Guitar Player articles from July 2007

Guitar Player archives from July 2007

Noize from the editor.(Editorial)
July 1, 2007... THE MUSIC PUBLISHING COMMUNITY is experiencing one of its unnerving "contractions," where less profitable magazines are either consolidated into the bigger books, kicked online, or cut loose. Future U.S. closed Guitar One and Bass Guitar, and...

Letter of the month.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... As I dove into the features on "Hot Little Numbers" and "Gear Nirvana," I knew at once that the May 2007 issue could be extremely dangerous to the well being of my marriage of 33 years. I get the feeling that my wife would prefer me looking...

Running the numbers.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... I greatly enjoyed the "Hot Little Numbers" article in the May issue. I have always felt that $500 is the true sweet spot for electric guitars. The only thing I want to point out is that you tested these budget guitars with high-end amps like...

Top dogs?(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... All the guitarists your staff and forum members picked for the "Top 40 Rhythm Guitarists" list are excellent, but I would submit that more than a few of them aren't predominantly rhythm guitarists. So I take great umbrage with the exclusion of...

Monkee business.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... As a guitar player for over 45 years who has had a love-hate relationship with GP since I found an issue in a gutter in early 1972, I've come to praise you when you shine, and frown on you when you falter. April's "Great Guitar Albums of 1967"...

Roger's two cents on nickel strings.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... I was very pleased to see your article on pure nickel guitar strings. I'm just sorry you didn't know we've been making them for several years [sadowsky.com]. Roger Sadowsky BROOKLYN, NY

Oops!(FEEDBACK)(Correction notice)
July 1, 2007... In our May 2007 roundup of under-$500 guitars, we received erroneous information that TV Jones designed the mini humbuckers on the Gretsch Electomatic G5246T. He did not. Jones merely consulted on the look of the pickups. TV Jones did design...

Alex de Grassi.(RIFFS: Acoustic)
July 1, 2007... IT WOULD BE EASY FOR ALEX DE GRASSI to rest on his laurels. He's widely revered as one of America's foremost steel-string fingerstylists. His solo guitar recordings--including highly influential albums such as 1978's Turning: Turning Back and...

George Beneson.(RIFFS: Oeuvre Easy)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... GEORGE BENSON STEPPED INTO THE JAZZ spotlight in 1964, leading the Brother Jack McDuff quartet on a foray into blues, bebop, and R&B on The New Boss Guitar of George Benson. A veteran sideman of McDuff's group, the 21-year-old guitarist...

The top 40 live albums: as chosen by GP Forum and Seymour Duncan User Group members.(RIFFS)(Brief article)(List)
July 1, 2007... AC/DC If You Wont Blood You've Got It The Allman Brothers Band Live at Fillmore East Cheap Trick At Budokan Eric Clapton 24 Nights Clash From Here to Eternity Deep Purple Made in Japan Derek & the Dominos Live at the...

Blue Benson, 1968.(INSPIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Culled from the previous Verve releases Goodies and Giblet Gravy, the songs here focus on Benson's blues and jazz sides, eschewing the pop material that jazz snobs hated anyway. Backed by Billy Cobham, Herbie Hancock, and Ron Carter, Benson...

Beyond the Blue Horizon, 1971.(INSPIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Benson's first CTI album gave him ample space to romp in a live setting with a small ensemble that featured Ron Carter, Jack Dejohnette, and keyboardist Clarence Palmer. Benson's playing is spectacular overall, and it's particularly riveting on...

Bad Benson, 1974.(REQUIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Growing frustrated with the CTI recording process (apparently Benson disliked tracking parts separately) and Creed Taylor's insistence that he not sing on his albums, Benson channels his angst into his guitar. After opening with an intensely...

Best of George Benson, 1989.(REQUIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... If you could only have one George Benson album, you'd hardly go wrong with this solid collection of 11 instrumental tracks, plus a live version of "Summertime." Many of the essential CTI-era cuts are presented--including "Body Talk," "Theme...

In Flight, 1977.(TIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Released a year after Breezin: this album finds Warner's Tony LiPuma, again at the production helm, attempting to repeat the jazz-meets-R&B treat that Breezin' was all about. The coolest 6-string moments occur on "The World Is a Ghetto," where...

