Here's a handy lesson video by the guys at Texas Blues Alley.
It's called "How to Be a Jerk Guitar Player in 10 Easy Steps." Of course, it's meant to be sarcastic, yet it does spotlight a lot of unfortunately common behavior among, well, jerk guitarists.
In fact, if you already follow any of these 10 guidelines, you might have a problem. You might actually be the problem. Enjoy!
For more about Texas Blues Alley, visit texasbluesalley.com.
These videos and audio files are bonus content related to the March 2015 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.
GOLD AWARD WINNER
Way back in 1979, Maxon developed the first 808 overdrive pedal (which was marketed in the United States as the Ibanez Tube Screamer).
Over the past 20 years, the 808 has become one of the most widely coveted, copied and modified pedal circuits of all time. As great as the original 808 pedal is, there are many who feel that it could be improved, especially players with more modern tastes in tone.
Who better to improve the 808 than the folks at Maxon themselves? The new Maxon OD808X is faithful in spirit to the original green overdrive, but it offers increased output, wider frequency response and much more aggressive gain characteristics to satisfy the needs of today’s players.
Here’s an cool recording of Lemmy and Phil Campbell from Motörhead chilling out…acoustically!
Recorded circa 2001, the song “I Ain’t No Nice Guy,” originally appeared on their 1992 album March ör Die.
The original recording featured and excellent cast of characters that included Lemmy, Ozzy Osbourne, and Slash.
The song was part of Motörhead’s bid for mainstream success. It missed the mark but we can still enjoy this strummy soul-searcher.
This laid back performance might even be called folksy.
The guys are still rocking out at motorhead.com
Don't forget the guitar player in your life this Valentine's Day!
Order by Monday, February 9, to receive your order in time for Valentine's Day.
Gift ideas include a guitar-shaped wine decanter, a Fender cheese board and a Fender wine bottle holder!
In this edition of In Deep, we’ll examine some of the signature elements of the brilliant blues-rock guitarist Gary Moore’s stunning, immediately identifiable guitar style.
Born in 1952, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Moore picked up the guitar at the age of eight, inspired by the music of Elvis Presley, the Shadows and the Beatles.
But his strongest influences were John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers guitarists Eric Clapton and Peter Green, as well as legendary electric blues progenitors Albert King, B.B King and Albert Collins. Another important influence was Jimi Hendrix; Moore would regularly include Hendrix’s slow blues “Red House” in his live shows.
Though Moore was often seen playing a beautiful Fiesta Red 1961 Strat, his signature sound is more closely associated with the beloved 1959 Les Paul Standard that he played for many years (see sidebar on page 36). He purchased that guitar from Peter Green in 1970 and, fittingly, used it to record his 1995 tribute to his mentor, Blues for Greeny.
Often, Moore would begin a song using the warm tone of his Les Paul’s neck pickup, with which he would perform melodic, vocal-like lines, then switch over to the bridge pickup for his solos to achieve a more aggressive and biting sound.
Moore often employed a fair amount of gain—courtesy of Marshall heads (often JTM45s), 4x12 basketweave Marshall cabinets and Marshall Guv’nor and Ibanez Tube Screamer pedals—and was known for conjuring tremendous sustain, such as the celebrated “endless note” featured in his live performances of his classic song “Parisienne Walkways.”
A great way to approach incorporating Gary Moore–style licks into your playing is to start with the most essential scale for blues/rock soloing, the minor pentatonic. FIGURE 1 shows the A minor pentatonic scale in fifth position.
The fingering I use for this scale is index-pinkie on the low E string, switching to index-ring finger for the rest of the scale. One of the unusual things about Moore’s style is that he preferred to use his middle finger in conjunction with his index for a great many of his licks, similar to the fretting approach of Gypsy jazz great Django Reinhardt. When playing this type of scale in this position, Moore would often use his index and ring fingers on the top two strings and the low E string but would switch to index-middle for all the other strings.
Occasionally, Moore would stick with the index-middle approach across virtually all of the strings, along the lines of FIGURE 2. In this lick, I start by barring the index finger across the top two strings at the fifth fret and use the middle finger to execute the quick half-step bends on the B string, as well as the fast hammer-ons and pull-offs across the B and G strings.
