Guitar Player articles from August 2007

Guitar Player archives from August 2007

Noize: from the editor.(Editorial)
August 1, 2007... MAKING SENSE OF THE WORLD IS ONE hellaciously terrifying, ball-busting, and soul-sucking challenge--especially if you factor in the echoes of history. It's difficult avoiding the conclusion that an individual simply can't win, because whatever...

Letter of the month.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... As a guitar player since the age of 14, I eagerly await each new issue of Guitar Player--which I almost instantly read from cover to cover, devouring the licks, interviews, and everything. I enjoy finding out what's new, and what's old that's...

Spruce juice.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... I wish to applaud the efforts of the GP editorial staff for bringing us "The Troublesome Troth About Sitka Spruce" [June '07]. As the music industry is financially worth only a fraction of a percentage of the forest products market, it is truly...

Uli inspirational.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... In the 30-plus years I have read GP, I cannot remember experiencing the level of delight I felt when the June '07 issue arrived. It is so great to see Uli Jon Roth getting much deserved coverage. I'll never forget my first encounter with Uli's...

Policing the police.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... Thanks to Michael Molenda for his revealing interview with Andy Summers in the June 2007 issue. Like many GP readers, I have enjoyed listening to and playing Police songs for many years, and I was genuinely excited to see them perform at this...

Oops!(FEEDBACK)(Correction notice)
August 1, 2007... In our May 2007 tribute to "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow, we mistakenly identified him as an Ohio native. Kleinow actually hailed from South Bend, Indiana. For an extra-special tribute to the pedal-steel master penned by his daughter Anita, click to...

Ann Vidovic.(RIFFS: Classical)(Interview)
August 1, 2007... AT THE HERBST THEATRE IN SAN FRANCISCO, Ana Vidovic is about to take the stage. With the exception of fellow Croatian Stiepan Sulek's The Troubadours Three, the program is eerily similar to traditional classical concerts. Pieces by Sor,...

Gary Moore.(RIFFS: Oeuvre Easy)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... RAISED IN BELFAST, IRELAND, GARY MOORE is one of rock guitar's most under-appreciated stylists. Between his 1973 solo debut, Grinding Stone, to his latest blues effort, Close as You Get [Eagle], Moore has been a hired gun, a fusion hot shot, an...

Back on the Streets, 1978.(INSPIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... With help from Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott, Moore turns in numerous gems on this somewhat sprawling platter. On "Don't Believe a Word," Moore's trademark lyricism is front-and-center, while "Flight of the Snow Moose" is a fusion/prog opus that...

Victims of the Future, 1983.(INSPIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... For fans of Moore's metal years, this is a must own. Sure, at times the lyrics can be a bit banal, but on the flip-side, Moore did have the lyrical cajones to tackle terrorism ("Murder in the Skies") and nuclear Armageddon on the title track....

Still Got the Blues, 1990.(INSPIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Leaving behind any semblance of his '80s work, Moore waded shoulder-deep into the blues-infused '90s. For many in the U.S., this was their first introduction to Moore, as his rock records never really broke on this side of the pond. Moore turns...

Blues for Greeny, 1995.(REQUIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Peter Green was extremely fond of Moore's playing. So much so, in early '70s, he sold Moore his famous '59 Les Paul for peanuts. Used for the entirety of Blues for Greeny, Moore digs deep into that hallowed 'burst on Green's Fleetwood Mac...

Corridors of Power, 1982.(REQUIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Corridors of Power is Moore's other classic metal record. The intro to "End of the World" (which sports Reagan/Thatcher-era approved doomsday lyrics) is Moore's face-melting answer to Van Halen's "Eruption" with its unacompanied--and...

We Want Moore!, 1984.(REQUIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Not only do you get excellent live versions of Victims/Corridor-era Moore, you're also afforded an excellent sounding live record, as Moore co-produced this effort with Tony Platt (mix engineer for AC/DC's Highway to Hell and Back in Black)--a...

Black Rose: A Rock Legend, Thin Lizzy, 1979.(REQUIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Although Moore jumped into Thin Lizzy to help the group on the road--he joined in '74 for a brief time, and he filled in for Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson during the '77 and '78 tours--Black Rose: A Rock Legend is his only full-length studio...

