Most musicians, including me, have gone through that occasional rut that seems to stifle motivation and creativity.
It's almost as if the steady momentum of our progress slams into a wall of stagnation. We might not even notice it at first, but as time goes by, our optimistic attitudes slowly erode and metamorphose into musical cynicism.
In my opinion, a key symptom of this cynicism is when the listener starts to gloss over the finer details of a song, a band or a whole genre. Failing to realize the subtle yet important variations in music can further contribute to a person's indifferent mindset. Reactions toward specific bands or styles become over-generalized and less insightful.
So the question is, how does one get out of this kind of rut? The first option would be to take a break from music. I know that might not have been the answer you were looking for, but it can be very beneficial. Sometimes we're just so consumed by a specific musical pursuit that we get burned out.
Practicing several hours a day, seven days a week, can definitely take its toll on someone. So don't feel guilty if you want to just unplug for a few days, or even a week or two. Maybe you could pursue another hobby you enjoy during your break, something that will recharge your batteries.
Conversely, you might be barely playing or practicing as a result of your rut. In this case, the solution could be to find a new source of motivation and inspiration. Step outside of your comfort zone and listen to genres of music other than those to which you're accustomed.
For example, you might not think anything else of significant originality or relevance can be squeezed out of the minor pentatonic scale. But then you hear an amazing pentatonic passage coming from a saxophone instead of a guitar. That unique difference in timbre or the way the saxophone player phrases his notes might just trigger a wave of rejuvenation in your own playing.
I recently went to see a Dave Matthews Band concert with my girlfriend, and I was skeptical to say the least. I've always tried to be a well-balanced music fan of heavier rock/metal and lighter, more melodic music. But I suppose I've always been a little too critical of vocalists. Unfortunately, this has probably caused me to gloss over the finer details of many bands, simply because I didn't like the singer. This was the case with the Dave Matthews Band.
However, after seeing him and his band play live, I must say I found myself enjoying it. I wouldn't say I'm a converted DMB disciple or anything, but the high caliber of musicianship impressed me. Almost every song they played was extended by a three- to five-minute jam session. The violinist, lead guitarist, saxophonist, trumpeter and drummer each brought something interesting and fresh to the table. Collectively, their improvisational chops inspired me with my own creative ideas. Even Matthews' voice seemed stronger and more energetic in person than on any of the albums I've heard.
This is just one example of how you can dig your way out of the much-dreaded musical rut. Maybe it's time we all think twice before pre-judging certain genres of music simply because they don't appeal to our general tastes. If we dig deeper into a certain band's catalog, we might find that sometimes-elusive moment of inspiration where we least expect it.
That moment could be buried within an eight-minute song that you find to be 80-percent boring but 20-percent amazing. Hold on to that 20 percent and use it as your motivation to move beyond your slump. All you need is an open mind, and you just might find inspiration in an unlikely place.
Chris Breen is a New Jersey-based guitarist with 14 years of experience under his belt. He, along with his brother Jon (on drums) started the two-piece metal project known as SCARSIC in 2011. Due to a lack of members, Chris tracked guitars, bass and vocals for their self titled four-song demo (available on iTunes, Spotify and Rhapsody). They have recently been joined by bassist Bill Loucas and are writing new material. Chris also is part of an all-acoustic side project known as Eyes Turn Stone. Chris teaches guitar lessons as well (in person or via Skype). If you're interested in taking lessons with Chris, visit BreenMusicLessons.com for more info.
After the second recent countdown on their website, Pearl Jam have spilled the beans about their new album — Lightning Bolt— which will be released October 15.
The album, the followup to 2009's Backspacer, will be the band's 10th. Once again, Brendan O'Brien, the band's longtime producer, is at the helm.
The band also is letting fans check out a new track, "Mind Your Manners," which you can hear via the YouTube player below.
Earlier this week, Pearl Jam announced a 24-date North American tour. It starts October 11 in Pittsburgh and wraps up December 6 with a hometown show in Seattle. Tickets go on sale July 26. Check out all the dates here.
Be sure to let us know what you think of "Mind Your Manners" in the comments below!
The new Eagles: Acoustic book/CD is part of the Guitar Play-Along Series, which helps you play your favorite songs quickly and easily.
Just follow the tab, listen to the CD to hear how the guitar should sound, and then play along using the separate backing tracks. The melody and lyrics are also included in the book in case you want to sing, or to simply help you follow along.
The audio CD is playable on any CD player, and also enhanced so Mac & PC users can adjust the recordings to any tempo without changing pitch!
The Eagles: Acoustic includes eight Eagles hits:
• After the Thrill Is Gone • Desperado • Lyin' Eyes • New Kid in Town • Peaceful Easy Feeling • Sad Café • Take It Easy • Tequila Sunrise.
