I can’t even imagine going back to how I was recording before— which is pick one band of great studio musicians, and expect them to be funky in one
song, a little jazzy for another, and then play a really deep shuffle. So how does playing with someone like Bernard Purdie and his deep shuffle change your playing from a drummer who might just play a really good shuffle?
It’s an unbelievable change—at least for me. Maybe not every guitar player responds to grooves the way that I do. I’m not a safe player. If I play with somebody who is “just trying” to be jazzy, I’m not going to get the support I’m looking for in order for me to play really great jazz. All of my solos come out of the rhythm section, so the groove has to be there. I’m interested in your comment, “Maybe not every guitar player responds to grooves…” Do you feel that many guitarists aren’t locked in with the bass and drums?
I’ve witnessed this so many times—even with some incredible players. I’m thinking, “How is this even possible? How do you come out with this flashy stuff, but not lock in with the drummer? That’s crazy.” But I guess a lot of guitarists are so focused on what kind of scale they’re going to deliver that they forget about the drummer. I really try to avoid that, because it’s a beginner’s mistake in my opinion. If you can’t get the groove down, then scales can wait.
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I think the opening lick and the last lick are the most important things. In between, you kind of lay down the groove, and you try to surprise people a little bit. For example, I don’t know if the band enjoys it, but I like to play a bit ahead of the beat when I start my licks. I think that kind of wakes up the audience a bit, and perhaps stops them from thinking, “Oh, I’ve heard this before.” Not to disrespect any blues guitarist, but I think “surprise” is likely key when you’re performing at blues festivals where fans might hear a fair amount of similar licks, turnarounds, and solos.
Absolutely. Yeah. But it also comes back around to commanding the beat. Freddie King and Albert King in their youth were intense. They were in charge. And Stevie Ray Vaughan was so in command of the groove that he didn’t need a drummer or a bass player. If you really want to wake people up, then rule the groove, the chords, and the solos. Intensity is everything. g
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Megan (left) and Rebecca Lovell.
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Larkin Poe
Megan and Rebecca Lovell Are Classical Renegades, Bluegrass Shredders, and Rock and Roll Souls By M i c ha el M olen da Spend some time on YouTube, and it seems
like you can watch thousands of child prodigies blowing minds. However, none of this diminishes the fact that Rebecca and Megan Lovell—whose band is known as Larkin Poe—started playing classical violin at three and four years old, respectively. Then, they tackled classical piano. That is, until Rebecca moved on to banjo, mandolin, and electric guitar, and Megan took up Dobro and lap-steel. There’s a lot of musical firepower in those still-young hands, but before the sisters could burn up bluegrass and rock stages, they had to break away from their classical training. “We loved making music, but we didn’t necessarily like how formal it was,” says Rebecca. “So after we went to a bluegrass festival, we quit all of our classical lessons. We were blown away by the spontaneity and watching people improvise onstage, because, up to that point, we’d always read sheet music, and reiterated someone else’s piece from several hundred years ago.” Since the transition, the Lovell sisters—still embracing the technical expertise and focused practice of a classical-music regimen—got real busy. They formed the Lovell Sisters in 2005 (with older sibling, Jessica), jumped onstage to sing with Elvis Costello at Merlefest 2007 (a cheeky move that triggered a longer collaboration), started Larkin Poe in 2010 (after Jessica took a sabbatical from the music business to attend college), self-released a whole bunch of EPs and a DVD, worked with Costello again (this time “officially”) on the T-Bone Burnett-produced Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes in 2014, released a full-length CD on Rh Music (Kin), grabbed “Best Discovery of Glastonbury 2014” after performing at the festival, and have now opened more than 100 concerts for Costello, as well as performing in his band. Megan, what inspired you to take up lap steel? E volo Studio
Megan: Jerry Douglas. He was the first slide player I ever listened to, and he’s who inspired me to pick up Dobro. But as we were becoming heavier and more rock
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and roll, it was a natural step to pick up lap-steel. I’m very lucky that I bought the Rickenbacker first, because I immediately fell in love with the sound of it. You approach the lap-steel almost like rock guitar.
Megan: Yes! I’m not trying to copy pedal-steel or lap-steel players. I’m copying David Gilmour and Derek Trucks. I play with a lot of distortion, so whatever an electric guitar player plays, I can play on the lap-steel. I learned whatever I felt, and I didn’t have a teacher telling me what I was doing might be wrong on lapsteel. Actually, I think it’s really interesting that lapsteel is used so much in country music, but it’s not used a whole lot in rock and roll. I think that’s something that should be remedied. I would love to bring the lap-steel more into rock music. I notice that rather than comping behind Rebecca’s voice, your lap-steel adds more like a call and response.
Megan:Yeah. She’s singing the lead vocals, and I’m singing vocal harmonies, but I consider my lead voice to be the lap-steel. Sometimes, we riff off each other vocal-to-vocal, and sometimes it’s vocal-to-lap-steel. Rebecca: That’s my favorite part of the show. It’s also the part of the show that can go the most wrong— which is probably why I like it. Was there a fire starter for you, Rebecca?
Rebecca: Absolutely. It was hearing Mark O’Connor play the mandolin. I swear, I wouldn’t play the mandolin until I heard Mark O’Connor, and that’s also when I became obsessed with being able to really shred on an instrument. I ended up winning a bunch of championships playing mandolin, and I liked the idea of playing at that level. But when we started Larkin Poe, we started focusing on electric instruments. What are the two of you playing during the Elvis Costello gig?
Rebecca: With Elvis, I do end up playing mandolin quite a bit, and my mandolin is a custom-built instrument by Paul Duff in Australia. I use a K&K pickup and run it through a direct box for shows. The only electric guitar I’ve ever bought is a Bill Nash JM Model. I got it J U LY 2 0 1 6 / G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M
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> > > L A RKIN P OE
because I had fallen in love from watching Elvis play Jazzmasters. For the electric guitar and lap-steel, Megan and I are plugging into Fender Deluxes from Elvis’ collection. Megan: I play a ’58 Rickenbacker lapsteel. I call it “Panda.” I hate sitting and playing, so I had a family friend rig up a metal apparatus so that I can stand and play. I drew what I wanted, and now it’s kind of the shape of a Dobro—which I also played for many years. My stainless steel bar has a kind of Scheerhorn cut—it has some edges, like for a Dobro. A lot of steel players use the round bars. Rebecca: One thing I try to steer clear of whether we’re doing our music or playing for someone else is becoming too gear dependent. I think sometimes you can cover up a lack of technique or a lack of skill by putting on compression, reverb, or delay and masking things in your playing that don’t necessarily stand up if you were just plugging straight into an amp. I think
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it’s really worthwhile to practice by plugging straight into your amp every now and then, because that can be very humbling. And the Nash and the Rickenbacker are what you play during Larkin Poe’s opening set for Elvis?
Rebecca: Yes. And the reason for that is our songwriting created Larkin Poe, and songwriting really got me into playing guitar. Up until that point, I didn’t have any interest in the guitar, but I found that I couldn’t write on the mandolin because I was so focused on playing the mandolin that I couldn’t disengage enough from the technique to compose with it. Why do you think that was?
Rebecca: For me, the mandolin doesn’t resonate on a super-emotional level. It was very hard for me to engage a feeling of badassness like I can with the guitar. Early on, I would start writing riffs on the guitar and not have any idea what I was doing. I would just sound stuff out. But when I
played those riffs onstage, they worked, and that started a desire to learn riffs by other guitar players. We started Larkin Poe in 2010, and we were playing this very Americana folk pop sort of sound. We did a lot of bluegrass festivals internationally, and then we got booked to play Glastonbury, and that jumpstarted our interest in branching out into rock and roll music. All this time, our dad was playing classic rock records like AC/DC, and we didn’t know how to achieve those sounds, because we were always playing acoustic instruments. So, two years ago, I bought the Nash and the Fender amp, and when I first plugged that guitar into that amp, I was bowled over by how loud it was. For a long time, I was terrified to even touch it. It took time to really desensitize myself to the volume. Megan: And now we’re half deaf [laughs]. I think having a background in bluegrass and musicianship really served us well
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coming into rock and roll music, because that foundation helped us compose our riffs. We love the heaviness of riff-based songwriting. Rebecca: And buying pedals and understanding that you can have distortion, delay, and all these different sounds helped me branch out to learning riffs by Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King, Freddie King, Albert King, and others. It’s interesting that you two went into the way back machine—rather than copping licks off more contemporary guitarists.
Rebecca: Absolutely. You’ve got to know the roots, and, for us, this comes from a genuine place. I think it stems, once again, from having grown up on bluegrass and understanding the importance of going back to hear where the music started from— to not just listen to Alison Krauss, but to study Bill Monroe, as well. Now, I’m assuming that Elvis wants you to enhance the atmosphere of his songs,
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rather than shred the way you would for a bluegrass audience, or perhaps your own set. Does it take some kind of mental recalibration to work within another songwriter’s music?
Rebecca: We’ve always had a preoccupation of being tasty—which sounds really snotty, but it’s not. We just like playing sensitively within a song, and that probably came from the records we listen to. Like, hearing the way Mark Knopfler does these great fills with just two notes. We’ve also toured with Conor Oberst and Kristian Bush of Sugarland, so we’re used to melding in with someone’s music. Do the bandleaders ever direct you?
Megan: We’ve been so lucky. People are like, “Do whatever you want.” With Elvis, is it strange to go from being in “solo-artist mode” and then having to switch to “backup musician mode” within the same show?
Rebecca: It’s really fun, actually, and I
think that one of the major maturing factors for us as musicians is learning how to shut the hell up, listen to the lyrics, make sure you’re playing to the song, make sure you’re not overstepping the vocalist, and sit back and watch how they work the stage. Still, there are musicians who are wired to be the star, and musicians who are wired to support the star. In these types of shows, however, you have to be “Larkin Poe”— big, charismatic, and playing to the back of the venue so that the audience can’t take its eyes off of you. Then, Elvis comes on, and you instantly need to get smaller, fade a bit into the background, and be totally supportive. I mean, that’s quite a schizophrenic little leap there, isn’t it? Rebecca: I like that you pick up on the subtlety, because, yes, it absolutely is schizophrenic. But schizophrenia runs in our family, so we’re good. Megan: We know how to be two-faced pretty easily [laughs]. g
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Cover Story
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Carl Verheyen Blends Chops, Hard Work, and insatiable curiosity into a Singular Career
I f yo u g o t o a l l m u sic . c o m t o l e a r n a b o u t C a r l
Verheyen’s guitar work, you’ll be blown away. Same with Wikipedia. But here’s what you need to keep in mind: Neither of those notoriously exhaustive sites even scratches the surface of what this super-talented guitarist has done in his career. Sure, they’ll tell you about his work with Supertramp, his body of session work, his solo releases, and his contributions as a guitar instructor, and it’s all awesome. But you won’t necessarily learn When you add to all that the fact that Verheyen is also an avid student of guitar history, with a huge knowledge of players, guitars, amps, and effects, and that he loves nothing more than geeking out at great length on those subjects, his story just gets cooler. Finally, factor in that he is just a flat-out nice guy and you start to truly grasp what he is bringing to the party. Players as diverse as Robben Ford, Steve Lukather, Brad Paisley, and Laurence Juber have all sung Verheyen’s praises,
about his work on every episode of Cheers, or his killer Djangoisms in the movie Ratatouille, or get hip to the fact that he can cover an insane amount of styles, including rock, jazz, country, and blues and bring a fresh, hip sound to all of them. And those sites won’t tell you that Verheyen’s sound is one that makes use of sweet tones, clever layers, massive chops, and a modernistic, wide-interval approach that is startling and melodic at the same time.
For an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the making of Carl Verheyen's record at Sweetwater Studios, check out "Grand Designs: The Music of Carl Verheyen" by clicking here CLICK and entering the
as both a player and a dude. If you haven’t heard (or seen) what he can do, now is the perfect time to educate yourself, because Verheyen not only has a new record out, [Cranktone Entertainment], but he is also offering GP readers an exclusive sneak peek at an online documentary that chronicles the making of that record. Watch, listen, learn, and enjoy. You tracked your new record at Sweetwater Studios. How was the experience Continues on page 49
free access code CVGP16.
By Matt Blackett Photograph by Cynthia Boulanger
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Cover Story Carl V e rhe ye n
Getting Your Chops Up to Speed with Carl Verheyen Bu il d in g S in gle Line Spe e d
Carl Verheyen knows chops. Listen to his music and it’s instantly clear that he possesses them by the metric boatload. But he also knows how to get chops: how to study, practice, and think about guitar to maximize your learning and ultimately, your enjoyment of the instrument. Here are some of his thoughts. Take heed. — M B
Now comes the exercise part [Ex. 2]: Start with eighth-notes and shift into triplets halfway up the scale pattern. Then jump to sixteenth-notes on the way back down. I shift between note values randomly, all the while keeping my time perfectly even. It’s very important to listen to the sound your hands are making! Do you have the same tone and attack on the bottom three strings as you do on the top? Does your pick angle produce a scratchy sound on the lower strings? This is the time to correct those issues and solidify your groove. The more you do it, the more you realize that a lot of players don’t stay in the pocket when they double-time their licks. Don’t be one of those guys!
I’ve never been into exercises. I don’t believe in practicing anything that can’t be used on stage or in the studio. To my way of thinking, exercises are studying to become a musician, whereas practicing your lines is being a musician. Having said that, there are a few things I do after a long flight or a day away from the guitar. The first one is a right-hand rhythm exercise that incorporates any scale you choose and a metronome. Let’s use F major, the one that starts on the 3 of the key since there are no stretches or position changes within the pattern [Ex. 1]. With the metronome set at 100 bpm, play two notes to the beat, or eighth-notes, ascending and descending. Make sure each note is crystal clear with no buzzes or fret noise. This is how you establish tone in your hands. Next, do the same with three notes for each beat (triplets). Play that rhythm until it’s clear as a bell before moving to four notes to the beat, or sixteenth-notes.
K nowing the Fr et b oar d Co l d Years ago I got to produce a few tracks for Jose Feliciano. He’s an amazing guitarist who has been blind from birth, so he’s never seen a guitar. Continues on page 50
Ex. 1
F major
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5
6
8
3 44 3 3 3 3 Ex. 2
T A B
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5 6
8
5 7 8
5
7
8
5 7
5 6 8
5 6 8 6 5
8 6
5
7 5
8 7 5
8 7 5
8 6 5 6 8
5
7 8
5 7 8
5 7
5 6 8
5
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Continued from page 46
of the draw. I went in there with Stuart Hamm and Chester Thompson and recorded a song. Then they asked me to do it again. And then they said, “Well, why don’t we just finish your whole record here?” That was a nice invitation, because I really wanted to work with a new producer, somebody with fresh ears. I recorded my last 12 records in L.A. at places like Sunset Sound, Village Recorders, and Capitol, and they’re just the greatest studios in the world. But the records all seemed to have a similar sound. I thought, “Let’s try a fresh approach with more of a Nashville guy.” The producer at Sweetwater is Mark Hornsby, and he’s Nashville-based. So I agreed to do it, but I didn’t want to play guitars off the wall at Sweetwater. I wanted my gear out there. So we ended up trucking my gear across the country twice. You said it was something like 70 guitars and 50 amps. How do you navigate that much gear on a recording? That just seems overwhelming.
To be honest, I probably only brought about 40 guitars at a time, and probably about 20 or 25 amps based on the songs I was going to record. If there was any possible way I could hear, say, a baritone guitar on a particular song, I would throw it in the trunk and ship it out there. Part of my reasoning is this: We’ve all heard plenty of shredding guitar records and to me, they don’t really bear repeated listening. They don’t really reveal themselves over many plays. My concept is more about layering and textures. I think that is basically the state of the art for guitar records these days. Talk me through the process for tracking a song.
I generally start with an acoustic bed, double that, and maybe play it up an inversion or two with a capo. I use a thin pick made by Clayton that records really well. It’s .63 millimeters and it feels like it’s made out of Teflon. The sparkle and the high-end glistening sound that they give you off the acoustic strings is much better than a Fender Heavy, which is what I use for my electric playing. As far as navigating multiple guitar overdubs, I think the main thing that you have to be concerned with is the danger of the midrange. You have to realize that so much of the music is competing for the midrange. The bass has the woofer and the cymbals and the sibilance on the vocals has the tweeters and a lot of the rest of the stuff— the piano, the organ, and the guitars—seems to be in the mids. You really have to pick your sounds and your textures and your parts. When it comes to electric rhythm guitar, there’s something about single-coil pickups that just gives you a wonderful high-end sparkle, so I almost always go for single-coils for rhythm stuff. There’s a great clean sound in the intro of “The Times They Are a-Changin’.” Tell me how you crafted that tone.
I used my live rig. I have a signature guitar from LSL called the CV Special. That one has wonderful pickups that are based on a ’61 Strat. So I used that, and I went directly into a tube reverb made by Robert Stamps that I’ve had for 20 years. Out of that I went into a TC Electronic Chorus pedal, then into a Lexicon MPX 100, which is stereo in and stereo out, so the chorusing remains in stereo. And then out of that I went into a Strymon BlueSky Reverb, but I’m not sure that was on because studio reverb is always better. I used two Continues on page 52
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Cover Story Carl Ve rhe ye n
as well as the 14th fret on the 1st string just to show off [Ex. 3]. Then I descended the same way. When I finished he said, “You mean play an F# on each string with two of them on the high string, ascending and
F# on each string, starting from the 2nd fret on the sixth string to the 9th fret on the fifth string, the 4th fret on the fourth string, the 11th fret on the third string, the 7th fret on the second string, and finally the 2nd fret on the first string and
Continued from page 48
You probably know him for his mega-hit Christmas song, “Feliz Navidad.� During some down time in the studio I asked him, “Jose, can you do this?� I then played an
Ex. 3
4 4 T A B
4
9
2
2
7
11
14
2
7
11
4
9
2
Ex. 4
44 G7
T A B
7
7 10 8 10
6 9
8 9
6 9
6 5
8 5
7 8
7 10 8 10
6 9
6 7
8
8 6
9
Ex. 5
4 4 1
B1/4
T A B
9 0
9 12 10 12
8 11
10 11
8 11
0 11
9 0
9 12 10 12
8 11
8
10 11
11
3
T A B
50
9 0
9 12 10 12
8 11
10 11
8 11
0
11
7
6
9
0 9 7
9
0
0 3 0 2
3
2
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descending?” I thought, “He’s got some serious ears!” Then he promptly nailed it faster than I had, and I was looking at the neck while doing it! When I got home I made an exercise out of it, picking any note and playing it on all six strings, ascending and descending in order… blindfolded! Try it: Don’t look while you play a Bb on the sixth string, 6th fret. Then play the same note on the fifth string/1st fret, fourth string/8th fret, and so on. Do it with five or six different notes to calibrate your hands when you first pick up the guitar each day. You’ll own the fretboard and demolish any dark areas!
B endi ng a nd V i b rato One of the most personal things we do on the guitar is bend notes and add vibrato. But it’s amazing how few of us have complete control over our vibrato. Most guitarists seem to have one speed they shake their strings with, and only occasionally does it relate to tempo and the emotion of the song. I also believe all four fingers should be able to bend a whole-step or a halfstep at the very least. Try this: On your second string, bend a Bb up to a C from the 11th fret, with whatever finger you choose. Make the bend quick and positive and nail the pitch of the C. Don’t add any vibrato. Next, do the exact same bend and let it sit for a few seconds before adding a hint of slow vibrato, like the way Frank Sinatra sings. Make sure it’s slow and bluesy. Now try that bend but with the intent that the vibrato is in motion at the exact moment you reach the C. Make it a little faster. Try it real fast with a “hummingbird” vibrato or a wicked, wide, heavy metal/opera singer vibrato, but make sure it’s instant and not an afterthought once you’ve arrived at the note. Now do all of that with your other three fingers.
