Hey, kids, I’m back! Did you miss me? Don’t answer that. Here I am, back in the glorious Guitar World studios in Bakersfield, California.

Why am I back? Uh…to teach you how to rock, that’s why! I’m also here to talk about the brand-new Steel Panther album, All You Can Eat, which you are no doubt listening to right now! I came back just so that I could teach you how to play some of the incredible riffs on our new record, and I’d like to start with the song “If I Was the King.”

This song is pretty basic rock and roll in that just about everything in it is based on either the minor pentatonic scale or the blues scale—the biggest scales in rock, right? These scales come in handy.

Don’t just practice the Phrygian and Mixolydian modes—you should be basing everything on the blues and minor pentatonic scales. You might not listen to B.B. King very much, but everything he played is the foundation for all that Testament and Megadeth stuff you listen to, and it’s the foundation of Steel Panther’s music too.

“If I Was the King” can pretty much be summed up as a “heavy-metal shuffle.” FIGURE 1 illustrates the tune’s primary rhythm part, which is built around a steady power-chord climb up the bottom two strings, played alternately against the open low E string, which functions as a pedal tone. The climb is based on the E blues scale (E G A Bb B D) with the inclusion of F#, the major second.

In bar 2, on the upbeat of beat two, I fret the D note on the A string’s fifth fret and, while bending it up a quarter tone by pushing the string away from my palm, I simultaneously pick the open D string, just as Jimmy Page did in Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.” In bar 4, I end with a quick Bb-to-A pull-off on the A string and end the phrase with a low G note. The song’s next riff (FIGURE 2) is simple and based almost entirely on power chords with the occasional single-note riff thrown in.

My guitar solo (FIGURE 3) begins on the four chord, A5, and I start with slow, basic phrases built around A minor pentatonic (A C D E G). Notice how I use gradual bends and wide vibratos to give the solo a bluesy feel. By the end of bar 3, the chord progression works its way back to the one chord, E5, and I do the same with the single-note lick, landing back on E at the end of bar 3.

In bar 5, I wait until beat two to come back in and start with a big, Albert King–style bend-and-release, saving the fancy licks for bar 7. There, over C5, I play an arpeggiated figure that can be interpreted as either C6 or Am, as it’s based on the notes of an A minor triad, A C and E (with a D# passing tone thrown in).

This line then shifts to quick, alternating pulloffs to the open G string, followed by a transition to B5 and a lick based on B minor pentatonic (B D E F# A). Overall, it’s a pretty simple solo, but there are some cool twists in there to keep it interesting.

To celebrate the publication of Jimmy Page’s official photographic autobiography, Jimmy Page— the first book by a member of Led Zeppelin — Genesis Publications (with Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado) will present “An Evening with Jimmy Page in Conversation with Chris Cornell."

The event will take place 8:30 p.m. November 12 at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.

The audience will be invited to join Page and Cornell — the Soundgarden frontman — as they look through unseen photos and memorabilia, many drawn from Page's archives. Page will revisit memories of his life in music, "from 13-year-old choirboy to Sixties session musician, through the Yardbirds to Led Zeppelin and beyond."

"I always like to do something different. If you’re inspired by an idea, really make something of that inspiration," Page said. "That goes for music, as well as anything else, even putting a book together! To have a photographic autobiography is a totally different way of looking at things, but it does the job very well and I think it will bring a lot of pleasure to people."

Delving into his personal archives, Page has revealed unseen photographs, memorabilia and every one of his passports. His passport stamps were used to verify all tour dates, making Jimmy Page an authoritative historical account.

In addition to Page’s photos and those chosen from various sources, including fans and magazines, his book showcases a collection of iconic portraits and rare images by more than 70 of the greatest names in rock photography, including Ross Halfin, Kate Simon, Gered Mankowitz, Dominique Tarlé, Pennie Smith and Jim Marshall. Page chose one of his favorite portrait shots for the book cover: a 1977 passport photo shot by Neal Preston on board Led Zeppelin’s private tour plane.

There are many rare finds throughout, such as Led Zeppelin playing an impromptu gig in a nightclub in Jersey or double-exposure shots of Page and Brian Jones by Ian Stewart.

"I wanted to make it as thorough as possible, so that meant trawling through all the thousands of files that photographers had taken, and pulling from my personal collection as well," Page said. "There’s a photo of me playing the guitar by the fire at Bron-Yr-Aur cottage. It’s the most complete document that there’s ever going to be because of the amount of time that I’ve put into every aspect."

