Inhaltsverzeichnis für December 2016 in Guitarist

This issue’s gear-fest brings to mind some interesting points about the connection between hardware and musicality. Great gear isn’t a panacea and it can’t magically imbue your fingers with skills you don’t possess. But one thing was brought home to us as we were judging this year’s contenders for Gear Of The Year. Having a really great guitar in your hands does impart a very real, musical benefit to your playing. The answer lies in the feedback loop that exists between the player’s mind, their emotions and what they hear coming out of the amp. During the judging there were a few times we switched from playing a mediocre-sounding guitar to something really alive, and it was fascinating to watch how, without prompting, the player in question instantly ‘woke up’…

Joanne Shaw Taylor 19 to 28 January 2017 Various UK venues Anyone who saw Joanne on last month’s UK tour or viewed her coveted Jools Holland appearance will sense things have stepped up for the British blues singer/guitarist. And her new Kevin Shirley-produced album, Wild – her first to hit the Top 20 – confirms an artist ready for bigger things. Her increasing profile has started to have positive side-effects in the wider blues-guitar context, too. “I’m seeing more young people at the shows,” notes Joanne, “particularly female, which is nice because it’s still a male-dominated instrument. Maybe they happen to be latching onto me more because there are not many role models for them – hence I latched onto Bonnie Raitt and Joan Jett and Chrissie Hynde.” Joanne’s 2017…

1 Set The Boy Free Johnny Marr £20 The varied turns in Marr’s career are always interesting, and the five years he spent with The Smiths are a significant draw in this autobiography. The 19-year-old lad from Ardwick developed such an enlightened approach to his instrument that it would help create a whole ‘new kind of music’, and it’s clear here that his self-belief played a big part in that journey. His accessible writing style cuts through self-mythology in favour of an honest account of a remarkable career: from early bands and friendship with Billy Duffy, to developing his melodically rich guitar style. Though the accounts of his early meetings with Morrissey reveal the kind of dynamic that seemed to be destined by fate, this and Marr’s effortless cool are…

There’s some unavoidable theory this month, but relax – it’s good for you! As you may know, the majority of chords are made from the basic major or minor triad, with the option of adding notes for more complex sounds. Without the additional notes, you have plain major or minor chords. The most common addition is the 7th (the seventh note of the parent scale), perhaps followed by the 9th or 6th. HOWEVER, we’re going to focus on the 4th, which can be added to a chord in two ways. If you just shove it onto the triad, it’s referred to as an ‘add11’. You can also use it to replace the (major or minor) 3rd from the original triad, in which case we refer to it as a ‘suspended…

NOT ALL RIGHT ON THE NIGHT I seem to have three stages of playing. Stage one: I play at home and play great; new riffs appear, scales fall into place and all is well with the world. Stage two: I take the work from stage one to band rehearsal and it’s all okay, but some of the riffs seem to have disappeared and I’m sure that scale fitted before? Stage three: we gig; I look down and wonder what on earth this guitar-shaped piece of wood is in my hand! I’m not shy or bothered about being in front of people, I have played for years and done quite a few gigs in various bands, which, on the whole, have gone well. I’d just like to be able to get…

Bad Touch’s punchy, riff-driven songs recall the finer moments of outfits such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Allmans, with twin Les Pauls very much to the fore in the hands of guitarists Daniel Seekings and Rob Glendinning (above, far right and far left respectively). We catch up with Daniel in the throes of prepping for a tour with fellow rockers Massive, and looking forward to the release of second album, Truth Be Told, in early December. “I was about 14 or 15 when I started playing guitar,” he tells us. “I was brought up around music – my dad was a drummer and there were guitars lying around in the house. I just picked one up and started playing.” Guns N’ Roses proved to be an influence, but it wasn’t…

The jingle-jangle of McGuinn’s 12-string Rickenbacker defined the flood of music that poured from the West Coast in the wake of The Beatles’ US invasion – far more than the relatively conservative (and already old-fashioned sounding) Beach Boys. With a clutch of songs from the formidable Bob Dylan songbook and the vocal blend of McGuinn, Crosby and Gene Clarke perfectly complementing McGuinn’s strident Rickenbacker picking, The Byrds were America’s answer to the Fab Four. “Roger is an amazing player, just astonishingly good,” David Crosby told Guitarist back in 2014, of his former bandmate in The Byrds. “We were just finding our way back then as players, when The Byrds were just starting out, but Roger was already there.” Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1942, McGuinn was bitten by the same…