It's mid-July, a special time of the year when we laugh about all the new year's resolutions we didn't come close to keeping, maybe curse the heat — and always reflect on all the new music that has come out since the first Tuesday of the year.
The first half of 2013 was peppered with high-profile releases, including Black Sabbath's 13, which turned the venerable metal legends into chart toppers across the globe and prompted Ozzy Osbourne to exclaim, "I didn't know there were 50 countries, and I'm No. 1 in all of them!"
And while you will find 13 in the photo gallery below, you'll also find several GW staff favorites, including addictive albums by the Melvins, Children of Bodom, Portal, Sleeping with Sirens, Deafheaven, Clutch, Kurt Vile, Son Volt, bluesman Ronnie Earl, Johnny Marr, David Bowie, Alice In Chains, Joe Satriani and a whole lot more.
Be sure to check out the 40-album photo gallery below. And if there's a first-half-of-2013 studio album you don't see here but would like to recommend, please let us know in the comments below!
NOTE: These albums are not presented in any particular order. Once again, these albums are not presented in any particular order ... .
Pantera's six-shooting Texas tornado pumps up his twelve favorite tunes-hair-raising, fist-pumping metal classics that every self-respecting guitarist should know.
You won't find a shred of jazz, blues, classical, country, funk or alternative guitar playing on any of Pantera's six albums, including their recent breakthrough efforts, Cowboys From Hell and Vulgar Display Of Power (both on Atco). What you will hear is plenty of metal — mean, ornery metal, in the great headbanging spirit of the genre's forefathers.
Leading the Texans' assault is guitarist Diamond "Dimebag" Darrell, who spent his early years carefully studying platters by metal's most respected giants: from Black Sabbath and Judas Priest to Iron Maiden and Van Halen.
"The harder stuff has always done it for me," said Darrell. "Man, if it rips, I'll give it a thumbs up!"
At Guitar World's request, the guitarist compiled a list of 12 tunes he regards as pivotal to his development as a player. After he'd completed his list, Darrell commented, "One thing holds true for each of these bands: They all jammed. If kids today want to put a band together and kick some serious ass, it's important for them to go back and check out these songs, because, when it comes to metal, it doesn't get any better than this."
"Crazy Train"
BAND: Ozzy Osbourne
ALBUM: Blizzard Of Ozz (Jet, 1981)
GUITARIST: Randy Rhoads
"The first time I heard 'Crazy Train' I was crashed out in bed, definitely not wanting to get up and go to school, when my brother Vinnie Paul came in and cranked it up. I heard that opening bass line and Ozzy going 'I-I-I-I,' then Randy coming in with that classic riff. That song just busted me in the ass. I was out of bed, dressed, and in school-on time for the very first time! Randy played a lot of cool slurs, where he would slide his pick down the top E string, and I definitely picked up on that."
"Rapid Fire"
BAND: Judas Priest
ALBUM: British Steel (Columbia, 1980)
GUITARISTS: Glen Tipton, K.K. Downing
"Glen Tipton and K.K. Downing are the gods of double-guitar axemanship. They almost fit into the Jimmy Page mold as classic guitarists. Again, they had great tones and unique styles. And I love those quick little fill leads in 'Rapid Fire.' A lot of the guitarists we're talking about weren't just great lead players, but were real band-oriented players. And that's how I approach playing in Pantera."
"Smoke On The Water"
BAND: Deep Purple
ALBUM: Machine Head (Warner Bros., 1972)
GUITARIST: Ritchie Blackmore
"You don't need to say much about that song. It's the ultimate simple tune; it was actually the first song I ever learned. I learned it on the E string, then my dad taught me a chord and I thought it was as heavy as shit. It's simple, but totally bad-ass. It proves that you can play three notes and still make it killer."
"Rock Brigade"
BAND: Def Leppard
ALBUM: On Through The Night (Polydor, 1980)
GUITARISTS: Steve Clark, Pete Willis
"Man, that first Leppard album really jams, and their original guitarist, Pete Willis, was a great player. I was inspired by him because I was a small young• dude and he was a small young dude, too — and he was out there kickin' ass. He made me want to get out there and play. Def Leppard used the two-guitar thing much more then than they do now."
"Children Of The Sea"
BAND: Black Sabbath
ALBUM: Heaven And Hell (Warner Bros., 1980)
GUITARIST: Tony Iommi
"We used to play that song live. The acoustic intro has some great dynamics, and then Tony kicks in with this simple but hard riff, kind of like 'Smoke On The Water.' Iommi had a monstrous guitar sound on that album. And he had that skidding vibrato technique that was so quick and killer. He hardly ever does a slow vibrato. He started all that de-tuning stuff, which I really learned from him."