IMPORTANT INFO:

DOORS: 7:30 p.m.
SHOW: 8:30 p.m.
TICKETS: Available starting October 10 from local outlets, including Amoeba Music and Book Soup; nationwide from ticketmaster.com.
AMEX presale start: 10 a.m. PST October 8
AMEX presale end: 10 p.m. PST October 9

B.B. King has canceled the final eight performances of his tour after being diagnosed with dehydration and exhaustion.

According to King's website, the 89-year-old singer/guitarist fell ill Friday night during a performance at the House of Blues in Chicago and was quickly evaluated by a doctor.

His tour was supposed to include stops at his own B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York City next week.

No further updates on his condition are available, but we'll keep you updated when we find out more.

Earlier this year, King issued an apology to fans after an erratic performance in St. Louis led to catcalls from the audience — not to mention early departures. His publicists called it "a bad night for one of America's living blues legends."

The “glitch” effect.

Yes, the “choppy” computerized-sounding guitar effect I fell in love with while producing our latest album. Sure it’s unconventional, maybe even overkill, but who cares? It sounds different.

The effect is tremolo, which, in its most basic form, can be achieved by using a simple pedal or plugin. Basic tremolo pedals will provide you with depth, wave and rate adjustments. Those are pretty much all you need.

By adjusting the wave, you're applying an LFO to your signal in a waveform of choice. When an LFO modulates volume (in this case), it creates tremolo. Simply put, the effect adds a pulsating sound to your guitar.

By adjusting the rate, you’re setting the speed of the effect: 1/4 notes, 1/8 notes, 1/16 notes and so on.

By adjusting the depth, you are, of course, changing how strongly the effect is applied.

There are a handful of common wave-form options included in most plugins or advanced pedals — like sine, sawtooth, triangle and square. To get the tightly chopped up “glitchy” sound some people often confuse as actually being “synth,” I always use the square LFO and set the depth to 100 percent. This will literally chop up your signal so that it sounds computerized, if you will.

To get a better understanding of how the effect is actually working, picture a single guitar track in a Pro Tools session. You are looking at a waveform.

The square LFO effect can actually be done manually by just chopping up the waveform — usually just cutting the ends of each note short.

This is the same thing the pedal or plugin is doing when you're playing in real time.

Taking this a step further in the studio, I usually do all my tremolo effects manually, which allows me to mix between 1/4- to 1/16-note variations in just one riff or lead section. To reproduce this style live, without a digital-effects unit, would require dancing around on a few different tremolo pedals, each with different settings. It’s pretty un-realistic, actually.

So when using the effect dramatically, as I like to, it can be a challenge to pull it off live. Playing to a click or (even better) running your effects through a Pro Tools session, for example, with correct tempos mapped out, allows the effect to happen precisely in time with the song.

Another aid in pulling off the effect live is by controlling your effects unit via pre-programmed MIDI patch changes from your interface, or a pedal board. For example, I use an Axe-FX setup with a few different presets, a few different scenes within each preset, all containing the trem/pan block, which are all set to different rates. This gives me everything I need for all the tremolo parts when performing, and the patches are all changed automatically from the Pro Tools session ... essentially mixing different tremolo rates within seconds of each other.

It may sound like a ridiculous amount of work, or just a ridiculous approach to this particular effect, but I think it sounds pretty interesting. And it really is very rewarding when you can set up your rig to pull it all off in a live setting.

Guitarist Joe Cocchi is a founding member of Within The Ruins. Their latest album, Phenomena, was released in July via Good Fight/eOne. Keep up with Within The Ruins on Facebook.

If there were one lyric that defined the attitude of the Walkmen's 2002 debut album, Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone, it was "I've heard it all before."

Crooned by Hamilton Leithauser during one of the album's defining tracks, "Revenge Wears No Wristwatch," it sets a generally impatient but brilliant tone that fully keys in listeners to what they're in for.

First coming to notice during the height of New York's early 2000's garage-rock/post-punk craze, NYC natives the Walkmen set themselves apart by escaping any sub-genre, bending rock music to fit for themselves. The guitars on this record, mostly from lead player Paul Maroon, are evasive and sneaky, generally weaving in and out of the song's rhythms, in some cases seemingly ignoring them entirely.

On "Wake Up," the guitars begin the song with an almost boorish intensity, constantly carving themselves through the track's driving percussion. Just as the song approaches its second chorus, Leithauser and the guitars drop entirely out of the picture, leaving a zany instrumental transition of nothing but the rhythm section and piano. Just as the song seems to be falling into disrepair, Maroon announces his presence once again, dramatically interrupting the interlude with a cutting riff.

On the aforementioned "Revenge Wears No Wristwatch," the multiple tracks of guitar seem to be practically falling over each other. Leithauser and Maroon seem to be engaged in an almost childish fight for superiority in the mix, but they're frantic, one-chord hammering makes the track a truly cathartic experience.