Fret-King ’JJ’ John Jorgenson £799 This lightweight beauty offers switchable, hum-cancelling single-coil voices and a tapped bridge pickup, controlled by Trev Wilkinson’s Vari-coil. Put that into a sealed-body semi with a Gretsch-y colour scheme and you have a lovely slice of leftfield luthiery. We concluded: “The combination of the chambered body, that Vari-coil and the shading from the volume and tone controls creates one of the finest Tele-styles we’ve played that doesn’t feel or sound like its price suggests.” www.fret-king.com John Page Classic AJ £1,299 Long-time Fender veteran John Page knows a thing or two about the electric guitar and this alder-bodied AJ mixes a modernised Tele-style aesthetic with a reverse-slanted Tele-style bridge single coil and neck-placed soapbar single coil. Impeccably built in Japan, with a price that’s below most…

2016 might not go down as a classic year for the guitar – electric or acoustic – and with almost too much choice out there, manufacturers large and small have an increasingly tough job on their hands to tempt us to buy. The Brexit shenanigans haven’t helped, either: a weak pound has resulted in rising prices and many of us holding off on purchases, even if we have the cash, to wait and see if things calm down. In the meantime, brands and factories all over the world are pondering how on earth they keep their sales up. The so-called ‘refresh’ is certainly one way: a new lick of paint and a bit of spit an’ polish can certainly stimulate interest. Fender’s 2016 Elite series is case in point; Yamaha’s…

It seems we’ve all been bitten with the DIY-modding bug. Done properly, a new part, pickup or wiring mod can potentially improve your guitar, but it can save you considerable time and some money if you don’t. What are we saying? Well, any guitar – new or used – is often let down by a setup that isn’t what it could be or simple things such as pickup height adjustments. Earlier this year I bought a used Knaggs Chena; in fact, it was the exact one we had reviewed a few years ago, so I was happy to get it from a dealer without playing it again. On receiving the guitar, however, I was a little disappointed. Someone – presumably its previous owner – had put on light strings and…

Gibson Hummingbird Vintage £3,099 This guitar came into the Guitarist office accompanied by a J-45 Vintage and both instruments scored nine out of 10 in the subsequent reviews. Both the guitars received a fair amount of attention from the team and a debate began as to which we’d choose in a blindfold test. In the end, the Hummingbird just tipped the balance, its sweet, sonorous tones and dashing good looks winning the day. This bird can sing! www.gibson.com Martin GPC-28E £2,699 This was another guitar whose tone turned heads away from computer monitors when it was first played in the Guitarist office – a sure sign that it will end up highly ranked. Tone is notoriously difficult to describe, but everyone here who heard it thought that, even unplugged, it…

Mesa Engineering Mark Five: 35 1x12 combo £1,949 The Mark V is one of Mesa’s most highly evolved amps and, in this compact but potent 35-watt format, it may have found its most usable incarnation to date. Versatile? Few more so. There are three purposeful clean-to-crunch voicings on its top channel, and a ‘greatest hits’ trio of potent high-gain modes on the bottom channel, including a Mark IIC+ voicing for fulsome, fluid leads. Throw in the powerful five-band EQ, CabClone direct output, excellent long-spring valve reverb and three channel-assignable output modes from 10 to 35 watts, and it feels like you’re getting about a dozen amps for your money. If you think Mesa can’t ‘do’ warm, expressive-sounding EL84 amps, try this and be converted. www.mesaboogie.com Fender ’57 Custom Tweed Deluxe…

My biggest purchase this year was a used Dr Z Jaz 20/40, a horribly mis-named combo that is really superb for classic Fender-style blues and rock crunch tones and, who knows, probably jazz as well. Its 6V6 power stage, attenuator and twin 10-inch speakers make it rather like a Princeton on steroids. I tried the Dr Z by chance at a vintage guitar shop in Bath. I wasn’t even looking for an amp but about 15 notes in, the lightning bolt struck that it was the amp I’d been looking for for years. I play single-coil guitars a lot and there’s something about a small 6V6-based amp with not-too-efficient speakers that soaks up the hard, spiky attack of a Tele bridge and roughs it up a little, turning some of…

You know how it goes: you see a guitar, amp or pedal you like, and suddenly the worm is planted in your brain and the outcome is – you know it – all too inevitable. So, it happened to me (again!) after seeing pics of Andy Summers, Gary Moore, Michael Landau and even Jimi Hendrix with a Fiesta Red Stratocaster. A red one was the first Strat I ever played, too, so it was justifiable on so many levels, honest! I decided to bite the bullet and order one direct from Fender’s Custom Shop, so I contacted Fender GBI and put in my list of requirements. I didn’t want anything fancy – just a basic 1960-style Strat in faded Fiesta (more pink than orange) with slab ’board, big frets, 9.5-inch…

