Guitar Player articles from August 2003

Guitar Player archives from August 2003

Gear-o-lutions. (Soundhole).
August 1, 2003... Like a team of tone-obsessed alchemists, the GP staff never stops tinkering with the content of this fine publication. The reasons for the constant evolutions are manifold: we bore easily, reader comments trigger new ideas, the musical...

The white stripes. (Feedback).
August 1, 2003... I had almost decided that good old rock and roll had died until I was introduced to the White Stripes about a year ago. Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled to see Jack White on the cover of Guitar Player [June '03]. The Stripes'...

Monte Montgomery. (Feedback).
August 1, 2003... I just had to tell you how much I enjoyed the feature on Monte Montgomery ["Shock Rock," June '03]. What an incredibly talented and creative artist/I immediately downloaded the mp3 lesson, which will provide hours of wonderful practice time as...

Undisputed master? (Feedback).
August 1, 2003... I read your DVD review in the June 2003 issue about Danny Gatton, and was amused. With all due respect to Mr. Principato--and with no disrespect to Mr. Gatton--the comment by Art Thompson that refers to Mr. Gatton as the "undisputed master of...

"Oops! (Feedback).
August 1, 2003... In our July '03 "Chops" section, we misspelled the name of one of our contributors, Tomas Janzon ["Staying in Shape."] We, did, however, spell his Web site correctly, which is still tomasjanzon.com. In the June '03 "Fretwire," we...

Fretwire. (Input Output).
August 1, 2003... Last April, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) decided it was no longer going to stand by and let those snot-nosed college kids single-handedly ruin the music industry. In the eyes of the RIAA, it certainly couldn't be the...

Ex models. (Lunatic Fringe).
August 1, 2003... Fire up the Ex Models' new CD, and the first sounds to meet your ears will be nasty-ass ring-modulated guitar clunks, soon joined by staccato drumming, billowing bass, falsetto vocals, and a second layer of ultra-distorted ring-mod guitar--all...

Ibanez & PRS. (Travels With Editor Boy).
August 1, 2003... Every once in a while, the planets align in such a way that I'm allowed out of the office to meet with manufacturers about their product plans, their latest artist discoveries, and how they feel about GP. As we recently increased our product...

Angels. (Input Output).
August 1, 2003... Earl King The New Orleans bluesman died April 17, at 69 years old. A prolific and much-covered songwriter--both Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan recorded his "Let the Good Times Roll"--King penned a number of Mardi Gras standards, such...

Trapt. (Buzz Box).
August 1, 2003... It must suck in all kinds of ways when a band sweats to develop a sound, find an audience, and get a record deal, and then watches the press describe its debut record as "Yet another nu-metal entry from Southern California that is as...

Supergrass. (British Beat).
August 1, 2003... "We wanted a more focused and direct sound on this album than we had on our last one," says Gaz Coombes, guitarist/ vocalist for British all-rockers Supergrass. In detailing the creation of their new release, Life on Other Planets [Island],...

Cool & coming soon. (Input Output).
August 1, 2003... July 1 Pete Droge, Skywatching [Puzzletree Records/United Musicians] As I Lay Dying, Frail Words Collapse [Metal Blade] July 8 Steve Winn, Static Transmission [Down There] July 15 Spineshank, Self Destructive Pattern...

Will Ray's ebay strategies. (Auction Block).
August 1, 2003... AUCTION TEAM: 1960 Gibson Melody Maker WINNING BID: $356 I have a confession to make. I'm a sucker for old Gibson Melody Maker guitars from the early '60s. They're built solid, have great necks, and are a hoot to play. The only downside to...

George Thorogood. (Blues Joint).
August 1, 2003... "I'm still a mofo on the guitar," proclaims George Thorogood, the former semi-pro second baseman and life-long aficionado of Chicago blues, barroom boogies, cheap beer, and various forms of hellraising. The Wilmington, Delaware, native traded...

New gear.
August 1, 2003... 1. RANDALL The latest addition to Randall's XL series is the flagship VMAX ($1,499), which combines tube and solid-state technology and a 300-watt output stage. Preamp 1 incorporates a pair of Ruby 12AX7s, a voicing switch, and a gain...

Seymour Duncan. (New Gear).
August 1, 2003... The SFX-01 Pickup Booster ($109) is specially designed to help your guitar's pickups achieve optimum output and resonance. With a gain range of 6-25dB, the SFX-01 adds thickness to single-coils, and its 3-way Resonance switch lowers the...

Unique. (New Gear).
August 1, 2003... The X-1 Standard ($2,300) from Unique Guitars is one of six shapely new axes crafted by Joey Rico, the son of Bernard Chavez Rico, better known as B.C. Rich. The neck-through designed X-1 features an alder body, a soft maple neck, a rosewood...

