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g u i t a r p l a ye r. c o m
Vol. 46, No. 10, OCTOBER 2012
Editor in chief
Michael Molenda
[email protected]
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[email protected]
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[email protected]
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Contents O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2 V o l u m e 4 6 , N u m ber 1 0
GP COMMUNITY LESSONS
20 It’s all about you! Share your photos, gear
94 The Tonight Show Theme
and CD/DVD reviews, likes/dislikes, favorite
The big band favorite interpreted for solo guitar.
amps and guitars, tone and technique tips,
gig stories, and more with the Guitar Player 96 I-IV-V Lesson
reader community. Come on! Join in! The three most common chords in western
music, presented in uncommon fashion.
OPENING SHOTS 100 Hey Jazz Guy
22 We get up close and personal with the wire, Jake Hertzog gives you the inside
wood, hardware, and voodoo that make playing scoop on playing outside.
guitar the coolest thing in the world.
102 Beginner Lesson: Led Zeppelin
RIFFS The “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” intro, from the book
24 Steve Lukather on rocking with Ringo, Matt Led Zeppelin Guitar Method by Alfred Publishing.
Schofield on his signature Two Rock amp, 104 Quick Licks
the Montreal Guitar Show, the Sweetwater Quick little licks from around the world.
GearFest, Editors’ Faves, and more!
COVER STORY GEAR

64 John 5 and Brendon Small 40 New Gear
A metal meeting of the minds, the Dethklok
guitarist and the Rob Zombie sideman talk
106 Roundup! 12 Top Shelf Eelectrics
to GP and talk to each other in this one of a 122 Breedlove Voice Series CM, Concert,
kind cover story. Bonus! Exclusive lesson! and Auditorium Acoustics
128 Sterling S.U.B. AX3 and
ARTISTS S.U.B. Silo3 Electrics
42 Neal Schon
132 Yamaha THR10
48 John Abercrombie
54 Ahmet Bilgiç 136 Stompbox Fever! Dunlop JB95 Joe
Bonamassa Signature Cry Baby and EJF1
58 Mayhem Festival
Eric Johnson Signature Fuzz Face
45 YEARS GONE 140 Moogerfooger

178 It’s a Happening! October 1967 MF-108M Cluster Flux
142 Brain Snack Five Things About Picks
Brendon Small & John 5
Cover photo & this page by Neil Zlozower
NE L ZL OZOWER/AT LAS CO NS
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RECORDING
144 The Recording Guitarist
DigiTech iPB 10
146 App & Advice Studio Monitors

150 Studio Tools Eventide Blackhole plug in
PERFORMING
152 Gig Smarts D.I.Y. Mixing
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COOL STUFF 24/7!

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at guitarplayer.com/artists
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GUITARPLAYER.COM OCTOBER 2012 19

GPCommunity
NOIZE FROM THE EDITOR
with an initiative. Which is why—no that’s from concept to final mix). I’m backlash in those instances is con-
surprise—it has taken many frus- still trying to understand how one sidering whether denying total col-
trating and angst-ridden weeks to application of creative democracy laboration enhances or mutilates
“not” decide on a band name. We can be so productive, and another one’s chances of artistic genius,
need one, so we picked one, but it so utterly lame. Ah, politics … commercial success, or just plain
wasn’t a name that made everyone All of this craziness reminded contentment. Musical successes
happy. The Utopian musical society me that a wise journalist once said and failures have been charted by
ultimately became a somewhat dis- that America doesn’t elect dictators. both dictatorships and democracies,
ease-ridden petri dish of begrudg- A president obviously can’t do pre- so no one path is foolproof. Given
ing compromise. cisely what was so eloquently prom- my experiences of late, I certainly
I m a d e a n e a r - fat a l The weird thing is that the same ised during the campaign babble-fest, can’t make a definitive call.
miscalculation with the most recent “equality and power to all” approach because the good ol’ USA is a democ- What’s your approach? Do you
band I’ve joined. For the first time in worked brilliantly in the recording racy. The president must work with a have any funny stories about collab-
my career, I embraced a pure and total studio when we had to conjure a movie whole slew of other people to move orators or despots? Can you share
democracy. Typically, I play the role theme on demand. Sure, there were those proposed initiatives forward. knowledge on which direction works
of the benevolent autocrat in musi- five or more opinionated “produc- No majority buy-in, no law. That’s best for you? Email your thoughts to
cal groups. I encourage and seriously ers” in the control room—and that’s kind of where I was living the past [email protected], sub-
consider input and debate from all usually a recipe for absolute trag- few weeks in democratic band camp. ject line “Dictator or Democracy,” and
members, but the final decision on edy—but, somehow all the discus- On the other hand, a musical let’s study those dastardly, elusive
what gets done is mine alone. This sions were focused and beneficial, director can be a dictator, and he strands of creative rapture.
time, for this group, any one person and we made ourselves a track that or she can explicitly realize a cre-
has the power to tank a majority every member was totally blissed- ative vision if the other musicians
decision if they’re uncomfortable out about in a mere 12 hours (and accept submissive roles.The paranoid
RANT OF THE MONTH
As a 50-something professional guitar player

GP Poll
Cast your vote! New poll every
and music educator, I find that, these days, a
Monday at guitarplayer.com
lot of your material seems focused towards
selling gear, rather than towards informing Greatest Hero of the
and expanding on the guitar and its players. V-Style Guitar?
Money trumps music just about every time—
41%
so that’s not really news. I think you guys do a
pretty good job of straddling the line, though. Albert King
J uan V ega
Randy Rhoads 28%
Juan—Yes. There is a line that must be strad- Michael Schenker 23%
dled, but not necessarily one of commerce Lonnie Mack 6%
Rudolf Schenker 2%
and pure information. It’s more about how to document signal paths without look-
ing as if GP is merely name checking advertisers or products. We discuss gear in
depth, because those tools are essential elements of a player’s sound, approach,
and musical concept. But if anyone ever thinks we’ve crossed a line into adverto-
rial product promotion, please write to me at [email protected]. We
absolutely do not wish to do anything that might damage your trust in the credi-
bility of this magazine and its editors. M ic h ae l M o l enda
20 OCTOBER 2012 GUITARPLAYER.COM

GOT A QUESTION FOR YOUR COMMUNITY?
[email protected]
Interact!
Join the GP community!
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NEWS. COMMENT. CRITIQUE.
SHARE TIPS AND TECHNIQUES.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR eNEWSLETTERS.
Cover
Commentary facebook.com/guitarplayermag
twitter.com/guitarplayernow
guitarplayer.com/community
Michael Molenda, Editor In Chief

[email protected]
Art Thompson, Senior Editor

[email protected]
Larry Coryell
W e r e c e i v e d so m e g r e at r e s po n s e s to l ast m o n t h ’ s N o i z e co lu m n
Matt Blackett, Associate Editor
on GP cover choices, and whether we should grant documentary filmmaker Daniel Meza’s request
[email protected]
to put Larry Coryell on one. Here are some of the missives we received at press time. Check out
more responses in our “Covers” blog at guitarplayer.com, and please add your own remarks.
To m F u lt z percent that the mag should have a balanced mix of

Larry Coryell definitely deserves a cover story. He the obvious magazine-sale-generators and the not-
is the father of fusion guitar, and he has great hair! so-commercially obvious. But Larry Coryell deserves
Barry Cleveland, Associate Editor
Get ’er done! the cover for a million reasons: his guitar playing, the [email protected]
fact his GP lessons are timeless and priceless, his
Frank P ergo l i zzi work with Paco DeLucia and John McLaughlin …
As a loyal GP reader since June ’74, I appreciate your
honesty in opening a window on the cover decision- M a r k La P ilu s a
making process. As someone who is also a Larry Cory- Larry Coryell is not a warm and fuzzy guy. He
ell fan, it has been a long time since this pioneer was doesn’t do the best job of promoting himself, but he Kevin Owens, Managing Editor
given a substantative interview. The man is an elo- absolutely should be on your cover. Why don’t you [email protected]
quent artist with a passion for and understanding of flank him with some of the younger guitarists he has
our instrument and its potential that’s as rare today as influenced? There are many enjoying success in a
it was when his GP columns first appeared. Speaking resurging genre that he was largely instrumental in
of covers—I really like the new satin finish. putting on the map. In typical GP fashion, you can
include blurbs by the younger guitarists about what
J on S py ker sets Larry apart, how he influenced them, and why paul haggard, Art Director
I don’t care who is on the cover. I’ve been playing he is important yet overlooked. [email protected]
for over 40 years, and have been reading GP for a
great many of those years. The demands of business Ed At l a s
have driven many changes—some I liked, some not As a guitar geek, I’m seldom disappointed in the cover
so much. As long as you guys strive to keep the con- subjects. However, I’m more inclined to purchase music
tent honest, informative, and insightful, I’ll continue by more obscure artists like Govan and Wilson, than I
to read GP. am the tried-and-true. And I trust your judgment. After Damien Castaneda, Assist. Art Director
[email protected]
all, the GP cover is the place I first heard about players
D o nna Bha kt i B r op h y like John Mayer and Jack White. I appreciate the tight-
As a hardcore Guitar Player fanatic and guitar- rope you gotta walk, and, most of the time, you guys
ist since the late ’70s (and I’m only 43), I agree 100 make it across without getting hurt too bad.
Opening Shots
I Can Feel the Fire

Slayer’s Kerry King unleashes some hot licks at
the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem festival.
KEN SETT LE
22 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2 G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
R ffs This Michael
Spalt hybrid
commissioned
by Jared Meeker
sports a 36-fret
neck on top and a
baritone neck on
the bottom. It’s
fitted with Barto-
lini humbucker
and Sustainiac
pickups, and a
Graph-Tech Ghost
MIDI system.
i
Northern Lights
The 2012 Montreal Guitar Show
By Barry Cleveland
T h e M o n t r e a l Gu i ta r S h ow i s o n e o f t h e p r e m i e r e v e n ts
of its kind, with more than 140 of the greatest luthiers from around the globe dis-
playing their works, and fantastic guitarists such as Pierre Bensusan, Larry Coryell,
Philip Catherine, Matt Schofield, and Kelly Joe Phelps performing mini-concerts all
day long, and full concerts in the evening. There were also lectures and workshops
held by key people from throughout the guitar universe. Here are just a few examples
of the extraordinary instruments on display.

Riffs
The large
“acoustic”
hall also
housed many
archtops and
semi-acous-
tic models.
Pierre-Antoine This Mini guitar by Michihiro A Deco-inspired archtop by Sigmund This dramatically sculpted
Roiron’s Tel- Matsuda features an Italian Johannessen of Summit Guitars has North Ulrich Teuffel Niwa is
8caster. Yes, an spruce top “scorched” with gun- American cherry back, sides, and neck, and constructed of American
8-string Tele! powder, as well as Cambodian a carved Sitka spruce top, with ebony and alder and sports a pau ferro
pink wood sides and back. Brazilian cherrywood trim and binding. fretboard, proprietary pick-
ups, and a knife-edge floating
tremolo.
M O R E O N L I N E
• Christian
Mirabella on
completing a
Jimmy D’Aquisto
guitar from
parts found after the legendary
Harvey Citron with Jens Ritter’s “The Dragon,” Oogle the gorgeous luthier’s passing.
an AEG semi-hollow a one-off Princess Isabella artwork and incredible Get these links and more at
guitar bearing custom model covered with an cutaway on this 24-fret guitarplayer.com/october2012
single-coil and under- original dragon-pattern beauty created by Chris
saddle piezo pickups. brocade fabric. Stambaugh.
Gregg Rot h
Editors’
OCTOBER FAVES
B arry C leve l a nd
Paul Simon
Graceland 25th
Anniversary
Edition
The remastered
audio on this CD is
slightly more trans-
parent than on the 2004 reissue. There
are three new bonus tracks (in addition
Ned Evett’s to the three bonus tracks included on

the 2004 release), several music videos,
Fretless Wonders
five interviews, and a historic 1986 SNL
appearance. But it is the DVD containing
Joe Berlinger’s outstanding documentary,
By Michael Ross Under African Skies, that makes this package
indispensible to fans of Simon’s historic
Though aptly deemed “the world’s first fretless guitar rock and highly controversial album. Legacy.
star” in the July 2007 issue of GP, Ned Evett indulges in neither rock-star soloing nor
the microtonal experimentation favored by some who eschew frets. “It is all driven by Ba Cissoko
the song,” says Evett. Rather than showcasing technical prowess, the 14 tracks on Tree- Nimissa
house [Raging Krill] tell a story—beginning with describing “Pure Evil” and ending with On his fourth
the advice, “Don’t Despair.” release, Guinean
Evett’s true star wizardry encompasses not merely his ability to play tricky single-note vocalist and kora
solos sans frets, but chords as well. “I used my Kay acoustic fretless for rhythm,” he says. player Cissoko con-
“Open tunings help. For example, if ‘Mars River Delta 2128’ wasn’t in an open tuning I tinues expanding
couldn’t do it. I use open Eb major for that one. ‘Falling in Line’ and ‘Break My Fall’ are his contemporary take on traditional West
both in open G. The parts aren’t that difficult, but they are not first takes. I will go back African music. Here, he emphasizes the
and punch parts. There is intonation I can live with and intonation I can’t live with. It more psychedelic dimensions of his already
took seven hours to get the intonation perfect on ‘Mars.’” heady amalgam of Mandinka, funk, reggae,
Evett has a tip for those that would play chords in tune on a fretless instrument: “Play- ska, Afro-Cuban, and European sources—
ing barre chords is all about position, so it is important to do chromatic exercises,” he largely thanks to spectacular musicianship
says. “Play-eighth notes using a basic barre chord, and every measure shift up a half-step, and creative use of distortion and effects
until you reach the 13th or 14th fret. Your muscle memory has to be trained to contend by electric kora player Sekou Kouyaté and
with the shifts.” guitarist Abdoulaye Kouyaté. Cristal.
Early on, Evett began using glass fretboards. “Roundwound strings tend to dig grooves
into ebony fretboards, and I hate flatwound strings,” he explains. “You can get your fret- Roto
board planed smooth again, but I didn’t have the money, and glass was a cheap way around Summer Home
the problem. Glass also has great tone, like a glass slide versus brass.” Evett’s fingernails Although released
also shape his tone. “I use the nails on my left hand to get extra bite,” he says. “Sarod in 2008, this album
players have been doing that for hundreds of years. I keep my nails quite short. They get could easily have
little grooves in them but they hold up.” been recorded yes-
Adrian Belew produced Treehouse at his studio in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. For electric work, terday. Rooted in the
Evett played his trusty Sustainer-equipped Fernandes Native Pro. On one song he tunes it to iconic sounds of the Beatles, the Velvets,
what he calls, “East Nashville Tuning.” “The top three strings are tuned down one octave,” early Floyd, and others of their ilk—and
he explains. “You can do behind-the-nut bends that go up dappled with musical hues from through-
MORE O N LI N E nearly two octaves.” Electric parts were out the intervening decades—the songs on
tracked through a Budda Super Drive 18, Summer Home are at once fresh and famil-
and solos through Belew’s Matchless. iar. James “Roto” Rotondi’s pithy lyrics,
• See Evett play In a classic Karmic circle, it was compelling vocals, majestic guitar tones,
“Looking Glass Blues.” witnessing Adrian Belew wielding an and superb accompanists all inform this
Get these links and more at unfretted instrument with King Crim- hip, seductive, and brilliantly produced
guitarplayer.com/october2012 son in 1984 that launched the fledg- recording. CDBaby.
ling Evett on his own fretless odyssey.
Riffs
Hot Stuff in the
Heartland
Sweetwater
GearFest 2012
By Art T hompson
Sw e e twat e r i s o n e o f t h e l a rg e st
online music retailers in the U.S., and last June, the
company hosted its annual GearFest at its sprawl-
ing facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The public event
this year featured such guests as Jeff Loomis, Lee
Roy Parnell, Marcus Miller, Thomas Dolby, Paul
Pigat, George Massenburg, Paul Reed Smith, and
Craig Anderton.
Along with getting a ton of useful info from the
demos and seminars, attendees could also check Lots of action going on inside
out new guitars, amps, pedals, and recording gear; the cavernous halls of the
get great deals on the many products that Sweet- Sweetwater facility.
water had on sale; dig for buried treasure at the
“flea market;” and even get a new set of strings put
their guitar free of charge (courtesy of D’Addario).
What a fun event, and a highly recommended des-
tination if you’re planning a trip to the heartland
next summer!
Recording engineer and producer

George Massenburg (left) with PRS
Guitars founder Paul Smith.
Jeff Loomis
demos his
signature
Schecter
7-String.
A few of the beauties

that PRS brought to
GearFest.

Riffs
GearFest is a virtual tent city on the
grounds of Sweetwater’s huge complex.
Gibson had a
big presence at
GearFest with
this bus full of
guitars.
Players of all
ages could get
up close and
personal with
a big chunk
of Marshall’s
product line.
Marshall’s Nick Bowcott rocks it up

on Sweetwater’s demo stage.
Riffs
Great Timelines
in Modern Metal
The Peavey 6505
T h i s y e a r , t h e P e av e y 6 5 0 5
celebrates its 20th anniversary. Birthed in
an era when grunge music had effectively
kicked metal to the curb—and originally
designed for guitar legend Eddie Van Halen
as the 5150—this new breed of high-gain
amplifier (bearing a ground-breaking Res-
onance control) quickly captured the tonal
imaginations of seminal modern-metal pro- Trivium producer Jason Suecof
ducers and guitarists. In 1994, the amp’s rep
really exploded when the influential metal
band Machine Head used the 5150 while 1991
recording Burn My Eyes with producer Colin Hartley Peavey and engineers
Richardson. m ee t wi th EVH for what wi ll
“We were having some problems with b ecom e t he P eavey 5 1 5 0 .
guitar tones,” remembers Richardson about
the Burn My Eyes sessions. “I mentioned the
Peavey to Robb [Flynn, MH guitarist], and he
said, ‘I have a friend who keeps raving about 1992
this amp. I think it might be the same one 5 1 5 0 r eleased .
you’re talking about.’ So we drove about an
hour away to borrow it, and when the band
heard the amp they said, ‘It’s better than
you said it was!’ I’ve always loved the Res- 1993
onance feature on these amps. You can get S em i nal B r i t i sh m od er n m e tal
the low end exactly where you want it, with pro duc ers Coli n Ri char dson
tightness and also a lot of thump. They’re a nd Andy Snea p start usi ng
some of the heaviest tones I’ve ever tracked.” 5 1 5 0 on r ecor d i ngs. Hartley Peavey
“We were trying to get a modern, heavy
tone, and when we plugged in the 5150, it
was a total no-brainer,” adds Machine Head
founder/guitarist Robb Flynn. “We had tried a 1994
million different amps, and right then, within M ac hi ne H ead d i scovers
a minute, we knew that was the amp, and t he 5 1 5 0 whi le i n the stu d i o
that was going to be the tone. And now, the wit h Ri char dson
sound of that amp has pretty much defined r ecor d i ng B u rn My E yes.
a generation of guitar tone.”
That generation includes groups such
as Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Parkway
Drive, Chimaira, Bullet for My Valentine, 1995
All that Remains, Asking Alexandria, The P eavey ex pands 5 1 5 0
Devil Wears Prada, Black Veil Brides, August Ser i es wi th 2 x 1 2 com bo.
Burns Red, Black Tide, Bring Me the Hori-
zon, Upon a Burning Body, and others. For
more on the 6505, click to peavey.com/6505. Andy Sneap
Riffs
Bullet For My
Valentine’s
1999 Matt Tuck
P eavey i n troduces th e 5 1 5 0 II.
2004
P eav ey and E VH part ways.
EV H r etai ns th e “ 5 1 5 0 ” name.
P eav ey re tai ns a mp d esi gns.
2005
T h e r ec hr i stened 6 5 0 5 —
na med i n cele brati on of
P eavey’s 4 0 th anni v er-
sa ry (1 9 6 5 - 2 0 0 5 )—d ebuts.
2009
P eavey releases 6 5 0 5
P lus 1 x 1 2 combo.
2010
P eavey ex pands li ne
wi th 6 5 3 4 P lus.
2012
T h e 6 5 0 5 c ele br ates i ts
2 0 th anni ve rsa ry.
Machine Head’s
Robb Flynn
E l e va te yo u r g u i ta r ‘s
to n e to a n e w l e ve l
Fi n a l l y, a m o d e rn a m p l i fi e r th a t fa i th fu l l y p ro d u ce s th e wa rm th a n d fe e l Wa n t to kn ow m o re ?
o f a cl a s s i c a m p wi th o u t th e s i ze a n d we i g h t. N o tu b e s re q u i re d !
(7 1 4) 5 1 9 - 6 1 1 4
Th e cl a ri t y a n d d e fi n i ti o n o f th e M i cro Pro 8 -i n ch a m p co m b i n e d wi th th e
fu l l n e s s a n d m i d ra n g e p u n ch o f th e 1 2 -i n ch e xte n s i o n s p e a ke r s e ts n e w quilterlabs.com
s ta n d a rd s fo r to n e a n d p ro j e c ti o n . S e e th e fu l l l i n e o f a m p l i fi e rs a n d
a cce s s o ri e s o n l i n e a t www. q u i l te rl a b s. co m
QUILTER is a trademark of Quilter Labs, LLC Costa Mesa, California
Riffs
Editors’
OCTOBER FAVES
MATT BL ACKETT
Steve Lukather’s
Fab Ringo Rig
Mike Eldred Trio
Elvis Unleaded
Fender Custom Shop
legend Mike Eldred By M i c hael Mo le nda
pays tribute to the
King with these 20 “This is the best summer vacation
barnburners from of my whole life,” enthused Steve Lukather
Elvis’ records and movies. Eldred deliv- backstage at Humpreys By the Bay in San Diego. Luke’s twin Bogner Ecstasys.
ers great vocals, grooving rhythm lines, Well, I guess many of us might feel the
and spot-on solos that just plain rip. His same—if we had the opportunity to spend a
two-pickup tones on the “I Feel Bad” solo few blissful weeks playing music with a Beatle
are both gorgeous and nasty, his slapback- and his “All-Starr Band” consisting of Luke,
soaked Scotty Moore-isms in “Rip It Up” Todd Rundgren, Gregg Rolie, Richard Page,
are delicious, and his 6/8 downstrokes in Gregg Bissonette, and Mark Rivera.
“One Night of Sin” have the perfect pocket. “I’ve had a blast,” says Lukather. “These
This is required listening if you dig Elvis, guys are like my friends for life now. Great
Moore, Setzer, and classic Fender tone. MET. musicians. Great hang. Great songs. And, you
know, that’s RINGO STARR up there [laughs]!”
The Whigs For the All-Starr tour, Lukather went with a Luke’s guitar tech Jon Gosnell with
Enjoy the Company somewhat compact pedalboard routed directly the man’s latest Ernie Ball/Music
The rollicking fuzz- to a pair of Bogner Ecstasy amps (one live, Man signature model.
tones that open “Stayin’ one spare). Pedals include a DigiTech Hard-
Alive” sadly have noth- wire HT-6 PolyChromatic Tuner and a DL-8
ing to do with the Bee Delay/Looper, an MXR Smart Gate and a
Gees, but they do call MC403 Power System, a Strymon blueSky
to mind some of John Lennon’s coolest work. and a Lex, a Ben Rod Wave Box, a Jam Pedals
The rest of the album is a potpourri of hip Water Fall, a Red Witch Seven Sisters Grace
guitar tones and hooks, like the Cars-y pulses compressor, a Dunlop Joe Bonamassa Cry
of “Waiting,” the furry clean tones in “Couple Baby, and an Ernie Ball volume pedal.
of Kids,” and the sweet layers of “Ours.” This “It’s a solid system,” says Lukather’s tech
super-catchy album sounds like what might Jon Gosnell. “About the only thing I need to
happen if the Foo Fighters snorted bath salts do from gig to gig is check the cable connec- The guitar rack. The acoustic
with the Eagles and then ate Pete Townsh- tions. Oh, and occasionally, Luke stomps the 12-string sees action on
end’s face—only better! New West. compressor right off the side of the board.” “Yellow Submarine.”
Mike Keneally
Wing Beat Fantastic
We all know that Mike
Keneally can play any-
thing, and what he
chooses to play on
this awesome record is Lukather’s pedal-
amazing deep, pop music that he wrote with board. Note the
Andy Partridge. The melodies are sweet but self-penned “Hey
surprising, and the changes are deceptively Luke…Check Pedals
complex. Keneally’s guitar parts include lilt- Idiot” message taped
ing acoustics, dreamy slide lines, harmonized to monitors. “I’m
distorted figures, and much more—all exe- always forgetting
cuted with precision and quirky humor. This to turn a flanger
is pop like Steely Dan is pop, and will appeal off or something,”
to fans of Toy Matinee, Steve Vai’s Flex-able, explains the guitarist.
and, well, Mike Keneally. Exowax.
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Riffs
Matt Schofield
on His Signature
Two-Rock
By Michael Ross
Matt Schofield—one of the most impressive

blues based guitarists to emerge from England of late
recently rocked NYC’s Iridium with his boutique SVL 61
solidbody and a Two Rock Matt Schofield Signature amp
head. Schofield started working on the amp during his
first American tour.
“At the time, Two Rock was going for a Dumble like
sound,” says Schofield. “I generally prefer vintage Fender
Super Reverbs and Bassmans, so for my 50 watt signa
ture model, the company went old school with bias trem
olo and a single channel. It has dual rectifiers, so it has
the touch sensitivity of a tube rectifier, but the sound
doesn’t fall apart like it does with some old amps. It’s a
punchy amp, and, unlike a vintage Super, it
works every night without making weird
noises [laughs]. A previous version was
based on Two Rock’s John Mayer model.
But after the Two Rock guys heard me
play, they went away and worked on it
some more. I plugged into the new one, and
said, ‘Oh man, that is my amp.’ It’s amazing
to play through an amp that’s completely
tweaked to your touch.”
aC rCaanrklt oVnee rh eyen’sa