Lightweight, thoughtfully designed and beautifully executed, the Music Man Valentine was a breath of fresh air. As usual, the neck was superb and if you want a very capable all-rounder with thoroughbred feel and build, you really should try this. The in-built boost is surprisingly useful, too You won’t easily find an amp that’s had so much hand-fettled devotion poured into its build than the 633 Engineering Custom 36. The detailed, harmonically rich voice of this amp was the satisfying payoff for all that dedication Usable, oh-so usable. And maybe a minor game-changer in guitar. That was the verdict of our testers on the Line 6 Helix. Interestingly, it was in the live context that most of us saw benefits in using this intuitive, tonally authoritative modelling device, as it’s…

T-Rex Replicator £659 One of the big trends this year is taking the evocative sounds of 50s and 60s tech and re-engineering them to be more user-friendly and reliable in the present day. Accordingly, T-Rex brought forth the Replicator, which employs real magnetic tape to produce its delay sounds via two replay heads – but this time controlled by stepper motors that permit tap-tempo operation for magnetic tape delay for the first time, plus chorus effects. While the super-durable chromium tape in its quick-change cassette was chosen after exhaustive testing for its long endurance without signal degradation. In all, it’s a very accessible way to get into tape delay. www.t-rex-effects.com Fryette Power Station £499 Want to run a tiny tweed combo through a 4x12 cab, or attenuate your Marshall Major…

“ Rewiring and replacing pickups in these beasts is far from a walk in the park” Writer DAVE BURRLUCK Gear Reviews Editor, Guitarist After replacing and rewiring its pickups and giving the beast a VOS-style new look, our reviews ed finally deems his ‘rebuilt’ Streamliner fit for use. Now, it’s time to see how it performs on the stage and in the studio… Judging by the number of emails I’ve had in regard to this modding exercise, I’m certainly not the only player out there who has been attracted by these new Streamliners or the mid-priced Electromatics as a platform for trying to create a ‘better’ Gretsch on a budget. I’m not sure I’d do it again: rewiring and replacing pickups in these beasts is far from a walk in…

Dumble Demystified As a friend of Alexander Dumble and a user of his coveted, ultra-rare amps, Robben Ford is well placed to explain the facts behind the mystique p104 King Crimson Jakko Jakszyk regales us with tales of insane technique and terrifying improvisation while playing with prog guitar master Robert Fripp p54 Taylor Made Martin Taylor begins a six-part series of lessons showing you how to use simple jazz ideas to add extra finesse and style to your blues playing p145…

YAMAHA FG830 £360 WHAT IS IT? Refresh of 50-year-old FG, a solid spruce-topped dreadnought acoustic YAMAHA FSX830C £536 WHAT IS IT? Small body, solid spruce-topped cutaway electro in the smaller FS size A problem for most makers in these crowded times is quite simply, how do we sell more? When approaching the half century of the venerable low-end acoustic champion, the FG, Yamaha had a different problem: how to refresh something that, in sales terms, really isn’t broke? Using “proprietary software created to analyse and simulate the tonal characteristics of musical instruments”, Yamaha’s boffins redesigned the 700 series to create more “volume, a little more bass, a little more oomph”. For the new 800 range, Yamaha boasts: scalloped bracing that “moves the resonant centre much closer to the middle of…

Chuck Berry made the surprise announcement on his 90th birthday last month that he would release his first album in 38 years. Chuck will be released next year and reportedly features original material and appearances from his son, Charles Berry Jr, on guitar and daughter, Ingrid Berry, on harmonica. The rock ’n’ roll legend was inspired to make it for his wife of 68 years, Themetta Berry. “This record is dedicated to my beloved Toddy,” Chuck said in a statement. “My darlin’, I’m growing old! I’ve worked on this record for a long time. Now I can hang up my shoes!” Bob Dylan played live on stage for the first time in four years last month, on the same day as his Nobel Prize For Literature win. Although he’s still…

I have been writing these pieces for around a year now, and I would like to share with you the story of my relationships with instruments I’ve used, starting at the very beginning. It’s 1956, and this nine-year-old kid gets his first guitar. It’s a Stella acoustic, and I’d guess it was probably about $15. Knowing the varied demographic of this magazine, I’m sure some of you are remembering your own first Stella, and many others have simply never heard of one of those old hunks of wood and wire! It was a horrible instrument. Once you got past the 5th fret, your fingers (especially if you were a youngster) were on the verge of bleeding. It had an action that reminded me of the suspension of the Golden Gate…

“If, for any reason, I have to give it up, I’ll go back to mowing lawns and listening to Van Halen” 1 What was your first guitar and when did you get it? “I messed around with my mother’s three-quarter-sized classical guitar at first, but I quickly got excited about electric guitars after borrowing one from a school friend and plugging it into the hi-fi at home. A few months of washing cars and mowing lawns got me a Hohner SG Lion from Guitar Village in Farnham. That would have been around 1990.” 2 Suppose the building were burning down; what guitar from your collection would you save? “My Andreas Cuntz Weissenborn. It’s been a companion for the last 10 years. It’s built with incredible attention to detail and sounds…