G-Force, 1979.(TIRED)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Moore left Thin Lizzy, mid-American tour, and headed to Los Angeles to take a stab at solo rock/pop stardom. And although this is not a total dog, he clearly hadn't found his comfort zone yet. One track of note is "White Knuckles/Rockin' and...

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.(RIFFS: Cool Event)
August 1, 2007... "I'M GOING TO PLAY AS MUCH GUITAR I CAN GET away with here," announced Brad Paisley to an expansive audience of music lovers at the 38th annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. John Mayer expressed similar feelings the following weekend....

Passing notes.(Obituary)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Los Angeles-based experimental guitarist Roderick Poole died of multiple stab wounds following an altercation outside a Hollywood restaurant on Sunday May 13. The 45-year-old British native and his wife were walking towards Mel's Drive-In on...

Erin Roberts.(RIFFS: Rocker Girl)(Interview)
August 1, 2007... FORMED IN 2004, THE JULIET DAGGER caught the attention of Goo Goo Dolls bassist Robby Takac, who signed them to his indie label, Good Charamel. Since then, the punk-pop band has composed for Saturday morning cartoons ("Pez Animated Feature"),...

Tommy Castro.(RIFFS: Blues)
August 1, 2007... TOMMY CASTRO'S STYLE COMBINES ELECTRIC blues, R&B, and soul influences with touches of Latin music derived from his Portuguese heritage. The guitarist is also able to play simultaneous rhythm and lead, firing off crisply struck double-stops,...

In this moment.(RIFFS: Metal)(Interview)
August 1, 2007... "WE WANTED TO WRITE SONGS WITH CATCHY hooks and choruses," explains In This Moment's Chris Howorth about his band's listener-friendly metal. "We blend our musical backgrounds together to create a traditional modern-metal sound, but we also mix...

Papa Mali.(RIFFS: Funk)(Malcolm "Papa Mali" Welbourne )(Interview)
August 1, 2007... SOME PLAYERS WAKE THE DEAD. PAPA MALI invites their spirits to jam. The dreadlocked, 50-year-old guitarist transforms his gigs into voodoo rituals where he channels the energies of bygone musicians who played the same venue. Born Malcolm...

James Burton International Guitar Festival.(RIFFS: Community)
August 1, 2007... GUITARISTS WERE THREE DEEP AT SHREVEPORT, Louisiana's Municipal Auditorium between March 30 and April 1, and among them were slide man Lee Roy Parnell, eternal rocker-boy Rick Derringer, acoustic sensations Monte Montgomery and Thom Bresh,...

Tracking Kenny Wayne Shepherd's 10 Days Out.(RIFFS: Recording)(Interview)
August 1, 2007... ALTHOUGH TECHNOLOGY HAS ADVANCED A thousand-fold since the days of pre-war big-band recordings on the radio, it's still incredibly difficult to capture a good, solid live recording. The variables are too numerous to count, and the conditions...

Magnatone Mark IV.(RIFFS: Vintage Vault)
August 1, 2007... SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WAS THE MECCA for electric guitars and amplifiers in the period after World War II through the 1960s, with companies such as Fender, Rickenbacker, Standel, Carvin, Mosrite, and Bigsby all making their home in and around Los...

Peavey partners with Orange County Choppers.(RIFFS: Industry Insider)(Hartley Peavey)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... REBELS, ROCKERS, AND MOTORCYCLES HAVE always shared a dark kinship, but seldom have the tools of the biker's and guitarist's trades cross-pollinated. Recently, Rockit Guitars produced a motorcycled-themed 6-string, and Hartley Peavey took the...

Editor boy's big eight.(RIFFS: MySpace Hordes)
August 1, 2007... GP IS EMBRACING D-I-Y MUSICIANS BY spotlighting thrilling (or, at least, interesting) guitar talents in this column and at guitarplayer.com. If you think you've got something going that our readers should hear, go to myspace.com/michaelmolenda...

George Kahumoku, Jr.(RIFFS: World)
August 1, 2007... FOR PROFESSIONAL PURVEYORS OF KIHO'ALU the Hawaiian term for the slack key guitar style--survival has meant taking the music from those seven Pacific islands to the U.S. mainland and the world beyond. But no matter where slack key master George...

Genesis.(RIFFS: Performance)(Interview)
August 1, 2007... BRITISH PROG-ROCK TITANS GENESIS recently broke a 15-year North American gigging silence with the surprise announcement of a fall arena and stadium tour. Comprising the late-'70s and onwards, hit-wielding line-up of guitarist and bassist Mike...

