Guitar Player articles from June 2008

Guitar Player archives from June 2008

My generation was a bit short sighted.(NOIZE: From the Editor)(Editorial)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When it launched the "Don't Trust Anyone Over 30" phrase during the hippie era. It was an excellent call to arms for the nation's youth, but it overlooked the fact that pretty much all the people in power were over...

Letter of the month.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2008... As a "schooled" guitar player fresh out of music college, hearing Allan Holdsworth's solo on "Hazard Profile, Pt.1" from Soft Machine's Bundles literally changed not just the way I thought about music, but what it meant to be an artist end a...

Holdsworth.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2008... What a nice surprise to see Allan Holdsworth on the cover of the April issue. As a guitar player for nearly 45 years, I have seen live performances by some of the greatest players out there, including some who are no longer with us. After most...

Gallagher.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2008... Thanks to Jesse Gress and Guitar Player for nine outstanding pages on Rory Gallagher. I thought things were great when you listed a Rory DVD among your 50 best, so seeing him featured in a "10 Things" piece is almost too good to believe. On my...

Watt's the deal?(FEEDBACK)
June 1, 2008... In your review of the Jensen Jet Blackbird 100-watt speaker (April 2008), you state that it could be paired with a 15-watt Celestion Blue with no worries of inflicting any damage to the Celestion when using a 50-watt tube head. Sorry, but this...

Oops!(FEEDBACK)(Correction notice)
June 1, 2008... In the April '08 Allan Holdsworth cover story, Alan Pasqua's name was misspelled, and Jimmy Johnson was listed as the bassist on Allan Holdsworth and Alan Pasqua Featuring Chad Wackernam and Jimmy Haslip. Jimmy Haslip is the bassist on the DVD....

Joe Satriani.(RIFFS: Rock)(Interview)
June 1, 2008... IF YOU'VE GOT AN EYE FOR DETAIL, YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED LATELY THAT Joe Satriani has rigged some of his signature model JS-series Ibanez guitars with noticeably thicker vibrato arms. If you're lucky enough to take a quick spin on one of these...

Adrian Belew.(RIFFS: Prog)(Interview)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ADRIAN BELEW LIKES TO KEEP A LOT OF PLATES SPINNING IN the air at once. Lately, he has been touring with his Power Trio supporting the band's new Side Four (Live) [ABP] album. But he's also featured on the latest...

Eric Sardinas.(RIFFS: Blues)(Interview)
June 1, 2008... ERIC SARDINAS EMBODIES THE MODERN guitarslinger within the grand tradition of the maverick bluesman. His forte is a fired-up roadhouse style steeped in swampy slide licks and presented with AC/DC energy. The Hollywood resident is also...

Blue Highway.(RIFFS: Acoustic)(Interview)
June 1, 2008... "PEOPLE ALWAYS WANT TO KNOW HOW WE arrange songs," says Blue Highway's resonator royalty Rob Ickes, "They'll ask, 'How do you decide who's taking the next solo?' I tell them that we just start playing. A lot of people spend too much time...

Stanley Jordan.(RIFFS: Jazz)(Interview)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SHOPPERS ON MANHATTAN'S MUSIC STORE Row in 1984, often found themselves awestruck by a young man playing on the street. Eddie Van Halen's solo style had already hipped the masses to tapping techniques, but Stanley...

Reggie Young.(RIFFS: Soul)(Interview)
June 1, 2008... SESSION GUITARISTS SUCH AS MICHAEL Landau, Steve Lukather, Paul Jackson Jr., and Brent Mason are legends in the guitar community, but there's another, lesser-known name that should probably be uttered in the same breath: Reggie Young. For the...

Edilio Paredes.(RIFFS: World)(Interview)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IT'S MIDNIGHT AT THE CLUB EL 27 FEBRERO in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood, and Dominican Republic maestro Edilio Paredes and his combo are launching into their traditional Friday night show. The setting...