Chronicles
L a st m o n t h , I p o st e d m y or Pat Martino or Derek Trucks or John
personal rant against the overuse of phys- Scofield is because they play good lines.
ical exercises in guitar practicing. I’ve The reason I may not care for a particu-
received a lot of feedback on this sub- lar player is because I don’t like his lines,
ject, so allow me to elaborate a bit more. or I find them trivial or boring.
First and foremost, I believe impro- If you believe as I do that the best of
vising is all about melodic lines. When us are only truly improvising 30 percent
a soloist sees an Am7 chord, he or she of the time, then the other 70 percent of
is going to play one or more of a small the improvised material we play is stuff
handful of scales. Depending on the musi- we’ve already worked out. My theory is
cal context, the choices are the Dorian, that this is what we should be practic-
Phrygian, Aeolian, or Locrian modes of ing—not silly exercises. Work on new lines
a major scale, the melodic or harmonic for minor, major, and dominant chords.
minor, and the minor pentatonic scale. Practice them in all keys, and they will
I’m sure there are a few more, but my become your “money in the bank” that
point is this: We’re all playing the same you can draw upon whenever that musi-
notes here! cal situation arises. It’s a much better use
Now, the reason I like Eddie Van Halen of your practice time.
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Artists
Neal
Schon By Michael Molenda
Youmaythink,consideringhislong
and illustrious career, that Neal Schon
was long past the act of freefalling into
an abyss of creative uncertainty, but you’d
be wrong. In fact, the guitarist seems to
enjoy working without a net. On his new
solo record, The Calling, [Frontiers] Schon
made it up as he went along—sometimes
literally constructing songs in the studio
from scratch while session drummer and
former Journey cohort Steve Smith was at
lunch. Of course, you’d never know this
by listening to the record, because it’s a
thrilling, edgy, ballsy, inspiring, and beau-
tiful work that sounds as purposely con-
structed as a symphony piece. Less-blessed
composers and guitarists can now take a
moment to cry …
So, did you really walk into the studio
without a clear concept for The Calling?
No. I really didn’t plan anything. I have
a bunch of looping devices, and I loop stuff
constantly, but I don’t try to write songs.
I’ll put some riffs in there, and if I hear
one that’s pretty cool, I’ll embellish it from
there. But I didn’t consciously walk into
the studio with firm ideas. Smith and I
just winged it. That was the beauty of this
record—we kind of made it up everyday.
Isn’t that pretty nuts to walk into a studio
with practically no plan?
It was ballsy, yes, and the fact that I

Artists
N ea l Sc h o n
was recording at Fantasy Studios [Berke- tempo and the kind of groove I wanted for guitar was perfect—I just sketched out the
ley, California] means it wasn’t cheap. I did a tune, and he’d lay down perhaps an eight- parts. Being the musical guy that he is, Smith
spend quite a bit of money on this record, bar loop. Then, I’d have him go to lunch, would take out a pencil and write out every-
but I wanted it to sound a notch above every- and I’d mess around for maybe 30 minutes, thing he was going to play as if he was going
thing else that I’d done. I wanted real drums and when he came back, I’d have the whole for it with a full band in the studio. He’d
and great drum sounds. And, of course, I had tune mapped out and pretty much arranged listen to the scratch guitar, and he’d just
Smith to play with again—which was amaz- with all the sections. I didn’t spend a lot of know where the drums needed to lay back
ing. We’ve always clicked. I’d figure out a time at that point making sure the rhythm or pick up. He had all the dynamics charted
and everything. It was amazing. We’d jump
on it, and get rolling, and every day was really
prolific like that.
Still, you must have a super-quick decision-
When Neal Means Business . . . making system going on in your head. I can’t
imagine a lot of players getting an entire new
arrangement down in a half hour. “Hi Steve, wel-
come back from lunch. Here’s the song.” Most
musicians tend to second-guess themselves
constantly. You would actually be that confident
that you nailed it in the time it took Steve to fin-
ish his sandwich?
Yeah. I always have a pretty good vision.
You have to see a picture in your mind first.
Jimmy Page was like that. He had this “land-
scape vision”—the ability to see everything
before you play it. It’s very seldom that I’m
not completely on the fly, making it up as I
go along. I’m really not one of those method-
ical players who thinks all the time. I kind
of go blindly into things, going for some-
thing I feel inside. An emotion. A groove. I
really don’t know too much about what I’m
doing, but I do know if I like it or not—and
if I’m playing well or not.
There are tons of righteous guitar sounds on
the new record. Did you bring a truckload of gear
into the studio?
No, I really didn’t. I brought different
things in the studio, and when I zeroed in
He Goes Bananas!
on what I thought sounded good, I just left
it all up. I like to have the same flavor and
Count on us to meet your needs, too. character follow all the way throughout the
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different projects, and for The Calling, I really
Neal Schon LTD by Private Stock dug my hand-wired Bogner Shiva. I ran the
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My guitars were a whole lot of custom PRS
models that Paul Reed Smith made for me,
mostly strung with D’Addario .009 sets. I
don’t beat the hell out of strings—I like to
play more controlled. A couple of the guitars
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Artists
N ea l Sc h o n
I have a box of pedals, and I hardly use any for ensuring the ambiance doesn’t come back you can hear what’s going on. I also spend a
of them. Usually, it’s just a wah in front and and bite your notes in the butt? lot of time dialing in slap echoes and reverbs
that’s pretty much it. On a couple of tracks I practice a lot at picking all the notes, and so that the wash isn’t over the top, and the
I might have used an overdrive, but, to tell not doing a lot of hammer-ons. That kind of straight guitar sound is always mixed in—
you the truth, I can’t remember which ones. technique can cause notes to get lost if you even in the effects send. In the studio, I like
You have this kind of magic going on where have a lot of effects running. But if you’re to pan the amp sound with no effects a little
you’ll use a lot of reverb and delay on your solos, picking all the notes and really slicing the to the left, so on that side, you’re hearing
but they’re still so articulate. What’s your secret strings, the notes always stick out more, and some clean and punchy guitar.
You played bass on the album, as well. Any
challenges there?
Well, it was interesting to play the bass
to the guitar, as opposed to the guitar play-
ing to the bass. The parts are pretty straight-
forward. I’m just laying down the bottom
end—although I sometimes walked around
a bit to match what I was doing on the lead
guitar part.
What drove the decision to tackle the bass
parts?
There were a bunch of guys who wanted
to play on this, and I thought about it, and
even though I love them all, I said, “no.” If
I’d brought in a really good bass player, I
think the album would have turned out to
be more of a fusion-sounding thing, and I
wanted something more stock—like Jeff Beck
did on Guitar Shop. I wanted a crossbreed of
rock, blues, jazz, and just a touch of fusion.
Smith has a really strong foot, so the bottom
end is kicking anyway. I could get away with
not being that good of a bassist [laughs], and
still deliver a solid and interesting groove.
Guitar-wise, you’re obviously well-known for
playing a beautiful melody and then exploding
into some crazy shredding.
I like being that guy.
What inspires that approach?
People criticize me too for being too “noo-
dle-y.” They say, “He’s too noodle-y all the
time, I like the melodies.” Everybody loves
melody. We all try to hold back and not over-
play, but it’s hard not to sometimes when
you’re hungry to—you know? It’s pretty
amazing when I look back. I’ve gotten away
with a lot of murder. In the early days of Jour-
ney, if you had a guitar solo in a song, people
wouldn’t play it on the radio. I don’t know. It’s
not a competition thing—I’ve never looked
at music like that. It’s just a personal expres-
sion thing. I think it’s in your blood. I listen
to everything, because I like anything that’s
good. It’s like food for me. I’ve listened to so
many guitar players for so long that things
seep in, and then there’s the stuff that’s all
you, and all the stuff that you want to do. It
all rubs off on you, and that’s your style. g
Artists
CHR S T R BBLE
John Abercrombie
By Adam Levy
The latest release by jazz guitarist John Abercrombie, Within a Song

[ECM], is a tribute album of sorts. With the exception of two Abercrombie originals, the reper-
toire comprises tunes recorded—and, for the most part, written—by the musicians Abercrombie
listened to in his formative years as a player. “Flamenco Sketches,” for example, is a Miles Davis
tune from Davis’ iconic 1959 record, Kind of Blue. Another tune here, “Blues Connotation,” is by
saxophonist Ornette Coleman. “Wise One” is by another sax titan, John Coltrane. “That’s the
music I heard growing up,” says Abercrombie. “The music of my time.”
Abercrombie wasn’t just hearing these great players on record. While attending Berklee Col-
lege of Music in the mid 1960s, he regularly got to see them in Boston-area clubs. “I saw Col-
trane many times at the Jazz Workshop,” he recalls. “It was burning, and kind of terrifying. I
didn’t understand what they were doing. But I knew it was good.”
One particular jazz recording from the ’60s, however, inspired the young Abercrombie more
than any other—Sonny Rollins’ The Bridge, which featured guitarist Jim Hall. “It turned my head
around completely,” Abercrombie recalls. “It was staggering what Sonny could do with a little
thematic idea, twisting it inside and out. It was compositional. I don’t think I really understood
much of it until later. I was just responding to the pure sound of it.” Abercrombie still finds
the album inspirational, 50 years after The Bridge’s initial release, and he used the now-classic
recording as the launching point for Within a Song. Abercrombie’s quartet’s instrumentation is
the same as on The Bridge, the title track is based on a piece from it called “Without a Song,” and
a jazz ballad from the album called “Where Are You?” is also included.
Within a Song is a tip of the hat to The Bridge. What intrigues you most about that album?
Sonny’s earlier recordings were a little more straight bop. But when The Bridge came out, I
could hear more space in his playing, and more development of themes. The other part about
The Bridge, of course, was Jim Hall. Hearing a guitar player in this context, accompanying Sonny
with counterpoint and unusual voicings—things in 4ths. I’d never heard a guitarist doing any-
thing like that. It’s not just that I’d never heard them. There were no other guitar players play-
ing like that. And he had such a beautiful tone.
Do you remember where you were the first time you heard The Bridge?
It was in a record store. I was about 17 or 18. In those days you could bring a record up to
the guy at the front, and he would play some of it. I wanted to hear The Bridge. The first thing
to come out of the speakers in the store was “Without a Song.” I distinctly remember hearing
that opening phrase. I didn’t need to hear any more. I knew I had to have that record. Hear-
ing these guys playing together was like listening to Bach or something, but it swung like mad.
What had you been listening to before you heard that record?
The first jazz guitarist I heard was Barney Kessel. Before that, I had basically been playing ’50s
rock and roll—Chuck Berry, Elvis, Bill Haley. When I heard Barney Kessel, it made an immedi-
ate impact on me because he played so twangy and bluesy and funky. It wasn’t a big stretch for
me to go from Chuck Berry to Barney Kessel. On paper, I know that seems like, “What?” But
when you listen, you can hear the relationship.
You mentioned Hall’s knack for accompanying Rollins with melodic lines rather than with typical full-
voiced chords. You do quite a bit of that on Within a Song. How did you develop that aspect of your playing?
You don’t really practice it—you just sort of do it. I find that most horn players like it, unless

Artists
J o h n A b e rc rombie
you get too busy behind them and start actu- lines, contrasting melodies, and chord voic- already got a guy playing with all ten fingers,
ally playing another solo. I always try to be ings to create a whole palette within the band I don’t need to add a lot of harmonic infor-
discreet and use contrapuntal ideas in spaces and underneath the soloist. mation. The less I add, the better.
where they aren’t playing. When there’s no Do you have to calibrate your approach to the I saw a great clip of you and Andy LaVerne on
piano or other harmonic instrument in that situation? YouTube, playing “Gloria’s Step.” That tune is so
space, it gives me the freedom to do that. I do, but I don’t really think about it that mysterious.
That’s what Jim took advantage of in the much. I do some duo gigs with pianists— I love that tune, but it’s really hard to
quartet with Sonny. He utilized guide-tone Marc Copland or Andy LaVerne. When we’ve play. It’s all five- and ten-bar phrases, and the
bridge is kind of a mind trip. I don’t know
how [bassist/composer Scott LaFaro] came
up with it. It’s a series of minor7b5 chords
that kind of go backwards: Am7b5 to Em7b5,
Gm7b5 to Dm7b5. A tune like that—that’s
what I work on. When something is har-
monically difficult or I don’t understand it
right away, I’ll try to approach the harmony
in different ways. Sometimes I’ll rename the
chords. Instead of Am7b5, I’ll think of it as
Cm6. Thinking of the chords differently and
improvising over that can be helpful.
I’ve been playing that tune off and on
for quite a few years, so I’m not afraid of
it anymore. Once you get to a point where
the fear factor starts disappearing, then you
can get into it more. In the beginning, you
don’t know what to do on these changes—
like you’re going to play the wrong thing.
That’s part of it anyway. You play the wrong
thing, and eventually you find out there are
rights and wrongs.
That video clip is from an interesting tour.
I usually play with two amplifiers, in stereo.
But when I arrived in Europe for that tour, I
realized I’d brought the wrong transformer
for my Boss multi-effects box, which gener-
ates the stereo. We couldn’t find the right
transformer, so I didn’t use it. I went to play-
ing with just one amp, using the reverb in
the amp. That was new for me, and I wound
up really liking it in that context. The guitar
had a lot of clarity and immediacy, which was
nice with the piano. I like the stereo thing
when I play with larger groups because it fills
out the sound more—but I realized I don’t
need all this stuff to play. It’s still me play-
ing. It’s a good realization to come to. I still
like all this stuff, but I don’t need it.
What are your two amps?
It varies. I have a very old Polytone Mini-
Brute. I don’t even know what year it’s from.
I used that on this album, and—I think—
a Fender Deluxe. I also like Roland amps.
When I’m traveling, I always ask for JC-120s.
I like a dark sound and they’re kind of open,
bright amps. They give me the brightness,
and then I can roll the tone control back on
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Artists
J o h n A b e rc rombie
M O R E O N L I N E
the guitar and find the sweet spot where it
• See the John Abercrombie Organ Trio with Dan Wall and Adam Nussbaum per- sounds warm and fat, but clear.
forming in 2004. What else is in your signal chain?
• Watch Abercrombie play “Speak to Me” with pianist Mark Copland in 2012. I’ll usually have a Boss 7-band equalizer
• Check out the Gateway Trio with Abercrombie, Dave Holland, and Jack pedal. I put the level control all the way up
DeJohnette playing in 1995. and usually leave the EQ flat to begin with. I
have different distortion boxes I fool around
Get these links and more at guitarplayer.com/october2012
with. The one I use the most is the Full-
tone Full-Drive. The last thing is a volume
pedal, then out of the volume pedal into an
old Boss SE-50 half-rack multi-effects pro-
cessor. That’s my main thing. They haven’t
made it in ages, so I have about four of them
in various states of working condition. I use
a little bit of delay, reverb, and chorusing—
all mixed together in a patch that I’ve kept
the same for 20 years. I go out of the multi-
effects into the two amplifiers.
Is that the Fulltone you’re using for distor-
tion on “Blues Connotation”?
Yeah. I think that’s the only use of distor-
A cable is not supposed to have such an impact. tion on the record. The rest of the record is
pretty straight-ahead, in terms of the sound.
It’s mostly just the guitar.
...But it did. What’s the guitar you played?
It’s a new Roger Sadowsky Tele-style
guitar, with a humbucker in the neck and a
“Better definition in every aspect. Harmonics flew out eagerly, the single-coil in the bridge. The producer, Man-
characters in my sonic story were more colorful and present. I fred Eicher, thought it sounded the best of
can’t believe it. The claims made by Vovox were apparent. The all the guitars I had with me that day, so we
lowly cable made an obvious difference. The best comparison to went with that one.
You play with your thumb, rather than with
my fellow guitar players is that the change was on the level of a pick. When did you start doing that—and why?
swapping out a pickup on your guitar.” It happened about 15 years ago, on tour.
One night we were playing a really slow
Max Mobley - www.crawdaddy.com gutbucket blues. I thought, “Maybe I’ll just
play this tune with my thumb.” I played the
melody, which wasn’t that hard to play, and
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I kept playing other tunes with my thumb.
Pretty soon, I reached a point where I just
preferred the sound and the feel.
I can play almost the same things with
my thumb that I could play with the pick,
except I can’t play vertically across the
guitar as quickly as I used to—pentatonics
and that kind of thing—because it’s almost
impossible unless you hammer-on and pull-
off everything. It never quite sounds right.
But I don’t miss that. I played plenty of that
when I was younger—fast pentatonic licks
with a pick. That was nice then, but I don’t
swiss engineering - swiss made www.vovox.com have to play that anymore. I’ve kept playing
with my thumb, and it’s served me well. g
J O H N 5
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Artists
Ahmet
Bilgiç
By Barry Cleveland
“When you are living in Istanbul, it isn’t easy to

differentiate the concepts of ‘traditional’ and ‘contemporary’ Turkish
music,” says guitarist and vocalist Ahmet Bilgiç when discussing the
music played by his band Gevende. “Also, Turkey is a very diverse coun-
try, home to many different cultures and traditions, and the members
of the band come from different cities and have different musical back-
grounds. As musicians we feed on that diversity.”
Indeed, Gevende’s music is difficult to pin down—especially given that
it draws upon non-Turkish influences as heavily as it does those closer
to home. In addition to electric and acoustic guitar, the instrumenta-
tion includes trumpet (Can Ömer Uygan), viola (Ömer Öztüyen), bass
(Okan Kaya), and drums (Gökçe Gurçay)—a combination that allows
the musicians to evoke Western classical, jazz, and rock tonalities along
with Turkish sounds. (Gevende’s debut release even included a unique
take on Pachabel’s “Canon in D Major.”)
The music on the band’s follow-up album, Sen Balik Degilsin Ki [Owl],
however, emphasizes the jazz and rock components—an approach that
Bilgiç says the band plans to explore further. “Life changes every day, so
our music is changing. The first album had lots of world music influ-
ences, the second was more progressive-fusion, and I think the third
will be more progressive-post-rock.”
Those varied compositional elements notwithstanding, Gevende’s
music also incorporates a significant amount of improvisation, especially
when performing live. “Sometimes we start out from a particular harmonic
or melodic idea and eventually make our way back to it,” explains Bilgiç,
“but often we start off with absolutely no idea where we are headed.”
Besides playing with Gevende, Bilgiç also heads JingleHouse—a
music composition and sound design company that caters to advertis-
ing, film, and television clients—a gig that he says gives him “a chance
to try out many different styles and sounds that ultimately benefit my
work with Gevende.”
Do you play any traditional Turkish instruments, and if so, how has playing
them affected your guitar playing?
I have an interest in Turkish stringed instruments such as the saz,
and I also play mandolin—but Anatolia’s own distinctive musical styles
are reflected in my guitar playing more than any specific playing tech-
niques or knowledge of traditional Turkish instruments.
Do you play guitar with a pick or your fingers?
I use both, but I mostly play with a pick.
What guitars and amps do you use when performing and recording with
Gevende?
My main guitar is a 1976 Fender Stratocaster I bought when I was a
college student. It was in bad shape, and I had to replace the pickguard,

Artists
A H ME T B ILG IC
the frets, and the wiring—but I still use it

M O R E O N L I N E both live and in the studio. I also have a reis-
sue Gretsch Duo Jet I use to get some hard
• Watch Gevende play “Requiem For a Dream” in Amsterdam in 2010.
rock sounds that I can’t get with the Strat.
• See Gevende perform “Sermest” at Babylon in Istanbul in 2009. Both guitars are strung with Ernie Ball .011
• Dig Bilgiç improvising with Bilal Karaman at a luthier shop in Istanbul in 2012. sets. I don’t like tones that are too shiny, and
the heavier strings give me the sound that
I am looking for.
I use two amps. I think the Fender Twin
Reverb brings out the best qualities in a Stra-
tocaster, but I like to combine the Twin with
a Trace Elliot Velocette, a 15-watt class A
combo with a bit more of a compressed sound.
You use a number of effects pedals. Which
ones are essential to getting your sounds, espe-
cially your distortion sounds?
My two essential pedals are the Eventide
TimeFactor delay, which sounds incredible
and lets you create presets for a variety of
different types of delay effects, and the Pro
Co Rat distortion. I get all of my distortion
sounds from the Rat. I also have a Morley
volume pedal and Electro-Harmonix Holiest
Grail reverb, Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer, and
Boss OC-2 Octave, PS-2 Pitch Shifter/Delay,
and RC-20 Loop Station pedals.
You also use an EBow, sometimes in unusual
ways.
Yes, besides using it to mimic instru-
ments with long sustain, such as flutes, I lay
the guitar on the floor and place the EBow
on it in a fixed position, leaving both of my
hands free to work the controls on my delay,
octave, and pitch pedals in real time to get
synth-like sounds. I’ll also use a slide while
I’m doing that to change the tone and to get
slow pitch-change effects, like glissando on
a synthesizer. Those few, simple things give
me almost countless variations in sound.
Speaking of effects and cool sounds, Norwe-
gian guitarist Eivind Aarset played on a track on
the latest Gevende album.
Eivind has a really different approach to
guitar and creates wonderful soundscapes. He
accompanied us on an Armenian folk song
called “Baboyin Yerki,” and although his part
was minimal, it added an unpredictable har-
mony and had a major impact on the song. I’m
hoping to work with him again in the future.
What does the term “Gevende” mean?
I was born in Adiyaman, which is a city
close to the Syrian and Iraqi borders. Gev-
ende is a local term generally used to refer to
a band of poor musicians who play at wed-
dings—but it also means “redundant men
about town” [laughs]. g
WHAT DO ALL OF THESE INCREDIBLE PLAYERS HAVE IN COMMON?
www.fractalaudio.com
Artists
Slipknot’s Jim Root
Rockstar Energy Drink
Mayhem Festival
By Thomas M athews | P HOTOGRAP HY By KEN SETTL E
One of the heaviest concert extravaganzas of the summer

is the annual Mayhem Festival. This year, the bands included Slipknot, Slayer,
Motorhead, Anthrax, The Devil Wears Prada, Whitechapel, and Upon a Burning Body.
I was invited backstage for the second night of the tour at the Shoreline Amphitheater
in Mountain View, California. Amidst all the crowd and performance noises, and the
swirl of musicians, tech crews, publicists, and managers, I was able to find a few quiet
spots to talk with Anthrax’s Rob Caggiano, Slipknot’s Mick Thomson, Jeremy DePoys-
ter and Chris Rubey of The Devil Wears Prada, Upon a Burning Body’s Chris Johnson,
and Whitechapel’s Alex Wade. Here, all the guitarists share some knowledge on their
rigs, how they compose songs, their influences, and more.

Artists
MAYH E M FE S TIVAL
Rob Caggiano
Anthrax’s
Scott Ian
Chris Rubey
Anthrax | Rob Caggiano

O n H i s Ge a r
“I’m running the same gear I use in the studio when
I play live. I use a Fryette Sig:X—which is a smoking
amp—with matching cabinets. My pedalboard was built
by Dave Friedman. Basically, I have a Cry Baby Clas-
sic wah, a Boss tuner, an MXR Custom Comp, an MXR
Phase 90 and EVH90, an MXR Micro Chorus, an MXR
Smart Gate, a Boss DD-5 Digital Delay, a Rockbox Boil-
ing Point overdrive/boost, and a Tech 21 Boost R.V.B.
For solos, I use a Death By Audio Interstellar Overdrive
a lot. It’s almost like a Tube Screamer on steroids. Every-
thing gets turned on and off by a MusicomLab MKII loop
switcher. It’s awesome. You can program it for different
combinations of pedals.”
O n Pe rformin g
“Playing in the studio and playing live are not that dif-
ferent—other than the fact that when you’re playing live
it’s more about the performance. It’s not just standing
in one spot trying to nail the notes.”
O n B ei n g W e ll -Rou n d e d
“I consider myself more a musician than a guitar player—
even though the guitar is my main instrument. I love
playing drums. I love playing bass. I love playing key-
boards. I think being able to play different instruments
definitely solidifies you as a musician. Kids ask me all
the time, ‘How do I become a better guitar player?’ I say,
‘Study the drums.’ ‘How do I become a better drummer?’
‘Study the bass player.’ When you really look at the big
picture, you start to see how different instruments lock
together into the puzzle.
O n T r ac kin g Solos
“When I go to play a solo on a song, I’ll turn the track
up really loud. Then, I’ll rock to it a few times, and listen
back to the first two or three takes. I usually start to hear
different ideas, or I’ll figure out ways to connect the dots Mick Thomson
a little better. Then, I’ll go for it for real.”
The Devil Wears Prada | Jeremy DePoyster | Chris Rubey
Jeremy
O n T h ei r Gu i tars & A mps
DePoyster
Rubey: “I have a Peavey 6534 Plus amp, a Mesa/Boogie 4x12 cabinet, and an Ibanez ARZ guitar.”
DePoyster: For me, it’s an Orange Rockerverb 100, an Orange PPC412 cab, and a Fender Jazzmaster.”
Rubey: “In the studio, we changed up the amps a bit. We used a Framus Cobra for the solos, and an
old Fender Super Reverb for the clean stuff.”
O n Co m pos ing
Rubey: “When I write a song, I start out just sitting down playing guitar. Sometimes, I can finish a
song in one sitting, and, other times, I won’t even get a single riff. Once I figure out something cool,
I’ll just start building the song from there. I probably end up deleting an entire song three times before
I figure out something that I like. Then, when the band learns the song, they might go, ‘What are you
playing there? I’m going to play this instead.’”
DePoyster: “And when our producer hears it, he might say, ‘Screw this part. We’re doing this.’”
Rubey: “Yeah. You spend a week writing a part, and then someone says they don’t like it. ‘Hey, any
time this riff happens in the song, take it out.’ Then, it’s ‘Well, what are we going to put there in its place?’ At that point, I just
say, ‘I don’t know. Figure it out.’ So what I write is never exactly what ends up on the record. I just do the skeletons, and the
band does its own thing. I think songs turn out more organically when everyone contributes.”
DePoyster: “We have a bunch of hipsters in our band so we listen to a lot of weird and obscure stuff.”
Rubey: “Still, there’s always the idea that everything has already been done. As a result, I think the current trend is whoever can
do it the hippest—whatever ‘it’ is. We’re going to try to stay away from that. As far as where we are trying to take metal, it’s just
incorporating good, memorable song structures while keeping it heavy and fast. We want to create an orchestra of heaviness.
You have to strive to do better music than the stuff that’s already out there, otherwise you’re just another one in the bunch.”
Slipknot | Mick Thomson

O n His G e a r
“I run my Ibanez Custom RG straight into my Rivera KR7 Mick Thomson Signature Knucklehead and a
cab. That’s pretty much it. No pedals. It’s just straight into a tube amp, straight into the speakers, and
there’s my rig.”
O n His I nf lu e n c es
“I was really inspired to play guitar by my dad. He had an amazing music collection. I grew up with Clap-
ton and Jeff Beck and Hendrix and Ten Years After—tons and tons of great sh*t. That was all very inspiring.
But I draw inspiration from everything. You’re really limiting yourself creatively if you’re just listening to
one kind of music. For example, if you ask a good metal guitar player who their five favorite guitarists are,
I guarantee that he or she is not going to name five metal guitarists. One thing I always tell our fans is that
you can love us, but it’s a big f**king world out there. Get out and explore it.”
O n R e co rd in g
“In the studio, I’m more focused on perfection. But, at the same time, something I learned from [pro-
ducer] Ross Robinson is that you don’t want to be so clean to the point where you sound sterile. I spent
my whole life trying to play the guitar like a machine—where everything lined up perfectly. But Ross had
me go back and listen to some old Stones recordings, so I could hear the fire in their touch and taste. It’s
not super precise playing, but there’s a vibe, and you definitely want some vibe and excitement in your
studio tracks. All those little mistakes can add up to something really special.”
O n His T e c h niqu e
“I hit strings really hard. I dig my pick into my strings until I’m bouncing off my pickup cover and you
hear that chuck-chuck-chuck.”
On Speed
“A lot of metal is pushing towards gymnastics. You hear a lot of death metal that has lost taste in favor
of speed for speed’s sake. It’s like the Olympics. It’s like a competition—look how fast I can play. That’s
great, but write something I want to listen to. Are you done jerking off? Get off my lawn [laughs]! Hey,
believe me, I love playing crazy guitar, but the audience for that is mostly other guitar players.”