Hy b r i d P i c ki n g I took some classical guitar lessons way back in the ’80s in an effort to get a nice tone on the nylon-string guitar without using a pick. The teacher had me grow my right-hand nails out, which seemed really awkward to me at the time. But, little by little, I began incorporating those fingers along with my pick when I played the electric, and before long it became a major part of everything I do. Try [Ex.4], a fast, funk bluesy line in G7. I use it a half-step up in Ab for the bridge of my song “Closing Time Blues” and then harmonize it a third higher using the same technique. By using your pick for every note played on the fourth and fifth strings, and your middle and ring finger for all second- and third-string notes, you’ll get much cleaner and faster than any flatpicker alive. Here’s a variation that is just one of the limitless possibilities with this kind of hybrid, cross-string picking [Ex. 5]. It’s the intro to a song of mine called “The Road Divides.” I’m using open strings to cover ground on the radical position changes. You can watch how I do it on Youtube. g
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Cover Story Carl V erh eyen
Continued from page 49
down. Can you talk about your philosophy on employing wider intervals in your scales?
amps that are in my clean rig: a 1976 100watt Hiwatt head and a ’64 Fender Showman head—tons of clean headroom—into two THD 2x12 cabinets. Kind of a wild signal path.
I believe that, first of all, you have to define what you personally think is melodic. For me, running up and down scales and repeated sequences within scales gives you nothing more than half-steps and whole-steps for the most part. When you get into pentatonic or harmonic minor scales you have a minor third, but to me, things really start getting melodic when you break out of those half-steps, whole-steps, and minor thirds. Once you start incorporating larger intervals, to my ears, it becomes more melodic, more singable, and more like a real melody.
It doesn’t sound that chorus-y.
I’m very careful about chorus. You can’t have it on all the time. It can get a little whiny on you, especially if you’re not in stereo. But I was in stereo at that point. How did you create guitar sounds for the single-note lines?
I used a 1972 Les Paul that I’ve had for many, many years. That guitar has real PAFs in it. I took the PAFs out of a 1958 ES-175 and I switched them with the T-Tops that were in the ’72 Les Paul. I also did a Strat solo on my LSL, so there’s one of each. That lead break has some of that wide interval playing that you’re so good at. A lot of players have a difficult time breaking out of playing scales straight up and straight
52
Fair enough, but how do you get to the point of really using those intervals?
Good question. I think about it this way: The best of us are only truly improvising 30 percent of the time. The rest of the time we play, we’re stringing together stuff we’ve worked out—stuff we know. So a long time ago I realized that I need to have some “money in
the bank” that I can draw on from a melodic standpoint. That’s when I started this concept of keeping a lick book. The wonderful jazz guitarist Joe Diorio was the one who sent me down that path. He said, “Man, you’ve got to write everything down.” From that point forward, anytime I played something I liked, I would write it down. “This sounds good for A minor” and then I would expand on it and maybe try an A major version and an A7 version, anything I could do to create lines. And then the next step was to figure out how I could access these lines from the blues, jazz, rock, or country licks that I already have in my vocabulary. How can I come out of this typical blues lick in A minor and play a line that incorporates fourths, fifths, sixths, minor sixths, major sevens, or dominant sevens? That was the impetus behind it and I probably filled up 25 lick books over the years of these ideas. [For an in-depth look into Joe Diorio’s intervallic approach, see the lesson on p.60.] How did you and Sonny Landreth divvy
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up your parts on “Distracted Girl”?
That was interesting. There’s so much music being done where you send the track to somebody and they slam their part on it and send it back, and I didn’t want to do that. Sonny and I have played some festivals together in the past, and we even did a master class together one time. I sent him the chart and said, “You’re welcome to do a solo and some fills around the vocals, but I don’t want to send the track to you and have you do it in your home studio. I want to fly you to Sweetwater and we’ll work together on it.” He was down for that. The most fascinating thing was when he got there, he said, “Do you mind if I play your intro figure up an octave on the slide?” And my mouth just fell open. I said, “You can do that?” When you hear it, you think, “How could he possibly make that happen?” But he did it and it really sounds like a collaboration. Nobody sounds like him, nobody plays like him, and it’s a combination of his right and left hands. You can’t separate the two. He’s got such a unique touch with the slide and the fingers behind the slide on the left hand, and then a completely amazing right-hand technique with his thumbpick and fingers. He’s a lovely guy. I really dig him. What’s the low tone in “Intangibles Collide.”
I was given a gift of a baritone guitar from Allan Holdsworth many years ago. He called me up and said, “Hey man, could you use this?” It’s a late-’80s baritone made by Bill DeLap. I’ve used it on movie dates and other people’s sessions for years and years. I decided to play it through a prototype of the Seymour Duncan Catalina Chorus, into my Hiwatt 100-watt. That Catalina Chorus has this ducking feature on it, and I use it so that the harder I pick, the less chorus I get. When you’re picking quieter, you’re most likely doing the pretty parts, and that’s when the chorus comes in. It’s a more musical application of chorusing. There’s a clean section that is a pretty melody and then it goes to this gnarly baritone bass line. I thought I used some sort of a pedal, but looking at my notes it seems like I just turned the Hiwatt up. Good god, that must have been loud! There are other guitar layers in that song.
Yeah, there’s actually a James Tyler Variax by Line 6 for the sitar sound. I played it through a ’66 Fender Princeton Reverb amp. There are a couple of acoustics strumming—an old
Martin and an old Gibson J-50. When the lead tones come in, it’s a ’61 Strat through a Landgraff LDO pedal into my Dr. Z SRZ-65. How much gain are you getting from the Dr. Z?
I always set that amplifier up to be semicrunchy, so you can play a G chord and still hear the third in it. Then I use a pedal to go over the top. Go back to earlier in your career. When you were coming up as a player, what was your practice regimen like?
I played every day from the time I was 11 years old on. Very early on, it was copping solos off the Allman Brothers Live at the Fillmore, Wheels of Fire by Cream, and Hendrix—all the Axis: Bold As Love stuff. I mean, I was constantly learning all that, as we all did. But when I was 18, I got a gig playing and singing with my acoustic guitar in a restaurant in Pasadena. I had a little five-night-a-week thing where I was playing four sets a night singing songs by Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, and Jackson Browne and all the stuff that was happening back then. One day this guy came in and said, “Man, I like the way you play. Would you like to get together and jam?” I said, “Sure,” and he said, “How about tomorrow?” So I went over to his house and he put music in front of me and the first chord was an Fmaj7, which, surprisingly enough for an 18 year old, I actually knew. But the second chord was a Dm7b5 and I had never seen that before. So I played a Dm at the 5th fret. I knew the A natural was the 5, so I played an Ab. He said, “Yeah, but this is a better voicing,” and he showed me a voicing. Then he showed me another voicing, and another voicing, and then another, and it went on until he showed me about 25 places to play this chord that I had never seen or heard of before— Dm7b5. It was such a mind-blowing thing. It was like looking over the wall at this huge plateau that just stretches out forever that you know nothing about, and that was that long, dark highway of jazz. So around age 19 or 20, I started to learn how to play jazz and how to play over changes, and the way to do that for me was learning songs. I’d go to a club and hear a band play a song like “Alone Together” and I’d say, “What key do you do that in?” And they’d go, “Well, we do it in D minor, but you better learn it in F too, because that’s
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Cover Story Carl Verh eyen the key singers do it in.” So I’d go home and work out a chord solo to it, and try to learn it five different ways. I’d learn the melody all over the guitar, in every register, so I had it down cold. Then I’d make a little chord solo that could be played with bass and drums. Then I’d make a solo-guitar piece out of it, for when your dad says, “Play me something, son.” Then I’d learn to play over the changes. That would be the fourth thing I’d do. And then the fifth way would be to try to learn at least the chord changes in an alternate key. I did that with about 150 songs. I really, really worked on that for about five or six years. Wow. That’s a tremendous amount of work. Did you start to realize that your ear and your chops and your ability to assimilate a lot of musical information was just growing by leaps and bounds?
Yeah. I would feel it every week, because there were songs that would reveal new chord voicings and I’d go, “Wow, I can actually use these little chord fragments I’m learning for Cm or B7 or something in this funk groove.” I was so into this type of study that I sort of had blinders on until one day in 1980, I was driving in my car and heard this Joe Walsh solo in the Eagles tune “Those Shoes.” It’s not a big hit, it’s just this little Em groove, and Joe Walsh takes this solo and I literally had to pull my car over because it was so powerful. I realized right then that the state of rock guitar had come so far since I kind of checked out and got into this jazz kick. And at that point, man, it was like the heavens opened and this light shone down upon me and it said, “You must learn everything that you dig.” I realized that I love Chet Atkins, I love nylon-string classical guitar, I love country music, I dig bluegrass, I love the blues, and I love rock and roll. What am I doing devoting my entire life and all my practice time to just playing jazz standards? That was this huge revelation and it was instant. I went home and said, “Put the hollowbody away. Get the Tele out.” By the time you did that, you had the ear and the chops to be able to tackle anything you wanted.
One of the things that I learned is that you need to keep yourself interested. I might think that I’m going to learn how to play this Albert King solo, and I’m going to transcribe it and get it under my hands until it’s perfect and I can phrase it exactly like him. But four days into that, I’m tired of Albert King and I want to work on some
54
Albert Lee, or some Alvin Lee. In other words, stay interested, stay enthused, stay in it, and always be excited to pick up the guitar and play. If a guitarist has an hour to practice, how would you recommend they spend that hour?
Definitely do not compartmentalize. Don’t say, “I need 15 minutes of sight reading, 15 minutes of country guitar, 15 minutes of bluegrass.” Don’t do that. Have a goal. I’ve always got these performances coming up, and my motto is, “I will not suck.” Therefore, I’m looking down the road at my next gig and I’m taking the time to make sure I’ve got all that stuff ready to roll. But if there is nothing coming up, I might think about the last time I played, and maybe I had an extended solo in F#m and I kind of ran out of ideas. I need some new ideas for F# Dorian. That might start on the 2nd fret F# of the low E string and climb up the neck, maybe start with a fifth up to C# and then the fifth above that would be G# and then a half-step above that would be A and then maybe go up to an E. I’m just kind of visualizing the fingerboard right now and thinking about a lick that goes from the low 2nd fret F# to a high C#, which is the highest note on a Fender guitar. Let’s try to find a lick that covers all that real estate and is musical, and then let’s try to reverse it going down. Now I have this monster lick in F# minor. Let’s write that down and see if we can do it in G minor, and Ab minor, and even G7 by changing the minor third to a major third. That’s the kind of practice I’m doing. I’m always looking to expand my improvisational vocabulary. What do you think guitarists get wrong when they’re practicing?
One thing they get wrong is if you ever walk through the halls of a music school you hear them shredding with so much gain. But what that’s doing is disguising the fact that they’ve got no real tone in their fingers. You need to practice chops with a totally clean sound before you go to the shred sound. That’s something that I try to cover in the lesson that accompanies this interview. What else goes into having tone in your fingers?
Very few people, particularly when they’re starting out, are really listening to the sound their hands are making. They’re just happy to be able to fret the notes, in a chord or especially with single-note lines. Here are a
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couple other things I really believe in: String gauge has less to do with your tone than your action height. People are always telling you, “I use .011s for my E string because I get that big, huge tone.” Well, it isn’t a big, huge tone if your action is super low. I can get as big a tone as Stevie Ray Vaughan with .009s. It has to do with where I set my action, and I set it high enough where that string has space and time to vibrate and not fret out against other frets. Despite a ton of success, you ultimately made the decision to move away from session work. Talk about that. How did you arrive at that decision and why?
I realized that another day with headphones on playing on a jingle or somebody’s country song or somebody’s TV show was a lot less memorable in my life than actually playing in front of an audience where the whole front row is singing along with a song I wrote in my kitchen ten years ago. Studio work in many ways was a major detour in my life, because I really always wanted to play my own music, inspired by people like George Harrison and Roger McGuinn. But the interesting thing about being a musician nowadays is that the rules keep changing and we need to reinvent ourselves—like every six to nine months. My business model involves multiple income streams. You’ve got the stuff you sell, which are CDs, books, DVDs, and downloadable courses. You’ve got performance, whether it’s an acoustic solo performance or a Carl Verheyen Band performance. You’ve got workshops, master classes, and clinics, and I can actually do tours of those things. There was a three-year period where I went to Italy four times a year to do various workshop tours, solo guitar tours, or band tours. There’s producing. As solo artist, you end up having fans saying, “Man, I really like your sound. Can I get you to produce my record?” So you come at it as a producer/artist where you play on the record and produce it. I’ve done quite a bit of that, especially lately. And of course there are still sessions to be done, although not quite as frequently.
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It’s a cool niche you’ve carved out for yourself.
One gig opens the door to another gig, which opens the door to another. If you keep the level and the quality of your performance as high as possible and have the motto “I will not suck,” you’re bound to get recommended and you’re bound to succeed. g
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LESSONS When Prince Rogers Nelson left
Ian D ickson / M ediaPunch
this decidedly unfunky world for the afterlife on April 21, 2016, he left a massive hole in the musical universe that would take several brilliant musicians to even begin to fill. He was so supremely multi-talented that it just plain overwhelmed a lot of people. Consider this: If he had only been a singer, we would be mourning the loss of one of the greatest vocalists of our time. If he never sang and merely sat behind the scenes writing songs, he’d be regarded as a hall of fame tunesmith. As a producer, he defined the sound of a decade or more. If he had simply concentrated on just one of those things, his passing would still be a huge loss. But he did all of that, and on top of that played unreal drums, keys, bass, and— most importantly—guitar. The only reason more people didn’t rave about Prince’s guitar work when he was alive was either because they were mesmerized by his dance moves or because he made playing amazing rhythm guitar and soaring leads look so damn easy. He was as natural as they come, and his effortless pocket, superb dynamics, and impeccable note choices were beautiful, emotional, and aweinspiring. We at GP can think of no better way to honor his badass purple memory than by examining some of his techniques, and trying to grab a little piece of his impossibly funky magic with this lesson, excerpted from our New Products 2011 issue. R.I.P., Prince. — m at t b l a c k e t t
How 2 Play Like Prince By Jesse G r ess
56
From his 1978 debut For You, to his most recent 20Ten, Prince has blazed new trails with some of the rockingest, funkiest, and most adventurous 6-string excursions ever to go down on record. Spin any of his 35 discs from beginning to end (the way you’re supposed to listen to a record) and you’re in for a trip through a truly diverse soundscape of guitar styles and tones, from subtle to in-yourface. While too numerous to cover in full, an abridged cross-section of Prince’s unique
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Ex. 1a
Cm7 or F9sus4 VIII
Cm6 or F9
XX 1 1 1 X
VII
Cm7add4 or Fsus4 V
XX1 1 3 3
IV
XX 1 3 3 X
Cm6 or F7 XXX 2 1 3
Ex. 1b
Cm7 or F7sus4 VIII
XX 3 1 4 X
Cm6 or F7 VIII
Cm6 or F7
XX3 1 4 X
Cm7add4 or F7sus4
F7
X1 1 1 XX
X 2 1 3 XX
VIII
Ex. 1c
VII
VIII
XX2 1 4 1
Cm7add4 or F7sus4 X
Cm7add4 or F9sus4 XI
Ex. 1d
XX3 2 1 4
XX1 1 3 3
F9 or Cm6 X
XX3 2 1 4
Ex. 1e
Ex. 1f
= 85-130
24 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Ex. 2a
Ex. 2b
Ex. 2c
Ex. 2d
Ex. 2e
Ex. 2f
= 85-130
24 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Ex. 3a
= 85-130
Ex. 3b
Ex. 3c
Ex. 3d
24 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) guitar stylings would range from sensuous, electric R&B ballads (“Crazy You� from For You, “Sea of Everything,� from 20Ten, “Purple Rain�), chicken-greased funk (“Sexy Dancer� from Prince, Party Up� from Dirty Mind, “It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night� from Sign o’ the Times, “We Gets Up� from Emancipation, “Mr. Pretty Man� from Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic), and infectious dance pop (“1999� and “Little Red Corvette� from 1999, “Let’s Go Crazy� from Purple Rain), to guitar-centric, Utopian rock and roll (“Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?� and “Bambi� from Prince; “I Would Die 4 U� from Purple Rain, “Anna Stasia� and “I Wish U Heaven� from LoveSexy, “A Million Days� from Musicology), forays into Beck/ Hendrix territory (“Bob George� from The Black Album), Return-to-Forever-tinged jazzrock fusion (most of The Rainbow Children and
N.E.W.S.), experimental soundscapes that would make Adrian Belew’s elephants envious (“Computer Blue,� from Purple Rain; “Play in the Sunshine,� from Sign o’ the Times), and even an early homage to Jaco and Joni (“So Blue,� from For You). The list goes on and on.
OWN UR FUNK RHYTHMS (GIVE IT 2 ME 1 TIME!) While we’re awaiting a Prince Master Class, let’s get a thorough mental and physical grasp on exactly where each sixteenthnote—the basic rhythmic division for most funk grooves—lives within a single beat. Ex. 1a presents for your strumming pleasure a dozen equivocal and multifunctional Prince-approved chord voicings grouped into six pairs. Get to know them, and then choose one (or any single
gpr0716_lessons_prince_ln4.indd 57
note, for that matter) and, at a comfortable tempo, apply it to Ex. 1b to confirm each sixteenth-note’s rightful place in the groove. Observe how the silent alternate picking motion on beat two keeps you in sync with the tempo. This and the following rhythmic examples have been notated in 2/4 to conserve space, and I recommend the following practice regimen to reveal each motif ’s full potential. First, play each 2/4 example followed by two beats of rest. Next, play each example twice as written (with repeat) to create a full measure of 4/4 with each motif occurring on beats one and three. Finally, reverse the rhythm in each 4/4 bar in retrograde so the motifs shift to beats two and four. (Tip: Try playing each example using swing sixteenths at 85-100 bpm.) You can also combine
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LESSONS
> > > p ri n ce
Ex. 4a
= ca. 120
4 4 ( ) ( ) F7
F7sus4
F7
F7
F7sus4
XX3 1 4 X
XX2 2 4 4
F7sus4 F7
VIII
VIII
Ex. 4b
= ca. 114
4 4 D7
5 5 5 5 7
T A B
5
5 5 5 5 7
5 7
Ex. 4c
(F m) (F m6) (F m) 4 4
= ca. 97
N.C.
3
( =
)
(F m)(F m7) 4
1 1
w/Leslie
T A B
4
1 1
14 17 14 14 14
2 2
2 2
4 2 4 2 2 2
Ex. 4d
Bm13
4 2
PUT IT ALL 2-GETHER Now that you’ve acquired the proper tools to craft endless funk figures of your own
B m13 Bm13
4 4
= ca. 73
both of these approaches and play each motif on all four beats, but some may get too busy. Remember, funk is about the space between notes as much as the notes themselves. Follow the same drill with Examples 1c through 1f, which isolate the first, second, third, and fourth sixteenths respectively, and play ’em ’til U own ’em. As simple as these rhythms might seem, your goal should be internalizing and learning to relate them to and recognize them in daily activities, such as walking, talking, dialing, or texting, as well as in the sounds around you produced by both humans and nature. Believe me, the funk is everywhere! Now apply this concept to two- and three-note subdivisions in Examples 2a through 3d.
