Guitar Player articles from December 2006

Guitar Player archives from December 2006

Noise.(Editorial)
December 1, 2006... SOMETIMES, IT CAN REALLY SUCK TO HOLD this job. At times, I even ponder what type of self-loathing oaf you have to be to put up with the pressures of producing a tangible artifact that's wide open to praise and censure from an extremely...

Letter of the month!(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... I am 13 years old, and an avid reader of GP. I recently had minor surgery, and when I got home from the hospital, I was tired and kind of disoriented. But wait--what's that on my kitchen table? A fresh issue of Guitar Player! The Henry Garza...

Pedalmania!(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... Thanks for the October issue's review of 28 "little boxes of bliss." I'm just starting to use pedals as I learn to play, and this is very helpful information. Some days, I even think there's hope for me learning to play my guitar. If your...

The gift that keeps giving.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... I've been playing guitar for more than 30 years now, and for a number of those years, I've also been reading GP. I have not been disappointed by your publication. In fact, I still have every single issue. And while I do look forward to each new...

You say "tomato".(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... In October's Lick Library, at the bottom of page 91, Jesse Gress describes one of Billy Gibbons' techniques as "pinched harmonics." Billy and the boys refer to this as "squankin," and Billy always uses this technique to great effect. My...

A modest proposal.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... I have a proposition to make. Put me on the cover of your magazine. I am young, I have long hair, and I can sweep pick. I enjoy all types of music--from Al Di Meola to Pig Destroyer to Frank Zappa to Megadeth. I adore Hendrix. Hell, I even like...

Keaggy.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... Your article on one of the best guitar players ever, Phil Keaggy, brought back many wonderful memories. Seeing Phil with Glass Harp in the early 1970s greatly inspired and motivated my growth as a player and performer. Phil played his...

Imagine.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... When I receive my monthly issue, I usually gravitate toward the articles on contemporary guitarists, and skip the features written about "less popular" (though no less talented) players--probably because my students expect me to know the...

Lynda Kay Parker.(RIFFS: ROCKER GIRL)(interview)(Interview)
December 1, 2006... "I WEAR MY MOM'S 1967 RODEO QUEEN OUTFIT onstage every night on tour," says the Lonesome Spurs' Lynda Kay Parker, as if the sight of her stomping out rhythms on a '64 American Tourister suitcase--and sharing the stage with rockabilly...

Andy Rinehart's irony and paradox.(RIFFS: SONGWRITING)(Column)
December 1, 2006... "IN ORDER TO FUNCTION, CULTURES TEND TO revolve around a narrow interpretation of the reality of life, and that often forces us into a certain sameness," says singer-songwriter Andy Rinehart. "I think that is represented in a lot of popular...

Myspace hordes.(RIFFS: COMMUNITY)
December 1, 2006... 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...

Banning Eyre's African insights.(RIFFS: AFROPOP)(interview)(Interview)
December 1, 2006... BESIDES HAVING CONTRIBUTED TO GP FOR NEARLY 20 years, Banning Eyre serves as the senior editor at Afropop.org, appears regularly on NPR's All Things Considered and Afropop Worldwide programs, and writes for numerous print and online...

Readers' Choice Awards 2007 Ballot.(RIFFS: CONTEST!)
December 1, 2006... IT'S TIME ONCE AGAIN FOR THE GUITAR PLAYER reader community to rise up and vote on its pet products of 2006. This year, we've also included some magazine and artist categories, so you can cheese your favorite guitar heroes--which is basically...

Jim McCarty.(RIFFS: NO GUITARIST LEFT BEHIND)
December 1, 2006... JEFF BECK POSTPONED HIS PLANS TO team up with drummer Carmine Appice and bassist Tim Bogert when he was sidelined by a car accident in 1970. Consequently, the ex-Vanilla Fudge rhythm section chose Motor City wunderkind Jim McCarty to fill the...

Carvin turns 60.(RIFFS: INDUSTRY INSIDER)(Company overview)
December 1, 2006... FOR SIX DECADES NOW, THE SAN DIEGO, California-based Carvin company has been the most democratic of instrument custom shops. The family-owned operation sells everything it manufactures factory direct, and you don't have to be a rock star to...

Steve Miller.(RIFFS: OEUVRE EASY)(guitarist)
December 1, 2006... IS HE THE SPACE COWBOY? SHOULD WE CALL HIM THE GANGSTER OF LOVE? AND WHAT EXACTLY IS A "Pompatus" anyway? One thing is for certain--Steve Miller is an American pop institution. Four decades on from his mid-'60s Bay Area beginnings, Miller can...