Larry Carlton is relaxing backstage. He tell us: “You may have read before that people ask me to describe my guitar playing and I always try to be very honest about it. I’m a ‘jazz influenced’ guitar player, but I’m not Pat Martino or guys who have committed to that style.” Listening to some of the solos he’s played in the past, Steely Dan’s Kid Charlemagne being a fine example, might make you think otherwise. But, despite a celebrated career as both sessioneer and soloist with his own bands, not much is known of Larry’s origins and the foundations upon which much of his later work has been built. We were keen to delve back to the beginning – his first guitar, for instance: “I’m sure it was a Broadcaster.…

McGuinn has uploaded hundreds of songs to the internet as part of his Folk Den project. These songs are universally powerful, with McGuinn’s playing and his voice undiminished. It also allows him to keep his current stage setup basic… “I use four instruments on stage these days: my five-string banjo, a 12-string Martin acoustic, a seven-string acoustic, and a 12-string Rickenbacker. I go wireless with the Rickenbacker to an amp backstage, because that gives me the best sound without cluttering up the stage with amps and things. I use a microphone for the acoustic guitar, because it sounds better if you use a good-quality external mic. “I don’t use any pedals or the built-in compression on my Rickenbacker; I have them put compression on at the ’board. I use wireless…

Art editor Rob Antonello continued his odyssey into serious slide playing this year, making a real investment in one of Anderwood’s fine Authentic Series Weissenborn-replica Style 4 lap steels built of koa, having used one of their mahogany models before. Over the years, Rob has transitioned from playing slide on conventional electrics to a budget square-necked resonator from Fender to, finally, taking the plunge with a mahogany Anderwood Style 1M, then the big kahuna, the koa Authentic Series c.1927 Style 4. But what does playing a true-blood lap-steel instrument do for you? “It’s really fluid, your left hand doesn’t pause,” Rob mused. “With slide on an upright guitar, your left hand can sometimes end up being really static, especially when you’re playing a full barre on a chord and your…

The PRS McCarty 594 might be one of the very best contemporary electrics that has emerged in 2016, but it’s out of reach of many. The brand’s refreshed SE range (see this issue for review), however, includes the Custom 22 (£849), which doesn’t have the four-control drive of the 594 but does have uncovered Korean-made versions of its pickups: add some coil-splits and you’re rocking. More underground, Knaggs’ SSC (£2,999) takes the classic single-cut platform and runs with it. Gibson’s 2016 Les Paul Standard updates the classic with a compound radius fingerboard, modern weight relief and Burstbucker Pros, and street prices edging under £2k. Mesa’s super amps have never been cheap, either, but Hughes & Kettner’s GrandMeister Deluxe 40 (£1,199) head offers considerable flexibility: “deluxe tube tone with smart operating…

Recently, I attended a masterclass by the virtuoso acoustic player Clive Carroll. We had reached the point where Clive had called for questions from the floor and someone asked him how he manages to get such an enormous, rich tone from his guitar through a PA system. Clive uses an OM made for him by the British luthier Ralph Bown, which sounds amazing unplugged – but, as any acoustic player will know, that’s really only half the story when performing live. The job of transferring that exquisite sound to an audience’s ears is another matter. Clive revealed that he uses a combination of a sensor under the bridge, plus an internal mic. Nothing unusual there, plenty of systems share a similar setup. But here comes the clever bit: both signals…

Everything sounded better in the past, runs a certain train of thought. So, one big trend this year has been rebooting vintage tones while adding modern functionality to the blend. T-Rex’s Replicator (above, see also Innovation on p99 ) is a good example, as it joins Fulltone in resurrecting an honest-to-god magnetic tape delay, except this time the tape is intended to last much longer, be easier to change and offer you tap-tempo, too. The jury’s out on whether this novel-yet-nostalgic effect, which utilises 1/8-inch tape, sounds as good as the old 70s 1/4-inch tape delays, such as the Maestro EP-3 Echoplex, but it encapsulates a move we’ll likely see a lot more of, which could be termed ‘retrovation’: the practice of resurrecting old tone tech and giving it…

Our testers came back to Fender’s ’57 Custom Deluxe amp again and again – it proved a favourite among favourites. And, like many amps that do one thing incredibly well, session man Adam Goldsmith said he would have “no problem” using this as a go-to amp on sessions, as its warm, fluid voice was, ironically, usable in so many blues and rock contexts The Player’s Edition Gretsch G6118T Anniversary was the real sleeper here. Featuring deft tweaks to increase the usability of the Gretsch semi format, the Anniversary was the guitar we just couldn’t put down. From jaggedly charismatic drive tones to Western Swing, it delivered tonal gold in so many styles Sometimes great gear is about building a better mousetrap. The Hamstead Signature Tremolo offers a hand-built pairing of…