FIGURE 3 details a “traditional” fingering for descending the minor pentatonic scale in this position within groups of 16th-note triplets.
A staple of Moore’s soloing style was to unleash fast flourishes of notes, executed with free-form “crammed” phrasing that rushed over the top of the groove. He would balance these fiery blasts with simpler, more vocal-like phrases that would effectively pull his improvisations back into the groove. For many of these runs, Moore would rely on quick hammer-on/pull-off figures between pairs of notes on a given string, as demonstrated in FIGURES 4a and 4b.
In FIGURE 5a, I apply this concept to every string as I descend A minor pentatonic in a symmetrical fashion. FIGURE 5b offers a similar, albeit simpler, idea, and FIGURE 5c presents a similar approach applied to an ascending lick.
Further permutations on this concept are shown in FIGURES 6a–c. Once you’ve got a handle on these, try moving to other areas of the fretboard and apply the concepts to other keys, as demonstrated in FIGURES 7a and 7b.
FIGURE 8 offers an example of soloing in Gary’s style over a medium straight-eighths funk groove along the lines of his cover of Albert King’s “Oh, Pretty Woman.’
The title track of Moore’s hit album Still Got the Blues (a complete transcription of which appears in the May 2011 issue of Guitar World) featured a “cycle of fourths” chord progression more common to jazz than blues or rock.
FIGURE 9 is a melodic solo played over this type of progression in the key of Am. Notice that each phrase makes direct reference to the accompanying chord by targeting its third. Also, bar 6 features a fast pull-off lick to the open high E string, a technique Moore utilized in a great many of his solos.
Yesterday, RollingStone.com premiered two videos from Foo Fighters' upcoming episode of Austin City Limits, which airs tomorrow, February 7, on PBS.
Below, you can check out a clip of Foo Fighters performing the Fabulous Thunderbirds' 1986 hit, "Tuff Enuff," with Jimmie Vaughan sitting in on guitar. Vaughan, who left the Thunderbirds in 1989, was one of that band's founding members.
The clip also features guitarist Gary Clark Jr., another Austin local.
For more on this topic, plus two more videos (including some behind-the-scenes footage) from the Foo Fighters'Austin City Limits episode, visit RollingStone.com.
Last week, Joe Bonamassa was feeling a bit under the weather, but he still had time—and the desire—to whip up a quick lesson video for the gang on the Les Paul Forum.
"At home nursing a pretty good head cold and sinus infection," wrote Bonamassa January 28 on his Facebook page."I was bored and thought I would do a lesson for my friends at the Les Paul Forum."
You can check out his video, which is about fretboard knowledge, below.
Hope you're feeling better, Joe!
To mark its 20th anniversary, Caparison Guitars has introduced a special limited-edition version of its classic Horus 27-fret guitar.
This special edition 20th Anniversary Horus-M3 model has the same M3 mahogany/maple/mahogany body construction of its modern counterparts, a new 2015 Horus body shape and three-way pickup selector.
But to mark Caparison's 20th anniversary, this limited-edition model will be available in one of the most recognizsed and sought-after Caparison colors ever produced, the distinctive and alluring Iris Violet with gold hardware. Each finish is hand applied by Caparison's head designer, Itaru Kanno, and each one is truly individual.
Features include:
• Unique Hand Applied Finish
• Limited-edition color (Iris Violet) with gold hardware
• Caparison Designed Pickups
• 27 frets
• Mahogany / maple / mahogany body construction (M3)
Designed, manufactured and hand finished in Japan, the Caparison Horus-M3 20th Anniversary Model is available for this year only.
For more about this model, visit caparisonguitars.com.
Considering their resumes, which read like a who’s who of hard rock and metal, calling Revolution Saints a supergroup is something of an understatement.
The creative trifecta of Deen Castronovo (Journey, Bad English), Jack Blades (Night Ranger, Damn Yankees) and Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake, Burning Rain) has put together an inspired collection of songs packed with monster vocals, driving rhythms and (of course) a blistering guitar attack.
Their debut self-titled album, which will be released February 24, also features appearances by Castronovo’s fellow Journey bandmates, Neal Schon and Arnel Pineda.
I recently caught up with bassist Jack Blade to talk about Revolution Saints, Night Ranger and more.
