Guitar Player articles from January 2009

Guitar Player archives from January 2009

Noize from the editor.
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS, AMERICA WILL have a new president-elect. It may be Obama, or it may be McCain. You may be happy and anticipating better things to come, or you may believe that president so-and-so is going...

Letter of the month.(Feedback)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... The non-egocentric, transcendent, existential side of me thinks that Carlos Santana did a bit too much "experimenting" back in the "60s. The ego-driven realist side of me thinks, "Rock on, dude!" Tony Vega VIA INTERNET Every month, GP...

Santana.(Feedback)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... Once again an interview with Carlos Santana, and, once again, a tremendous learning experience--a learning experience, of course, that cannot be quantified. A couple of years ago, on an otherwise dreary Sunday afternoon, as I was driving to the...

Jerry Reed.(Feedback)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... It's such a shame that Jerry Reed had to pass away to finally get the recognition he so rightly deserved as a guitarist. While he left a huge recording legacy, I urge everyone that reads GP to seek out Jerry Reed Explores Country Guitar. Gut...

Oops!(Feedback)(Correction notice)
January 1, 2009... The December issue's Dave Martone Soloing Seminar contained a "Hec" of an error in its reference to Hector Villa-Lobos. Mr. Villa-Lobos' first name is spelled Heitor.

David Cook on performance.(RIFFS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... TO MANY, DAVID COOK IS "THAT POP GUY who won American Idol." To the kajillions of Idol fans who watched the show religiously in 2008, however, Cook is the rock guy. He's the singer/guitarist who regularly stepped on the Idol stage with a Les...

Billy Bob Thornton on immediacy.(RIFFS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "When I'm not with the kids or making a movie, I'm down here in the studio," says Billy Bob Thornton, noted actor, solo artist, and founding member of hillbilly rockers the Boxmasters. "And we are crazy. We stay up...

Bob Weir's set list alchemy.(RIFFS)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There are a variety of reasons that the Grateful Dead and its offshoots are among the most successful touring acts ever. Bob Weir explains that set lists are a major consideration as he leads his band, Ratdog, around...

The 2008 NYC Fretless Guitar Festival.(RIFFS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Michael "Atonal" Vick's Fretless Guitar Festival slid into Manhattan's Crash Mansion on September 20 and 21. Sponsored by Godin Guitars. Vigier Guitars, SmoothBoard, D. Fialho Guitars, and unfretted.com, it was...

ALO'S Dan Lebowitz on amplifying acoustics.(RIFFS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ALO guitarist Dan "Lebo" Lebowitz is making waves recording for--and sometimes playing with--Brushfire records honcho Jack Johnson. He excels at achieving overdriven tones from a Takamine acoustic loaded with a...

Red Shea.(PASSING NOTES)(In memoriam)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Canadian folk guitarist Red Shea passed away June 10, 2008. Best known for his work with fellow Canadian, Gordon Lightfoot, Shea was a renowned fingerstylist who influenced a generation of budding folk and rock guitarists including Dan...

My Fender University diary.(RIFFS)(Fender Center's study program for guitar players)
January 1, 2009... TWO BLOCKS NORTH OF THE INFAMOUS 91 freeway in Corona, California, sits a rather unassuming building called the Fender Center. Today, a banner bearing the "Fender University" logo was draped over a railing. It was 8:45 AM, August 23--day two of...

Insights from inside the Outside Lands Festival.(RIFFS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] At this year's Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, Radiohead, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, Beck, Wilco, Jack Johnson, and a host of others performed for...

Gary Brawer on getting in tune and staying in tune.(RIFFS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "THE MOST COMMON THING I HEAR," SAYS GARY BRAWER, WHOSE clients include Metallica, Joe Satriani, Neal Schon, and Carlos Santana "is, I can t play in tune. Right after that is, 'I can t stay in tune. Staying in tune...

