December 2019

Guitarist

The Guitar Player's Bible

Guitarist2 min read
It Might Get Loud
While we were putting together this month’s feature on tone, a topic came up that’s been debated quite a few times in the Guitarist office. Namely, if heavy strings purportedly deliver a bigger, fuller sound than light ones, how is it that some of th
Guitarist5 min read
Spirit Of St Louis
It was only after a couple of its guitars landed on our doorstep that we realised how little we know about Alvarez. It’s one of those brands that feels like it’s been around forever. We all know the name. We’ve all heard good things. Before we get st
Guitarist6 min read
Born To Fly
While Omar Rodríquez-López is known for his Ibanez ORM signature, the new Music Man Mariposa vision appears to be a more complete and innovative design – and that’s just the shape. Whether or not it looks cool to you (we must say that we immediately
Guitarist4 min read
Generation Game
By now, just about everyone out there in guitar land knows about Gibson’s efforts to rediscover its mojo under a new CEO. We’ve looked at its revised electric-guitar range and, so far, have found pretty solid evidence that things are on the up again
Guitarist2 min read
The Wishlist
PRS’s Private Stock is the place to go for a custom-specification one-off instrument built to the highest quality imaginable. Increasingly, PRS also uses its Private Stock to test the water for a new model, such as this 120-only limited run. It’s the
Guitarist2 min read
Gas Supply
£237 to £439 CONTACT Roland UK PHONE 01792 702701 WEB www.boss.info/uk What is it? “It” is the answer to the question: ‘What has 10 amplifiers, 65 effects, plus a bunch of cabinet types and power outputs?’ In this instance, you don’t get a point i
Guitarist2 min read
What’s Goin’ On
Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy have come a long way since their band’s formation 15 years ago. Now headlining arenas in the UK (including London’s O2 Arena again on this run), their guitar dynamic continues to evolve on sixth album, Walk The Sky. Tr
Guitarist2 min read
The Players
The first ever Chuck Berry signature model is now available from Gibson. The 1955 ES-350T (£7,999) is a historically accurate model with a limited run of 55 made in collaboration with the late legend’s family. The details expand to the case candy wit
Guitarist1 min read
Signature Model
Page, Clapton, Beck, Townshend, Gilmour, Knopfler, Iommi and even McCartney… just some of the musicians who have signed a guitar to be auctioned in aid of Jerry Donahue, the former Fairport Convention, Fotheringay and Hellecasters guitarist who suffe
Guitarist3 min read
SESSION DIARY Fast Track
One common feature of modern pop and rock records is multi-tracking of guitars. From the perspective of a studio guitar player, this has become especially prevalent since the arrival of Pro Tools and computer recording in general, where it’s super ea
Guitarist3 min read
Neville’s Advocate
These days, just as the move from internal combustion engines to electric or hybrid vehicles is really ramping up, there’s a definite move towards ‘going digital’ when it comes to playing guitar. More and more we hear of top players ‘resorting’ to it
Guitarist3 min read
RAISING THE TONE Man Of Steel
Continuing our mini-series on the guitarist’s ultimate consumable, this issue we talk to Jason How, chairman of UK manufacturers Rotosound. The history of the Kent-based company has been strewn with innovation since the 1950s and it was bass players
Guitarist2 min read
Substitute
Certain chords have such a strong character that we often identify them with a certain song, band or even an entire era. 6th chords, like the ones featured here were loved by The Beatles, from their rock ’n’ roll early days through to their final rec
Guitarist2 min read
Star Letter
Dear Guitarist, they say a fool and his money are soon parted – none more so than anyone who decides to spend almost 12 grand on the ‘Blind Faith’ Telecaster (issue 451, p32)… So one of Fender’s Master Builders has unbolted a Telecaster neck and bolt
Guitarist3 min read
Feedback
I loved the question and reply about Epiphone Olympics last issue. I picked up an Olympic about six years ago and it became my go-to for home strumming due to its playability and comfort. It’s had a couple of live outings, too, and held its own comfo
Guitarist3 min read
Music
9/10 Supper is, once again, ready… With Genesis not due a reunion any time soon, it’s Steve Hackett that has enjoyed the fruits of representing the band’s material, most especially everything up to his final Genesis album, Wind And Wuthering. Havin
Guitarist2 min read