Jeff Healey.(RIFFS: Tribute)(In memoriam)
June 1, 2008... BECAUSE OF ALL THE ATTENTION JEFF Healy got for the most obvious parts of his career (he was blind, and he fretted his guitar on his lap), people sometimes overlooked the most important thing: The guy was a complete badass. Such a badass, in...

Max Cavalera.(RIFFS: Metal)(Interview)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IN THE EARLY '90S, SEPULTURA, FRONTED BY the vocals and guitar of Max Cavalera (with his brother, Iggor, on drums), was one of the only bands to pull off the concept of "tribal metal." Combining a barrage of...

Carolyn Wonderland.(RIFFS: Roots)(Interview)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "MY THEORY IS, THE MORE YOU GIG, THE less you suck," says guitarist and road warrior Carolyn Wonderland. When the Austin-based Wonderland isn't touring the world, she's gigging nearly every night in and around the...

Mixing Led Zeppelin II.(RIFFS: Recording)(Sound recording review)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] EDDIE KRAMER'S NAME HAS BEEN MOST often associated with the work of Jimi Hendrix, but his curriculum vitae also includes recording classic tracks for icons such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Traffic, and Small...

The ten hottest new guitarists.(RIFFS: Readers' Poll)(List)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Geoff Achison [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Vlad Gheorghiu (Jet Lag Gemini) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Samo Salamon [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

R.C. Allen 1964 "Roy Lanham Model" guitar.(RIFFS: Vintage Vault)
June 1, 2008... IN THE HISTORY OF ELECTRIC-GUITAR makers, there are corporations, there are small companies, and there are the individual luthiers who craft guitars one-at-a-time by hand. Dick "R.C." Allen is definitely the latter--a man who has been crafting...

Editor boy's big eight.(RIFFS: MySpace Hordes)(List)
June 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...

Julian Bream.(RIFFS: Oeuvre Easy)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHAT COULD JULIAN BREAM POSSIBLY have in common with Sting? Both artists introduced modern audiences to the Elizabethan lute music of fellow Englishman John Dowland--Bream through his many now out-of-print...

Together, 1971.(INSPIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Julian Bream and John Williams play seamlessly on this album of duets and duet arrangements. Duets include English composer William Lawes' "Suite for Two Guitars" and Ferdinando Carulli's "Duo in G." Superlative performances of Spanish music...

RCA Victor Basic 100 Volume 26 Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez, 1993.(INSPIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Bream again collaborates brilliantly with another guitarist. This time, however, the other guitarist is holding a baton, not a guitar. Renowned Cuban composer/guitarist/conductor Leo Brouwer is the perfect choice to conduct the orchestra on...

The Essential Julian Bream, 2008.(REQUIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... This two-disc compilation of previously released recordings (as selected by Bream) spans the years 1959 through 1984. Aside from the traditional guitar repertoire, listeners will be delighted by pieces composed expressly for Bream, such as...

Julian Bream The Ultimate Guitar Collection, 1996.(REQUIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Another two-disc compilation, this collection is strong in Spanish composers such as Isaac Albeniz. The title is a bit misleading, however, because the collection also includes Bream playing lute, as on Antonio Vivaldi's "Concerto in D for Lute...

Romantic Guitar, 1972.(REQUIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Francisco Tarrega once said, "A guitar in the hands of an Englishman is almost blasphemy." Tarrega would change his mind upon hearing Bream's performance of his "Adelita," and again on "Hommage A Tarrega, Op. 69," "Garrotin," and "Soleares" by...

Guitar for Relaxation, 1999.(TIRED)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Bream's friend and fellow classical guitar superstar, John Williams once told me, "Compilations these days of the classical catalog are endless. You have after-dinner classics, before-breakfast classics, moonlight classics-I even had a request...

SXSW report.(RIFFS: Community)(South by Southwest Music and Media Conference)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHILE MOST OF THE BANDS AT SXSW CONTINUE to reside squarely in the indie-rock camp, there was a resurgence of metal and more blues-based rock outfits. Thankfully, guitar is alive and well, and the rig du jour seems...