On the title track's verse, you can barely understand a word Leithauser is saying. He's buried under an ominous keyboard, and restless drumming. But the chorus suddenly brings both Maroon and Leithauser out of the cave, with Maroon decorating Leithauser's cry of "I made the best of it" with a confetti shower of ringing notes.

On the album's longest track, the introspective "It Should Take Awhile," Maroon almost sounds defeated. His chords are anguished, on the cusp of being arrhythmic but not quite reaching that point of lost control. As Leithuaser sings "I don't care that much right now / I'm a mess, I can't get out," Maroon boldly interacts with the song's disjointed, waltz-like feel.

Standing out in a city where bands like the Strokes and Interpol were on the rise wasn't easy, but the Walkmen did it by taking rock and throwing it into a black hole. Beats dropped away, guitars never seemed to be satisfied with their riffs for more than a few measures, choruses hid desperately in the shadow of the verses that preceded them. It was a record that broke all the rules but didn't make a point of it.

On their debut album, no less, the Walkmen made their way sound like the right way. An album of incredible ambition, audacity and originality, Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone is one of the 21st century's landmark underground rock records.

I think I like this better than the original. Actually, I know I do.

Here is a lovely acoustic version of the pop song “Chandelier,” originally performed by Sia.

This sumptuous version by Fatai gives new meaning to the song, infusing it with heartfelt longing supported by some sweet fingerstyle guitar.

Fatai Veamatahau is from Melbourne, Australia and was a semi-finalist of "The Voice Australia 2012."

This very talented musician is now signed to Universal Music Australia - Mercury Records.

Fatai began singing professionally with her family from the age of seven. In 2009, she began a solo career, singing to audiences at various festivals and community events

Find out more at https://www.facebook.com/FataiMusic

These videos and audio files are bonus content related to the December 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now or at the Guitar World Online Store.

Last month I showed you how I play the Steel Panther song “If I Was the King,” from our latest album, All You Can Eat.

I described that song as a “heavy metal shuffle,” because of its triplet-based rhythmic feel, and this month’s tune, “10 Strikes You’re Out,” falls into the same category.

A shuffle, by the way, is sometimes notated in 12/8 meter, which is based on four beats of eighth-note triplets per bar, but a shuffle can also be written in 4/4, using triplet brackets where needed and indicating that the eighth notes are to be “swung,” which is what I’ve done for this month’s column.

These videos and audio files are bonus content related to the December 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now or at the Guitar World Online Store.

A great way to discover new licks and melodic patterns is to take a lick, melodic shape or note sequence that you often use and move it to different areas of the fretboard.

The benefits of this approach are two-fold. First, the licks and phrases are physically comfortable for you to play because you are already intimately familiar with them.

Second, without the lick posing any new technical challenge, you are more able to focus on hearing how the idea works over a alternate root notes.

These videos and audio files are bonus content related to the December 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now or at the Guitar World Online Store.

Even if you’ve never listened to the title track to John Coltrane’s 1960 album, Giant Steps, or any of the many covers of this uptempo modern jazz standard that have been recorded over the years, you’ve probably at least heard of the tune’s legendary notoriety from other musicians, and for good reason.

The brilliantly innovative and highly influential tenor saxophonist composed the tune back in 1959 to serve as the ultimate “improvisation workout” for himself, so as to take his bebop chops to the next level, as he had seemingly sought a more harmonically challenging soloing vehicle than what the more conventionally structured progressions in his repertoire offered.

Over the course of the tune’s repeating 16-bar form, its shifting chords modulate repeatedly to three musically distant and unrelated major keys via rapid “two-five-one” changes that demand a focused, disciplined arpeggio-based soloing strategy and technique, lest you fall behind by attempting to run a scale over each chord.

The root notes of the three keys, by the way—B, G and Eb—together form an augmented triad, which consists of widely spaced major-third inervals, thus the apt title of the tune, “Giant Steps.”

These videos and audio files are bonus content related to the December 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now or at the Guitar World Online Store.

Mastering metal and hard rock guitar poses a great variety of musical and technical challenges, encompassing everything from the development of solid and reliable pick- and fret-hand rhythm playing technique to a complete understanding of metal-style licks and patterns and the scales upon which they are based, coupled with fleet-fingered fret-hand technique.

This month, I’d like to demonstrate a couple of fast, challenging lead-type phrases that are designed to lift your chops up to the next level.