Darker My Love.(RIFFS: BUZZ)(Interview)
December 1, 2006... FORGET CREAM, THE ROLLING STONES, OR Jimi Hendrix. If your idea of the quintessential '60s sound is the Pretty Things, 13th Floor Elevators, or the Nuggets compilation, then Darker My Love's self-titled phantasmagoric mind-trip, Darker My Love...

In memoriam.(musician Bill Schultz )(In memoriam)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... On September 21, Bill Schultz passed away at his home in Arizona. As the leader offender for more than 20 years, Bill brought an irrepressible zeal to his work and orchestrated a remarkable comeback for the iconic company. A dedicated...

Phil Keaggy: Roundabout.(AUDIO)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Recorded during sound checks and later edited--but not overdubbed--these entirely improvised compositions are master classes in the art of live looping and digital audio arranging. Often refreshed by a hotel room nap, Keaggy would just begin...

Rolf Lislevand: Nuove Musiche.(AUDIO)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... If you're curious to hear the music our ancestors wrote for the guitar, lute, and related instruments, you'll want to listen to Norwegian baroque guitarist Rolf Lislevand and his ensemble. On Nuove Musiche, the seven-piece group tackles...

What's spinning in the editors' heads this month?(RANTS & RAVES)
December 1, 2006... DARRIN FOH The Soft Boys, Underwater Moonlight Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell Lee Morgan, Search For the New Land BARRY CLEVELAND John Lee Hooker. Hooker [Box Set] John Frusciante, Shadows Collide With People Nels Cline, New...

Make Believe: Of Course.(AUDIO)(guitarist Sam Zurick )(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... GP readers may remember Make Believe guitarist Sam Zurick from the January '06 Buzz column. He was the guy who does 600 pushups a day and whose practice sessions are intense enough to give him a "runner's high." Needless to say, Zurick is...

Paul Gilbert: Get Out of My Yard.(AUDIO)(guitarist)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Forget his insane chops. The best quality in Paul Gilbert's playing is that he sounds like he's having a blast in a genre (instrumental guitar rock) full of guys who, lets face it, take themselves pretty seriously. On Get Out of My Yard,...

Rodrigo Y Gabriela: Rodrigo y Gabriela.(AUDIO)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Natives of Mexico who eventually set up shop in Dublin, Ireland, Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero manage to roll the spirit and fire of Latin folk music, metal, flamenco--and anything else they want--into an oeuvre that is enlightening,...

The Rolling Stones: In The Beginning: by Bent Raj.(PRINT)(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2006... Celebrated Danish photographer Bent Raj crossed paths with the Rolling Stones in late 1964, and quickly endeared himself to the band, particularly the late guitarist Brian Jones. The majority of the photographs in this colossal 320-page book...

Advanced Pro Tools: DVD Volume II.(INSTRUCTION)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
December 1, 2006... Volume II is actually the third installment in the Secrets of the Pros instructional DVD series, and it delivers more of the greasy details about Digidesign's popular Pro Tools recording software up to version 7.x. Fledgling engineers should...

1. Startouch ST2 Solid Steel A/B + y Pedal.(OUT NOW!)
December 1, 2006... Soldered point-to-point using high-performance oxygen-free wire * Double-grounded to help eliminate hum * Shielded case prevents RF noise * True bypass * Powder coat finish (red, blue, or black) * $89 retail * startouchpedals.com ...

2. Postal Monkey Guitar and Bass Cases.(OUT NOW!)
December 1, 2006... Premium plywood hardshell exterior with extra thick Tolex covering * Heavy-duty hardware with dual locks * Built-in chromatic tuner and string pouch * Designs include Ex-Ray (pictured), Union Jack, Revolutionary, and Checkered Postal Monkey *...

3. Schecter Guitar Research C-1 Shedevil.(OUT NOW!)
December 1, 2006... Mahogany body and neck, ebony fretboard * TonePros Tune-o-Matic locking system * Duncan Designed Active HB-105 humbuckers * $769 retail * schecterguitars.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

4. Jensen 12" Neodymium Speaker.(OUT NOW!)
December 1, 2006... High-powered and extremely lightweight * Rated at 100 watts * Available in 4, 8, or 16 ohms * $99 retail * jensenneos.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

5. Diamond Amplification Spec Op 100-Watt Head.(OUT NOW!)
December 1, 2006... Two-channel design with independent Volume, Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble, and Presence controls * Four EL34 power tubes, seven 12AX? preamp tubes * Dual Volume and Gain controls on the crunch channel * Footswitchable tube boost for Clean channel,...