Crosby Loggins on taking career risks.(RIFFS)(Interview)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Crosby Loggins won the MTV reality show Rock the Cradle, a competition between children of famous musicians. YOU'VE WORKED HARD TO HOT ONLY establish yourself as a singer, a songwriter, and a guitarist but, to do it without trading on your...

Editor boy's big eight.(RIFFS: Web Hordes)
January 1, 2009... GUITAR PLAYER INVITES all D.I.Y. artists and bands to share their guitar skills with our reader community. This opportunity is open to all MySpace musicians, or to any player/band with a Web site that has their music posted. All you have to do...

Roger Manning on guitarists.(RIFFS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Beck sideman, co-founder of Jellyfish, and session keyboardist extraordinaire Roger Manning talks about three guitarists who have crossed his path over the years. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] LYLE WORKMAN It was great working with Lyle...

The enemy gets political.(RIFFS)(guitarist Tom Clarke's views on politics)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "THE FIRST THING I SAID WHEN WE GOT ONSTAGE IN Chicago for Lollapalooza was, 'Hi, we're the Enemy from England--the 51st state of America. Tony Blair never ruled Great Britain. George Bush was in charge from the...

A Metal Xmas.(FEATURES: Metal)(music producer Bob Kulick's personal account of the making of the album "We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year")
January 1, 2009... GUITARIST AND PRODUCER BOB KULICK IS on some kind of fast track to becoming the king of the high-concept metal tribute album. Last year, he and his studio partner Brett Chassen hard rocked the Fab Four with Butchering the Beatles, and now the...

Xuefei Yang.(FEATURES: Classical)(Interview)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AT THE HERBST THEATRE IN SAN FRANCISCO. a guitarist takes the stage carrying a Greg Smallman guitar, sits down, and launches into a blistering "Leyenda" by Albeniz. Later, there is a sensitive, romantic...

Tom Morello.(FEATURES: Acoustic)(Interview)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] YOU MIGHT THINK THAT BEING A POLITICALLY SAVVY, half-Kenyan, Harvard-educated dude from Illinois would have Tom Morello thinking about a run for the presidency. You'd be wrong, but not because he'd have to take a...

Susan Tedeschi.(FEATURES: Blues)(Interview)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FANS OF CONTEMPORARY BLUES AND SOUL need no introduction to Susan Tedeschi. The Norwell, Massachusetts, native busted onto the scene in 1998 with Just Won't Burn, and soon thereafter fans all over the states were...

Glen Campbell.(FEATURES: Pop)(Interview)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WE ALL KNOW THAT GLEN CAMPBELL WAS A RHINESTONE COWBOY. We know he was a lineman for the county. Students of pop history also know that he was a member of the famed Wrecking Crew, playing on classic recordings...

Chico Pinheiro.(FEATURES: Jazz)(Interview)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ONE OF THE LEADING FIGURES IN THE modern Brazilian jazz scene is a young guitarist/composer/arranger named Chico Pinheiro. An outstanding performer on both his vintage Gibson ES-175 (which he strings with D'Addario...

Michael Bearpark.(FEATURES: Ambient)(Interview)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MICHAEL BEARPARK'S MISSION IS TO MAKE loop-based guitar music that offers a twist on a genre largely defined by serene soundscapes. Both of his recent recordings on the Burning Shed label--Some of These Numbers Mean...

Nico Vega.(FEATURES: Rock)(Interview)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "IT KIND OF FREAKS ME OUT HAVING TO cover guitar and bass at the same time," says Nico Vega's Rich Koehler of his trio's guitar-vocal-drums lineup, "but it keeps me stimulated." Although stimulation wouldn't...

Eric Kurimski: Replica.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ERIC KURIMSKU Replica [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A protegee of Afro-Peruvian innovator Carlos Hayre, Eric Kurimski has pushed the music further into jazz territory--with a major twist. Instead of the usual...

RTX.(AUDIO)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... RTX JJ Got Live RaTX [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jaimo Welch is bringing back the big rock riff in a big fat way on RTX's fourth release. The tones are raw and in your face, especially if your face is in a loud-ass, beer-soaked...