1
15 161514 16 14
T A B
16 15 14
16 15 16 15 14 15 14 13 14
P l ay l ike p r ince
for you
Prince
Dirty Mind
purple rain
sign o’ the
Lovesexy
musicology
20ten
times
58
G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / J U ly 2 0 1 6
gpr0716_lessons_prince_ln4.indd 58
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3 44 Ex. 5a
Dm
= ca. 126 N.C.
4
1 2
2
2
1
2
1
P.H.
4
9 10 12
9 10 12
4
1
4
2
1
2
1
T A B
3
9 10
9 10 12
12
Ex. 5b
F(V)
9 10
9
10
9
9
B (I)
design, it’s time to assemble these discrete one-, two-, three-, and four-note sixteenth groupings into funky-ass rhythm guitar parts that make you wanna shake your booty! Work through Examples 4a through 4d and Rave Un2 the Joy Funktastic.
15
KNOW WHEN 2 SHRED
4 4
= ca. 106
3
3
1
1
3
3
3
1
3
2
2
1
3
3
13
T A B
8 10 11 12
8 9 10
Ex. 5c
(13)
As a soloist, Prince can unleash the fury along with the most furious shredders, but it’s something he usually keeps in check until just the right moment, and which often surfaces as a climactic flurry of sixteenth-note triplets featuring some exotic, chromatic note choices, such as those in the Dm lick in Ex. 5a and the V-I (F-to- Bb) run in Ex. 5b. Examples 5c through 5e show the depth and breadth of Prince’s lead genius. Experiment and see how many different variations of these riffs you can come up with, because making it your own, as the Artist says, is where it’s at. So, what are U waiting 4? The rest is up 2 U! g
10 12 10 12 10
( ) 4 4
= ca. 98
(E7 9)
1
T A B
1
2
1
3
1
3
3or4
9 12
14
12 13
12 15 15
12
B
15
(17)
Ex. 5d
4 4 3 3 3 (E7 9)
= ca. 98 N.C.
T A B
14 16 17
14 15 17
14 17
15151717 18 18 17 15
Ex. 5e
(E7 9) N.C.
= ca. 73
15
4 ( ) 4 T A B
9
11
9
11
B R
9 (10) 9 7 9 7
9
7
9
grad. B1/4
7
7 (7)
9
gpr0716_lessons_prince_ln4.indd 59
9
grad. B1/4
7 5 7
5 (5)
7
tacet 2nd time - - -
even gliss.
17
J U ly 2 0 1 6 / G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M
59 5/5/16 12:50 PM
LESSONS
>>> f e at u re L e ss o n
Joe Diorio’s Intervallic Designs by Jesse G r ess
chord changes, and “found a way to sound inside and outside at the same time.� Nearly four decades later, Diorio’s approach still sounds futuristic. Listen to any of his numerous recordings and you simply won’t believe your ears. This primer to intervallic playing offers an introductory look at a few of Diorio’s designs, where they originate, and how to use them. Though Diorio’s designs came directly from his intuition versus mechanical formulae, ironically, we must resort to said mechanics to even begin to understand them. So before we head to outer space, we must first explore inner space.
“ B e cau s e o f t h e va r i e d e x p e r i -
ences I have had (playing music), I have arrived at a point where diatonic harmony, chord symbols, key signatures, key centers, or similar devices no longer have any hold on me. I have become liberated, freed from the weight of thinking of music as opposed to just playing it. Bear in mind this took 28 years.� Thus spake jazz guitar guru Joe Diorio— my G.I.T. class of ’79 called him “the Pope�— in the introduction to his groundbreaking book, 21st Century Intervallic Designs – Ultramodern Sounds for Improvising [REH Publications, 1978], which contains a hundred or so melodic lines, or “designs,� characterized by wide interval skips used by Joe “as a point of departure from diatonic music.� In addition to free-style playing, Diorio began incorporating his designs into songs with
WOR LDS WITHIN WOR LDS Any given chord shape or arpeggio is comprised of several intervals. For instance, a root-position major seventh chord (R-3-57) contains two perfect fifth intervals played
Ex. 1a
Ex. 2a
Gmaj7= R5 + Gmaj7= R5 +
Gmaj7 Gmaj7
Gmaj7= R 5 + Gmaj7= R 5 +
37 37
3
7
3
7
Gmaj7= R5 + Gmaj7= R5 +
Gmaj7= 5R + Gmaj7= 5R +
37 37
( )( )( ) ( )( )( )
Am7 Ex. 1b ()
Am7
V V
V
()
()
a major third (four frets) apart, and a rootposition minor seventh chord (R-b3-5-b7) is built from two perfect fifths played a minor third (three frets) apart. We’ll begin by extracting the resident fifth intervals from two different arpeggios: Gmaj7 rooted at the third fret, and Am7 rooted at the fifth fret. (Tip: Both arpeggios can be reduced to form standard chord voicings, such as R-3-5-7, R-7-3-5, R-b3-5-b7, and R-b7-b3-5.) In the case of major seventh chords, the lower fifth contains the root and 5, while the upper fifth supplies the chord-defining 3 and 7. With minor seventh chords, the lower fifth maintains the root and 5, while the upper one forms the b3 and b7. In this manner, Example 1a and 1b’s Gmaj7 and Am7 arpeggios can each be sectioned into three pairs of fifth intervals (5-over-root plus 7-over-3, and 5-over-root
Am7= R5 + Am7= V R5 +
V
V
Am7=
3 7
R 5
3 7
V
Am7= R 5
V
+ V
+
V
3 7 3 7
Am7= R5
V
Am7= R5
V
Am7=
3 7
+
V
3 7
V
+
V
V
Ex. 2b+
5R
Am7= V + 5R V
Gmaj7= 5R + Gmaj7= 5R +
73
73
7 3
V
7 3
V
Am7= + R 5 Am7= V + R 5 V
73
73
3 7 3 7
()
4 4 4 4 4 4 Ex. 3a
T A B
60
Ex. 3b
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
T A B
Ex. 3c
9 9
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
T A B
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
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Ex. 4a
Bm7(III) X
E7 5 9(VI)
X
VII
VII
Am7(II)
X
X
D7 5 9(V)
X
plus b7-over-b3), which may be played harmonically as partial chord components, or broken into single notes to form melodic lines. Get to know them. The same rules also apply to perfect fourth intervals, which are essentially upside-down, or inverted fifths. Major seventh chords house two fourth intervals played a major third apart (root-over-5 plus 3-over-7), and minor sevenths contain two fourths played a minor third apart (rootover-5 plus b3-over-b7). Referencing the previous arpeggios, Ex. 2a reveals the two pairs of fourths inherent to Gmaj7, and Ex. 2b uncovers the two pairings found in Am7. Of course, all of these fifth and fourth configurations are transposable to any major or minor seventh chord, but, as we’ll soon see, they can also be used to create dominant and altered dominant seventh sounds.
Gmaj7(I)
X
X
X
4 4 2
T A B
333
2 1 31 1
7
7
7
7
6
6
X
6
6
Ex. 4b
Bm7
2
333
2 1 31 1
5
5
B 7 5
X
X
VII
VI
5
5
Am7
X
X
1
4
4
4
4
3
34 2
3
A 7 5
X
X
Gmaj7
X
X
X
4 FUTUR ISTIC FOURTHS a few minutes to get familiar with 4 Take the five chromatically descending root2
T A B
333
7
7
2
7
7
34 1
6
6
2
6
6
333
5
5
2
5
5
34 1
4
4
1
4
4
34 2
3
3
3
3
Ex. 4c
4 4 Bm7
T A B
7
7
E7alt
7
7
6
6
Am7
6
6
5
5
D7alt
5
5
4
4
Gmaj7
4
4
3
3
3
Ex. 4d
4 4 Bm7
T A B
7
7
E7alt
7
7
6
6
Am7
6
6
5
5
D7alt
5
5
4
4
gpr0716_lessons_diorio_ln3.indd 61
Gmaj7
4
4
3
3
3
over-5 fourth intervals shown in Ex. 3a, their octave transposition in Ex. 3b, and their ascending reversed order in Ex. 3c. On their own, none of these sound particularly melodious, but arpeggiating each interval and playing the set over a standard IIIm7VI7-IIm7-V7-Imaj7 progression as demonstrated in Ex. 4a starts to reveal their full melodic potential. Here, the descending fourths from Ex. 3a outline the 5 and root of Bm7, the b9 and b5 of E7, the 5 and root of Am7, the b9 and b5 of D7, and the 5 and root of Gmaj7. Pretty cool, eh? Now play it again using Ex. 3b’s octavelower fourths. (You can also try reversing the notes in each fourth to root-5.) For the altered dominant sounds in this case, we’re simply treating the VI7 chord as a bIIIm7 (Bbm7 for E7alt) and the V7 chord as a bIIm7 (Abm7 for D7alt) by moving each previous interval down a half-step. Also take note of how some of Ex. 3c’s ascending fourths produce a more “outside� tonality, which theoretically shouldn’t work, but does so by sheer momentum. Replacing the VI7 and V7 chords with flat-five substitutions—a common device in jazz harmony—results in a Bbm7-Bb7b5Am7-Ab7b5-Gmaj7 progression that can be used interchangeably with most of the following examples. This is illustrated in
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LESSONS
> > > fe at ure l es s on
Ex. 5a
Ex. 5b
Ex. 5c
4 4 4 4 4 4 T A B
Bm7 E7alt Am7 D7alt
Gmaj7
7 7
4 4
6 6
5 5
4 4
T A B
Bm7 E7alt Am7 D7alt
Gmaj7
10 10
7 7
9 9
Ex. 6a
8 8
7 7
T A B
Bm7 E7alt Am7 D7alt
Gmaj7
7 7
10 10
7 7
8 8
9 9
Ex. 6b
Bm7
E7alt
Am7
D7alt
Gmaj7
Bm7
E7alt
Am7
D7alt
Gmaj7
7 9
6 8
5 7
4 6
3 5
4 4 4 4 1 3
4
1
T A B
9 7
8 6
7 5
6 4
T A B
5 3
Ex. 7a
Ex. 7b
4 4 4 4 Bm7
E7alt
Am7
D7alt
Gmaj7
Bm7
E7alt
Am7
D7alt
Gmaj7
4
1
4
1
T A B
7 5
6 4
5 3
4 2
Ex. 4b, where we also displace the descending fourths back by one eighth-note to create a new melodic contour. Examples 4c and 4d follow with two more melodic permutations—one that doubles every note of each interval, and another that begins similarly, but reverses the order of notes every two beats.
62
T A B
4 2
10 7
9 6
8 5
7 4
Now, let’s do the same thing with the sets of 3-over-7 fourth intervals notated in Examples 5a, 5b, and 5c. All previous rules apply with one exception: The same fourth interval is played twice in a row both at the end of the descending figures (over the V and I chords) and at the beginning of the ascending figure (over the IIIm7 and VI7
7 4
chords). Apply the same permutations from Examples 4a-4d as well as those of your own design.
DESIG NE R FIFTHS Moving on to perfect fifth intervals, we’ll continue our D.I.Y. approach using the same chord progression, first with the
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Ex. 8a
Ex. 8b
Bm7
E7alt
Am7
D7alt
Gmaj7
Bm7
E7alt
Am7
D7alt
Gmaj7
4 4 4 4 4
1
1
1
T A B
4
1 3
4
7 5
9 7
6 4
8 6
5 3
7 5
4 2
6 4
Ex. 9a
5 3
7 9
T A B
4 2
10 7
6 8
9 6
5 7
8 5
4 6
7 4
3 5
7 4
Ex. 9b
Starting on 3 Gmaj7( 11)
Starting on root Gmaj7
6 6 8 8 4
4
T A B
3
4
3
1
0
1
0
2
2
3
4
1
1
4
1 3
3
1
2
3
0
0
Ex. 9c
T A B
7
4
7
5 7
4
7
5
6
7
4
4
Ex. 9d
6 6 8 8
Starting on 5 Gmaj7
T A B
10
10
7
Starting on 7 Gmaj7( 11)
7
8 10
10
8
9
10
7
7
two sets of 5-over-root voicings shown in Examples 6a and 6b, and then with the 7-over-3 and b7-over-3 shapes depicted in Examples 7a and 7b, where, once again, as with 3-over-7 and b3-over-b7 fourths, the same fifth appears twice in a row over the V7-Imaj7 chords when descending, and the IIIm7-VI7 changes when ascending.
T A B
14
14
11
12 14
14
12
13
14
11
11
and 8b take things a step further by extending the IIIm7-VI7-IIm7V7-I progression to two bars, and combining alternating 5-over-root and 7-over-3 shapes. (This also works with fourths, or any combination of fourths and fifths.) Apply all previous permutations and dig the results.
Examples 8a
gpr0716_lessons_diorio_ln3.indd 63
11
LINE GAMES 21st Century Intervallic Designs contains numerous elongated line forms built from fourths and fifths separated by other intervals such as major and minor seconds and thirds. Many of these designs can be started on any major or minor chord tone. Ex. 9a presents one such shape that begins on
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LESSONS
> > > fe at ure l es s on
the root of Gmaj7 and yields an ascending R-4-5-R-4-5 motif followed by a descending R-4-2-5-R-5 line. Fingered identically but played four frets higher, Ex. 9b starts on B, the 3 of Gmaj7, and creates Lydian-flavored 3-6-7-3-6-7 (ascending) and 3-6-#4-73-7 (descending) designs. Similarly, Ex. 9c, which begins on D, the 5 of Gmaj7, yields Ionian-based 5-R-2-5-R-2 and 5-R-6-2-5-2 motifs, while Ex. 9d begins on F#, the 7 of Gmaj7, and ventures back into Lydian territory with 7-3-#4-7-3-#4 and 7-3-b9-#4-7-#4 designs that include an extra tension tone.
For minor seventh chords, play the same design starting on the root or 5 (same as major seventh chords), or begin on the b3 (one half-step lower than the 3), or the b7 (a half-step below the 7). For altered dominant seventh chords, play the same design starting a half-step above or a whole-step below the root, or a minor third or flatted fifth either above or below the root. Taking all of this into account, Ex. 10a employs the design over our IIm7-VI7-IIm7V7-I progression starting on the 5 of Bm7, Am7, and Gmaj7, and a half-step above the
roots of E7alt and D7alt, the b2/b9 of each chord. Note how we’re simply moving the entire design down in half-steps just as we did with individual fourths and fifths. Ex. 10b double-times the progression and shifts the second (descending) half of each design down in half-steps to accommodate the changes. Experiment with this design and those of your own over different progressions and static chord vamps.
SECOND COMING Of course, Diorio’s intervallic designs and
Ex. 10a
Bm7 Bm7
E7alt E7alt
Am7 Am7
13 11 13 13 11 13 10 11 13 11 12 13 10 12 10 10 10 10 10 13 10 13 13 13
12 10 12 12 10 12 9 10 12 10 11 12 9 11 9 9 9 9 9 12 9 12 12 12
6 688 4 4
4 4
T T A A B B
1 1
1 1
2 2
4 4
4 4
2 2
3 3
4 4
1 1
1 1
14 12 14 14 12 14 11 12 14 12 13 14 11 13 11 11 11 11 11 14 11 14 14 14
T T A A B B
D7alt D7alt
Gmaj7 Gmaj7
11 9 11 11 9 11 9 10 11 8 8 9 11 10 8 8 8 8 8 11 8 11 11 11
10 8 10 10 8 10 8 9 10 7 7 8 10 9 7 7 7 7 7 10 7 10 10 10
Ex. 10b
6 8 Bm7
T A B
64
14
14
E7alt
11
11
12 14
13
11
12
Am7
13
10
10 12
12
D7alt
9
9
10 12
11
9
10
Gmaj7
11
8
8 10
10
7
7
8 10
10
8
9
10
7
7
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Try starting an octave lower and shifting each pair up in ascending minor thirds.)
improvisations involve much more than fourths and fifths. Another favorite device is to pair the major second and perfect fifth shapes shown in Ex. 11a, and then move them up or down the fretboard in threefret, minor-third increments. Ex. 11b demonstrates this design concept over a series of m7b5-7#5#9 chords that descend in whole steps and target a tonic Bbmaj7, which is indigenous to the last eight bars of the jazz standard, “Stella by Starlight.� (The progression has been double-timed to conserve space.) Dig its delicious dissonance. (Tip:
pair of perfect fifth and major seventh intervals shown in Ex. 13a for the first ten measures. Note how the fifth suggests G7, while the major seventh shape implies D7#9, or its b5 sub, Ab13. Examine bar 1 of the head to “Blues for Bela� (Ex. 13b), and you’ll find two sets of said arpeggiated fifth and major-seventh intervals played a fourth apart using identical fingerings on different string sets. This establishes a one-bar motif, which is then transposed to five different positions over the course of bars 1 through 7 until Diorio inverts the pairings to fifth-seventh-seventh-fifth in bar 8. This strategy is continued throughout bars 9 and 10—where the intervals are now played harmonically— before we complete the 12-bar form with a two-bar turnaround built entirely from parallel harmonic major tenth intervals, each of which spans an octave plus a major third.
S EV E NTH HEAV E N Major seventh intervals provide another route to intervallic bliss, and Ex. 12 utilizes a single shape transposed to cover the same “Stella� progression. Here, each shape is first arpeggiated, and then repeated with both notes played together to convey the 5 and sus4 of each m7b5 chord, and the 3 and #9 of each 7#5#9 chord, as well as the root and 7 of the tonic Bbmaj7. Effin’ brilliant!
“ BLU ES FOR B E LA� Finally, we arrive at “Blues for Bela� (from 1977’s Peaceful Journey), a fascinating composition built from just three interval shapes. (Joe once told me the title references Lugosi, not Bartok!) Diorio devised this spooky, futuristic 12-bar blues in G using only the
Ex. 11a
#11a
Maj 2nd
P5th
31
3
Ex. 11b
1
Em7 5 Em7 5
VII
= ca. 68 = ca. 68
VII
X X
A7 5 9 A7 5 9
X
V
X
V
1 32 4
G7 5 9
Dm7 5 Dm7 5
XX
V
XX
V
1224
X
X
1224
Cm7 5
1224
1 32 4
G7 5 9
X
III
X
III
1 32 4
F7 5 9
Cm7 5
XX
X
XX
X
B maj7
F7 5 9
X
B maj7
XX
X
X
XX
1 32 4
X
X
1224
X
1 32 4
4 44 4 1 32 4
1 3 1 3
1 3 1 3
1 3 1 3
2 or 4 2 or 4
13 15 13 15
T A B T A B
1 3 1 3
1 3 1 3
2 4 2 4
14 16 14 16
10 12 10 12
1224
1 32 4
1 3 1 3
1 3 1 3
2 4 2 4
11 13 11
7 9 7 9
13
8 10 8 10
4 6 4 6
1224
1 32 4
1 3 1 3
1 3 1 3
sim.
2 4 2 4
sim.
5 7 5
11 13 11 13
7
12 14 12 14
8 10 8 10
9 11 9 11
5 7 5 7
6 8 6 8
2 4 2 4
3 5 3
9 10 11 12 9 10 11 12
5
6 8 6 8
7 9 7
3 5 3 5
9
4 6 4 6
0 2 0 2
1 3 1 3
3 5 3 5
Ex. 12
A7 5 9 Dm7 5 G7 5 9 Cm7 5 F7 5 9 B maj7 4 4 = ca. 136 Em7 5 4
1
4
4
1
4
1
1
let ring -
T A B
10 8
l.r. - - -
10 8
8 6
l.r. - - -
8 6
8 6
sim.