6. M-Audio Guitar Box.(OUT NOW!)
December 1, 2006... Combines Black Box Reloaded guitar recording system with Pro Tools M-Powered software * 40 amp models * 121 effects * 100 drum patterns * Effects and drum machine sync to tap-tempo or external MIDI clock * Built-in guitar tuner * G-Rack plug-in...

Rollin' on the rhythm: Ike Turner is still laying down some nasty grooves.(Interview)
December 1, 2006... "He POLARIZES PEOPLE," STATES KINGS OF Rhythm guitarist Seth Blumberg about his boss and mentor Ike Turner. The pioneering blues and R&B legend's reputation was mangled by the 1993 bio pic What's Love Got to Do With It?--told from his former...

Liona Boyd's life-changing musical journey.(Latin Allure)(Interview)
December 1, 2006... FROM PLAYING IN A COURTHOUSE TO ENTERTAIN "BORED STIFF" O.J. SIMPSON jurors at the request of Judge Lance Ito to giving a command performance for the British Royal Family, classical guitarist Liona Boyd has never met an audience she didn't...

Masters of Menace: Strapping Young Lad is the new raging bull!(dialogue with Devin Townsend)(Interview)
December 1, 2006... TO SAY STRAPPING YOUNG LAD IS INTENSE IS LIKE calling a Maui sunset "pretty." The description may be correct, but it doesn't even begin to cover the details. Not by a long shot. The band's sixth release, The New Black [Century Media], shows...

Kickout the jams: Warren Haynes gets loud and loose with Gov't Mule.(interview)(Interview)
December 1, 2006... Standing onstage, Warren Haynes is an imposing figure, and when he digs into his '58 Les Paul Reissue, the resulting tones are as burly as the man himself. With his supple vibrato, molten tone, grinding chords, melodic double-stops, and soaring...

The vortex stripped bare.(interview with guitarists Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo)(Interview)
December 1, 2006... THOUGH FREQUENTLY CAST--OR MISCAST--AS A NOISE ROCK band, Sonic Youth's dense guitar textures, disregard for conventional song structures, dreamy dynamics, and alternate tunings have certainly put the group at the forefront of New York's...

Electric mistress: Kaki King isn't solely solo acoustic any more.(interview)(Interview)
December 1, 2006... KAKI, KING GOING ELECTRIC MAY NOT BE NEWS of "Dylan-goes-electric-at-the- 1965-Newport-Folk-Festival" proportions, but it's a pretty big deal when the heir apparent to the solo-acoustic guitar throne drops her trademark Ovation Adamas, plugs...

Freaky modal emotionalism: just might be the underground's guitar hero of choice.(interview with guitarist Page Hamilton)(Interview)
December 1, 2006... WHEN EVALUATING MUSIC, THE CONCEPT OF REALITY can be quite different for a guitarist than for a member of the public at large. Take the Helmet example, for instance. When the band appeared on the scene in 1991, with its independently released...

The top five Wes Montgomery riffs of all time.(LICK LIBRARY)(John Leslie Montgomery )
December 1, 2006... ALTHOUGH HE WAS LARGELY SELF-TAUGHT--AND COULDN'T READ MUSIC-Wes Montgomery influenced the lexicon of jazz guitar with his pioneering tone, technique, and groove, and, like his idol Charlie Christian, stands as a school unto himself. Born...

Spank! How to slap, pop, yank, and smack magical new sounds out of your favorite guitar.(LESSONS: MASTER CLASS)
December 1, 2006... OKAY, GUITARSLINGERS, ENOUGH'S ENOUGH. For decades, funk bassists have been having heaps of fun with this whole "slap/pop" thing, and we guitarists--a typically me-oriented bunch not known for being generous with the spotlight--have, for some...

Rock Guru: solo-tary confinement.(LESSONS: INTERMEDIATE)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... WHEN GUITARISTS THINK OF MELODIC AND harmonic freedom, they often think of being able to blaze up and down the neck, shifting freely from position to position, But you might be surprised by just how much you can come up with creatively when you...

Woodshed: six cool ways to dress up a melody.(LESSONS: ADVANCED)
December 1, 2006... ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES EVERY jazz guitarist faces is the task of coming up with interesting arrangements for tunes. According to the late, great jazz legend Joe Pass, the trick to playing solo guitar is to create the illusion of more...