Back Tracking
8/10 Post-’87 Floyd shine on in an extravagant 16-disc boxset Retrospective collections are all the rage these days and Pink Floyd have climbed aboard with their own lavish box of delights. Priced at a princely £399 for the full monty (a single-CD
Guitarist1 min read
Deep Cuts
The band War was formed in 1970 as a vehicle for Eric Burdon to front, but they were much more than just a backing band, and definitely had an identity of their own. After two albums (and a jam on stage with Jimi Hendrix at the Speakeasy in London tw
Guitarist5 min read
Steve Morse
What was the first gig you played and how did it go? “This was in the 60s – ’66 or ’67. We were kids and got driven to the gig by my dad with my brother’s drums, my little amp and guitar, and we met up with the other guys and played a dance. We did
Guitarist7 min read
J Mascis
As the songwriter, vocalist and guitarist of hard-rocking indie pioneers Dinosaur Jr, and with two Fender signature models to his name, J Mascis is perhaps better known for wielding a heavily fuzz-laden Jazzmaster in front of a wall of Marshalls cran
Guitarist2 min read
Own Your Tone
Guitar players often talk about achieving the ‘sound in your head’. We all know what they mean. Inside every guitarist’s mind is an archive of beautiful, soul-satisfying sounds that are based on some of the world’s great recordings. But here’s the th
Guitarist6 min read
Tone Terms
As we’ve suggested, your tone is about more than just sound; it’s the things that affect playing feel and touch-sensitivity as well. Some players like a clear, glassy note that can punch through any mix. Others need a swampy, down-and-dirty drive ton
Guitarist6 min read
Pickup The Pieces
What’s the difference between high- and low-output pickups, in terms of their influence on other parts of your rig (such as amp and pedals)? “If we look at something high-output versus something low-output, the higher the output the more juice it’s
Guitarist6 min read
String Theory
Fifteen years on from the company’s inception, Curt Mangan’s handmade strings have built an impressive roster of endorsees, from Kirk Fletcher to Allen Hinds and Matt Schofield. Prior to starting up his own company, Curt was with Ernie Ball for 17 ye
Guitarist2 min read
Core Considerations
“Some years ago the band I was in had been booked into a recording studio, with a producer, to record our next single. Now, this was the early 80s and I was immersed in making guitars. I was pretty proud of my creation – a bound Les Paul Special-styl
Guitarist2 min read
Putting It All Together
Now that we’ve examined the core tonal qualities we’re trying to influence – and looked at how hardware choices such as pickups and strings can help fine-tune our playing experience – it’s time to demonstrate how we can use that knowledge to craft st
Guitarist2 min read
Warm Jazz Cleans
“So it depends what you mean by warm,” Daniel Steinhardt begins. “For example, take a Roland Jazz Chorus. If you’re a jazz guitar player and you’ve got something like a Roland JC-40 set up and you just notch the tone back a little bit on the guitar,
Guitarist3 min read
Monster Cleans
“The SRV thing is really interesting,” Daniel Steinhardt reflects. “Stevie Ray used so many different rigs throughout his career, but he had a way of setting up his amplifier so it always just sounded like him. He was 100 per cent sure about what he
Guitarist3 min read
Blistering Rock
“I’ve listened to the guitars in Back In Black in isolation – and they’re incredible but not crazily distorted,” Dan reflects. “The thing about Angus Young is, his tone sounded magnificent but not all that distorted. So what do we do? We need to give
Guitarist2 min read
Tight High-gain Heat
Not all players want gentle, organic drive tones – some need the high compression and intense clipping that suits harder prog and metal styles. But as metal and prog can be harmonically complex at times, you’ll also want to keep things focused. Dan S
Guitarist8 min read
Mission Impossible
There’s a good reason why you’ll never hear a covers band attempt Frank Zappa’s Hot Rats. It’s impossible. It’s unperformable. It’s unfathomable. Even putting aside the art-rock icon’s leftfield guitar virtuosity, the 1969 album is a tapestry of over
Guitarist8 min read
THE Gary Moore COLLECTION
As Gary Moore’s guitar tech, personal assistant, tour manager and friend for well over two decades, Graham Lilley knew the Belfast-born blues-rock legend better than most. Here he shares his rare insight into the guitarist’s technical and creative ap
Guitarist1 min read
Get On ’board