Artists
MAYH E M FE S TIVAL
Whitechapel (left to
right) Ben Savage,
Zach Householder,
and Alex Wade
Upon a Burning Body’s

Sal Dominguez
Whitechapel | Alex Wade
O n H i s Ge ar
“For the new CD, I started using the Kemper Profiling Amplifier,
and now I bring those amps onstage, as well. They’re routed
direct to the mixer, and we monitor with an in-ear system,
so the guitar sounds are really solid. You don’t have to worry
about mic placement and stuff like that. I use my signature
ESP LTD AW7 guitar for our material that’s in dropped-A,
and an ESP Horizon NT-7 for the stuff we play in dropped-G.”
O n P er formin g
“There are a lot of bands out there that just care about the-
atrics, and they sound really bad. We want to put on a good
show, too, but we also want to play tight.”
O n E vo lvin g
“One thing our band always tries to do is evolve our sound. Upon A Burning Body
From our very first CD, The Somatic Defilement, to this new
CD, Whitechapel, it doesn’t even sound like the same band. | Chris Johnson
We get a lot of sh*t for that sometimes, but we don’t want to
put out the same record twice. I feel there are certain bands On Hi s Gear
that can do that, like Slayer and Cannibal Corpse. They made “I have a Peavey 6534 Plus amp and cabinets. It has
this signature sound and they built an empire on top of it. a lot of balls, but it’s still pretty clear. My guitar is
But we just love to change things up every record. I like fans a Peavey PXD Tomb II. It’s freakin’ amazing, man—
to not know what to expect when they put in that new CD.” really awesome.”
On Hi s War m - U p E x erci ses
“I like to do downstrokes as hard and as fast as I can for
about a minute straight every day. It sounds weird, but
after the first 30 seconds, you start feeling it. I also do
Chris Johnson
a lot of chromatic things—for each finger, of course—
and try to mix it up. Stretching is super important. You
learn that from playing shows over and over again. If
you don’t stretch, you’re going to feel it.”
On Hi s Influ enc es
“I grew up with the classics. Randy Rhoads still has
a special spot in my heart, and Guns N’ Roses was a
huge influence when I was growing up. Even today, the
heart and soul seems to be in the classic stuff. I guess
they call those songs and bands ‘classics’ for a reason.”
On t h e Co m p eti ti on
“Tosin Abasi is changing the whole idea of the guitar.
Guthrie Govan isn’t necessarily metal, but he’s an
amazing guitar player. These days, it’s pretty rare when
something sh*tty comes out, because everyone is at the
top of their game.” g
B
RENDO
NSMA
LL
WWW.
TOO
NTRA
CK.
COM
DynamiBrendon
Small and
John 5 on
Gear, Com-
posing, and
the Hazards
of Being
Workaholics
By Jude GOld
NE L ZL OZOWER
ic Duo It’s 3:02 pm on
a Tuesday, just
around the corner
from the sto-
ried intersection
of Hollywood and
Vine, and the tall,
metal gate at the
photo studio of
renowned rock
and roll lens-
man Neil Zlozower
is open. At nearly
the same moment,
John 5 pulls up
in a sleek, silver
Mercedes CLS550,
and Brendon
Small rolls up
in a sleek, silver
Toyota Prius.
Cover Story
DY NAM IC D U O
Brendon Small on stage with a Gibson Dethklok Thunderhorse and Dethklok bassist
Bryan Beller.
Choice of ride, notwithstanding, it’s images from Metalocalypse are displayed on

tempting to focus on the differences between a giant video screen), Small “hides” behind
these two guys, as their stage personas are the epic and heroic characters he created for
diametrically opposed. But, if you zoom out the band, Dethklok.
beyond John 5’s ghoulish makeup and fren-
zied performances, and Small’s less boister- They are Masters of DIY
ous, behind-the-scenes work on Metalocalypse, In May of this year—and in the same week—
you find the two guitarists have much in they each released self-produced solo albums
common. For example … direct-marketed on their personal websites.
Small unveiled Brendon Small’s Galaktikon
They are Larger Than Life [brendonsmall.com], and John 5 released
Both of these architects of modern metal God Made Me Do It [john-5.com].
achieve their musical visions on a grand
scale with help from the alter egos they have They Never Stop Working
created. John 5 runs wild on Rob Zombie’s John 5 stays busy as a solo artist, lead guitar-
stage—much like he did during his years ist for Rob Zombie, and as a session player
performing with Marilyn Manson—dodg- whose recent tracking dates have been with
ing flash pots, occasionally smashing gui- everyone from Foundry to Lynyrd Skynyrd to
tars, and seizing the spotlight each night for David Lee Roth. Small runs a professional-
a huge, unbridled solo guitar cadenza. On level studio in his house, is wrapping up the
record, on television, and in concert (where soon-to-be-released Dethalbum III by Dethklok,
The Hottest Ticket In Town!
and writes, directs, sings, plays guitar, and

leads the television production team that
just completed the fourth season of Metal-
ocalypse. In addition, both players compose
scores for film and television, and both reli-
giously practice guitar every day.
They are Endorsed by Guitar Icons

John 5 has signature Fender Telecasters.
Small has Dethklok Gibson Explorers and
Flying Vs.
They Know How to Use Watches

Both guitarists are surreally punctual—at
least by SoCal rock star standards.
All of this only proves what you probably

already knew—that any two dedicated, pro-
fessional guitarists are probably more alike
than not. Now, if you were to follow John
5 and Small around with a recorder while
Cover Story
DY N A MIC DUO
they’re doing photo shoots in Zlozower’s Small: I’m dating a girl. on tour. If you’re in that honeymoon phase
famous photo cave—an anything goes, rock- John 5: Here’s a question I think many where you’re just getting to know each other,
and roll den where there are no taboo topics— established guitarists can relate to: How does and, suddenly, you go out on the road for
the conversation is sure to get interesting .... that busy schedule affect your relationship? seven weeks, it won’t be good.
John 5: Brendon, you’re doing a ton of stuff. Small: It’s tough. It was tough with my John 5: Yeah. I’ve been married a few times,
You’ve got the TV show, you’re releasing last girlfriend, too, because I’m working all and the divorces haven’t been because of
CDs, you’re touring. Do you have a girl- the time. I definitely advise guitarists not to cheating or anything. They were because I
friend or a wife? start courting someone just before they go work so much. I never, ever put down the
guitar. So I’ve learned to be very upfront. I
say, “This is what I do. I sit on the couch and
play guitar.” My wife is fine with that, luck-
The Audio Engineering Society Presents... ily, because even when we’re at home watch-
ing TV, I’m playing guitar, and I have to be
Project Studio Expo plugged into something—even if it’s just one

of those little Smokey cigarette-pack amps. I
in association with Sound On Sound magazine. hate playing unamplified. Often, I also have a
metronome going, because that’s how I write
Master Your Workflow my instrumental stuff. I work out the song
as a whole—not in pieces—and I practice it
until I can play it all the way through as sol-
“I’ve got all these great tools, now what?” Come out idly as if I had to perform it on live televi-
of your bat cave and join us for the first ever Project sion. Then I go into the studio.
Studio Expo bringing together the top people, tools, and Small: I’m the total opposite. I tell people,
techniques. Learn best practices and tricks from the pros. “Record enable a track in Pro Tools, turn
Talk to your tool makers. Listen, learn, and connect with your amp on, and track something.” I think
it’s good to always have your studio gear
your peers. ready to go. That’s how I compose. I use
Pro Tools as a big sketchbook. I draw some-
thing, repaint over it, redraw the lines, and
start fixing it. I’ll have a new idea and go,
“I don’t really like that part, but there’s an
accent in there that’s really cool. How do I
turn that bit into a melody?”
John 5: That’s a smart way to do it, but I
don’t have time to figure out how to run this
or that piece of software. My approach is to
Tools and Techniques... rehearse and rehearse. When I’m ready, I hire
an engineer as cheaply as I can, and get the
Recording Clinics... song done in a couple of takes. And I only do

one song at a time. I’ll say, “Done. See you in
a couple of weeks for the next song.” I don’t
Brilliant People. have a studio, and my live rig is so simple a
child could set it up. I feel kind of gypped,
WHAT: Multiple Clinics, Q & A session and More. because I pay my tech so much money, yet
all he really has to do each night is turn on
WHEN: AES 133rd Convention, Oct 27-29, 2012 my amps [laughs].
Small: What are you running with Zombie?
WHERE: Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA John 5: A couple of Marshall JCM 900 heads
set with the knobs at about 12 o’clock, so
FREE* Advance Registration: the sound is not too dirty. I like my basic
www.aes.org/ProjectStudioExpo tone to sound like the Who or AC/DC—
overdriven, but clean enough that it always
* Project Studio Expo is open to the public. Other AES Convention Technical Program cuts through. I also use a few pedals—a Boss
events may require separate paid registration Super Overdrive for extra gain, and a Boss
Photo Credit: Jason Staczek, www.madronamusic.net Noise Suppressor to keep things quiet when
I’m not playing. I also use a Boss Chorus
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Cover Story DY NAM IC D U O
“You get to live your

dream playing with Rob
Zombie”, says John 5.
“It’s like being in Kiss.”
Scott D. Sm th/R etna
and a Dunlop Cry Baby. I use GHS strings running the Marshall 2203KK Kerry King
[.009-.042] and Seven Kings picks, the ones JCM 800—which is real aggressive sound-
with the monster graphics on them. I love ing, and it has worked really well for me.
those picks—they’re basically Fender Heav- But I’m thinking of going to the new Mar-
ies, but with great characters like Franken- shall JVM410H Joe Satriani Edition. It’s a
stein or the Creature from the Black Lagoon dream amp, because it sounds amazing and
painted on them has noise gates and a programmable effects
Small: I saw you guys open for Ozzy, and I loop. I use just a few pedals, starting with a
thought, “Now that’s a f**king show!” It was DigiTech Whammy—which I use as an octave
so much fun. I could feel the heat from the pedal, as well as for the Metalocalypse intro
flash pots. You had fire, half-naked ladies, theme’s two-octave legato pull-off lick. I also
and guitar—the ultimate trifecta. have a Boss Chromatic Tuner pedal, an MXR
John 5: You get to live your dream play- Script Logo Phase 90, and a Dunlop Dime-
ing with Rob Zombie. In my mind, it’s like bag Signature wah. I find that wah to be the
being in Kiss. We kind of get to be those guys most controllable one out there. It can give
every night. Being wireless adds to the fun. you the most subtle sweep, because you can
I’ve recently discovered the Audio-Technica adjust the parameters.
5000 Series wireless system. It sounds so I call in different amp/pedal combi-
good that I’m now wireless all night. With nations with a Rivera RM-1 Routmeister
previous systems, the tone was never quite switcher. That helps me avoid having to do
right, so I’d use a guitar cable for my big solo. a pedal dance each time I change sounds.
Small: I’m always on a cable, because I’m My main guitar is a Gibson Dethklok Thun-
blaring out lead vocals all night, and I’m derhorse Explorer, but I’m using the new
pretty much locked in one position. I’m Dethklok Snow Falcon Flying V more and
I realize the more that I play, the less output I baroque styles, perfect V-I cadences, etc. That
want from my pickups. I want to hear more of stuff always works. There were some great
the string and more of the skin of my fingers. harmony and arranging classes at Berklee
John 5: You went to Berklee. How was that? that taught you how to paint yourself out of
Do you use theory much? a corner. If you’ve got two unrelated riffs in
Small: I do. What I use most often—espe- different keys, and you need good way to link
cially for Metalocalypse—is the stuff I learned them, knowing some harmonic tricks helps.
in traditional harmony class: classical and John 5: Do you sight-read?
more. I’m usually in C standard tuning—

all strings dropped a major third from stan-
dard tuning—so my gauges are thicker.
Dunlop makes me custom Dethklok sets,
gauged .013-.056.
John 5: I use only Teles with Rob Zombie.
Perhaps using a Tele in a heavy-rock situation
is a weird thing to do, but I like doing things
a bit out of the ordinary. My main guitar is a
signature model Fender J5 Telecaster with gold
hardware that’s already getting really worn
in places. I play my guitars to death. I had
to retire my black and chrome prototype J5,
because it was getting so beat up that it was
starting to look like Willie Nelson’s “Trigger.”
Small: What sort of output level do you like
from pickups? What are you using?
John 5: I use DiMarzio D Activators.
Small: Are those pretty high-output pickups?
John 5: Yeah. Plus, I raise them pretty high.
Small: I have some DiMarzio PAFs in one
of my guitars, and they have a really nice,
well-rounded sound. It’s a little bit warmer
sounding, I think, than normal Gibson PAFs.
Cover Story
DY N A MIC DUO
Small: I suck at it. I was the musical equiva- easier bow access, I would sometimes take I’ve never had any hand or wrist problems,
lent of the kid who somehow graduated high off all but two strings. Then, I’d maybe tune and it’s probably because I keep my guitar
school without learning how to read. Every- the string pair to a cool interval—or even at a comfortable playing height. I guess I’d
body jokes, “How do you get a guitar player unison—and bow them. You can’t even tell rather be comfortable than look cool.
to turn down? Throw some sheet music in it’s not a violin. For low cello parts and stuff Small: Totally. Things just don’t work right,
front of him.” That was me. But even with like that, I would just tune down. And for otherwise. At some point, if the guitar is too
all the scoring I do today, notating and read- long legato passages I would use an EBow— low, tendons are scraping against bone. It’s
ing music never really comes up. even on acoustic guitars. like driving with the brakes on.
John 5: I just scored Rob’s new movie, Small: Very cool—and all done with ordi- John 5: To get back to your point about
Lords of Salem. nary gear that everyone has access to. There gear, I don’t have any crazy racks of effects
Small: How did that go? are so many ways to do cool things on the or anything. I do it all au naturel—like they
John 5: Great. I’ve done a fair amount of guitar, and it all comes back to the hands. did in the ’50s [laughs].
scoring before—I did some music for the John 5: I have small hands, but because Small: There’s no magic box that will do
movie From Hell, starring Johnny Depp, and I’ve been playing guitar constantly since I it for us. The more I record, the more I real-
I did stuff for Baywatch—but this was my was seven years old, my fretting hand actu- ize the ultimate secret to doing something
first full movie. It was a lot of work—a lot ally compensated—it grew bigger than my great in the studio is simply to write some-
of music cues. picking hand. thing cool, and then play it right. That’s it.
Small: Did you hire outside players? Small: Nice. You willed your fingers to There are no tricks. If my guitar and amp
John 5: Some strings, yes, because the score grow, somehow. work, then those two things are already doing
is supposed to be nasty music from the 1600s. John 5: It wasn’t my fingers, but my palm their jobs, and the rest is on me. If some-
But a lot of the string stuff I did with a violin that grew [puts hands together to show Small thing doesn’t sound right, it’s between my
bow and a guitar. Bow an acoustic or elec- the size disparity]. It grew so it could curl right hand and my left hand. One of those
tric, and it can sound just like strings. For over the neck. guys is f**king up! g
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C
Br
NE L ZLOZOWER
rendon
Small
The Metalocalypse Mastermind
Breathes Life Into Death Metal
By Jude Gold
“My first gig was a guitar contest held in a
sh*t-kicker bar in Salinas, California,” says Brendon Small. “I was
about 14 years old, and I worked up this little solo piece consisting
mostly of horrible blues licks bent out-of-tune on a double-cutaway
Epiphone Spotlight. I practiced it every day after school for hours.
The night of the contest finally arrived, and there I was, this brace-
I said, ‘What the f**k, guys? This can’t happen again.’ I knew right
then I had to practice smarter. I had to find ways to get my right
and left hands to work together in the real world. I had to develop
a regimen that would make me a good guitar player, not a crappy
one who embarrasses himself in smoky dive bars.”
Now, 20-something years later, Small plays a markedly higher
faced fatso trying to grow his hair long, looking stupid in a suede level of gig. He and his band, Dethklok, are routinely rocking huge
shirt that made me look even fatter, standing in the freezing wind halls all over the world. And Dethklok is unique among heavy bands
outside this rowdy bar. As I waited for my turn, with all these older in that it is a literal case of life imitating art. The band originally
players warming up with crazy sweep arpeggios and stuff, I reached existed only in cartoon form, as the protagonists of Small’s ani-
out to touch my headstock, and my hand was literally shaking. I mated Adult Swim series, Metalocalypse.
realized I was experiencing a feeling I’d never encountered before, “We play beneath a movie-theater-sized LCD display, in per-
which was total nervousness. fect sync with what’s happening on the screen,” says Small, who
“I grimaced as the announcer said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, he staffed the live version of Dethklok with co-guitarist Mike Keneally
counts Eddie Van Halen and Joe Satriani as influences. Let’s hear it (Frank Zappa, Joe Satriani), bassist Bryan Beller (The Aristocrats),
for Brendon Small!’ They plugged me into this giant Marshall JCM and drummer Gene Hoglan (Fear Factory, Testament). “I definitely
800 rig, and the thing was on, like, 6. I’d never played that loud in want the musicians to be seen, but if I feel too much light on my
my life. I couldn’t control the beast, and I was making awful, awful face, I’ll yell at someone, because I also want us to be somewhat
sounds. Notes were eating sh*t loudly and dying. That night, when anonymous. I often joke that we’re not Dethklok, we’re the Met-
I got home, I held a personal post-mortem meeting with my hands. alocalypse Players—the pit musicians to the ballet that is the TV

Cover Story
B RE ND O N SM ALL
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show playing above us. We’re supposed to director-producer also just released Brendon
sound like Dethklok, but we don’t look like Small’s Galaktikon [brendonsmall.com], a new
Dethklok, because that band doesn’t exist.” sci-fi solo project and concept album built
M 86252 L What does exist for the cartoon version around a superhero protagonist’s “interga-
(05C 250K / 05A 250K) cc of Dethklok, though, are real songs (the lactic divorce story.”
Balance Pot band’s third album, Dethalbum III, is slated These big Small successes would have
for a Fall release), real DVD sets, real fans, been hard to predict back at that seedy Sali-
and real endorsements. Yes—these cartoon nas lounge all those years ago—if one didn’t
characters have deals with the companies realize that Small astutely sees the lesson in
whose gear regularly appears in animated every experience, magic or tragic.
form on the show: Marshall amps, Gibson “One thing that horrible night taught me
KNURLED SHAFT 24 TOOTH 6mm, guitars, Avid Pro Tools, and, on earlier epi- was the power of goal-oriented practicing,”
BUSHING M 10 x 0,75, 11mm LONG, PRINT LUG sodes, Krank amps. he says. “I achieved three months worth of
Dethklok’s two animated guitarists each improvement in those two weeks I was prep-
have real-world signature Gibsons (and soon ping for that contest.”
40 years of German Epiphones) outfitted with Burstbucker pick- The next significant step in Small’s evo-
top quality modular ups. The cartoon band’s lead guitarist, Skwis- lution was attending music school. To this
potentiometer for gaar Skwigelf, plays an Explorer-inspired day, Small regularly calls upon the cadences,
discerning musicians. dark-burst ax called the Thunderhorse, while counterpoint, modulation techniques, har-
rhythm guitarist Toki Wartooth plays an all- monic devices, and general guitar chops he
white V with an albino-composite fretboard gained at Berklee College of Music. He uses
F a m i l y O w n e d • S o l a r Po w e r e d • S u s t a i n a b l y called the Snow Falcon. it all regularly for Dethklok songs, and for
Manufactured in a Green Environment
“Metal is usually blackness, horrible- the incidental music cues he composes for
Distribution USA: Warwick Music Equipment Trading (NY USA)
Inc. 76-80 East 7th Street • New York • NY ness, murder, and death,” explains Small, Metalocalypse. However, it was interning at
10003 • Phone: +1 212 - 777 - 6991 • Fax: “so I thought it would be cool if Toki’s guitar two jingle houses in New York that showed
+1 212 - 777 - 6994 E-Mail: [email protected]
went the other way.” Small how to put it all together.
www.facebook.com/warwickmusicdistribution
www.warwick-distribution.de • www.mec-pickups.de And, as if Small isn’t busy enough, “My job as an intern was never more
the workaholic guitarist-comedian-writer- exciting than winding cables, getting people
In this scene from Metalocalypse (season
4, Episode 5), Dethklok shredder Skwis-
gaar Skwigelf’s lead guitar moves are
animated so accurately that Billy Gibbons
commented, “Yup, he’s playing it right.”
coffee, and Windexing sh*t,” he says. “But Small conquer his petrifying nervousness (“I
as I watched those guys work, I not only had to do everything from classical pieces to
learned recording techniques, I saw how Joe Pass-style jazz arrangements, and I’d usu-
they’d go from zero to having a complete ally blow it and leave everyone in the room
piece of music in 45 minutes. I saw how they too embarrassed to look at me”), the most
relied on a bag of musical tricks to do that. useful weapon in slaying the stage fright
They had their go-to melodic devices. They dragon was finding work in the world of
understood rhythm and tempo and orches- comedy. First, it was script writing with his
tration. They knew how to create specific friends at nearby Emerson College. Then, it
musical moods. And they did it all at light- was an epiphany-triggering visit to the set of
ning speed. I also saw how they interfaced Late Night with Conan O’Brien. From there, he
with—and sometimes had to babysit—the ad did voice-overs, acting, and standup comedy,
execs who were calling the shots and writ- and launched his first TV show, the animated
ing the checks. sitcom Home Movies.
“‘Get rid of the mandolin.’ “I found that when I started doing standup,
‘Um, there is no mandolin.’ that after a funny line, I could just sort of
‘Well, get rid of something. And wrap up hang out, take a moment, and collect myself,”
my sandwich.’” says Small. “It taught me how to think clearly
Although performing at Berklee helped on stage. I practiced being in front of people,
M O R E O N L I N E
• Join Small as he takes the Dethklok Gibson Snow Falcon on a test flight.
• Let Small walk you through the studio where the magic happens.
• Small shows you how to play the intro to “Prophecy of the Lazer Witch.”

