Guitar Player articles from May 2005

Guitar Player archives from May 2005

Noise from the editor.(Editorial)
May 1, 2005... If you're like me, and your consciousness resides on the punk/rebel/insufferable git region of the personality chart, then demographic surveys probably dislodge a giggle or two. After all, Mr. and Ms. Marketing love to launch measured...

Letter of the month!(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2005... Shame on Eric Clapton! Though I enjoyed watching the Crossroads Guitar Festival recently aired on PBS, and I do plan to purchase the DVD, I am quite disgruntled--no, I am angry--that no female guitarists were represented. The obvious choice...

Nels Cline.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2005... The Nels Cline interview [March '05] is the best article you've printed in ages. I just finished it, and I have to tell you that I haven't read anything this inspiring since you interviewed Zappa a bazillion years ago. I was moved. Thank you so...

Prog lives!(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2005... I am writing in regards to the progressive rock article [Style Council] featured in your March '05 issue. This message was posted on the Progressive Ears message board: "In case you haven't checked it out yet, there's an article in this month's...

Tinnitus.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2005... It was good to see the article on tinnitus in your Riffs: Education section [March '05]. I've been living with noise-induced hearing loss--as well as buzzing and ringing--for more than 20 years. In the '60s and '70s, people were just not aware...

Musicnotes.com.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2005... The new musicnotes.com downloads are an excellent addition to your magazine. I have been a reader of GP since the early '90s, and I have always felt it was a great magazine, but that it was missing one thing: complete song transcriptions. Now...

Winter NAMM 2005.
May 1, 2005... You know the drill. Every year, there's a summer and a winter NAMM convention where manufacturers from across the globe display their latest mouth-watering goodies to gear fanatics from all around the world. (Don't you just love the...

In what could be construed as a rather surprising move for a member of one of the heaviest rock bands around, Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch has departed the band because he has, according to the Korn Website, "chosen the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior, and will be dedicating his musical pursuits to that end.".(news)
May 1, 2005... In what could be construed as a rather surprising move for a member of one of the heaviest rock bands around, Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch has departed the band because he has, according to the Korn Website, "chosen the Lord Jesus Christ...

The Inventors Hall of Fame will honor Les Paul this year for his namesake solidbody electric guitar.(Brief article)
May 1, 2005... The Inventors Hall of Fame will honor Les Paul this year for his namesake solidbody electric guitar. Along with 13 other notable inventors, Paul will be part of the induction ceremony on May 14, at the Hall's headquarters in Akron, Ohio....

On May 3, the Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando will host its first "Designer Gibson Guitar Auction," which will benefit the Expedition Inspiration Fund for Breast Cancer Research.(Brief article)
May 1, 2005... On May 3, the Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando will host its first "Designer Gibson Guitar Auction," which will benefit the Expedition Inspiration Fund for Breast Cancer Research. Gibson donated 50 Les Paul SG Specials, which have been decorated by...

That 1 Guy.(Mike Silverman)(Brief article)
May 1, 2005... Musical mad scientist Mike Silverman claims the most powerful potion he has ever consumed is Peet's coffee. But, somehow, after putting aside a promising jazz career as an upright bassist, he morphed into one of the most astonishing solo...

Surrounded by strings.(Jim Bartz's StringStation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2005... The idea for the StringStation came to guitarist Jim Bartz by way of serendipity. "It was one of those magic moments," he enthuses. "I have all my instruments close by while recording, and I accidentally bumped the low C on my Chapman Stick...

Will Ray's ebay strategies.(Brief article)
May 1, 2005... AUCTION ITEM: ROLAND MICRO CUBE AMP WINNING BID: $76.66 First rolled out by Roland last year, the Micro Cube has been described as the iPod of amps. Because it's a fairly new product, I searched Yahoo and Google for the amp features and the...

Star cycle.(Arlen Ness's 124-powered chopper )(Brief article)
May 1, 2005... Patterned on the radical S&S 124-powered chopper created by custom-motorcycle kingpin Arlen Ness, this arrowhead-shaped wonder was built to Ness' precise engineering specs by the Gibson Custom Shop. It features a mahogany body with raised maple...