GUITAR WORLD: How did the Revolution Saints project come together?
It was actually the brainchild of the head of Frontiers Records. He really wanted to give Deen a platform where he could be the lead singer. He talked to Deen about it, and then Deen called me up and asked me if I wanted to be a part of it. I was immediately on board. Then someone mentioned Doug Aldrich. I’ve always been a big fan of Doug’s. He’s such a great guitar player. Boom! There it was!
The new album has elements from all of your other bands, yet has its own unique freshness. How would describe the new album?
It’s pretty hard rocking. Good, classic hard rock with balls is basically what the whole thing is about. I think when you have individuals like us, you can’t help but be who you are. It is who we are in all of those bands we’ve been a part of. But Deen’s voice is so pure and clean on this album. It’s just wonderful.
Let’s talk about a few tracks from the album. What can you tell me about “Turn Back Time”?
Alessandro Del Vecchio had written the music for the song and I contributed the lyrics. Deen and I decided it would be a great song for us to do a co-lead vocal on it.
"Way to the Sun"
That’s a made for Neal Schon-type of song. The way Neal seamlessly blends his guitar into the track is just amazing. It’s classic Neal Schon!
What was the recording process like for this album?
It was really a combination of two things. First, Deen would lay down drum tracks and send them to me, and then I would put down the bass and send it off to Doug. Then the three of us all went into a studio in Portland and pulled it all together.
Do the three of you have plans to tour as Revolution Saints?
We’re having meetings right now to figure that out. We’ve been getting offers to play from all parts of the globe. I know Journey has a very busy schedule and Night Ranger also has a lot of shows this year. Doug’s also busy with all of the projects he’s involved with. We’ll see. It would definitely be fun band to play in and for people to see.
Let’s talk a little Night Ranger. Joel Hoekstra departed recently to join Whitesnake and was replaced by Keri Kelli. Does Keri’s arrival change the dynamic of the band?
Keri was a seamless transition. There wasn’t even a moment of getting used to. Keri was with Alice Cooper and Slash for years and brings a real good swagger into the band. He’s played with us before and did a whole tour of Canada with us some years ago. Keri and Brad get along so well, and the way he swings on his rhythms is really refreshing. It’s been great.
You mentioned touring. What are Night Ranger’s tour plans for this year?
There are a lot of shows coming in. We’ll be doing our own thing as well as playing with some other bands. Needless to say, it’s going to be another busy year for Night Ranger. We’re still working behind our new album, High Road. What’s so refreshing is when people hear songs from the record in our set and come up to us and say, “That third song from the set. Was that a huge hit from Midnight Madness or Seven Wishes?” And I’d say, “No, that was from our new album, High Road!” That’s about the best compliment we could ever get!
This year marks the 30th anniversary of Seven Wishes. What comes to mind when you think about that album?
It was great album to make. We had such huge success with Midnight Madness and after touring behind it non-stop went right into the studio. It was a real growth record for us with songs like “Seven Wishes,"“Four in the Morning,"“Sentimental Street” and “Goodbye." There’s a lot of great stuff on that record.
A lot of rockers have written books about their lives and careers. Have you ever given thought to writing one at some point?
Right now, I just love to work, create, play and travel. I’m also excited about Revolution Saints. There’s a lot of buzz about the record. But I think that a book might be a pretty cool thing to do at some point. Maybe put it in a perspective of life’s lessons. You know, “What have you learned from '(You Can Still) Rock in America?' That’s kind of what it would be about. That will be another project I’ll have to wrap my head around! [laughs].
For more about Revolution Saints, follow them on Facebook.
James Wood is a writer, musician and self-proclaimed metalhead who maintains his own website, GoJimmyGo.net. His articles and interviews are written on a variety of topics with passion and humor. You can follow him on Twitter @JimEWood.
Fifty years ago, Micky Dolenz’s agent called him about an audition for a new pilot about music and comedy.
It was the beginning of a journey that would take Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork to the world of super-stardom.
Although the show would last only two seasons, the impact the Monkees had on music cannot be ignored. Their first four albums went to Number 1 and included such hits as "Last Train to Clarksville,""I'm a Believer,""(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" and "Pleasant Valley Sunday."