Visual Voices: the Art of Inlay.(RIFFS: Craft)
July 1, 2007... THE URGE TO DECORATE OBJECTS WE LOVE IS both ancient and irrepressible, whether the objects carry spiritual or religious meaning, or are "simply" everyday items. Inlay is a form of decoration that involves carefully cutting out a design--or an...

Editor boy's big eight.(RIFFS: My Space Hordes)
July 1, 2007... GP 15 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...

Desiree Bassett.(RIFFS: Rocker Girl)(Interview)
July 1, 2007... AT AN OPEN MIC IN HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, guitarist Desiree Bassett caught the attention of bassist Doug Wimbish, who was in town throwing his annual gathering of funk and rock legends, the Wimbash. Wimbish was so impressed that he asked the...

Tinsey Ellis.(RIFFS: Blues)(Interview)
July 1, 2007... "I SET OUT TO MAKE A GUITAR ALBUM," states Tinsley Ellis of Moment of Truth [Alligator], which is like Tiger Woods saying he set out to break par. Though initially drawn to British blues artists such as Peter Green, Ellis eventually discovered...

Ned Evett.(RIFFS: Outsider)(Interview)
July 1, 2007... IT'S NEW YEAR'S EVE 1989, AND NED EVETT resolves that this will be the last cover gig he ever plays. As the final song comes to a cathartic conclusion, he pulverizes his Strat into a million splinters. The neck dislodges from the shattered...

John Abercrombie.(RIFFS: Jazz)(Interview)
July 1, 2007... BELIEVE IT--JOHN ABERCROMBIE IS ONE OF THE hippest new voices in jazz guitar. Never mind that he has been a world-renowned player for 35 years, has released numerous solo albums and duo projects with Ralph Towner, and has been a member of an...

Marty Friedman.(RIFFS: Metal)(Interview)
July 1, 2007... "I LEFT A MULTI-PLATINUM BAND TO GO TO another country and pursue a completely different music scene," says former Megadeth guitarist Marry Friedman. "I was really into Japanese pop, and I realized that if I wanted to do it for real, I had to...

Tommy Shaw.(RIFFS: Rock)(Interview)
July 1, 2007... "IT ALL STARTED BECAUSE MY FATHER SAID I needed something to do with my hands while singing along with Sammy Davis, Jr. on The Ed Sullivan Show," remembers Tommy Shaw. "So when a friend of my brother's left a tenor guitar on our couch, I...

Will Ray's eBay prizes.(RIFFS: Vintage Vault)
July 1, 2007... AS A COUNTRY/ROOTS PLAYER, I'M always on the lookout for interesting Tele-style guitars. I especially look for cheap, inexpensive models just to see how much quality they can pack q into a budget ax. This 2000-ish Jay Turser guitar showed up on...

Juan Carlos Quintero.(RIFFS: World)(Interview)
July 1, 2007... COLOMBIAN-BORN JUAN CARLOS QUINTERO was two years old when his family relocated to the United States. "My home was filled with the music of my heritage while I was growing up," says Quintero. "But I also listened to Led Zeppelin and all the...

Rusty Cooley.(RIFFS: Shred)(Interview)
July 1, 2007... FROM HIS HUMBLE BEGINNINGS JAMMING along to Ted Nugent songs on a tennis racket, Rusty Cooley has studied, practiced, picked, and swept his way to being the leading light of the post-Malmsteen shred-volution. He has parlayed his hard work into...

Elliott Randall.(RIFFS: No Guitarist Left Behind)(Interview)
July 1, 2007... MAKE A LIST OF THE MOST ICONIC ROCK GUITAR solos of all time, and you'll be hard-pressed not to rank Elliott Randall's scorching Mixolydian mayhem on Steely Dan's "Reelin' in the Years" somewhere near the top. Beyond his legendary work with the...

Bryce Jacobs.(RIFFS: No Guitarist Left Behind)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Australian guitarist Bryce Jacobs wanted to be able to play music that went significantly beyond the range of a standard guitar, so he created a custom, wide-necked 12-string instrument that covers five octaves. Then, he extended the range...

Andy Partridge.(RIFFS: Songwriting)(Interview)
July 1, 2007... "I'M GOING TO HAVE TO GET USED TO THE IDEA of recording a proper solo album," says XTC's Andy Partridge. "I don't want to say XTC is dead, but I can safely say I don't see an incarnation with Colin [Moulding, XTC bassist and songwriter]. He...