Cover Story
B R E N D O N S MALL
and I learned to get out of that deer-in-head- two most crucial pieces of gear in it are the of the clean channel, and you get nice Larry
lights, fight-or-flight mode that I always got Avid D-Command recording console I use Carlton, Steely Dan sorts of sounds.”
into playing guitar. For example, I wanted to to run Pro Tools, and the air conditioner To evolve his guitar-recording chops, Small
know, ‘How does a comfortable person stand? [laughs]. I have a lot of amps in there. I have a admits to relentlessly “bothering” Steve Vai,
Where does he put his hand?’ I remember Marshall 1987XL Plexi reissue modded with Joe Satriani, and other guitar buddies to find
asking a scout from Fox what she looked an extra gain stage that I use all the time, a out how they do things.
for in a comic, and she said, ‘Honestly, I’m Kerry King signature-model Marshall head “I was in Vai’s studio, and I actually took
looking for somebody who is able to bomb that I use live and in the studio, and the ’80s pictures of the way he mics his speakers—
comfortably. Someone who doesn’t make me 50-watt JCM 800 I used for the lead sound which is in parallel with the mics angled a
feel like an a**hole for watching them.’ And on Galaktikon’s instrumental, ‘Dangertits.’ I little bit off the upper edge of the cone,” Small
every bit of that translates to playing guitar also have some great Carvins—including a explains. “That became my go-to approach for
live. When you relax, the audience does, too, Steve Vai Legacy II head that I played through many a Dethklok session, with a Shure SM57
and you realize, ‘Wow, they’re not here to for the ‘On My Way’ lead parts [also on Gal- going into an API preamp, and a Sennheiser
judge me. They’re here because they want aktikon], and a tweed VT50.” MD 421 running through a BAE Audio chan-
the best for me.’” Rounding out Small’s rig roster are a nel strip. I used the same setup on Galaktikon,
Now based in Los Angeles, Small splits Bogner Shiva and hand-wired, reissue Vox with the two mics positioned on one speaker
his time between his offices at Titmouse, AC30 combos. Sometimes, Brendon pushes of either a Carvin Legacy or Marshall 4x12
Inc. (where Metalocalypse is produced) and his amps’ preamp sections with an Xotic cabinet. For Dethalbum III, though, I added a
his recording studio, where he tracks nearly Effects BB Preamp pedal or a Suhr Shiba Drive. third mic—a Royer R-121 running through
all of Dethklok’s guitars and vocals. Before “I got the BB because I love the way Andy another BAE strip—pointed at a separate
massive remodeling, the studio was his Silver Timmons sounds, and he uses it,” explains speaker. The Royer adds some top end. Some-
Lake home’s two-car garage. Small. “The Shiba sounds great in front of times, instead of miking an amp, I’ll use a
“I call it the Danger Zone,” he says. “The both dirty and clean channels. Put it in front Palmer cabinet simulator—which Satriani
Cover Story
B R E N D O N S MALL
turned me on to. You can pretty much plug to mimic his moves precisely. that are, like, part Paul Gilbert, part Larry
any amp right into it, crank it up for some “Billy Gibbons watched the clip, and Carlton, and part Yngwie Malmsteen. They—
good power-tube grind, and run straight into said, ‘Yup, he’s playing it right,’” says Small. along with Brian May, Jeff Beck, Eddie Van
your board. If you want to do quiet record- “I was pretty much giving the animators a Halen, and every player who does some-
ing, or you don’t have an isolation room for guitar lesson. Mostly, I did this because I was thing special on the guitar—all remind you
your guitar amps, it’s very handy.” thinking about how excited my 15-year-old there’s always something new to learn on
When Small records guitar parts for Metal- self would be to watch an animated guitar- the instrument.”
ocalypse, he isn’t just dead serious about com- ist playing the parts exactly right.” But, not surprisingly, Small’s own search
position and tones, he occasionally pummels Every morning, armed with a cup of for excellence and quest for “special-ness”
his cartoon shredders into getting it right, coffee, Small starts his day as every guitar- doesn’t impede his workaholic’s determi-
as well. For example, Dethklok lead guitarist should: He grabs a guitar, turns on an nation to get in there and get things done—
ist Skwisgaar Skwigelf’s big solo on “Snow amp, and practices. an attitude he’d like to see in more players.
Falcon” [Season 4, Episode 5] is a landmark “I often get some kind of groove going “There are many, many great guitarists
victory in the realm of cinematic accuracy as and practice over that,” he says. “Or, I’ll go out there, and more than a few of them need
it pertains to guitar performance. Every one online and find some lessons with Guth- a good kick in the ass,” he says. “Some gui-
of Skwigelf ’s finger moves, fret positions, rie Govan, Tom Quayle, or someone else. tarists will be successful simply because they
string bends, and picking nuances in the And, recently, just when I thought I knew have one quality that others don’t—they can
scene is a visually accurate representation just about every great player on YouTube, I plant their ass in a seat and finish something.
of how the song’s solo—which was actu- stumbled onto Brett Garsed. Brett has this There’s a lot to be said for completing a proj-
ally performed, of course, by a very human amazingly fluid style, and a lot of the legato ect. If you want to be creative for a living,
Brendon Small—is played. Small achieved and economy-picking stuff I’m learning from finish that music! Finish the songs. Finish
the feat by filming himself playing the solo, him found its way onto Dethalbum III. There the album. Just write something you’d love
and then having his team animate Skwigelf seems to be this new crop of super guitarists to hear, and good or bad, get through it.” g
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Cover Story
Rob Zombie’s Guitar

Sorcerer Conjures a
New Solo Album
John
“Before I came to California, my philosophy was,
‘I’ll do anything to be a working musician,’” says John 5. “I never
wanted to be a rock star—just a session player getting by in L.A.”
Unfortunately—or fortunately—people’s lives don’t always
turn out as planned. Sure, John 5 has found plenty of steady ses-
sion work since he left Michigan and moved out West in the late
’80s. In the past two years alone, he has tracked with Rod Stew-
art, Ricky Martin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Alice Cooper, Sebastian Bach,
By Jude Gold
David Lee Roth, and others. He also scored The Lords of Salem, the
new film directed by his bandleader, singer Rob Zombie.
However, whether by choice or not, John 5 did become a rock
star—if high-profile gigs as the lead guitarist for Marilyn Manson,
2wo (featuring Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford), and Zombie
are any measure.
“The tough part has been that whenever something really good
happened for me as a guitar player, something terrible would happen
.
5 Chr s Schwegler / R etna Lt d.
GUITARPLAYER.COM O C T O B ER 2 0 1 2 83
Cover Story
John 5
with my family,” says John 5. “With each new all things dramatic has certainly perpetuated a good record must be greater than the sum
success, I lost my sister, my mom, my dad, his celebrity. Couple his camera-ready cha- of its songs. Also factor in that 2012, more
and then my other sister. If I could work a risma with a virtuosic and aggressive guitar so than any year in decades, has marked the
more normal job—like teaching guitar or style that magically fuses the cool elements return of the single. Want people to drop ten
working at a vintage guitar dealer—and have of classic Eddie Van Halen/Randy Rhoads whole dollars on an entire album? Well, that
my family back, I would. There has been no shred, fiesty Jerry Reed/Brent Mason chicken album had better be a powerful and unified
better feeling than back when I was with k.d. pickin’, and the sublime acoustic approaches of artistic vision and come with some cool extras.
lang, playing a show with both my parents Jimmy Page, and you have a guitar hero with Such is the case with John 5’s latest release,
in attendance.” a knack for delivering something that many God Told Me To [john-5.com].
Since age seven, the prism through which accomplished shredders can’t—an instru-
John 5 filters every emotion has been the mental album that is actually interesting. You talk about how motivated you’ve always been
guitar. And while his rock stardom may be John 5 knows that just as a good guitar to be a session guy, yet you also have a huge zeal
somewhat inadvertent, his natural flair for song must be greater than the sum of its licks, for the theatrical. Did that start with Manson?
People often ask me that, but it started
well before Manson. I actually had the same
M O R E O N L I N E
look back when I played with Halford. It all
stems from the fact that when I was a little
• John 5 goes wild behind the nut to merge Nashville twang and industrial metal. kid, I loved the universe of monsters. Drac-
• John 5 plays a generous medley of his latest licks ula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Invisible
on his signature Fender J5 Telecaster. Man, the Wolfman—I loved them all. Then,
• John 5 shares “Noche Acosador” from his solo album, God Told Me To. Kiss came out. I was like, “Oh my god, this
Get these links and more at guitarplayer.com/october2012 is like monsters with guitars!” I was so into
it. I was still too young to know that Kiss
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Cover Story
John 5
were actually real people. I thought they were footage. It’s really nice of him to turn the stage over
from another planet or something. Yeah. I wanted this album to be fun for to me for six or seven minutes each night,
How has your approach to doing instrumen- everyone—not just guitar players—so I inter- because it’s his show. Also, when I was with
tal guitar records evolved over the course of six spersed the studio scenes with a lot of other Manson, I couldn’t leave a certain area of the
solo albums? stuff. There are crazy clips of violence and stage, but with Zombie, I can run all over
On God Made Me Do It, you still hear a lot chaos pulled off the internet, live video of the place. I’ve always been a fan of White
of the rock, country, and other types of play- me, and comedy skits featuring horror host Zombie, and Rob and I write well together,
ing I’ve been into since my first solo album, Mike Odd. I love that guy, so I hired him. so it’s dream gig. I’ve been offered a lot of
Vertigo [2004]. But with this one, I wanted Making the DVD cost just as much as the other gigs, but I wouldn’t leave this one for
to change things up. I made the album half recording and mixing of the music, but it was the world. It is a perfect fit.
acoustic, and I included an hour-long DVD worth it. It’s important to give fans a good, I’ve learned a tremendous amount about
that shows me in the studio recording the strong product that they can hold on to— the business from Rob, too. When he’s talk-
songs. People always ask me how I play this and hopefully enjoy—until the next album. ing to someone about something impor-
or that, so I wanted to show them. Getting Plus, when you’re in a band with a huge Hol- tant, I’m always lurking in the background,
the footage of me tracking the songs was lywood director, your DVD has to be good. listening. Rob always gets past any and all
easy, because I came into the studio fully That’s a lot of pressure [laughs]. Rob was problems that come up, and gives the fans
rehearsed, and I was able to record most of actually a big help. He not only coached me an amazing show. He knows they pay hard-
the songs in complete, continuous takes. through the DVD project, he painted the earned money to be there, and they deserve
We just left the camera rolling. Being able album cover art for me. nothing less.
to record quickly was also good, because it How is your role as lead guitarist for Rob Talk about the first track on your new album,
helped keep costs down so there was enough Zombie different than it was for Marilyn Manson? “Welcome to Violence.”
of a recording budget left over for the DVD. For one thing, with Zombie, I get to do I wanted to start the record very cha-
The DVD has a lot more on it than just studio a solo-guitar spotlight, which is really cool. otically, and make it feel like everything is
Cover Story J ohn 5
NE L ZLOZOW ER
about to fall apart. So after you hear a clas- the way Eddie tremolo-picked the high string
sic sample of Peggy Lee singing the words while hammering a different part on the
“Play the guitar, my Johnny,” things just go lower strings on “Little Guitars.” I thought
crazy. I wanted to make the most violent- it was two tracks when I first heard it! So
sounding song ever. In the B section, there’s that’s what I did, as well.
actually a banjo-inspired riff happening over Where’s all this acoustic influence coming
a double-bass drum groove. That’s proba- from? “Ashland Bump” seems to evoke Zeppelin’s
bly the song I’m most proud of. That, and “Battle of Evermore.”
“Noche Acosador.” I really enjoy the purity of acoustic music. I
The “Noche Acosador” nylon-string intro seems always have. There’s nothing to hide behind—
to harken back to Van Halen’s intro to “Little Guitars.” just wood and strings. My main acoustics on
That is very intentional. I always loved this album were a ’70s Martin D-45, a ’70s
Bill Frisell
and Collings Guitars
Bill Frisell at the Village Vanguard with his Collings I-35 LC
Serious Guitars | www.CollingsGuitars.com | (512) 288-7770

Cover Story
John 5
Gibson J-200, a Martin D-28, and a Martin up in the studio with him again?
nylon-string. It’s really fun for me to do the Dave just said, “Come on over. We’ll
open tunings, and all the layers. And, yes, I have some Mexican food and start writ-
love Jimmy Page’s arrangements. My favor- ing songs.” Pretty soon, we were at A&M
ite Led Zeppelin stuff has always been the [now known as Henson Recording Studios]
acoustic stuff. laying them down. It was just before he
You throw in a little mandolin in places, too. got real busy with Van Halen again, and it
A lot, actually. I also did some bowed- was just for fun. They ’re all tasty, layered
acoustic on this album. If you take a violin acoustic tunes—everything from Doobie
bow really slowly across a standard-tuned Brothers-type vibes, to the Van Halen
steel-string, it sounds like an orchestra tuning “Could This Be Magic?” sort of sound.
up. But I preferred to bow open tunings— There are about 12 or 15 songs, and Dave
maybe open G, Em, or E7—and that worked sings unbelievably well on them. Hope-
out great. Another trick is leaving just the fully, he’ll release them.
two highest strings on the guitar, tuning One clip on your new album’s DVD shows you
them in unison, and bowing those. hurling a guitar off stage, way deep into the audi-
Is that a backwards acoustic that starts ence. Isn’t that a lawsuit waiting to happen?
“Creepy Crawler”? I’ve only done that once or twice, because,
Yes. It was inspired by “creepy crawl- yes, people can get hurt. Luckily, one time
ing”—which was something the Manson was caught on film, and it can be seen in the
family would do. They would sneak around “Welcome to Violence” video. Sometimes,
the houses in Laurel Canyon, and turn peo- if it’s a special gig with TV and everything,
ple’s furniture upside down. I wanted the I’ll be playing nice guitars and just put them
guitar part to convey that feeling. out in the crowd.
What’s that shrill, high-pitched whistling sound When you’re smashing guitars, are they nice
two minutes and 18 seconds into “The Hill of the ones?
Seven Jackals”? Those are Fender Squiers. They’re great
I get that sound by rubbing a quarter on guitars, but not expensive. The thing is,
the high-E string near the bridge pickup. you can do the greatest solo, but not a lot
The quarter’s ridges lock it on the string, of people in the audience are guitar players,
and I can use it to make notes higher than so it’s fun sometimes to excite the crowd in
a Whammy pedal. It’s deafening on stage. I other ways. When you really smash a guitar—
used to do it at shows, in front of like 10,000 and not one that was rigged in advance to
people, but the soundman said, “You can’t fall apart easily—and you really bust the sh*t
do that. The frequencies are going to damage out of it, people love it. They don’t see that
the P.A. speakers—and people’s hearing!” It a lot. I’ll do that to a guitar, and then care-
definitely has a cool Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, fully give it to people in the crowd. People
N.W.A. sort of hook to it. go crazy for that kind of a souvenir. I know
You’ve gone totally DIY in your approach to I would if I was a kid.
releasing your music. Why? How many guitars do you play in one night?
I realized why the record labels got so I usually have 14 guitars with me. I like
rich—they took everything. So I release my doing that Rick Nielsen thing of having a
albums myself on john-5.com. I turned my bunch of cool guitars come out during the
site into a store. I’ve got everything up there. course of a show.
It’s like Macy’s. I also digitally distribute my How many vintage Telecasters do you own?
music everywhere from Spotify to iTunes using A lot. It’s crazy. In fact, I have at least one
TuneCore. It’s a great service. You pay them Telecaster from just about every year. The
a small fee each year, and you get money in nice thing is that the collection has proven
your account each month. If you own every- to be a good financial investment for me.
thing, and you do things right and maybe Mostly, though, I just love holding each one,
get a song placed here or there, you can do and wondering who played it before me. At
well—as long as you keep your album-pro- the end of all this, when I’m all done, I truly
duction costs down. want to have a picture book made about me
It has been about 15 years since you recorded and my guitars. Then, I’ll pass them all on
DLR Band with David Lee Roth. How did you end to someone else. g
Cover Story
2x2
Learn Two Unique
& Thrilling Tech-
niques from John 5
and Brendon Small
By Jude Gold
**C standard tuning
132 N.C.
Brendon Small’s Sky-High Harmonics
At first listen, the stratospheric high notes on Brendon Small’s intro to “Proph-
ecy of the Lazer Witch” from Brendon Small’s Galaktikon seem almost as if they
were generated using a digital octave effect. They weren’t. Evoking both Tom
Morello’s soaring Whammy notes and Eddie Van Halen’s prismatic prologue
to “Mean Street,” this lick’s sonic recipe involves only a guitar, a cable, a ton
of distortion, and an innovative approach to harmonics.
“To sound the opening E octave harmonic,” says Small, “tap your picking
hand’s index finger on the low E string, exactly on the 12th fret, letting the fin-
gertip bounce just enough that the string lifts off the fret, but not so much that
your finger loses contact with the string. Next, with the harmonic still ring-
ing, and the index finger still touching the string over the 12th fret, hammer
the 5th fret with the fretting hand’s 1st finger. This produces an E harmonic
another octave higher. Finally, while still touching the string with the tapping
hand’s index finger, hammer the 7th fret with your fretting hand’s 3rd finger
to produce a harmonic a fifth higher. Then, repeat the process on the third,
fourth, and first strings, and you’ve got ‘Lazer Witch.’”
Tip: On the recorded version of this song, Small plays the part in C-standard
tuning (all strings down a major third). To hear him play it in standard tuning,
check out the accompanying video lesson on guitarplayer.com.
0:00 0:14
44
4x
T------------------
*T - - - - - - - - - - T-------------- T----------------
C 12 5 7
G
E T 12 5 7
B A
B
12 5 7
F
C 12 5 7
*T - - - - - Tap harmonic w/picking-hand index finger, leaving finger touching
(but not fretting) string for duration indicated.
**All strings tuned down a major third from standard. Music sounds a major third lower than written (Note: Example also plays
perfectly in standard tuning.)
NE L Z LOZ OWER
John 5’s Flamenco-Flavored Banjo Rolls has been harkening back to his roots by pursuing a banjo-roll-
The seeds of John 5’s lifelong obsession with the Telecaster were style attack on the guitar.
sewn decades before Marilyn Manson came along and swapped “This is a little piece off God Told Me To called ‘Noche Aco-
out his surname with a number. The guitarist’s fondness for the sador,’” says John 5.
iconic Fender solidbody started when he was a mere child watch- He recorded the piece trading off between a Martin nylon-
ing the ’70s variety show Hee Haw. string and a Martin D-45, but also makes the song sound divine
“I loved that show, and everyone played Teles on it,” says John 5. on clean-tone Telecaster, as you will see when you watch video
The future guitar hero’s most epiphanic musical moment, of this lesson on guitarplayer.com.
though, would not involve his instrument. “I’m using a repeating thumb-middle-index roll pattern that
“I saw this little kid playing banjo on that show, and he was about banjo players use, but here, it sounds more Spanish than blue-
my same age and was just incredible. I knew right then I wanted grass. If you practice this regularly, you can bump up the metro-
to do something like that. I’ve been playing guitar ever since.” nome a click or two each day, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised
In recent years, with his Tele chops well established, John 5 how quickly you build real speed.” g
ca. 100
*Am
0:25 3
1 2 4
2 4
** p m i p m i etc.
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
T 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
A 0 2 3 2 0 0 2 3 2 0
B 0 2 3 0 2 3
*Symbol reflects general harmony.
** p, m, i pluck w/thumb, middle, index, repectively
0:35
3 1 2
3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
T 4 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
A 5 5 5 5 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 2 3 2
B 0 0

Lessons So, in tribute to Johnny Carson and
Paul Anka I‘ve arranged a short fingerstyle
guitar chorus of “Johnny’s Theme,” essen-
tially what the band played as Ed McMahon
introduced Carson. I had already arranged
the tune for a local big band a number of
years ago (my first attempt at scoring for
such an ensemble), so I thought I’d create
a brief solo guitar version as well. My tem-
plate was culled from a Doc Severinsen CD
featuring the whole band, and I’ve tried to
capture or imply the horn nuances and lines.
Originally recorded in Db, I’ve arranged it
down a major third for the more guitar
friendly key of A.
This arrangement is essentially five cho-
ruses of a four-measure I-VIm-IIm-V pro-
gression in A, or Amaj7-F#m7-Bm7-E7. The
first two measures are a call between saxes
and trumpets and a response by trombones.
Big Band Arrangement of “The Tonight These motifs are repeated in measures 7
and 8 and form the basis of the tune. I’ve
Show Theme” for Fingerstyle Guitar tried to stay true to the original horn voic-
ings with the elaborate chord grips in mea-
By He mm e Luttj eboer sures 6 and 10. The fingerings may take a
while to nail at this tempo but once you
Every once in a while a tune house band and whoever sat in with them. have them, the arrangement flows nicely.
captures your interest almost to the point of (Fun fact: While a student at GIT in Los The humorous soli tag in measure 21 sets
obsession. Case in point: While attending Angeles in the ’80s I even attended a taping up the final measure. Take it slowly and
high school in the early ’70s in Brockville, of the show and Robben Ford, a regular cli- build your tempo. Heeeeere’s Johnny! g
Ontario, Canada, I stayed up late most nights nician at the school, was performing with
to watch The Tonight Show starring Johnny Doobie Brother Michael McDonald. Score!) Hemme Luttjeboer has transcribed more
Carson. It wasn’t really for the guests that Needless to say, the theme song for the show than 250 guitar music books. Check him out
plugged their wares but to hear and see the made a huge, nightly impression on me. at musiconpaper.com
Moderately fast
3 A
85 Amaj7 G 6 Cm7 5 Bm7

Elec. Gtr. (clean)
9 7 5 4 2 1 2
7 7 5 6 4 2 3 2 0
T 9 6 4 5 3 1 2 2
A 0 2 4
B 0 0 0 6 4 3 1 2
0 0
MOR E ONLIN E
• See video of Luttjeboer playing his

arrangement at guitarplayer.com.
Get this link and more at

guitarplayer.com/october2012
A 3 2
9B 4 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2 G U I0T A R P L 0A Y E R C O M
E6 Amaj7 Cm11 5 Bm7
4 2 2 0 0 0 1 2
2 1 3 2 2 0 0 3 3 2 0
T 3 0 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 2
A 3 2 4 1 1 4 1 4
B 0 0 0 4 2 4 5
E6 Amaj7 Cm6/7 F 7 5 9 Bm11
4 2 2 0 0 0 0 5
2 1 3 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 5 2 0
T 3 0 1 2 2 3 2 2
A 3 2 4 2 4
B 0 4 3 4 2 5
0 0 1 2 0
E A6 Adim7 Bm7
12
7 5 7 5 7 6 5 5
6 6 7 9 9 7 9 7 9 8 7 7
T 6 6 7 9 6 7 5 7 7 7 7
A 4 0
B 0 7 6
0 5 7 7 0
E6 A6 E7 5 9 A6 C m7 A6
3
16
4 5 4 4 7 6 5 4 9 7 5
5 9 8 7 7 6 7 7 5 5
T 6 7 6 6 5 5 9 4 6
A 6 9 8 4
B 0 0 4
0 0
G 6 Cm7 5 A E7 5 9 A6/9
3
20
4 2 5 4 5
6 4 5 4 5 6 5 6 5
T 5 3 2 5 4
A 0 2 1 2 3 2 6 4
B 6 4 3 2 1 0 0
0

Lessons
It’s a Wonderful I-IV-V World
By V i nn i e D eMas i
The I, IV, and V chords—the I-IV-V sequence in the key of A, Ex. 1 gives
chords built off of the first, fourth, and fifth all three basic triads a makeover, adding
notes of any major or minor scale—are the slick-sounding 6th, 9th, and 13th inter-
three most common and arguably the most vallic extensions. Voiced on the top four
important harmonic elements in the musi- strings, it evokes the tight-knit arrange-
cal universe. While you may already pos- ments of a big band horn section. It’s I-IV
sess a basic understanding of this concept, the money! (Get it?)
a detailed knowledge of the tried-and-true Ex. 2 is a Beatlesque barnburner. Dig the
triadic trinity’s infinite fretboard applica- fab-sounding switch from major to minor
tions will help you become a more versa- on the IV chord, and treat the slash chords
tile player and composer. Dm/F and E7/G# as extensions of the reg-
A raved-up ’round-the-clock rockabilly ular IV and V harmonies.
Ex. 1
132-144

3
4
A6 D9 E13 A6

4

5 5 5 5 5 5 7 7 9 5
T
7 7 5 5 5 5 7 7 9 7
A
6 6 5 5 5 5 7 7 9 6
B
7 7 4 4 4 4 6 6 7
Ex. 2
144-152
A A7 D Dm/F E E7/G A6
X 1 1 1 X X 1 1 1 3 XX 1 3 2 XX3 2 4 1 2 3 1 4 2 1 X 1 1 1 1
44
Ex. 3
1 1 1
76-84 E 1 1 A B5
1 No stranger to the creative application
44 T T of basic theory, Jimi Hendrix was known

for his artistry at playing rhythm and lead
guitar simultaneously. Dig Ex. 3 and evoke
3 3 the way he would masterfully spin a simple
T T
12 14 12 I-IV-V in E into a bold sonic experience. For
12 14 12 9 10 9 0 0
T 9 added mojo, reach your fretting-hand thumb
A 9 11 9 9 7 9 9 around the neck to grab the bass notes on
B 11 9 7 7 9 9
0 5 5 5 7 9 7 the A (IV) and B5 (V) chords.
Have you ever considered playing a dia-
tonic I-IV-V progression completely with
harmonics? It’s possible in the key of D—
you can spell out all the notes of the D, G,
Ex. 4
and A triads (which, incidentally, contain all
seven notes of the D major scale,)—as dem-
Freely D G A D onstrated in Ex. 4.
For Ex. 5, let’s look to the classics and tem-
44 plate the solo guitar compositions of Car-
cassi and Sor. Beneath the rolling triplets,
12
7 5 7
T 7 5 7
A 7 5 7
B 9
Ex. 5
80-88 Em Am B7 9
128
7 5 3 7 8 7 5 8 11 8 7 11 12 7 3 0
0 0 0 0 5 5 5 5 7 7 7 7 0 0 0
T
A
0 0 0 0 5 5 5 5 8 8 8 8 0 0 0
B 0
0 7 0

Lessons
ascending first-string melody, and 5th and in Ex. 6a. Now reorder them slightly adding,
7th fret big-stretch barres is a simple Em- open A-, D-, and E-string bass notes, as demon-
Am-B7b9 progression, also known as a I-IV-V strated in Ex. 6b, and see how they become the
in the key of E minor. In fact, many com- 3rds and 7ths of the chords in a funky I7-IV7-
plex-sounding classical arrangements can V7 progression in the key of A, or A7-D7-E7.
be reduced to simple I-IV-V structures. Roll These examples should give you plenty
over Beethoven, indeed! of tools to create your own I-IV-V magic, so
Play through the seemingly atonal series pick a key and a style (or several styles) of
of chromatically ascending tritone intervals music, and have at it. g
Ex. 6a Ex. 6b
100-108
A7 D7 E7
44
P.M. - - - P.M. - - -
P.M. - - - P.M. - - -
7 8 9 8 7 9 9
T 5 6 7 6 5 7 7
A 0 0
B 0 0
0 0 0 0
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Lessons
Hey Jazz Guy }
By Jake H ertzog
Hey Jazz Guy, If the equal tempered system had never