The Monkees have sold more than 65 million units worldwide, easily putting them on par with the biggest artists of all time and making a case for their placement in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Dolenz has seen a lot of musical history up close, including touring with Jimi Hendrix and sitting in while the Beatles were working on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart's Club Band album. Dolenz’s 2012 album, Remember, contains an acoustic-driven version of a Beatles song he heard in those sessions.
I recently spoke with Dolenz about the Monkees, his career and a some of his side projects.
GUITAR WORLD: When you first got word about The Monkees, as in the show itself, did you have any idea how huge it would become?
The Monkees was actually the second TV series I had. I had done a show called “Circus Boy” in the Fifties and had gone to school for architectural drafting. My plan was to become an architect when the Monkees audition came along. But when I read the pilot script and went in for the first interview, I remember thinking it might be something special. There were other shows about music at the time and a few other pilots I had been up for, but I remember telling everyone I knew that I really hoped I get this one.
What was the audition process like?
A major part of the casting process was playing and singing, and my audition piece was [Chuck Berry's] “Johnny B Goode." We were four guys with varying degrees of musical and singing ability, but we also had producers and vocal arrangers to help us out.
In your opinion, what made The Monkees show and music so timeless and special?
There’s no formula. You can't say it was just the four of us or the songwriters, producers or writers. It really was like catching lightning in a bottle. You just do your best to surround yourself with talented people and work hard and take chances. At a certain point, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. That's the magic that exists in this business.
A case can certainly be made for the Monkees being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. What are your thoughts on that?
I've never been one to chase awards and inductions or things like that. It's never been part of my psyche. I’ve never been too bothered by it, although I'm flattered that the fans have started some petitions about it.
What got you into playing guitar?
When I was a child, I started playing classical guitar and Spanish [Andrés] Segovia music. I started bringing my guitar to parties at school until one day I realized that the girls liked the Kingston Trio better than Segovia! [laughs]. That’s when I started playing folk music, which eventually morphed into rock and roll.
What can you tell me about the Monkees Gretsch guitar?
It was originally a merchandise piece I was given back in the day. I’m not sure what happened to it, but I was able to track another one down recently. It’s the original design that they painted red, put a pick guard on and added all of the fancy stuff. It's a really great guitar.
What was it like meeting and touring with Jimi Hendrix?
Everyone was just blown away by him. I clearly remember many times standing in the wings with Mike Nesmith and just thinking to myself, “How the hell does he do that?!” [laughs]. To this day, I'm not sure how you can answer that question.
You sat in on one of the early Beatles Sgt. Pepper sessions. Was anyone aware of the impact that album was going to have on music?
At the time, no one knew what it was. I’m not even sure if they did. The story goes that they wanted to do something like what the Beach Boys had done. I had been invited to one of the sessions and remember getting all dressed up, thinking it was going to be this Beatle-mania, fun-fest, sort-of freak out party! [laughs]. But when I got there, it was just the four guys sitting in the studio working. They played me the tracks to what I found out later was “Good Morning, Good Morning." I still tell that story and sing that song. I also did a version of the song on my [2012] CD, Remember.
What are your plans for 2015?
There probably won't be doing too much “Monkee business” this year as we’re kind of saving it up for 2016 and the anniversary of the show. But I'll definitely be out touring solo. I also recently did a play in Connecticut with Joyce DeWitt (Three's Company) that we're trying to expand.
What can you tell me about your furniture business side project?
I've always done that kind of stuff in my life and had a full-blown shop in my home. One day, my daughter Georgia and I were at the house building a coffee table when I jokingly said we should start our own business and call it Dolenz & Daughters Fine Furniture. I was only teasing, but she thought it was a great idea and ran with it, and it’s really taken off. We have so many orders that sometimes we have to shut it down with the message "Daddy's on Tour!” [laughs].
Is it true you once auditioned for the role of the Fonz on Happy Days?
Oh, yeah. It actually came down to me and Henry Winkler. We're good friends and still laugh about it. I remember when Henry first walked into the interview. He saw me and said, "Oh, crap, Micky Dolenz is here. I'll never get it" [laughs]. But I'm so glad he did because he was a much better Fonz than I would have been. He is the Fonz!
For more about Dolenz, visit mickydolenz.com. For more about the Monkees, visit monkees.com.