8 6
6 4
gpr0716_lessons_diorio_ln3.indd 65
6 4
6 4
6 4
4 2
4 2
5 3
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LESSONS Ex. 13a
#13a
Rinse and repeat, have a go at a solo chorus (or 12), and then wrap it up with two more rounds of the head tagged with Ex. 13c’s surprising but sublime ending chord. It’s like a trip to outer space and back! Though there’s plenty of food for thought here, we’ve barely scratched the surface of Joe Diorio’s unparalleled melodic and harmonic awareness, total command of his instrument (typically a Benedetto archtop or a Gibson
(D7 4) (A 13) Maj7
(G7) P5th
3
> > > fe at ure l es s on
1
2 4
ES-175), and amazing phrasing. To hear how Diorio implements the concepts presented here and much, much more, check out any of his recordings and instructional materials. Both will lead you further down the path towards melodic and harmonic freedom and change your life in the process. “This is as close to hearing God play jazz guitar as you’ll ever get,� wrote one reviewer. Truer words have never been spoken. Thanks, Pope Joseph! g
4 4 44 3 6 9 12 3 6 3 6 8 11 8 11 3 6 9 12 3 6 8 11 3 6 9 12 5 4 10 9 5 4 11 10 33 4 66 3 6 10 8 8 11 3 6 9 12 10 5 9 11 5 3 4 6 11 9 1012 8 11 10 3 6 9 12 11 5 4 9 5 4 10 5 4 10 9 5 4 11 10 55 4 10 9 5 4 11 10 10 4 10 9 5 4 11 10 10 C7( 9) F7( 9) G7 A 13 C7 D 13 B 7 B13 E7 9 A7 9 A7 C7( 9) F7( 9) G7 A 13 C7 D 13 B 7 B13 E7 C7( 9) F7( 9) G7 A 13 C7 D 13 B 7 B13 E7 9 A7 Ex. 13b
= ca. 128 w/Swing feel == ca. 128 ca. 128
1
w/Swing feel w/Swing feel
G7( 9) G7( G7( 9) 9)
1 11 1 1
3
4
4
1
4 4
3
2
3 3
T A T B T A A B B
3
2
3 3
2 2
1
4 4
1 1
C7( 9) C7( C7( 9) 9) 1 1
2 2
4
4
1
4 4
3
2
m
m
m
m
sim.
m m
m m
m m
m m
sim. sim.
4 4
1 1
D 7( 9) D D 7( 7( 9) 9)
2
2
2 2
3 3
2 2
3 3
G7( 9) G7( G7( 9) 9)
2 2
5
1
5 5
1 1
8 88
T A T B T A A B B
11 9 11 11 9 9
8 10 8 8 10 10
11 9 11 11 9 9
15 15 15
13 13 13
16 14 16 16 14 14
13 15 13 13 15 15
16 14 16 16 14 14
12 12 12
10 10 10
13 11 13 13 11 11
8 10 8 8 10 10
11 9 11 11 9 9
6 6 6
8 8 8
3
3
3 3
3 3
9 7 9 9 7 7
8 6 8 8 6 6
5 7 5 5 7 7
4
4
4
4 4
4 4
4 4
6 6 6
A13 A 13 G7 F 7 G13 G 13 F7 G(7) F(7) E(7) B (7) A(7) E (7) D(7) A (9) 7 G13 A13 13 G7 (7) A(7) (7) D(7) (9) 13 F7 A F G G(7) F(7) B E A A13 A 13 G7 F 7 G13 G 13 F7 G(7) F(7) E(7) E(7) B (7) A(7) E (7) D(7) A (9) ) ( )) (( 7 6 3 4 2 5 4 1 4 2 1 7 6 12 11 5 44 6 3 2 5 4 1 57 4 5 4 3 2 3 (5) 7 6 3 2 5 4 1 4 2 1 7 6 12 11 5 4 2 1 7 6 12 11 5 5 4 5 4 3 2 3 3 1 0 6 5 11 10 4 (5) 9
A 7 A 7 A 7
9 9
1 1
1
2
4 4
1
1
4 4
4
1 1
1 1
2
4 4
4
3
2
2
3 sim. 3
2 2
2 2
m m
3 m 3 m m
4
5
m
m
m m
5
1
4 4
3
2 2
2 2
T A T B T A A B B
4
4
1 1
3
3
3 3
2
4 4
4
2 2
4 4
1
1 1
1 1
4
4
4 4
4 4
1
1
1 1
1 1
1
1
(3)
1 1
1 1
1
(3) (3)
1 1
3
(5)
3 3
Ex. 13c
2
1
sim. sim.
4
4
1 1
0 0
6 6
5 5
11 11
10 10
4 4
G13sus4 X
3
4
66
1
G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / J U L Y 2 0 1 6
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LESSONS >>> art i st l e ss o n
Mega Men Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine and Kiko Loureiro Unlock the Secrets of Dystopia by V inn i e D eMas i
Dm C/D Dm6 Em7 5/D 44 ( ) Ex. 1a
5 6 7 0
T A B
3 5 5 0
has enlisted Brazilian guitar sensation Kiko Loureiro as his new wingman. Cited by many fans and critics as a true return to form, the album is a treasure trove of breakneck thrash riffs, classically influenced melodicism, and
supermen including Chris Poland, Marty Friedman, Glen Drover, Chris Broderick, and Al Pitrelli, while scripting one of the most seminal chapters in the metal guitar bible. For the band’s latest record, Dystopia, Mustaine
I f yo u r l i st o f g r e at t w i n - l e a d
guitar bands doesn’t include Megadeth, you’ve probably got some serious listening to do. Since the quartet’s 1985 debut, chief Deth-head Dave Mustaine has paired up with various 6-string
5 6 4 0
Ex. 1b
44 ( )
3 5 3 0
Dm
Dm/maj7
Dm7
Dm6
5 6 7 0
5 6 6 0
5 6 5 0
5 6 4 0
T A B
Ex. 2
= 174-176 = 174-176Dm
Dm/maj7 4 4 4 1 1
Dm
T A T B A B
7 7
Dm/maj7
2 2
2 2
7 7
7 7
7 7
7 7
7 7
6 6
7 7
5 5
6 6
8 8
5 5
6 6
7 7
5 5
6 6
6 6
6 6
6 6
6 6
6 6
6 6
6 6
5 5
6 6
8 8
5 5
6 6
6 6
5 5
5 5
5 5
T A T B A B
68
Dm7 Dm7
5 5
5 5
5 5
5 5
5 5
6 6
5 5
5 5
6 6
8 8
5 5
6 6
5 5
5 5
5 5 9 9
9 9
9 9
9 9
9 9
9 9
6 6
8 8
5 5
6 6
7 7
5 5
5 5
5 5
G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / J U L Y 2 0 1 6
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Mustaine says the chord sequence in Ex. 1b was inspired by Beatles songs like “Michelle� and “Cry Baby Cry,� where a single-note descending line runs through an otherwise static chord. This provides the harmonic structure behind the opening figure of “Dystopia,� shown in Ex. 2. Described by Mustaine as a “circular riff,� the single notes played against an open-D drone in Ex. 3 are a sparse but effective accompaniment to the song’s verses. Play the note in parenthesis in bar 1 on the repeat for the
fully shredded dual-lead mayhem. During their recent multi-night run of shows in NYC, Mustaine and Loureiro sat down with GP to deconstruct the finer points of Dystopia’s title track. I’ve transcribed it in standard tuning, but Dave and Kiko drop their guitars down a whole step [D, G, C, F, A, D, low to high]. Ex. 1a shows the series of baroque-flavored chord voicings pedaled over an open D-string during the song’s intro. To nail the rhythm on the recording, play each chord on the and of four and hold it for eight beats.Â
riff’s variation. Also, pay close attention to the G#5 to A5 power chord punches in the second ending. Mustaine stressed the importance of playing them with short staccato downstroke articulations to make them sound as heavy and brutal as possible. The driving rhythms of the verse pattern are contrasted nicely by the phrase-ending melodic triplet line shown in Ex. 4. Dig the wide intervallic note-pairs of a perfect 5th, minor 6th, and minor 7th in the last two bars. They cleverly spell out G5 and E7 chords.Â
Ex. 3
= 174-176
( ) 44 T A B
1.
7
P.M. - - - - - - - - - - - -
10
0
0
0
0
P.M. - - - - - - - - - - - -
9
7(12)
0
0
0
0
P.M. - - - - - - - - - - - -
5
7
0
0
G 5
2.
0
0
10
7
A5
7 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 6 6 7 4
P.M. - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
P.M. - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
T A B
6 4
6 4
6 4
7 5
Ex. 4
= 174-176
G5
E7
44 3
T A B
12
10
3
9
12
10
10
let ring - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12
9
12
l.r. - - - - - - - - - - - - l.r. - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 10
11
12 12
44 3 3 Am
Ex. 5
T A B X
X
X
2
C
4
5
9 X
X
X
4
5
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LESSONS
> > > a rt i s t l es s on
Ex. 6a
D5
hold chord hold shape chord- -shape -------------
T A B
T A B
2
2
Ex. 6b
m
3
m a
a
5
5
3
and classical guitar. To conjure the mojo, fret the D5 grip shown in Ex. 6a with your first, second, and fourth fingers, then arpeggiate it low to high. Loureiro uses his pick, middle finger, and ring finger to pluck the strings, but playing it completely fingerstyle with your thumb, index, and middle fingers will work too. The trick is to lift off pressure with your
For the song’s solo, Loureiro takes center stage starting with a single-string melodic line over Am and C harmonies as demonstrated in Ex. 5. Watch for the muted-string rakes and legato slides to really nail the phrasing. After 1 24 this lyrical opener, Loureiro kicks his solo into high gear with a hybrid-picking technique adapted from his interest in fingerstyle
D5
XXX XXX
1 24
4 4 D5
E5
4
4
2
1
F5
4
2
1
G5
4
2
2
1
1
hold chord - -
T A B
2
Ex. 7
= 107-109
m
3
a sim.
5
3
2
5 7 4
5
7 4
5
7 8 5
6
8 5
8 10
6
7
8
F 5
10
10 12
8
7
A 5
F 5
6 4 4 harm. - -
T A B
4 4 2
4 4 4 4
4 4 4 4
harm. - -
4 2
4 3 2 0
2 0
0
3 3 1
4 4 2
4 4 4 4
4 4 4 4
4 2
4
5 2
4
4 2 5 4 2
4 2 0
Ex. 8
= 107-109 Gtr. 1
4 4 1
T A B
6 4 6
4
6 4 6
5
6 4 6
7
6 4 6
6 4 6
4
6 4 6
5
6 4 6
7
6 4 6
4 4 Gtr. 2
T A B
70
11 9 11
11 9 11
9
11 9 11
10
11 9 11
12
11 9 11
11 9 11
9
11 9 11
10
11 9 11
12
G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / J U L Y 2 0 1 6
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fretting hand immediately after sounding each note to give them a separate staccato attack. Once you have this roll pattern down, slide it up the neck, Ă la Ex. 6b. This isn’t exactly what Loureiro plays, but it’ll give you an idea of how to incorporate this cool trick into your own soloing. Like many of Megadeth’s best-known songs, “Dystopiaâ€? shifts to a completely different key and tempo for the final section. This section’s main riff shown in Ex. 7, is built around
are mostly playing in much more subversivesounding fourths. “Dystopia� alone has provided a truckload of cool guitar parts, but as a final added bonus let’s look at one of Mustaine’s favorite new riffs: the manic opening to “The Threat Is Real� shown in Ex. 9. To get this quasi-Middle Eastern motif up to the required hyperspeed tempo, start off slow, use alternate picking, and heed the placement of pull-offs and slides. Mega cool! g
an F# blues scale, but tosses in an A#5 power chord (a major third above the root) and, in the last bar, a b9 (G) for the right amount of dissonance. The song builds to its finale via a series of harmonized variations on an F# minor melody, the last of which is transcribed in Ex. 8. This phrase is doubly cool because the harmonic movement harkens back to the song’s initial riff. Plus, instead of opting for tried-andtrue tertian voicings, Mustaine and Loureiro
Gtr. 1
3
6
T A B
6 4 6
7
6 4 6
5
6 4 6
7
6 4 6
6 4 6
6
6 4 6
5
6 4 6 7 6 4
7 6 4
Gtr. 2
6
T A B
11 9 11
11
11 9 11
9
11 9 11
10
11 9 11
11 9 11
9
11 9 11
9
11 9 11 11 9
1211 9
12
= 154-156
4 4 4 4 1 Ex. 9
= 154-156 1
T A B
12 0 0 12 0 0 13 0 0 13 0 0 13 12 0 13
12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
T A B
12 0 0 12 0 0 13 0 0 13 0 0 13 12 0 13
12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3
3
T A B
12 0 0 12 0 0 13 0 0 13 0 0 7 6 5 3
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
T A B
12 0 0 12 0 0 13 0 0 13 0 0 7 6 5 3
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0J U 0 LY 0 200 1 6 / G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M
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LESSONS
>>> S t y l e
Waking the Neighbors By David B r ewst er
below (known as lower neighbor tones), or chromatic half-step movements from above (known as upper neighbor tones). Well, what’s old is new again. You can find this cool performance technique in plenty of guitar music, as numerous
The use of neighbor tones in
music can be traced back hundreds of years, to early classical compositions. Neighbor tones are chromatic passing tones performed by approaching a melody, scale, or arpeggio using chromatic half-step movements from
Ex. 1a
Ex. 1b
guitarists have adapted this idea to the fretboard, including such diverse players as Django Reinhardt, Randy Rhoads, Pat Metheny, and Marty Friedman. The unique sound that neighbor tones deliver, in combination with the fretting-hand
Ex. 1c
4 4
D Minor Arpeggio
T A B
12
10
10
10
D Minor w/Lower Neighbor Tones D Minor w/Upper Neighbor Tones
11 12
Ex. 2a
9
10
9
10
9
10 13 12
11 10
11 10
11 10
Ex. 2b
4 4 Melodic D Minor Phrase
10
T A B
10
10
10
D Minor Phrase w/Lower Neighbor Tones
9 10
9 10
12
9 10
9 10
11 12
Ex. 3
4 4 3 3 3 3 Descending Finger-Twister
3
10 9 T A B
72
10
9
10 9 10 9
10
9
10 9
10 9
3
12
9
12 11 12
G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / j u L Y 2 0 1 6
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Moving on, notice that the basic melodic idea shown in Ex. 2a is transformed using a lower neighbor tone approach in Ex. 2b. Dig how adding a passing tone before each note of this melodic phrase modifies the melody in an unusual and ear-catching way. As you start to become comfortable with this technique, experiment with additional half-step movements to uncover even more licks and phrases. The next example [Ex. 3] features a finger-twisting phrase that produces a cool sound that you can employ during a fill or solo, but it also serves as a great workout and warm-up exercise. Ex. 4 is the reverse version of Ex. 3 and
fingering challenge they pose, makes them an interesting and useful concept to explore. A great place to start involves outlining the basic Dm arpeggio shown in Ex. 1a, and then expanding on it using lower neighbor tones in Ex. 1b, and upper neighbor tones in Ex. 1c. You should visualize the arpeggio fingering shown in Ex. 1a as you play through Examples 1b and 1c, each demonstrating a different neighbor tone approach. Keep the concept in mind as you get used to what these tones sound like and look like: Lower neighbor tones target chromatic passing tones a half-step below each note, upper neighbor tones target from a half-step above each note of the arpeggio.
presents new challenges for your frettinghand fingers. Take it slow and steady as you ascend through the pattern and complete the phrase. Plenty of great guitarists routinely use this concept in their music. One guitar hero who pioneered neighbor-tone licks was the late, great Randy Rhoads. His inspired use of trilling melodic phrases is well documented in his brief recording career, and Ex. 5 features a trilled neighbor-tone idea, similar to a lick in his guitar solo on the classic Ozzy anthem, “Mr. Crowley.� Another player who prominently uses neighbor-tone ideas is exotic shred-metal legend Marty Friedman. Friedman has
Ex. 4
4 4 3 3 3 3 Ascending Finger-Twister
3
3
T A B
12 11 12
9
12
9 10 9 10
9
10
9
10 9 10
9
10
9 10
Ex. 5
4 4 Randy Rhoads Lick
B1/2
9 (10)
T A B
10 (11)
9 (10)
6 (7)
9 10
9 10
9 10 12 10 12
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LESSONS
> > > S T YL E
built a style based on unusual techniques, exotic scales, unique phrasing, and the use of neighbor tones, especially during his glory days with Megadeth in the 1990s. Check out Ex. 6 for a taste of how he might incorporate this technique. Now that you’ve seen how to perform a number of ideas based around the oneoctave arpeggio fingering from Ex. 1, you
should expand your neighbor-tone ideas into two-octave fingerings to see what develops. To help you get started, play through Ex. 7, a two-octave Dm arpeggio transformed using lower neighbor tones, which instantly expands the sound. The final example in this lesson features a challenging twist to the two-octave Dm arpeggio, featuring an assortment of
alternating lower and upper neighbors. As you work through Ex. 8, pay attention to the shifting chromatic sounds as the lick moves across the strings. Now that you’ve become comfortable with these ideas, you can uncover a totally new world of melodic possibilities, with plenty of interesting licks to add to your repertoire. Good luck! g
Ex. 6
4 4 Marty Friedman Lick
T A B
9 10
9 12
12
12 9
10 9 10
9 10
10
10 9
10
9 10
9 10 12 10 9
10 9
Ex. 7
4 4 D Minor Arpeggio (2 Octaves)
T A B
10 13
12
12
10
10
D Minor Arpeggio w/Lower Neighbor Tones
10
9
10 12 13
11 12
11 12
9
10
9
10
9
10 (10)
Ex. 8
4 4 12 13 10 9 T A B
74
9 10
10 9
11 12
12 11
12 13 10
G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / j u L Y 2 0 1 6
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LESSONS
>>> c l a ss i c ri ff
“Scuttle Buttin’� Stevie Ray Vaughan by Jesse G r ess
chordal punctuations filled in with bass notes (the response). For total authenticity, you’ll need a well-strung Strat tuned down a halfstep, plus a healthy dose of killer tone. What’s really cool here is how SRV repurposed a pair of garden-variety blues licks— imagine starting the first six or last seven notes of the song’s opening pickup on a downbeat versus an upbeat—and ended up with a dynamite instrumental. And like all great intros, we get two rounds of the head up front. The main lick (Ex.1), which serves as a
W r i t t e n a s a n i n s t r u m e n ta l
homage to the great Lonnie Mack, one of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s musical heroes, “Scuttle Buttin’,â€? the opening track from 1984’s Couldn’t Stand the Weather, is a 12-bar blues rave-up that will definitely test your endurance. Played at hyper-speed “Killing Floorâ€? tempo Ă la Jimi, the tune bears obvious resemblance to Mack’s “Chicken Pickin’â€?— both songs are in E and share a main twobar figure that alternates between a slippery, open-position, single-note lick (the call), and
pickup to each chord change, dances around the I, IV, and V bass and chord hits, and can be broken into two parts. First, we’ve got a 4-to-b5 or 4-to-5 bend on the G string (A-toA#/Bb, or A-to-B) starting on the and of beat one, and four consecutive sixteenth-notes— open-B, open-E, another open-B, and a secondstring, grace-note-slide from D to E—on beat two. The second half comprises a seven-note run that begins on the second sixteenth-note Continues on page 135
Ex. 1
*Tune down 1/2 step (E ,A ,D ,G ,B ,E )
= ca. 160
N.C.