One of my favorite things to do when soloing is play long note sequences based on an unwavering rhythm, such as steady 16th notes or eighth-note triplets, as this approach serves to create rhythmic tension and aids in the construction of a powerful solo. This is something Randy Rhoads loved to do, and his “Over the Mountain” solo is a prime example of this approach

These videos and audio files are bonus content related to the December 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now or at the Guitar World Online Store.

While Beck’s 2014 release, the sublimely organic, orchestral and acoustic Morning Phase, may have caught some fans off guard, the fact remains that acoustic guitar has always been at the core of his musicality.

Beck’s earliest performances in New York City, at age 18, were more akin to folk music than anything else (Beck’s a fan of Pete Seeger, the Weavers, Woody Guthrie and other American folk giants).

And lest we forget, his first radio hit, “Loser,” revolves around a droning acoustic slide riff, while other successes, such as “Tropicalia,” “Lost Cause” and “Girl,” rely heavily on acoustic guitar. Perhaps it was only fitting that Beck marked his 20th anniversary as a successful recording artist in relaxed acoustic fashion with Morning Phase.

These videos and audio files are bonus content related to the December 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now or at the Guitar World Online Store.

Lesson Videos

• Man of Steel with Steel Panther's Satchel: Sliding Power Chords, Shuffle Riffs, Chromatic Movement and How to Play “10 Strikes You’re Out”
• Full Shred with Marty Friedman: Relocating Familiar Melodic Ideas and Patterns Up and Down the Fretboard
• String Theory with Jimmy Brown: Intro to the Ultimate Jazz-Improv/Theory “Workout,” John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”
• Metal for Life with Metal Mike Chlasciak: Defending the Faith of Metal and Rock guitar with Challenging Soloing Patterns
• In Deep with Andy Aledort: Remembering the Late Blues-Rock Guitar Legend Johnny Winter

Audio Lesson Files

• Acoustic Nation with Dale Turner: The Simple But Effective Acoustic Inventions of Beck Hansen

Gear Review Videos

• Review: D’Angelico EX-175, EX-Style B and EX-59 Guitars — Video
• Review: Washburn N4 Authentic Guitar — Video
• Review: Boss GP-10 Guitar Processor — Video
• Review: Carr Skylark Guitar Amp — Video
• Review: Lace Pickups USA Ultra Slim Acoustic Sensor Pickup — Video

We are pleased to share a live video of "“I Just Can’t Live Without You (But I’m Still Alive),"” a track from the new Christopher Owen’s album ‘A New Testament’ out now on Turnstile.

The video was filmed at Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles this past September for their 5 At 5 Series, presented by Ace Hotel, Martin Guitars and Show Cobra. Ace Hotel “5 at 5” series invites artists down to perform 5 songs at 5pm in a casual environment.

To herald the album’s release, Christopher Owens and his band are heading on a tour of the West Coast, kicking off today in Seattle, with support from The Tyde. Christopher will also be performing live on KEXP today at 1:30pm PST. Be sure to stream the KEXP session here and check the list of tour dates below.

Christopher Owens Live West Coast Tour Dates:
10-07-14 Seattle, WA - Neumos Crystal Ball Reading Room
10-08-14 Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret
10-09-14 Portland, OR - Star Theater
10-11-14 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
12-05-14 Los Angeles, CA – The Troubadour

Christopher Owens : 5 at 5 : Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles from Ace Hotel on Vimeo.

Having just wrapped up his tour with acoustic-supergroup Dave Rawlings Machine, called "one of the hottest string bands on the planet," Willie Watson is preparing for his October and November tour in North America.

The tour hits most major markets, with Willie playing both headlining shows and shows supporting Shovels & Rope on their record release tour. For the full itinerary, please see below.

Here he performs "Mexican Cowboy"

Willie is touring in support of his recently released debut album Folk Singer Vol. 1 which is available now for purchase through iTunes, Amazon, and Willie's own website.

The album is out now on Gillian Welch's Acony Records and has received acclaim from The Guardian, who called it "haunting folk that evokes the past masters" in their 4-star review.

The album was produced by the legendary David Rawlings, longtime friend and producer of Watson's previous band, Old Crow Medicine Show. "There's a lot of weight in the way Willie performs," says Rawlings. "He's had some tragedy in his life, which has informed his art. There's an emotional edge to what he does because of who he is as a human being. Willie is the only one of his generation who can make me forget these songs were ever sung before." The album features ten songs ranging from folk standards to obscure gems.