"Beating Around The Bush"
BAND: AC/DC
ALBUM: Highway To Hell (Atco, 1979)
GUITARISTS: Angus and Malcolm Young
"I can't say enough good shit about Angus' playing. He really stands out from other players. He has a very original guitar sound, and a killer vibrato. He plays totally clean, like he's playing through a Marshall on 12 without the gain kicked in — it's pure distortion, not fuzzy. 'Beating Around The Bush' highlights all of that."
"Children Of The Damned"
BAND: Iron Maiden
ALBUM: The Number Of The Beast (Capitol, 1982)
GUITARISTS: Adrian Smith, Dave Murray
"Both Smith and Murray are real bad-ass players. Both have that rhythm pickup tone happening, and the 'Children Of The Damned' lead really shows that. They don't play too fast, but they play choice notes and work great together. And they have great tones. They also had the ability to play delicate acoustic stuff when they wanted, and could shred with the best when it was appropriate."
"Shock Me"
BAND: Kiss
ALBUM: Love Gun (Casablanca, 1977), Alive 2 (Casablanca, 1977)
GUITARISTS: Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley
"Ace is god, and the 'Shock Me' solo is killer. The studio version (Love Gun) has so much production just in the lead section. I also love the effects on it, especially the phaser on the last note. Man, I get all wound up just talking about Kiss! Ace's vibrato is what really grabbed me, and I always try to apply that to my playing. He could squeeze so much out of a single note that one note could take the place of 12."
"Motorbreath"
BAND: Metallica
ALBUM: Kill 'Em All (Elektra, 1983)
GUITARISTS: James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett
"I love Hammett's lead playing, but Hetfield 's rhythm playing is truly phenomenal. He's the god of chugging riffs,
and 'Motorbreath' is a good example of tight, chunky, galloping speed playing. Man, when I first heard that song, I didn't know what it was! It was so heavy, but real clean. That song really taught me how to play clean, driving rhythms. I don't know any guitarist that can down-pick like Hetfield, and 'Motorbreath' is a prime example of his expertise."
"At Dawn They Sleep"
BAND: Slayer
ALBUM: Hell Awaits (Metal Blade, 1985)
GUITARISTS: Jeff Hanneman, Kerry King
"Those guys have a real unorthodox style of playing — it's totally not normal. [laughs] They have unbelievable rhythm chops. Their songs taught me how to play with guts and aggression. The half-time feel on 'At Dawn They Sleep' is really cool, too. I like how they just start and stop out of nowhere, using no time to build up or wind down. They never give you a chance to get into a song: as soon as it starts, they're battering you over the head, hard and fast.''
"Lights Out"
BAND: UFO
ALBUM: Lights Out (Chrysalis, 1977)
GUITARIST: Michael Schenker
"This song is played in F#, my favorite key to wail in. It's like E — it's real common, but you can't beat it. You can write every song on an album in E and not hurt a thing. Your straight E to F# is pure power, and playing leads in F# is awesome because you can do it down in the second fret position. Tunes like 'Lights Out' showed me how to do that.
"The rhythm section behind the lead in that song is really driving — it's fire, it's guts, it's live, it's totally jamming! We try to maintain that in Pantera. Even though we don't use a rhythm guitar track behind my leads, Rex and Vinnie keep things going when I solo — like a rhythm section lead behind my lead”
"Eruption"
BAND: Van Halen
ALBUM: Van Halen (Warner Bros., 1978)
GUITARIST: Eddie Van Halen
"Van Halen was a huge influence on me, and 'Eruption' was the song that really leaped off that first Van Halen album. I was a little kid when I first heard it, and I couldn't believe how Eddie just ripped the strings off his guitar. He played with a fierce aggression — and his guitar sound was unbeatable. That dive bomb sound effect at the song's end sounded like the world was coming to an end. Because Eddie was so hardcore about his guitar, he made me look at the instrument in a different way — more as a tool to screw around with than something you must play very carefully."
2011 EDITOR'S NOTE: Although the original 1993 GW story promised 12 songs, there actually were 13 songs in the piece. Here's the bonus 13th song:
"Tush"
BAND: ZZ Top
ALBUM: Fandango! (Warner Bros., 1975)
GUITARIST: Billy Gibbons
"I'm not a super blues player, but I was exposed to the Texas blues sound while I was growing up, and that definitely rubbed off on me. To me, blues is more of a feel and a vibe, rather than sitting there and saying, 'Well, I'm gonna play bluesy now.' And Billy definitely plays with feeling on 'Tush.' My favorite thing about it is where he lets that one note ring out until it dies off, then gets that rattling noise on the frets."
The MXR Prime Distortion conjures vintage hard clipping that’s raw, powerful and highly responsive to the guitar player's attack. With its classic Output, Tone and Distortion control setup, this pedal’s huge, articulate sound is easy to dial in. The Prime Distortion packs a huge punch when you dig in, but it also cleans up when you pull back.