Alex Skolnick.(RIFFS: Jazz)(Interview)
August 1, 2007... AFTER MAKING HIS MARK AS LEAD GUITARIST FOR Bay Area thrash metal band Testament during the late '80s and early '90s, Alex Skolnick got a serious jazz jones that propelled him to New York City. There, he immersed himself in the scene, and...

Chris Poland.(RIFFS: Fusion)(Interview)
August 1, 2007... ORIGINAL MEGADETH LEAD GUITARIST CHRIS POLAND WAS profiled in the February 2007 issue of GP in a story entitled "101 Forgotten Greats & Unsung Heroes," so it's not entirely surprising he's not exactly a household word. It is a little strange to...

John 5.(RIFFS: Shred)(Interview)
August 1, 2007... JOHN 5 IS A MANIAC. WELL, YEAH, HE LOOKS LIKE A DARK SPRITE BURPED OUT FROM THE festering throat of some unnamed hell spawn, but that's not what I'm talking about. The man's mania revolves around his ambition, his feverish dedication to the...

The top 40 melodic rock guitarists: as chosen by The Gear Page Discussion Forum.(RIFFS: Shred)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Ace Frehley Andy Powell Brian May Buck Dharma Carlos Santana Dave Murray David Gilmour David Grissom Duane Eddy Elliot Easton Eric Clapton Gary Moore George Harrison George Lynch ...

What's spinning in the editors' heads this month?(RANTS & RAVES)(Brief article)(List)
August 1, 2007... BARRY CLEVELAND Wilco, Sky Blue Sky Theo Bleckmann and Ben Monder, At Night John McLaughlin, Jaco Pastorius, Tony Williams, Trio of Doom MICHAEL MOLENDA The Offspring, Greatest Hits Tommy Bolin, Whips and Roses ...

Bruford.(Audio)(Bill Bruford)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Rock Goes to College Recorded on March 7, 1979 for the BBC television program Rock Goes to College, this collection of eight songs presents one of the truly great '70s jazz-rock fusion ensembles at the peak of its power. Featuring drummer...

Grateful dead.(Audio)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Grateful Dead: Live at the Cow Palace, New Year's Eve, 1976 Listeners who don't like Live at the Cow Palace should just give up on Grateful Dead music. The band was rarely in finer form, and they cherry picked a terrific set list from their...

King Sunny Ade.(Audio)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Gems From the Classic Years (1967-1974) Following the release of Juju Music on Island Records in 1982, Nigerian guitarist and vocalist King Sunny Ade was temporarily at the epicenter of the world music explosion, touring Europe, the U.S.,...

A Vulgar Display of Power: Courage and Carnage at the Alrosa Villa.(PRINT)(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... By Chris A. Dimebag Darrell's shocking murder while performing onstage at a Columbus, Ohio nightclub also claimed three ordinary people whose heroism under fire cost them their lives. A Vulgar Display of Power seeks to honor these brave...

Breedlove pro series C25/CR acoustic-electric guitar.(GEAR: New Gear)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Concert size with soft cutaway * Cedar top, rosewood back and sides * Ebony fretboard * Customized LR. Baggs electronics package featuring an Active Element transducer and onboard preamp with Volume and Tone controls * $1,999 retail * ...

Parker limited edition fly mojo exotic snakeskin guitars.(GEAR: New Gear)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Limited run of 50 * Genuine, farm-raised python snakeskin carefully hand-fitted to the top of the guitar body * Thin, deeply carved mahogany body and proprietary carbon-glass material bonded to the back of the body, neck, and headstock *...

Fender koil kords premium 30-foot instrument cable.(GEAR: New Gear)
August 1, 2007... Custom molded ends with right-angle connector * 559 retail/539 street * fender.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Moollon equalizer.(GEAR: New Gear)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Specially engineered buffer circuit maintains output level and audio clarity * Active Treble, Bass, and Mids controls, plus midrange Width and Frequency knobs * Switchcraft I/0 jacks * 5360 retail * moollon.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Carvin V220.(GEAR: New Gear)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Reissue of 1980s model * Alder body * Hardrock maple neck with ebony fretboard * Twin C22 humbuckers * Sperzel locking tuners * Chrome hardware * Wide range of upgrades, colors, and finishes available 5899 retail * carvin.com [ILLUSTRATION...