Free The Tone Tri Avatar TA-1H £300 Could chorus be becoming cool again? Surely not. Seriously, you really should try this pedal. It gave us one of the year’s few unique audio experiences when we ran it in stereo into two amps with a touch of reverb and delay to generate super-wide, ethereal chorus that was almost narcotic in its potency. Inspired by 80s tri-phase choruses but with completely new, quiet circuitry, the Tri Avatar splits your signal into three effected paths whose phase relationship can be adjusted to yield some of the most mirage-like, immersive chorus sounds we’ve heard. You can store presets, too, so those ‘goldilocks’ just-right settings are always just under your toes. www.freethetone.com Jim Dunlop Echoplex EP103 Delay £189 While real, actual magnetic tape delay has…

Fractal Audio Systems AX8 €1,699 A pro-focused, stage-oriented alternative to the Helix and Kemper’s profiling amps (especially for those already using other Fractal products, such as the formidable Axe-FX II), the AX8 packs in 222 amp models, more than 130 Factory cabs, plus 512 User Cab memory slots and loads of effects. Guthrie Govan is among the converts to the AX8, giving some idea of its calibre tonally. He observed in our last issue that “the Fractal guys had clearly spent a lot of time on the input stage and the converters, so the resulting tone sounds very pure to my ears.” As such, it’s a hardcore contender for your money with a huge amount of depth, capability and durability. www.fractalaudio.com Keeley Monterey Rotary Fuzz Vibe £239 What’s better than…

This last year has been the first time that I’ve finally felt comfortable using amp simulations (or in this case, profiling) in studios as an alternative to the ‘real thing’. The advent of the Kemper Profiling Amp combined with the Michael Britt profiles finally seems to have cracked it for recording purposes, from my perspective as a player who works all kinds of sessions in the course of a working month. I will confess to not having gigged it yet, but in studios, I’ve yet to find anyone who can tell the difference blindfolded. I remember my first experience with the Line 6 POD years ago – er, no thanks! – then various incarnations such as the Avid Eleven Rack (sounded fine but still didn’t feel right) then through to…

DANELECTRO ’59M SPRUCE £629 CONTACT JHS PHONE 01132 865381 WEB www.jhs.co.uk Guitarists of a certain age may remember the original Dano model, but we suspect most will be familiar with the modern Far-Eastern repros that alter annually, constantly plundering the band’s evocative, ‘cheap and cheerful’ past. Earlier this year, a trio of models included the Mosriteinspired (er, copy) Danelectro ’64 along with the DC59R electro-resonator. The third new model, like that reso, uses Dano’s most recognisable double-cutaway ‘shorthorn’ shape, now known as the ’59, that will forever be associated with Jimmy Page. And there’s nothing wrong with that! “Iconic, quirky and fun,” says Danelectro of its current models, but at £629 this new ’59M Spruce is hardly an impulse purchase – although ‘street’ prices do seem considerably lower – and…

Expert Panel Jamie Dickson Guitarist editor Jamie is as happy with steel wool in his hand as he is with Steely Dan in his headphones, and loves vintage-gear restoration and ambitious signal chains. Dave Burrluck Guitarist’s assiduous reviews editor is also the author of numerous guitar books.Very handy with a fret file and indeed any aspect of a finely fettled six-string. Mick Taylor Ex-editor of Guitarist, Mick has wielded Allen keys, screwdrivers and sandpaper from an early age; he also has a worrying obsession with pedalboards. Neville Marten Edited Guitaristfor 13 years, after working for both Fender and Gibson as a repairer. From desirable Les Pauls to dream Strats, he’s owned and worked on the lot. Nick Guppy Guitarist’s amplifier specialist has built up a wealth of experience gained from…

Gibson first introduced the Melody Maker into its catalogue in 1959. Initially, it had a body shape similar to that of the Les Paul Junior, but was slightly thinner, and featured a simple inventory including an all-mahogany build, a single pickup, wraparound bridge/tailpiece, controls mounted on the pickguard and an unbound neck with dot inlays. It was aimed at being a no-frills budget model in counterpoint with Gibson’s prestige electrics, such as the ES and Les Paul ranges. Things were set to change, however, and the body shape underwent several redesigns during the 1960s. By 1961, for instance, the Melody Maker had a double-cutaway and a year later was offered with an optional Maestro tremolo. Our model here represents possibly the most radical change: an SG-type double-cut – introduced in…

The Amazing Mr Johnson Dif ficulty 20 mins per example Tutor: Richard Barrett Gear used: Fender Strat, Whirlwind Gold Box Distortion, Vox AC15 C1 ERIC JOHNSON’s playing is complex enough to be the subject of several headlines, but for now I’ve chosen to concentrate on his soloing style. Eric’s approach to the blues/pentatonic scales is unique, stacking up sax-type lines – often in odd-numbered groups – across the beat. Though some of Eric’s angular, intervallic skips sound modern, there is little doubt his inspiration is taken from the blues, particularly Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck for the single-note passages. However, it would be remiss not to mention Jimi Hendrix, who inspires some of the wilder flourishes, plus some of the chord voicings Eric uses in his accompaniments. Famous for his…