Old school Blues: Buddy Guy goes totally acoustic.
August 1, 2003... The cover of the August 2001 issue of Guitar Player proclaimed that Buddy Guy's lo-fi blues masterpiece, Sweet Tea, was "the hottest, hippest, most mind-blowing blues album in years!" Well, consider the 66- year-old legend's latest offering,...

Sunrise over Hoboken: Yo La Tengo's indie Odyssey.
August 1, 2003... "I can't quite remember how my interest in music became so excessive," relates Yo La Tengo guitarist Ira Kaplan. It's an obsession Kaplan shares with his equally record-savvy wife, drummer Georgia Hubley, and it's an obsession reflected in the...

Guitarslingers: Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks recharge the Allman Brother's double-ax attack.
August 1, 2003... Pop in the Allman Brothers Band's Hittin' the Note [Sanctuary]--the group's first studio album in nearly a decade--and the first sounds to meet your ears are a stomping beat, a swampy blues lick, a warbling slide note, and Gregg Allman's...

The heaviest angel: Dave Navarro unleashes a glorious barrage of riffs on Jane's Addiction's brilliant strays. (Cover Story).
August 1, 2003... Dave Navarro delivers a gift to guitar freaks everywhere in the form of Strays [Capitol], Jane's Addiction's long-awaited studio recording. Here, finally, is a hard-rock record worth getting excited about. The album is an epic adventure with...

Dr Rhythm: improve your groove with Charlie Hunter's montuno magic. (Master Class).
August 1, 2003... "I don't know what it is with guitar players, but they tend to develop terrible time," says Charlie Hunter. No, he's not asserting that guitarists are always late to the gig, or that they can't read a watch. He's simply observing that when most...

Howard Alden's chord melody secrets. (Guest Guru).
August 1, 2003... MANY GUITARISTS NEVER explore the spectacular style known as chord melody. The technique can be intimidating--particularly to a player who hasn't learned much about fat, four-fingered ways to harmonize melodies. But if there's a bigger reason...

Harmonic minor mayhem.
August 1, 2003... LOVE HIM OR HATE him, Yngwie Malmsteen is one of the greatest guitarists on the planet. His playing instantly recalls an era in rock guitar history when musical proficiency was hailed, not ridiculed. Malmsteen created an instant buzz when he...

Freddie King's double-stop stumble. (Sonic Snapshot).
August 1, 2003... Freddie King only lived to age 42. His timeless riffs, however--perfect gems of Texas blues guitar--seem to enjoy eternal life. To this day, you can still hear King's mammoth influence on Eric Clapton, who, in 1966, showed King the sincerest...

Reader's challenge: best of both worlds.
August 1, 2003... "PLAYING STRAIGHT RHYTHM GUITAR can sound boring," says Brian Bartling of Newark, Delaware, "but playing lead can leave a hole in the music." His solution? "If you're the only guitar player in the band, you need to develop a style that combines...

Miles Davis The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions.
August 1, 2003... When Miles Davis began the sessions that eventually coalesced into A Tribute to Jack Johnson in early 1970, he had already turned a historical musical page. His two preceding records--In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew--broke new ground in what...

U.S. Bombs Covert Action.
August 1, 2003... Trends come and go, but punk rock remains as a constant reminder to all rock bands that, no matter how pissed-off they may be, there is always a punk band that will boil down that anger to the absolute barest musical essentials. Covert Action,...

Hardcore Troubadour: the Life and Near Death of Steve Earle.
August 1, 2003... By Laure St. John A more accurate kicker for this book might be "The life and near deaths of Steve Earle," because when it comes to second chances, Earle is one outlaw country cat who clearly has more than nine lives. Indeed, if there's a...

ESP LTD signature series. (Bench Tests).
August 1, 2003... Back in the days when I understood nothing about music except its magic, I also didn't know I'd die for a Les Paul until I saw Mick Ronson pummel his blonde '68 Custom on a late-night television concert in 1974. The combination of the...

Vox Brian May Special VBM 1. (Bench Tests).
August 1, 2003... Aside from the Beatles, Vox's most noted old-school ambassador is Queen guitarist Brian May who, onstage with a pyramid of AC30s towering behind him, formed one of rock's most enduring images. But although May used his trusty AC30s extensively...

Boss ME-50 Guitar multiple effects. (Bench Tests).
August 1, 2003... The floor-based ME-50 guitar effects processor ($289 street) was intended for gigging musicians who don't need or want extensive programmability or studio-oriented features. The ME-50's functions are accessed using knobs, buttons, footswitches,...

OAI Roundneck Hound Dog Dobro. (Bench Tests).
August 1, 2003... Replete with family squabbles and business deals gone sour, the story of the Dobro--and resonator guitars in general--would make a cool soap opera. Having survived numerous owners and many ups and downs in its 75-year life, the Dobro-brand...