Rev. Gary Davis: The Video Collection.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] REV. GARY DAVIS The Video Collection Stefan Grossman has been doing God's work for a long, long time now with his slew of Guitar Workshop and Vestapol releases. Whether it's teaching the finer points of Celtic...

John Martyn: The Man Upstairs: In Concert In Germany 1978.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] JOHN MARTYN The Man Upstairs: In Concert In Germany 1978 John Martyn has released 22 studio albums and countless live and compilation discs since his recording debut in 1967, yet he has remained largely a cult...

What's spinning in the editors' heads this month?(RANTS & RAVES)
June 1, 2008... MATT BLACKETT Sextus, Stranger than Fiction Kaki King, Dreaming of Revenge Jason Mraz, Jason Mraz BARRY CLEVELAND Albert Collins, Live at Montfreux 1992 (DVD) Debashish Bhattacharya, Colcutta Chronicles David Jacobs-Strain,...

Fernwood: Almeria.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FERNWOOD Almeria Fernwood is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalists Todd Montgomery and Gayle Ellett. The former plays Irish bouzouki, guitar, mandolin, and sitar, while the latter plays Greek bouzouki, upright...

Infernophonic: Spark It Up.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] INFERNOPHONIC Spark It Up This rocking set from New Jersey's Infernophonic is jam-packed with big rock riffs that just reek of Les Pauls plugged into loud-ass tube amps. Guitarist Pat Piegari dishes out crunch...

The homogenization of rock guitar tone.(GP WHITEPAPER)(Discussion)
June 1, 2008... ONCE UPON A TIME, A GUITARIST'S TONE AND APPROACH WAS NEARLY AS unique as his or her fingerprints. Dave Davies did not want to sound anything like Jimi Hendrix, who was not trying to emulate George Harrison or Eric Clapton, who were certainly...

Hustle & flow: Slash reflects on his astonishing rise from seedy bars to soccer stadiums to the Xbox 360.(Interview)(Cover story)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHEN YOU'RE A BONA FIDE GUITAR HERO, YOU GET OFFERED SOME INTERESTING GIGS. THAT'S HOW, FOR EXAMPLE, SLASH found himself in a huge video studio wearing what looked to be a wetsuit with a couple of dozen ping-pong...

10 things you gotta do to play like Tommy Bolin.(LESSONS)
June 1, 2008... THOUGH HIS LIFESPAN WAS CUT TRAGICALLY SHORT TO JUST 25 YEARS, guitar legend Tommy Bolin (8/1/51-12/4/76) accomplished more than most people who live three times as long. A self-taught prodigy, Bolin liked to work, and his track record proves...

Get in the zone: an intriguing improvisation strategy from Wayne Krantz.(LESSONS: Master Class)
June 1, 2008... TO PARAPHRASE SONGWRITER KRIS Kristofferson, improvising ain't for sissies. It takes big ears, an inventive mind, and a brave heart. Bravery is essential, because improvisation means venturing into unknown territories--in front of a live...

Beginner: Joe Satriani's bending drill.(LESSONS: Guest Guru)(Interview)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As you can see in Ex. 1, the notes A, C, and E--the chord tones that spell an Am triad--can be arranged in myriad ways. One challenge guitarists face is that there are typically several ways to finger the same chord...

Joe Barden: White S-deluxe pickups.(GEAR: New Gear)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Wrapped in transparent protective tape so the gold hue of the coils complements the rich white of the pickup * Bottom materials remain black, but are not visible when installed under a Strat pickguard * 5169 retail * joebarden.com ...

Gadow Guitars: American Series Custom.(GEAR: New Gear)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Poplar body with Indian rosewood fretboard * GFS pickups in humbucker or P90 configurations * Wilkinson wrap-around bridge o Sperzel tuners * Available in translucent Evil Cherry red, cobalt blue, and vintage burst * 1,079 retail *...

Cruztools: Groovetech guitar player tech kit.(GEAR: New Gear)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Includes a 6-in-1 screwdriver, five metric and six fractional hex (Allen) keys, 15-blade thickness gauge, 6" steel ruler, diagonal cutters, capo, flashlight, and string winder * Screwdriver includes two Phillips tips (#1 and #2), two slotted...

