Guitar Player articles from July 2008

Guitar Player archives from July 2008

Noize from the editor.(Editorial)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] GUITAR CULTURE IS WEIRD. WE DEFEND OUR personal guitar heroes with almost jealous ferocity, but we bash just about every other guitarist who dares to plug in and play. That's the truth in the old joke that goes, "How...

Letter of the month.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2008... Your magazine is a gift from heaven. I subscribe to both Guitar Player and another guitar magazine (that will remain unnamed), and I would like to thank you for fighting the pressure to sell out to pop culture. This other so-called "guitar"...

May issue.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2008... Thanks to Barry Cleveland and all the pros for the article on pedalboards. The insight into how things actually work in those little boxes was invaluable. I attacked my "stomping ground" with new fervor, and I improved my rig immensely. A...

Oops!(FEEDBACK)(Correction notice)
July 1, 2008... In May's Ultimate Guide to Pedalboards, we mistakenly omitted the Rocktron DC OnTap Universal Stompbox Power Supply (rocktron.com) and the Visual Sound 1 SPOT (visualsound.net) from the Pedal Gear Makers sidebar. May's Fight Club included...

Steve Stevens.(RIFFS: Rock)(Interview)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "I TRIED TO MAKE AN INSTRUMENTAL RECORD THAT WOULD HOPEFULLY hold people's interest, even if they don't play guitar," says Steve Stevens--the once and future foil of Billy Idol. "Speaking for myself, I don't listen...

Lionel Loueke.(RIFFS: World)(Interview)
July 1, 2008... FOR LIONEL LOUEKE, THE GUITAR SERVES AS A LINK BETWEEN HIS African music roots, and his current, high-profile gig as a member of jazz legend Herbie Hancock's band. The Benin, Africa-born musician invokes both low- and high-tech approaches to...

Adrian Belew.(RIFFS: Oeuvre Easy)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] LOOK UP "HIRED GUN" IN THE GUITARIST handbook, and there's bound to be a picture of Adrian Belew. For more than three decades, a wide variety of artists have enlisted Belew's unconventional guitar playing--he's just...

Ten fave cheap electrics.(RIFFS: Readers' Poll)
July 1, 2008... By Guitar Plager Forum Members [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Agile AS-820 Electra X175JB Phoenix Epiphone LP100 Fender Musicmaster G&L SC-1 Kramer Focus Fatboy Raven 1000Q Squire Bullet Strat Squire II...

Remain in Light, Talking Heads, 1980.(INSPIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Having trail-blazed art punk, Talking Heads looked to switch gears for its fourth album. Remain in Light. Prompted by David Byrne's increasing interest in experimental/world music, Belew delivered an...

Discipline, King Crimson, 1981.(INSPIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Invited by Robert Fripp to front a rejuvenated King Crimson, Belew got to show off his vocal and guitar skills on Discipline. and he handed in an MVP performance, The album would prove influential on Primus and Tool,...

Desire of the Rhino King, Adrian Belew, 1991.(INSPIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A 16-track compilation of highlights from his first three solo albums (1982's Lone Rhino. 1983's Twang Bar King, and 1986's Desire Caught By the Tail), Desire serves up the whole Belew enchilada-blasts of white noise...

Stage, David Bowie, 1978.(REQUIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Impressed with Belew's guitar work after catching a Zappa performance. Bowie invited the guitarist to sign on for his 1978 tour The resulting live album features Belew almost single-handedly propelling Bowie classics...

The Downward Spiral, Nine Inch Nails, 1994.(REQUIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mr. Belew in the world's leading industrial-metal band? As evidenced by such tracks as "Mr. Self Destruct," where Belew's guitar is processed to sound like a high-speed car chase right out of Tron, it seems there...

The Bears, The Bears, 1984.(REQUIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Belew has never been bashful regarding his Beatles fanaticism, so the heavily Fab Four-influenced debut by the Bears shouldn't come as a surprise. The group includes some of Belew's old pals. and it sounds like he's...

The Experimental Guitar Series, Vol. 1: Guitar as Orchestra, Adrian Belew, 1995.(TIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] While its premise sounds like an interesting one-orchestral songs performed entirely by guitar--Guitar as Orchestra falls flat. Devoid of any truly memorable compositions, it sometimes sounds as if Belew is merely...

Alex Masi.(RIFFS: Shred)(Interview)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CATCHING UP WITH FACES THAT ONCE commanded public attention is practically an industry in itself these days. And the endless parade of inane shows such as Rock of Love and Dancing with the Stars thrives for one...