This 100-percent analog distortion uses low-noise op amps, so you don’t get any extra noise when the gain levels soar.
Features:
• Responsive to attack • Output, Tone and Distortion controls • Low noise op amps • 100 percent analog • Street price: $49.99.
Here are two new videos that demo the MXR Prime Distortion pedal:
TAL Jackson Guitar w/ EMG active humbuckers + M69 Prime Distortion + LAVA Vintage Coil cables + Marshall Super Lead (100w) and 4-12 slant cabinet. Recorded with Heil PR30 and Royer 101 microphones. Performance: Tal Morris. Executive Producer: Jimmy Dunlop.
JAMES Fender Telecaster + M69 Prime Distortion + LAVA Vintage Tweed cables + Carr "Impala" amplifier (6L6, 40w); Recorded with Heil PR30 and Royer 101 microphones. Performance: James Deprato. Executive Producer: Jimmy Dunlop.
Check out "Culture Clash," a new song by the Aristocrats, an instrumental rock/fusion trio featuring guitarist Guthrie Govan, bassist Bryan Beller and drummer Marco Minnemann.
The band's second album, also titled Culture Clash, will be released Tuesday, July 16, via BOING Music.
“There's something that happens when the three of us get together in a room. It happened in the first rehearsal, it happened in the first gig, and it definitely happens in the studio,” Beller said. “That's why, even though we live thousands of miles and an ocean apart, we always make records in the same room as opposed to remote file-swapping."
Govan added: “All the time we spent together as a band touring and gigging together and interacting has made us bolder in terms of the kind of material we've dared to write for this album. I think there's some wackier stuff that we maybe wouldn't have submitted for the first album when we didn't know each other as well.”
The Aristocrats have announced several July and August US tour dates, which you can see below the video. For more about the band, visit their official website and Facebook page.
THE ARISTOCRATS “Culture Clash” US Tour Dates:
7/17 Nashville TN @ Douglas Corner
7/19 Tampa FL @ Brass Mug
7/20 Orlando FL @ West End Trading Company
7/21 Jacksonville FL @ 1904 Music Hall
7/23 Atlanta GA @ Atlanta Institute of Music (clinic/show)
7/24 Atlanta GA @Masquerade (Purgatory Room)
7/25 Charlotte NC @ Tremont Music Hall (Casbah)
7/26 Raleigh NC @ Pour House Music Hall
7/27 Washington DC @ Jammin Java
7/29 Boston MA @ Berklee College of Music (clinic)
7/30 Boston MA @ Berklee Performance Center (concert)
7/31 Wilkes-Barre PA @ River St. Jazz Cafe
8/1 New York City NY @ Highline Ballroom
8/2 Philadelphia PA @ North Star Bar
8/3 Dunellen NJ @ New Jersey Proghouse
8/6 Pittsburgh PA @ Hard Rock Cafe
8/7 Cleveland OH @ Beachland Tavern
8/8 Columbus OH @ Rumba Café
8/9 Cincinnati OH @ Southgate House Revival
8/10 Charleston WV @ Empty Glass
8/12 Detroit MI @ Token Lounge
8/13 Indianapolis IN @ Birdy's
8/14 Chicago IL @ Reggie's
8/15 Madison WI @ Brink Lounge
8/16 St. Paul MN @ Amsterdam Bar and Hall
8/17 Omaha NE @ Shamrock's
8/19 St. Louis MO @ 2720 Cherokee
8/20 Kansas City MO @ The Record Bar
8/21 Tulsa OK @ The Vanguard
8/23 Denton TX @ Dan's Silverleaf
8/24 Houston TX @ Rudyard's Pub
8/25 Austin TX @ Saxon Pub
The following content is related to the September 2013 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue.
In this month’s column, I’d like to continue our investigation of the fundamental modes with a look at the Phrygian mode. The Phrygian mode is often referred to as the “third mode” because—starting from the major scale, which is the “mother,” or “parent,” scale to the seven fundamental modes and is itself considered the first mode—Phrygian is the third mode in the series, as it is based upon the third scale degree of the major scale.
If we start with a major scale in the key of C, the notes are C D E F G A B. Intervallically, this is spelled: one (root), maj2 (major second), maj3 (major third), 4 (perfect fourth), 5 (perfect fifth), maj6 (major sixth), maj7 (major seventh). If we start from the third note of C major, E, and proceed through the same note series to an E note one octave higher, we get E F G A B C D.
This is the E Phrygian mode, spelled: one (root), f2 (minor, or “flatted,” second), f3 (flatted third), 4, 5, f6 (flatted sixth), f7 (flatted seventh). As you can see, four of the seven scale degrees—f2, f3, f6 and f7—are flatted intervals. These yield a dark, foreboding sound that is perfect for heavy-metal riffs and solos.
The following content is related to the September 2013 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue.