I want to play outside, but I’m just stab- become commonplace, then music with a
bing in the dark and everything I play sounds high degree of harmonic activity, like jazz,
wrong. Where do I begin? –Wrong in Wichita would not have been possible.
The overtone series is a book unto itself,
Dear Wrong, and this is the principle behind why you can
This is a common issue when learning play outside. The chord tones and melodic
to hear and play complex harmony. To truly tensions are already there in every note you
understand outside playing and upper struc- play! They’re just a lot higher than the orig-
ture harmony, we must ask where it comes inal note. Thus, one great way to approach
from, and why it works. There is a natural, harmony in general is to keep register in
physical reason for why notes sound inside mind and play vertically. To apply this,
or outside. When you strike a string that is take an F major triad [Ex. 3] and then go
fixed on both ends, like a guitar string, it up in thirds three more notes, so we have
vibrates at a fundamental frequency, such Fmaj7(9#11). You’ll need to play this by
as E. The string also vibrates at other fre- tapping with both hands. If we play a line the diatonic and altered tensions. Finally,
quencies in proportion to the fundamental, with only these notes, like in the second ratchet up a notch and play an “out” verti-
called harmonics. The way these harmon- half of Ex. 3, it feels very inside over Fmaj7. cal line [Ex. 9] over Fmaj7. We are playing
ics, or overtones, appear inside the original Moving up the diatonic scale in Ex. 4, we b9 on a maj7 chord! By continuing to stack
note is called the “overtone series” [Ex. 1]. get great tensions on each chord such as thirds, notes that would never appear in the
Notice that these frequencies can be trans- Gm11 and Dm11. Use both hands for the chord scale appear in the upper structure.
posed into the same octave and the result stacked chords but play through the single Remember: Those notes work because play-
resembles a western chromatic scale [Ex. 2]. notes in Ex. 5 normally. ing vertically leads your ear to notes that
The problem with this is that some of the Moving on to Ex. 6, notice the F natural are already there in the overtones. This is
higher harmonics are out of tune with our on C7. Usually, theory says that the 4 is a complex concept that can be used as a
12-tone system, meaning that if we played the “avoid” note in a Mixolydian scale but guide to find great outside ideas and train
music based on natural harmonics, only when you play it vertically, it sounds inside. your ears to hear the intricacies and possi-
certain notes would be in tune in each key. This demonstrates the power of playing bilities of upper structure harmony. There
The solution to this problem was to “round vertically. Everything can sound “inside” are many ways to play outside the box, so
off” the frequencies and divide the octave when placed in the correct register. This remember where it all comes from every
into 12 equal parts. This is called “12-tone idea alone can take your harmonic concept time you strike those strings. Jazz hard!
equal temperament.” During the late Middle to a new level. It applies to chords of any
Ages and Baroque era, the equal tempered type. Playing vertically on the altered chord Jake Hertzog is the jazz ambassador to the
tuning became the dominant tuning system, in Ex. 7 leads to a Gb triad over the C7. If we non-jazz world. Send your questions to guit-
because it allowed for complete freedom of try this concept on a I-VIm-IIm-V progres- [email protected]. Jake’s latest release is
modulation and expressiveness in all keys. sion [Ex. 8], we get lines that use many of Evolution [Buckyball]
Ex. 1
4
4
For reference only
4 7 10 12 14 16 18 19 20 22 23 24
5
T 4
A
B
2
0
Ex. 2 Ex. 3
F Fmaj7(9 11) Fmaj7
44
3
7 7
8 8 8 5
T 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 5 9 5 9 5
A 2 3 4 5 7 10 7
B 8 12 8
13
Ex. 4 Ex. 5 Ex. 6
Fmaj7(9 11) Am11 C9 Em7 5

Gm11 B maj7(9 11) Dm11 Fmaj7(9 11) C7
44
3
3
3 3
3
7 8 10 10 1 3 3 7 7 8 1 5 3
8 10 10 12 3 3 5 8 8 10 3 3
T 9 10 12 13 3 5 7 9 5 9 7 10 3
A 10 12 13 15 5 7 8 10 7 9 2 5
B 12 13 15 17 7 8 10 12 8 10 3
13 15 17 18 8 10 12 13
Ex. 7 Ex. 8
Calt Fmaj7 D7 5 9 Gm7 C7 13
44
6 9 7 2 6 10 8 6 8 5 1 5 6 4
7 5 8 5 4 6 3
T 3 6 9 5 7 3 2 3
A 2 5 6 7 3 2 5
B 3
Ex. 9
Fmaj7
44
10 14 17 14
8 12 15 12
T 5 9 12 M O R E O N L I N E
A 7 14
B 7 8
• Visit the Jazz Guy online for video of this lesson, practice exam-
ples, sage advice, and more!
• Watch Hertzog wail vertically on this Coltrane tune, live in New York.

Lessons
Led Zeppelin
The following was
Fingerstyle technique creates opportunities for many new excerpted from
chord shapes. Chord diagrams showing the basic shapes being used are provided for p. 90 of the book
this song. Often, an additional note is added with the fourth finger (pinky). Use the Led Zeppelin
diagrams together with the music and TAB. Hold down every left-hand finger until it Guitar Method from
is necessary to lift it, allowing the notes to ring into each other. Alfred Publishing.
“ B a be I ’m Go nna L e av e You ” (In tro )

From the album Led Zeppelin
Am C/G D7/F F E
X X
44
1
0
1 3 1 3 1 1 0
T 2 2 0 0 2 2 2 1
A 2 2 2 2 0 0 3 2
B 0 0
3 3 2 2 1 0
Am C/G D7/F F E
X X
3 0 3 0
3 1 1 0
T 2 2 0 0 2 2 2 1
A 2 2 2 2 0 0 3 2
B 0 0
3 3 2 2 1 0
Words and music by Anne Bredon, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant. 1969 (Renewed) Flames of Albion Music, Inc. and Universal Songs of Polygram International, Inc. All rights for Flames of Albion Music, Inc.
administered by WB Music Corp. Exclusive print rights for Flames of Albion Music, Inc. for the world excluding Europe administered by Alfred Music Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved.
Lessons
Quick Licks
Moderate
By Matt B l ackett
T T
80 A7
44
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
T T
10 10 14 17 14 10 10 10 14 17 14 10
10 14 10 10 14 14 10 10 14 14 10 14 10 10 14 14 10 10 14 14
T 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
A
B
14 14
H ec ho en Me x ico
Mexico’s Antonio Valdez Hernandez chimes in with this one. “This lick combines pull offs, hammer ons, sweep picking, and tapping tech
niques,” he explains, “and is based on the A Mixolydian mode A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G starting on the second string. This will work great over a
dominant 7 chord and you can move this shape to any key that you want, just treat the starting note on the second string as your root.” ¡Claro!
R i k er ’ s I n t e rva ll ic Isl a nd
Former GP contributor Wayne Riker submitted this tasty morsel. “Here’s a cool lick out of the C major scale,” he says, “using wide inter
vallic skips, in both descending and ascending combinations. It works well over Cmaj7 or Am7, or any sequence of chords in the C major
chord scale: Cmaj7, Dm7, Em7, Fmaj7, G7, Am7 or Bm7(b5). In measure 1, E down to A, G to D, and B down to E are all perfect fifths apart,
followed by a perfect fourth, E to A. In measure 2, D to G is a perfect fourth, E down to C, a major third, A to D, a perfect fourth, and B
down to G, a major third. Finally, in measure 3, A to G, E to D, and D to C are all minor sevenths, followed by a perfect fifth, E to B, before
the last note, A.”
Cmaj7 or Am7
44
12 10 7 10 8 7
10 8 10 8 8 10
T 9 7 9 7 9 7 9
A 10 7 9 7
B 10
4
4 Vand en b erg BU RN S
6 6 6 6
“This lick involves hybrid picking,” says German chops
12 12 10 10 meister Eric Vandenberg. “All notes on the high E string
T
8 10 12 12 10 8 10 12 12 10 7 8 10 10 8 7 8 10 10 8 are picked with your middle finger, and in order to exe
A
B cute the move from the second to the first string, you ‘roll’
your pinky. You’re basically holding a small barre chord
with that finger and slightly moving it back and forth so
the notes ring cleanly. In bar 1, we’re dealing with notes
from the E natural minor scale, and in bar 2 the notes are
from the E minor pentatonic, which results in a very cool
6 6 6 6 sound with some wide stretches. Take your time bringing
this up to speed, as the fingerings might feel unusual at
15 15 17 17
T
10 12 15 15 12 10 12 15 15 12 12 15 17 17 15 12 15 17 17 15 first. With some work, you can play this at blazing speed
A
T
and create licks with some very unusual note choices.”
B
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Gear
R o u n dup
12 Top Buck Guitars

W h e t h e r i t ’ s a ut o m o b i l e s , b o at s , b o o z e , patina that seemingly only years of service in smoke-filled clubs
watches, or any other fine things that people go nuts for, there’s on the Chitlin’ Circuit could inflict.
always a market ready to buy. Even in times of economic uncer- The 12 guitars on review in this roundup range from sparkling,
tainty, a premier league of players and enthusiasts will happily pay showroom ready models like the Gretsch CST 6120 Chet Atkins
whatever it takes to get a guitar that sounds glorious, plays like a and PRS ME Quatro to the soulfully aged Gibson ES-330 to the
dream, and packs a high level of aesthetic appeal courtesy of fine very distressed Fano JM6. Prices here range from around $3,000
woods, carefully chosen pickups, and all of the labor intensive to over $12,000, which highlights just how much swing there
details that go along with the package. A lofty price tag can also is in the market for top-tier production guitars. Of course, com-
reflect the effort it takes to properly dry the woods (excess mois- pared to what you’d pay for a Jol Dantzig Crow ($30,000 +), not
ture in your guitar is a tone killer), or even the builder’s skill at to mention what a historic vintage guitar would set you back—say
creating guitars that look like they’ve been played for decades— Roy Buchanan’s ’51 Tele, which recently sold for over $57,000 in
complete with worn-in necks, faux belt-buckle wear, and just the Christie’s Rock and Roll Memorabilia auction—the prices for most
right level of corrosion on the metal parts. Guitars are kind of of the 6-string bling in this roundup actually seem pretty tame.
unique in this regard—I mean, who would buy, say, a “pre-aged” We tested these guitars on gigs and in the studio using a
Rolex?—and what started out in the late ’90s with Fender’s Relic variety of amps that included a Fender Deluxe Reverb, Marshall
Series guitars and basses and the advent of Seymour Duncan’s JMP-1H, Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, Matchless HC-30, Fryette
Antiquity pickups has inspired many of today’s makers to create Sig:X, Victoria Silver Sonic and Ivy League combos, Vox AC4,
their own high-dollar instruments that proudly wear dings and and a Rivera Venus 6. A rt T h o m p s o n
Carvin SH550 Semi Hollow Carved Top
S p e c i f i c at i o n s T h e b a s e l i n e SH 5 5 0 c o st s even response across all strings. The into-
considerably less than two grand—but nation was also excellent, and the instru-
CONTACT Carvin, (858) 487- lots of custom shop options are available, ment retained its tuning even when played
1600; carvin.com and our review instrument sports many of aggressively, due at least in part to the lock-
MODEL SH550 them. The most obvious upgrade on display ing Sperzel machines.
PRICE $3,002 direct (base price is the gorgeous Honey Burst AAAA flame- Although the SH550 has only single
without options $1,769) maple top, matched by an equally beauti- Volume and Tone controls, when used in
NUT WIDTH 1.70" ful back, both of which are complemented tandem with the pickup selector and the
NECK Flame maple by the flame-maple sides, neck, and head- bridge pickup’s coil-splitting capabilities,
FRETBOARD Ebony with abalone stock, fitted with gold-plated hardware. the guitar proved surprisingly versatile (the
inlays, 12" radius Stainless-steel frets and abalone inlays $40 option provides two Volume and two
FRETS 22 medium-jumbo grace the ebony fretboard. There’s even a Tone controls with individual push-pull coil
stainless steel 24-karat gold-plated headstock logo. Suf- splitting). When played through a Victoria
TUNERS Enclosed Sperzel lock- fice to say, this is one snazzy guitar. Ivy League combo it produced big, round,
ing, gold-plated Upon closer examination, the excel- warm tones suitable for traditional jazz and
BODY Flame maple back lent overall craftsmanship becomes appar- clean rhythm work, whereas it got down
and sides with carved ent. The woodworking is superb, from the and dirty through a cranked Marshall JMP-
flame maple top gently arching top with its binding-like 1H, with all the requisite snarl and bite
BRIDGE Gold-plated Tune- exposed sides to the smoothly contoured for classic rock sounds—from Page-like
o-matic-style edges along the back and the neck heel to bridge-pickup squawk to sweet Clapton-
PICKUPS Carvin S22J and the immaculate inlay work on the fretboard. esque neck-pickup Woman Tone. Paired
S22B, gold-plated The 22 medium-jumbo frets, too, are per- with a Rivera Venus 6 combo, it yielded an
CONTROLS Master Volume and fectly set and dressed. Attention to detail even wider variety of sounds—including
Tone (w/push-pull coil is obviously the name of the game here. bluesy crunch and searing fusion tones—
split) controls, 3-way The SH550’s “Rapid Play” neck is rel- proving that the SH550 has the flexibility
pickup selector atively narrow and thin, which, combined to handle nearly any musical style other
FACTORY STRINGS Elixir Nano Web .010-.046 with the guitar’s deep cutaway, makes for than, say, ultra-twangy old-school coun-
WEIGHT 7.94 lbs quick moves throughout the instrument’s try on the one hand and supersaturated
BUILT USA full range. Straight out of the case the action modern metal on the other.
KUDOS Exceptional workman- was set very low, resulting in mild buzz- I had so much fun playing the SH550
ship. Superb playabil- ing in a few spots and some choked notes that I found it difficult to put down. The
ity. Inspiring tones. when bending strings above the 10th fret— combination of physical beauty, inspir-
CONCERNS Required a slight setup but both problems were easily remedied by ing tones, and appealing playability make
tweak to achieve play- adjusting the bridge slightly. Post-tweak- for an alluring musical experience, and
ing perfection. ing, the guitar played like a dream, with no that’s why it receives an Editors’ Pick
dead spots anywhere on the fretboard, and Award. B a rr y C l e v e l a n d

Gear
R O U N DUP
Charvel San Dimas SD-2H Carbonized Natural Series

One of a series of stripped-down stellar. The jumbo frets are crowned and attitude to a price category where the
Custom Shop San Dimas guitars built for polished to perfection, the neck fits super norm is flame tops and fine gloss finishes.
online retailer The Music Zoo (themusic- tightly in the body, and the intonation in This guitar radiates coolness, though, and
zoo.com), the SD-2H features a body made all regions of the fretboard is very good. anyone looking for a different take on a
from old-growth recycled redwood—which The action is extremely low, and the play- twin-humbucker solidbody should give it
must have spent time in the bottom of a ing feel is light and quick. I dig the neck’s shot. A rt T h o m p s o n
river from the number of small worm holes slim profile, and my only gripe is that the
in it—and a bolt-on neck of beautifully brown position dots on the fretboard can
flamed maple. As with other models in the be difficult to see in dim light.
Carbonized Natural Series (which includes The machined brass NOS trem is an S p e c i f i c at i o n s
versions with recycled ash and pine bodies), old-school affair that features adjustable
the SD-2H’s woods are subjected to a kiln saddles and an arm that has to be threaded CONTACT Charvel, charvel.com
drying process that uses heat and pres- in carefully to avoid cross threading. It’s MODEL San Dimas SD-2H
sure to drive out excess moisture in order not great for bending anyway, so I just left PRICE $3,452 retail; $2,499 street
to make the woods lighter and more reso- the arm off and enjoyed the solid, sustain NUT WIDTH 1.65"
nant, and also very resistant to changes in enhancing contact with the bridge seated NECK Carbonized flame
climate. The “cooking” process effectively flush to the top with three springs in place. maple, bolt-on
ages the wood by removing the hemi-cel- If you’re a serious trem user you’re prob- FRETBOARD Carbonized maple,
lulose that gives woods their flexibility, ably going to want to put a Floyd on this 25.5” scale
and the end result is that the stiffness to guitar and keep the NOS unit around for FRETS 22 jumbo
weight ratio of the woods is increased by a paperweight or something. TUNERS Die-cast
15 to 25 percent (depending on the spe- The SD-2H sounded great whether dialed BODY Recycled redwood
cies), which enhances the tonal response for crisp clean tones, warm solo textures, or BRIDGE NOS brass trem
and also makes the woods easier to cut moderately overdriven sounds when played PICKUPS Duncan SH-2N (neck),
and machine. The lightness of the SD-2H straight into either a Fender Deluxe Reverb Custom 5 (bridge)
is instantly captivating, and since the only or a Victoria Ivy League combo. When using CONTROLS Volume, Tone, 3-way selector
finish is a thin coating of gunstock oil on pedals for distortion (including a Hermida FACTORY STRINGS Fender .010-.046
the body and neck, the surfaces have a very Audio Nu-Valve and Fuzz Face), the SD-2H WEIGHT 6 lbs. 3 oz.
warm, natural feel. This no-frills guitar has tended to get a bit wooly sounding when BUILT USA
a pair of uncovered Seymour Duncan hum- pushing high gain settings, but by slightly KUDOS Light and toneful.
buckers (SH-2N neck, Custom 5 bridge), backing off the Volume control (or lower- Very resonant. Superb
which are screwed directly into the body. ing the gain slightly) the clarity instantly playability. Awe-
The Volume and Tone knobs, as well as the returned and sustaining notes sounded some organic finish.
exterior parts of the 3-way selector, are all stringy and well detailed. CONCERNS NOS trem is useless. Diffi-
made from machined brass. Light, toneful, and fun to play, the cult to access the trussrod.
The workmanship on the SD-2H is SD-2H definitely brings a sly, “parts guitar”
Collings 290 DC
Although still known primarily Right out of the case (a sweet, deluxe
for their amazing acoustic guitars, Collings Ameritage model), the 290 DC rang with a
is continuing to make a glorious noise in huge acoustic resonance. You really feel the
the electric market, and this beauty is sure sustain through the body and the substan-
to take that up a notch or two. Picking up tial-but-comfy neck. The guitar ships with
where the venerable Les Paul Special left .011s but they feel like .010s—the mark
off, the 290 DC is, as the name intimates, of a supremely well-built guitar. The frets
a double-cutaway slab of gorgeous mahog- are perfectly level and beautifully rounded,
any with a pair of P-90s. Collings gussies and, although the bridge can’t be adjusted,
things up with the cool tortoiseshell pick- it does have an intonation contour milled
guard and sexy ebony headstock veneer, into the top bearing edge, and as a result
and caps it all in a righteous high-gloss it intonates like a dream.
nitro finish. We plugged the Collings into a variety
of amps and it sounded awesome through
each one. The Lollar pickups have great
S p e c i f i c at i o n s
output, but it’s the detail that really knocks
CONTACT Collings, me out. They sound balanced and rich with
collingsguitars.com a clanging bottom end and a silky, musical
MODEL 290 DC treble response. On a recording session,
PRICE $3,275 retail; I ran both pickups with the bridge rolled
$2,947 street back to 7 into a mildly dirty amp and the
NUT WIDTH 1 11/16" tone was big, open, and very dynamic. I was
NECK Mahogany with hand- especially impressed with how responsive
set mortise and tenon the 290 was to where I picked on the string.
neck joint and ebony Even a difference of an inch or two toward
peghead veneer or away from the bridge produced notice-
FRETBOARD 24 7/8"-scale rosewood able, useable changes in timbre. And on
FRETS 22 medium jumbo the subject of the Volume controls, these
TUNERS Gotoh SG301 with vin- are some of the best voiced pots I’ve ever
tage-style buttons experienced, with every part of the taper
BODY Solid mahogany bringing out great new colors.
BRIDGE Collings Custom Intonated I seriously can’t find a single fault with
Wraparound Tailpiece the 290 DC. It’s all too easy for guitarists
PICKUPS Two handwound to say, “If I’m going to spend that kind of
Lollar P-90s money, I’d just buy a (fill in the blank).”
CONTROLS Two Volume, Two Tone Nope. Not anymore. This guitar is not
3-way selector cheap, but it is worth every penny.
FACTORY STRINGS D’Addario EXL- We’ve long been impressed with this
115 .011-.049 company’s acoustic offerings, but I
WEIGHT 7.86 lbs have no choice but to view Collings as a
BUILT USA serious player in the electric game from
KUDOS Flawless construction. this day forward. Reasonable people can
Gorgeous, 3-D tones. disagree on things like scale length, body
Impeccable playability. wood, electronics, etc., but for what it is, the
CONCERNS None. 290 DC might just be the perfect guitar. Well
done. M a tt B l a c k ett

Gear
R O U N DUP
Fano Custom Alt de Facto JM6 Set-Neck

I fell in love with Dennis Fano’s the same instantly-bond-withable appeal. other than fretboard and frets, has been
Alt de Facto SP6 while reviewing it for Guitar The premise of the Alt de Facto series— given Fano’s medium-heavy distressing,
Player (January, 2012), and this Custom Fano’s creation of a “missing link” line of a notion that might seem a little phony
JM6 Set-Neck built by Dennis himself has collaborations between the great Ameri- in theory, but which feels very authen-
can guitar makers of the 1950s and ’60s— tic in the hand. The dings, chips, fore-
S p e c i f i c at i o n s might read a little clunky on paper, but the arm and left-hand wear and buckle rash,
guitars are so well executed that I have as well as the gentle patina of the hard-
CONTACT Premier Builders Guild, yet to find a player who hasn’t uttered a ware, all help to bring home the “long lost
premierbuildersguild.com heartfelt “oooh!” when handling one in legend” premise at the heart of the Alt
MODEL Fano Custom Alt de person. While most Alt de Facto guitars de Facto series, while making the guitar
Facto JM6 Set-Neck are built with bolt-on necks, Fano kicks it feel like an old friend the first time you
PRICE $3,230 street up a notch with this JM6, as he does occa- lift it from the case.
NUT WIDTH 1 11/16", Graph- sionally, by using a glued-in neck joint. Tested through an EL34-modded sil-
Tech Tusq XL A list of this JM6’s pertinent details verface Fender Bassman and a Matchless
NECK Mahogany, late-’50s reveals the middle ground between Fuller- HC-30, the JM6 displayed a willingness
roundback profile ton and Kalamazoo circa 1962. The Jazz- to go just about anywhere you want to
FRETBOARD Brazilian rosewood, com- master-shaped body is made from a single take it, and have a great time on the jour-
pound radius 7.25" to 9.5" piece of solid mahogany, wears a nitrocel- ney. The entire vibe of the guitar seems to
FRETS 22 Jescar 6105 lulose faded cherry finish, and carries an lean you toward loose garage and grunge
(narrow, tall) aged nickel TonePros Tune-o-matic bridge at the outset, but excursions into country,
TUNERS Vintage Kluson- with nylon saddles and a Bigsby vibrato. jazz, funk, or even some early-’70s classic
style tuners The four-ply tortoiseshell pickguard is metal are easily navigated. Tonally, look at
BODY Solid mahogany loaded with Lindy Fralin P-90 pickups, it from either direction: The set neck and
BRIDGE TonePros Tune-o-matic and black top-hat knobs and a 3-way toggle mahogany construction add warmth and
Bigsby vibrato, aged nickel switch. The glued-in mahogany neck runs depth to the traditional Fender formula, or
PICKUPS Two Lindy Fralin P-90s to a 25.5" scale length, with aged nickel the 25.5" scale livens up the Gibson-esque
CONTROLS Single volume and Kluson-style tuners on a back-angled head- fur. Either way, there’s juicy bite and snarl
tone, 3-way switch stock, and a width of 1 11/16" across the aplenty in these Fralin P-90s, but with a
FACTORY STRINGS Dark Horse .010-.046 Tusq nut. This Custom JM6 has a sump- bolder low-end boing than most Gibsons
WEIGHT 7.5 lbs tuous dark-chocolatey Brazilian rose- offer, a sophisticated sparkle in the highs,
BUILT USA wood fretboard—though this option will and a tautness that helps each note cut
KUDOS Excellent construc- no longer be offered—with clay dots and through. And the bonus is that the guitar
tion. Boatloads of 22 pristine Jescar 6105 frets, and the neck stays in tune remarkably well, even with
character and a surpris- back is carved to a rounded late-’50s pro- considerable Bigsby use. Ultimately, the
ingly versatile voice file. The neck has a superb feel, and the Fano Custom Alt de Facto JM6 Set-Neck is
CONCERNS Side-mounted output jack compound 7.25" to 9.5" radius takes you a guitar with boatloads of character and sur-
requires right-angle plugs. easily from low-fret chording to upper- prisingly versatile talents. D a v e H u n ter
fret riffing and bending. The entire guitar,
Fender Double Neck Jazzmaster/Bass VI
CONTACT Fender, For most rockers it was Jimmy switches. The tones were what you expect
fendercustomshop.com Page in The Song Remains the Same, but for from a Jazzmaster: brilliant chime and
MODEL Double Neck Jazzmas- me, it was seeing Alex Lifeson play “Xanadu” twang, with the ability to get into jazzier
ter/Bass VI (Master Built that started a lifelong fascination with dou- textures on the neck pickup and brash rock
by Dennis Galuszka) blenecks. There’s nothing quite like a dou- and surf sounds on the bridge. Switching
PRICE $10,200 retail; bleneck to embody the more-is-better ethos over to the Bass VI was a mind-blower. I
$8,152 street that guitarists know so well, and when a don’t consider myself a great bass player,
NUT WIDTH 1.650” (Jazzmas- massive Fender case arrived at the office, I but I do own a bass and when I play it,
ter), 1.50” (Bass VI) could barely contain my excitement. What I really try to play it like a bass and not
NECK Maple we saw upon opening that case was this a guitar. This thing, however, with its
FRETBOARD Round-lam rosewood awesome sunburst/tortoiseshell creation. It guitar-down-an-octave tuning, is practi-
FRETS 21 vintage-style per neck took me a second to figure out exactly what cally begging you to grab A and D chord
TUNERS Vintage Chrome it was: a Jazzmaster paired with a Bass VI. shapes and move them around. When
BODY Ash I tuned it up and started riffing and I was you do, it’s a huge and inspiring sound.
BRIDGE Jaguar Tremolo blown away by how great the setup was The string spacing is tight, so I was more
PICKUPS Two Vintage Jaguar (Bass on both necks. Easy fretting and bending comfortable with a pick than fingerstyle
VI), two Vintage Jazz- on the guitar side, smooth chording and but everything sounds good on this. And
master (Jazzmaster) tic-tac-ing on the bass half. Without even just when I thought it couldn’t be any
CONTROLS Upper bout: Jazzmas- plugging in, this is an incredibly resonant more bitchin’, I took the two trem arms
ter Rhythm Volume and instrument, because A) its body is as big out of the case, installed them, and more
Tone (roller knobs), as a coffee table and B) you can’t help but than doubled my cool factor with amaz-
2-position neck selec- get righteous sympathetic vibrations from ing drunken Peter Gunn-isms on the Bass
tor switch; Lower bout: whatever neck you’re not playing on. I was VI and trippy, drippy Ventures adventures
four individual pickup instantly hooked and needed to plug in. on the Jazzmaster.
on/off switches, master To amplify this beast, I ran into a DR. I can easily say that I’ve never played
Volume, master Tone Z EZG-50 for huge clean sounds and into anything like this. I can also add that no one
FACTORY STRINGS Fender .010-.046 (Jazz- a Marshall JMP for world-destroying dirty really needs this instrument, and, at eight
master), Fender .025- tones. Navigating the control matrix took large, very few can afford it. But I will say
.095 (Bass VI) a little getting used to. The 2-position this without hesitation: Everyone who has
WEIGHT 14.7 lbs slider switch on the upper bout lets you the chance should try a Double Neck Jazz-
BUILT USA toggle between Jazzmaster only (on rhythm master/Bass VI because it’s just too much
KUDOS Unique. Very well made. pickup, with volume and tone handled by fun. And, if you do, have a friend take your
Totally inspiring. the cool roller knobs) and both necks on. I picture with it. Come on … you know you
CONCERNS Heavy as hell. chose to run both necks, kicking the Bass want to! M a tt B l a c k ett
VI neck in and out with the pickup on/off