E7 9(I)
4 ( ) ( ) ( ) 4 0 0 3 3 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 3 3 5 3 0 5 3 0 2 (3) (3) 2 0 2 (4) 3 2 0 3
3
2
4 4
3
2
3
2
3
2
even B
B
3
T A B
2
2
even B
R
3
2
*All pitches in this and the following examples sound 1/2 step lower than written.
Ex. 2
2
0
0
0
Ex. 3
Tune down 1/2 step = ca. 160 A7(IV)
Tune down 1/2 step
= ca. 160
B7 9(V)
4 4
4 4
T A B
T A B
3
1
76
2
3 2
0
3 2
0
3 2
3 2
0
3
2
3 2 0 0 0
4 3
2
3 2 2
3 2 X X
3 2
3 2 0
G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / J U L Y 2 0 1 6
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LESSONS
Delayed Gratification
Getting the Most Out of Your Delay Pedal By Vi nn ie De Mas i No matter what the weather was
outside, my grandmother usually kept the heat on. Similarly, no matter what the gig is, I usually keep some sort of a delay pedal on. I don’t know if it’s hereditary, but I do know that stompbox and rackmount delays are by far my favorite guitar toys. As an instructor in NYC Guitar School’s Rock Band program, I’ve realized that delay is perhaps the most misunderstood, misused, and underexplored stompbox on many students’ boards. Hopefully this little treatise will demystify newbs while teaching old dawgs a few tricks. Like its name suggests, a delay pedal is a device that delays playback of your guitar signal. This delayed sound is often referred to as the “wet” signal while the original guitar tone is known as the “dry” signal. You play a note (dry) and the delay plays back an echo of the note (wet). Most devices offer control over three main parameters of the wet signal and different manufacturers may call them different things. Understanding these parameters is imperative to understanding how delays work though, so pay close attention: 1. The Time or Rate control sets the amount of time between the sounding of the
78
initial dry signal and the device-generated wet signal. It’s usually measured in milliseconds (ms) and the most commonly used delay settings lie in the 50-600ms range. To keep things simple, let’s quantify delay ranges as short (0-200ms), medium (200400ms), and long (400ms and beyond). 2. The Mix or Depth knob—sometimes labeled simply Delay—controls the volume of the wet signal in contrast to the dry signal. For example, a Mix knob set halfway would play back the delayed note half as loud as the original note. 3. The Repeat, Feedback, or Regeneration knob governs the number of times the delayed signal is repeated back. Generally each successive playback decreases in volume. I like to think of delay as having two main uses: compositional and environmental. Let’s first explore environmental delay by electronically simulating naturally occurring echo-producing environments.
S LAPBACK ATTACK If you’ve ever walked into an empty, carpet-less, curtain-less apartment and heard your words rapidly echo back at you, you’ve experienced slapback delay. Slapback delay creates a retro, vibe-y ambience that can add
immediate depth to guitar parts. To dial in the slapback, just analyze the science behind the sound. The echo reverberates back at you almost instantly, so set a short time of approximately 150ms. The echoed sound is almost as loud as the original sound since it doesn’t have very far to travel. Set your Mix at around 60-80 percent. The echoed repeat happens once, so set your Repeat knob between 0 and 20 percent. Fig. 1 shows general settings for slapback delay. TIME
MIX
REPEAT
150ms
80%
20%
Fig. 1
LONG TRAIN RUNNIN’ We can use this same reverse-engineering process to make a signal sound like it’s echoing in a giant cathedral or through a mountain pass. Since the echoed signal has longer to travel before it bounces back, set the delay time longer (350-700ms). The echoed will be softer than the TIME signal MIX REPEAT
G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / j u L Y 2 0 1 6
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450ms
40%
60%
GUITAR
TIME
MIX
REPEAT
150ms
80%
20%
original so set the Mix between 20-40 percent. Also there will be several repeated echoes so set the Repeat at 50-75 percent. Of course these numbers are ballpark figures and will vary from unit to unit, but the basic approach will remain consistent so feel free to use Fig. 2 as a starting point for exploring long delay settings. TIME
MIX
REPEAT
450ms
40%
60%
music store and I was able to just suss it out by feel. Nowadays, many digital delay units are equipped with a Tap Tempo feature. This allows you to choose the rhythmic subdivision (quarter-note, eighth-note, dottedeighth note, etc.) via a knob or mini-toggle then use the tap tempo button (or occasionally an external pedal) to “tap” in the tempo you’re playing at with your foot. Essentially, it does the math for you. Let’s explore some compositional uses of different delay-generated note values. For the sake of consistency, we’ll stick to a tempo of 100bpm.
analog units have a warmer, more lo-tech vibe and sound great when used for slapback rockabilly situations. As a general rule, if you want your guitar to sound like it’s echoing down from the Matterhorn, go digital. If you want it to sound like it’s rising up from the Mississippi Delta, get your hands on an analog unit.
COMPOSITIONAL RHYTHMIC DELAY
Fig. 2
DI G I TA L VS . A N A LO G Delay units can be divided into two main categories: digital, which produce regenerations from the original signal, DRY OUTand analog, which produce regenerations from each DELAY Without getting successive regeneration. too deep in the tech, digital delays proWET OUT OCTAVER duce a clear pristine sound and are generally deployed for longer times, while
Using a delay to sweeten your sound is rad, but actually incorporating delay-generated notes as part of a musical composition is where we make a quantum leap in coolness. In order to use echoed notes compositionally, you have to set them to play in time with the music. Setting delay time is a factor of both tempo and what rhythmic value you’d like to generate. There are 60,000 milliseconds in a minute. If our tempo is 100 bpm (beats per minute) then 60,000 divided by 100 would mean we would need to set the delay time to AMP 600ms in order to generate quarter-notes. Sound a bit confusing? It can be. In the interest of full disclosure, I never learned rhythmic delay with a calculator; it was shown to me by the owner of my local
QUARTE R- NOTE CHAOS To regenerate quarter-notes, set your Time to 600ms, your Mix between 80-100 percent and your Repeat to three. Drawing inspiration from U2’s “A Day Without Me” and portions of Jimmy Page’s live guitar solo in “Dazed and Confused,” Ex. 1 shows how quarter-note delay makes a single chord hit electronically surge throughout a measure for cool trippy effect. Another spiffy quarter-note delay ploy shown in in Ex. 2 involves playing a fournote sequence up a major scale starting
AMP
Ex. 1 = 100
44
E
D
()()()
B
()()()
*
9 9 9 7
T A B
A
7 7 7 5
()()()
()()() 2 2 2 0
4 4 4 2
*All notes in parentheses are delay-generated.
Ex. 2
= 100
( ) 4 4 ( )( ) ( )( )( )( ) ( )( )( )( ) ( ) ( )
T A B
3 5 7
3
7
3 5 7 5 7
4 5 4 5 7
4
)(
( ( )( )
7
4 5 7 5
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)(
( )( )( )
)(
)(
3 5 7 5 7
( )( )( )
)(
)(
)( )
3 5 3
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LESSONS
> > > D e l ay
each consecutive sequence a third higher. When the delay regenerates the previous sequence, you’ve automatically created a harmony line in thirds!
TIME
MIX
REPEAT
450ms
40%
60%
DRY OUT
GUITAR
WET OUT
T R I C KY T R I P L ET TRIC K For a groovy swing feel, set your delay Time to 400ms, your Mix at 80-100 percent, and your Repeat to one regeneration, so the delayed note hits the last triplet of a beat. It’s essentially the same rhythm as swung eighth-notes where we sound the first and third notes of an eighth-note triplet. Listen to Roger Waters’ thumping bass line on Pink Floyd’s “One of These Days” to get the sound down. Then play Ex. 3’s boogie-woogie-style rockabilly rave. Ex. 3
AMP
D OTTE D- E IG HTH DE LIG HTS The Grand Poobah of all rhythmic delay, the dotted-eight note setting (sometimes referred to as 3/16 note delay) can be found at 450ms for a 100bpm song. Dotted-eighth delay sets the repeat to land on the last sixteenth-note of the beat, and can essentially
3
4 4 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) A6
0
(0) 4
(4)
2
(2) 4
2
(4)
(2)
4
(4) 2
(2)
4
(4)
Mastering tried-and-true delay techniques is a worthwhile and useful endeavor and can certainly enhance your sound. Once you have the basics down, the possible uses for delay are only limited by your imagination. Most digital delays offer a “stereo out” option. This allows you to send the dry signal to one amp and the wet signal to another for a “ping-pong” stereo effect. You can get creative by adding additional signal processing between the wet signal out and the amp input. In Fig. 3, I’m using an octave pedal set to modulate one octave higher. Ex. 5 is the ear-bending result: a cool phrase generated by using the wet signal of a quarter-note delay (600ms) to regenerate the octave jumps on the eighth-notes and power chords. g
Ex. 4
4 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 4 3
5
3
4
Ex. 5
= 100
6
3
5
6
( ) ( )
make a scale played in eighth-notes sound like a melodic sequence of sixteenth-notes. This setting is most often associated with U2 guitarist The Edge, and is the magic behind the sparkling riffs of “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “Pride (In the Name of Love),” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” and many others. As demonstrated by Ex. 4, a major scale played with dotted-eighth-note delay gets digitally transformed into a Hanon-approved cornucopia of sixteenth-notes.
ONE STE P B E YOND
= 100
T A B
OCTAVER
Fig. 3
= 100 ( = )
T A B
AMP
DELAY
C5
D5
A5
5 3
7 5
2 0
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 44 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) T A B
80
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
2 0
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YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL
This is how recording should be. Plug your guitar into a stunning sounding DI. Your microphone into a mic pre that makes the most of it. Now kick in the ‘Air’ switch so your vocal really shines through. Run your guitar and vocals in and out of your music software. Your favourite Amp Sims deliver the perfect tone. Comfort reverb for your vocal comes back across your headphone monitor mix. All at speeds so fast that the latency becomes imperceptible with everything happening in real time.
Now take all of this and add sound quality to rival the finest studios in the world, yet with a workflow so simple, it’s practically child’s play. With Clarett 2Pre, Focusrite’s new 10 in / 4 out Thunderbolt interface, now you really can have it all. Better. Faster. And Easier.
See the range at: www.focusrite.com/clarett
10x4 Thunderbolt interface
18x8 Thunderbolt interface
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18x20 Thunderbolt interface
26x28 Thunderbolt interface
5/2/16 3:08 PM
LESSONS
Reading Music By MATT B LAC KETT A b i g part of wh at we ’ r e try i n g
to do with these reading lessons is get better at recognizing things we see on the page, and to do it quickly. There is a ton of info in each bar, but a lot of it is the same info. There are only 12 notes, lots of guitar songs are played in the same keys and use the same chords, etc. Remind yourself that you’ve seen most of this before and a new chart won’t seem so freaky. Last time around we talked about key signatures—the sharps or flats at the beginning of a line that tell you what key a song is in. These are a huge time saver, because when you know what key you’re in, you can move to one of your comfy positions for that key and find your notes and chords much more easily. To do that, you need to be able to decipher the key signature. There are a lot of things that go into knowing what makes up a key signature: The sharps follow the cycle of fifths, the flats follow the cycle of fourths, etc. We’ll talk more about that later, but for now, here’s an excellent cheat: In sharp keys, your key is a half-step above your last sharp. If all you see is F#, go up a half-step and you’ll know you’re in the key of G. Two sharps, F# and C#, go up a half-step from your last sharp and bam! Key of D. A lot of guitar music is written in sharp keys, and we’re going to focus on those in this lesson. (Just so you know, though, your cheat for flat keys is look at your second-to-the-last flat and that’s your key. If you see one flat—Bb — that’s the key of F. After that, two flats—Bb
82
and Eb—gives you the key of Bb. Bb, Eb, and Ab add up the key of Eb, and so on.) So then, Ex. 1 is rocking three sharps. Go up a half-step from the last one…what note is that? A, right? Be thinking key of A and check out the rhythm. It’s a repeated series of an eighth-note followed by two sixteenths. How do we count that? Oneand-a, two-and-a, three-and-a, etc. This is what that galloping rhythm that we all know and love looks like. At the end of the phrase you can see that the line ascends a wholestep and then we see two accidentals that tell us we’re playing notes that are not in the key signature. This riff should remind you of a fish-themed tune from a cardiacthemed band, especially if you transpose it to the key of E. Ex. 2 is another motif that comes up all the time in guitar music. The key signature has four sharps, so go up a half-step from your last one to get your bearings. Now look at the intervals in the first beat. You probably think that’s a fifth, or a power chord, and you’re right. Then the top note rises but the bottom note stays the same. Sound familiar? It should. The top note rises a half-step higher in bar 2, to a D natural that’s technically out of the key but super common to guitar players. This is what a stereotypical blues pattern looks like. See that weird “two eighthnotes equals a quarter-note and an eighth under a triplet beam” thing above the staff? That’s a swing or shuffle designation, telling you to not play the rhythm straight
up and down, but with that loping shuffle feel. Get it? Ex. 3 is another super-common rhythm that you should be able to grasp instantly. Figure out your key and then tell your self that you’re playing on upbeats and resting on downbeats. So one is silent and you hit your chord on the and of one (as well as the and of two, three, and four), or the upside of every toe tap. This is what a reggae rhythm looks like. What’s up with that 8va above the staff? That’s one of my favorite things for making charts easier to read. It stands for “all’ottava,” which is Italian for “take it up an octave.” It saves us from having to deal with a ton of ledger lines, which are kind of a pain. What’s up with Ex. 4? The key signature tells us we’re back in the key of A, and there are no accidentals, so all of these chords are in key—no curveballs. You know how to count the rhythm: One, (two is a rest, or silent) and-a-three (four is a rest), anda-one, so tap your foot and say “One, anda-three, and-a-one.” You want to throw a cool pentatonic fill in that second bar, don’t you? Ex. 5 is in one of our favorite keys, and it approximates one of our favorite singlenote lines of all time. We get another neat hieroglyphic above the last note. That's a vibrato sign, so add some. See how much information you can take in at a glance on a page of music? Isn’t that awesome? Cracking the code, people. Cracking the code. g
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4 4 Ex. 1
Ex. 2
4 4 4 4 Ex. 3
Ex. 4
4 4
4 4 Ex. 5
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GEAR Knaggs Choptank, Severn, & Steve Stevens SSC T este d by Dave Hu nt er W e at G P w e r e i m p r e s s e d w i t h
motif: orange metallic for the inner silhouette,
Severn Trem SSS Hollowbody T2
the first couple of Knaggs guitars we reviewed
separated from the bright white of the body
In this guise, Knaggs’ Severn Trem Hollowbody
back in 2012. Then again, there was no reason
edge, back, and neck back by inlaid purfling.
($4,840 street) departs significantly from the
not to expect great things from this Maryland-
The bridge is Knaggs’ own Chesapeake Trem,
Strat-inspired blueprint that birthed it. A clever
based company founded by Joe Knaggs, former
a sleek unit inset into the body’s top, with rear-
masking of the flame-maple neck’s antique
head of design and R&D for PRS, with market-
loaded springs (à la classic Strat trem). Audio
natural finish where it meets the exotic Sun-
ing savant Peter Wolf at his side. But this was a
generation comes from a Seymour Duncan
rise finish of the chambered alder and curly
young company even so, and it’s a tough busi-
SH2N in the neck and a TB4 in the bridge, with
maple body initially implies a traditional bolt-
ness to break big into. Four years later, Knaggs
coil splitting via a push-pull Tone pot.
neck design—until you travel round back and,
has clearly broken big, forging a reputation for
The Choptank Hollowbody played extremely
voilà, no bolts. A dramatic stage guitar, this Tier
stellar guitars at a range of price points, and
smoothly, and the chambered body not only
2-dress instrument also carries gold-plated
building a roster of major-name players in the
keeps the load a light 6.8 lbs, but also encour-
hardware, including the saddles of the Severn
process. This issue, we check out three new
ages a lively, resonant acoustic tone. Plugged
rendition of the Chesapeake Trem, which pivots
offerings—all with midrange price points (rel-
alternately into custom JTM45- and AC15-style
against a black-nickel base plate that enables
ative to the Knaggs line anyway) and mid- to
amps with a variety of drive pedals in front, this
a Tele-like mounting of the bridge pickup. The
lower-level Tier 2 and Tier 3 styling—including
guitar proved meaty and snarly in the bridge
fingerboard is a flame-maple “cap”, and truss-
the signature model from the biggest Knaggs-
position, yet rounder and clearer in the neck,
rod access comes beneath a cover at the head-
wielding star to date, Steve Stevens, and a pair
for a versatile balance. The only gripes for
stock end, where we also find a graphite nut
of the company’s new semi-hollow models, just
me personally, were a notable learning curve
and locking Gotoh tuners. The Severn Hollow-
introduced at this past winter’s NAMM show.
in getting my pinky finger to the Volume con-
body’s three Seymour Duncan APS1 Alnico II
trol with the vibrato arm in the way, and the
single-coil pickups are wired to a traditional
C ho pta nk T r e m buc k H o llow b o dy T 3
need to lower the rather high-set bridge hum-
Strat control setup, wisely modified to give
bucker to reduce some of the low-end mud
the bridge pickup its own Tone control, with a
Evolving out of the original solid Choptank,
in that pickup’s clean tones. That said, the
second shared Tone knob for neck and middle
the Trembuck Hollowbody T3 ($4,630 street)
guitar sounded great once adjusted to taste,
pickups. This is another easy-playing guitar:
adopts the set-neck, single-cutaway design
and while it clearly had a predilection to rock,
The neck’s rounded-C profile sits comfortably
with Knaggs’ characteristically upturned lower
it managed sweet and sultry textures with
in the hand, action and intonation are flawless,
body horn. The top also sports subtle contour-
ease, too. The Choptank Hollowbody really
and tuning remained stable under moderately
ing that increases to a generous forearm relief
sang with a Menatone Blue Collar overdrive
heavy vibrato use.
at the back and upper edges of the lower bout,
engaged, exuding not only dynamic, blossom-
Tested through the same rigs, the Severn
echoed in a ribcage contour at the back. The
ing lead tones, but a chewy and enjoyable play-
Hollowbody kicked out a bevy of contempo-
body is made from alder with a maple cap, the
ing feel, too. The split-coil sounds came off
rary-leaning Strat-like tones, but with added
neck is rock maple with an unbound fingerboard
more Gretschy than Fendery—which is to say,
breadth and roundness that arguably make it
of East Indian rosewood, and the headstock has
fun!—and the guitar stayed in tune extremely
a more worthy all-rounder than a Strat. Close
an ebony face and Gotoh locking tuners. The
well with moderate use of the smooth, effec-
your eyes and, sure, depending where you set
finish follows a stylized two-tone Creamsicle
tive vibrato unit.
your EQ this could be a swamp-ash and maple
84
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Steve Stevens SSC T2
Choptank Trembuck Hollowbody T3
Severn Trem SSS Hollowbody T2
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GEAR
> > > K n ag g s
pairing, or alder and rosewood, but this Knaggs’
own beast. It’s an easy Les Paul stand-in for sure,
neck carve—what I’d simply call a nicely full,
semi-hollow alder-and-maple pairing has plenty
but one clearly intended for the player seeking
rounded ’59 profile—and a modest weight.
of its own thing going on, and the guitar easily
to carve his or her own path sonically and stylis-
Tested via the same rigs as used above,
suits the modern player seeking a diverse range
tically, rather than toeing the classic ’burst line.
the Steve Stevens SSC impressed me from all
of sounds from a dramatic-looking instrument.
