Guitar Player articles from June 2009

Guitar Player archives from June 2009

Noize from the editor.(selfishness of the American Insurance Group Inc. and band members)(Editorial)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SO THE SMUG AIG SUITS FELT THEY deserved bonuses for such "stellar" performance that us taxpayers had to bail their asses out of financial ruin. Bravo. This is the kind of detached, me-me-me arrogance that thrives in...

Letter of the month.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2009... Joe Bonamassa--Working Class Hero? Only if you consider the Bushes and Kennedys part of the working class. Geez, his stage setup alone is worth more than my cars. His recording setup is worth more than my house. He's got great taste in...

Bonamassa.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2009... Great piece on Joe Bonamassa. I've been a fan for the last seven years, and the dude has never let me down in his shows, tonally or inspirationally. This piece brings front and center just how aware he is of his gear, his tone, his approach,...

Legends among us.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2009... Thank you for featuring two of my favorite guitarists: Joe Bonamassa and Joe Louis Walker. As I read the latest issue, I couldn't help think how fortunate we all are to be able to see B.B. King and Buddy Guy live. There are so few of these...

A Brad rap?(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2009... Not that Brad Paisley needs me or anyone else to defend him, but geez, give it a rest already. Mr. Paisley was obviously just being funny--and entertaining--during an interview. He's an entertainer, in addition to being an all-around guitar...

Get your facts strat.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2009... I couldn't believe it when I read (in the April Riffs piece on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex self-guided audio tour) that when you walk by Jeff Beck's stripped Strat, you hear "Beck's Bolero" on your headphones. That guitar was from the...

Choice readers.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2009... I just have to say that it warmed the cockles of my aging heart to see the results of the Readers' Poll (May 2009 issue). It is filled with people and albums I actually listen to, and spans the guitar cosmos of styles, not just the flavor of...

Oops!(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2009... I wanted to thank you for a great article in your Gear section--the Fight Club from March 2009 issue--and inform you of one typo. The pickups in the Guitar Mill T-Style are not "Smith" brand, but Smit's Handwound Guitar Pickups brand. ...

Scott Gorham on Thin Lizzy's live legacy.(RIFFS)(Interview)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Thin Lizzy's 1977 album Live and Dangerous captured the band--and their groundbreaking and influential guitar team of Scott Gotham and Brian Robertson--at the height of their powers. When word got out that producer...

Cirque du soleil's Bruce Rickerd on showing up for work.(RIFFS)(Interview)
June 1, 2009... BRUCE RICKERD, GUITARIST FOR THE LAS VEGAS CIRQUE SHOW Mystere, has not only never missed a performance in over 15 gears, he's even covered for a buddy across town by recording all of the friend's parts while still making his regular gig,...

Paul Barrere on that Little Feat feel.(RIFFS)(Interview)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... DESCRIBE THE DYNAMIC IN LITTLE FEAT that makes its feel so unique. Little Feat's feel is different because it's not as locked down as with other bands. The crux of the matter is a push and pull generated by the bass and drums. It's based on...

Bruford talks guitar.(RIFFS)( Bill Bruford)(Interview)
June 1, 2009... "THE GREAT THING ABOUT THE guitarists I've worked with is that they are all so different in their approaches." enthuses drummer extraordinaire Bill Bruford, who, as a member of Yes. King Crimson, UK, Genesis, and numerous other heavyweight...

Behringer's birthday bash.(RIFFS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... BEHRINGER CELEBRATED ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY-and the seventh anniversary of the company's Chinese manufacturing operation--on February 21, 2009. Located in China's industrial city of Zhongshan, "Behringer City" comprises six large manufacturing...

Jackie Greene on songwriting.(RIFFS)(Interview)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] JACKIE GREENE IS ONE OF THE MOST ACCLAIMED YOUNG songwriters to emerge from California in years. Hear him do his own thing on Giving Up the Ghost [429], or catch him revitalizing the Grateful Dead catalog on tour...

Steve Bauer on the Academy of Shred.(RIFFS)(Interview)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... THE ACADEMY OF SHRED CAN BE HEARD every Wednesday from 10:00pm to 12:00am EST at wxxi.org and wrur.org. How did you get started doing this show? I have always been a rabid guitar music fan--mainly rock, fusion, and quality metal. My...

Ken Settle on the ones that got away.(RIFFS)(Interview)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] World-renowned rock photographer Ken Settle is also a fan and collector of guitars. Here he tells the tragic tale of a guitar he bought, and two he didn't. "AS A 12-YEAR-OLD GUITARIST IN 1971," RECALLS SETTLE,...