Gear
R O U N DUP
Gibson Custom Shop ES-330 Reissue

Introduced in 1959, the Gibson and its brother from another mother, the trapeze tailpiece make for a lively sound-
ES-330 is one of many jewels in the Gibson Epiphone Casino, the ES-330 has been ing guitar—both plugged in and acous-
ES line. Often overshadowed by the ES-335 pressed into service by players such as tic—and the tones leap out of the body and
Grant Green, Brian Jones, and B.B. King. the speaker as the guitar bursts with sonic
S p e c i f i c at i o n s Gibson’s Memphis, Tennessee, Custom energy. Running through a ’52 tweed Fender
Shop has brought this beauty back to life Deluxe or a late-’60s Princeton Reverb, the
CONTACT Gibson.com with an eye-catching “aged” reissue that ES-330’s tones are pure vibe, with a beauti-
MODEL Custom Shop ES-330 gives this classic instrument the props it ful amalgam of chime, barky midrange com-
PRICE $4,704 retail; deserves. Sporting a VOS (vintage original plexity, and a lush burnished texture that
$2,999 street specification) sunburst lacquer finish, the can work in a variety of musical contexts.
NUT WIDTH 1.687" ES-330 pops visually, but it also exudes a Hell, you can even mic the ES-330 acous-
NECK Mahogany with satiny, worn-in quality that is easy on the tically and use it on a track—it’s that loud.
maple spline eyes. The binding on the body and neck are The ES-330 yearns to be plugged into
FRETBOARD Rosewood 24.75"scale aged to the point that they look like they a cranked tube amp where it can respond
FRETS 22 have spent the past 40-plus years drink- beautifully to every nuance of your play-
TUNERS TonePros Kluson ing coffee and smoking cigarettes, and the ing. Some players may be bugged by the
BODY 3-ply maple/poplar/maple scatter-wound “dog ear” P-90s sport rusty neck joining the body at the 16th fret, as
top, back, and sides polepieces that further add to the ES-330’s it limits high-position access, but I found
BRIDGE Trapeze-style half-century-old vibe. These elements con- it refreshing as you get coaxed into a dif-
PICKUPS Dual “scatter wound” trast with the nut and tuner buttons, both ferent way of thinking when you’re play-
P-90 single-coils of which are pure white. ing, urging you to respond to what the
CONTROLS Two Volume, Two Tone, The minute I picked up the ES-330, I instrument is willing to give. From jangle
3-way selector knew I was cradling a winner. It plays beau- to rockabilly to badass blues, the ES-330
FACTORY STRINGS Gibson .010-.046 tifully and exudes the ultimate in vintage can deliver. It features a unique sonic sig-
WEIGHT 6 lbs. 3 oz. cool. The classic neck shape is inviting to nature that is a boon for anyone search-
BUILT USA play, and, quite frankly, makes the ES-330 ing for a tone tool that isn’t the garden
KUDOS Killer looks, playabil- tough to put down. Everyone who came variety Strat, Tele, or Les Paul thing. The
ity, and tones all wrapped in contact with the guitar gushed about ES-330 is lovingly crafted and it shows in
up in a classic package. its playability and its tasty worn-in looks. both its outstanding cosmetics and won-
CONCERNS None. Sonically, the ES-330 doesn’t miss a beat. derful playability and tones. Most excel-
The hollow body in conjunction with the lent! D a rr i n F o x
Giffin Valiant Solid Body
British luthier Roger Giffin under the arches of a bridge crossing the guitar’s individuality. It’s all amped via a
first made a name for himself in 1960s River Thames, while simultaneously pio- pair of Amalfitano Fullbuckers; PAF-style
London, and serviced the guitars of many neering a line of his own designs. Having humbuckers wound to vintage specs, with
of the era’s biggest names in his workshop moved his operation to America’s West readings of around 8.2kΩ in the bridge
coast in the mid ’80s, Giffin is now part of and 7.5kΩ in the neck.
S p e c i f i c at i o n s the Premier Builders Guild stable, where From stem to stern, workmanship is
several of his models are built by the small top notch. The softly V’d “late-’50s” neck
CONTACT Premier Builders Guild, team in Arroyo Grande, California. The Val- profile feels great, the fret ends are smooth,
premierbuildersguild.com iant Solid Body was built by PBG master and the action is sweetly easy all along
MODEL Giffin Valiant Solid Body builder Gene Baker to Giffin’s exacting the neck. The only minor hitch was an
PRICE $3,995 street specs, and is said to be Giffin’s response to adjustment screw that had worked loose
NUT WIDTH 1 11/16" Graph- the frequent request, “Roger, can you make on the south side of the neck pickup. It
Tech Tusq XL me a Les Paul?” As such, it’s a speedy and still rattled slightly in its mounting ring
NECK Mahogany, softly streamlined update on the format. once I had re-seated it and adjusted the
V’d profile The Valiant’s raw ingredients—a solid pickup height (something that longer
FRETBOARD Rosewood, 12" radius mahogany body, glued-in mahogany neck, springs for increased mounting tension
FRETS 22 medium-jumbo carved plain maple top, dual humbuckers, might cure).
TUNERS Enclosed Sper- and a 24.625" scale length—will have an Tested through an EL34-modded sil-
zel Solid Pros, gold air of familiarity. The details, however, such verface Fender Bassman and a Matchless
BODY Solid mahogany with as the swept-back lower bout for excellent HC-30, the Valiant proved an able and ver-
carved plain maple top balance on the lap, the straight string line satile performer. Even with the Bassman’s
BRIDGE Gold TonePros AVT from Tusq nut slots to the Sperzels’ posts gain advanced toward plexi-like crunch, the
Wraparound for tuning stability, the extra couple of frets neck pickup remained surprisingly crisp and
PICKUPS Two Amalfitano Full- access afforded by the deeper cutaway, and clear, with a nasal honk that contributed
bucker humbuckers the comfort provided by the belly contour, to an extremely distinctive, vintage-voiced
CONTROLS Master Volume and Tone all speak to careful consideration of every tone. There was plenty of grunt from the
controls, three-way switch element of the design. bridge pickup, which is enticingly warm
FACTORY STRINGS D’Addario .010-.046 The use of a fully intonatable TonePros and avoids that ice-picky edge that some
WEIGHT 8.8 lbs wraparound bridge and just Volume and bridge humbuckers supply, while retaining
BUILT USA Tone controls avoids cluttering the faintly plenty of midrangey bark and enough grind
KUDOS A simple yet elegant glittering surface of the Cadillac Green top to roll from classic rock to grunge to indie
and original take on the (other finishes available), aiding a simple without missing a beat. The Valiant offered
set-neck formula. Beau- elegance that defines the Valiant. Gold- excellent sustain and a ringing, overtone-
tifully crafted and son- plated hardware seems the right choice laden harmonic bloom in all settings—tes-
ically versatile. for this look, while the rosewood-faced tament to its solidity, and the basic virtue of
CONCERNS Minor issues with neck headstock with abalone “Giffin” inlay the build—and, in short, proved an excel-
pickup mounting hardware. and the vertical-line abalone inlays in the lent LP-alternative with abundant mojo of
rosewood fretboard further enhance the its own. D a v e H u n ter

Gear
R O U N DUP
Gretsch CST 6120 Chet Atkins

I don’t often hold $12,000 guitars low-end mud was audible at any time). I pre-
in my hands, and, as I have a completely ferred the bridge pickup for rockier sounds,
innocent proclivity to, um, “wound” instru- and basked in that ballsy, punk-esque roar
ments at gigs, I was pretty much fouling that The Living End’s Chris Cheney’s goes
myself in fear while reviewing the CST for. The tone still has some nice pop and
6120. Happily, for the sake of my intes- thud, but the bridge pickup also produced
tines, the Gretsch family, and this fine a singing, stinging, edgy treble. I couldn’t CONTACT gretschguitars.com
guitar, the manufacturer needed the CST bring myself to really bash on this posh MODEL Gretsch CST 6120
6120 returned almost immediately, so all jewel, but dynamic impact was excellent— Chet Atkins
testing was done in the relative safety of the both while adjusting Volume controls and PRICE $12,350 retail
Guitar Player soundroom. I ran this custom- easing up on pick and finger attacks. NUT WIDTH 1 11/16"
shop-crafted 6120 through a Marshall 50th Cosmetically, the CST 6120 is stun- NECK Maple, “Fat C” shape
Anniversary JMP-1H head and 1x12 cabi- ning. It’s hard not to be beguiled by the FRETBOARD 24.625”-scale ebony
net, a tweed Victoria combo (loaded with Lake Placid Blue finish, the gold hardware, FRETS 22 vintage (with zero fret)
a 12" Jensen), and a Fishman SA 220. For and the cat’s eye f-holes. Workmanship TUNERS Grover Roto-Matic with
added fun, I tossed in a Hartmann Tommy is excellent, as it should be for this price. Imperial buttons
Bolin Fuzz and a Boss RE-20 Space Echo. Playability is similarly outstanding for a BODY Maple
The CST 6120 produces a full-bodied acous- hollowbody—although the placement and BRIDGE Brass Rocking Bar Tru-
tic zing before you even go near an ampli- nature of the controls can take some get- Arc with Bigsby B-6G
fier. There’s a nice chunk-and-shimmer to ting used to, and for 12 grand, I’d prefer a PICKUPS Two TV Jones Classic
pick attacks, and fingerpicked parts are clear 2-position, off/on kill switch, rather than CONTROLS Master Volume, neck
and articulate. If recorded with nothing but the somewhat head-scratching 3-position Volume, bridge Volume,
a decent microphone, this guitar could sub switch offered here (on/off/on). 3-way selector, Tone
quite ably for a flat-top acoustic. It should Ultimately, the CST 6120 is an exqui- switch, Standby switch
be no surprise to Gretsch fans that, once site example of the classic Gretsch hollow- FACTORY STRINGS D’Addario, .010 set
plugged in, the CST 6120 delivers a beauti- body. But, at more than $12,000, I can’t WEIGHT 8.5 lbs
ful and vibey Duane Eddy-style tone for sin- imagine it as a gigging instrument. (I can’t BUILT USA
gle-note runs and bass-string riffs. You get even believe I held this beauty in my hands KUDOS Classic tones. Daz-
that thick, low-midrange pop, along with a without turning to dust.) So if you’re into zling appearance. Excel-
smooth treble. These tonal colors remained truly collectible 6120s, and want some- lent playability.
intact throughout clean to gritty settings on thing spectacular to match your powder- CONCERNS Way pricey for just-
the test amps, but obviously compressed a blue Bentley, this is definitely your go-to plain folk.
bit for more saturated sounds (though no guitar. M i c h a e l M o l e n d a
Jackson Chris Broderick Soloist 6
As the latest guy to fill the shred frets and action that is high enough to pro-
chair in Megadeth, Chris Broderick is bring- duce great sustain but low enough to blaze
ing a boatload of chops and tone to the party. on. The neck heel has an incredibly low pro-
Jackson is recognizing Broderick’s impressive file and polished finish, making it a breeze
talents with two signature models—a 6-string to reach all 24 frets and imparting the illu-
and a 7-string. The 6-string reviewed here is sion that the entire instrument was made
a gorgeous, sleek burner, with a cool, trans- out of a single piece of glass. The Broderick
white finish that shows off the quilt top (and is heavy in a substantial kind of way, feel-
matching headstock facing) in a classy way, ing solid but not clunky. It definitely feels
while the horns and the headstock are just like an ax for players who like some heft in
pointy enough to bring a little danger and their tone and their music.
not let the guitar be too pretty. The feel and I plugged the Broderick into a Blackstar
setup are right on the money, with smooth HT5 and a Fryette Sig:X and heard incred-
ible punch from the bridge humbucker.
It’s a loud, strong tone with a huge mid-
range thump, even on clean sounds. The
CONTACT Jackson, top end has enough slice to lend clarity to
jacksonguitars.com even the fastest low-string riffs. Accord-
MODEL Chris Broderick Soloist 6 ing to DiMarzio’s Steve Blucher, Broder-
PRICE $3,999 retail; ick used the company’s ceramic-magnet
$2,999 street D Activator humbucker as a jumping off
NUT WIDTH 1.687" point for his signature pickup. Because
NECK Quartersawn maple Broderick does a fair amount of soling on
FRETBOARD 25.5"-scale ebony with the neck pickup, he wanted his neck model
quilted maple binding to have the clarity of DiMarzio’s PAF Pro,
FRETS 24 jumbo stainless steel but with a more vocal top and fatter highs.
TUNERS Planet Waves Auto-Trim That definitely sounds like what this pickup
BODY Mahogany sides and back can do—even at massive gain settings, it
with quilted maple top sounds clear and articulate with no mush
BRIDGE Floyd Rose Pro or buzziness. Nice! Splitting the coils gave
PICKUPS Two direct-mounted me more flexibility on clean sounds, with
Chris Broderick- the neck humbucker getting particularly
designed custom DiMar- funky. Bypassing the Tone control by pull-
zio humbuckers ing up on it didn’t do too much to my ears
CONTROLS Volume (with push/pull and isn’t something I would need, but the
coil split), Tone (with push/ kill switch could definitely come in handy
pull Tone bypass), 3-way for silencing the guitar between tunes or
selector, kill switch doing a righteous Tom Morello stutter. The
FACTORY STRINGS Fender .010-.046 floating Floyd gives rise to great vibrato,
WEIGHT 9.56 lbs divebombs, and crazy harmonic warbles.
BUILT USA This guitar is a lot of fun to play, with
KUDOS Excellent build quality. an excellent combination of bridge pickup
Super-smooth playability. scream and neck pickup sing. It’s amazingly
Aggressive, biting tones. solid and would be a great choice for aggro
CONCERNS Heavy. modern metal players and old-school (i.e.
Rhoads-era) burners alike. M att B l a c k ett

Gear
R O U N DUP
Knaggs Influence Series Chena

This Chena from Knaggs’s for natural wood edges with a three-ply
Influence series is a medium-sized, sin- inlay cleverly inserted within the flamed
gle-cutaway hollowbody that’s carved both maple outer band. Intricate Koa-and-Ecru
outside and in. More than merely cham- shell inlays adorn the unbound ebony fret-
bered, it has acoustic air space through- board, while a matching seahorse dresses
out the body between the maple top and up the ebony headstock facing, upping the
mahogany back, except for where the inte- elegance of the gold Waverly tuners and
gral mahogany sustain block rises to meet ebony trussrod cover.
the top just below the bridge, a point at The gold-plated hardware includes
which the Chena reaches its maximum Dunlop StrapLoks and Knaggs’ own Influ-
depth of approximately 2.25". As a Tier 1 ence bridge design, which pairs a string
instrument, Chena is decked in the height anchor and a Tune-o-matic bridge in a
of Knaggs finery. A sedately lively Winter single screw-down unit intended to enhance
Solstice nitro finish displays glowing blue- sustain. On evidence of the unplugged
to-indigo highlights in the beautifully fig- Chena, it sure seems to work: The guitar
ured top, which goes one up on the trend rings with a lively, loud acoustic resonance
that blooms with a longer note decay than
S p e c i f i c at i o n s heard in most hollowbodies. The neck is
carved to a comfy rounded ’59 profile, and
CONTACT Knaggs Guitars, the 22 medium-jumbo frets are all immac-
knaggsguitars.com ulately dressed and crowned. A pair of
MODEL Influence Series Lindy Fralin Pure PAF humbuckers
Chena (Tier 1) (8.08kΩ neck, 8.48kΩ bridge) route
PRICE $6,895 street through individual Volumes, master
NUT WIDTH 1 11/16”, bone Tone, and a 3-way selector.
NECK Mahogany, rounded Tested the through a Matchless HC-30
’59 profile head and cab, a tweed-like 15-watt 1x12
FRETBOARD Ebony, 24.75” scale, combo, and a range of pedals, the Chena
12" radius sounded lush, rich, and exceedingly tone-
FRETS 22 medium-jumbo ful at every turn. The hollow body with
TUNERS Open-backed Waverly, gold sustain block and Influence bridge part-
BODY Internally carved hollow ner up to generate a thick yet clear
mahogany body with and harmonics-laden voice, which
flame-maple top these PAF-like Fralin humbuckers
BRIDGE Knaggs Influence Tune- translate to your ideal boutique-
o-matic style bridge grade rendition of classic elec-
with integral tailpiece tric archtop and semi-hollow
PICKUPS Lindy Fralin Pure PAF hum- tone on demand. It’s an ideal
buckers with gold covers choice for a player who wants
CONTROLS Independent Vol- an instrument to purr like a
umes, master Tone, great L-5CES, but also needs to
3-way selector rock-out ES-335 style too, and it
FACTORY STRINGS D’Addario XL .011-.049 can even tread some LP-ish ground
WEIGHT 5.89 lbs when required. Get close to a cranked
BUILT USA amp and you’ll encounter some body howl,
KUDOS A beautifully crafted but you’d rarely need to play in a position
showpiece that also that makes that a problem, and it’s even a
offers stellar tones and useful sustain and feedback generator when
superb playability you need it. From sound to look to playing
CONCERNS None. feel, the Chena is one extremely impres-
sive guitar. D A V E H U N T E R
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Gear
R O U N DUP
PRS ME Quatro
The fourth incarnation of the Pattern neck shape (a variation of the PRS rock-solid stability and paired nicely with
Modern Eagle series, the MEQuatro is most wide-fat carve), and a pair of meticulously a Mesa Boogie Multi-Watt Dual Recti-
similar to the Modern Eagle II in its layout voiced 53/10 pickups. The process of cre- fier for authentic heavy riffage. I like how
and design. Updates include the compa- ating the 53/10s began when PRS scrupu- even and well-balanced the Quatro’s fre-
ny’s stunning V12 finish, ultra-comfortable lously analyzed the individual components quencies are, and in true vintage form, the
of 1959 PAF neck pickup from a Les Paul 53/10s respond well to the Volume knob
Custom in a quest to further understand being rolled back for cleaner tones, even
the equation that generates the coveted when the amp is dialed up with an over-
CONTACT PRS Guitars, prs- PAF tone. The findings were then paired driven sound.
guitars.com with those from a similar study on a 1953 As is typical with PRS guitars, the Quatro’s
MODEL ME Quatro single-coil pickup to create what ultimately playability is excellent. The rosewood neck
PRICE $4,399 street became the 53/10 series. features a sanded-down and buffed-out
NUT WIDTH 1 11/16" To experience the result of all this effort treatment on the back that provides instant
NECK Select East Indian rose- in a real life setting, I brought the Quatro comfort with a the feel of aneck that has
wood, glued-in out with me for two different tours. The been worn in without feeling worn out.
FRETBOARD Bound East Indian first was with country duo, Big & Rich. The frets are dressed with first-class skill,
Rosewood, 25" scale Their set ranges from Tom Petty and Chili and the cream-colored binding on the rose-
FRETS 22 Peppers covers to their own songs, which wood ’board really helps the fret markers
TUNERS PRS Phase III locking require everything from twangy tones to pop with greater visibility, which is criti-
BODY Mahogany with figured turbo overdrive. The Quatro’s push/pull cal on dimly lit stages. The V12 finish on
“artist grade” maple top Tone pot (which splits the pickup coils) the body and headstock facing delivers
BRIDGE PRS Stop-Tail certainly helped in achieving many of the the classic PRS “dipped in glass” appear-
PICKUPS Two PRS 53/10 sounds I needed, but one of the most strik- ance, but still allows the guitar to breathe.
humbuckers ing sonic aspects of this guitar is the 53/10 Even when the Quatro is played acousti-
CONTROLS Single Volume and Push/ pickups—in particular, the character of cally, the vibrations generated by chords
Pull Tone, 3-way selector. their high end. The pickups have plenty are felt throughout the instrument, which
WEIGHT 7.1 lbs of vintage bite, but the highs are wide and is a consistent.
STRINGS SIT Power Wound, meaty, even in split-coil mode. Engaging Excellence lies in the details, and every-
.010 - .046 both humbuckers yielded a stellar slide thing from the gemstone-like scalloped
BUILT USA tone, and it was nearly impossible to get knobs, signature bird inlays, and coco-
KUDOS Exceptional quality and any tubby and bulging lows or shrill highs bolo headstock veneer, and even the gui-
playability. 53/10 bridge out of the Quatro without making illogical tar’s paisley case shows the company ’s
pickup has a smooth EQ changes to the amplifier. dedication to detail. The bottom line: The
and full high end. The second tour was with a new artist ME Quatro is a high-quality, sonic work-
CONCERNS None. that could best be described as Linkin Park horse designed to satisfy the most discern-
meets Rage Against the Machine with fiddle. ing guitarist who appreciates exceptional
The Quatro handled the drop tunings with aesthetics. P a u l “ T F O ” A l l e n
Gear
R O U N DUP
CONTACT Sadowsky Guitars; sad-
Sadowsky HSH S-Style MODEL

owskyguitars.com
HSH S-Style
Roger Sadowsky offers a broad But wait, there’s more: A second 3-way PRICE $3,775 base, $4,325
menu of options for the guitars and basses mini toggle lets you choose total bypass as tested
that he and his team build in Long Island (fully passive), preamp on (which also NUT WIDTH 1.69"
City, New York, and the HSH S-Style on brings in the Middle control to provide a NECK Flat sawn East-
review here features an upgrades list that variable boost at 400Hz), and gain boost ern maple, bolt-on
includes a mahogany body ($50), flame- (adjustable via a trimpot on the circuit FRETBOARD Ebony, 25.5" scale
maple top ($300), scraped “binding” ($50), board). Needless to say, there’s a mind- FRETS 22 medium-jumbo
ebony fretboard ($100), and black hard- boggling number of ways to change up TUNERS Sperzel locking w/
ware ($50)—the total of which elevates the sounds of this guitar—from tradi- custom post heights
the base price of $3,775 to $4,325. As tional passive humbucker and single-coil BODY Chambered Khaya
you’d expect for this kind of money, the tones, to more powerful “active” sounds mahogany w/optional
HSH S-Style is a finely crafted instrument that can easily push an amp into over- flame- maple top
with every element attended to for opti- drive while giving more precise control BRIDGE Gotoh 510
mum tone, playability, and appearance. The of the midrange frequencies. The preamp PICKUPS Two DiMarzio custom
natural maple neck feels sleek and invit- (which is also very quiet) is powered wound humbuckers, one
ing, and the expertly finished frets, low by a 9-volt battery that rests in a sep- DiMarzio single-coil
action, and solid intonation add to a feel- arate rout inside the neatly wired con- CONTROLS Volume, Tone (pulls to
ing of unhindered playability. Trem users trol cavity. Noteworthy is that the cover split the humbuckers),
will also appreciate the smoothness and plate for the electronics is secured with 5-way selector, 3-way mini
excellent return-to-pitch response of the machine screws that won’t strip out like toggle (preamp off, on,
Gotoh 510 bridge. The added stability of wood screws can. The trem bay cover gain boost), Middle con-
locking Sperzel tuners makes it an ideal uses wood screws, however. trol (functions only when
setup for those who don’t want the drama Whether you’re going for sparkling preamp is active), 2-way
of a double locking system. clean tones with clucky in-between tonal- mini toggle (adds neck +
The HSH S-Style’s electronics package ities (very crisp and bell-like with the Tone bridge pickups or all three
is an ambitious affair that features a pair knob pulled up to put the humbuckers in pickups simultaneously)
of custom-wound DiMarzio humbuckers single-coil mode) or heavily distorted shred FACTORY STRINGS Sadowsky Alloy
flanking a single-coil in the center slot. A tones—or any point in-between—the HSH 52 .010-.046
5-way switch provides the usual combi- S-Style makes it easy to get there. The gui- WEIGHT 6.5 lbs
nations, but also works in tandem with tar’s chameleon-like sonic abilities might BUILT USA
a 2-position mini toggle that either acti- create some option anxiety, but if having KUDOS Superb playability.
vates a neck-plus-bridge combination when tons of sounds at your fingertips is impor- Excellent workman-
the 5-way is in either the neck or bridge tant, this 6-string equivalent of the Swiss ship. Tons of sounds.
position, or activates all three pickups Army Knife with its top-tier build and play- CONCERNS None.
when the 5-way is in the middle position. ability is a winner. A rt T h o m p s o n
P22
Piezo
Like you’ve
never
heard
before
ALL NEW prs p22