Passing notes.(John W. Duarte dies)(Obituary)(Brief article)
May 1, 2005... PASSING NOTES: Classical guitarist John W. Duarte--a composer and teacher who wrote a Music Theory column for GP from 1987-1995--passed away on December 23. He was 85. Hugely respected in the realm of classical music, Duarte composed more than...

Mike Varney's Spotlight.
May 1, 2005... No matter how old you are where you live, or what style of music you play, this column offers you the potential to be recognized by your peers. If you're chosen for Spotlight, you'll receive an Ernie Ball t-shirt, customized EB picks with your...

Del Cielo.(Andrea Lisi)(Brief article)
May 1, 2005... "I wish I had more skill as a player," confesses Del Cielo's Andrea Lisi, "because I'll hear songs fully formed in my head, but then I'll have to go to the guitar and poke around for a while to figure out what I'm actually hearing." Lisi's...

The frames.(Glen Hansard )(Brief article)
May 1, 2005... "I've always considered music to be medicinal, so I never pick up my guitar and practice scales," says guitarist/singer Glen Hansard of the Frames. "I only pick it up when I need to make myself feel better." The Irish band's latest...

Dead meadow.(Jason Simon)(Brief article)
May 1, 2005... "It doesn't bother me when people compare us to Black Sabbath," says Dead Meadow guitarist/vocalist Jason Simon. "It's cool to be connected to that tradition, but we want to stretch that tradition." Feathers [Matador] definitely finds the...

Particle.(Charlie Hitchcock of Particle)(Brief article)
May 1, 2005... "We're on the jam-band circuit, but it's not like we sound like the Allman Brothers," says Charlie Hitchcock, guitarist for experimental instrumentalists, Particle. "The only thing that connects us with that scene is the fact that we're...

Cooltron pedals: Vox.(GOODIES FROM WINTER NAMM 2005)
May 1, 2005... * 12AU7 preamp tube * Pedals run 20 hours on four AA batteries * True-bypass switching * Bulldog Distortion: two channels (Gain 1 for vintage tones, Gain 2 for modern, scooped-mid sounds), Bass, Treble, Voice, and Volume controls...

Ultra III: Schecter.(GOODIES FROM WINTER NAMM 2005)
May 1, 2005... * Mahogany body * Mahogany set neck with rosewood fretboard * Three mini-humbuckers * Bigsby tremolo * Available in black, vintage creme, vintage wine red * $819 retail * schecterguitars.com [ILLUSTRATION...

2005-es collector's edition: Ovation.
May 1, 2005... * Lyracord GS composite body * Englemann spruce top * Five-piece mahogany/maple neck * Ebony fretboard and bridge * Abalone rosette trimmed with grained ivory * Collector's inlay at 12th fret * OP Pro preamp/Original...

Roadfire 15: Alesisi.(GOODIES FROM WINTER NAMM 2005)
May 1, 2005... * 15-watt portable amp with 8" speaker * Onboard effects * 80 presets * Built-in chromatic tuner * RCA inputs for mp3 or CD player, or drum machine * $259 retail * alesis.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Michael Schenker signature series: Dean.(GOODIES FROM WINTER NAMM 2005)
May 1, 2005... * Custom black and white finishes * Electrics: Zebra (Standard) or custom-wound (Custom/USA) pickups, bolt-on maple neck (Standard), rosewood-on-mahogany neck (Custom), ebony-on-mahogany neck (USA) * Acoustics: rosewood-on-mahogany...

Coupe series: Kustom.(GOODIES FROM WINTER NAMM 2005)
May 1, 2005... * Designed by James Brown * 12AX7 preamp and 6L6 output tubes * Accutronics spring reverb * KEI Kustom-Eminence speakers * '36 Coupe (36 watts, $799), '72 Coupe (72 watts, $999) * kustom.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Power block: Crate.(GOODIES FROM WINTER NAMM 2005)
May 1, 2005... * 150-watt compact amp head (4.6 lbs!) * FlexWave clean channel * Effects loop * CD input (RCA) * XLR line out with level control * Padded gig bag included * $249 retail * crateamps.com [ILLUSTRATION...