The SSC on review looks superb in a metallic
angles. It might seem counter-intuitive since
Put another way, from rootsy Knopfler-esque
Cherry Ice top finish with walnut-tinted natural
this breed of electric is conceived to rock, but
cleans, to SRV-like sting with the amps cranked
back and sides. Extra style points for the trans-
what most got my attention was the SSC’s
a bit, to Blackmore-ish sizzle with an Analog
black maple binding with white purfling around
ability to clean up and sound clear, crisp, and
Alien Bucket Seat overdrive kicked in, the Severn
its inner edge, ’board-edge block inlays in a beau-
snappy through the right amp settings, let-
ably checked all the boxes, but never felt any-
tifully figured slice of rosewood, and a mother-
ting you twang and jangle when necessary.
thing close to being a copy in the process. Def-
of-pearl Steve Stevens “ray-gun” inlay on the
Kudos to the Bare Knuckles here, but it also
initely a contender for the player searching for
headstock. Die-cast Kluson tuners, a genuine
takes the right kind of LP-inspired build to
a new spin on an old formula.
bone nut, TonePros bridge and stoptail, Schaller
achieve that. When I wound up the amps or
strap-locks, a gently contoured neck heel, and
stepped on a distortion pedal, this guitar did
St ev e St ev e n s SSC T 2
a back ribcage contour further up the ante for
rock, yet all the more sweetly thanks to the
This latest and most affordable guitar in Knaggs’
overall performance and playability. Signature
crystalline definition at its core. The vintage-
range of Steve Stevens signature models, the
Steve Stevens PAF-style pickups from British
wind pickups were still able to scream, sing,
SSC T2 ($4,550 street) is a set-neck, 24.75"-
maker Bare Knuckle made with alnico magnets
and sustain, yet they infused my riffing with
scale guitar with a body made from mahogany
and read 7.26kΩ in the neck position and 8.08kΩ
great touch-sensitivity, making the Steve Ste-
with a carved maple top, and a mahogany neck
in the bridge. They are routed through individ-
vens SSC an easy-feeling guitar under the
with rosewood fretboard. No surprises there,
ual Volume and Tone controls, with “orange
fingertips. Top stuff all around at this price,
although several subtle Knaggs-style tweaks
drop” tone caps.
and it earns an Editors’ Pick Award for the
Feel-wise, this guitar benefits from a superb
for design and aesthetics render it very much its
S P E C I F I C A T I O NS
S P E C I F I C A T I O NS
Choptank Trembuck Hollowbody (Tier 3) Contact
knaggsguitars.com
Price
$4,630 street
NUT WIDTH
1 5/8" wide, graphite
NECK
Rock maple
FRETBOARD
East Indian rosewood, 8.5" radius
.
achievement. g
S P E C I F I C A T I O NS
Severn Trem Hollowbody (Tier 2)
Steve Stevens SSC (Tier 2)
PRICE
$4,840 street
PRICE
$4,550 street
NUT WIDTH
1 5/8" wide, graphite
NUT WIDTH
1 11/16" wide, bone
NECK
Flamed maple
NECK
Mahogany
FRETBOARD
Flamed maple, 8.5" radius
FRETBOARD
East Indian rosewood, 12" radius
FRETS
22 tall-thin
FRETS
22 medium-jumbo
.
.
FRETS
22 tall-thin
TUNERS
Gotoh locking
TUNERS Kluson
TUNERS
Gotoh locking
BODY
Semi-hollow alder with flamed
BODY
Mahogany with maple top
BODY
Semi-hollow alder body with
maple top
BRIDGE
TonePros Tune-o-Matic and
maple top
BRIDGE
Knaggs Chesapeake vibrato
BRIDGE
Knaggs Chesapeake vibrato
PICKUPS
Three Seymour Duncan APS1
PICKUPS
PICKUPS
Seymour Duncan SH2N and
Alnico single coils
CONTROLS
TB4 humbuckers CONTROLS
CONTROLS
Independent Volume and Tone,
FACTORY STRINGS D’Addario XL, .010-.046
switch, push-pull Tone control
FACTORY STRINGS D’Addario XL, .010-.046
WEIGHT
7.6 lbs
for coil splitting
WEIGHT
6.8 lbs
BUILT
USA
BUILT
USA
KUDOS
A stylish and extremely well-built
KUDOS
Dramatic looks in a well-
FACTORY STRINGS D’Addario XL, .010-.046 WEIGHT
6.8 lbs
BUILT
USA
constructed and easy playing
KUDOS
Excellent construction. Smooth
guitar. Excellent contemporary
playability.
alternative S-style tones.
CONCERNS
Bare Knuckle SSC humbuckers 3-way switch
Single Volume, two Tone, 5-way switch
Single Volume and Tone, 3-way
stopbar tailpiece
Vibrato arm mounting might be
Les Paul alternative. Impressive PAF-fueled tones. CONCERNS
None.
CONCERNS None.
in the way of the Volume control for some playing styles.
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GPad.indd 1
2/10/16 12:12 PM
GEAR
D’Addario NYXL
Wired Up
A Guide to Acoustic and Electric Strings
$14.99 street
Elixir 80/20 Bronze Acoustic Strings with Polyweb Coating
Made in New York, D’Addario NYXLs feature a
$14.99 street
newly engineered break-resistant, high-carbon
Elixir’s original coated string innovation, the
steel core and plain steel alloy delivers a whole
POLYWEB coating gives a slick, fast feel to
new level of freedom, confidence, and power.
the string while subtly warming the lively
They reportedly provide more strength and up
80/20 bronze construction (that’s 80%
to 131% greater tuning stability by utilizing a
copper and 20% zinc) for a more “played-in”
completely reinvented wire drawing process
tone. As a result, these strings sound round
coupled with a revolutionary “Fusion Twist”
and robust, but still retain a remarkably clear
process for the plain steels. D’Addario says the
midrange presence. elixirstrings.com
reformulated nickel-plated string windings have greater magnetic properties resulting in higher
S h o es w e a r ou t, ti r es wear
output and enhanced midrange frequency
out, and guitar strings wear out. The only
response for more presence and crunch. Avail-
difference is that strings usually feel their
able in a variety of gauges. daddario.com
best around the time when you know you better change them. And while no manufacturer makes strings that feel as broken-in a pair of faded Levis, they all claim
longer than the competition. Manufac-
Elixir 80/20 Bronze Acoustic Strings with Nanoweb coating
turers have put a lot of R&D into their
$14.99 street
that their strings will be louder, clearer, or brighter (often all three), and last much
newer string formulations—whether they
Featuring the same traditional feel as the phosphor bronze strings, these strings aim
less, aluminum, or the hybrid recipes like
D’Addario Nickel Bronze
nickel bronze, aluminnum bronze, and
$11.99 street
sive vibrancy you’d expect from a tradi-
copper/tin/phosphor—and the truth is
Nickel Bronze strings feature a combination
tional 80/20 bronze formula, but with
that depending on what you want out
of nickel-plated phosphor bronze wrapped
all the tone-extending protection Elixir
of your guitar, modern strings can help
around a high carbon NY steel core, engi-
strings are famous for. elixirstrings.com
make it louder, reveal more of what it
neered to bring out the unique tonal character-
inherently sounds like, and allow you
istics of any guitar and allow its natural voice
to go longer between string changes.
to shine. D’Addario says the nickel-plated wrap
be cobalt, copper, maraging steel, stain-
Guitar makers such as Taylor and Santa
to deliver the crisp, bright shine and expres-
wire gives a guitar unprecedented clarity, res-
Cruz have even developed strings that are
onance, and projection, as well as outstanding
optimized for their instruments, which is
balance and harmonically rich overtones. Play-
a cool idea given the bewildering array of
ers can also expect improved tuning stability
choices one faces in the string market. The
and higher break resistance, thanks to the NY
bottom line is that strings are the least
Steel core, which is also featured in D’Addario’s
expensive way to improve the sound of a
NYXL electric guitar strings. daddario.com
time and money experimenting with dif-
Ernie Ball Cobalt Electric Guitar Strings
ferent sets, you’ll likely find one that will
$7.19 street
give you that little extra edge next time
Engineered to maximize output and clar-
you step out on stage. — A r t
ity, Ernie Ball Cobalt Slinky Guitar Strings
guitar, and if you’re willing to invest a little
88
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G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / J U ly 2 0 1 6
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provide a stronger magnetic relationship between pickups and strings than any other alloy previously available. Cobalt Slinkys are soft and silky to the touch, making string bending a breeze, and they provide guitarists with extended dynamic range, enhanced harmonics, increased low-end, and crisp, clear highs. Available in a variety of gauges. ernieball.com
Fender 3150 Original Bullets These pure nickel bullet-end strings deliver
GHS Strings Boomers
a smooth feel with reduced finger noise. For-
$3.95 street
mulated for rich, warm tones with abun-
These medium-gauge nickel-wound elec-
dant harmonics, they’re aimed at blues,
tric guitar strings are designed for rock,
jazz, and classic rock players. The patented
country, metal, blues, pop, and just about
bullet end also creates a sonic coupling
anything else you care to throw at them.
between the string and the bridge block for
Guaranteed fresh from the factory with
enhanced tuning stability and increased sus-
GHS’s anti-corrosion guarantee, each string
tain. Available in a wide selection of gauges.
is individually packaged and sealed in a
fender.com
nitrogen atmosphere to be free from oxi-
$9.99 street
Ernie Ball Aluminum Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings
dization or corrosion. ghsstrings.com
$7.99 street Made from a blend of copper and aluminum wrapped around maraging-steel hex cores, Aluminum Bronze acoustic strings offer more clarity, projection, and low end, as well as better resistance to corrosion than traditional phosphor bronze strings. Available in a variety of gauges. ernieball.com
GHS Strings S425 Americana Series Acoustic Guitar Strings
La Bella Vapor Shield Acoustic Guitar
$6.99 street
The technology behind La Bella Vapor Shield
GHS’s roots go back decades as one of the
is unique: The entire surface and full-length of
premier string manufacturers, and the Amer-
all strings are treated with a nucleated poly-
icana Series strings feature innovative mate-
mer vapor material that requires hours of
rials and construction, and offer preferred
complex prep and processing—no spraying
gauging based on many years of input from
or dipping. LaBella says Vapor Shield strings
Fender 3250 Super Bullets
the GHS Artist Family. Cryogenically treated
are brighter than typical coated strings and
copper/tin/phosphor alloy on a hex core
non-treated strings, last five times longer
$8.99 street
provides extended life and enhanced tone.
than non-treated strings, and exhibit no
Combining the high output and dynamic
Guaranteed fresh from the factory thanks
flaking after extended play. labella.com
sound of steel with the smooth feel of nickel,
to the air-tight Fresh Pack and NitroPack
these strings are designed for rock and
singles packaging. Sets available in .012-
other kinds of music requiring cutting guitar
.054 and .013-.056. ghsstrings.com
$11.95 street
tones. The patented bullet end also creates a sonic coupling between the string and the bridge block for enhanced tuning stability and increased sustain. Available in a wide selection of gauges. fender.com
gpr0716_gear_strings_ko2.indd 89
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GEAR
> > > Wi re d U p
La Bella HRS Electric Strings
SIT Royal Bronze Acoustic Strings
$4.49 street
$5.99 street
Stringjoy 6-string electric and acoustic strings
These nickel-plated-steel round-wound
The Royal Bronze acoustic string is made with
$10.90 street
strings are super-flexible for bending and sus-
a phosphor (92/8) bronze cover wrap over
Customization may be the next big thing in
taining notes, and their proprietary formula
a steel hex core. Exclusive “Fusion Wound”
guitar strings, and Stringjoy is offering play-
uses a percentage of plating that increases
technology utilizes electricity to adhere the
ers over 100 individual gauges from which
brightness and durability. All the wire used for
bronze cover wrap more tightly to the core.
they can construct their own custom sets.
the HRS series is hard temper, a detail that
This process eliminates loose spots in the
The company offers 52 gauges of electric
reportedly allows these strings to last twice
winding, increases string life, and reportedly
guitar strings (ranging all the way from .007
as long as typical electric guitar strings. HRS
produces a string with great warmth
to .090), 26 bass string gauges (from .020
strings are built at LaBella’s factory in New
and tone. sitstrings.com
to .145), and 41 acoustic string gauges (from
York, with wire made in the USA. labella.com
.007 to .056). Not only did they go lighter and heavier with the new options, they also offer a unique array of half gauges, enabling players to further dial in their string sets to find the perfect balance of tension. When a customer places an order on their website, Stringjoy hand-coils and inspects each individual string in the set to ensure the highest quality final product. stringjoy.com
Santa Cruz Parabolic Tension Strings
SIT Universals Balanced Tension Electric Guitar Strings
$18 street
$6 street
These strings are engineered to put the exact
Designed to deliver consistent tension across
tension on each individual string to create the
the whole set while maintaining the tuning
appropriate download pressure. These cal-
stability that you have come to expect from
culated tensions determine the optimal rel-
SIT Strings. Co-developed by Paul “TFO”
ative volume between strings, or EQ, for your
Allen, the electric guitar set SU101 (.0105-
instrument. Santa Cruz strings require pre-
.048) is designed around the four most
cise core-to-wrap ratios and precision fit and
common tunings (E standard, Eb standard,
finish for unprecedented tolerances of one
drop D, and half-down drop Db), and the
Von York Cryogenic Series Kelvinite Guitar Strings
half of one thousandths of an inch. State of
four most common scale lengths (25.5", 25",
$11 street
the art metallurgy and micro coating assures
24.75", and 24.6"). The result is a string set
Von York Electric Guitar Strings are manu-
long life by preventing corrosive moisture
designed to land in between a standard set of
factured in the USA to the highest standards,
from contacting the core of these nickel and
.010s and .011s for smooth tension that never
and then cryogenically treated to increase
lead free strings. Available in Low- and Mid-
feels too stiff or too floppy. sitstrings.com
the life of the string by reducing the amount
Tension versions. santacruzguitar.com
of stretching during normal use. Inspired by one of Von York’s endorsed artists, Bobby Gustafson, “The Godfather of Thrash,” the Kelvinite H6Ms (.101-.058) are the most popular tour-tested and road-warriorapproved strings Von York sells. vonyorkusa.com/shop g
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The 45000 is a 4-track powerhouse SUPER LOOPER with a console-style layout for intuitive control. Each loop features four tracks and it delivers unlimited standard, reverse and variable speed overdubbing, speed control, stereo loop recording and much more. This looping tour de force also syncs to MIDI clock and saves directly to SD Cards. Optional external Foot Controller.
The 22500 Dual Stereo Looper’s loops can be locked to each other or run independently in free form. It lets you do verse/chorus switching in Sequential mode, or two-loop simultaneous playback in Parallel mode. A phantom-powered mic input adds convenience. The compact 22500 also includes 16 Drum/Rhythm tracks, or import your own! Optional external Foot Controller.
With 12 minutes of stereo loop recording on 10 banks that remain in memory until you erase them, plus unlimited Standard, Reverse and ½ Speed overdubbing and an adjustable Fade Out mode, the 720 Stereo Looper packs plenty of power in a compact pedalboard friendly design.
Boasting 6 minutes of looping time, the super-affordable 360 lets you record, store and recall 11 loops. Single footswitch control of record, erase, undo-redo and unlimited overdubbing, plus a compact size and easy-to-use functionality, complete the picture.
GPad.indd 1
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GEAR
Lentz JR Reserve S Teste d By Dave Hu nt er Long known as one of the most skilled finish artists in the business, Scott Lentz has also been building highly acclaimed electric guitars for some 40 years—the last 20 alongside his son, Scott Jr.—many of which have landed in the hands of discerning players such as Buddy Whittington and Phil X. While Lentz has presented many original designs over the years, and continues to build its own shapes in the DL-90, HSL, and Croydon models, this small shop based in San Marcos, California, is arguably best represented by its finely-wrought homages to classic bolt-neck S- and T-style electrics. This venture was recently taken to new heights with the Lentz’s Reserve and JR Reserve Series. To wit, the JR Reserve S on review here brings together master-built attention to detail, custom hardware and electronics, and private-reserve woods that have been cabinet aged a minimum of 25 years into a guitar that, Lentz hopes, will equal or surpass anything you can lay your hands on in the bolt-neck arena. The JR Reserve S’s basic topology needs no explaining, but it’s worth noting that myriad details reveal themselves with the guitar in hand, instantly declaring this to be far more than just
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GEAR
>>> LENtZ
an expensive but well-built S-type. Lentz’s extra-
rosewood fingerboard are impressive in and of
resonance transfer from neck to body, and then
deep ribcage contour makes the guitar superbly
themselves. Beyond the raw integrity of these
from body to amp.”
comfortable to snuggle up to; its neck shape, while
woods, though, you only hear the true lengths that
I love the fact that, while the entire guitar
fairly deep (.880” at the 1st fret), is a sublime-
the Lentzes have gone to once you strum or plug
bespeaks a soul grounded in vintage tradition,
feeling, soft-V ’56 type, one of the more playable
in. “Grain orientation is one of the most impor-
Lentz isn’t slavish about the details. The mother-
carves I’ve fondled in quite some time. The light,
tant factors in building our Reserve guitars,” Scott
of-pearl fingerboard and side dots, for example,
one-piece swamp-ash body, über-flamed maple
Jr. told me. “The grain of the body and neck wood
are a welcome touch of elegance, while a hotter
neck, and exquisitely textured reclaimed Brazilian
must be aligned just right to achieve the optimal
bridge pickup with dedicated Tone control (plus matched pots and paper-in-oil tone caps throughout) is an update that many players will greatly appreciate. Father and son generally wind their
Get Immersed In Audio
own pickups, but this guitar carries a set of Aero
AES LoS AngELES 2016
ulose finish was flawlessly applied by Scott Sr., who
141 ST AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION
Deluxe-style combo, and enjoyed the experience
Network With Audio’s Best
Instruments S-Types, which Scott Jr. says were just right for this guitar. The rich Dakota Red nitrocellstill finishes all Lentz guitars himself. I tested the JR Reserve S through a Komet 60, a custom modified-JTM45-style head, and a tweed more than any S-style guitar I have played in a good long while. Tones leaned heavily toward the vintage
S P EC I F I C AT I O N S
JR Reserve S
The Latest Gear Tutorials, Workshops, and Dialog
Contact
lentzguitar.us
Price
$6,800
Nut WIDTH
1.655", bone
Neck
Highly flamed cabinet-aged
. Fretboard
Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles , CA Technical Program: SePT. 29 – ocT. 2, 2016 exhibiTion: SePT. 29 – ocT. 1, 2016
maple, 25.5" scale length, ’56 soft-V profile Reclaimed Brazilian rosewood dating to 1915, 9.5" radius
Frets
21 6105 (medium)
Tuners
Gotoh Kluson-style
Body
Single-piece, cabinet-aged swamp ash
Bridge
Callaham Vintage S vibrato
Pickups
Three custom Aero Instrument S-style pickups: neck 5.59kΩ, middle 5.61kΩ, bridge 10.00kΩ (43 AWG wire)
Controls
Volume, Tone for neck and middle, Tone for bridge, 5-way switch (matched potentiome-
Facebook.com/AESorg
#AESLA
Audio Engineering Society
For more information visit our website at: www.aes.org
ters, paper-in-oil tone caps) Factory Strings La Bella HRS Series, .010-.046 Weight
7 lbs
Built
USA
Kudos
Exquisitely built. Outstanding
For exhibition and sponsorship opportunities contact Graham Kirk: graham.kirk@aes.org
traditional-leaning tones.
If It’s About AUDIO, It’s At AES! 94
playing feel. Rich and lively Concerns
None.