Willie Watson Upcoming Tour Dates
10/10 Los Angeles, CA @ Bluegrass Situation Festival - Theatre at Ace Hotel
10/16 Ozark, AR @ Harvest Music Festival
10/17 Louisville, KY @ Mercury Ballroom - The Official Avett Bros. post-show with Shakey Graves
10/18 Indianapolis, IN @ The Hi-Fi +
10/20 St. Louis, MO @ Sheldon Concert Hall & Ballroom +
10/21 Chicago, IL @ City Winery +
10/23 Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center +
10/24 Stoughton, WI @ Stoughton Opera House +
10/25 Ames, IA @ The Maintenance Shop +
10/26 Hesston, KS @ Prairie Window Concert Series
10/29 Tulsa, OK @ Cains Ballroom *
10/31 Houston, TX @ Fitzgeralds - Upstairs *
11/1 Austin, TX @ Cactus Cafe
11/2 Dallas, TX @ The Kessler Theater ++
11/4 Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom *
11/5 Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern *
11/8 San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *
11/9 Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom *
11/11 Seattle, WA @ Neptune *
11/13 Raleigh, NC @ Fletcher Opera House +++
11/15 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre *
11/16 Boulder, CO @ Fox Theater *

+ Mikaela Davis supports
++ Ruby Jane supports
+++ Liz Longley supports
* Willie opens for Shovels & Rope

More info at

These videos and audio files are bonus content related to the December 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now or at the Guitar World Online Store.

This past July 16, 2014, the world lost one of the greatest and most influential guitarists ever: Johnny Winter.

Born in Beaumont, Texas, on February 23, 1944, Winter, who was born with albinism, stood out not only for this unusual fact but, more importantly, because of his virtuoso, high-octane, one-of-a-kind guitar playing and his wild, banshee-like vocal prowess.

Johnny’s screams of “Rock and Roll!!!” are now regarded as essential to the fabric of blues and rock as Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” double-stops and Albert King’s stinging, emotive string bending.

In this edition of In Deep, we’ll examine just one of the many facets of Johnny’s blues guitar mastery: fingerpicked country-style blues applied to the electric guitar.

There’s nothing quite like a really fine instrument.

You touch it and it responds almost with a magnetism that draws you in.

You play it and it’s as if everything you know and love about guitar comes into sharp focus.

You can’t stop thinking about it. How the neck feels. How the strings respond, how it sits against your body.

It haunts you. In a good way of course!

Here, to add to your yearning, are ten beautifully made guitars. Each worthy of your next daydream.

Cordoba Hauser

The late Spanish maestro Andres Segovia is widely regarded as the most prominent figure to demonstrate that the guitar should be considered a viable, legitimate concert instrument, alongside the violin and piano.

Previously, the guitar was viewed by the larger concert-going public as a somewhat limited “folk” instrument, belonging at home, or at most as a parlor instrument for the aristocratic elite.

Segovia won over audiences and critics with his Hermann Hauser 1937 guitar, deeming it “the greatest guitar of our epoch”. His guitar now resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and it is the guitar that Cordoba modeled its own Hauser model after.

Cordoba’s Hauser has a perfect balance and clean separation of voices. Ii’s built with a solid Englemann spruce top and solid Indian rosewood back and sides and features a Spanish cedar neck topped with an African ebony fingerboard.

A few modern refinements such as a truss rod, geared tuning machines, durable finish, and non-gut strings were added to improve on what was not available in the 1930s but are essential today.

The result is an instrument that exemplifies the authentic Hauser design, voicing, and feel, and captures a rare piece of guitar making history. This guitar is handmade in the USA.

Retail Price: $4,425

Findo ut more at /www.cordobaguitars.com

Santa Cruz OM Grand

Santa Cruz Guitar Company’s OM Grand is a bigger, lusher, louder sister to their extremely popular OM model.

In comparison, the OM Grand embodies the same elegance, only in increased quantity of volume, projection and bass, to assure the guitar’s rightful dominance in an ensemble.

Like on all Santa Cruz guitars, responsibly harvested tone woods are selected, voiced and tuned for the most consistent harmony, sustain and complexity of overtones.

Each guitar is built by their small team of 15 luthiers using techniques of the master violin makers, combined with the benefits of modern technology.

Retail Price: $4,950

Find out more at www.santacruzguitar.com

Taylor Custom Guitars

Ever want to take a gorgeous guitar, and then tailor it to your exact desires?

Taylor allows players to create a Custom design from the ground up, starting with a rich assortment of their finest tonewoods, including species and grades that aren't currently available through the company’s standard line.

From there, players can choose from a full palette of inlays, bindings, and other special appointments, such as a backstrap, armrest, or burst finish.

Whether you go for understatement or a detail-rich aesthetic package, everything will add up to a guitar that’s uniquely yours, and that you helped create.

