Guitarist

i’m with the band

This month’s Woodstock feature got me thinking about the importance of the audience in making great music happen. Surely only the musicians make the music, you might ask? On the contrary, the audience play an under-acknowledged role in summoning up magical performances on stage. An ecstatic response from the crowd sometimes elevates a gig from merely great to historic. That’s because experiencing live music is not a passive activity, like watching the television. If the performance is good, the crowd roars and that spurs the band to greater heights – completing a feedback loop that brings thousands of people together in a glorious moment of shared worship at the alter of music. That’s how it should be, anyway. Sometimes you wonder if the modern gig-goer is losing the knack of being…

guitarist

EDITORIAL ART EDITOR Darren Phillips darren.phillips@futurenet.com MANAGING EDITOR Lucy Rice lucy.rice@futurenet.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jamie Dickson jamie.dickson@futurenet.com DEPUTY EDITOR David Mead david.mead@futurenet.com CONTENT DIRECTOR, MUSIC Scott Rowley scott.rowley@futurenet.com REVIEWS EDITOR Dave Burrluck dave@daveburrluck.com SENIOR MUSIC EDITOR Jason Sidwell jason.sidwell@futurenet.com CONTRIBUTORS RICHARD BARRETT, ROD BRAKES, ADRIAN CLARK, TREVOR CURWEN, DAVID DYAS, ADAM GOLDSMITH, NICK GUPPY, PHIL HILBORNE, MARTIN HOLMES, CATHERINE HOOD, RICHARD HOOD, CORMAC JORDAN, CATHERINE KIRKPATRICK, ROB LAING, NEVILLE MARTEN, ED MITCHELL, ROGER NEWELL, CLIFF NEWMAN, NIGEL PULSFORD, DAVINA RUNGASAMY, ADRIAN THORPE IN-HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHY PHIL BARKER, OLLY CURTIS, NEIL GODWIN ADVERTISING CHIEF REVENUE DIRECTOR Zack Sullivan zack.sullivan@futurenet.com UK COMMERCIAL SALES DIRECTOR Clare Dove clare.dove@futurenet.com ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Lara Jaggon lara.jaggon@futurenet.com ACCOUNT SALES DIRECTOR Alison Watson alison.watson@futurenet.com ACCOUNT SALES DIRECTOR Guy Meredith guy.meredith@futurenet.com MARKETING MAGAZINE MARKETING DIRECTOR Sharon Todd sharon.todd@futurenet.com HEAD OF ACQUISITIONS Helen Harding helen.harding@futurenet.com ACQUISITIONS CAMPAIGN MANAGER Tom Cooper tom.cooper@futurenet.com ACQUISITIONS MARKETING EXECUTIVE Jessica weatherbed jessica.weatherbed@futurenet.com PRINT & PRODUCTION HEAD OF PRODUCTION UK & US Mark Constance mark.constance@futurenet.com PRODUCTION MANAGER Frances Twentyman frances.twentyman@futurenet.com PRODUCTION…

super natural

One of the few Guitarist Gold awards we handed out last year went to Auden’s cracking Austin 12-string acoustic, so it was with a keen sense of anticipation that we took delivery of the six-string version – the Austin Artist, along with an intriguing parlour acoustic named the Emily Rose. Both guitars are made with Auden’s hybrid build process, in which the woodwork is done in a small nine-luthier workshop in China, but the final neck-set, finishing and setup is completed at Auden’s HQ here in the UK at Higham Ferrers in Northampton. You wouldn’t necessarily notice straight away that the Austin we have in our hands now is almost the same guitar as the 12-string we tested last year. The latter’s stealthy ‘smokehouse’ finish is replaced here by a more…

auden artist rosewood emily rose cedar

PRICE: £1,499 ORIGIN: China/UK TYPE: 12-fret parlour acoustic TOP: AAA-grade Cedar BACK/SIDES: Rosewood MAX RIM DEPTH: 109mm MAX BODY WIDTH: 350mm NECK: African mahogany SCALE LENGTH: 635mm (25”) NUT/WIDTH: 44mm (1.73”) FINGERBOARD: Ebony FRETS: 18 STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 59mm/Ebony ELECTRICS: Bradley Clark Supernatural Preamp WEIGHT (kg/lb): 1.8/3.9 OPTIONS: None RANGE OPTIONS: An all-mahogany version (Artist Mahogany Emily Rose), is available plus a spruce-top/maple-body version (Emily Rose Golden Sunburst Spruce), a spruce-top/ mahogany-body version (Mahogany Emily Rose) plus a slightly lower-spec cedar-top mahogany-body variant (Neo Emily Rose) LEFT HANDERS: Yes, to order FINISHES: Natural, Tobacco Burst PROS Great amplified voice and a surprisingly expansive unplugged tone for a parlour-size guitar CONS Not necessarily what some might expect of a parlour, tonally – but that’s their loss…

auden artist mahogany austin spruce

PRICE: £1,299 ORIGIN: China/UK TYPE: 14-fret OM-style acoustic TOP: Spruce BACK/SIDES: African mahogany MAX RIM DEPTH: 114mm MAX BODY WIDTH: 400mm NECK: African mahogany SCALE LENGTH: 655mm (25.7”) NUT/WIDTH: 43mm (1.69”) FINGERBOARD: Ebony FRETS: 20 STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 54mm/Ebony ELECTRICS: Bradley Clark Supernatural Preamp WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2/4.4 OPTIONS: None RANGE OPTIONS: Cutaway and 12-string versions of the Austin are also available LEFT HANDERS: Yes, to order FINISHES: Natural, Smokehouse Auden Musical Instrument Co 01933 391234 http://audenguitars.com PROS Sweet, balanced tone makes it a great all-rounder that’s still a bit different; strong pickup system; great spec and build at this price CONS Nothing really – it’s a lot of guitar for the money…

the other guys

It’s 1957. Fullerton, California. You’re Leo Fender. Within the last decade you and your team have invented the Esquire, Telecaster, Stratocaster, Precision Bass and the Bassman amplifier. Your competition is floundering. Compared with the Gibson Les Paul and the Gretsch Duo Jet, your Stratocaster guitar looks like it was beamed down from a passing flying saucer. Business is brisk. But you’re Leo Fender. The Strat is already three years old! You need to stay on top. The big question is: how do you follow a guitar like that? Fender’s response is the Jazzmaster. Released in 1958, the new model combines important Fender trademarks (bolt-on maple neck, six-on-one-side tuner layout) with a recent addition to the Fullerton factory’s spec options – a rosewood fingerboard. The Jazzmaster is intended to be Leo’s flagship…