Tommy Emmanuel is a certified legend.(RIFFS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Acoustic wizard Tommy Emmanuel was presented with Guitar Player's Legend Award at Muriel Anderson's All-Star Guitar Night at Winter NAMM 2009. Past inductees include Les Paul, Duane Eddy,...

Broadjam/GP picks.(RIFFS: Web Hordes)
June 1, 2009... GUITAR PLAYER AND Broadjam have partnered to offer Broadjam members a chance to share their chops with GP readers and beyond. Well, there's one tiny proviso--you have to impress the Broadjam community and the Guitar Player staff. After you post...

Jerry Horton.(FEATURES: Rock)(Interview)
June 1, 2009... NOTHING SURVIVES LIKE A ROACH. The odds-on favorite to be the last organism standing after a nuclear blast has a knack for not just adapting, but actually thriving under conditions that many other species find hostile or even deadly. All this...

Meshuggah.(FEATURES: Metal)(Marten Hagstrom )(Interview)
June 1, 2009... IT'S A VEXING QUESTION, BUT ONE WE always seem to ask metal guitarists in GP interviews: What is the future of the genre? Is anyone raising the bar, taking things to the next level, or flying a new kind of metal freak flag? Frequently, the...

Joe Don Rooney.(FEATURES: Country)(Interview)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A HANDFUL OF BANDS are so big that their labels take extraordinary measures to ensure their new music doesn't end up on the Internet and downloaded for free a zillion times before it's available for sale. They forgo...

The Beyman Bros.(FEATURES: Acoustic)(Christopher Guest and David Nichtern)(Interview)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE BEYMAN BROS. ARE ACTUALLY NOT brothers per se, they're Christopher Guest and David Nichtern (with help from their little bro, CJ Vanston). The two childhood friends have been playing music together for decades,...

Guitar masters.(FEATURES: Recording)(Brian Tarquin )(Interview)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AS A MULTI-THREAT GUITARIST, PRODUCER, engineer, composer, and label honcho, New York-based Brian Tarquin has scored jingles, television shows, and movie soundtracks, and has even won a couple of Emmys. But the...

Derek Trucks.(FEATURES: Blues)(Interview)
June 1, 2009... WHAT DO YOU DO FOR AN ENCORE AFTER PLAYING a stint with Eric Clapton, and accepting a personal invitation from Carlos Santana to open a string of dates on his tour? Derek Trucks drew upon those thrilling experiences--in addition to touring as...

Martin Gore.(FEATURES: Pop)(Interview)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DEPECHE MODE MAY BE ONE OF THE LAST bands many would expect to find featured in the pages of GP. After all, the mega-selling Brits have been household names for 25 years on the merits of their distinctive brand of...

Jake Hertzog.(FEATURES: Jazz)(Interview)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FOR A SMALL GUY IN HIS EARLY 20s, JAKE HERTZOG certainly lives large. Since earning a scholarship from Berklee and taking that institution by storm, he has been awarded the Grand Prize in the Montreux Jazz Festival's...

The Story of Paul Bigsby: Father of the Modern Electric Solidbody Guitar.(Book review)
June 1, 2009... THE STORY OF PAUL BIGSBY: FATHER OF THE MODERN ELECTRIC SOLIDBODY GUITAR By Andy Babiuk [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The names Adolf Rickenbacker, Leo Fender, and Les Paul loom large in the history of the solidbody electric guitar, but...

Peace, love & guitars: 40 years ago, Woodstock celebrated the age of Aquarius with the sounds of Hendrix, Santana, Garcia, Townshend, and other rock legends.(Cover story)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE MONTEREY POP FESTIVAL IN JUNE 1967 MAY have announced to the world that popular music was being hijacked by hippies, freaks, and flower children, but it was Woodstock that declared...

Jazzy kinds of blue: injecting soulfully swingin' jazz lines and lush extended chords into the 12-bar blues.(LESSONS: Master Class)
June 1, 2009... TWELVE MEASURES, THREE CHORDS, infinite possibilities. As mystifying as it may seem, the pedestrian simplicity of the standard 12-bar blues has been the Spartan framework supporting some of the most groundbreaking, inspirational, and timeless...

10 things you gotta do to play like Les Paul.(LESSONS)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AS ONE OF THE FOUNDING fathers of the electric guitar, genius inventor and designer--and guitarist par excellence--Les Paul stands as one of our country's greatest national treasures. A true living legend, Paul's...

Shedding and shredding the Hungarian minor scale with Oli Herbert of all that remains.(LESSONS: Metal Rising)
June 1, 2009... OLI HERBERT IS ONE OF TODAY'S PREMEIR new metal guitarists. As the lead guitarist and primary songwriter for the melodic metalcore band All That Remains, Herbert has shown a diverse array of rhythm and lead techniques that really make him stand...