Starr Labs ZTar Z7-S midi guitar controller.(GEAR: New Gear)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Touch sensitive 24-fret keyed-fingerboard * Delivers glitch-free polyphonic performance * Six string triggers * Position-sensing ribbon controller * Programmable volume control * Options include USB, soundcard, breath control, PC patch editor,...

Modern Marvel: in 1987, Joe Satriani's "fantastic four"--vision, chops, tone, and composition--banded together to reinvent the instrumental guitar album.(Interview)
August 1, 2007... "I DIDN'T WANT MY FOLLOW-UP ALBUM to be a weird, quirky record... like my proper debut, Not of This Earth," says Joe Satriani, settling into a chair inside his San Francisco home studio. "I wanted my next record to be blown up to its full...

10 things you gotta do to play like Django Reinhardt.(LESSONS)
August 1, 2007... IF YOU COULD PINPOINT A BIG BANG IN THE GUITAR UNIVERSE, it would most likely have emanated from the strings and soundboard of Jean "Django" Reinhardt's steel-string acoustic on December 27, 1934, in Montparnasse, France. Reinhardt had...

Hammer time! Greg Howe shares a clever alternative to crosspicking called "hammer-ons from nowhere".(LESSONS: Master Class)
August 1, 2007... "I'D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO PICK LIKE PAUL Gilbert and those guys," confesses Greg Howe, "but it's just so much... work." When it comes to picking, Howe's problem is not that he's anything less than a black belt with the plectrum. (With 11...

Wes Montgomery's secret sauce.(ADVANCED)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... "The great Wes Montgomery often harmonized his solos with 'block chords,'" wrote Norah Jones guitarist and former GP staffer Adam Levy in the May '99 GP. "He shadowed his single-note lines with three- or four-voice chords. And not just on...

Steve Morse picks a winner.(INTERMEDIATE)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... In this month's Master Class, Greg Howe shows you sly ways to avoid the physically challenging technique of crosspicking. If you want to get good at crosspicking, though, there's simply no substitute for practice--and there's probably no better...

Johnny Hiland's train horn.(INTERMEDIATE)(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Joe Satriani tracked possibly the greatest steam train whistle lick in history on his self-titled 1984 EP But if you want to wail like a big ol' diesel train, then Johnny Hiland's Licks & Tricks, Vol. II [Mel Bay] has pulled into your station...

Steve Stevens' Rebel riff.(INTERMEDIATE)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... You don't have to have been rocking spandex and peroxide-blonde hair back in the '80s to remember Steve Stevens' hypnotizing intro to Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell." The song is still a rock radio mainstay, and, like some twisted combination of...

Dean Deleo's juicy power chords.(BEGINNER)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Who says you can't play extended chords with tons of distortion? Eddie Van Halen, that's who. ("You start dickin' with 7ths and 9ths through a blazing Marshall, and it will sound like crap," he told GP in April 1980.) Of course, there are...

Thumbs up with Tal Farlow.(ADVANCED)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... When it comes to the art of chordal accompaniment, Tal Farlow (1921-1998) was one of the greatest compers the guitar has ever known. Here are some fat grips he sometimes threw in during the first eight measures of the famous "Satin Doll" song...

Rusty Cooley's supersonic single-string triads.(ADVANCED)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... MAJOR AND MINOR TRIADS--WE DON'T always think of these innocuous, nursery-rhyme-simple harmonic clusters as building blocks of a molten metal cadenza. But in the hands of Rusty Cooley, diatonic triads pick up where Eddie Van Halen's soaring,...

Gretsch G400JV Jimmie Vaughan synchromatic.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2007... FEW INSTRUMENTS OOZE RETRO COOL LIKE A big-bodied blond archtop. Stir that up with a pinch of Gretsch styling and a dash of the panache of Texas blues slinger Jimmie Vaughan, and you might just brew up too much mojo for a mere mortal to handle....

Mojave Ampworks Scorpion.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2007... ANYONE FAMILIAR WITH MOJAVE AMPWORKS founder Victor Mason's other venture--a California dealership of vintage British amplifiers known as the Plexi Palace--will be aware of this amp maker's fanaticism for classic Marshall-style tones. The...