“ I’ve recorded and mixed hundreds and hundreds
of acoustic guitars. I have never heard a more musical,
natural sound from an acoustic pickup system. If that
had been the only thing special about the guitar
I would have been excited, but then to hear the
electric tones it creates - I was blown away. ”
Don McCollister
Visit www.prsguitars.com/p22 Grammy Award-winning Producer and Engineer
for video demos
• Newly redesigned L.R. Baggs™/PRS® compact piezo
© 2012 PRS Guitars - Photo by Marc Quigley • New, uncovered 53/10 pickups • V12 finish
Gear
Breedlove
For more than 20 years now, Kim Breedlove has proved
Voice Series himself one of the more innovative luthiers in the business. This Oregon-based
maker has studiously rethought his approach to body shapes and wood dimen-
CM, Concert, sions, bridge design and bracing systems, tonewood selection, and more. For
his new Voice Series, Breedlove applies equally thorough R&D into the marriage
and Auditorium of instrument and pickup/preamp system, partnering with LR Baggs to create a
range of guitars that sound as much as possible like their acoustic selves through
Acoustic Guitars the pickup maker’s Anthem Tru-Voice Electronics System. On review this issue,
Breedlove’s Voice CM, Voice Concert, and Voice Auditorium, all of which carry
T ested by Dave Hunter the Anthem Tru-Voice system, while displaying variables in body style and woods.
Voi c e C M
Constructed in Breedlove’s most “classically unconventional” body
shape, the CM has the most radical looks of the three, though this
example is built with the most conventional wood selection. At its
max points, the body measures 15¼" wide and 4¼" deep, and car-
ries a top of solid Sitka spruce that is carved thicker on the treble
side than on the bass side to produce a balanced volume across
all strings—a characteristic in common with all three guitars on
review. Back and sides are of solid Honduran mahogany, as is the
one-piece neck, which is carved to a slim “C” profile (another
commonality between the guitars). The asymmetrical upper bout
and sharp “slice” cutaway are for more than just looks, and aim
to further enhance sonic balance while providing easy upper-fret
access. Otherwise, the CM shares much of its austere elegance
with the Concert and Auditorium models, including its multi-ply
body binding, abalone soundhole rosette, mother-of-pearl head-
stock logo, and lone abalone-and-pearl “Voice” inlay marking the
12th fret of the unbound ebony fretboard. A confident setup with
medium-low action and smoothly polished frets yields easy play-
ability all the way up.
Also, far more than just a visual signature, the asymmetrical
winged ebony bridge is one of Breedlove’s most innovative features.
This JLD Bridge Truss System encompasses a pinless bridge with
a compensated bone saddle and a tension-countering ridge truss-
rod below, all designed to greatly reduce upward tension on the
guitar’s top, thus allowing it to float and resonate freely. The L.R.
Baggs Anthem Tru-Voice system is as unobtrusive as it is enve-
lope pushing. Internally blending an under-saddle piezo pickup for
low-end weight with an under-bridge-mounted pressure zone mic
(PZM) for sonic reality in a discrete preamp/mixer, the whole she-
bang is evidenced only in the petite soundhole-mounted unit with
trim-pot for mic/pickup balance and a Volume wheel, and, of
course, an endpin jack. Love the simplicity.
Played acoustically, the Voice CM has a slightly
scooped tone defined by musical lows, strong
lower-mids, and silky highs, with excellent
string-to-string balance. It’s a classy,

Gear
B R E EDLOVE
Voice CM
contemporary voice that might suit solo good. Not so often seen in flat-top produc- Price $3,999 retail/$2,999 street
fingerstyle performance, modern singer- tion, fragrant, lush-grained myrtlewood is Nut width 1 3/4" (bone)
songwriter material, or virtuosic small- frequently described as having the power Neck Mahogany, 25 1/2" scale
ensemble lead work. Tested through an and depth of rosewood tempered by maple’s length
acoustic combo and coffeehouse-sized P.A., clarity, and that is certainly evident here. Fretboard Ebony
or recorded direct to Pro Tools, the Baggs Unplugged, the Voice Concert has just a Frets 20 medium nickel (14 clear
Tru-Voice system impressively translates hint of punchy midrange honk, with excel- of the body, further access
this acoustic tone to your amplified desti- lent balance across the frequency range (as in cutaway)
nation, with an outstanding retention of well as string-to-string), along with superb Tuners Chrome Gotoh 381
the original weight, timbre, and harmonic clarity and a distinct “cutting power” that Body Solid Sitka spruce top, solid
“feel” of the instrument. is never harsh. As such, it might be a bit Honduran mahogany back
more of an all-rounder than the CM, pow- and sides
Vo i c e Co n c e rt ering chunky rhythm work while equally Bridge Ebony JLD Bridge Truss
The Voice Concert has a lot in common excelling at fingerstyle or flat-picked solo- System
with the CM, despite its more traditional ing. Plugging in the Tru-Voice system yields Electronics LR Baggs Anthem Tru-Voice
body shape with a soft cutaway (top wood equally impressive results, and an admira- System
and asymmetrical carve, body width and ble retention of the Concert’s sweet voice. Controls Volume
depth, bridge, fretboard and neck shape), Factory strings D’Addario EXP17
but the variables in play are enough to Vo i c e Au d i tor i u m Medium .013–.056
render it a different guitar. On this Con- At just under half an inch wider and deeper Weight 4.80 lbs.
cert, the back and sides of solid myrtle- than its brethren here, the Voice Audito- Built USA
wood lend an exotic appearance and some rium gives the strong impression of being Kudos Packed with innovation inside
subtle sonic variation, and marry well with a bigger-bodied flat-top, pushing toward and out. Excellent construc-
the solid one-piece big leaf maple neck. “jumbo” territory with its curvaceous near- tion, superb playability and
The playing feel is virtually identical to circular lower bout. It bears all of the pre- well-balanced tone both
the CM, and upper-fret access is nearly as viously noted similarities to the line, and, acoustically and amplified
Concerns None
Voice Concert
Price $3,999 retail/$2,999 street
Nut width 1 3/4" (bone)
Neck Big Leaf maple, 25 1/2" scale
length
Fretboard Ebony
Voice Voice Voice Frets 20 medium nickel (14 clear
CM Concert Auditorium of the body, further access
in cutaway)
Tuners Chrome Gotoh 381
Body Solid Sitka spruce top, solid
myrtlewood back and sides
Bridge EbonyJLDBridgeTrussSystem
Electronics LR Baggs Anthem Tru-Voice
System
Controls Volume
Factory strings D’Addario EXP16 Light,
.012–.053
Weight 4.8 lbs
Built USA
Kudos A great traditional-leaning
performer rendered with
innovative construction.
High build quality. Superb
playability and a deep, clear,
well-balanced sound.
Concerns None
You play a six-string guitar.
You need a six-string tuner.
Boss® TU-3 d i g i t e c h ® h a r d w i r e H T- 6
C h r o m at i c P o ly C h r o m at i c
o n e - s t r i n g tu n e r s i x - s t r i n g tu n e r
Checking the tuning of your guitar one string at a time is painful. Those few moments of silence
on stage can feel like an eternity. Don’t let a one string tuner kill the vibe of your show. The HT 6
lets you check the tuning of all six strings in a single strum. Know you’re in tune in an instant.
Pick up your six string tuner today and get on with what really matters most the music.
B o ss i s a r e g i s te r e d tr a de m a r k o f R oland C or por at ion U . S.

Gear B R E EDLOVE
Voice Auditorium
Price $3,999 retail/$2,999 street
Nut width 1 3/4"
Neck Mahogany, 25 1/2" scale length
Fretboard Ebony
other than in its size, shape, and rounded path to translating acoustic tone to ampli- Frets 20 medium nickel (14 clear
cutaway, is differentiated primarily by its fied sound, Breedlove, in partnership with of the body, further access
solid walnut back and sides. The mahogany LR Baggs, has achieved a range of impressive in cutaway)
neck is again superbly playable, and tested new performance tools for the acoustic gui- Tuners Chrome Gotoh 381
au natural, the Auditorium presents an even tarist. In a fully equipped studio I would still Body Solid Sitka spruce top, solid
and balanced tone, with a cozy warmth in prefer to mic these guitars in the traditional walnut back and sides
the midrange and lows that are appealing, if manner for recording, but for live performance Bridge Ebony JLD BridgeTruss System
not overly muscular, paired with softly spar- each comes closer to a seamless acoustic-to- Electronics LR Baggs Anthem Tru-Voice
kling highs. “Mellow” might be the watch- amplified transition than virtually any other System
word, but mellow with volume and depth. flat-top I have played. All that, and these are Controls Volume dial
Any surprises when plugged in? Not unless still three sweet and harmonious acoustics Factory strings D’Addario EXP16 Light, .012–
you expected to hear anything short of an just as they sit, even if you never get within .053
impressive amped rendition of the Audito- range of an amplifier. If forced to choose, I’d Weight 5.20 lbs
rium’s acoustic tone. take the Concert to the next pick-in, but each Built USA
By treading a studiously laboratory-based model is broadly appealing. g Kudos An innovative design yielding
“contemporary traditional”
M O R E ON L INE performance. Excellent build
quality. Easy playability and an
• Breedlove Voice Auditorium demo by Martin Blanes appealingly rich, mellow tone.
• Voice Concert demo by Martin Blanes Concerns None
Contact BreedloveGuitarCompany,(877)
800-4848; breeflovemusic.com
Aiming at the best tone?

Speaker & miking simulator with 32 cabinets & 8 microphones for your virtual studio
8 Power Amp simulations
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5-band EQ
96kHz / 32-bit low-latency processing
Studio-grade converters
Headphones and balanced
l line
n outputs
USB control with Torpedo Remote
2 programmable footswitches
MIDI (Program Change and Control Change)

artwok TheAikonDesign - Credits: www.laetiphoto.com
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Gear
T ES T DRIVE
Sterling S.U.B. AX3 and S.U.B. Silo3
Tested by Darrin Fox
W h e n you r i nst ru m e nts ar e i n t h e h ands of Steve

Morse, John Petrucci, and Steve Lukather, you’re clearly doing something
right. Such is the case for Music Man, who have built an empire with their
classic line of guitars that stress high quality as well as playability and com-
fort. The new Sterling series aims to bring Music Man’s luxurious appoint-
ments and identifiable 4+2 headstock into a street price that is incredibly
affordable. Based on the modern classic, the Axis Super Sport, the S.U.B.
AX3 certainly looks like a more expensive guitar with its insanely figured
body (which is made of Jabon, a close cousin to basswood), and ultra-
high sheen. The guitar has two humbuckers directly mounted to the body,
and a simple trem bridge that works smoothly and is comfy on your pick-
ing hand. It’s factory adjusted flat on the body, however, so you’ll need to
re-adjust it if you want to be able to bend in both directions. The feel of
the AX3’s neck is sleek and nimble, but it also has enough beef to make
rhythm playing comfortable for a good long while. The AX3’s fretwork is
up to snuff, though not the smoothest on the fret ends. Overall, though,
the AX3 plays like a dream. Even changing the stock .009-gauge strings
up to a .010 set had no negative effect on the playability.
Sonically, the AX3 covers a lot of territory. Cranked through a mini
Marshall JMP head as well as a Vox Hand-Wired AC15HW1X 1x12
combo, the AX3 excelled at meat-and-potatoes rock tones with its rear
humbucker yielding the perfect amount of slice and girth with a wound-
up amp setting. Chunky rhythms and burning solos are a breeze as this
pickup has the juice to deliver power tones without sacrificing clarity.
The 5-way switch gives you a bevy of tonal options. From grind to chime,
the in-between pickup settings—which activate combinations of coil taps
between the pickups—allowed me to reel off greasy funk tones or arpeg-
giated jangle. And I could back off the guitar’s Volume control to
exaggerate these tones even more. The AX3 plays nicely in tune
up the entire neck, and it’s insanely easy to maneuver in
the high positions as well. The glut of tones combined

Gear
S T ER L IN G
Contact sterlingbymusicman.com/sub
S.U.B. AX3
Price $249 street
Nut Width 1.65"
with killer cosmetics and excellent play- machine, with a lot of ballsy output and
Neck Maple, 25.5" scale
ability—not to mention the price—make searing attitude. The tones still exhibit a
Fretboard Maple
the AX3 a bang-for-buck winner. nice detail to notes and chords, but its mis-
Frets 22
sion is clear: to kick ass. The hum/sing/
Sterling S.U.B. Silo3 sing pickup configuration is extremely
Tuners
Body
Sterling die-cast
Jabon w/bound “Image” quilt top
Taking its cue from the comfy curves of versatile, yielding the aforementioned
Bridge Sterling vintage-style tremolo
the classic Silhouette Special, the Silo3 rock fury along with more lilting single-
Electronics Dual humbuckers
exhibits the same ultra-smooth playabil- coil textures, while the in-between pickup
Controls Volume, Tone, 5-way pickup selector
ity and groovy contours of its big brother, settings are wonderfully textured. Their
Factory Strings .009-.042
as well as its speedy neck shape, excellent pronounced cluckiness works wonders
Weight 6.8 lbs
finish, and quality nut work. The frets are for funk and country riffs, and these tones
Built Indonesia
nice, albeit a little jagged on the edges, but also excelled with either grinding over-
Kudos The tones you need and the playabil-
like the AX3, the Silo3 is as easy playing drive or shimmering clean settings. The
ity you crave.
as they come. Plugged into a mini Mar- neck position single-coil sounds fantas-
Concerns None.
shall JMP, the Silo3’s rear pickup is a rock tic for clean or mildly distorted tones, and
S.U.B. Silo3
Price $199 street
Nut Width 1.65"
Neck Maple
Fretboard Rosewood (maple available), 25.5" scale
Frets 22
Tuners Sterling die-cast
Body Jabon
Bridge Sterling vintage-style tremolo
Electronics Humbucker, two single-coils
Controls Volume, Tone, 5-way pickup selector
Factory Strings .009-.042
Weight 6.7 lbs
Built Indonesia
Kudos Powerful rock tones and ultra-expres-
S.U.B. Silo3
sive in-between sounds.
Concerns None.
volume-wise it hangs with the rear humbucker,

S.U.B. AX3 making for easy tonal transitions between
the two. Like the AX3, the Silo3’s trem feels
smooth as silk (though it’s also set flush to
the body), and playing in the upper positions
is a piece of cake due to the elegant neck heel
and sleek neck dimensions. The Silo3’s merg-
ing of classic Music Man looks, tonal variety,
and comfort of a guitar twice its price make
it a formidable contender in the increasingly
crowded sub-$300 solidbody scene. g
M O R E ON L INE
• Learn more about the

Sterling S.U.B. Series.
Get this link and more at guitar-

player.com/october2012

Carl
Verheyen
and his
Wechter
Pathmaker ®
“I play my Wechter Pathmaker

Deluxe Thinline all over the world.
This is the first guitar I’ve found that
retains its clarity and tone in every
situation, from intimate solo acoustic
concerts to high-volume stages with loud
drummers! It’s the best amplified sound I’ve
heard, with spot-on intonation and exceptional
playability. I love this guitar!”
Carl Verheyen
Virtuoso Guitarist
Wechterguitars.com (260) 407–3836
Available at fine retailers everywhere, including:

Andy’s Music Blue Fish Music Dirt Cheep Music New Orleans Music Exchange Shuffield Music Co.
Mobile, AL Plymouth, MI Smyrna, GA New Orleans, LA Arkadelphia, AR
Gear
FIELD TEST
Yamaha
THR10
T e sted By Michael Molenda
P a c k e d i n a c r a fty r e t r o - Brit Hi, Lead, Crunch, Clean), bass and for iOS 5.0 or later devices.
radio-like casing that shouldn’t trigger acoustic settings, a flat option, eight effects I tested the THR10 with a Gibson Les
any angst from home-design freaks if you (chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo, delay, Paul, a Hanson Chicagoan (with mini hum-
leave it on a coffee table or in your bed- delay/reverb, spring reverb, hall reverb, buckers), a Taylor SolidBody (with two sin-
room studio, the Yamaha THR10 ($460 and if you download the free THR Editor gle-coils and a humbucker), and a Fano
retail/$299 street) is a powerful tool for at download.yamaha.com, you also get a Alt de Facto JM6 (with P-90s). I did some
guitarists who want to practice, com- compressor and a noise gate), five user- noodling and low-volume rehearsals/song-
pose, or record without dragging a full rig memory buttons, tap tempo (for delays), writing sessions with the amp and stereo
into the house. And if you happen to live an onboard chromatic tuner, an aux input speakers rocking, and I also employed the
with an extremely fussy architect, fashion (so you can rock out with mp3s or other THR10 as an audio interface for Garage-
designer, or art director, just show them tracks), and a USB connection. The THR10 Band, as well as for the included Cubase
the digital THR10 includes “virtual tube is bundled with Cubase AI software, so AI software.
illumination” that casts an orange-hued if you don’t already have a DAW, you’re Tone is obviously subjective—just ask
glow behind the speaker grille. Arty types ready to record, edit, and mix tracks. It’s any two guitarists—but I found that all of
love lighting effects. also light and portable, and can be run on the THR10’s amps sounded pretty inspir-
Interior decor concerns aside, the 10-watt batteries (eight AA) or AC power. A THR5 ing and fun, and if a preset was bugging me
THR10 offers five amp sounds (Modern, is also available, as is a THR Session app for a particular application, the Gain, Bass,
Intelligent Music Software for your PC or Mac is here!
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Gear
FIELD TEST
enough to be comfortably heard in a two

guitar, bass, and light percussion session.
The THR10 also takes pedals well. I
often incorporated various fuzzes, distor-
tions, and wahs into the signal chain with-
out discerning artifacts, compression, overt
coloration, or other sonic glitches. In fact, I
took to using the THR10 for initial auditions
of stompboxes before using them with my
normal live-performance and studio rigs.
As an audio interface for DAWs, the
THR10 worked flawlessly. Any latency
was low enough to not capture my atten-
The glow! The glow! The THR10’s “virtual tube illumination” may not fool a tube-amp
tion at all. The amp tones and effects abso-
zealot, but it still looks comfortably warm and designer cool.
lutely gave me the juice to cut tracks that I
was happy with, and, in most cases, I used
the THR10’s sounds for the final mix. In
those few instances where I replaced the
THR10 tone with a guitar amp plug-in, I
still thanked the Yamaha box for inspiring
me to play something cool.
There are a lot of so-called practice amps
out there that offer gobs of sonic capabil-
ities, as well as home-recording applica-
tions. Most all of these products sound very
good, so perhaps we should delete all ref-
erences to “practice amps” and replace the
phrase with “micro amp” or “mini amp” or
the appellation of your choice. Personally,
I’d hate to limit the THR10’s options. The
box gave me some excellent “conventional”
guitar tones, and it let me craft some deli-
ciously off-kilter sounds, too. It provided
instant gratification when I wanted to prac-
Elegantly simple from front to back—the clean lines of the THR10 are not only easy tice at home for a few moments, it deliv-
on the eyes, they also ensure all controls are ergonomic and readily “grab-able.” ered some hip recorded tracks, it made the
grade for small ensemble sessions, and, in
a pinch, I’m sure I could use it onstage via
Middle, and Treble knobs offered enough buzzy for so-called “master” tracks when the USB or headphone output. I think I’ll
control to dial in something appropriate. recording, but this didn’t hamper any of call the THR10 my “little monster.”
I also found the amp sounds reacted well my enjoyment while blasting around my
with guitar Volume-knob and finger- or room or devising riffs for songs. While I Kudos Looks retro fabulous. Good sounds.
pick-attack dynamics. There is a slight edge didn’t perceive any “3D-style” audio from USB Out/Aux In. Bundled with Cubase AI.
to the midrange frequencies that might— Yamaha’s Extended Stereo Technology, the Concerns None.
depending upon your personal taste—be too sound output is clear, articulate, and loud Contact usa.yamaha.com g
Grunge is more than just a genre. As any singer knows, grunge (along with dirt, grime, and
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Gear
S T O M P B OX FE VE R
Dunlop JB95 Joe Bonamassa Signature Cry Baby and

EJF1 Eric Johnson Signature Fuzz Face
Te sted by Darrin Fox
JB95 Joe Bonamassa copper-top treadle. Other appointments

include a sleek black aluminum chas-
a switch for non-true-bypass operation,
as Bonamassa prefers the slight high-end
Signature Cry Baby sis—which makes the JB95 noticeably roll off that non-true bypass offers. Even
A perfect pedalboard mate to his cop- lighter than a standard Cry Baby—old with the pedal in full toe-down position,
per-clad signature Dunlop Fuzz Face, the school, thru-hole components (including the JB95 doesn’t peel paint with excessive
JB95 Joe Bonamassa Signature Cry Baby an output buffer to prevent impedance biting top end. I found the sound com-
($169 street) is similarly striking with its imbalance with vintage fuzz pedals); and pletely usable, and it was actually kind of
www.mo-ka.net (Photo: www.cfjphoto.com)
“… they’re just
immaculate
Everything about them
is just so right
…
Steve Stevens
Knaggs best thing.

www.knaggsguitars.com
GearS T O M P B OX FE VE R
fun to explore the nether regions of a wah

for long periods of time without clearing
Eric Johnson Signature really shined driving my 50-watt, non-mas-
ter volume Marshall through a 4x12 cab,
the room—even when soloing in the high Fuzz Face yielding classic tones that ran the gamut
reaches of the fretboard. After years of combing through Eric John- from Jimi to Trower to, well, Eric Johnson.
This velvet-voiced character makes the son’s vast collection of vintage Fuzz Face Needless to say, the EJF1 digs Strato-
JB95 perfect for those who are not looking pedals, Dunlop finally created a model that casters, but every other guitar I threw in
for typical “Shaft”-esque machinations or suited E.J. enough to put his name on it. front of it sounded killer, too. Like the clas-
disco moves. The JB95 also thrives in high- Like all good Fuzz Faces, the EJF1 ($199 sic Fuzz Face, the EJF1 doesn’t blast your
gain situations, making a setup of a Gibson street) imparts a pugnacious howl when amp’s front-end with unadulterated volume
SG through a 50-watt Marshall half-stack your guitar and the pedal are fully cranked. and power. Instead, it mainlines your rig
moan and scream with a savagely sweet Equal parts trippy psychedelic and blissed- with a soulful shot of harmonics and atti-
vocal quality. The JB95 sounds fantastic out heavy, the EJF1 exudes classic Fuzz Face tude that is as cool sounding now as it was
with clean tones, as well, giving the clas- attitude no matter what guitar you have in the late ’60s. The EJF1 truly benefits from
sic Fender Tele/Twin Reverb combination plugged into it. But when you back off your all the time and effort it took to make a pro-
some wonderful sultry wah textures that guitar’s volume control, the EJF1 produces duction Fuzz Face that could inspire Eric
never get too spikey in the treble territo- sparkling, intensely detailed clean tones that Johnson to set aside his vintage units, and
ries. Congrats to Dunlop and Bonamassa for leap to the forefront on stage or on record. it’s a great choice for anyone who seeks a
taking a timeless effect and putting such a And if you turn down your guitar’s volume very dynamically responsive version of this
musical twist on it! even more, you can get crystalline, insanely classic effect.
Kudos Very cool looking. Smooth, rich touch-sensitive tones—even from a Gibson Kudos A righteous take on the most righ-
character. SG or Les Paul. Although the EJFI sounds teous fuzz ever.
Concerns None. killer in front of open-back combos such Concerns None.
Contact jimdunlop.com as a Fender Deluxe Reverb or Vox AC30, it Contact jimdunlop.com g
Gear
S T O M P B OX FE VE R
Moogerfooger
MF-108M Cluster Flux
Te sted by Barry Cleveland
The Moogerfooger MF-108M

Cluster Flux is to a standard chorus/flanger
pedal what the Saturn V is to a bottle rocket.
Powered by a NOS Panasonic bucket-bri- BBD chip such as
gade delay chip, and boasting a six-wave- this one. Besides the
form LFO, the Cluster Flux does deliver truly increased depth and
righteous analog chorusing, flanging, and dimensionality, there
other classic modulation effects—but its is an organic quality
extraordinary control capabilities, including to the sound that is
continuous control over nearly every param- quite satisfying and
eter via external MIDI and CV sources and musically inspiring.
up to five optional expression pedals, place With lots of exper-
it into a unique orbit all its own. imenting I was able
The Cluster Flux’s LFO generates sine, to conjure up nearly
triangle, square, saw, ramp, and random every classic flavor
waveforms, which alone can produce an even men- of modulation effect,
almost unlimited variety of modulation tion everything here, including ’60s-style
effects—from smooth and subtle to angular but a few standouts are the Feedback con- psychedelic tape flanging,
and asymmetrical to downright disturbing. trol’s ability to generate positive and negative A/DA and Mutron-type sounds, and even
Add to that the ability to vary parameters feedback (for hollowed-out and “through- Lexicon Prime Time II-style square-wave
such as feedback and LFO rate and delay zero” flange effects), the ability to double modulation jumps. Of course, the Cluster
time in real time using expression pedals, the range of the LFO rate (to .025Hz- Flux is as much about creating exciting new
and to tap in the LFO rate with the onboard 100Hz) using an expression pedal, a MIDI sounds as it is about revisiting the past—
footswitch, and you have one mean live- note “Spillover” effect for creating ringing but it is nice to know that it can do both.
performance or recording machine. And comb-filter and drone effects, and a TRS This is a unique pedal with unparalleled
that’s not to mention the myriad possi- Feedback Insert for processing the feed- capabilities, and a worthy addition to the
bilities made available by connecting the back signal with an external device such venerable Moogerfooger line. g
Cluster Flux to a MIDI keyboard or other as another pedal.
controller, other CV-enabled gear (includ- I tested the Cluster Flux in mono into a S p e c i f i c at i o n s
ing the other seven Moogerfooger pedals), Rivera Venus 6 combo, and in stereo into
or your DAW’s sequencer. Besides syncing a Fractal Audio Axe-Fx II (note: the Right Moogerfooger
LFO speed to track tempo via MIDI Clock, output may be configured for four types MF-108M Cluster Flux
the latter option allows you to automate of stereo operation using internal DIP Price $599 retail/$559 street
parameter changes via Control Change mes- switches). In all cases the pedal sounded Kudos Superb audio quality and
sages, and even access “hidden” functions, beautifully rich, fat, and warm—though, effects. Robust feature set.
such as multiplying the delay time as many not surprisingly, the most dramatic effects Unparalleled flexibility.
as eight times and subdividing it using 11 were achieved in stereo. There can be a big Concerns None.
different note values. Whoa! difference between analog and digital cho- Contact Moog Music, (828) 251-0090;
In fact, the Cluster Flux has such a rusing and flanging, especially when the moogmusic.com
robust feature set that it isn’t possible to analog sound is produced with an old-school
brea r dina
the o
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d ® V -Guitece
i
olan sterp r
o f the R, this ma ny guitaed
Artist Patch Page y
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a
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m
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w e s he - a e r a n p t o r an
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Combtem with sier to ut your f tar soun, the wor
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S ster ade ts, GR-
is fa th ever mler effecWith ther.
The GR-55 is EXPANDABLE! l
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Scan to view Eric Johnson tuni n of fat ours to
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Gear
B R A IN SN A C K
Five Things About Picks