What's spinning in the editors' heads this month?(RANTS & RAVES)(Brief article)(List)
July 1, 2007... BARRY CLEVELAND Erdem Helvacioglu, Altered Realities Henry Kaiser, Charles K. Noyes, Sang Won Park, Invite the Spirit 2006 Weather Report, Weather Report LiveatMontreux 1976 (DVD) MICHAEL MOLENDA Madame Blavatsky...

The Bears: Eureka!.(Audio)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... On Eureka!, the four Bears emerge from their five-year hibernation toting a cornucopia of delectable smart-pop morsels. Guitarists Adrian Belew and Rob Fetters surprise and delight with their skillful interplay and panoply of inventive sounds,...

Chevelle: Vena Sera.(Audio)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... On his band's fourth release, guitarist/vocalist Pete Loeffler cranks out a ton of the grinding PRS-into-a-Boogie power chords that his fans have come to expect. He also throws in, however, more varied timbres and dynamics than on previous...

Carl Verheyen: Take One Step.(Audio)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... The off-the-hook versatility that many A-list session players bring to their own recordings can occasionally get in the way of a unified artistic vision. For all the flash and phenomenal chops, it's sometimes too easy to get lost between the...

Forrest Fang & Carl Weingarten: Invisibility.(Audio)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... World-fusion composers Fang and Weingarten return to their pure ambient roots on this lovely and intriguing collaboration. The album's nine pieces maintain a more-or-less consistent atmosphere throughout, wherein Weingarten's yearning,...

John Levan: Electric Guitar Care, Maintenance & Restringing and FAQ: Electric Guitar Care and Setup.(Instruction)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
July 1, 2007... Most guitarists spend all their time playing their prized instruments and precious little time maintaining them. A lot of this is due to laziness, but some is due to just being intimidated about things as simple as restringing or as complicated...

JH-1B Jimi Hendrix signature wah: Dunlop Manufacturing, Inc.(New Gear: GEAR)
July 1, 2007... Reproduces classic Hendrix wah tones * Chrome top and black Italian crinkle-finish aluminum body * 5199 retail * jimduniop.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Urban jungle straps: Levy's Leathers.(GEAR: New Gear)
July 1, 2007... 2"-wide cotton strap * Length adjustable from 41" to SS" * Extra-long version extends to 67" * $60 retail * levysleathers.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Family reserve John Petrucci F-1 guitar: Ernie Ball.(GEAR: New Gear)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Alder body with a maple top and a mahogany tone block below the I pickups * Mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard * DiMarzio D-sonic (neck) Custom Petrucci (bridge) pickups * Available in Bahama Blue, Walnut Burst, Ruby Red Burst, and Black...

Platinum series instrument cable: Mogami.(GEAR: New Gear)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Reduced capacitance maintains high-frequency content in cables exceeding 40 feet * Noise-free transmission via 100 percent coverage, Ultra High Density spiral copper shield and conductive, shield-like layer with a high-performance dielectric *...

CPX900 electric acoustic guitar: Yamaha.(GEAR: New Gear)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Solid spruce top, flamed maple back and sides * Nato neck with ebony fretboard * New Acoustic Resonance Transducer pickup system reduces feedback * Preamp with a built-in tuner and EQ * 51,399 retail * yamaha.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

River styx Grafix hardshell case: Kaces.(GEAR: New Gear)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Multi-plywood shell covered in industrial grade PVC, with valances stitched through top of case * Comfortable handles, plush interior padding, industrial-grade hardware, and a large interior compartment * $142 retail * kaces.com ...

Dream weaver: dream theater's John Petrucci carries the torch of prog-shred guitar into the new millennium.(Interview)
July 1, 2007... THE MUSIC SCENE WAS CHANGING IN 1992. Spandex-sporting, fretboard-tapping, whammy-bar-flailing metal Gods who had topped the charts and ruled the MTV airwaves just a few years earlier suddenly found themselves out of favor--and nearly out of...

10 things you gotta do to play like B.B. King.(LESSONS)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... FROM HIS HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS A PLANTATION WORKER TO HIS RISE TO world-class status as King of the Blues, B.B. King not only personifies every guitarist's version of the great American dream, he stands as a true model among men. His philosophy...