James Wood is a writer, musician and self-proclaimed metalhead who maintains his own website, GoJimmyGo.net. His articles and interviews are written on a variety of topics with passion and humor. You can follow him on Twitter @JimEWood.
YouTube musician Leo Moracchioli has created and posted a new metal-ish cover of Madonna's 1984 hit, “Like a Virgin.”
Check out the video below and let us know what you think in the comments or on Facebook!
You can find more of Moracchioli's metal covers on his YouTube channel, “Leap Frog Studios,” which is in this general direction.
GOLD AWARD WINNER
Whether you’ve been playing guitar for only two years or more than 20, you probably already know that Fender’s American Standard Series Stratocaster and Telecaster guitars are a great value.
Thousands of guitarists rely on these workhorse axes on a daily basis, and odds are good that you already own one if you’ve ever shopped for a new Strat or Tele.
However, many guitarists may not be aware that Fender offers American Standard Stratocaster and Telecaster models that stray from the traditional three- and two-single-coil pickup designs, respectively.
The Fender American Standard Stratocaster HSS features a full-size bridge humbucker in addition to middle and neck single-coils, while the American Standard Telecaster HH swaps a pair of humbuckers for the bridge and neck single-coils. Recently, Fender introduced new pickups for both models to offer the performance of a hot-rodded custom guitar while retaining the value and versatility that has made Fender’s American Standard series so popular.
FEATURES The American Standard Stratocaster HSS provides all of the expected traditional Strat features combined with the refinements that Fender has made to the model over the years.
The bridge is a two-point synchronized tremolo with a copper-infused high-mass bridge block and vintage-inspired bent-steel saddles with elongated string slots, and the control knobs and switch tip are made of aged white plastic with a “broken-in” appearance. The finish undercoat is thinner to enhance resonance, and the neck finish is tinted to give it a warmer, richer appearance.
Pickups consist of a Diamondback humbucker mounted at the bridge and Custom Shop Fat ’50s Single-Coil Strat pickups at the middle and neck positions. Controls include master volume, a tone control for the neck and middle pickups, and an additional tone control for the bridge only or bridge/middle setting. The five-position pickup selector provides the standard Strat pickup combinations.
The American Standard Telecaster HH is equipped with a pair of Twin Head humbucking pickups, master volume and master tone controls, and a traditional-style three-position blade pickup-selector switch. The back of the body has a Strat-style “belly” contour, but unlike a Strat the top has no contours. The bridge is an American Standard Strings-Thru-Body Tele model with a stamped brass plate and bent-steel saddles with elongated slots.
Both models have an alder body and a maple neck with 22 medium jumbo frets, a modern “C” profile, 25 1/2–inch scale, 9 1/2–inch radius, Bi-Flex truss rods, and four-bolt body attachment with Micro-Tilt that does away with the need for shims. Both models also offer a choice of maple or rosewood fretboards.
PERFORMANCE If you’ve ever installed a humbucker in a Strat or Tele, you may wonder what the fuss is, but actually Fender has done a remarkable job designing humbuckers that provide added body and punch without sacrificing the sparkle and percussive attack that makes single-coil Strats and Teles so appealing.
The Stratocaster HSS’s Diamondback humbucker and Custom Shop Fat ’50s Single-Coil Strat pickups work very well together and complement each other tonally, and the output remains consistent whether using just the humbucker or individual single-coils. You still get beloved Strat single-coil neck and middle-pickup tones but with the addition of fatter bridge pickup tones that still maintain a Strat-like honk and shimmer.
The Telecaster HH sounds more like a fat Tele than a typical warm and somewhat woofy double-humbucker guitar, with a brilliant, crisp treble that country lead players will adore and barking midrange punch that will please rock rhythm guitarists. As a result, the Telecaster HH is much more versatile than the traditional Tele. Both the Stratocaster HSS and Telecaster HH have their own distinctive tonal personalities that may be exactly what many guitarists have sought all these years.
Materials, workmanship and playability all satisfy the high standards players have come to expect from Fender. Both models look and sound like old familiar friends, with a solid feel that is certain to provide years of trouble-free playing enjoyment. Fender has vastly improved the quality of the satin and polyurethane finishes used on the necks, which now feel more like oil-rubbed wood than the somewhat plastic texture of the past. The body finishes also compare with Fender’s Custom Shop instruments—the Ocean Blue Metallic finish on the Strat we examined was particularly gorgeous.