More hot releases!
May 1, 2005... ALTO OEX600 personal P.A, Aria Dreadnought Series, Audio-Technica 2000 series wireless, AXL ThinAmp, Basson 4x12 guitar cab. B.C. Rich Virgo Series, Dagger archtop, Bich archtop, Bennedetto Frank Vignola signature archtop, Boss BR-1200CD. GT-8....

RK100 Ritchie Kotzen signature: Cornford.(GOODIES FROM WINTER NAMM 2005)
May 1, 2005... * 100-watt single channel tube head * Handwired construction * JJ Tesla EL34 output stage * JJ Tesla 12AX7 preamp stage * Tube effects loop * Bias switch for output stage * Price TBD * cornfordamps.com ...

SAS03 troy vam leeuwen signature: Yamaha.(GOODIES FROM WINTER NAMM 2005)
May 1, 2005... * Maple/mahogany laminate body * Set rosewood-on-mahogany neck * Three soapbar single-coil pickups * Multi-function switching system * Bigsby tremolo * Available in black and translucent blood red * Price TBD *...

Tone machine: Foxx.(GOODIES FROM WINTER NAMM 2005)
May 1, 2005... * Reissue of classic '70s fuzz * Available in six furry colors * Volume, Sustain, Mellow/Bright knobs * Octave/Sustain switch * $249 retail * foxxamps.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Hubert Sumlin.(Interview)
May 1, 2005... Hubert Sumlin is one of the last great bluesmen. Born in rural Mississippi, and raised in Arkansas, Sumlin made his name in the industry as the guitarist for the late, great Chester Arthur Burnett--who you might know by his stage name: Howlin'...

Hard feelings: Joe Perry records a new solo album, but this time directs his aggression at the guitar, not Aerosmith.(Interview)
May 1, 2005... It doesn't take long to figure out when you've arrived at Joe Perry's house. Sure, as the gate to his rural Massachusetts estate opens and prime acreage blanketed in endless February snow swings into view, you know you're on the property of...

Unmasked! Mudvaynes's Greg Tribett gets out of character.(Interview)
May 1, 2005... The pop-culture meat grinder is rather quick to shred rock's stylistic trends. In little more than the time it takes to grow the hair on your shaved head to your shoulders, nu-metal has pretty much tanked, garage rock counts few survivors, and...

Three of a perfect pair: Adrian Belew transforms himself into a power trio.(Interview)
May 1, 2005... "I'm still thrilled when I discover a new sound," says sonic alchemist Adrian Belew. With his ability to make the electric guitar mimic anything he observes or imagines--from elephant talk to ray guns to otherworldly alien babble--Belew is the...

All in the family: Mardo is a bona fide Glam-rock brotherhood.(Robbie Mardo, Aron Mardo)(Interview)
May 1, 2005... It's no secret that Mardo loves vintage sounds and classic rock. One listen to the band's eponymous release [House of Restitution] will hip you to that factoid. Less obvious is that the Mardo brothers--guitarist/drummer Robbie and bassist/...

Deep soul: tab Benoit digs for the magic.(Interview)
May 1, 2005... At a recent Guitar Player Night at John Lee Hooker's Boom Boom Room in San Francisco, Tab Benoit fired up a boisterous crowd with his spicy gumbo of blues and Cajun roots music. Benoit's rich Louisiana heritage can be heard in every note, from...

John Doe: Forever Hasn't Happened Yet.(Sound recording review)
May 1, 2005... Any musician--let alone a pioneering punk rocker--who ages gracefully gets nothing but props in my book. Such is the case for John Doe, who after bringing roots music into the punk rock fold with X during the '80s, has maintained a solo career...

Bourbon Princess: Dark of Days.(Sound recording review)
May 1, 2005... Casting a sonic spell that's spooky, hypnotic, and often nightmarish, Bourbon Princess mixes droning bass, world-weary tenor saxophone, jazzy percussion, and washes of textural guitar into a startlingly original ensemble sound. Fronted by...

Neil Haverstick: Stick Man: Electric Music for 19 and 34 Tone Guitars.(Sound recording review)
May 1, 2005... As suggested by the title, Haverstick plays instruments that have been customized with 19-and 34-note to the octave fretboards on this disc. The former obviously adds seven notes per octave, which still maintains some semblance of...