Theater major: step behind the scenes with John Petrucci and learn wicked warm-ups, mesmerizing meter mash-ups, and dramatic new dream theater riffs.(LESSONS: Master Class)
July 1, 2007... WHETHER IT'S TRADING GRAVITY-defying licks with the likes of Satriani, Vai, and Gilbert on the G3 tour, or plowing through odd-metered passages at breakneck tempo during Dream Theater's epic three-hour-plus concerts, John Petrucci regularly...

Gone like Gershwin.(BEGINNER)(George Gershwin)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Here's a simple closing cadence that sounds nearly as full as a Broadway choir. Featuring melancholic parallel thirds, this distraught phrase (shown in the keys of E and A) evokes George Gershwin's vocal harmonies on the famous Porgy & Bess...

Ron Eschete's inventive intros.(ADVANCED)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Considering that he's worked with Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Diana Krall, Dizzy Gillespie, and other iconic jazz soloists over the years, it should come as no surprise that Ron Eschete is a monster accompanist. He's also a great teacher,...

Jimmy Herring's celestial clusters.(ADVANCED)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... One way jam genius Jimmy Herring liberates himself as a soloist is by setting up harmonically ambiguous chordal backdrops such as this shimmering tapestry he wrote in the key of E minor--or is it in E major? Either way, you might want to warm...

Chet Atkins' Breau deal.(INTERMEDIATE)(Lenny Breau)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... When it comes to being a "guitarist's guitarist," few people fit that category better than Lenny Breau. Perhaps that's why another legendary player, Chet Atkins, dedicated an entire column to Breau's pull-off technique in the March '87 GP....

Sweep emotion.(INTERMEDIATE)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... If there is one group of fretboard grips that lend themselves to insane pick sweeps, it's barre-chord-based shapes that feature the root fretted on the fifth string with the 1st finger. These voicings are especially shred-worth, they're applied...

Robben Ford's diminished blues.(ADVANCED)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Robben Ford's stinging and lyrical blues playing can't be decoded or mapped out using scales or fretboard patterns, because, well, you can't reverse-engineer soul. That said, Ford does have a few intellectual tricks up his sleeve you might find...

Secrets of the symmetrical augmented scale.(ADVANCED)
July 1, 2007... MANY MODERN JAZZ GUITARISTS HAVE a good handle on how to improvise with the diminished scale, but did you know there's another symmetrical scale that works over a lot of the same harmonic material? The pattern we're talking about is the...

Melodic chords.(Beginner)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... BECAUSE OF HOW GUITAR IS TYPICALLY taught--chords in one lesson, scales in the next--many beginning guitarists gain the misconception that rhythm guitar and lead guitar are two entirely different approaches. Actually, these practices often...

Pedal pow wow: 26 new stompboxes.(GEAR: Roundup)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... PEDALS TEND TO BE THE MOST FREQUENTLY CHANGED PIECES of equipment in our rigs, and the seemingly insatiable demand for them is fueled by our own belief in better sound through technology. A recent tally of new stompbox arrivals in the Guitar...

Procyon Meteor RX3: Aural Magic.(GEAR: Roundup)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... A pedal of this size that sports a single 12AX7--as well as its own fuse--best be battering my amp's front end with extreme prejudice. Thankfully, the hand-built, 12-volt-powered Procyon Meteor RX3 ($439 direct) grants my sadistic wish. With...

Mind Bender: BBE.(GEAR: Roundup)(BBE Sound, Inc.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Based on the Boss VB-2 Vibrato and Way Huge Blue Hippo chorus, the Mind Bender ($209 retail/$149 street) uses analog bucket-brigade circuitry to generate a variety of warm modulation textures. The unit features Speed and Depth controls along...

Soul Vibe: BBE.(GEAR: Roundup)(BBE Sound, Inc.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Patterned on the original Uni-Vibe, the more streamlined Soul Vibe ($189 retail/$129 street) features an analog phase-shifting circuit that uses opto couplers instead of the pulsating light bulb and quartet of photo resistors that the old...

RC-2 Loop Station: Boss.(GEAR: Roundup)(Boss is a division of Roland Corporation U.S., effects pedal)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2007... The RC-2 ($284 retail/$179 street) packs much of the popular RC-20XL Loop Station dual pedal's feature set into half the space. You still get 16 minutes of mono recording time that can be subdivided and stored into any of 11 presets, a 1/8" Aux...