A musician can express a wide range of feelings and emotions simply by changing the phrasing of a series of notes. Examples includes altering which notes are emphasized within a line, modifying the rhythmic syncopation of the melodic shape and changing the tone and/or pick attack. This month I’d like to focus on rhythmic and melodic approaches that can be easily applied when either composing or improvising a solo.
We’ll use one particular scale, E major pentatonic (E Fs Gs B Cs), which we will play over a repeating chord progression. FIGURE 1 shows this scale played in ninth position. As you play through this pattern, be aware of the note names as well as their intervallic relationships. You can do this effectively by reciting either the note name or its interval name as you ascend and descend the scale repeatedly.
These videos are bonus content related to the September 2013 issue of Guitar World. Check out this month's issue for full tabs, transcriptions and lessons.
The following content is related to the September 2013 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue.
By the late Forties, electric guitar was firmly established as an important instrumental voice in down-home blues, but in the realm of uptown rhythm and blues, with the exception of T-Bone Walker and a few of his disciples, guitar solos were still relatively rare. Saxophone was king, and no saxophonist of the era was more popular than Louis Jordan, a.k.a. “Mr. Jukebox.”
In addition to his witty vocals and swinging arrangements on classics like “I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town,” “Let the Good Times Roll,” “Caldonia,” and many others, Jordan’s wailing, bluesy alto solos foreshadowed the dynamic string stretching of a new generation of electric guitar heroes.
The following content is related to the September 2013 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue.
For an artist with such a vast body of work, Richard Thompson has spent much of his musical life under the radar. A founding member of Fairport Convention (he penned their anthem “Meet on the Ledge”) and the folk-rock duo Richard and Linda Thompson, he is also a critically acclaimed solo artist whose songs have been covered by numerous artists, including Robert Plant, Elvis Costello, David Byrne and R.E.M.
Thompson plays Martin, Lowden and Farrington acoustic guitars, and as we’ll see in this lesson, he favors hybrid picking (“pick-and-fingers” technique) and often opts for drop-D tuning (lower your sixth string’s pitch one whole step, to D). Today, with a career spanning almost 50 years, Thompson is still recording and touring, and is busier than ever. Let’s examine some of the things that make this picker tick.
Guitar World magazine presents its Ultimate Subscription Offer!
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As a bonus, you will also receive Asking Alexandria’s EP of covers, Under The Influence: A Tribute To The Legends of Hard Rock! This latest collection features the band covering their idols, with tracks including: “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake, “Separate Ways” by Journey, “Hysteria” by Def Leppard and “Kickstart My Heart” by Mötley Crüe.
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According to Tool drummer Danny Carey, fans can expect a new studio album from the band in early 2014.
The as-yet-untitled album, which will be the band's fifth full-length studio release, will be the followup to 2006's 10,000 Days.
"Right now, since we haven’t started tracking stuff at this point, it'll be hard," Carey told Loud Wire. "We could have the record finished by the end of the year [2013] — that's a possibility, but the logistics of getting it manufactured and getting the record company in line and all this stuff, I doubt we'll be able to get it out before Christmas. We'll see how it goes. Most likely, it'll be early 2014.”
Carey added that he, Adam Jones and Justin Chancellor (but not Maynard James Keenan yet) are working on new material.
"It's still the three of us right now and four of us it will be soon, you know, just working on all our parts and working on our compositions together," Carey said, adding, "We're working every day on it, and it's going really well, so I'm hoping we'll get into the studio by the end of the year.
"Stylistically, we're trying to push things in different ways, but it always comes out sounding like Tool no matter what we're trying to do."
Stone Temple Pilots will be heading out on a North American tour this fall with their new lineup, which includes Linkin Park's Chester Bennington as vocalist.
The band also has been busy working on new music for an upcoming EP that will be released later this year. The Bennington-infused lineup of Stone Temple Pilots released a single, "Out of Time," in May.
Filter will be the supporting act on the tour, and you can check out all the dates below.
Sept 4 Bethlehem, PA @ Sands Bethlehem Events Center
Sept 6 Sayreville @ Starland Ballroom
Sept 7 Atlantic City, NJ @ House of Blues
Sept 9 Boston, MA @ House of Blues
Sept 10 Huntington, NY @ Paramount
Sept 13 Oklahoma City, OK @ Downtown Airpark (w/ Motley Crue)
Sept 14 Newkirk, OK @ First Council Casino*
Sept 17 Sunrise, FL @ BB & T Center (FLA Panthers Event)
Sept 18 Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
Sept 20 Columbia, SC @ Township Auditorium
Sept 21 Ft Myers, FL Rockwave Festival – Jet Blue Park
Sept 24 Midland, TX @ La Hacienda Event Center
Sept 26 Tempe, AZ @ Marquee
Sept 27 Las Vegas, NV @ Freemont Street Experience*
Nov 1 Biloxi, MS @ Hard Rock Live*
* Filter will not be appearing on this show
A few years ago, the editors of Guitar World magazine compiled what we feel is the ultimate guide to the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time.