What's spinning in the editors' heads this month?(Brief article)
May 1, 2005... BARRY CLEVELAND John Coltrane, Lush Life Mike Keneally, Vai: Piano Reductions Vol. 1 Paul Motion, Bill Frisell, Joe Lovano, I Have the Room Above Her ANDY ELLIS Don Rich & The Buckaroos, Country Pickin': The Don Rich Anthology...

The hot club of San Francisco: Postcards from Gypsyland.(Sound recording review)
May 1, 2005... The latest release from the Hot Club of San Francisco finds the band expanding their horizons while keeping the ball squarely on the Gypsy-swing sound inspired by Django Reinhardt. While the band's originals could easily fool casual listeners...

Various artists: Henry Mancini Pink Guitar.(Sound recording review)
May 1, 2005... The challenge on this disc is that Henry Mancini was a genius, and any performance of his work is often overshadowed by the awesome majesty of his melodies. The cool thing about the solo-acoustic Pink Guitar is all the guitarists know that, and...

Kirk Fletcher: Shades of Blue.(Sound recording review)
May 1, 2005... In a world infatuated with hip hop, young African-American blues guitarists are a rare commodity. Rarer yet are those whose touch, tone, and vibe recall such Chicago blues greats as Buddy Guy, Magic Sam, and Otis Rush in their youth. Meet Kirk...

Slacktone: Rough Surf, Rough Mix, Live in Berlin.(Brief article)
May 1, 2005... Lets just get this out of the way right now; Slacktone guitarist Dave Wronski has taken the genre of surf guitar further than anyone since Dick Dale. And he doesn't do it the easy way by simply grafting other styles of music onto the...

Jimbo Mathus: Knockdown South.(Sound recording review)
May 1, 2005... Hailing from Clarksdale, Mississippi--the cradle of the blues--Jimbo Mathus puts a crazed, psychedelic spin on everything he plays, whether it's trippy modal boogie, laid-back funk, juke joint blues, bayou R&B, or rowdy country. The word is...

The Ramones: End of the Century.
May 1, 2005... President Bush can wish and hope and legislate for an idealized Norman Rockwell-esque United States of America, but mythic rock and roll will always be made by troglodytes who would never be invited to his ranch to chow down on Laura's...

Jimi Hendrix: The Lost 24 Hours.(Video recording review)
May 1, 2005... This DVD opens with a cover of "All Along the Watchtower" that gets the lyrics wrong, ironically foreshadowing what's to come. The basic premise presented here is that Hendrix was murdered rather than dying accidentally or due to suicide, but...

The Real Book Sixth Edition: Various Artists.(Brief article)
May 1, 2005... With its stage-friendly fonts and chord symbols, as well as its sensible one-song-per-page format, the first volume of the Real Book (as it was so nicknamed decades ago) may be the biggest-selling songbook of all time. But its world-record...

Bar tab: a lesson with Jerry Douglas in wicked lap slide.
May 1, 2005... As Jerry Douglas' shiny tonebar skips and dances across the strings of his growling resonator, funky blues licks echo through his attic studio. Built over a two-car garage, it's a spacious, bright space filled with custom instruments, including...

Blues Guru: Blues for right now.(Brief article)
May 1, 2005... When it comes to chords, I try to teach my students three things. First, I hip them to beautiful, sonorous voicings they may have been unaware of previously. Next and more importantly, I show them how to link chords melodically. Just as many a...

Metal Guru: video game death licks.(Brief article)
May 1, 2005... At a music store where I used to teach, coworkers would walk by my door and joke, "Rusty, what are you doing in there--playing video games?" That's because I'd be blazing through an arsenal of zany licks I came up with that sound a bit like...

How to play like ... Dickey Betts.(Brief article)
May 1, 2005... When most guitarists think of the Allman Brothers Band, the image usually held in their minds is that of the late, great slide master Duane Allman. While Duane was a peerless icon of the electric blues, his counterpart in the Allmans' potent...

EZ Street: working with ornaments.
May 1, 2005... Ornaments are zippy melodic embellishments used to heighten a line's drama. Flamenco, bebop, Celtic, and shred metal are among the guitar styles that feature ornamentation as an essential part of the music. In the previous EZ Street ("Exploring...