Picking up the Source, we’re taken with the balance and light weight – something often compromised with the addition of a substantial Bigsby CORT SOURCE BV-CR £539 WHAT IS IT? Semi-hollow electric with soapbars and a Bigsby vibrato CORT YORKTOWN BV-TAB £615 WHAT IS IT? Twin-humbucker hollowbody with Bigsby vibrato Cort has been a very big name in guitar manufacturing for many years, supplying instruments under contract to a wide range of brands. Since 1982, the company has also been producing guitars under its own name, quickly establishing a reputation for quality and value for money among those in the know. When Hugh Manson was looking for a factory to build the award-winning MBC-1 Matthew Bellamy Signature, that’s exactly where he went. Our two review instruments form the…

World-class fingerstyle player Tommy Emmanuel knows plenty about a sparkling sound, so it makes sense that he’s worked with German’s AER for his first signature amplifier (£989). The genesis began with the Compact 60, which became the Australian acoustic artist’s go-to for gigs. Back in 2014, we were equally enamoured with its crystalline qualities, light weight and functionality. So, what does this Tommy tie-in bring to proceedings that could make the investment worthwhile for players? At first glance, the cosmetic touches are subtle with their black-on-black aesthetic. Tommy’s signature is engraved on one side (along with CGP – Certified Guitar Player, a nod to Chet Atkins who bestowed the honour on him and four other players) with Aboriginal art on the other side. But the other two changes to the…

This month has proved as much of a parking and logistics challenge as it has a musical one. I’ve been involved in two big productions at the Royal Albert Hall (don’t even try and park near it to get your gear in), and the rehearsals have been at Abbey Road Studios (at present a building site, don’t even try and park near it to get your gear in), BBC Maida Vale Studios (four-hour meters, sadistic traffic wardens, don’t even try and park near it to get your gear in), and back to my house (road resurfacing, don’t even try to park near it and… well, you get the idea). I do feel much better now I’ve got that off my chest, though, so thank you, dear reader, for being my…

JUMPIN’ JIMI! As an owner of a Mexican Fender Jimi Hendrix Strat, I found the ‘Bridging The Gap’ article by Simon Law [issue 413] to be of interest – until I investigated the cost of pimping the bridge and pickups, as per the suggestions. I’m impressed by the tone of this off-the-peg Strat as it is, so would pimping it really make that much difference? I’m assuming it must do for a gigging musician, but how about a guitarist at home with a Marshall Valvestate 80-watt combo such as myself? Rob Francis, via email Hi Rob, thanks for the letter. Our Tone Doctor Simon Law would be the first to admit he’s single-minded when it comes to coaxing more performance from guitars. So, no, there’s nothing ‘wrong’ with the off-the-peg…

 What was the first gig you ever played and how did it go? “One of my dreams as a kid was to go on tour with TransAm Trucking lugging all the gear. Now I’m sitting looking at our TransAm truck. That’s the real deal” “The first gig I played was when the Olympic Torch came to Warrnambool. We were on the back of a truck and the Olympic Torch came down the road. It was when we had the Sydney Olympics [in 2000] and so we played some rock ’n’ roll. The crowd were rocking. You could see the torch coming down the road and it was kind of cool.” Describe your current stage rig… “It’s big and loud! It’s six Marshall stacks and we’ve got all the heads going.…

After seeing King Crimson from the audience in Watford Town Hall back in the 70s, Jakko Jakszyk was sure of the course his musical life was going to take. Years of performing in various prog-related bands led him to working with Robert Fripp in one of Crimson’s offshoot ‘ProjeKcts’. The album A Scarcity Of Miracles resulted, after which Fripp called up Jakko and asked him to join the court of King Crimson as a permanent member. The newest release from the band, Radical Action To Unseat The Hold Of Monkey Mind, comprises four discs, three of which are live CDs, the fourth a DVD of a complete Crimson performance, lovingly compiled from a whole tour’s worth of footage and multi-track recordings. “We record every single show we do and on…

These days, we’re in a world in which even entry-level guitars tend to be very competent, sonically and in terms of playability. So, it’s getting tougher than ever to find the standout pieces of gear from a year of reviewing in Guitarist. But we tried, dear reader, we tried. First, how to define a year-topping piece of gear across a broad range of pricepoints? After all, expensive hand-built guitars and amps will always tend to be good – they’d have no decent reason to exist otherwise. But that doesn’t rule them out, either. And how to compare them to a cheap piece of gear that just does what it does very well at the price? So, here’s how we did it. First, we drew our longlist from Guitarist Choice and…