“Gary was well known for using the [Marshall] Guv’nor, which is the pedal on Still Got The Blues. The Bluesbreaker was one of the pedals in the batch that Marshall came up with after that – the Shred Master, the Drive Master and the Bluesbreaker. Tha
Guitarist2 min read
Moore Amps
“Gary did an EPK film for the Ballads & Blues [1982-1994] compilation that came out in ’94. It was filmed at SARM Studios and this amp is sitting on the rack behind Gary during the interview; you can see the clip on YouTube. He’s playing through it a
Guitarist8 min read
Martin Mahogany Dreadnought Kit Part 2
As regular readers may know, I recently embarked on a mission to build the nearest thing I could get to a Martin D-18, using the company’s official ‘Mahogany Dreadnought’ kit. As this kit is not quite a bolt-together affair but requires some moderate
Guitarist9 min read
Royal Rumble
The post-war period of the early 50s was a time of great innovation. Following major advancements in instrument design after the war, radical developments at Fender saw the release of both the seminal Esquire and Broadcaster by 1950 (renamed the Tele
Guitarist8 min read
Top Drawer
You don’t want to stand still at Fender for too long or you might get refreshed or renamed. That’s what has happened to the relatively new American Elite series. This range replaced the American Deluxe series back in 2016, and has now had a name chan
Guitarist1 min read
Under The Hood
There’s a lot of switching potential in this Stratocaster that really isn’t used. A four-pole five-way selector, for example, and a four-pole S-1 switch, of which just one of its poles is used with two simple connections to create the ‘seven-sound’ m
Guitarist4 min read
Bring It On Home
Traditionally, many guitarists tended to use two amplifiers: a bigger amp for the stage and a smaller one for the studio. Back in 2011, this status quo shifted when Yamaha spotted a niche for something else. Its concept was built around a third type
Guitarist3 min read
Digital Visions
Blackstar’s BEAM (Bass, Electric, Acoustic and Music) is a popular desktop solution. It’s compact, so it’s great where space is limited, and it features the familiar range of Blackstar clean and overdrive sounds, together with studio-quality modulati
Guitarist4 min read
Dr Robert
VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra When The Beatles’ Abbey Road album was being recorded, some 50 years ago, the band were mainly using Fender amps as can clearly be seen in their last live performance on Apple’s Savile Row rooftop on 30 Janua
Guitarist2 min read
Broadcast-AP
VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra Designed to deliver the type of saturation available from classic broadcast and recording consoles from the 1960s, Hudson’s original Broadcast stands out among drive pedals. Its Class-A discrete transformer-c
Guitarist2 min read
Verzerrer
Fredric Effects is based in North London but has a strong German connection, and the pedals it’s launched this year are based on Eastern German designs. One of them, the Regent 150 Preamp (£120), is a recreation of the preamp and EQ circuit from the
Guitarist3 min read
Michael Hudson
1 What was the first pedal you built and how did the design come about? “I started off building vintage Fuzz Face and Tone Bender-style circuits for my own use when I was playing in bands. This was in the early 2000s when you could pick up the [NOS]
Guitarist2 min read
Plan Of Attack
I’ve recently got back into effects pedals after a 20-year hiatus. However, the landscape seems to have changed massively in that time and, to be honest, I’ve been a bit lost. To get over this I’ve just been buying as many different types of pedals I
Guitarist4 min read
Yamaha CG-TA
Entranced by the sweet sonority of Yamaha’s CG-TA, David considers how it might fare in a gig situation… Last issue, my time with Yamaha’s CG-TA TransAcoustic nylon-string was confined to my living room and I was impressed by how the internal effect
Guitarist3 min read
Gibson Les Paul Classic 2019
Our gear reviews editor has been enjoying the charms of a new 2019 Gibson model.Time to send it back… or is it? With so many choices in the new-guitar market, I can’t be the only one who finds it difficult deciding what to buy? And when it comes to
Guitarist4 min read
A Modern Stagger
The ‘vintage versus modern’ dilemma is exemplified by the most common and most simplistic pickup (well, nearly) ever invented: Fender’s single coil. Six rod magnets are pressed through fibre top- and bottom plates to form a bobbin around which a coil
Guitarist4 min read
Pole Position
