Guitar Player articles from January 2008

Guitar Player archives from January 2008

Noize from the editor.(Editorial)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I ADORE MY JOB BECAUSE IT CONJURES more surreal moments than Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau, and Marcel Duchamp could yank out of a marshmallow giraffe. The latest in a series of strange and blissful events is occurring...

Letter of the month.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... I just got the November 2007 issue and immediately noticed the caricatures of some guitar greats--Carlos Santana. Jimi Hendrix. Jimmy Page, and Frank Zappa. As I looked more closely, I called my wife into the room and said, "I didn't know...

Heroes A-Z.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... Why didn't I have parents whose last name is Queridus or Xant? Why didn't my parents call me Quincy or Xavier--anything beginning with a "Q" or an "X"? If they did, Billy Zoom and Robert Quine might have had some competition in the November...

Mr. big stuff.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... Being a huge Kotzen fan for years (even before the Poison days), you can't imagine how happy I was to see your recent article on Richie Kotzen. He's a total monster on just about any instrument--especially the guitar--but the greatest thing...

Oops!(FEEDBACK)(Correction notice)
January 1, 2008... October's Rants and Raves review of Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970 attributed the song "Foolish Woman" to the wrong band. The song was actually written and performed by the Oxford Circle, and featured Dehner Patten on...

Steve Morse.(RIFFS: Rock)(Interview)
January 1, 2008... IT'S FUNNY-EVEN THOUGH STEVE MORSE HAS BEEN A MEMBER OF DEEP PURPLE FOR nearly 14 years, he still seems like "the new guy." That's how it goes when you join a supergroup that got its start back in the '60s. ("But I'm in the band," Morse had to...

Terje Rypdal.(RIFFS: Oeuvre Easy)(Biography)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ALTHOUGH COMPARATIVELY UNKNOWN IN the U.S., Terje Rypdal is widely hailed as a virtuoso guitarist and composer throughout Europe, particularly in his native Norway. After studying classical piano and trumpet, he...

Editor boy's big eight.(RIFFS: MySpace Hordes)
January 1, 2008... 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...

Nick Moss.(RIFFS: Blues)(Interview)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TO FIND A SINGER/GUITARIST/SONGWRITER who excels at all three pursuits is a rare thing, but Nick Moss is not content to rest on those laurels alone--the young Chicagoan is a one-man cottage industry. His label, Blue...

Gilbert Zvamaida.(RIFFS: Afropop)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHEN GILBERT ZVAMAIDA STRAPS ON HIS AX to play lead guitar for Zimbabwe's preeminent pop act, Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited, the weight of history is on his shoulders. Zvamaida is at least the sixth lead...

Jeff Toale's guitart.(RIFFS: Craft)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHEN HE ISN'T DEFYING SNOW, RAIN, HEAT, AND GLOOM OF NIGHT AS a mail courier, Oakridge, New Jersey's Jeff Toale is bringing new meaning to the expression carved top. "The electric guitars are and-carved out of solid...

John Scofield.(RIFFS: Jazz)(Interview)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FOR OVER 30 YEARS, JOHN SCOFIELD HAS NOT ONLY PUSHED the limits of jazz guitar, he's pushed himself in a variety of musical contexts. From fusion to bebop to electronica to soul jazz, the 55-year old Scofield...

Guy Buttery.(RIFFS: Acoustic)(Interview)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] GUY BUTTERY'S GOAL IS TO STRETCH THE boundaries of fingerstyle guitar to their outermost limits. The South African guitarist traverses territory as diverse as folk, jazz, Celtic, classical, minimalism, Indian music,...

Warren DeMartini.(RIFFS: No Guitarist Left Behind)(Interview)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE '80S WERE SOME SERIOUS SALAD DAYS FOR rock guitar. Particularly in Southern California, where the emergence of Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads paved the way for a new generation +of hot shot hard rock...

eBay prize: late-1990's Yamaha AEX-502.(RIFFS: Vintage Vault)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2008... I FIRST SAWTHIS GUITAR AT A TRADE show around 2000, and immediately fell in love with the classic design: a small, semi-hollow body with f-holes, two dog-ear P-90 pick-ups, orange color with gold hardware, and an inexpensive price to boot. It...