Music Man Valentine £2,449 Maroon 5’s James Valentine might not be on your radar, but this Berklee College Of Music graduate is a consummate pro, helping his band shift in excess of 20 million albums since he joined them in 2001. Fair play to Music Man for getting him onboard: the Valentine has an intelligent design with a tapered ash body, roasted maple neck, plus humbucker in neck position and slanted pole-piece single coil at bridge, and onboard volume boost. A first class, pro-level instrument. www.musicman.com Patrick James Eggle Macon Carved Top £3,600 Named after the city that gave birth to Ray Charles, Little Richard and Otis Redding, this Macon proves beyond doubt that Patrick James Eggle is back in the electric guitar business. Using a chambered mahogany body with…

Gibson ES-335 Premiere Figured £2,999 Gibson’s Memphis Division continues to create legendary guitars. This ES-335 is outwardly a posher take on the centre-blocked thinline classic with its flamed maple exterior, but internally, the centre block and Adirondack spruce bracing are thermally cured and adhered with hide glue. “It helps create a guitar that’s acoustically louder, open and with more clarity,” Memphis told us, and with a pair of MHS ’buckers and tweaks, such as matched pots, this is a standout classic. www.gibson.com Gretsch G6118T Players Edition Anniversary £1,899 Gretsch’s affordable Streamliners led a Gretsch charge this year, including now mid-priced Electromatics, and a rejigging of its Japanese Professional Series, including this G6118T Players Edition Anniversary. This side of the new range centres on a Gretsch for the gigging musician with…

When relic’d electric guitars first appeared, they were met with a mixed response, starting an argument between believers and non-believers that rages even today. The passage of years has seen the technique of artificially ageing become ever more refined with instruments that have only a few months on the clock looking like they’ve spent a lifetime in the knockabout world of sweaty, booze-laden dives. But where antiqued electrics might epitomise the spirit of rock ’n’ roll, imagine the effect of the somewhat more genteel unplugged world when it came across the first relic’d acoustic. I think the first I saw was the White Rice model dreadnought from Alister Atkin – essentially a faithful reproduction of Clarence White’s original Martin D-28. It was fresh from the workbench but looked like it…

If you play blues or classic rock in clubs or pubs, a characterful amp of around 25 watts is your friend, not least because you can get at its best sounds at a usable volume. The Supro 1695T Black Magick’s woody, jagged voice is sensational and, at 18kg, it’s a pretty easy carry, too We really took to the gutsy style and bold voice of the Fano SP6 Standard, particularly the warm but punchy neck pickup. Don’t let appearances deceive, the body is alder rather than mahogany, and the girthy neck is a bolt-on. Some may want a hotter bridge pup to balance out the P-90, but we liked the sweet ’n’ sour mix A warm, flatteringly coloured boost that will also do service as a low-gain overdrive is one…

Brunetti PlexiMan 50W Head £1,095 This year, many makers have been paying homage to the British EL34 sound pioneered and owned, for many years, by Marshall – it feels like all ampdom has set its sights on gritty, warm midrange grunt that burns fiercely when lit. Where the Brunetti shines in a crowded room is in its superb tone, expanded feature set and reasonable price. For the outlay, you get high-spec components, a high-gain Hotrod switch to unlock extra horses, a Mellow voicing switch for sweeter, bluesier performance and a Dense switch to thicken up single coils. www.brunettiamps.com Victory VX The Kraken £829 With the Kraken, designer Martin Kidd of Cornford fame, set out to build a high-gain amp that packed enough clout and clarity to handle detuned and baritone…

Hudson Electronics Broadcast £155 Another home-grown British gem is the Broadcast: a Class-A germanium preamp from Yorkshire maker Hudson Electronics. It’s based on the preamp of an RCA recording console, but, in use, it’s a subtle vintage boost and fuzz combined in one austere blue enclosure, which looks like it belongs in the Abbey Road of the 1960s. Wiry Richard Thompson-style lead tones and spattery 60s fuzz excursions are both possible via its high/low-gain ranges. It’s musical, characterfully voiced and well priced for a hand-built, standout pedal. www.hudsonelectronicsuk.com DOD Looking Glass Overdrive £154 Could this be the way forward for bringing boutique tones to the masses? Veteran effects brand DOD collaborated with indie maker Shoe Pedals to create this flexible, arresting overdrive that just doesn’t seem to be capable of…