Q “Dear Guitarist, I wonder if you could share some thoughts on pickup polepieces? I was seriously tempted to drop some cash on a secondhand guitar in immaculate condition, but I was put off when I noticed some of the strings were pretty far off thei
Guitarist2 min read
Gibson Firebird III
During the late 50s, Gibson was experiencing something of an identity crisis as it struggled to gain dominance in the rapidly expanding solidbody marketplace. While its upstart rival in California, Fender, continued to thrive as it spearheaded the ne
Guitarist1 min read
Hofner Club 50 1959 Blonde
Welcome to the first edition of Reverb Rarities where we forefront a rare vintage guitar currently listed on Reverb.com. The Hofner seen on this page comes from Guitar Village and is one of a set of old Hofners currently on offer from the Surrey shop
Guitarist3 min read
Blues Headlines
Difficulty 10 mins per example Tutor: Richard Barrett | Gear used: Knaggs Choptank, Supro Galaxy HOWEVER MUCH WE MIGHT move with the times, there will always be an audience for epic guitar solos. Joe Bonamassa and John Mayer seem to have no tro
Guitarist2 min read
Reader Ads
Fender Mexico Classic Series Strat 57 Reissue, 2014, Candy Apple Red, nitro finish, hard case. £450 ono. Contact John on 01485 543840. Kings Lynn Fender Stratocaster Classic Series 50, Candy Apple Red, as new, case. £685. Contact 07581 235895. Hertf
Guitarist3 min read
“Quality Strings Are A Good Start To Great Signal Flow”
Scan the packaging of Ernie Ball’s iconic Slinky electric sets and you’ll find an endorser list to die for. From Clapton to Vai, via Petrucci and McCartney, that A-list artist roster is the stuff of marketing gold – but as director of Engineering & T
Guitarist2 min readChemistry
High-spec Electric Strings
The Colorado-based firm is still small enough to give its strings the personal touch, carefully selecting USA-made wire and making “big tone” the priority. Crafted by wrapping pure-nickel alloys around a hex-shaped, tin-plated high-carbon steel core
Guitarist3 min read
“Pairing Your Acoustic With The Right String Is So Important…”
When we’re talking milestones, it can’t quite match the 186-year history of Martin’s fabled acoustics – but the five-decade anniversary of the US luthier’s string operation is not to be sniffed at. “Next year, we’ll celebrate 50 years of string makin
Guitarist2 min read
High-spec Acoustic Strings
Just as you wouldn’t hang a Picasso in a chipboard frame, Martin’s Authentic Acoustic string series is worthy of the luthier’s hallowed instruments. There’s a choice of flavours, from the Retro pack with its Monel wrap wire to Tommy Emmanuel’s custom
Guitarist2 min read
Pro-grade Capos
Nobody wants a gigbag full of capos, so Ernie Ball’s recently released Axis capo deals with every model in your guitar rack. The dual radius means buzz-free performance on both flat and curved fretboards and, despite the vice-like grip, it’s speciall
Guitarist2 min read
Precision Tuners
The Snark ST-2 isn’t just accurate, it’s also seriously flexible: this second-generation headstock tuner even offers a built-in tap tempo metronome and the option of using a built-in mic alongside the traditional vibration-sensing mode. Whichever met
Guitarist3 min read
Premium Plectrums
Dunlop’s Tortex range was created in 1981 as a substitute for banned tortoiseshell (hence the cheerful reptile logo that graces each one). Today, these plectrums are an industry benchmark, offering precise attack, grippable matt surface – and handy c
Guitarist2 min read
Quality Cables
Since 2002, Free The Tone has chiefly earned its reputation off the back of Yuki Hayashi’s boutique pedals, but the Japanese firm’s self-styled “holistic” approach to rig design means it also supplies some of the industry’s most respected cables. Try
Guitarist2 min readFashion
Superior Straps
Devon-based Heistercamp’s straps are handcrafted to order and are made with the finest full-grain Italian leather. As you’d hope from a company that’s all about personalisation, they’ll make you any strap design you can dream up, but if you’re buying
Guitarist2 min read
CLEANING & MAINTENANCE KITS
Pick up Dunlop’s five-bottle boxset and you’ve got everything you need to keep your guitar shipshape. The pack includes polish/ cleaner, bodygloss cream of carnauba, Ultraglide string conditioner, fingerboard cleaner, deep conditioner oil – plus a Mi
Guitarist2 min read
Top-quality Gigbags
Between the shock-absorbing, impact-resistant Flexoskeleton, the internal bracing system, the reinforced locking neck block and the endpin protector pads, the bulletproof design of the Continental Voyager should foil even the most negligent baggage h

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