The list, which has been quoted by countless artists, websites and publications around the world, starts with Richie Sambora's work on Bon Jovi's “Wanted Dead or Alive” (100) and builds to a truly epic finish with Jimmy Page's solo on "Stairway to Heaven" (01).
In June, we kicked off a summer blockbuster of our own — a no-holds-barred six-string shootout. We pitted Guitar World's top 64 guitar solos against each other in an NCAA-style, 64-team single-elimination tournament. Every day, we asked you to cast your vote in a different guitar-solo matchup as dictated by the 64-team-style bracket. Now Round 1 has come and gone, leaving us with 32 guitar solo and 16 (sweet) matchups.
You can vote only once per matchup, and the voting ends as soon as the next matchup is posted (Basically, that's one poll per day).
In some cases, genre will clash against genre; a thrash solo might compete against a Southern rock solo, for instance. But let's get real: They're all guitar solos, played on guitars, by guitarists, most of them in some subset of the umbrella genre of rock. When choosing, it might have to come down to, "Which solo is more original and creative? Which is more iconic? or Which one kicks a larger, more impressive assemblage of asses?"
Yesterday's Results
Winner:"Since I've Been Loving You" (53.48 percent) Loser:"Time" (46.52 percent)
Today's Round 2 Matchup (3 of 16) "Highway Star" Vs. "Little Wing"
Today, Deep Purple's "Highway Star" (15), featuring a solo by Ritchie Blackmore, goes up against Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing" (18). Get busy! You'll find the poll at the bottom of the story.
15. “Highway Star” Soloist: Ritchie Blackmore Album: Deep Purple—Machine Head (Warner Bros., 1972)
“I wrote that out note for note about a week before we recorded it,” says Ritchie Blackmore. “And that is one of the only times I have ever done that. I wanted it to sound like someone driving in a fast car, for it to be one of those songs you would listen to while speeding.
And I wanted a very definite Bach sound, which is why I wrote it out—and why I played those very rigid arpeggios across that very familiar Bach progression—Dm, Gm, Cmaj, Amaj. I believe that I was the first person to do that so obviously on the guitar, and I believe that that’s why it stood out and why people have enjoyed it so much.
“[Keyboardist] Jon Lord worked his part out to mine. Initially, I was going to play my solo over the chords he had planned out. But I couldn’t get off on them, so I made up my own chords and we left the spot for him to write a melody. The keyboard solo is quite a bit more difficult than mine because of all those 16th notes.
Over the years, I’ve always played that solo note for note—again, one of the few where I’ve done that—but it just got faster and faster onstage because we would drink more and more whiskey. Jon would have to play his already difficult part faster and faster and he would get very annoyed about it.”
18. “Little Wing” Soloist: Jimi Hendrix Album: The Jimi Hendrix Experience—Axis: Bold as Love (Experience Hendrix/MCA, 1968)
Covered by artists like Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Sting, “Little Wing” is one of Jimi Hendrix’s most beautiful and enduring compositions. It’s easy to see why. The original is seductively warm, poignant and light as a feather. Engineer Eddie Kramer explains how Jimi achieved the song’s ethereal glow in the studio.
“One of my favorite touches on that track is the glockenspiel part, which was played by Jimi,” says Kramer. “Part of the beauty of recording at Olympic Studios in London was using instruments that had been left from previous sessions. The glockenspiel was just laying around, so Jimi used it.”
Hendrix’s rich and watery guitar solo was, says Kramer, in part the product of a secret weapon. “One of the engineers had built this miniature Leslie,” continues Kramer. “It was like it was built out of an Erector set and had a small eight-inch speaker that rotated. Believe it or not, the guitar solo was fed through this tiny thing, and that’s the lovely effect you hear on the lead.”
Lamb of God and Killswitch Engage have announced a joint fall North American tour that kicks off October 22 in Toronto.
Joining them — at every show except Los Angeles — will be Testament and Huntress.
All dates go on sale this weekend, July 19 and 20. Check out all the dates below.
