Guitarist

In 1968 and ’69, the legendary French yachtsman Bernard Moitessier was sailing in the prestigious Golden Globe Race for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the planet by sail. He stood to win a large prize pot and instant fame if he won the race and was well placed to do so. However, after rounding Cape Horn, he pulled alongside a passing ship and used a slingshot to fire a message onto its deck. It contained a statement to the effect that he was pulling out of the race, with immediate effect “because I am happy at sea and perhaps to save my soul”. Then he set a course for the Pacific, with no other goal than complete freedom. It’s a fitting coincidence that, almost at the same time, Jeff Beck…

Going Underground As bassist in The Jam, Bruce Foxton formed an uneasy but inspirational alliance with the Modfather, Paul Weller, he explains on p72 Modern Classic The DGT model by PRS, designed for feted US player David Grissom, is now available in affordable new SE spec. Reviewed on p84 Black Gold Dave Friedman has become the go-to maker for hot-rod, British-inspired amps. He tells us why his brutal gain tones have the edge on p114…

It’s been a while since we featured a Godin electric in these pages, actually just over two years, back in issue 467. And you don’t need us to tell you that quite a lot has happened since then. World events, factory shutdowns and the rising price of raw materials, parts and shipping have all played their part. So you have to doff your cap because if Godin is to retain – or, perhaps more accurately, regain – some market share, then this new Radium-X is quite a statement of intent. Multi-voice, innovative guitars have been a cornerstone of Godin’s output over recent decades: instruments built with purpose in mind. The Radium-X falls bang into that category with its blend of pickups – standard magnetic with less-standard piezo – creating a…

FIRST PLAYBOSS KATANA-ARTIST II HEAD Now in its second evolution, Boss’s Katana range is securely established as the go-to digital modelling amp solution for many players at all levels, from beginners to professionals. Topping out the current range is the Katana-Artist II, with expanded features and speaker enclosures loaded with the Waza G12W loudspeaker. The combo version has been available for some time and, now, for those ready to stamp some real authority on their tone, Boss has introduced the Katana-Artist II head, together with a matching 2x12 G12W-loaded speaker cabinet. This new head features similar visuals to the rest of the range, clad in smart black vinyl accented with silver trim and white control-panel graphics. The particle board case surrounds a robust open-ended steel tray chassis containing the Katana’s…

FIRST PLAY When it comes to dealing out boost and EQ, the only card you might need is Flattley’s The Ace The latest from Flattley Guitar Pedals, the Gloucestershire-based effects company, is The Ace, a clean boost/buffer with the advantage of having a Tone knob to target the boost. It features a blue halo light ring showing its engaged status and a topper on the footswitch, giving you a bit more to aim for when switching. The Ace’s tone stack is the same as that in Flattley’s Solaris Pro fuzz and boost pedal and is designed to deliver an effectively flat sound when the knob is central, with a bass boost to the left and a treble boost to the right. The most neutral position of the Tone knob isn’t…

FIRST PLAYMXR M249 SUPER BADASS DYNAMIC OD This pedal is the fifth from MXR with ‘Badass’ in its name, and the third of the compay’s ‘Super Badass’ pedals, completing a trilogy of dirt alongside the Super Badass Distortion and Super Badass Variac Fuzz. Based around MOSFET clipping diodes, it’s a basic three-knob pedal with Output Volume, Gain and Tone knobs plus a two-way toggle switch that gives you Cut or Boost. The Dynamic OD pedal sounds tonally most neutral and transparent in the Cut position with the Tone knob set close to midway. With the Gain knob set at minimum, you’ll get unity gain and clean sound around 11 o’clock, leaving plenty of knob travel for dialling in some clean boost that you can liven up by turning the tone…