DN-2 Dyna Drive: Boss.(GEAR: Roundup)(Boss is a division of Roland Corporation U.S., effects pedal)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... The DN-2 ($187 retail/$119 street) isn't merely a "step on pedal, get distortion" device. Emulating the dynamic capabilities of a good amplifier, this overdrive box tracks picking attack, signal input, and guitar volume manipulations to deliver...

ML-2 Metal Core: Boss.(GEAR: Roundup)(Boss is a division of Roland Corporation U.S., stompbox )(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... With all the cross-pollination of styles flapping around these days, it's sometimes hard to determine whether metal is typified by a specific distortion sound--or even if sound alone identifies any genre anymore. Boss is still comfortable...

AC-Tone: Carl Martin.(GEAR: Roundup)(effects pedal)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Vox AC30 tone in a stompbox? You guessed it, and the AC-Tone ($300 retail/$209 street) offers two foot-switchable channels along with a variable boost function that provides up to 20dB of gain. In a slightly odd sequence, you have to first...

MK.4.23: Creation Audio Labs.(GEAR: Roundup)(effects pedal)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... One of the earliest methods of getting distortion was to use a booster preamp to jack up a guitar signal enough to overdrive the front end of the amplifier. Boosters are enjoying a new wave of popularity as players rediscover the coolness of...

Solid Metal: Damage Control.(GEAR: Roundup)(effects pedal, Damage Control USA)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... The Solid Metal pedal ($279 retail/$199 street) uses twin 12AX7 tubes to produce extremely high-gain distortion. The uniquely voiced Bass control provides nice thump without loss of articulation--regardless of gain levels--but the Scoop control...

Liquid Blues: Damage Control.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... The Liquid Blues ($279 retail/$199 street) is a dual-tube overdrive with Level, Drive, Opto Comp, Clarity, and Treble controls. I found the overdrive sound by itself uninspiring, but I was blown away by the studio quality compression available...

Glass Nexus: Damage Control.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... The Glass Nexus ($559 retail/$399 street) multi-effects pedal unites warmth and clarity by using 96kHz processing and dual 12AX7s. Offering reverb, delay, and modulation effects (rotary, Uni-Vibe, detune, flange, phase, etc.), the Glass Nexus...

EX-7 Expression Factory: DigiTech.(GEAR: Roundup)
July 1, 2007... Unlike DigiTech's super-cool Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Brian May signature pedals, the EX-7 Expression Factory ($280 retail/$200 street) gets its inspiration not from famous players, but from seven famous effects: Cry Baby wah, Vox Clyde...

Timeline: Damage Control.(GEAR: Roundup)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... With its 96kHz processing and pair of 12AX7 tubes, the TimeLine ($559 retail $399 street) provides a wealth of studio-quality, programmable delay variations (slap, reverse, etc.), and modulation effects such as chorus, flange, and vibrato....

CF-7 Chorus Factory: DigiTech.(GEAR: Roundup)(stomp box)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Never content to give you just one effect, DigiTech has thrown in the kitchen sink with the CF-7 ($150 retail/$100 street). This little modulation monster packs seven righteous chorus flavors into a standard-sized pedal with more control over...

Little Big Muff: Electro-Harmonix.(GEAR: Roundup)(effects pedal)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... This latest incarnation of the Little Big Muff ($89 retail/$66 street) is entirely different than the single-knob late-'70s pedal of the same name. Rather, it is a recreation of the 1970 Big Muffin a smaller and sturdier case, with...

Wah Pedal: Ernie Ball.(GEAR: Roundup)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... The Wah Pedal($249 retail/$199 street) is basically a wah version of EB's popular mono Volume Pedal. It sports the same cast-aluminum shell, Kevlar cable drive mechanism, and 12-degree foot sweep along with true-bypass switching, and twin blue...

Distortion III: MXR.(GEAR: Roundup)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... This new offering from MXR has little in common with the Distortion + of yore. Rather than the square-wave raunch of the '70s classic, the Distortion III ($130 retail/$80 street) dishes out smooth, dynamic overdrive that gets into the singing...

Destination Overdrive II: Option 5.(GEAR: Roundup)(effects pedal)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Run between a Telecaster and a Fender Deluxe Reverb, the true-bypass-equipped Destination Overdrive II ($179 retail/$149street) excelled at giving my amp a hopped-up transforming spanky-clean tones into a molten, modded-Marshall grind. The...