What's spinning in the editors' heads this month?(RANTS & RAVES)(sound recordings popular among magazine editors)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MATT BLACKETT Metallica, Ride the Lightning U2, The Unforgettable Fire Madonna, Like a Prayer BARRY CLEVELAND Yoshie Fruchter, Pitom Joe Zawinul & the Zawinul Syndicate, 75 Magnetic...

Will Bernard: Blue Plate Special.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... WILL BERNARD Blue Plate Special [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bernard's latest release spotlights his cool improvisational style, in which jazz, funk, and lots of other things are blended into an instrumental stew that is deliciously fun...

Parliament Funkadelic: Live 1976.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
January 1, 2009... Parliament Funkadelic Live 1976 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Filmed in Houston on Halloween night, this amazing footage captures George Clinton and P-Funk at the top of their game. Fueled by a huge ensemble featuring former James Brown...

David Gilmour: the delicate sound of thunder.(Interview)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It is a nearly inexcusable cliche to state that the sound of this or that musician is "immediately recognizable." But in the case of David Gilmour, the transgression is nonetheless justified. The four-note arpeggio...

10 things you gotta do to play like Billy Gibbons.(LESSONS: 10 Things You Gotta Do)
January 1, 2009... JEFF BECK WAS TRACKING HIS SECOND guitar solo in "Big Block," for his 1989 album Guitar Shop, when his girlfriend suddenly walked through the studio door. "I thought, 'Oh God, I'd better do something amazing,'" says Beck. He then took...

One-track mind: Andy Timmons Eschews overdubs to further the art of rock and roll chord melody.(LESSONS: Master Class)(guitar playing exercises)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ON THE SURFACE, IT MIGHT SEEM THAT THE DISPARATE CAREERS OF Joe Lynn Turner, Olivia Newton-John, Paul Stanley, and Vanilla Ice couldn't possibly have anything significant in common. But they do--these four rock/ pop...

Half/whole hijinks.(ADVANCED)(guitar playing exercises)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jeff Kalmbach, the versatile guitarist for Rubbersidedown and the World Famous Afrodisiacs, knows that one of the more compelling sounds in the history of scales is the fully-diminished pattern consisting entirely of...

Amazing phasing.(BEGINNER)(guitar playing exercises)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Certain repeating guitar parts have enough intrinsic beauty that even when the bar lines are shifted so that the notes land at the "wrong" times, the lick doesn't suffer. Instead, like a Reich-ian phased melody, it...

Jean-Marc's major mayhem.(INTERMEDIATE)(guitar playing exercise by Jean-Marc Belkadi)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Just when you think you've seen every possible tapping lick imaginable, Los Angeles guitar coach par excellence Jean-Marc Belkadi comes through with this refreshing two-handed texture. And yes, like all great tapping licks, it's easy to play...

One-string Malmsteen maelstrom.(INTERMEDIATE)(Yngwie Malmsteen's guitar playing method)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Yngwie Malmsteen's Paganinistic fretboard virtuosity certainly merits him a spot alongside Hendrix, Holdsworth, and other great names on the Top Ten list of the world's most inimitable electric guitarists. That being...

Wonder-ful closer.(BEGINNER)(musical analysis of Stevie Wonder's song "You Are the Sunshine of My Life")(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Looking for a snazzy, jazzy way to wrap up a tune in A major? Consider a page from the Stevie Wonder playbook. After two innocuous bars of A major, this curious ending tag, inspired by the prologue to the Wonder classic "You Are the Sunshine of...

Robert Conti's third dimension.(ADVANCED)(training exercise for jazz guitar players)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Many students of jazz guitar focus so much on their genre's holy trinity--single-note soloing, octave-melody playing, and the ultimate challenge, chord melody--that they neglect one of the most effective soloing...

11 solidbody electrics.(GEAR: Roundup!)(electric guitars)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] THIS MONTH'S ROUNDUP HIGHLIGHTS THE AMAZING VARIETY OF solidbody electrics that populate the marketplace. From low-cost imports to big-buck offerings from the U.S. and Europe, the guitars featured in this story...