By Dave H un ter
1
EVERYTHING of gradations and in-betweens). Feel-wise, many players will tell you that picks of the
ABOUT IT AFFECTS a very rigid pick might be ideal for speedy same thickness and flexibility made from
YOUR TONE lead work, but it also requires a cleaner different materials will nevertheless sound
A guitar pick (or plectrum) might and more precise technique. a little different. For many years, players
3
be the most humble of accessories—one loved old tortoiseshell picks for their very
of the genuine “consumables,” along with SHAPE IS MORE direct playing feel and clear tone. These
strings—but however exulted your guitar THAN JUST AN were made from an endangered animal,
or superlative your amp, your pick still gen- AESTHETIC however, and are no longer available (at
erates your tone. Put simply: the note starts CONSIDERATION least in the U.S.). There are a few man-
here. Whether you’re going for bright and The shape of the edge of the pick with which made tortoise alternatives—notably from
jangly or thick and round, it makes sense to you pluck the string also plays a big part Red Bear Trading—and other high-end picks,
set it on the correct course right from the in determining the timbre of the note. A such as V-Picks, are also popular. Acquire
first pluck; if you’re generating one tonal pointed or fairly sharp attacking edge offers a variety and sample them for yourself.
5
foundation at the pick, it will only be harder the most clarity, and therefore a somewhat
to tweak it into something different further brighter tone with maximum harmonic AND THE SOUND OF
down the line. Several factors determine a overtones. A wider or more rounded edge NO PICK AT ALL?
pick’s performance, so let’s break them down. “blurs” the harmonic spectrum slightly, One of the most dramatic pluck-
2
yielding a warmer tone (a trick that Stevie generated tonal variations comes
GUAGE (THICKNESS) Ray Vaughan used to thicken up his Strat from dispensing with the pick. The flesh
IS YOUR FIRST tone). Not only does this mean you can of your fingertips, however callused and
CONSIDERATION select pick shape according to desired voice, weathered, is a lot softer and more pliant
The thicker the pick, the more but you can also simply reverse the attack- than any pick you will use, and offers a dif-
energy goes into the string when you pluck ing edge of many standard and “teardrop” ferent tonal foundation as a result. This
it, so a pick’s thickness affects not only shaped picks to instantly tweak your tone. will often be warm and rich, but can have
4
your playing feel, but your sound too. Thin- plenty of snarl and snap to it too, because
ner, more flexible picks will sound lighter, DIFFERENT of the force often used in bare-finger pick-
softer, and janglier, and thicker picks sound MATERIALS ing. Adding a little fingernail to this style,
deeper and, well, thicker. This makes the INFLUENCE SOUND as many do, sharpens the tone and attack.
former great for clean or percussive rhythm, AS WELL AS FEEL Steel or plastic “fingerpicks” will, however,
the latter ideal for lead or crunchier over- The material from which a pick is made will sound more like flatpicks according to their
driven rhythm (although there are plenty of course have an impact on its rigidity, but rigidity and composition. g
8D<I@:8E
Recording
T h e R e c o r din g G ui tarist
Setting up the iPB-10 for Ableton

Live with a 45-sample buffer size.
DigiTech iPB-10
Use Your DigiTech iPB-10

As An Audio Interface! Working as a Windows
WaveRT (WASAPI) interface
By Craig A n derton with Acoustica’s Mixcraft 6.
DigiTech’s iPB-10 is best known it was 220 samples. Mixcraft 6 listed the hear your DAW tracks from the USB side,
as a live-performance multieffects pedal that lowest latency as 5ms (Mixcraft doesn’t and your guitar—with zero latency and
you program with an iPad, but it’s also an indicate sample buffers, but I assume this any iPB-10 processing—from the iPB-10
excellent 44.1kHz/24-bit, USB 2.0 stereo would be around the same as WASAPI on side. If your computer is fast enough that
audio interface for guitar. Sonar). I was surprised the iPB-10 drivers latency isn’t an issue, then you can moni-
were compatible with multiple protocols, tor solely via USB, and turn on your DAW’s
Fo r M acs but in any event, the performance equalled input monitoring/input echo to monitor
Core Audio is plug-and-play. Patch the many dedicated audio interfaces. your guitar through the computer. This
iPB-10 USB output into an available Mac lets you hear the guitar through any plug-
USB port. Now, select “DigiTech iPB-10 In/ Z ero - L atency M oni tor i ng ins inserted into your guitar’s DAW track.
Out” as the input and output under Audio A really cool feature is that under the iPB-
MIDI Setup. With my quad-core Mac, the 10’s Settings, you can adjust the ratio of Ther e’s M or e!
system played reliably with a buffer size of what you’re hearing from the DAW’s output As the audio interfacing is class-compli-
64 samples in Digital Performer, and even via USB, and what’s coming from the iPB- ant and doesn’t require installing driv-
at 45 samples with simple Ableton Live 10. If you monitor from the iPB-10, you ers, with Core Audio or WDM/WASAPI/
projects. Excellent performance. essentially get zero-latency monitoring with WaveRT drivers you can use more than
effects, because you’re listening to the iPB-10 one audio interface (called “aggregation”).
Fo r W i n dows output—not monitoring through the com- So keep your go-to standard audio inter-
The driver isn’t ASIO, so in your host select puter. Typically, for this mode, you’d turn face connected, but also use the iPB-10
WDM or one of its variants as the preferred off the DAW track’s input echo (also called for recording guitar. As long as your host
driver mode (MME or DirectX drivers work, input monitor), and set the iPB-10 XLR supports one of the faster Windows audio
too, but latency is objectionable). With Mix slider for 50% USB and 50% iPB-10. protocols—or you’re using a recent Mac—I
Sonar using WDM, the lowest obtainable (If you’re monitoring from the 1/4" outs, think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the
latency was 441 samples. With WASAPI, choose the 1/4" Mix slider). Then, you’ll performance.g
THE BEST SELLING ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENT AMPLIFIERS
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Recording
S t u dio T o ol s
Eventide Blackhole Native Reverb Plug-In

Te sted by Barry Cleveland
T h e a lgo r i t h m at t h e co r e controls include Hotswitch (which lets synced to the host sequencer, or if you
of the Blackhole ($99 street) evolved you instantly toggle between two sets of choose Tempo Man, you can tap in the
from presets found in Eventide’s flagship parameters), Kill (which mutes the input so tempo, or dial in a set value.
DSP4000 and H8000 processors, as well that you hear only the reverb tail), Freeze I used the Blackhole on all types of
as the Space stompbox (reviewed in the (which captures and loops audio in the tracks, including drums and percussion,
September 2011 issue of GP). While the reverb buffer, and allows you to manipu- electric guitars, hammered dulcimer, and
Blackhole may be used to create viable late the sound using the Blackhole’s con- kalimba, and I always got singular and
earthbound reverb sounds, its raison trols), and Gravity (a reverb-decay knob often mindblowing results. In some cases,
d’être is to empower sonic adventurers that sweeps from dense/quickly decaying I was actually able to generate entirely new
to explore hitherto uncharted realms of to long/smoothly decaying throughout compositional frameworks by setting the
audio time and space. The Blackhole is half its range, and from reverse reverbs Mix control to 100 percent wet, and let-
compatible with AAX, VST, and AU plug- to wild time-inversion effects throughout ting the Blackhole do its thing on a sepa-
in formats, and it requires an iLok2 USB the other half). rate track. While the Blackhole is mostly
key for authorization. I tested the AAX Additionally, you can vary reverb size about real-time control, it does come
version in Avid Pro Tools 10 on a 6-core and wet/dry mix, equalize reverb tails with some superb presets—although they
Apple Mac Pro running Lion. Installation with the very effective Low (a shelving require an inefficient four clicks to load.
took place with the rapidity of a decay- filter with a corner frequency of 350Hz) The Blackhole generates multiverses of
ing nutrino. and High (a shelving filter with a corner new sonic possibilities for a c-note, making
Interaction with the Blackhole occurs frequency of 2kHz) controls, adjust the it an indespensible tool for anyone look-
via fully automatible knobs, switches, resonance of the Low and High filters, ing to expand their aesthetic horizons.
buttons, and sliders. An ingenious vir- and modulate reverb tails with Moddepth
tual Ribbon Controller lets you program and Modrate. Up to two seconds of pre- Kudos Unique and otherworldly sounds.
two sets of parameters, and continuously delay are available. With Tempo mode off, Highly intuitive interface. Excellent value.
morph between them by mousing over predelay is not synced to tempo, and beat Concerns Loading presets is cumbersome.
the screen-length “ribbon” (or by click- values are displayed in milliseconds. With Contact Eventide, (201) 641-1200; even-
ing the buttons on either side of it). Other Tempo Sync engaged, predelay tempo is tide.com g
146 OCTOB ER 2 0 1 2 G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
As Roger Waters performs his highly acclaimed “The Wall” tour,
Samson Audio and Wireless are an integral part of his performance.
© 2012 Samson | samsontech.com

Recording
A P P & ADVIC E
Studio Monitors
By Michael M olenda and Art Thompson
A lesi s M1 Acti ve 320 USB

Powered. 3” woofer, 1” tweeter
$99 pair, street
alesis.com
B e h ring e r
Truth
B1030 A
Powered. 5.25”
woofer, 1”
tweeter
$299 pair,
street
behringer.com
Adam Audio F5
Powered. 5” woofer,
ART ribbon tweeter
$TBA Dynau d i o
adam-audio.com DBM5 0
Powered. 7.5”
woofer, 1”
For many local bands, walking tuning their control rooms for near-flat tweeter
into a big recording studio in the 1970s response, so that the music crafted within $998 pair,
meant risking physical harm if you even those walls will sound much the same street
looked at a mixer fader. Touching any- when rocked on home stereos, car radios, dynaudiopro-
thing was verboten. Asking questions was boom boxes, mp3 players, and even in ele- fessional.com
frowned upon. You were just a “musician.” vators. It’s a fair bet that the vast majority
The engineer was the wizard of all sounds. of home studios are not critical listening
Know your place, grasshopper. environments. So, in essence, every home
Of course, the walls all came down when recordist working in an un-tuned room is
the home-recording boom exploded in the crafting sounds in a vacuum, and with no
’90s, and, today, anyone with a laptop and hope of a flat-listening response that may
a DAW can be their own master of the level the aural playing field amidst the
audio spectrum. But there are still some world’s myriad earbuds and transducers.
things that the commercial studio pashas Obviously, no listening environment can
got right, and one of them is the monitor- accurately address the playback quality
ing environment. of all audio systems on the planet—nor
Despite the availability of truly excel- account for the personal tone tweaks of
lent and affordable monitor speakers, end users who may adore slammin’ bass
we still hear consistent complaints from or searing midrange—but there are some E vent 2 0 3 0
home-studio musicians about mixes that techniques that home-studio owners can Powered. 7.1” woofer, 3.3” midrange, .75”
don’t translate well to other playback sys- employ to make their monitoring situa- tweeter
tems. Pro studios typically spend big bucks tion a little more transparent. $1,199 pair, street
eventelectronics.com
If Your Mix Sounds Good on These,
It’ll Sound Good on Anything
HS80M
HS50M
HS Series Powered Monitors
The new HS Series powered monitors were designed to be true studio

reference monitors in the tradition of the famous NS10MS. That means,
mixes that sound good on Yamaha HS speakers will sound good on anything.
In fact, that’s the ultimate test of a reference monitor. Even better than
that, HS series speakers not only sound good, they look great, too.
The HS10W powered subwoofer complements the HS speakers and easily

handles today’s bass-enhanced music or the most dramatic surround effects.
The HS10W subwoofer uses a bass reflex design cabinet that maintains high
efficiency and low distortion. You can combine HS50Ms or HS80Ms with the
HS10W subwoofer to create different 2:1 (stereo) and 5:1 surround sound
systems. So check out the new standard in near-field reference monitors at
a Yamaha dealer near you.
HS10W
Recording
A P P & ADVIC E
M acki e
HR8 2 4 MK2
Powered. 8.75”
woofer, 1” tweeter
$1,399 pair, street
mackie.com
Neumann KH120
Powered. 5.25”
woofer, ART ribbon
tweeter
$1,499 pair, street
neumann.com
Fostex PMO .4
Powered. 4” woofer, 1” tweeter
$199 pair, street
fostex.com
Get C los e Do n ’ t B e Gr ee dy
“Near-field monitoring” can save your butt. While excellent subwoofer systems are
The tech phrase simply means that you sit available, if you don’t know how to best
yourself down at the tiptop of a virtual tri- position the low-end box for optimum
angle, where you are approximately three monitoring, you may be skewing your s E E le ctro ni cs
feet from the studio monitors, and the mon- perception of bass frequencies. It’s typ- Mu n ro Egg
itors themselves are positioned three feet ically safer to stick with a simple two- Powered. 6.496” woofer, .984” tweeter
apart. Easy. What this monitoring setup speaker system—unless you’re doing film $2,499 pair, street
does is somewhat limit the effects of the soundtracks at home, and need to simulate seelectronics.com
room on your listening position. While not a theater’s surround sound environment.
perfect, you shouldn’t be assailed by flut-
ter echoes, aberrant reflections, and other Keep You r Ears on the Jo b
sonic gremlins while in your monitoring Don’t deafen yourself. Switch off between
“safe zone.” monitoring at high and low volumes, and
take frequent breaks to give your ears a
B e N eat chance to refresh themselves.
Of course, deleting much of the potential
ill effects of your listening environment C hoos e Well
with near-field monitoring will be much Just like guitars, amps, and stompboxes,
effort for naught if your mix position is one’s choice of monitor speakers is subjec-
littered with action figures, effects pedals, tive and personal. Get a pair that you’ll be
cracker boxes, and other “sonic bumper comfortable listening to throughout tons
cars” that will send reflections to and fro. of sessions, follow the four tips above, and
Make sure that the sightlines between you you should be crafting kick-ass mixes in no Yam aha HS- 5 0 M
and your monitor speakers are completely time. Check out the monitor mini-guide Powered. 5” woofer, .75” tweeter
free of clutter and junk. Your ears—and on these pages for some suggestions at $399 pair, street
your mixes—will thank you. various price points. g yamaha.com
Recognized with the coveted Technical GRAMMY Award ®
“for continual mastery and innovation,”
JBL remains passionately focused on a single goal: Helping you produce mixes that shine. The LSR Series Studio Monitors
are a clear example of this continued commitment to excellence. Blending innovations like JBL engineered transducers for
superior sonic quality, Linear Spatial Reference design and Room Mode Correction for greater accuracy, even in acoustically
less-than-perfect rooms. With three professional monitor lines, the flagship LSR6300 Series, the revolutionary LSR4300
Series, and our most affordable LSR2300 Series, JBL has a model within reach of any studio’s budget. No matter which
system you choose, your mixes will hit their mark.
Find out more. Contact your Authorized JBL Professional Dealer or visit www.jblpro.com/LSR
From Left to Right: LSR4326P, LSR6328P, LSR2325P, MSC1 Monitor System Controller
© 2012 Harman International Industries, Incorporated

Performing
GI G S MA RTS
Mackie’s DL1608 builds a hardware

exoskeleton around an iPad brain, with
the hardware handling all I/O and audio
mixing/processing.
DIY Mixing Paradigms

By Craig A n derton
Mixers used to be so predict- a control surface for Live’s clip grid, and proportion of your channel to the rest of
able: Sheet metal top, faders, knobs, Neyrinck’s V-Control Pro serves Pro Tools the mix (“more me!”). Lots of companies—
switches, and, often, a pretty hefty price users. The cross-platform DAW Remote including high-end ones—like iPad con-
tag. Sure, DAWs started including vir- HD supports three control-surface pro- trol. Yamaha, Allen & Heath, Behringer,
tual mixers, but unless you wanted to tocols (Logic Control, HUI, and Mackie Soundcraft, MIDAS, and others provide
mix with a mouse (you don’t), then you Control) and handles pretty much any remotes for their digital mixers.
needed a control surface with . . . a sheet DAW that can respond to those protocols.
metal top, faders, knobs, switches, and a iPad Assistance
slightly less-hefty price tag. Mixer-Specific Control Some mixers use the iPad as an accessory.
Enter the touchscreen—and the para- Surfaces Behringer’s XENYX USB Series mixers
digm changed. Costly and noisy moving PreSonus is big on straddling the hard- include an iPad dock. The mixer can send
faders have been replaced by the touch ware/software worlds with its Studio- signal both to and from the iPad, as well
of finger on screen, and the controller’s Live mixers. First came Virtual Studio as use effects-processing apps, spectrum
digital soul provides more functional- Live software for computer control, and analyzers, record into GarageBand, and
ity at a lower cost. And if you can access then SL Remote, which links the com- the like. Alto Professional’s MasterLink
your application via a wireless network, puter to iOS devices for wireless mixer Live mixer also has an iPad dock, with the
iOS devices can provide wireless control. remote control. Yes, you can play a CD iPad used for mix analysis, recording, and
over your sound system, and tweak your replacing a bunch of rack gear with iPad-
General Control mixer to optimize the sound as you walk controlled signal processing.
Surfaces around the venue—or control your own
iPads now replace expensive mechanical monitor mix, EQ, compression, and a lot Mixer Meets
control surfaces. For example, Far Out more from onstage. PreSonus also intro- Recording
Labs’ ProRemote is Mackie Control Uni- duced QMix, an iPhone/iPod touch app Why stop with mixing? The Alesis iO Mix
versal-compatible, and offers 32 chan- that basically replaces personal monitor- looks like a dock, but it’s a four-channel
nels (16 simultaneous on an iPad) with ing systems by letting you monitor from recorder with an iPad control surface. Take
metering and 100mm “virtual moving the mixer itself through an ingenious the concept even further with WaveMa-
faders.” Ableton Live fans can use Griid, “wheel of me” that lets you dial in the chine Labs’ brilliant Auria, which packs
Performing
Gi g S MA RTS
a full-function 48-track recorder—along

with a complete mixer interface and plug-
ins from PSP Audioware—into an iPad. It
works with several tested interfaces. This
sounds like science fiction, but it really works.
Touchscreen
Supermixers
Mackie’s DL1608 builds a rugged, pro-
level hardware mixer exoskeleton around
an iPad brain—although you can also slip
out the iPad for wireless remote control.
It’s a serious mixer with the Mackie pedi-
gree: 16 Onyx preamps with 48-volt phan-
tom power, balanced outputs (XLR mains,
1/4” TRS for the six auxes), and hardware
DSP for the mixing and hardware effects.
The iPad is solely about control—all audio
processing is in the mixer itself. Each input
has 4-band EQ, gate, and compression, and PreSonus provides extensive software support for their StudioLive mixers, including
the outputs have a 31-band graphic EQ an iPad remote and personal monitoring app for all iOS devices.
and compressor/limiter, along with global
reverb and delay.
Line 6’s StageScape M20d uses a custom
Performing
Gi g S MA RTS
7” touchscreen for visual mixing based on a

graphic, stage-friendly paradigm with icons
representing performers or inputs. Touch-
ing an icon opens up the channel parame-
ters and DSP (including parametric EQs,
multi-band compressors, feedback sup-
pression on every input, and more). There
are also four master-stereo effects engines
with reverbs, delays, and a vocal doubler.
You can even do multi-channel record-
ing to a computer, SD card, or USB drive,
and it accepts an iPad for remote control.
Like the Mackie, it’s serious: 12 mic/line
inputs (with automatic mic-gain setting),
four additional mic inputs, and balanced
XLR connectors for the auto-sensing main
and monitor outputs. But the M20d also
incorporates the L6 LINK digital network- The Line 6 M20d uses a
ing protocol, so the mixer can communi- custom touch screen whose
cate with Line 6’s StageSource speakers icons represent an actual
for even more setup and configuration stage setup, rather than
options. I think the system might actu- simply showing conventional
ally be smarter than some musicians with channel strips.
whom I’ve worked! g
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Guitar Showcase
the Straight Truth About Pickups by Jason Lollar

This was more like the dragon chasing us–over the years it’s
been one of our most requested pickup designs. Of course,
we had to add our own twists, including sizing it to drop into
a standard humbucker route. A2 magnets, custom covers,
lot’s of attitude.
Starting with a ‘60s Country Gentleman as a benchmark, we

went after the classic rock-a-billy ‘bucker tone, adding some
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with a clear, present top end. The bridge pickup is fat and
honky, with a rich, defined low end. Combined, they sparkle
and spank with clarity and punch. They’ll cover everything
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Hot Babes…” Go Man, Go!
I’ve personally designed over a hundred different pickup mod-

els, including most of the vintage classics, some obscure works
of art from steel guitars to clavinets, and even a few of my own
designs that have never existed in the past.
I invite you to visit our website for sound clips, videos and
current product information or feel free to give us a call.
Lollar Guitars PO Box 2450 Vashon Island, WA 98070 (206) 463-9838 www.lollarguitars.com

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Product Spotlight Specialty Advertising Section
Xaviere Vibrato System

GFS
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Guitarfetish.com now offers the
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Killer Brass Claw

Killer Guitar Components, LLC
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The Killer Claw is a revolutionary upgrade replacement for the bent sheet metal claw that
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To advertise in this section contact; Michelle Eigen at 650-238-0325 · [email protected]

Specialty Advertising Section Product Spotlight
Airline Espanada
Eastwood Guitars AMP-U-PLUG-N-PLAY
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Airline’s newest model is based on the rare Harmony/ No guitar cord needed just plug it into your guitar and
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Electric Gypsy
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The BladeRunner
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The BladeRunner is Super-Veeís revolutionary
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Contemporary Guitar Improvisation

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Since 1978, Contemporary Guitar Improvisation is THE
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SA220 Solo Performance System

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Portable, powerful performance in a
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MSRP: $1,539.95
STREET/MAP: $999.95 Black Ice Overdrive
www.fishman.com Black Ice
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Put a battery-free Black Ice overdrive in your guitar or bass and enjoy
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can be as easy as replacing the capacitor on your guitar’s tone control
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Compatible with all standard passive pickups. Visit our website for sound
samples, wiring options and more.
MAP/Street Price: $19.95
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Specialty Advertising Section Product Spotlight
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45 Years Gone
It’s a Happening!
October
1967
2nd
Grateful Dead house raided by San
Francisco police. Phil Lesh, Bob
Weir, and Pigpen arrested on mari-
juana charges that are later dropped.
3rd
Test pilot William Knight sets world speed
record for manned aircraft in X-15A-2.
His record of Mach 6.72 still stands.
6th
Bemoaning commercialization of hippie
culture, Haight-Ashbury residents
rally for “Death of Hippie” march.
7th
Beatles reject $1 million offer from
promoter Sid Bernstein to reprise
1966 Shea Stadium concert.
9th
Che Guevara executed by Bolivian
Army sergeant Mario Terán.
11th
Yoko Plus Me exhibit opens at Lisson Gallery
in London. (Guess who the “me” is.)
17th
Hair premieres Off-Broadway at
Joseph Papp’s Public Theater.
19th
Mariner 5 flies within 2,480
miles of Venus.
21st
Lulu’s “To Sir With Love”
tops Billboard Hot 100.
Our Back
Pages
“I improvise a great deal right on stage.
You have to keep looking for new and
exciting ideas and sounds.” —Bola
Sete, Guitar Player, December 1967
• Hand-selected Tonewoods
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Technology
• Fret Setup by Plek ®
• Ultra Thin Waterbased UV Coating
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• GraphTech® Nut
• TonePros® Hardware
• Seymour Duncan® Pickups
• Sperzel® Machine Head
Handcrafted in Germany
GEPRÜFTES
UMWELTMANAGMENT
DE 123 00060
Family Owned • Solar Powered • Sustainably Manufactured in a Green Environment
DIN 14001 Distribution USA: US Music Corp. • 1000 Corporate Grove Drive • Buffalo Grove • IL 60089 • Phone 800 877 6863 • Fax 847 949 8444 E-Mail:[email protected]
DIN 18001 ISO 50001 Distribution Canada: Korg Canada, a division of JAM industries • Phone 514 457 2555 • Web: www.korgcanada.com
Check us out on: Artist Contact: Warwick Music Equipment Trading (NY USA) Inc. • 76-80 East 7th Street • New York • NY 10003 • Phone: 212 777 6990 • E-Mail: [email protected]
Headquarters: Warwick GmbH & Co. Music Equipment KG • Gewerbepark 46 • 08258 Markneukirchen / Germany
Branches: S H A N G H A I / P. R . C h i n a • D Ü B E N D O R F / S w i t z e r l a n d • P R A H A / C z e c h & S l o v a k i a R e p u b l i c • W A R S AW / P o l a n d • H A I L S H A M / G r e a t B r i t a i n
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