First, you pick the body type: Acoustic (6- or 12-String), Nylon, Baritone (6- or 8-String), 12-Fret, T5, or T3. Then you’re on to the options, as few or as many as you like, including woods, binding, inlays, armrest, backstrap and more.



Upon your approval of final specs, the folks at Taylor get to work and ship your guitar in about 14 weeks.

Retail Price: $5000 and up

Guitar pictured: Custom Koa Guitar

Find out more at www.taylorguitars.com

Collings CJ35

Emerging out of a fascination with the pre-war era of guitar making history, the CJ35 is a classic slope-shouldered dreadnought that incorporates non-scalloped Adirondack braces with three tone bars and a short 24 7/8" scale length.

Featuring a European spruce top and mahogany back and sides, this design provides the CJ35 with a beautiful balance of deep piano-like bass and powerful full-bodied highs, complimented by a focused dynamic range and even note projection.

As a result, the CJ35 is an extremely versatile large-bodied guitar, well suited to both fingerstyle and strumming techniques.

Retail price: $6000

Find out more at www.collingsguitars.com

The Breedlove Exotic Fingerstylist guitar is for the virtuoso seeking impeccable balance, note-for-note clarity, and an expansive voice from a light touch.

It marries a sinker redwood top and ziricote back and sides to create an incredibly responsive instrument.

These exotic woods, combined with the shallow-body Concert shape, deliver powerful piano-like tones and deep bass character without being overbearing, making it a phenomenal choice for finger style players and light strummers.

The Concert body is engineered to provide remarkable sustain, balance, and clarity with a pronounced bass and treble response – all from a light touch. The Breedlove Bridge Truss and graduated top maximize these qualities and contribute to an even response, from bass to midrange to treble, with clear projection.

The bloodwood body binding package compliments the intricate abalone, bloodwood, and Kim Breedlove designed links fretboard inlay. The Fingerstylist is equipped with an LR Baggs Anthem TRU-Mic pickup system and comes with an Ameritage built case.

Retail Price: $7999

Find out more at breedlovemusic.com

Martin D-28 Authentic 1937

Perhaps the most revered vintage D-28s are the ones created in 1937 with forward shifted hand-scalloped X-bracing, Adirondack red spruce soundboard and a 1 3/4" neck width.

This stunning recreation is based on a 1937 museum guitar, with original specifications that were confirmed using X-ray technology.

Constructed using hide glue, this guitar features an Adirondack spruce top, Madagascar rosewood back and sides and authentic 1937 D-28 appointments, right down to the neck barrel, heel, diamond, head taper, and fingerboard inlays.

The wider fingerboard is representative of a 1937 model. Aging toner is used on the entire body and neck to give it that authentic finish.

Retail Price: $8,499

Find out more at martinguitar.com

McPherson Camrielle

If you want to try something new, check out the McPherson Camrielle.

Does it look different? Yes. Does it sound amazing? Undeniably.

The first thing you’ll notice is that the sound hole is not located where you’d expect it to be.

CEO Matt McPherson explains, “The center of a guitar top vibrates more than any other portion of the top, so traditional center-hole designs rob a guitar of the most flexible and crucial area of the guitar top. Moving the soundhole to the edge of the top increases the surface area in the most flexible portion of the soundboard, allowing for more vibration, sustain, and resonance.”

The Camrielle 4.0 is designed with a slightly smaller body profile. Its the compact, punchy tone and clear, bell-like voice of the Camrielle® are all McPherson®. The Camrielle® sounds great in any musical setting, and excels as a fingerstyle go-to instrument.

It’s available in a variety of body depths and Tonewoods.The one shown here was built with a Black Hearted Sassafras back and sides and a Bear Claw Sitka top with Ebony binding.

It has an LR Baggs Element pickup installed in case you want to plug in.

Retail Price: $8800

Find out more at mcphersonguitars.com

Montarado Acoustic Trifecta

Here’s a guitar that’s innovative and great sounding!

The Montarado Trifecta has three sound holes. Two on the top and one on the side.

It employs tornavoz type port construction in the top sound holes.

The tornavoz technique was used by Flamenco guitar builders many years ago to improve sound projection. This interpretation incorporates a unique torque top, resulting in an organic, sculpted look.

The placement of two sound holes on the top and one on the side provides a rich dispersion of sound. And the suspension of the fretboard above the body minimizes sound dampening.

The Trifecta in constructed with an Engelmann spruce top, Myrtle back and sides, and a rosewood fretboard. It has an LR Baggs Anthem Series pickup installed.

Retail price: $8800

More info at montarado.com

Eighteen years ago, Bryan Sutton burst onto the bluegrass scene with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, capturing the immediate attention of the bluegrass world and beyond.