Kenny Neal.(RIFFS: Blues)(Interview)
July 1, 2008... ONE DAY IN 1976, A 19-YEAR-OLD KENNY Neal was playing his regular Friday night gig in his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when Sam Guy, brother of blues legend Buddy Guy, walked up to the stage and slipped a note into Neal's pocket. The...

Bobby Broom.(RIFFS: Jazz)(Interview)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHEN WE REACHED BOBBY BROOM, HE was back home in Chicago, and he had just returned from two dates on the West Coast with saxophone legend Sonny Rollins. From there, he went to the Northwest for gigs with his Deep...

The musical box.(RIFFS: Performance)(Interview)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE CONCERT BEGINS AS A GIANT SLIDE-projected backdrop of an ominous pair of eyes floods the stage, and strains of ethereal Mellotron chords slowly morph into the jaunty signature riff of "Watcher of the Skies."...

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

G&L John Jorgenson.(eBay Prize)
July 1, 2008... I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A BIG FAN OF G&L guitars. They're built great, and they have very unique-sounding pickups. One G&L that was missing from my collection, however, was the 1995 John Jorgenson model. Reportedly, only 200 were made. I had seen...

Steve Howe.(RIFFS: Prog)(Interview)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF MY CAREER WAS being able to make a records when I was 17," enthuses Steve Howe regarding sessions his band the Syndicats did with British recording iconoclast Joe Meek in early 1964. "Joe...

What's spinning in the editors' heads this month?(RANTS & RAVES)(Brief article)(List)
July 1, 2008... MATT BLACKETT Earl Klugh, The Spice of Life 1969, Maya King's X, XV BARRY CLEVELAND Tony Grey, Chasing Shadows Raine Maida, The Hunters Lullaby John McLaughlin, Floating Paint JUDE GOLD Low vs, Diamond, Law vs....

Paul Gilbert: Silence Followed by a Deafening Roar.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PAUL GILBERT Silence Followed by a Deafening Roar [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jonesing for some state-of-the-art instrumental rock? Paul Gilbert delivers a massive dose of searing guitar playing on his latest...

Erskine Le Benita: Dream Flight.(Nguyen Le, Michel Benita and Peter Erskine)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... ERSKINE LE BENITA Dream Flight [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] On this followup to ELB's 2001 debut, global-polyglot guitarist Nguyen Le, Algerian acoustic bassist Michel Benita, and veteran jazz drummer/percussionist Peter Erskine push...

Anthony Phillips: The Geese & the Ghost.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... ANTHONY PHILLIPS The Geese & the Ghost [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Anthony Phillips was the original lead guitarist with Genesis, and along with Tony Banks and Michael Rutherford, was largely responsible for the group's early...

The Mother Truckers: Let's All Go to Bed.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... THE MOTHER TRUCKERS Let's All Go to Bed [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Mother Truckers' resident guitar madman, Josh Zee, was profiled in the October 1999 issue of GP when he fronted the countrified rock trio Protein. Fans of his...

Electric rendezvous: the ferocious technical and creative force that is Al Di Meola returns to Return to Forever.(Interview)(Cover story)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE GIANT WAS SNOOZING. GUITAR IN THE MID 19705 WAS arguably in one of its fallow periods. John McLaughlin had thrown down one hell of a gauntlet with his Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1971, and the prog wizards and...

10 things you gotta do to play like Wes Montgomery.(LESSONS)
July 1, 2008... "NOTICE HOW WES LOCKS IN WITH THE RHYTHM SECTION DURING HIS solo, especially during the second half? How about those quick, stuttering octaves? And that chord solo--yow! Beginning with bluesy melodic phrases and voicings, the chordal ideas soon...

Top Jimmy: Jimmy Herring's explosive mix of southern boogie & modal jazz.(LESSONS: Master Class)(Interview)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HAD HE MET JIMMY HERRING, THE LATE, GREAT BASEBALL MANAGER Leo Durocher might have thought twice before concluding that nice guys finish last. Unfailingly amiable, soft-spoken (but with a hearty laugh), and a...

Hot Tele pickin': get schooled on the titans of twang.(LESSONS: Style Council)(playing Fender Telecaster )
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IF YOU WANT TO START A LONG, controversial, and irresolvable argument, assemble a group of guitarists and lob this one into their midst: "What is the quintessential rock guitar?" Then step back and watch the...