Santeri Ojala.(RIFFS: Shred)(Interview)
January 1, 2008... "ONE DAY I WAS WATCHING A VIDEO OF Steve Vai performing, and the sound was off," says Santeri Ojala, the 32-year-old media artist from Tampere, Finland, who is the madman behind the YouTube.com "Shreds" video series. "The whole thing looked...

Brophy Dale.(RIFFS: Roots Rock)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BROPHY DALE SAYS THAT WHEN HE FIRST picked up a 6-string over 30 years ago, the notion that playing would evolve from a passion to a profession seemed like mere folly. But not only has Dale parlayed playing into a...

Swati.(RIFFS: Songwriting)(Interview)
January 1, 2008... FINDING BEAUTY IN CHAOS IS AT THE CORE of New York City-based singer/songwriter Swati Sharma's latest CD, Small Gods [Blulnammock]. Sharma, who prefers to go solely by her first name, explores themes that include triumphing over the soulless...

Mark Tremonti.(RIFFS: Metal)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AFTER DISSOLVING THEIR MEGA-SELLING BAND Creed in 2004, guitarist Mark Tremonti, drummer Scott Phillips, and bassist Brian Marshall formed Alter Bridge, recruiting former Mayfield Four frontman Myles Kennedy on...

Keri Kelli.(RIFFS: Super Sideman)(Interview)
January 1, 2008... IN ADDITION TO THE ADVANTAGES OF THE SUN and surf and Tinsehown mystique, living in Southern California has definitely nurtured the success of Keri Kelli. After scoring his first professional break in 1998 playing with Tal Bachman (Randy...

Supernatural: Never Give Up.(Audio)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] SUPERNATURAL Never Give Up Pure guitar playing is wonderful, of course, and we all adore stunning examples of technique and tone. Perhaps a less-appreciated aspect of guitarcraft is using the instrument to...

Sola Akingbola: Routes to Roots: Yoruba Drums From Nigeria.(Audio)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SOLA AKINGBOLA Routes to Roots: Yorubo Drums From Nigeria You won't find a single note of guitar on this disc. In fact, other than the talking drums, batas, sakaras, bembes, and other hand drums and percussion...

What's spinning in the editors' heads this month?(RANTS & RAVES)
January 1, 2008... MATT BLACKETT Coheed & Cambria, No World for Tomorrow Switchfoot, The Beautiful Letdown Marvelous 3, Reedy. Sex, Go! BARRY CLEVELAND Chris Whitley & Jeff Long, Dislocation Blues Michael Lee Firkins, Blacklight Sonatos...

The Screamin' Lords: Long Live Me.(AUDIO)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE SCREAMIN' LORDS Long Live Me People toss around a lot of phrases when they babble on about today's rock bands, but the word "swagger" is nearly extinct. Swagger used to be the sexy-fearless-rebellious strut...

Jeremy Fisher: Goodbye Blue Monday.(Audio)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] JEREMY FISHER Goodbye Blue Monday Acoustic troubadour Jeremy Fisher has a bona fide viral sensation on his hands with the homemade video (shot on a $60 budget!) for his tune "Cigarette." The clip has been viewed...

Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga.(PRINT)(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] EVERYBODY WANTS SOME The Van Halen Saga By Ian Christe Calling itself "the first definitive biography of the ultimate American rock band" (can there be more than one "definitive" biography?), this book is kind of...

Guyatone: Mo-3 Micro Octaver.(GEAR: NEW GEAR)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Analog octave divider that offers one and two octaves down as well as a Dry blend control * Three filter types and a Pre-Gain control allow for a wide variety of effects, from subtle doubling to analog synth textures * 9-volt battery or AC...

PRS Guitars: Mira.(GEAR: NEW GEAR)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Solid mahogany body and neck * East Indian rosewood fretboard * Mira treble and bass pickups * Offered in a range of colors including Vintage Cherry, Orange, Vintage Mahogany, Black, Wild Mint, Lilac, Seafoam Green, Powder Blue, and Sandstorm *...