Thousands of performances, hundreds of recordings and seven IBMA “Bluegrass Guitarist of the Year” awards later, Bryan is widely regarded as finest flatpicker of his generation and among the elite players in the history of the genre.

The Bryan Sutton Limited Edition (LE) Dreadnought is re-creation of Bryan’s 1997 D-150, incorporating not only the look, feel and sound of the original, but much of its broken-in vibe as well. That D-150 that was used extensively on Ricky Skaggs’ groundbreaking album, Bluegrass Rules (1997), on Bryan’s influential solo album, Ready To Go, (2000), and in countless stage performances.

The Bryan Sutton LE Dreadnought features the first Aged Tone™ torrefied Adirondack spruce bracing ever offered in Bourgeois guitars, premium Brazilian rosewood back and sides from a special reserve set aside by Dana exclusively for this series, an Aged Tone Adirondack top, Aged Tone finish, hide glue construction and the familiar D-150 trim package.

Additional features unique to this Limited Edition include double-scalloped Banjo Killer-style X bracing, and a vintage-style ”long” saddle.

Retail price: $11,645

Find out more at www.pantheonguitars.com

Simpson Lady Eire Celtic Guitar

Here’s a one-of-a kind work of art that was a year and a half in the making.

The Lady Eire, which means “Lady Ireland,” was inspired by a trip that maker Jason Simpson and his wife Mandy took to Ireland in the spring of 2012.

The visual concept behind this project was to tastefully blend iconic elements native to Ireland with an enchanted and alluring feminine appeal.

Such design elements include complex Celtic knot and vine work, and wood choices paired to echo the beauty and affinity of an Irish maiden.

The creamy white Engelmann Spruce top nicely captures the look of delicate fair skin while the figured Koa back and sides captures the semblance of flowing red hair. The 3D inlay work on this guitar is unique and exceptional.

The back is crafted from flamed Koa back and sides with a flamed maple neck. Gorgeous.

Retail Price: $22,000

Find out more at simpsonguitars.com

Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the last of five exclusive videos featuring Bay Area thrash legends Exodus.

Each weekly clip, including today's edition, has showcased material from Blood Upon the Goat, the bonus “making of” DVD included with the digipak and imported box set of Blood In, Blood Out, the band's new album.

The album, which will be released October 14 via Nuclear Blast, is the band's 10th studio effort. It was produced by Andy Sneap (Accept, Megadeth) and features awesome cover art (Check it out below the video) by Swedish artist Par Olofsson (Revocation).

This week's video features drummer Tom Hunting, who gives fans a tour of his “Goats-R-Us Ranch & Studios,” where the new album was recorded.

“We took a little bit different approach to the recording of the drums this time,” Hunting says. “We wanted a real drum room with live mics to have that ambient room tone.”

Check out the video below and let us know what you think in the comments or on Facebook! If you missed a video, you can see the first four editions under RELATED CONTENT!

Blood In, Blood Out can be pre-ordered from the Nuclear Blast USA webshop in CD, digipak, 2LP yellow vinyl and imported limited-edition box set formats. Bundles include a T-shirt with exclusive artwork for North America and a poster (while supplies last).

Track listing for the deluxe digipak version of Blood In, Blood Out:

01. Black 13 (featuring Dan the Automator)
02. Blood In, Blood Out
03. Collateral Damage
04. Salt The Wound (featuring Kirk Hammett)
05. Body Harvest
06. BTK (featuring Chuck Billy)
07. Wrapped In The Arms Of Rage
08. My Last Nerve
09. Numb
10. Honor Killings
11. Food For The Worms

Bonus DVD includes:

• “Blood Upon The Goat” making-of footage
• Behind-the-scenes tour footage
• Footage from Kirk Hammett’s Fear FestEVIL After Party at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.

The digital version of Blood In, Blood Out will include the digital bonus track “Angel Of Death.”

Guitarist Andy Alt has introduced a new electric guitar pickup — dubbed "A Little Thunder"— that allows guitarists to play guitar and bass simultaneously.

A Little Thunder, which was designed to replace a humbucker, adds a bass signal to the two lowest strings on electric guitars, leaving the signal of all six guitar strings in tact.

The addition of the bass feature requires no physical modifications to the guitar: no drilling, routing or adding strings. Nor will guitarists need to replace 9-volt batteries or use MIDI. They just need to remove their existing humbucker, and — with about five minutes of installation time — they'll have the ability to push a button to activate A Little Thunder.

The three controls are on the custom-designed pickup ring: an on/off switch, a -1 or -2 octave switch and a polyphonic (two bass notes at once) or “low note priority” mode (The pickup detects the lowest note being played and applies the bass effect only to that note).