STREET PRICE $1,299.99
MANUFACTURER Fender Musical Instruments, fender.com
• The Stratocaster HSS features a Diamondback humbucker at the bridge and Custom Shop Fat ’50s Single-Coil Strat pickups at the neck and middle.
• The Telecaster HH is equipped with a pair of Twin Head humbucking pickups instead of traditional single-coils.
• The Strat’s two-point synchronized tremolo has a copper-infused high mass bridge block and vintage-inspired bent steel saddles with elongated string slots.
• The Tele HH’s body is contoured on the back like a Stratocaster to provide improved playing comfort.
THE BOTTOM LINE If you look the look and feel of a traditional Strat or Tele but need a little more output and balls from the pickups, these new American Standard models are built to rock while remaining true to the models’ traditional character.
We all have a story about "the one that got away." What can we do about it?
Rob from Fool Audio Research did something about it. He built the Ignatz, which is based on a no-name set-neck Strat-style guitar he missed out on.
There's clear evidence this guitar was built by an actual guitar player and not a team of "experts."
The 22-fret maple neck has a smooth satin finish that feels broken in, fresh out of the box. The mahogany body also opts for a thin satin poly finish instead of layers of tone-choking goop.
Electronics consist of two humbuckers screwed right into the body. Controls are a three-way pickup selector, volume and tone knobs.
To keep the guitar affordable, the Ignatz wears a licensed Floyd Rose and imported tuners. The hardware did everything I needed it to do (hold basic tuning), but if your friends call you "Dive Bomb," you might want to consider a higher-quality bridge.
Some upgrades are available from the company for an additional charge, but I found the base-model Ignatz playable and gig-ready right out of the box.
On to the audio clips!
Clip 1: Here's the same riff repeated on the bridge and neck pickup. The neck pickup has a real bark similar to an SG.
Clip 2: I strummed some "pretty chords" to show that the Ignatz can clean up and play nice.
Clip 3: Why not turn everything up to 11? With tons of gain, the Ignatz didn't lose control and go into screaming feedback.
Web:fool-audio.com
Price: $379; comes well packed, no case, but includes a cable, whammy bar, Allen keys and picks.
You can't believe everything you read on the Internet, but Billy Voight is a gear reviewer, bassist and guitarist from Pennsylvania. He has Hartke bass amps and Walden acoustic guitars to thank for supplying some of the finest gear on his musical journey. Need Billy's help in creating noise for your next project? Drop him a line at thisguyonbass@gmail.com.
Today, Guitar World and Metropolis Records are premiering (and giving away) "Afraid," a new song by the Dreaming. You can hear it—and download it for free—below.
The song is from the Dreaming's new album, Rise Again, which will be released Tuesday, February 10.
The Dreaming represents a reunion of Stabbing Westward's founding members—Christopher Hall (lead singer) and Walter Flakus (keyboards, programming). Although the name Stabbing Westward is dead and buried (they disbanded in 2002), Hall and Flakus are ecstatic to return with the haunting music that made them multi-platinum artists.
The band is rounded out by guitarist Carlton Bost (Orgy, Deadsy), bassist Franccesca De Struct and one-time Stabbing Westward drummer Johnny Haro.
Emerging from Stabbing Westward's breakup in 2002, Hall formed the Dreaming and released its debut album, Etched in Blood, in 2008. After some heady reconciliation, Flakus rejoined his former bandmate and brought the partnership back full circle. Rise Again reignites spark of their original band.
The album is available now for preorder at iTunes. For more about the Dreaming, follow them on Facebook and catch one of their upcoming shows. For the free download of "Afraid,"head here.
The Dreaming March 2015 Tour
March 4: Santa Ana — Constellation Room
March 5: San Francisco — DNA Lounge
March 6: Eugene — Black forest
March 7: Seattle — EL Corazon
March 8: Portland, Ore. — Star Theater
March 12: San Diego — Hideout
March 14: Los Angeles — Whiskey
I know, I know. Die-hard Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmie Vaughan fans—myself included—have already seen this video 43.677777 times.