Taylor Guitars: custom solidbody electric.(GEAR: NEW GEAR)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Sapele body with inset top of buried walnut * Tropical mahogany neck with ebony fretboard * New proprietary Taylor 3/4-size full-output humbuckers * S-way pickup selector switch * Price TBD * taylorguitars.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Fishman: AFX pedals.(GEAR: NEW GEAR)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Specifically designed for use with acoustic guitar * Chorus, Delay, and Reverb models available * All-metal construction * Eight presets * Analog buffered bypass * Powered by 9-volt battery or AC adaptor * Chorus pedal includes three choruses,...

Carr Amplifiers: mini-mercury 1-10 combo amp.(GEAR: NEW GEAR)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... All-tube reverb, 3-position Boost switch, Treble cut switch, and a built in attenuator for 8-, 2-, 1/2-, or 1/10-watt operation * Uses a single JJ EL34 power tube, two 12AX7s, and one 12AT7 * 10" Eminence "Lil Buddy" hemp cone speaker * $2,250...

Electratone, Inc.: No. 1 pedal.(GEAR: NEW GEAR)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... True bypass, 100 percent analog circuit * Three channels provide Fuzz, Overdrive, or Distortion with Volume, Gain, Tone and Mode switch * Boost channel provides up to a 50 percent gain boost for lead * Overdrive mode utilizes a new patented...

Renaissance man: Queen's Brian May holds court on homemade guitars, heavenly bodies, and how to layer dozens of guitar tracks in an three-minute pop song.(Interview)(Cover story)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AH, QUEEN... THE POMP, THE CIRCUMSTANCE. THE PAGEANTRY, the majesty. They could be as heavy as Black Sabbath with a tune like "Ogre Battle" and more prim, proper, and flamboyant than the Beatles ever were on "Lazing...

10 things you gotta do to play like Johnny Winter.(LESSONS)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] LET'S SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT. IN THE WAKE OF STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN'S meteoric rise to fame and subsequent legacy, there may exist generations who have either forgotten or never knew that another Texas guitarist had...

Bebop guitar: surfing the changes with jazz's most exhilarating soloing style.(LESSONS: Style Council)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] BEBOP GUITAR HAS COME A LONG WAY IN THE LAST 60 YEARS OR SO. It began with a handful of often self-taught guitarists struggling to adapt the fast, flowing lines of musicians such as saxophonist Charlie Parker,...

The dueling axes of Umphrey's McGee: Jake Cinninger and Brendan Bayliss rewrite the rules of dual-guitar riff rock.(LESSONS: Master Class)
January 1, 2008... WHEN IT COMES TO DUAL-GUITAR JAM bands, old, school rock puritans may be reluctant to acknowledge much life existing beyond At Fillmore East and Europe '72 (the epic live jam benchmarks set by the Allman Brothers and the Grateful Dead,...

Advanced: boneless chicken pickin'.(LESSONS: Quick Licks)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] To many players, there's only one thing to do with a string bent up a whole-step: release it. These guitarists forget that as they release that string, the bent note passes through another "Western" note a half-step...

Beginner: Jimmy Page's mesmerizing open tunings.(LESSONS: Quick Licks)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Many young rock guitarists are in such a hurry to learn their instrument, they're hesitant to experiment with new tunings, afraid the alien interval set will effectively cancel out everything they've struggled so hard to learn. Not true. New...

Intermediate: the killers' killer riff.(LESSONS: Quick Licks)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In recent years, chart-topping guitar licks have become increasingly few and far between. However, with the shimmering intro to their 2004 smash hit "Mr. Brightside" (below), guitarist David Keuning and the Killers...

Intermediate: rad reader riff!.(LESSONS: Quick Licks)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Here's a nice sounding acoustic lick," writes Eli Garcia of Ventura, California, in a bit of an understatement. descending McCartney-approved harmonies orbiting around a hypnotically droning open G string (think...

Beginner: must-know folk strokes.(LESSONS: Quick Licks)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... To become a versatile player, there are some approaches you just gotta have down. This simple and folksy plucking pattern is found on more platinum albums than you can shake an iPod at. Stevie Nicks/Lindsey Buckingham-era Fleetwood Mac is just...