G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / J U L Y 2 0 1 6
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(apply your favorite Strat-sonics adjectives here), but the JR Reserve S was more even and balanced than almost any pre-CBS Stratocaster I’ve spent time with, and certainly a more effortless player, too. I was most impressed, I suppose, with the way it couched classic snappy, bright single-coil tones in a buoyant thickness—with bodacious harmonic content and inspiring touch sensitivity—that never let the guitar sound thin or weak. Cards on the table? I’m not a Strat fanatic at heart, but I was slain by this guitar. I liked it right out of the case, but the more I played it, the more it revealed its hidden depths and an ability to sound great and play flawlessly throughout anything I could sling at it. I came into this test kinda’ thinking, “Yeah, just another high-end boltneck,” but that perception quickly turned into the kind of guitar that keeps you up at night, gets you searching around the studio thinking, “Hmmm, now what can I sell?” The Lentz JR Reserve S is a substantial investment, no doubt, but it’s a “lifetime” kind of guitar, and an Editors’ Pick Award winner for sure. g
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GEAR
Tone King Ironman II Mini & Radial Engineering Headload Attenuators Teste d by Dave Hu nt er ou t pu t at t e n uato rs h av e go n e
load, and Fletcher-Munson EQ compensa-
still need to knock down some dBs occasion-
from being the redheaded stepchildren of the
tion. The primary difference between the old
ally. By including a Hi/Lo Range switch, and
accessory world (Don’t touch that thing… it’ll
and new architectures is that the new one cor-
the aforementioned Solo footswitch, this unit
destroy your amp!) to being better-designed,
rects for the way the ear perceives sound differ-
manages to achieve 17 distinctive attenuation
better-built, and better-appreciated tools that
ently at low volume, while the old one did not.”
settings (plus bypass) from a 6-position rotary
a large number of guitarists find indispensable
The Mini is built inside an enclosure the size
knob, taking you from a minimum of -3dB of
for achieving their beloved tones. With this
of a large effects pedal, which lets you actu-
output reduction to a maximum of -38dB in
broader acceptance has come a willingness to
ally use it like a pedal. In addition to the requi-
usefully small steps. There’s also a 3-position
push the envelope, and clever makers are bust-
site attenuation features (see Specs box), the
Presence switch to add back highs at more
ing beyond the stark, brick-like box to add useful
unit has a stomp switch that enables a solo
extreme settings. Many players will simply use
performance features that greatly expand the
mode, upping your amp’s decibels by a pro-
the Ironman II Mini as a top-of-amp attenua-
range of these devices. These two new offerings
portion predetermined by the current attenu-
tor with short cable runs, but if you’re thinking
are very different, but they’re equally creative in
ation setting. This function does provide a nifty
that pedalboard placement sounds far-fetched,
their approaches.
level lift, thus doing its job well, although its
fear not: Bartel assures us that tube amps of
preset nature is somewhat limiting.
30 watts or less can easily live with speaker-
I ro nma n I I Mi n i
Obviously the Ironman II Mini’s power han-
The original 100-watt Ironman was much praised
dling is lower than that of many units, but plenty
for its transparent sound, but it was a huge and
of guitarists using amps of 30 watts and less
cable runs of 20 feet or more to and from the attenuator with no appreciable loss of tone. I tested the Ironman II Mini with an AC15-style
heavy beast that was expensive to produce, and therefore carried an equally robust price tag of $850. With that unit now discontinued, Tone King’s Mark Bartel has compacted the technology into the Ironman II Mini ($395 street), a 30-watt attenuator, which, in his words, “is built upon a new, improved architecture that— unlike the original Ironman—does not include transformer coupling, and which features two distinct technical updates: a tuned reactive
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©
Over $300,000 in cash awards & prizes! Entry fees help support the non-profit John Lennon Educational Tour Bus
jlsc.com Sponsored by:
TM
“Lennon” and “John Lennon” are trademarks of Yoko Ono Lennon. All artwork © Yoko Ono Lennon. Licensed exclusively through Bag One Arts, Inc. Design: Baree Fehrenbach
2015 JLSC Ad.indd 1 GPad.indd 1
3/26/15 PM 4/9/15 12:48 3:54 PM
GEAR
> > > At t e n uators
head and a custom JTM45-based head loaded with 6V6s to reduce its output to around 22 watts, connected to a range of cabs, both with short cables top-of-amp and with long cables in floor-pedal position. Some players will plug in an attenuator, crank it down to bedroom levels—maximum attenuation— then complain about how the unit alters their tone. The Ironman II Mini will go down to whisper-quiet, and sound reasonably good in the
percent on the Load dial—a real sweet spot for
as a versatile and fully featured performance
process, but the better test was in knocking
club and studio levels seems to live right about
tool, the Headload’s outstanding functional-
off a reasonable 6dB to 9dB, at which levels
there—but that’s no major deal.
ity makes it hard to beat. g
I found it impressively accurate and unobtru-
As for the extras, they all functioned extremely
sive. Coupled to either amp at such settings,
well, proving the design both well-engineered
the device gave me levels I’d happily enjoy at
and extremely well thought out. The speaker-
any smaller club gig without bemoaning any
emulated voicings available through the DI
loss of depth, fidelity, or dynamics, and cer-
might not be quite the stuff of top-level plug-
tainly came out the equal or better of many
in speaker and cab sims, but they helped to
quality attenuators I have tried. All in all, the
achieve an excellent and accurate sound both
Ironman II Mini is a well-conceived device that’s
straight into the DAW and into a small PA.
CONTACT
radialeng.com
deserving of attention.
As promised, the Phazer enabled me to blend in
PRICE
$899 street
CONTROLS
Amp/Speaker Load section:
S P E C I F I C A T I ONS
Radial engineering Headload
a mic with ease, and the headphone out worked
Hea dloa d
just as it should, making the Headload a very
Although larger and heavier than some atten-
useful late-night-jam tool for those moments
uators, the Radial Headload ($899 street)
when you need to crank the plexi without waking
packs a ton of features. The core of this box
the baby. If you just need an attenuator you
Resonance Hi and Lo on/off
consists of a 120-watt resistive load (capa-
will likely look elsewhere (or consider Radial’s
switches. JDX DI: Low and High
ble of brief peaks of up to 180 watts) with
Headload Prodigy, which streets for $400), but
EQ, 6-position Speaker Cab
.
(sub 20 percent fine-tuner),
Voicing switch. Phazer: 0-180°
five levels of attenuation (plus bypass), along with a Range knob to fine-tune reduction from
Shift knob, On switch, and
S P E C I F I C A T I ONS
20 percent on down. Lo and Hi Resonance switches help to compensate for frequency
Load (attenuation level), Range
180°/360° switch. Headphone Level and stereo output .
a fixed impedance (our test unit was 8Ω, but
4Ω and 16Ω versions are available). The Head-
CONTACT
toneking.com
load offers quite a lot beyond its pure attenu-
PRICE
$395 street
CONTROLS
Attenuation Level, Range switch
and ground-lift switching, pre-
(Hi/Lo), Presence switch (0 dB,
and post-EQ unbalanced 1/4"
loss at higher settings, and each unit comes at
Tone King Ironman II Mini
POWER HANDLING 120 watts IMPEDANCE
8Ω (4Ω and 16Ω available)
CONNECTIVITY
Amplifier in, dual Speaker outs, two balanced XLR outs (pre-EQ, post-EQ) for JDX DI with phase
ation capabilities: Radial has included its JDX DI system with dual-band EQ, six settings of speaker-cab voicings, loads of balanced and unbalanced outputs, a Phazer circuit for pre-
.
outs with Level control
-3dB, -6dB), Solo footswitch
cise phase alignment when blending the DI
POWER HANDLING 30 watts
with the signal from a miked cab, and a 1/4"
IMPEDANCE
8Ω
sive connectivity (see above),
headphone out with a Level control. What’s
CONNECTIVITY
Amplifier in, Speaker out, Line
Phazer circuit for phase-align-
missing? I’d say just taller feet, which would
Out, DC 9V in (to power Solo
ing DI and miked signals, head-
be useful to help the unit straddle an amp’s
light only)
handle when sitting on top.
EXTRAS
I tested the Headload with an AC15-style
EXTRAS
Built-in JDX DI with comprehen-
phone out with Level control
Solo switch for 3dB or 6dB solo
WEIGHT
8 lbs
boost
BUILT
Canada
KUDOS
Good tone retention from both
head, as well as a custom JTM45-style head
WEIGHT
5 lbs
loaded with EL34s for around 45 watts of power.
BUILT
USA
For pure attenuation purposes, the Headload
KUDOS
Simple and compact. Broad
attenuation and DI functions. Comprehensive feature set.
works well and sounds great, with good reten-
range of attenuation levels and
tion of the amp’s core tone at reasonable atten-
excellent tone retention at
ual attenuation steps, especially
uation levels, along with handy compensation
reasonable settings.
at the lower (louder) reduction
None.
levels.
(if needed) via its Resonance switches. I could
CONCERNS
CONCERNS
Might benefit from more grad-
have used a setting in-between 60 and 40
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G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / j uly 2 0 1 6
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The Neo Creamback Creamback tone. Half the weight. Load your cab or combo with Celestion’s new Neo Creamback speakers and you’ll discover that great guitar tone just got a whole lot more portable. Find your nearest dealer at celestion.com
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27/04/2016 10:09 5/2/16 3:06 PM
GEAR
Vox AC10C1 Teste d by Art T hompson The original Vox “A.C. 10” (initially
Top Boost preamp circuitry that Vox came up
present, and to the company’s credit it’s not
called the G1/10) debuted in 1958. After some
with in 1961 to give its amps more punch. Sty-
fitted with gain boosts, fat switches, or anything
tweaking by Vox engineer Dick Denny, it essen-
listically reflective of an early ’64 model, the
else beyond a good-sounding digital reverb.
tially turned into a smaller version of the 15-watt
AC10C1 sports a brown grille with diamonds,
This turn-up-and-go amplifier should appeal
AC15. Both amps featured a twin-EL84 output
black covering, and enough gold appointments
most to players who appreciate vintage-style
stage, but the AC10 was intentionally dialed
to make a Beefeater jealous. It’s an easy carry
tone and simplicity, as the AC10C1 is the kind
back (via a change of one resistor) to make only
at 27 lbs, and its compact dimensions (16" x
of amp where you can set the knobs practi-
10 watts. The new AC10C1 uses two 12AX7s up
25.5" x 8.25") make it perfect for small stages.
cally anywhere and get hip sounds. Twist up
front instead of the EF86/ECG82 arrangement
As you can see, the AC10C1 is an amal-
the Gain and crank the master past halfway,
of the early models, and it also gets the classic
gam of things borrowed from Vox’s past and
and it delivers juicy distortion with that cool,
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G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / j uly 2 0 1 6
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S P EC I F I C AT I O N S
AC10C1
CONTACT
voxamps.com
PRICE
$449 street
blizzard-of-nails presence that’s a hallmark of
of negative feedback in the output circuit—
CHANNELS
1
Vox tone. Paired with a good distortion pedal
another classic element of Vox amps.
CONTROLS
Gain, Bass, Treble, Reverb,
it’ll pump out killer sustain while easily drop-
I never needed to turn the master Volume
ping back to a dirty clean tone when you roll
all the way up for any of the gigs I used it on
back your guitar or lighten up on your picking.
(including one in a big hall), but there’s a 16Ω
The Celestion VX10 speaker is well chosen for this amp, and if you’re thinking that 10 watts
.
and Volume
POWER
10 watts
TUBES
Two 12AX7s, two EL84s
jack for connecting to an external speaker cab-
EXTRAS
Extension speaker out
inet if you need more volume.
SPEAKER
Celestion VX10 10"
WEIGHT
27 lbs
couldn’t possibly be loud enough to gig with,
The AC10C1 makes a lot of sense for players
you’re in for a surprise. The power tubes might
who want classic Vox tone in a portable pack-
BUILT
China
not be running to their full potential, but the
age. If you don’t need the onboard tremolo of
KUDOS
A great-sounding, vintage-
sound of this amp is quite muscular, and the
the slightly larger AC15—nor the extreme weight
closed-back cabinet helps keep the low-end
of an AC30—you’ll find the AC10C1 to be a super
nice and firm. It’s a very lively and open-sound-
cool amp that costs but a farthing compared to
ing amp too, which is probably due to the lack
Vox’s larger tube models. g
gpr0716_gear_vox_ko2.indd 101
style tube amp. Compact and lightweight. CONCERNS
Tubes aren’t easy to access.
j u ly 2 0 1 6 / G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M
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GEAR
Hall & Collins Signature Echo Teste d By Ba r ry Clevela n d Hank Marvin is cited as an influ-
are Patch Down and Patch Up footswitches,
magic is derived from its solid-state emula-
ence by nearly every British guitarist that came
which step through presets in single incre-
tions of old-school tube preamp circuitry, and
of age in the 1960s—from Jeff Beck to George
ments when pressed once, and scroll rapidly
the distortion and compression characteris-
Harrison to Tony Iommi. Marvin summoned
when held. They also do double duty as -/+
tic of magnetic oxide recording systems (vari-
super-vibey twang-bar-inflected tones from his
buttons in Edit mode. There are five recessed
able via the Echo Drive control). Each preset
Fiesta Red ’59 Fender Stratocaster on “Apache,”
rotary controls for Dry Level, Echo Drive, Echo
was carefully crafted by combining precise
“Man of Mystery,” “Kon Tiki,” and many other
Output, Feedback, and Wow & Flutter, and
amounts of these qualities, wow and flutter,
classic instrumentals, aided by various mechan-
preset names and other information are dis-
head spacing, and numerous other factors,
ical echo machines.
played on a large LCD.
though you can also edit most of the param-
Charlie Hall and John Collins’ Signature
The Signature’s 64 factory presets are orga-
eters to create entirely new effects. Editing is
Echo (approximately $860) is an analog-
nized according to the type of machine they
somewhat tedious, however, requiring lots of
digital hybrid designed to emulate the sound
simulate, including the Meazzi Echomatic 1,
switch and button pushing (no USB connec-
of ultra-rare vintage echo units, with special
2, and Model J (which recorded to magnetic
tivity or other nods to modernity here).
emphasis on Marvin’s sounds. In fact, several
wheels); the Binson Echorec 2 (which recorded
The Signature Echo is a singular pedal with
presets bear the names of Hank Marvin & the
to a magnetic drum); and the Meazzi Facto-
a glorious sound that also responds beauti-
Shadows tunes, and a chart in the manual lists
tum Special, Vox Long Tom, Roland RE-301,
fully to playing dynamics, much like the vin-
the optimal presets for playing dozens more.
Pearl Echo Orbit EO-301, and Klemt NG51
tage tube echo units I’ve owned in the past.
The U.K.-built Signature Echo is constructed
tape-echo machines. There are also 64 User
The painstakingly emulated multi-head con-
of heavy-duty steel and could no doubt with-
preset slots. A major part of the Signature’s
figurations alone make it uniquely seductive. If
stand years of rigorous gigging. That is, unless
you dig old-school echoes, you’ll find a world
its size and weight dissuaded you from taking
of wonder residing in this burgundy box—even
it on the road. Even its 1,000mA/12VAC exter-
if you’ve never heard of Hank Marvin.
nal power supply is bulky. Then again, toting it around compares favorably with lugging a
Kudos Fabulous old-school echo effects trans-
bunch of old tube echo units. The Signature’s
port you to the ’60s.
controls are simple and intuitive to use. In
Concerns Bulky.
addition to the Echo On/Off footswitch, there
Contact hallandcollins.com g
102
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GEAR
Crucial Audio Time Warp Teste d by Art Thompson Differing from most analog delays
9v adapters supplies power.
nearly static to hummingbird flutter, while the
by virtue of having a pair of 12AX7 tubes in the
With a footprint of 8" x 6" x 3", and weigh-
Depth control mainly affects the timbre and
audio path, the Time Warp delivers 60ms to
ing in at 3 lbs, the Time Warp is a fairly buff box
range of the pitch bending. The Time Warp can
500ms of BBD-generated delay time, and
to mount on your pedalboard. That said, there’s
double as a tube preamp when the effects are
features a pitch-shift effect of sorts (more
no arguing with its rich delay sound and ability
off (sans EQ or volume controls), although this
on this later) that’s activated by pressing the
to deliver spacious effects with multiple repeats
also means that it is non true-bypass. Bottom
Warp footswitch. The green anodized-alumi-
(to the point of self oscillation) all the way down
line: The Time Warp certainly offers possibilities
num enclosure sports Delay, Feedback, and
to fat slapback echoes. Clicking on the Warp
for sonic mischief, but I’d recommend it primar-
Mix controls for the delay side; and Depth
switch brings on the “pitch bend” action, which
ily for its cool delay sounds.
and Rate knobs for the Warp function. The
is actually like turning the delay-time knob back
I/O complement consists of a High input, a
and forth on a standard analog delay. In other
Kudos Nice range of warm sounding delays.
Thru/Low input (which can be used for high-
words, you get zippery, pitch-shifted sounds
Concerns Warp feature isn’t for everybody.
output instruments or for sending a signal to
that, while somewhat trippy, I didn’t find much
Uses a dedicated AC power supply with a plug
a tuner or other device), and a mono output.
use for. It’s definitely not like the modulation
that could allow it to be accidently connected
An included 16VAC adapter that uses the
option available on many modern delay units.
to a 9VDC pedal.
same 2.5mm plug found on most standard
The Rate control allows for speeds ranging from
Contact crucialaudio.com g
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Singular Sound BeatBuddy Mini Teste d By Joyc e Kuo S i n g u l a r S o u n d ’ s o r i g i n a l B e at B u d d y o f f e r e d
practice for students of all levels as they
guitarists a drum machine in the form of a pedal, and it now has a little
played along with various grooves and time
brother that’s just as fun and even more compact. Like the original, the
signatures, and I could surprise them by
BeatBuddy Mini ($149 street) is a foot-controlled personal drummer, but
transitioning into a bridge or adding fills
it costs only half the price. The BeatBuddy Mini is totally user friendly, even
without taking my hands off the guitar.
if you have limited drum machine experience. It isn’t completely hands-
With 100 songs in 24 genres (and with
free—you have to manually scroll to select genre, song, and tempo—but
every time signature included), the Beat-
once those items have been selected, controlling fills, transitions, and starts
Buddy Mini certainly spices up scale and
and stops can all be done by foot. You can also attach the optional Beat-
arpeggio exercises, while also being useful
Buddy footswitch ($49 street) to tap tempos or add accents and drum
for inspiring creativity when improvising
breaks. (Genre, Song, and Tempo selection can also be done via footswitch.)
on a song idea. All in all, it’s definitely worth checking into if you’re keen
My first test with the BeatBuddy Mini was done in the teaching studio,
on improving your rhythm, timing, and groove.
and it was instantly a refreshing alternative to the monotony of a metronome. Students who struggled to perform syncopated rhythms with a
Kudos Easy to use. Wide variety of styles. Fun and inspiring.
click suddenly discovered a more natural feel when playing along with
Concerns None.
drum patterns from the BeatBuddy Mini. It also provided some real-world
Contact mybeatbuddy.com g
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GEAR
palette established by the blackface Deluxe Reverb and its ilk. While redrawing the front end, Fender also radically reconfigured the back end of the Deluxe model. The brownface models before it had become a little more powerful than the ’50s tweed Deluxes by running its dual 6V6GT output tubes in fixed bias and at slightly higher voltages. The blackface Deluxe Reverb upped the voltage even further, to levels in excess of the rating limits of the tube, according to standard
>>> C l a ss i c G E a r
The 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb By Dave Hu nt er
specifications. As a result, the Deluxe evolved from around 15 watts to a tighter, crisper 22 watts in just half a decade. And, since the bias network was now adjustable, it was easier to dial-in any 6V6s for optimum performance. Put it all together, and a blackface Deluxe Reverb is an impressively loud, punchy combo for its size, and a great platform for any overdrive pedals you might want to throw in front of it. It’s sometimes easy to forget the charms of the humble mid-’60s Deluxe Reverb amid all the fancy boutique offerings today, the heady maelstrom of a roaring Marshall plexi, or the sultry
Ask a collection of experienced
the amp pretty hard when cranked up. The Deluxe Reverb also featured two inde-
only one, and more are likely to agree on the
pendent channels with their own Treble and
Fender Deluxe Reverb, which can lay claim to
Bass controls, which both expanded the amp’s
several titles: ultimate grab’n’go amp, killer club
EQ capabilities and fronted an entirely different
amp, and ace studio amp. It’s easy to forget today,
preamp circuit. From their independent inputs,
with Fender often called out as the standard for
each channel ran the signal into one 12AX7 (aka
onboard tube-driven reverb and tremolo, that
7025) gain stage, then the tone controls, then
the Fullerton, California, company was some-
the volume control, then into the second gain
what late to the party in adding these features
stage to make up for signal level lost en route.
to its creations. Once they got them together in
The voicing of this preamp circuit and the tone
late 1963, however, they ran the table for lush
controls it encompassed encouraged a clean,
atmospherics.
clear, somewhat scooped voice, with firm lows
kerrang of a vintage Vox AC30. Find a good one, though, and plug in and play a while. Chances are it feels like, well, coming home. g
Essential Ingredients
> Dual channels, Normal and Vibrato, with independent Treble and Bass controls > Two 6V6 output tubes generating around 22 watts > Fixed-biased output stage (adjust-
.