Fender: T-bucket 300SCE.(GEAR: New Gear)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Dreadnought cutaway or orchestra body * Quilted maple or flame maple top * Mahogany back and sides * Mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard * Chrome die-cast tuners * Fender FTE-3TN preamp with tuner * Available in quilted amber, trans blue,...

Victoria Amplifier Company: golden melody.(GEAR: New Gear)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... 50-watt 2x12 combo * GZ34/5U4 rectifier * Two 6L6GC power tubes * Vibrato 100 percent tube driven via three 12AX7s * Reverb is 12AT7 transformer coupled with a full-sized Accutronics tank standard * Two Golden Melody Classic Lead-style 12"...

Swampdonkey: M50.(GEAR: New Gear)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... 50-watt, all-tube Class AB * Single channel * Cascading gain stage * Two ECC83S preamp tubes, ECC81 phase inverter and 6L6GC output tubes (EL34s optional) * Variable Boost * Footswitch included * Includes ATA flight case * $3,495 retail *...

Six new electric, hybrid, and acoustic/electric guitars.(GEAR: Roundup!)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2008... TESTED BY THE GUITAR PLAYER STAFF IT'S A GOOD THING WE GP EDITORS LIKE DOING WHAT we do, because the almost daily arrivals of new guitars to our office does generate some option anxiety when it comes to deciding what to review each month....

Gibson Historic '59 Les Paul vintage original spec vs. PRS SC 245.(GEAR: Fight Club)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2008... AFTER BEING PUT BACK INTO PRODUCTION following the storied court case between Gibson and PRS, the Singlecut was finally retired in 2007, and replaced by the new SC 245, which, aimed at the "traditional" player, sports a 24 1/2" scale (versus...

Peavey ReValver MKIII.(GEAR: Digital Guitarcraft)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2008... [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] UNTIL NOW, CONSUMER AMP-MODELING software has been developed by companies whose specialty was, well, software. Peavey is the first amp manufacturer to jump whole hog into the software pool. With decades of experience...

All about ... speakers.(GEAR: Sonic Essentials)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANY TOP AMP TECH, THOUGHTFUL MANUFACTURER, OR CLUED-IN player will tell you that your speakers are responsible for an enormous chunk of your tone. Despite this fact, the speaker is often the last thing a player...

Egnater Tourmaster 4212 Combo and 4100 half-stack.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AMP DESIGNER BRUCE EGNATER HAS BEEN IN the biz for three decades now, and he is perhaps best known for the tone tweaker's nirvana he created with his Egnater Modules--swappable tube preamps that plug directly into a...

Presonus FaderPort vs. Frontier Design AlphaTrack.(GEAR: Recording)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] TESTED BY BARRY CLEVELAND UNTIL RECENTLY, IF DAW USERS DIDN'T WANT to record and mix using a mouse or a laptop touch pad, their only options were large and relatively costly control surfaces. Then, Presonus...

Vox Virage SC.(EDITOR'S Guitar Player PICK)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] EDITORS' Guitar Player PICK TESTED BY ART THOMPSON THE LEGACY OF THE ORIGINAL VOX COMPANY is one of innovation, imagination, and the desire to build the best-quality instruments that the technology of the...

Trem King TK-1 and TK-2.(GEAR: Accessory File)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IF YOU THOUGHT BUILDING A BETTER mousetrap was hard, try reinventing the whammy bar. It's not a challenge many entrepreneurs have the guts, brains, and vision to take on, but Canada's Sheldon Lavineway--who brought...

Humbuckers of the Holy.(BACK PAGE: Shop Talk)
June 1, 2008... HOW DOES JIMMY PAGE GET SO MANY different sounds out of his Les Paul? --Christian Wheeler, Chesapeake, VA. Jimmy Page has used a bunch of different guitars over the years: Teles, Les Pauls, Danelectros, and Strats to name a few. But live,...