Destination Phase: Option 5.(GEAR: Roundup)(stomp box)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Offering stereo outputs and "non-tone-sucking-bypass" switching, the Destination Phase ($179 retail/$149street) attempts a mash-up of two venerable phase shifters--Electro-Harmonix's Small Stone and MXR's Phase 90. So is the Destination a phase...

Destination Rotation Single: Option 5.(GEAR: Roundup)(stomp box)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Harnessing the awe-inspiring sensation of a rotary speaker into a tiny metal box isn't easy. But for my money, the Destination Rotation Single ($269 retail/$229street) gets as close as an analog stompbox can. Offering true-bypass operation, as...

Lava Box: Seymour Duncan.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... The Lava Box ($149 retail/$99 street) tackles the distortion equation from a different angle via its 6-position Rumble switch, which lets you tailor the low-end response of the pedal to accommodate a wide variety of guitars and pickups. The...

Boost D.L.A.: Tech 21.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Tech 21's Andrew Barta is always seeking interesting ways for his pedals to distinguish themselves and serve players' needs. While the Boost D.L.A. ($195 retail/$149 street) isn't a radical rethink of a delay pedal, it does offer two groovy...

Boost R.V.B.: Tech 21.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... I'll admit up front that I'm not a reverb kind of guy. I love dry, in-your-face guitar tones that sound as if they were whipped with bamboo rods until their bruised and shattered sonics rage with cascading yowls of anger and madness. Ahem....

Gristle King: T. Jauernig.(GEAR: Roundup)(T. Jauernig Electronics)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... The Gristle King ($229 direct) couples Jauernig's Luxury Drive clean boost and Diabolical Gristle Tone Manipulator overdrive pedals in a single unit. The two may be used individually or combined, and a Pre/Post switch lets you to position the...

Phantasm Dynamic Phaser: Toadworks.(EDITORS' PICK)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Toadworks has been making some big ripples in the pedal pond with innovative features, solid construction, and very solid tones. The Phantasm Phaser ($450 retail/$375 street), the company's flagship pedal, packs a lot of features into its 7.2"...

Michael Angelo Batio Signature Overdrive: T-REX.(GEAR: Roundup)(T-Rex Engineering ApS)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Featuring a polished aluminum enclosure emblazoned with Batio's WWII-era Air Force star, the Michael Angelo Batio Overdrive ($269 retail/$200 street) looks like the pedal equivalent of a P-51 fighter. Batio is known for shredding at light speed...

Exclusive! Roland VG-99 V-Guitar System.(Gear: Opening Act)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2007... WHEN ROLAND INTRODUCED THE VG-8 MORE than a decade ago, it was revolutionary. In addition to modeling amplifiers, the VG-8 modeled guitars, allowing you to create virtual tunings, as well as move virtual pickups anywhere on the body or neck of...

Ovation VXT Hybrid.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2007... LOTS OF US REMEMBER THE IMAGE OF RUSH'S Alex Lifeson playing an acoustic guitar supported by a stand for the pretty intro to "The Trees." After playing the finger-picked part, Lifeson would step away, and crush the song's distorted power chords...

Marshall Vintage Modern 2266 head and 425A cabinet.(EDITORS' PICK)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2007... WHEN MARSHALL AMPLIFICATION UNVEILED THE new JVM Series 100-watt tube head at this year's winter NAMM convention, most people were impressed, but few were surprised. Even with its whopping four channels, 28 knobs, 12 possible gain voicings, and...

Boss FDR-1 vs. Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb reissue Boss FBM-1 vs Fender '59 Bassman reissue.(GEAR: Fight Club)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2007... DIGITAL MODELING HASN'T CAUSED guitarists to take their plexi Marshalls to the local Salvation Army drop-off, but it has created some interesting corporate bedfellows. Witness the power-partnership between industry giants Fender and Roland,...

Pedal-Racks True Bypass Strip.(EDITORS' PICK)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2007... WITH GIGS SCHEDULED IN SOME OF THE MOST remote regions of the world--Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Buffalo--I decided it was finally time to upgrade my pedalboard. No, it wasn't my stompboxes that needed extra protection--they were already quite safe...