Alessandro Working Dog Rottweiler Combo. (Bench Tests).
August 1, 2003... With their expensive, high-end hi-fi components and exotic hardwood cabinetry, Alessandro amps are aimed at well-heeled tone connoisseurs. Now, with the introduction of the Working Dog combos, Alessandro has something to offer budget-conscious...

Taylor 110 and 514-CE: exclusive! (Bench Test).
August 1, 2003... Taylor Guitars has been busy of late with the introductions of its new nylonstring models, an entry-level guitar, and the ambitious Expression System--which has effectively changed the rulebook for how acoustic guitars are amplified. I recently...

D-TAR Solstice: exclusive! (Editors' Pick Award).
August 1, 2003... When Seymour Duncan and Rick Turner announced they were joining forces to design gear for amplifying acoustic instruments, the odds were good that their new D-TAR company would create some toneful gizmos. One of their first offerings is the...

Z. Vex Nano Head. (Bench Tests).
August 1, 2003... The expression "marvel of miniaturization" rarely applies to modern tube amplifiers, most of which are still as cumbersome as the '50s and '60s classics that inspired them. But stompbox maker Zachary Vex has radically changed that reality with...

BBE DI-100x and DI-1000. (Pro Audio Report).
August 1, 2003... Being a cagey studio guitarist isn't always about cooking up brilliant guitar and amp combinations, slick effects, and facile mic positions. Sometimes, a tune requires the snap and kaching of a clean, direct guitar. Or your sonic tidal wave of...

Carvin Contour 66. (Toolbox: super splurges over $500).
August 1, 2003... Considering the company's factory direct pricing, ubiquitous catalogs, and easy online ordering system, it's understandable that many players mistake Carvin as a conventional manufacturer. In fact, Carvin is one of the industry's most...

Godin LG Signature. (Toolbox: super splurges over $500).
August 1, 2003... With its 25 1/2"-scale bolt-on neck and flame-maple capped mahogany body, the Godin LG Signature (with AAA top, $1,495 retail; with AA top, $1,095 retail) reveals both Fender and Gibson Les Paul influences. But the LG Signature isn't just...

PalmGuitar Standard. (Toolbox: super splurges over $500).
August 1, 2003... Constructed from a one-piece carbon-fiber graphite composite, the PalmGuitar Standard ($1,499 direct) is practically impervious to extreme temperatures and other factors that threaten "travel" guitars. And at 3.4 lbs and a diminutive...

Fender Champion 30 DSP. (Toolbox: groovy gear under $500).
August 1, 2003... Here's a great addition to the trunk of your car--the Fender Champion 30 DSP ($229 street). Versatile and extremely portable, this ambitious practice amp not only boasts a host of balanced tones, it weighs a modest 25 lbs, making load-ins at...

Time Machine Boost. (Toolbox: groovy gear under $500).
August 1, 2003... The Time Machine Boost ($289 street) features two independent signal-boosting circuits: Vintage and Modern. The Vintage channel is driven by a single AC 187/01 germanium NPN transistor that's similar to '60s- and '70s-era British treble...

T-Rex Replica. (Toolbox: groovy gear under $500).
August 1, 2003... Hand-built in Denmark, the Replica ($399 street) provides up to 2000ms of studio-quality digital delay at an astonishing 200kHz sampling rate by muting input signals directly into and out of RAM via 24-bit Burr Brown A/D/A converters. And...

Everly Music B-52 Rockers. (Toolbox: bad-ass bargains under $500).
August 1, 2003... Utilizing Alloy-52, a material more commonly found in the construction of medical tools, Everly Music's B-52 Rockers ($5 street) are manufactured in the company's state-of-the-art string factory in Burbank, California. Alloy-52 is known for its...

Tech 21 American Woman Overdrive. (Toolbox: bad-ass bargains under $500).
August 1, 2003... When it comes to lead tones, the sustained, flutey glory of Randy Bachman's lines on "American Woman" and other Guess Who hits--not to mention all those Bachman-Turner Overdrive smashes--deserves to be immortalized within rock's altar of...

Rebel Sound Black Dog. (Toolbox: bad-ass bargains under $500).
August 1, 2003... Looking for a 12" speaker with a bad attitude? Consider the Canadian-made Black Dog ($140 street), a 60-watt, ceramic-magnet unit that comes in closed- and open-back versions. I loaded an "O" model Black Dog into an open-back 2x12 cabinet...

Vega Commander. (Pawnshop Prize).
August 1, 2003... The Vega banjo company's contribution to guitar amplification merits little more than a footnote these days, but the company did introduce an amp in the late '20s, and Vega continued to produce electric instruments for many years after that....