Ampeg: AMG100CH.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BASED ON THE AMPEG ADA6 PLEXIGLAS-BODIED GUITAR, THE AMG100CH sports an ultra-thin cherry-finished mahogany body--a factor that makes it significant lower in weight compared to the rather portly (over 9 lbs) ADA6....

Daisy Rock: Siren.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... AS A TEEN, I LONGED TO BE ONE OF THE SLICK-SUITED, COCKTAIL-sipping magazine or newspaper editors that inhabited spacious art-deco offices in the old films shown on weekend television. So it was a tad disappointing that, as editor of GP, I...

Etavonni: GT-1.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] EXPERIMENTING WITH WOOD ALTERNATIVES HAS THRILLED PROGRESSIVE builders for decades--an activity that has certainly been intensified by the current trend of "thinking green." One of the latest--and most...

Flaxwood: Laine.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... FLAXWOOD'S KIM LERCHE FIRST CONTACTED ME AT THE SUMMER 2006 NAMM Show about the composite-wood guitars made by his Helinski, Finland-based company. At the time, little was known about these injection-molded machines outside of his native land,...

Gretsch: G. Love electromatic corvette.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE RACY LOOKING G. LOVE CORVETTE HAS THE BLESSING OF GARRETT "G. Love" Dutton, who with his Special Sauce band, is noted for creating a deliciously swampy blending of blues, rap, funk, and jazz. Hipster-approved...

Nik Huber: Special Custom.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... AT FIRST GLANCE, THE SPECIAL CUSTOM FROM GERMANY'S NIK HUBER APPEARS to be one of those "better mousetrap" guitars that we've come to know and love from makers such as PRS, Hamer, and Tom Anderson (as well as newer builders like Gadow,...

Jackson: Mark Morton Dominion.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DESIGNED IN COLLABORATION WITH LAMB OF GOD GUITARIST MARK Morton, the Dominion is a modified version of Jackson's Swee-Tone Jazz'r and features a chambered mahogany body with a drop-style, quilted maple top. The...

Lodestone: Electric Pro.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PROBABLY NO GUITAR HAS ENDURED. AND SURVIVED, MORE ATTEMPTS TO improve it than the Fender Stratocaster. One of the latest companies to join in the pursuit of creating the definitive fiber Strat is England's...

PRS: Mira Maple Top.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IT HAS BEEN ROUGHLY A YEAR SINCE WE LAST REVIEWED THE MIRA, AND the good news is that nothing much has changed with this sweet sounding guitar--except for its top, which is now available in carved flamed maple. We...

Rahbek: Surf.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] LOCATED IN COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, RAHBEK OFFERS NUMEROUS options for the custom guitars and basses it makes. For example, the Surf model on review here features a strikingly figured black korina body with dropped top,...

Vigier: Excalibur Special HSH.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] OUI, THE FRENCH DO MAKE ROCK GUITARS, AND KICKASS ONES, TOO, JUDGING by the Excalibur Special here. This innovative ax sports Vigier's unique 10/90 Neck System, which, comprised of 10 percent carbon and 90 percent...

Line 6: backtrack.(GEAR: New gear from AES)(audio recorder)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Instant replay audio recorder * 12 hours of audio capture * 1/4" guitar input * Looped playback * Eight hours of battery life * Rechargeable via USB * Drag .WAV files to your computer via USB 2.0 * $139 retail * line6.com [ILLUSTRATION...

Radial Engineering: forest audio F15 instrument preamp.(GEAR: New gear from AES)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Two channels of discreet, class A, feed-forward circuitry * Drag control load correction * Built-in piezo signal booster * Dual mono or mixed balanced outputs * $1,000 retail * radialeng.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

TC-Helicon: voicetone harmony-G.(GEAR: New gear from AES)(guitar effects pedal)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Two-voice intelligent harmony * Selectable harmony voicing including Bass setting * Double effect using overdub algorithm * 10 presets * Six reverb/delay combinations * Guitar input and pass-thru for separate amp * Guitar tuner * $395 retail *...