EZ street: blending sus colors.(LESSONS: BEGINNER)
December 1, 2006... WHEN YOU HEAR SKILLED GUITARISTS COAX restless, haunting chords from their strings, chances are you're listening to suspended harmony. "Sus" chords aren't any harder to play than standard-issue major or minor chords, yet they sound much more...

Reader's challenge: rollin' with the changes.(LESSONS: ADVANCED)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... "BRING GUITARS, FIDDLES, MANDOLINS, AND other instruments," a party invitation reads. "Even bring banjos (if you must)." Once again, the banjo finds itself on the butt end of a joke. But it would be a mistake for guitarists to dismiss the music...

MIC cabinet: ribbon microphones.(RECORDING)(Product/service evaluation)
December 1, 2006... GUITARISTS ARE ALWAYS TAKING ABOUT TUBE warmth, brown sound, and creamy saturation, but when it comes down to recording those luxurious tones, they typically employ microphones that accentuate snap and punch. Now, there's absolutely nothing...

Technioues: shape up your space.(RECORDING)
December 1, 2006... A SUCCESSFUL HOME STUDIO IS CREATED through a series of compromises that maximize the function of the space despite any limiting issues. It may not be the room of your dreams, but it's yours. Generating the right sound from your recording...

Deke the guitar geek: Standel custom.(VINTAGE VAULT)(Standel Company )(Company overview)
December 1, 2006... FOUNDED IN THE EARLY 1950s, THE STANDEL COMPANY of Temple City, California, was the brainchild of Bob Crooks--a man who got his start building custom amplifiers for Joe Maphis, Speedy West, and Merle Travis. Along the way, however, Crooks...

Marshall super 100JH limited edition.(GEAR)(Product/service evaluation)
December 1, 2006... THE NEW SUPER 100JH--MARSHALL'S latest hand-wired model--is based on an original Super 100 reportedly owned by Hendrix. The new amp's construction is consistent with that of the original, and Marshall obtained components from many of the...

Fender super-sonic.(GEAR)(Product/service evaluation)
December 1, 2006... FENDER'S NEW SUPER-SONIC--THE LATEST addition to its Pro Tube series--reflects what appears to be an industry-wide trend of applying some digital-modeling concepts to traditional tube-powered designs. The Super-Sonic is an all-tube amp that...

Electro-harmonix flanger hoax.(GEAR)(Product/service evaluation)
December 1, 2006... FLANGERS HAVE COME A LONG WAY SINCE THE days when two tape machines were needed to create the effect. Most of the flanging sounds of the '60s and '70s were made by touching the flange of the tape reel on one machine to slow it down relative to...

Santa Cruz H 13.(GEAR)(Product/service evaluation)
December 1, 2006... WHILE DISCUSSING HIS PREDILECTION FOR 12-fret acoustics, Steve Earle once told me, "Hell, there ain't no money up past the 12th fret anyway." It's a feeling shared by many fingerpickers, tone hounds, and traditionalists alike. Unless you're...

Nik Huber Redwood.(GEAR)(Product/service evaluation)
December 1, 2006... THE NAME NIK HUBER MIGHT RING FEW BELLS in guitar circles here in the USA, but in his native Germany, Huber has achieved a reputation on par with the likes of Tom Anderson, Don Grosh, and John Suhr. Like these respected American makers, Huber...

Terratec Axon AX 100 MKII.(GEAR)(Product/service evaluation)
December 1, 2006... MIDI GUITAR'S BUMPY ROAD TO ACCEPTANCE has been salted with compromise and slow progress. Initially, most guitar-to-MIDI converters could track their built-in sounds with ease, but these units typically didn't fare as well with external...

Dan Erlewine's Mod Squad.(GEAR)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... THE MOD SQUAD HAS MADE AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY: An off-the-shelf replacement bridge for the Gibson ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic that matches the bridge saddles to the radius of the fretboard. Steve Rowen at Pigtail Music offers two bridge models that...

Snake Oil brand original nickel and rock formula strings.(ACCESSORY FILE)(Product/service evaluation)
December 1, 2006... Snake Oil Strings purveyor Dean Farley got the idea of creating vintage-style strings after playing a 1960 Les Paul Standard in the '80s, and wondering what the guitar would sound like with the original factory strings. According to Farley, a...

Joe Bonamassa on the next guitar generation.(TESTIMONY)(Interview)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... "THE BAR FOR BEING A PROFESSIONAL guitarist has been lowered. I'm not writing off an entire generation--as there are some brilliant players coming up--and I'm not saying everyone should shred. But I come across young guitar players all the time...