Lead Guitar 101: wrenching triple-string oblique bends.
May 1, 2005... We tackled the double-string oblique bend in our previous Lead Guitar 101 ("Get a Grip on Two-String Oblique Bends," April '05). Now it's time to take on its triple-string sibling. First, a quick refresher: In a typical oblique bend, you...

Reader's challenge: downright squirrelly.(Brief article)
May 1, 2005... It scurries, it scuttles, it hops, leaps, and dives with near supernatural grace--it's the zigzagging rock fusion lick sent in by Patrick Vega of Hollywood, California. "It's from a song of mine called 'A Little Hello from the Insane,'" says...

Techniques: quick tips for getting the job done!
May 1, 2005... It's about listening. Why are you in this business? Audio! A home studio should be a listening space, not a gear showcase. It doesn't matter if you have the coolest gear, if your CD doesn't translate outside of your studio. Many of a room's...

Software: Wave Arts Power Suite.(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2005... The Wave Arts Power Suite of plug-ins ($499 retail) is aimed at digital recordists on a budget, and you can even download a fully functional version and use it for 30 days to see if it delivers the goods. For me--well, let's just say I've added...

Mic test: SE electronics SE2-A and Z3300-A.(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2005... Although there's no shortage of low-cost condenser microphones being manufactured in China, build quality and tone sometimes fall short for demanding users. SE Electronics' Chinese-made line has been completely redesigned, however, and the...

Minarik Goddess Special Edition.(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2005... Guitar Player readers were introduced to Minarik guitars in the December '04 issue with the devilishly wild Inferno model. Now we turn our attention heavenward with the Special Edition Goddess. This is a very special edition indeed, because...

Fender G-DEC.(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2005... If the term "band-in-a-box" brings up images of cheesy lounge acts with canned backup, Fender has something new that could change the way you feel about playing along with electronic accompaniment. The G-DEC--which stands for Guitar Digital...

Avante AV-2.(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2005... Online musical instrument retailer MusicYo has recently added a slick baritone acoustic to its ever-expanding product line. Designed by Joe Veillette and Michael Tobias of "The Luthiers Collaborative," the Avante (originally licensed to...

Savage Macht 12.(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2005... For decades, studio-savvy guitar players have been recording huge-sounding tracks using small, tube-powered "practice" amps made in the '50s and '60s. Now that just about everybody has some form of home studio, little amps with big tones have...

Pawnshop prize: Vega archtop.(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2005... Founded in 1903 by Swedish brothers Julius and Carl Nelson--and named after the brightest star in the constellation Lyra--Vega was a banjo manufacturer until the Great Depression of 1929, after which its focus turned to guitars. Vega introduced...

Barber Tone Press.(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2005... The Tone Press ($139 retail) smokes most compression pedals by deploying a parallel compression scheme that eliminates the annoying "pop" that's often audible when initially attacking notes, as well as ensuring meaty tones by maintaining phase...

Euthymia ICBM fuzz.(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2005... Back in the late '70s, Electro-Harmonix briefly changed the circuit of their popular Big Muff Pi and Little Big Muff Pi fuzz pedals from the original discrete transistor-based design to an op-amp design similar to those used in Maxon/Ibanez...

Klotz Matthias Jabs Signature RockMaster cable.(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2005... Made in Germany, and developed in collaboration with the Scorpion's Matthias Jabs, the Klotz Matthias Jabs RockMaster Signature series includes a 20' Guitar cable ($89 retail), a 6" Patch cable ($59 retail), and a 4' Speaker cable ($49...

PyP-Bomb amplifier.(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2005... Practice amps typically resemble shrunken versions of larger combos, but an entirely new design called the PyP-Bomb ($249 retail/$149 street), sports an enclosure made from--of all things--a PVC pipe tee. The rechargeable 18-watt amp features a...

Judas Priest on Judas Priest.(Rob Halford)
May 1, 2005... "There were no other bands playing our style of metal when we first appeared," says Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford. "This was all created from an original source, and that source was forged by our chemistry as a group. You see, we have no...