Peterson Tuners: bodybeat.(GEAR: New gear from AES)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Produces a pulsing vibration allowing musicians to "feel" the beat * Clips onto belt * Audible and visual modes included * Uses one 9V battery * $129 retail--petersontuners.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Shure: Ur1m micro-bodypack transmitter.(GEAR: New gear from AES)
January 1, 2009... 60MHz RF tuning range in 25kHz steps * Adjustable transmit power (10mW/50mW) * Weighs 3 oz * $3,198 retail * shure.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Kicker: IK500.(GEAR: New gear from AES)
January 1, 2009... Digital stereo system for iPod * Two 5" woofers * Infrared remote control * Mini-jack input/RCA output * Charges iPod in Standby mode * $349 retail * kicker.tom [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Butchering sound with Korg's mini-KP Kaoss pad.(GEAR: Xtreme Guitar)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE KORG KAOSS PAD SERIES WAS DEVELOPED primarily for the DJ market. It lets record spinners loop sections of audio, and then apply various filters, delays, and other effects to the loop. The pad part offers an X/Y...

Martin: Ben Harper signature model.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ALTHOUGH WE PRIMARILY KNOW HIM AS A lap-style player, Ben Harper spends a fair amount of his time playing straight-up acoustic guitar. And, because he's got an eye for quality and a knowledge of guitar history, it's...

RJM Music Technology RG-16.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HAVE YOU EVER DREAMED OF PACKING YOUR pedals onto a rack shelf and controlling them via a custom-switching system--perhaps along with your rack effects and amps--just like many rock stars do? If so, and those dreams...

Line 6 M13 & Rocktron Utopia pedals.(GEAR: Field Test)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] LAST YEAR, I SET UP A NEAR-PERFECT pedalboard with all my favorite analog stompboxes. I say "near perfect" because the massive board turned out to be bigger than most of the stages I was standing upon, and I hate...

1973 Gibson Les Paul black beauty reissue.(GEAR: Vintage Vault)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE NOTION OF A REISSUE GUITAR IS SECOND nature to us today, as nearly every company that made guitars back in the day offers reissues of their original, hard-to-find vintage treasures. Back in the halcyon days of...

Troubleshooting 101.(GEAR: Shop Talk)(guitar amplifier repair)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I HAVE A 1976 SILVERFACE FENDER TWIN Reverb, and when I start to turn up the vibrato channel (with the master volume at 2 or higher), a loud hum starts coming from the speakers that gets louder as I increase the...

Boss SL-20 slicer.(GEAR: Stompbox Fever)(guitar effects pedal)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PULSING OMINOUSLY like the crystal on the palm of a Logan's Run character about to meet the wrong end of a Sandman's blaster, the ever-flashing LED ring that surrounds the Tempo knob on the Boss SL-20 Slicer ($299...

Visual Sound: 1 SPOT Combo Pack.(GEAR: Accessory File)(electric power supply)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DESIGNED TO BE THE SIMPLEST POSSIBLE MEANS of powering multiple pedals, the ! SPOT Combo Pack ($39 retail/$34 street) includes a specialized DC 9-volt adapter that takes up only one outlet space on your power strip...

Ernie Ball: Coated Titanium Electric Slinky Strings.(GEAR: Accessory File)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ON A PREVIOUS EPISODE OF ACCESSORY FILE (September 2008), Ernie Ball had thrown its hat into the coated string ring with the introduction of four sets of Titanium Reinforced Coated Slinky Acoustic Strings. As you'll...

Paul McCartney: it was 40 years ago today ...(BACK PAGE: Flashback)(Interview)(Excerpt)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It was January 2, 1969, when Paul McCartney led a sullen group of Beatles into London's Twickenham Studios to film rehearsals for a live show. Three days later, the band was on the verge of breaking up--reportedly...