Although the channel that carries both
and crisp highs. In short, it introduced a new
effects is labeled “Vibrato,” the modulation
Fender classic in the tonal arena, one that was
itself is actually tremolo rather than pitch-shift-
very different from the rounder, more midrange-
ing vibrato. Pair it with the amp’s lush reverb for
y sound that the tweed amps had established
> GZ34 rectifier tube
instant one-stop sonic splendor. And, in addi-
just a few years before (and now considered
> Tube-powered tremolo and spring
tion to its effects, the Vibrato channel’s signal
equally seminal). If you think spank, twang,
passes through an extra gain stage between the
and sparkle when you hear the phrase “Fender
preamp and output stages, allowing it to drive
amp tone,” you’re mind’s ear is hearing a sonic
106
able)
> One 12AY7 preamp tube and one 12AX7 phase inverter
reverb > Single 12" Oxford 12K5-6 speaker
Photo courtesy of Mi ke Guti e rrez, H e ritage Auction s
players what amp they’d want if they could own
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5/2/16 11:34 3:12 PM 4/25/16 AM
VINTAGE IS A
STATE OF MIND Ask ten different players what “vintage” means and you’ll likely get ten different answers. But the one part of buying an old instrument that no one enjoys is the sense of gambling hard-earned cash on what might turn out to be an expensive problem. We understand the allure. The alternative? Artstar Vintage. The casual well-worn vibe is actually a sum total of meticulous details, right down to the lightly tarnished tuner stems. The big advantage? Performance from the get-go. get-g Golden tone, dependable intonation, and night-after-night reliability. With features like the legendary Super 58 pickups, sleek Ebony fretboard, and the smooth-as-butter Artstar Fret Edge treatment, you’ll be tuning into a vintage state of mind with a flick of your tube amp switch.
Thanks to Ellis Antiques, NJ
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A Guitar Player Special Acoustic Section
MAKANA
Shares Hallowed Hawaiian Slack Key Secrets
J IMMY LES LIE
Review D’Addario Nickel Bronze Acoustic Strings Classic Column Studio-Style Charts Workshop
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J IMMY LES LI E
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Acoustic Aloha Makana Wants to School Us on Hawaiian Slack Key By Ji mmy L es l i e “How a player thinks affects their
w h o l e life on the guitar,” claims Makana. “Slack key philosophy is the opposite of shredding with the fretting hand. It’s all about the picking hand. Fretting is involved, but touching the fretboard kills string resonance. Slack key is all about letting the guitar ring, creating the illusion of multiple guitars.” Makana came to GP’s attention when he narrowly missed snagging top honors at GP’s 2008 Guitar Superstar competition. He stood out from the electric shredders naturally, and his acoustic playing came from a place of soulful tradition. Notable slack key master Sonny Chillingworth taught Makana hand to hand, and Makana has made it his mission to spread the style far from its exotic origin. Makana is also on a mission to clear up common misconceptions. He preaches about how slack key goes far beyond the quaint folk music found in touristy hotel lobbies. The impossible fingerpicking fluency and hellacious hammer-ons of his signature instrumental “Napo’o Ka La” prove his point. Check out the soundtrack during the closing scene of The Descendants [starring George Clooney] to hear Makana’s uncommonly dark slack track, “Deep in an Ancient Hawaiian Forest.” Makana even applies slack key— and his powerful vocals—to protest music. He wrote “We Are the Many” as an anthem for the Occupy Wall Street movement, and “Fire Is Ours” as a Bernie Sanders anthem.
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“You can do anything once you put in the time to learn slack key,” he claims. “Getting fluent on the technical intricacies takes two years of utter boredom [laughs], but after you get past that—it’s awesome. I want more players to discover that freedom.” What does slack key mean to you? Slack key is a way of tuning, and a way of playing. Different cultures have slack key. It’s a colloquial phrase that basically means playing in open tunings. The strings are usually tuned down, or “slacked,” but they can also go up. I’ve created tunings that defy convention by going low to high, and then lower and higher again. The studio version of “Deep in an Ancient Hawaiian Forest” is tuned B, F♯, D, A, F♯, D. “Napo’o Ka La” is in an original tuning, as well. Instead of DADGAD, it’s GADGAD. How is slack key rooted in Hawaiian history? The Hawaiian slack key I grew up with is called “Ki Ho’alu.” History goes that Mexican cowboys—vaqueros—brought the guitar, and taught the Hawaiians how to manage cattle. That’s how the paniolo came out— the Hawaiian cowboy. They jammed by the campfire at night. When the vaqueros eventually departed, they left some guitars behind with the Hawaiians. History says they forgot to teach the Hawaiians how to tune. I don’t believe that. Taro Patch tuning, which is open G, is also
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Spanish G tuning. Many tunings common in Hawaiian slack key already existed. Dropped C is a classic slack key tuning that’s simply open G with the bottom string tuned down to C [low to high: C, G, D, G, B, D]. But there are also tunings unique to Hawaiian slack key, or very much associated. C6, or “C Mauna Loa” screams Hawaiian. [Low to high: C, G, E, G, A, E.] Lots of steel guitarists use it. Most people associate steel guitar with Hawaii. Do you play lap steel as well? No. That’s a different discipline, but what you said is true. Hawaiian music was the biggest selling genre in the world from 1916 through the mid-1920s, due to Hawaiian swing jazz and the advent of the steel guitar by Joseph Kekuku. Meanwhile, slack key was kept at home. It was not performed for the public, and it wasn’t recorded until the ’50s. It almost died out. Hawaiian culture was either bastardized by Hollywood, or heavily oppressed
by the missionaries. They even outlawed using the Hawaiian language in public. Slack key cowboys were hardcore about keeping their music. Old timers have told me that a slack key player might deny his own son from playing his guitar rather than teach him. It was that personal. I was fortunate enough to have my uncle Sonny show me his transcription of the steel-guitar song “Maui Chimes” into slack key. It’s in Taro Patch tuning, and other than the alternating bass line, the entire song is all chiming harmonics, which is a hallmark of slack key. What are the primary hallmarks of slack key as a way of playing? The Hawaiian style contains three essential elements: An alternating bass line, what I call “faux rhythms” where you throw in a little brush stroke to simulate a rhythm strummer, and the melody. Playing the melody on the top two strings with lots of sliding up and down the fretboard is a
huge part of what we do—as well as open chord voicings and syncopated variations on the bass theme. If you compare it to, say, Travis picking, you’ll find a lot more syncopated things going on simultaneously. It gets highly complicated. You really have to separate like a drummer. That’s why there’s a steep learning curve for slack key, and very few people do it. What’s a good example from your catalog? I believe “As the World Tunes” is one of my finest pieces. It’s a single 12-string solo recording in C6 tuning, and incredibly hard to play. The trick is playing the very non-traditional triplet rhythms in the bass line while playing crazy leads. It’s very piano-like. There’s a lot of sound coming out of that guitar. Which guitar is it? That was a 12-string Taylor. I’m not a big fan of Taylor’s 6-strings, but I appreciate how their 12-strings are built so solid and they don’t fall out of tune.
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What strings hold your tunings best? I’ve always used D’Addario’s medium gauge strings—the EJ17 Phosphor Bronze set that starts with a .013. I never use coated strings. They’ll last a long time if you stay in one tuning, but I’ll snap them because I change tunings for almost every song. I change strings every show. Your main guitar looks beat up enough to have a good story. When I started playing, I made a deal with my parents and old uncle Sonny. Once I’d learned 20 slack key songs on a cheap guitar, they’d get me a better one. When I was 13, and having upheld my end of the deal, they gifted me a Takamine EN-10C. I wrote and recorded all my songs on it. That guitar was like my best friend. In 2005, my house got burglarized, and it was stolen. It was famous in Hawaii because it was so distinctively worn-looking, but nobody could find it. I found this one of the same year, make, and model on eBay. Within a year,
this guitar essentially became that guitar because of the way I play—particularly near the soundhole where my plucking fingers hit the top. I actually had to rebuild that area because the whole thing caved in. You’ve got righteous nails on your plucking hand, and you use metal fingerpicks, as well, correct? I use plastic nails with gel tips on my right hand. I’m weaning off metal picks, but I still use them on my thumb and first two fingers for extremely challenging, harddriving rhythm patterns. You’re known for filling a room with big acoustic sound. What’s your secret? All my friends have fancy, expensive guitars. But when it’s plugged in, I swear this is the largest-sounding acoustic guitar ever. Part of that has to do with the way I have my double pickup system set up. First, that old Takamine piezo pickup and preamp system is one of the finest factory systems ever made. Additionally, I mounted an L.R.
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Baggs M1 pickup in the soundhole parallel to the two thickest strings. I run through either a Baggs or a SansAmp D.I., and then use a crossover to send only the low end to the P.A. subs. When I use a low tuning, it starts to shake the house. Do you use any other signal processing? I tried using an octave pedal, but I don’t want to sound like a bass and a guitar. I want my guitar to have a full-spectrum wooden sound. I’m a big fan of sustain. For years, I used a Boss DD-5 Digital Delay, but now I’m in love with the Earthquaker Dispatch Master because of the tape-like quality to its delay and reverb. I used it a lot on my newest CD, Music You Heard Tonight, which I only sell at shows. That’s an interesting idea. You essentially made a straightforward studio recording of the tunes you play most on tour. It’s that plus a bunch of new songs. I didn’t record it live, but it basically sounds like I do live right now. We used a pair of
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M AKAN A
Schoeps microphones on the guitar, as well as the direct signals from the Takamine and the Baggs. D.I. guitar usually sounds like crap in the studio, but when we added reverb from the Dispatch Master and blended in the direct signals just below the mics—it was magic! Your show includes a lot of singing in a powerful, classic folk style. Right, I’m a folk guy. For guitar players, I’d recommend the recording I made in 2009—Venus and the Sky Turns to Clay: The Instrumental World of Makana. I stretched the slack key tradition way out in my original style. I played some 12-string, nylon string, and even some electric guitar. What are you working on for the future? Well, I’ve just been invited to open on the upcoming arena tour for Bad Company and Joe Walsh. I’m also working on two new records. I’ve made a career of playing alone, and now I’m ready to make music with other people. I’m a huge Pink Floyd fan, and I’m currently auditioning musicians
for band kind of like Crosby, Stills & Nash meets Pink Floyd. I’m in Los Angeles half the time, so we’ll see who works out. I’ve got a huge body of Floyd-like songs that I’ve been sitting on. I imagine that’s a challenge when you’re labeled as the “Hawaiian Guy” who plays in a rather esoteric, exotic acoustic style. The biggest challenge I and the few other slack key players face is the stigmatizing of Hawaiian music. People have this anachronistic concept of it. Slack key is one of the most sophisticated acoustic guitar styles in the world, and one of the least known. Even if players aren’t interested in Hawaiian music, once they discover slack key and start messing with it, they can apply the techniques to any music. g Click to guitarplayer.com/frets for exclusive videos of Makana demonstrating basic slack key fingerstyle technique, and his unique take on “Comfortably Numb.”
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Š 2016 PRS Guitars / Photos by Marc Quigley
The SE Angelus Line PRS Guitars offers a line of affordable acoustics fit for stage and studio - including the all-mahogany A10E, the mahogany/spruce A20E, the rosewood/spruce A30E and the dao/spruce thinline Alex Lifeson signature model. All models come with an under-saddle piezo pickup and discreet controls in the soundhole. Visit your local PRS dealer and see which one is right for you.
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review
D’Addario Nickel Bronze Acoustic Strings Test ed By J i m m y L es l i e It’s significant when a promi-
nent manufacturer such as D’Addario launches a new model of acoustic strings because it’s such a rare event. The company has only released a handful of new acoustic strings since introducing its Phosphor Bronze model in 1974, which became an industry standard. So what’s the big new deal? D’Addario claims that Nickel Bronze premium acoustic strings ($12 street) “highlight a guitar’s inner character, allowing your instrument’s natural frequencies to truly shine.” I gave them a thorough test drive on a Taylor 514ce, which notably had a Western Red Cedar top rather than the standard spruce top. The first thing that catches your eye when you put on a Nickel Bronze set is the nickel color, which is a striking visual difference compared to phosphor bronze. This particular Taylor had gold hardware, so it was somewhat of a mismatch, but one could easily see the opposite being true. Any acoustic with silver-colored hardware would surely look hipper with strings to match. In the hand, the Nickel Bronze strings feel uniquely tight and tough. You can practically sense the increased tensile strength. They feature D’Addario NY Steel cores on the wound strings, while the top two are NYXL plain steels. For those unfamiliar with D’Addario’s NY Steels for electric guitars and NXYL Bass, they have a high-carbon core designed for increased durability and tuning stability. So the plain strings are a bit wirier, while the wound strings
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wrapped in a nickel-bronze alloy feel smooth and pliable. In play, I found D’Addario’s Nickel Bronze super responsive, sensitive, and as snappy as a mousetrap. The string noise was very low when I slid through various fretboard positions. That was particularly welcome for slide playing, which can otherwise be downright noisy on an acoustic guitar. It also came in handy on a recording session, when I wanted to capture acoustic tones unhindered by any extraneous noise. I eventually came to understand and appreciate D’Addario’s new offering by being able to hear the “inner” sound of the Taylor like I’d never experienced before. It sounded more wooden and less metallic. And since the top was cedar, its inherently soft, sensitive sound was gloriously revealed. All of a sudden I was exploring fingerstyle playing in a more intimate way—almost like on a classic guitar. Conversely, playing live with the Nickel Bronze strings felt and sounded somewhat foreign from being so accustomed to phosphor-bronze strings. I found myself wanting a bit more treble, because cedar isn’t a particularly bright wood. I missed the bouncy spring of phosphor bronze when playing slappy-tappy stuff, but I dug how the Nickel Bronze strings brought out a rich tone when strumming cowboy chords. They also made blues tunes sound authentically vintage. Nickel Bronze strings are magnetically sensitive too, which is a plus for archtop aficionados and players who use soundhole pickups. I put the Nickel Bronze set through
an almost unfair test by subjecting them to the most severe tuning circumstances imaginable. The Taylor was recently fitted with Tronical’s TunePlus self-tuning system. That means a digital brain controls highratio mechanical tuners that automatically fly from one tuning to another with the push of a button. When those suckers go, they go! I subjected D’Addario’s medium set—gauges .013 - .056—to endless stretching from a low-tension open C tuning to higher-tension open E, and everything in between over a period of about four days. The G string finally snapped when I was going for a strenuous custom A tuning. Ultimately, D’Addario’s Nickel Bronze acoustic strings deliver exactly what the company claims, revealing a guitar’s natural tone without excess coloration. That’s especially cool on a high-quality instrument, as you might just hear your old guitar’s true voice for the very first time. And that voice will ring out longer too, because these strings provide extended life in exactly the opposite way that coated strings do: Instead of a protective outer coating, they utilize a strong inner core. To summarize, don’t take any wooden nickels from anyone, but do put a set of D’Addario’s Nickel Bronze strings on your acoustic if you want to get to the warm heart of its wooden tone. KUDOS True tone. Responsive. Tough. Low string noise. CONCERNS Tone maybe too true for lower-quality guitars. CONTACT daddario.com g
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GUITAR
PLAY ALONG
• Easy-to-play arrangements, in TAB and standard notation • Play-along MP3s provided on disc, with vocals • Also includes TNT 2 software that expands practice options BABA O’RILEY BARGAIN BEHIND BLUE EYES PINBALL WIZARD THE REAL ME SUMMERTIME BLUES WHO ARE YOU WON’T GET FOOLED AGAIN
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Access the companion MP3s via our exclusive TNT 2 Custom Mix software to mix the vocals and instruments in the track to your liking, slow the audio down without changing the pitch, change keys, and loop parts for practice!
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Vintage E xcerpt
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From the original Frets, November 1979
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Guitar Showcase
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“casting yesterday’s tones into tomorrow’s technology”
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Pulse Drive a tremolo/boost
The Pulse Drive is our enhanced version of the classic Anthony Leo, transistor based tremolo circuit. You can get those warm, clean tremolo tones to swampy vibes to choppy goodness. Having 30db of boost on board, you can add some extra grit to the tremolo or turn the depth knob off and have straight boost to send your amp into sweet overdrive land! Visually this pedal stands out with our light up knobs that blink with the rate of the tremolo
design by chris walker
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delay
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“Scuttle Buttin’” Continued from page 76
of beat three with another open-E, followed by a D-to-open-B pull-off and a half-step bendrelease-pull-off move (or alternative pull-offs only) on the G-string from Bb to A to open-G capped with a fretted E on the fourth string, all played as consecutive sixteenth-notes.
Every time the lick is played, it leads into a I-, IV-, or V-chord figure consisting of bass root notes on beats one and four and the and of beat two, and partial chords played on the upper strings on beats two, three, and the ands of beats three and four. Count it, and then just feel it. Construct the entire 12-bar form as follows: Play Ex. 1 over the I chord (E7#9)
for the pickup and bars 1 through 4; play Ex. 2 for bar 5’s IV chord (A7), followed by
Ex. 1 (no repeat) for bars 6, 7, and 8; play Ex. 3 (with pickup) for bar 9’s V chord (B7); finish up with another round of Ex. 1 (again, no repeat) for bars 10 through 12. When you’re done soloing, reprise the 12-bar head and drop Ex. 4’s ending into bars 11 and 12. Right on, y’all! g
Ex. 4
4 4
Tune down 1/2 step = ca. 160 E7 9(I) 4 4 3
T A B
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Scuttle Buttin’ Written by Stevie Ray Vaughan Copyright (c) 1984 Ray Vaughan Music, Inc. (ASCAP) All Rights Administered by Wixen Music Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved Used by Permission Reprinted by Permission of Hal Leonard Corporation
15 15 X 14
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