Lamb of God / Killswitch Engage On Tour
10/22 Toronto, ON | Kool Haus - Tickets
10/23 Quebec City, QC | Pavillon de la Jeunesse - Tickets
10/24 Montreal, QC | Metropolis - Tickets
10/25 New York, NY | Roseland Ballroom - Tickets
10/26 Wallingford, CT | Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre - Tickets
10/28 Columbus, OH | LC Pavilion - Tickets
10/29 Detroit, MI | The Fillmore Detroit - Tickets
10/30 Chicago, IL | Congress Theater - Tickets
11/01 Kansas City, MO | The Midland by AMC - Tickets
11/02 Grand Prairie, TX | Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie - Tickets
11/03 Socorro, TX | Socorro Entertainment Center – Free Show
11/05 Denver, CO | The Fillmore Auditorium - Tickets
11/07 Tempe, AZ | Marquee Theater - Tickets
11/08 Los Angeles, CA | Hollywood Palladium * - Tickets
11/09 Oakland, CA | Fox Theater - Tickets
11/11 Kent, WA | ShoWare Center - Tickets
11/12 Vancouver, BC | Queen Elizabeth Theatre - Tickets
11/14 Edmonton, AB | Shaw Conference Centre - Tickets
11/15 Calgary, AB | Big Four - Tickets
11/16 Saskatoon, SK | Saskatoon Prairieland Park - Tickets
11/18 St. Paul, MN | Myth - Tickets
11/19 Milwaukee, WI | Eagles Ballroom - Tickets
11/20 Grand Rapids, MI | Orbit Room - Tickets
11/22 Sayreville, NJ | Starland Ballroom - Tickets
11/23 Boston, MA | House of Blues - Tickets
11/24 Philadelphia, PA | Electric Factory - Tickets
11/25 Pittsburgh, PA | Stage AE - Tickets
11/26 Silver Spring, MD | The Fillmore Silver Spring - Tickets
*Testament will not be on the Los Angeles show. Support will be announced in mid-September.
In the DVD, Guitar World editor and instructor Andy Aledort shows you how to play all the techniques associated with the lighting-fast style of country shredding known as “chicken pickin’.”
Plus, you’ll get in-depth lesson on using two-note double-stops.
A few years ago, the editors of Guitar World magazine compiled what we feel is the ultimate guide to the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time.
The list, which has been quoted by countless artists, websites and publications around the world, starts with Richie Sambora's work on Bon Jovi's “Wanted Dead or Alive” (100) and builds to a truly epic finish with Jimmy Page's solo on "Stairway to Heaven" (01).
In June, we kicked off a summer blockbuster of our own — a no-holds-barred six-string shootout. We pitted Guitar World's top 64 guitar solos against each other in an NCAA-style, 64-team single-elimination tournament. Every day, we asked you to cast your vote in a different guitar-solo matchup as dictated by the 64-team-style bracket. Now Round 1 has come and gone, leaving us with 32 guitar solo and 16 (sweet) matchups.
You can vote only once per matchup, and the voting ends as soon as the next matchup is posted (Basically, that's one poll per day).
In some cases, genre will clash against genre; a thrash solo might compete against a Southern rock solo, for instance. But let's get real: They're all guitar solos, played on guitars, by guitarists, most of them in some subset of the umbrella genre of rock. When choosing, it might have to come down to, "Which solo is more original and creative? Which is more iconic? or Which one kicks a larger, more impressive assemblage of asses?"
Today's Round 2 Matchup (4 of 16) "Hotel California" Vs. "Reelin' in the Years"
Today, the guitar solo on the Eagles' uber-classic "Hotel California" (08), featuring a solo by Don Felder and Joe Walsh, goes up against Elliott Randall's solo on Steely Dan's "Reelin' in the Years" (40). Get busy! You'll find the poll at the bottom of the story.
08. “Hotel California” Soloist: Don Felder, Joe Walsh Album: The Eagles—Hotel California (Asylum, 1976)
Credit for the guitar majesty of “Hotel California” is often given to Joe Walsh, who toughened up the Eagles’ laid-back California sound when he joined the band just prior to the Hotel California album’s recording. Actually, the primary guitar heard throughout the solo belongs to Don Felder, who wrote the music for the track and actually conceived and played the solo’s intricate harmonies on his initial, instrumental demo.
“Every once in a while it seems like the cosmos part and something great plops into your lap,” says Felder. “That’s how it was with ‘Hotel California.’ I had just leased this beach house in Malibu and was sitting in the living room with all the doors wide open on a spectacular July day, probably in ’75. I was soaking wet in a bathing suit, sitting on the couch, thinking the world is a wonderful place to be and tinkling around with this acoustic 12-string when those ‘Hotel California’ chords just oozed out. I had a TEAC four-track set up in a back bedroom, and I ran back there to put this idea down before I forgot it.
“I set this old rhythm ace to play a cha-cha beat, set the right tempo and played the 12-string on top of it. A few days later, I went back and listened to it and it sounded pretty unique, so I came up with a bass line. A few days after that, I added some electric guitars. Everything was mixed down to mono, ping-ponging back and forth on this little four-track. Finally, I wound up with a cassette that had virtually the entire arrangement that appeared on the record, verbatim, with the exception of a few Joe Walsh licks on the end. All the harmony guitar stuff was there, as was my solo.