Because the technology is housed within the pickup, players will experience virtually no latency or tracking issues, which they might experience with external technologies, such as octave pedals.

A Little Thunder launched its Kickstarter campaign today (October 8, 2014), seeking to meet a $35,000 fundraising goal to go into production. Rewards for Kickstarter backers include a Steve Vai-autographed 1987 Ibanez RG550 prototype; a trip to Disneyland with Drake Bell; guitar lessons with Adam Ross (Rihanna), Gretchen Menn or Daniele Gottardo; the first serial numbers of the pickup; limited-edition designs by artist/musician Trisha Lurie and lots more.

The Kickstarter video, which you can see below, features several artists trying A Little Thunder for the first time, including Jonny Two Bags (Social Distortion), Kirk Douglas (the Roots), Adam Levy (Norah Jones), Brad Oberhofer (Oberhofer) and more.

A Little Thunder was conceived, patented and created by Alt, the online marketing director for Steve Vai, and, along with Vai, co-founder of GuitarTV.com. Alt also serves as lead guitarist for Drake Bell of Nickelodeon’s Drake and Josh.

“Prototypes of A Little Thunder have been incredibly fun and addicting to experiment with, and now it’s going to be available to anyone who wants to go deep into the depths of their guitar’s dark (but beautiful) soul," Alt says.

"Metal players can now get super-heavy sounds without having to relearn an instrument that has more strings, jazz players can subtly add bass to comp along with their lines and singer-songwriters will sound fuller. My favorite configuration so far is the duo setting, where two people will now sound like much more. The most exciting part is to see what musicians will do with A Little Thunder.”

For more information about A Little Thunder, check out the video and photo gallery below, visit its Kickstarter page and official website and follow along on Facebook.

Electro-Harmonix has introduced the Pitch Fork, a compact polyphonic pitch shifter/harmony pedal.

You can check out a demo video below. In the meantime, here's what the company has to say about the pedal:

The new EHX Pitch Fork transposes an instrument’s pitch over a +/- three octave range and features three modes that allow the pitch to be transposed up, down or both, simultaneously. The pitch shift amount can be set to a fixed interval or continuously varied by an expression pedal or control voltage.

An 11-position Shift switch selects the maximum transposition interval ranging from D (Detune), a shift of 17 cents, through Minor 2nd, Major 2nd, Major 3rd, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th, Major 6th, Minor 7th, 1 Octave, 2 Octaves and 3 Octaves.

A three-position toggle switch controls whether the pitch is transposed up, down or both. In Dual mode, two pitch-shifted signals are output. One follows the shift knob as if in the Up position while the other creates a harmony. Dual Mode settings include M3 up + P5 up, P5 up + 1 Oct down, 1 Oct up + 1 Oct down and many others. A Blend knob controls the mix of the dry signal and the effected signal, and an EXP jack enables the player to control pitch and glissando with an expression pedal.

The Latch button selects Latch or Momentary mode which affects how the footswitch and EXP input behave. In Latch mode, the footswitch toggles between effect on and buffered bypass each time it’s pressed and the EXP input continuously varies pitch. In Momentary mode the effect is only on while the footswitch is depressed and when it is released the Pitch Fork goes into bypass.

In Latch mode the EXP input controls pitch shift amount, ranging from unity to the interval set by the Shift knob, and pitch varies continuously throughout the expression pedal’s range. In Momentary mode the EXP input controls glissando rate for the Pitch Fork’s footswitch. When the bypass footswitch is pressed, the Pitch Fork jumps from bypass to the interval set by the Shift knob.

The amount of time it takes to reach that new note is the glissando rate. When the footswitch is released the pitch will return to unity at the same rate. That glissando time can vary between 4 milliseconds to two seconds depending on the heel/toe position of the expression pedal. The default glissando rate is 60 milliseconds when nothing is plugged into the EXP input.

The Pitch Fork comes equipped with an EHX 9.6DC-200mA power supply and also runs on a 9Volt battery. It carries a U.S. List Price of $174.66 and is available now.

Just a head's up that amp guru Lee Jackson's popular book, Ultimate Bench Warrior: How to Design, Build and Modify Custom Guitar and Bass Amplifiers, is available now at the Guitar World Online Store for $29.95.

In the book, Jackson covers:

• Tools of the trade
• The basics of soldering
• Different tube types, with specs and histories
• Electronic symbols
• Amplifier modifications from gain stages to adding reverbs
• Schematics of solidstate circuits and power supplies
• Lists of parts suppliers

... and more!

The 152-page book features 180-plus photos and illustrations.

Head to the Guitar World Online Store now.