However, that doesn't make it any less appealing. And, since it wound up in my crowded inbox this morning, I thought I'd share it with the masses!
The clip, which was shot aboard the S.S. Presidente in New Orleans in February 1987, shows Stevie Ray and his big brother, then-Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist Jimmie, playing a double-neck guitar—at the same time.
They start with an upbeat I-IV-V tune along the lines of Stevie Ray's "Rude Mood" before shifting into "Pipeline," the Chantays' 1962 surf-rock classic, at the 3:16 mark. They also switch necks along the way!
The guitar, which was built by Robin Guitars of Houston, had two maple necks, each with a different-scale length and a pointy "drooped"-style reversed headstock with locking machine heads. It also had (or has, assuming it's still around) Rio Grande single-coil pickups.
This guitar was dubbed the "Family Guitar," which foreshadowed the title of the Vaughan Brothers' only album as a bona-fide duo, 1990's Family Style.
Enjoy!
Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein,"
Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like an Eagle,"
and the freaking voice of R2D2!
Each of the YouTube links above features the ARP 2600 synthesizer, an iconic and freakish instrument first introduced in 1971. We've all heard it. We all know its voice; yet virtually none of us know where those sounds came from...and who was responsible.
The simple answer is that the man responsible was Dennis Colin, a mad-scientist electronics engineer straight out of the fiction books. I got to meet him a couple weeks ago at his home, and it rocked my world. (That's the two of us in the photo.)
The short story goes like this: Dennis spent several years at the ARP company, creating the 2600 and other strange instruments. Eventually the company changed hands and he moved on to other work away from music.
Years after retiring, Dennis now lives alone in a small house somewhere in New England. He recently lost his wife and has been having a rough time. A chance meeting between his daughter and my guitar-building buddy, Ben "C.B. Gitty" Baker, led to my eventual visit to his house. I stood on his doorstep feeling like Ralphie about to meet Santa Claus.
A frail man at 71, Dennis has sharp mind of a teenager. Although he left ARP Synthesizers many years ago, he never left music and he enthusiastically showed me his secret lab upstairs in the house. There were oscilloscopes, strange strobe lights, a homemade 500-watt amp (!) and model airplanes scattered about. The dude lights his cigarettes from a Tesla coil! When he talked about music, he referenced everything from da Vinci to string theory.
Forget Ralphie...I was in the inner-sanctum of the musical Willie Wonka!
Dennis told me he had a guitar pedal that would rock the world, and he had been trying for 20 years to get it on the market. I played it…and it’s amazing. I must have spent two hours experimenting with it. Warbles, fuzzes, bleeps and strange Ed Wood sounds came out. It was like nothing I've ever heard. This thing puts the mythical Ludwig Phase II Synthesizer guitar effect to shame. If Dennis’ pedal ever hits the market, heads are gonna explode.
But this column isn't about Dennis... it's about me and you.
Life is full of commitments and packed schedules. We're grownups and we're supposed to work, work, work and then placate our minds with cable TV at night.
But what if we started exploring again, like we did as children? What if we got out of our comfort zones and met interesting people? What if we helped them? I spent only three hours at Dennis Colin's house, but now my life is changed forever. I met a hero and I now call him my friend.
I think we should never lose our sense of wonder and the thrill of hero worship. We should also always explore new rabbit holes in search of the White Rabbit. Life is fascinating. It's exciting. Let's have the mind of Dennis Colin and continue the search for awesomeness.
I challenge you to make 2015 the Year of Wonder. Explore new things. Be a sound searcher...develop a craving for art or stories...follow a tingle in your brain.
By the way, I talked to some very curious people at the 2015 Winter NAMM Show who make guitar pedals. They now want to meet Dennis, too.
Stay primal!
P.S.: If you’re the adventurous type, come out and see my band soon (Concert listings are here). Shane Speal’s Snake Oil Band is the world’s loudest jug band, and we play hack-wired and homemade instruments such as cigar box guitars, electrified washtub basses and washboards. One reviewer said, “If Rob Zombie had a jug band, it would sound like this."
Here’s Edgar Winter with his ARP2600:
Shane Speal is "King of the Cigar Box Guitar" and the creator of the modern cigar box guitar movement. Hear the music, see the instruments and read about his Cigar Box Guitar Museum at ShaneSpeal.com. Speal's latest album, Holler! is on C. B. Gitty Records.