Intermediate: swingin' with Larry Coryell.(LESSONS: Quick Licks)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Something I learned from the great Wes Montgomery is how to increase a solo's 'swing factor' by going from single notes to octaves," wrote fusion pioneer Larry Coryell in the February '87 GP. To illustrate his...

Extreme sweeping: Jean-Marc Belkadi's polytonal plectrum pyrotechnics.(LESSONS: Soloing Seminar)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHO IS THE MOST INFLUENTIAL electric guitarist of all time? Hendrix? Clapton? Page? Van Halen? Wrong. You'll need some lethal debate skills to prove that any rock guitarist would even have a stage to stand on without...

Equipment extravaganza! 25 tasty tone toys.(GEAR: Roundup!)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS" SO THE OLD SAYING goes. This axiom holds true for a lot of things in life, but has special meaning for those of us who do product reviews. The avalanche of gear that pours into our offices...

Carvin NS1.(GEAR: Roundup!)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2008... IT TOOK CARVIN IN CONJUNCTION with Graph Tech and guitarist Steve Oliver two years to develop the NS1 ($1,299 direct), a cutting edge nylon-string guitar with both 1/4" and 13-pin MIDI synth outputs. The NS1 features a chambered mahogany body...

Bad cat leash.(Guitar Player EDITORS' PICK)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TUBE AMPS ALWAYS SOUND BEST WHEN THEY'RE TURNED up enough so that the power tubes can flex their muscles. Doing this, however, often results in so much volume that you have to use the master to hold down the level,...

Music man ball family reserve Steve Lukather Model.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2008... Steve Lukather has been a good friend of the GP family for years--and he recently logged his third consecutive year as a judge for the magazine's annual Guitar Hero competition--but if his signature guitar sucked, we'd publish the news without...

Music man ball family reserve John Petrucci 6 signature.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2008... Co-designed by Dream Theater's shred-eriffic guitarist, the John Petrucci 6 ($3,999 retail/$2,799 street) is a high-end instrument with the tone-enhancing feature of a mahogany block that runs inside the alder body from bridge to neck pocket....

Revival RG-27.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... BUDGET ALLOWING, IT'S ALWAYS PREFERABLE TO BUY AN acoustic guitar made from solid woods* Plank for plank, laminates don't resonate as nicely as solid woods and they don't improve much with time either--ever heard anyone touting the sonic...

Rivera Venus 6.(Guitar Player EDITORS' PICK)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AT FIRST BLUSH THE VENUS 6 ($2,499 STREET) looks a lot like other Rivera amps. The 13 knobs on the front panel are identical to those on the Quiana and Fandango models, and you get the same choice of American and...

Jay Turser JT-55P.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BASED ON ONE OF GIBSON'S ALL-TIME COOLEST designs, the JT-55P. ($349 retail/$229 street features a double cutaway mahogany body and a set maple neck that sports a rosewood fretboard. The gloss black finish looks...

Burrell 4/4 Jazz.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] LEO BURRELL IS ONE OF THE GUITAR COMMUNITY'S mad scientists, and I salute these brave and inspired wackos because, even if they fail to produce a mass-market product, their ideas delight and embolden us all. As a...

Vox: AC15H1TV Handwired Combo.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2008... I HAVE A THEORY THAT YOU CAN JUDGE ANY vintage amplifier's abiding impact by the number of new designs that emulate it. In the past couple of years the boutique world has given us the 65 Amps London 18, Gabriel Voxer 18, TopHat Supreme 16, and...

Bad cat classic cat.(Guitar Player EDITORS' PICK)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] One Volume control and one Tone control. What more do you really need if your guitar sounds good? That's the beautifully simple logic of the 20-watt Classic Cat $1,831 retail/$1,499 street), which sports a single...

JH-F1 Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face.(Guitar Player EDITORS' PICK)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Designed to be as faithful as possible to the circa'69/'70 Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face used by Hendrix, the JH-F1 ($249 retail/$149 street) features a circular metal enclosure with authentic-style (silicon era) knobs...