21 ass kickin' distortion boxes.(GEAR: Roundup!)
July 1, 2008... TESTED BY THE GUITAR PLAYER STAFF [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] ASK A GUITARIST WHAT SINGLE PIECE OF GEAR he or she could live without, and chances are good that a distortion pedal would not be mentioned. Fact is, good as today's amplifiers...

Arteffect: Zenith.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] We instantly dug the crazy tattoo-style graphics that the Zenith ($225 retail/street price N/A) sports. The layout seems logical enough at first, with knobs for Drive, Volume, Treble, and Bass. The plot thickens a...

Asonix: Texas Dirt.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... The stout Texas Dirt ($160 retail/$125 street) grabbed my attention instantly with its yellow paint and big knobs. And I fully expected Texas-sized output, seeing as how plenty of guitar slingers from the Lone Star state like to pummel the...

BBE: Crusher.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Right out of the box, the BBE Crusher ($130 retail/$80 street) has a sturdy pro look, with no-nonsense graphics and beefy knurled knobs. Cooler still, they give you not just super-easy battery access, but they also...

Carl Martin: Hot Drive'n Boost MK3 Anniversary.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... The Tenth Anniversary edition of the Hot Drive'n Boost MK3 ($280 retail/$196 street) sports a revamped overdrive section that is designed to sound even more tube-like than the original MK3--a pedal that already ably met the challenge. The Drive...

Electro-Harmonix: Graphic-Fuzz.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Graphic-Fuzz reissue ($199 retail/$149 street) cops all the tone-twisting capabilities of its circa-1979 forebear, including a single-slider Distortion circuit, an Envelope section for adjusting the pedal's...

Guyatone: OD2+ overdrive.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Guyatone has revamped its OD2 circuit to create the OD2+ ($120 retail/S90 street) adding true-bypass switching, a Tone control, and a little 3-way switch labeled S, M, D (Shallow, Middle, and Deep), which boosts...

Keeley: Modded Boss DS-1.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Robert Keeley has made quite a name for himself amongst pedal freaks for his own designs (like the much sought-after Keeley Compressor) as well as for his roods to time-honored products like the Keeley Modded Boss...

Kendrick: Cactus Juice.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Armed with Clean and Juicy channels, the Cactus Juice ($349 direct) differentiates itself in a big way by using three 9-volt batteries--one each for the two channels and another to power the three LEDs. There's no...

Krank: Distortus Maximus.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Designed to pack much of the metal punch of Krank amplifiers into a pedal, the Distortus Maximus ($225 retail/$150 street) features the same Master, Treble, Bass, Midrange, and Gain controls found on many amps. The...

Line 6: ToneCore Crunchtone.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sporting a digital engine lifted from Line 6's amp modeling technology, the Crunchtone ($139 retail/$99 street) features 3-way switch for selecting Blues, Pop, and Crunch modes; a 3-postion Gate switch; and Drive,...

Love Pedal: COT.(Gear: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The super simple COT ($179 direct) is equipped with a single unmarked control that adjusts the bias of the transistor to deliver everything from mild old-amp grind to heavily saturated textures. The powder-coated...

Maven Peal: The Howler.(Gear: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Howler ($450 retail/street price N/A) is a warm-sounding distortion box that deals out some very tube-like tones over a wide gain range--from soft breakup to super saturation. Powered by an 18-volt adapter only...

Maxon: OOD9 Organic Overdrive.(Gear: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] We've come to expect great things from the company that designed what became the original Tube Screamer circuit and, over the years, Maxon has delivered consistently, despite (or maybe because of) the fact that they...

Musician Sound Design: Bonnie Blue.(Gear: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Designed to unleash classic rock tones of the '70s, the Bonnie Blue ($300 retail/street price N/A) is a straightforward distortion/overdrive pedal that features a tough, stainless-steel case and voltage-doubling circuitry for enhanced headroom...

MXR: Classic 108 Fuzz.(Gear: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sporting a similar turquoise green hammer finish as Dunlop's Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face, the Classic 108 Fuzz ($216 retail/$119 street) is essentially a 'Face that has been updated with a different enclosure (one that...

Pigtronix: PolySaturator.(Gear: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... The concept for the PolySaturator ($209 retail/$169 street) sprang from requests to make just the overdrive/distortion section of Pigtronix's popular OFO Disnortion pedal available as a separate unit. But the pig peeps upped the ante by...