Last month, GuitarWorld.com posted the exclusive premiere of "Perfect," a new instrumental track by guitarist and frequent Guitar World contributor Glenn Proudfoot.
Today, we have the sequel, if you will. It's the official transcription of the song, courtesy of Proudfoot.
The song is from his new album, Ineffable, which is available now through glennproudfoot.com and iTunes.
"When writing instrumental pieces, I'm always very conscious of the fact that they need to be played as a three piece," Proudfoot says. "So with this track I'm incorporating the bass notes into the melody. This allows the listener to hear the chordal changes even though they're not being played as such, but only with the melody.
"It's very important to think of these things when writing a track; there is no use producing a track with layers and layers of guitars if there's no way you can re-create it live. This is why I do my best to always represent the track on the album how it will be played live.
"I recorded this track with the Victory V100 head into a 4x12 box and my No. 1 Stratocaster. When recording I always like to keep my chain as simple as possible. I use my Ulbrick 12 AXE pedal, which is a classic-sounding overdrive, and that's it. No delays or reverbs, etc., just the purest sound I can get straight from the amp.
"After the guitars are recorded, we will then step into production mode and start adding the delays or reverbs if necessary. This allows more control over the sound in the mixing stages."
"Perfect" was recorded at Screamlouder Productions in Melbourne, Australia. It was shot, edited and produced by Peter Reggie Bowman for Screamlouder Productions.
These videos and audio files are bonus content related to the March 2015 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 demonstrated some effective ways to incorporate the techniques of sweep picking and fretboard tapping into a single arpeggio-based run.
As you recall, we started out using minor seven arpeggios and then mutated them into minor seven flat-five.
This month, I’d like to apply these same concepts to other arpeggio types, or qualities, namely major seven, major seven sharp 11 and major seven sharp five.
For the rest of this column, including the tabs, check out the March 2015 issue of Guitar World.
It looks like USA Today was on the floor of the 2015 NAMM Show in sunny Anaheim, California, late last month, where one of our editors lost his wallet.
The daily newspaper's video crew tracked down a Fender Custom Shop model that's worth about $1 million (It's a Strat made with 550 diamonds), not to mention a massive 24-string bass and Gibson's new G FORCE Automatic Tuning system.
Of course, Guitar World was there too! To see our videos from the NAMM Show floor (and a whole lot more), head here. For more about Gibson's G FORCE tuning system, step right this way.
Guitar Player’s February 2015 issue features a cover feature about Les Paul’s 1954 Black Beauty.
For those unfamiliar with the story, the Black Beauty is the very guitar on which Les performed many modifications over the years as he sought to improve upon Gibson’s original design.
In writing about the guitar, Guitar Player interviewed Tom Doyle, the man who was Les Paul’s guitar tech for many years and the current owner of the Black Beauty.
In the course of the story, Tom makes a number of claims for the guitar’s importance as “ground zero” for the modern Les Paul guitar. Among the changes Les made were an improved neck pitch, stop tailpiece and lower action.
Unfortunately, those claims didn’t sit well with some of the leaders of the vintage guitar world.
In a Washington Post article on the guitar that ran February 6, noted Nashville vintage guitar dealer George Gruhn thundered, “That article is absolute bull, and the whole thing’s as crooked as can be. It’s an attack on everything I’ve worked on for over the last 50 years.”
Likewise, Tom Wheeler, the former editor of Guitar Player, sent out an email to many in the industry, as well as Doyle, saying that the article contradicts everything “we know about the development of the Les Paul.”
Guitarist Steve Miller has come to Doyle’s defense. Miller, who it should be noted is Les Paul’s godson, said to the Post, “Is Tommy hyping it up a little bit? Hell, yeah. But is this guitar an important guitar? It’s an electric guitar, it’s made by Gibson, and it was Les’s guitar. That’s what makes it a great guitar.”
Rather than weigh in on the debate, we thought we’d leave it to you. Check out Guitar Player’s story right here, and let us know what you think.
Incidentally, Doyle’s guitar goes on the auction block February 19, so we will soon find out what it’s worth. Stay tuned.