Dunlop JH-OC1 Jimi Hendrix Octavio.(Guitar Player EDITORS' PICK)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A special ops engineering team from Dunlop went to Experience Muse Project in Seattle to copy an actual Octavio (a.k.a Octavia) of the same type as the one Roger Mayer gave to Hendrix for his infamous Band of Gypsys...

Dunlop JH-1B Jimi H0 Signature wah.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The introduction of the wah-wah pedal in 1967 coincided with the debut of Jimi Hendrix, and this magical combination of man and machine ushered in a lexicon of guitar tones that will probably forever inspire electric...

Krank Rev JR.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2008... THERE'S SOMETHING IMMENSELY satisfying about rolling an all-tube full-tack around on a small handcart. This convenience is just one cool aspect of owning Krank's waist-high portable distortion volcano, the Rev JR ($1,199 retail/$899 street,...

Schertler David.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MADE IN SWITZERLAND, THE PINT-SIZED DAVID acoustic amp ($1,149 retail/$999 street) sports a 6" woofer and a 1" tweeter and weighs in at a lovely 20 lbs. Pumping out a healthy 80 watts in bi-amp configuration (the...

Zemaitis GZA300-Heart.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2008... WHETHER YOU JUDGE THEM DIVINE OR DERANGED, Tony Zemaitis' creations rarely fail to draw a strong reaction, and they never fail to get a player noticed. Zemaitis was best known for his solidbody electrics with highly engraved metal or...

Crate FlexWave FW120.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FEATURING THE COMPANY'S EVOLUTION 5 PREAMP with patented Sequential Cascading Gain technology, the FW120 ($599 retail/$379 street) is a 120-watt, 2x12 combo with three foot-switchable channels, reverb, and DSP...

FreeNote 12-Tone Ultra Plus.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2008... IN THE MANUAL FOR THE FREENOTE 12-TONE ULTRA Plus, designer Jon Cader makes an intriguing statement: "In the space between two adjacent frets on a standard guitar, there lies an infinity of notes. Guitarists have accessed these pitches with...

Reunion Blues Guitar GigBag.(Guitar Player EDITORS' PICK)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2008... GIG BAGS ARE AVAILABLE IN A WIDE VARIETY OF MATERIALS AND PRICE RANGES, WITH THE LEAST expensive being the unpadded nylon types and the most costly made from padded leather. The GigBag from Reunion Blues ($538 retail/$430 street) falls into the...

Morgan Monroe Creekside MV-EC-45.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE ERA OF OVERLY GLOSSY ACOUSTICS INLAID WITH GOBS OF ABALONE that used to be icons of Pacific Rim manufacture are steadily giving way to ever more organic designs such as the Creekside MV-EC-45 ($619 retail/$429...

Fuchs Tripledrive Supreme 150.(Guitar Player EDITORS' PICK)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] POWERED BY FOUR 6550S AND DELIVERING A punishing 150 watts (50 and 100 watt versions are also available), the Tripledrive Supreme head ($4,195 retail/street N/A) is a U.S.-made. Dumble-inspired boutique monster that...

Moogerfooger MF-107 FreqBox.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE FIRST MOOGERFOOGER pedals were relatively conventional: A low-pass filter, a ring-modulator, a phase-shifter, and an analog delay. Then came the decidedly more unusual MuRF and Bass MuRF boxes, which create...

Cornford Carrera.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE POPULARITY OF CORNFORD'S 6-WATT Harlequin recording amp led directly to the development of a more featuresome single-ended class-A model called the Carrera ($1,999 retail/street price N/A). The new British-made...

Michael Tuttle Hollow Custom Gold Top.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MICHAEL TUTTLE'S BACKGROUND INCLUDES STINTS with Valley Arts and Don Grosh Guitars, where, among other things, he gained a reputation for his fretwork. That's easy to understand when handling the Hollow Custom Gold...

6-String sparkler.(BACK PAGE: Shop Talk)
January 1, 2008... WELCOME TO GP'S NEW SHOP TALK COLUMN, which will now appear regularly in this section of the magazine. Tube amp wizard Gerald Weber will field your amplifier related questions, and we'll call on experts in other fields to kick down the answers...