Sometimes it’s the accidental finds that grab you the most. Earlier this year, Guitarist took a group of readers over to one of the world’s best collections of vintage guitars at Umeå in Sweden, home to Guitars: The Museum. One of the museum’s owners, Samuel Åhden, is absolutely mad about B-Bender guitars, pioneered by Byrds guitarist and engineer Gene Parsons. As we’ve mentioned elsewhere, Sam has an unhealthy number of these B-Bender modded Teles. But, less obviously, he’s made a mod to nearly all of these Teles to make them sound like the most ballsy Fenders ever devised. The secret sauce? Harmonic Design Super 90 pickups, designed by maker Scott Petersen, which utilise P-90 style construction in a standard Tele bridge pickup-sized format. The result? One of the most punchy,…

Several player friends have gone down the Kemper or Fractal route, bypassing conventional valve amps altogether and using ‘profiling’ or modelling amps instead. I’d heard that Line 6 had entered the fray with Helix, and, as it happens, we’d been invited to Line 6 headquarters for a ‘Helix Day’. We would get to hear a demo (thanks Paul Hindmarsh), program our own sounds and play them in anger. To everyone’s surprise we were blown away by Helix’s ease of use and by how ‘real’ everything sounded. The car home was full of converts. So much so that several of us ordered units to try. After an evening of programming, my unit was loaded with all the sounds I needed for an upcoming tour. Would I dare to use it? Oh,…

“Alexander told me he’d got the idea to build the Overdrive Special from listening to me play through a 60s piggyback Fender Bassman and cabinet – I’ve always been very proud of that” In a recent feature, I discussed how some of the biggest names in guitar playing history have invented their own unique guitar tones – sometimes very much by accident, coincidence or maybe something more. The name Howard Alexander Dumble may not mean much to the man on the street, but the amplifiers this gentleman has produced over the last 50 years have gone on to gain almost biblical status among us tonehounds. I, myself, have been almost obsessed with the Dumble story since the mid-1980s. Here, I present to you the Dumble Overdrive Special – and not…

Owning a bespoke, hand-crafted guitar is in the sights of many players today – the concept of a pristine six-string rising Phoenix-like from a heap of sawdust and wood shavings is an intoxicating image. Deep in the Suffolk countryside, Martyn Booth’s workshop produces a modest number of instruments per year, each fashioned around Martyn’s classic MSG model that first saw the light of day during the 1980s through the portals of Yamaha. These days, though, every inch of the reborn model is fashioned by hand and, having had the chance to view the workmanship close up, we can tell you the quality is of an impeccable standard. Martyn’s history with guitars began in 1975 when he was working for Norlin, who, in those days, was the UK distributor for Gibson…

Q I’m looking for a traditional semi-acoustic hollowbody for rock ’n’ roll tones. I love the look and sound of Gretsch guitars, but I’m unsure if they’ll be difficult to manage, or fiddly in terms of setup. My current guitars are a P-90 Epiphone Les Paul and a Fender Stratocaster with a humbucker at the bridge. I use a Blackstar Artist 15 and do gigs in local pubs. I’ve never had a hollowbody before. I like all the same music you guys do – blues, classic rock, 60s – all the good stuff! What would you recommend for around the £600 to £850 mark? Sam Gould, via email A Great idea, Sam. New inspiration and cool sounds await, and your budget will get you something good these days. Regarding the…

Blues A La Mode Difficulty 30 mins per example Tutor: Martin Taylor Gear used: Mike Vanden Martin Taylor Artistry Caprice WELCOME TO the first in a new series of technique columns for Guitarist. The theme of this series is to introduce a little bit of jazz into a standard blues chord progression with a few moves that will fit into many different playing contexts. You could easily apply this sort of thinking to acoustic playing, rock playing – realistically, anywhere that the blues is your foundation stone. I’ve always thought that blues is a common denominator for guitar players, as we come across the familiar pentatonic scale positions pretty early on. Hands up everyone who discovered their first bluesy lines emanating from the Am shape based around the 5th fret?…

Electrics Charvel San Dimas, Style 1 HH (Seymour Duncans), 2010. Candy Apple Red. Excellent condition, barely played. Charvel hard case. £500 ono. Call Andy on 01227 763121 or email idolphinso1@tiscali.co.uk Fender Custom Shop 56 NOS Strat. Fiesta Red, gold hardware, AA Birdseye maple neck .Excellent condition. £1,800. Call Keith on 01302 538970 or email keith9151@gmail.com Fender Stratocaster, Mexican. Tremolo, 2-Tone Sunburst, maple neck. New condition. Offers around £350. Call 07956 654084 Fender Stratocaster Closet Classic, black, 2013. Excellent condition. Original Tolex case, all original accessories. Rosewood ’board. Beautiful! £1,750. Call 07828 515083 Fender USA Stratocaster 1991, Mystic Blue, white Scratchplate. All original hardware, immaculate. £1,100 ono. Call Greg on 07518 968828 or email lesleytansey@hotmail.co.uk. Woolton, Merseyside Fender Japan 1952 Reissue Telecaster with Bigsby. As new, never used. Ash body, vintage…