Vero Chicago Zephyr.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2007... THE 2X10 VARIANT OF THE 44-WATT ALL-TUBE Chicago Zephyr is a relatively new model from Vero, and it's housed in what is also a new cabinet style for the Chicago-based company. Early Vero amps were made in more limited runs of semi-custom,...

Swart Atomic Space Tone.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2007... FROM EVERY ANGLE, THE ATOMIC SPACE TONE evokes those cool Valco-made amps of the late 1940s and early '50s. Topped off by the pre-space-age "rocket boy" graphics, it's a pretty irresistible package for anyone with a taste for the formative...

Zoom H4 Handy Recorder.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2007... PICTURE, IF YOU WILL, A THIRD-GRADER HURRYING home from school to check the mail, only to be greeted by the disappointment of an empty mailbox. It has been weeks now, and the amazing Ten-In-One-Scope he ordered off the back of a comic book...

Source Audio Hot Hand Phaser/Flanger.(EDITORS' Guitar Player PICK)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2007... I'VE ALWAYS BEEN AN EXPRESSION PEDAL GUY. From the first time I tried a wah pedal, I've been hooked on the concept of real-time control of effect parameters. In the rack-tastic '80s, I took things up a notch by using expression pedals to fade...

Washburn WI66PROG.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2007... FROM ITS EARLY PARLOR-SIZED ACOUSTICS TO today's none-more-black rock weapons like the Maya and Paul Stanley models, the Washburn company has manufactured a little of everything 6-stringed in its 125-year history. The Korean-built WI66PROG...

Rick Turner Compass Rose.(EDITORS' Guitar Player PICK)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2007... SINCE HIS EARLY DAYS AT ALEMBIC, RICK TURNER has been designing guitars and basses that blend cutting-edge technology with superlative old-world craftsmanship. As such, it's no surprise that the Compass Rose--his newest jumbo acoustic...

Daisy Rock Retro-H De-Luxe.(GEAR: Field Test)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2007... MY GLORIOUS '99 GUILD X160 HAS BEEN A fantastic partner during my tenure in the Eva Jay Fortune Band. This dynamic "rockabilly" hollowbody delivers gritty overdrive tones, as well as meaty clean sounds that inspire Duane Eddy-esque single-note...

Hamer Talladega.(EDITORS' Guitar Player PICK)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2007... NAMED FOR THE ALABAMA SUPER-SPEEDWAY that was the site of Mark Donohue's record-setting speed run of 221 mph in a Porsche 917/30 in 1973 (the year that the first Hamer guitar was made), the Talladega also plays off the moniker of an equally...

Godin LG EMG.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2007... AMERICAN PLAYERS ALL TOO OFTEN NEGLECT to look north of the border when seeking a well-made guitar at a reasonable price. Makes like La Patrie, Seagull, Norman, Simon & Patrick, and Godin frequently offer astounding value, and all operate under...

Dan Erlewine's Mod Squad: saving autographs.(GEAR: DIY)
August 1, 2007... I REGULARLY GET QUESTIONS LIKE, "I WON A GUITAR THAT'S COVERED with autographs of famous players. How can I keep the signatures from being worn away?" Recently, two acoustics showed up at Mod Squad Headquarters in need of an autograph fix....

M-Audio IE-30 professional reference earphones.(GEAR: Accessory File)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2007... THE USE OF EARPHONES IN LIVE-performance environments has created a demand for better types of phones that can deliver high-fidelity sound while providing enough isolation for critical listening in high SPL conditions. The IE-30 earphones ($299...

Musician sound design Silver Machine.(GEAR: Stompbox Fever)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2007... THE GERMAN-BUILT SILVER MACHINE ($400 retail/$350 street) is a multi-faceted wah pedal that boasts a rugged stainless-steel housing, low-noise circuitry, and on/off switching via either a conventional footswitch or the Auto Magic Revolution...

John Nady.(GEAR: Meet Your Maker)
August 1, 2007... ON JULY 6, 1976, JOHN NADY started the company that brought his wireless revolution to the masses. Today, the sight of Broadway performers wearing head mics, guitarists levitating sans cords, and vocalists running across stages unencumbered by...

Lenny Breau 1974.(BACK 40: GP Archives)(Interview)
August 1, 2007... JAZZ GUITARIST LENNY BREAU, THE SON OF country and western singers Lone Pine and Betty Cody, has been described by Chet Atkins as "the most exciting new guitarist since Johnny Smith." Johnny Smith had warm words of his own for Breau,...