Pro Tone: Body Rot II.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... The blood-splatter paint job and gangrenous name might make you think that the Body Rot II ($169 retail/street price N/A) is a one-trick death-metal pony, but this straightforward stompbox, with knobs for Volume, Distortion, and 3-band EQ, is...

Seymour Duncan: Twin Tube Mayhem.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Powered by two mil-spec 6205 subminiature pentode tubes, the Mayhem ($325 retail/S229 street) features Bass, Treble, and Midrange controls; a 2-position switch that lets you select a midrange center frequency of...

ISP: Theta Combo.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THIS AMP IS A SECRET WEAPON RIGHT OUT OF A Cold War espionage novel. Its stark and imposing flame is as terrifying as any hammer against capitalism the KGB could construct during the Khrushchev reign. It's also armed...

VHT: Sig:X.(Guitar Player: EDITORS' PICK)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2008... EDITORS' Guitar Player PICK AT THE 2008 WINTER NAMM SHOW, MY FAVORITE piece of gear was hands down the Sig:X amp from VHT. (The name means "your signature here.") When I sat in front of it for a demo, I saw what appeared to be a 3-channel...

Primacoustic: Recoil Stabilizer.(GEAR: Recording)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IF YOU COULD DRAMATICALLY improve the performance of your home studio without replacing any gear, unplugging anything, or installing any software--and it cost you less than $200--would you be interested? When I...

TC Electronic: Nova System.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IN SOME WAYS, THE NEXT CLOSEST EXPERIENCE to walking the NAMM show floor is a quick stroll through MusicPlayer headquarters. Here, with the constant influx of review gear sent to Keyboard, EQ, Bass Player, and, of...

IK Multimedia: StompIO.(Guitar Player: EDITORS' PICK)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] EDITORS' Guitar Player PICK WHEN IK MULTIMEDIA'S AMPLITUBE SOFTWARE first appeared in 2002, remote control of its amp models and effects wasn't much of an issue. Typically, you would record one sound per track,...

Yamaha: APX900 and CPX700.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] YAMAHA HAS LONG BEEN A MAJOR PRODUCER of acoustic-electric guitars, and the new APX900 and CPX700 models are designed to deliver a lot of performance and style for a very reasonable price. Both guitars feature...

Danelectro: Dano '63.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SINCE IT REVIVED THE DANELECTRO NAME in the '90s. the Evets Corporation has paid homage to many of Dano founder Nathan Daniel's original '50s and '60s beasts. This time. the company has tackled the 1963 Sears...

Mackie: SRM150.(GEAR: Accessory File)
July 1, 2008... ESSENTIALLY SHRUNKEN DOWN VERSIONS OF Mackie's flagship SRM450 powered P.A. speakers, Mackie's new SRM150s ($389 retail/$299 street each) are hardly bigger than a lunchbox, yet each boasts a three-channel mixer, a class-D power amplifier, and...

Fishman: Matrix Infinity.(GEAR: Accessory File)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... FISHMAN'S HIP NEW MATRIX INFINITY PICKUP/preamp system ($210 retail/$140 street) is a slick, great-sounding way to amplify your favorite flat-top. What you get is the Matrix under-saddle pickup, the Infinity endpin preamp, and soundhole-mounted...

Stage Magic: Pedalsnake.(GEAR: Accessory File)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE PEDALSNAKE CONCEPT IS SIMPLE: Musicians who use multiple cables between their pedals at the frontline and amps at the backline now have the convenience of having them all in one flexible cable--with power,...

Skreddy Pedals Screw Driver.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... There are several things that distinguish the Screw Driver ($195 direct) from many of its competitors: It offers amazing output even when using very low settings on the Gain control, and its Sharpness knob provides a lot of shaping control over...

Visual Sound: Angry Fuzz.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Angry Fuzz ($207 retail/$140 street) took a little getting used to but it's definitely capable of some very cool, otherworldly sounds. It's a fuzz/octave effect but, as the manual explains, "It is not at all like...

Z.Vex: Box of Metal, USA Vexter Series.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... I came to Z.Vex's Box of Metal ($359retail/$299 street) hoping that it would help me achieve the kind of distortion tone on stage that I had carefully sculpted in the studio: super aggressive on the lows, rich and full in the midrange, and...

Silverface to blackface mod.(BACK PACE: Shop Talk)
July 1, 2008... IS THERE A WAY TO CONVERT A FENDER silverface Super Reverb to make it sound like a blackface model? --Dick Hedge, Groveland, CA It's not difficult to convert a silverface Super Reverb to blackface spec, and the end result will usually...