Bringing the funk.(LESSONS: Five Towns College)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THESE EXAMPLES ARE A GREAT WAY to learn some go-to funk moves or to tighten up the ones you already know. Before we discuss some options for funky chord voicings, we must address something that's also essential:...

5 new flat-tops.(GEAR: Roundup)
June 1, 2009... ACOUSTIC GUITARS ALL HAVE THEIR OWN UNIQUE TONAL personalities that are linked to the quality of their woods, the kind of finish they wear, and how carefully they were built and set up. Fine handcrafted guitars aren't cheap and for good reason,...

Breedlove: Stage C250/EF.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2009... ONE OF THE LOWER PRICED MODELS IN THE BREEDLOVE LINE, THE Korean-made Stage C250/EF has a gloss finished body and rosewood peghead overlay, and a natty set of appointments that includes ivoroid binding on the body and neck, abalone rosette and...

Epiphone: AJ-500RE.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2009... [Guitar Player EDITORS' PICK] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] LOOKING MUCH LIKE A '30s-ERA EPIPHONE ACOUSTIC, THE AJ-500RE features all solid wood construction with full binding on the body, neck, and headstock. The Chinese-made guitar has a...

Hohner: DL500CE.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AS WITH MANY GUITARS IN THE "AFFORDABLE" CLASS, THE INDONESIAN-MADE DL500CE has a solid top with laminated back and sides. But in this case, the wood happens to be highly figured lacewood koa, which looks awesome. A...

Revival: RG-26.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2009... [Guitar Player EDITORS' PICK] IF YOU'RE LOOKING TO GET AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO A BOUTIQUE-GRADE guitar for minimal cash outlay, it hardly gets better than the RG26. This small-bodied beauty from Chinese manufacture features all solid...

Walden: D710.(GEAR: Roundup)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2009... COMING IN AT THE SECOND LOWEST PRICE IN THIS GROUP, THE D710 is a dreadnought-sized guitar that features a satin finish, a solid top and back, and nice looking appointments. The bindings (white/black on the body, black on the neck) are grade A,...

EVH: Wolfgang.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MUCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT THE IMPACT that the original Eddie Van Halen guitar has had on the way that guitars are played, manufactured, and regarded by even non-guitarists. From a strictly guitar culture...

Trayser: Doublewing Standard.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FOUNDED IN 2003 BY CHRIS PIRKER AND GEORGE Lora, Trayser is a company in southern Austria that specializes in thin, semi-hollow guitars. The Doublewing Standard treks over familiar ground with its maple neck and trio...

Taylor: T3/B.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [Guitar Player EDITORS' PICK] PROPELLED BY THE POPULARITY OF ITS T5 acoustic-electric and SolidBody electric models (reviewed in the June 2005 and February 2008 issues of GP respectively), Taylor has introduced a...

Roland: Mobile Cube and Cube Street.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WARM TEMPERATURES AND A SLOW economy might be cause to consider the income available to musicians who ply their trade on the local thoroughfares. Outdoor players can often make more than their club-performing...

Danelectro: Dead On '67.(GEAR: Bench Test)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BASED ON DANELECTRO'S HORNET SERIES H2V6 model made from 1967 to 1969, the Dead On '67 takes some liberties with the original's specs, which included "natural" finishes, a slider switch for each pickup (some versions...

Motion Sound: SRV-212.(GEAR: Field Test)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2009... MOTION SOUND HAS BEEN MAKING ROTARY speakers since 1995, and the SRV-212 ($1,095 retail/$849 street) represents its second generation of units designed specifically for guitar. The SRV-212 is loaded with two Eminence Screamin' Eagle 12"...

Will Ray's eBay prizes: 1959 Kay Upbeat.(GEAR: Auction Block)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IF THERE'S ONE WORD KAY ENTHUSIASTS love to hear, it's Kelvinator. It's a term used to describe the art deco headstocks on the most coveted Kay models from the late '50s to early '60s. In the early days of eBay, I...

Reverb troubleshooting.(reverb circuit for electric guitars)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN HOW TO TROUBLESHOOT the reverb circuit in my Fender amps. Can you please explain how to do this?--Thorn Bailey, Lancaster County, PA There are three parts to a reverb circuit: the reverb...

CEntrance: AxePort Pro.(GEAR: Accessory File)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PLAYING GIGS IS NOT MY DAY JOB, NOR IS IT THAT of my bandmates, so finding time to rehearse together before a show can be tough. When we do, we record an mp3 and e-mail it to everyone so they can practice their parts...

Buddy Guy: August 2001.(BACK PAGE: Flashback)(Interview)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A guitarist who has stood at the crossroads of blues and rock, Buddy Guy is one of the few who can claim to have been mentored by blues legends such as Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, and to have influenced rock...