“Then I gave it to Don Henley on a tape with eight or 10 ideas, and he came back and said, ‘I really love the one that sounds like a Matador…like you’re in Mexico.’ We worked it all up and went into the studio and recorded it as I wrote it—in E minor, just regular, open chords in standard tuning—and made this killer track. All the electric guitars were big and fat and the 12-string was nice and full. Then Henley came back and said, ‘It’s in the wrong key.’ So I said, ‘What do you need? D? F sharp?’…hoping that we could varispeed the tape. But he said no, that wouldn’t work, and we sat down and started trying to figure out the key—and it turned out to be B minor! So out comes the capo, way up on the seventh fret. We re-recorded the song in B minor and all of a sudden the guitar sounds really small and the whole track just shrinks! It was horrible, so we went back and tried it again. Luckily, we came up with a better version in B minor.
“I kept the capo on and recorded the acoustic guitar through a Leslie. They took a D.I. out of the console and a stereo Leslie, and they got this swirly effect. Then I went back and did most of the guitars, except for the stuff where Joe and I set up on two stools and ran the harmony parts down. I play the first solo, then it’s Joe. Then we trade lines and then we go into the lead harmonies.
“Now that I’ve heard it for 20 years, the 12-string part sounds right to me, but it’s still not as nice as the E minor version we did. And even when we’d finished the song and made it the title track, I wasn’t convinced that it should be our single. I thought it was way too long—twice the normal radio length—and sort of weird because it started out quiet and had this quiet breakdown section in the middle. I was very skeptical, but I yielded to the wisdom of Henley.”
While recording Steely Dan’s 1972 debut, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen knew they had a great track for “Reelin’ in the Years”—if they could only come up with the appropriate guitar solo to jumpstart the tune. So they put in a call to Elliott Randall, with whom they had worked in the backing band for Jay and the Americans, and who’d had played on many of the duo’s early, pre-Steely Dan demos.
“They were having trouble finding the right ‘flavor’ solo for ‘Reelin,’ and asked me to give it a go,” recalls Randall. “Most of the song was already complete, so I had the good fortune of having a very clear picture of what the solo was laying on top of. They played it for me without much dialogue about what I should play.
It just wasn’t necessary because we did it in one take and nothing was written. Jeff Baxter played the harmony parts, but my entire lead—intro/answers/solo/end solo—was one continuous take played through a very simple setup: my old Strat, the same one I’ve been using since 1965, plugged directly into an Ampeg SVT amp, and miked with a single AKG 414. The whole solo just came to me, and I feel very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to play it.”
Vox Amplification has added the Tone Garage series of guitar pedals to its lineup.
The series is comprised of five effects units that feature all-analog circuitry. The Flat 4 Boost, the V8 Distortion and the Straight 6 Drive feature a carefully matched, high-voltage Vox 12AX7 tube.
The Flat 4 Boost also incorporates a passive Baxandall EQ circuit. The Double Deca Analog Delay features three V3205 Bucket Brigade chips, and the Trike Fuzz octave/fuzz pedal features specially selected, high-quality diodes.
Vox engineers named the series "Tone Garage" for its boutique-inspired, hot-rodded and modded designs that deliver classic and unique tones not found elsewhere.
The pedals' all-discrete circuits use no op-amps or ICs (Integrated Circuits), instead using individual transistors, resistors, capacitors and coils. Specially-created for three of the pedals in this series is a new VOX vacuum tube circuit technology called "Hi-Volt," which delivers high-voltage (200V) to a 12AX7 vacuum tube using the included 6x AA batteries or an optional DC9V adaptor (fairly unique to a high voltage pedal, Tone Garage pedals can run on most commonly-found DC9V power supplies).
The result is highly dynamic and responsive tones with the feel and dynamic range players associate with vacuum tube amps.
All five pedals are equipped with a convenient toggle switch that's designed to alter the EQ for additional sonic options, and each is housed in a sturdy aluminum die cast body to withstand the rigors of the road. Battery life is approximately seven hours with six AA batteries.
Additional Tone Garage Series features include:
Flat 4 Boost
Full range boost with mid and treble boost
High voltage design for maximum tube tone
Passive Baxandall EQ circuit for a pure and natural tone
Straight 6 Overdrive
Classic British overdrive with wide range of dynamics
High voltage design featuring a 12AX7 for maximum tube tone
V8 Distortion
High-gain distortion ideal for heavy riffs and solos
High voltage design featuring a 12AX7 for maximum tube tone
Double Deca Delay
Multi-function Analog delay pedal
Three V3205 BBD Bucket Brigade Chips
Up to 900ms of delay time
Trike Fuzz
Multi-functional octave fuzz pedal
Wide range of vintage, thick-sounding, fuzz tones using special, hand-selected diodes
Octave up, Octave down or a mixture of both
The VOX ToneGarage series of guitar effects pedals will be available in late summer 2013, with the following US street prices:
