premier guitar volume 18 issue 6 june 2013
TRANSCRIPT
The meaT puppeTsBrothers Curt and Cris Kirkwood build upon four decades of desert punk.
Joe saTrianiThe shred legend and mentor recruits a new band and goes back to his roots.
ForgoTTen heroes:Terry KaThThe legacy of Chicago’s found-ing guitarist, Terry Kath, one of the most underrated gui-tarists of all time.
Taylor 518e • Nik Huber Rietbergen Standard • Dingwall Super P • ValveTrain Trenton • Ibanez Echo Shifter • MXR Bass
Chorus Deluxe • Albion Gulfstream 30 • TSVG Angry Jeff • Baudier Roadster • Source Audio Orbital Modulator • Lace Matt Pike Dirty Heshers
REVIEWS:
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DR1 Amptweaker Bass TightFuzzDR3 MJ Guitars Duke DevilleDR5 DBZ/Diamond Hailfire
DigiTal aDVanTageIn addition to the insightfulreads in our June 2013 print edition, check out the following online-only reviews. >>>
Amptweaker Bass TightFuzz MJ Guitars Duke Deville DBZ/Diamond Hailfire
Photo by Ken Settle
Photo by Jaime Butler
Photo by Neil Zlozower/Atlasicons.com
meat puppets • joe satriani • gales & pinnick
JUNE 2013
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JUNE 2013
Guitar & Bass reviewsSource AudioVAlVeTrAinTAylorMXr nik HuberibAnezlAceAlbion& More
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10 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
Stop and Smell the Chords: 5 Shapes That Changed My Life BY shawn hammond
TuninG uP
The way we 6-stringers often talk in awed, reverential
tones about licks and leads by heroes like Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eddie Van Halen, etc.—“Dude, he’s totally wailing on those double-stop bends,” or “check out those fretboard-melting arpeggios,” or “those tapped riffs are off the friggin’ chain”—you really couldn’t blame the average eavesdropper for thinking we view chords as a technicality to solo over.
But when you look closely at most game-changing lead players, they’re pretty much all chord geniuses—in fact, their chord choices are inextricably linked with the greatness of their spotlight-garnering solos.
For some of us, though, chords are the main attraction—an infi-nite landscape of note, string, and fingering combinations that can add jolting, ensnaring, and deeply moving moods, textures, and dimension to a song.
There are a lot of angles to approach the instrument from,
but what gets me off is writing tunes that explore the mystique of music and guitar while absorbing influences through osmosis rather than dissection. I’ll happily cop to being ignorant about fancy chord names—I had to have PG associate editor Jason Shadrick tell me the correct names for those below (although one of them is too messy to name)! It might just be the wannabe-artiste part of me trying to justify my lazy-ass ways, but I believe the feeling-around-in-the-dark approach to chords often leads to fresh explorations and progressions that schooled players concerned about “correct-ness” might turn up their nose at.
Now, I don’t say any of this from any standpoint of rightness vs. wrongness. I’m just saying I came to guitar by way of bom-bastic players, but for many years now, being more cognizant of unorthodox chords has brought me a lot more satisfaction as a player. And it’s a continuing jour-ney that started and was helped along by various players. When I
was an impressionable teen in the mid ’80s, Vernon Reid’s playing with Living Colour—particularly on songs like “Funny Vibe” and “Glamour Boys”—converted me to the joys of funky chords and avant soloing. And though I now get my clean-toned funk fixes from James Brown, the Commodores, Sly and the Family Stone, and others, it was the Fixx’s Jamie West-Oram—remember “One Thing Leads to Another” and “Red Skies at Night”?—who first taught me to appreciate the snappy funk of the instrument’s top three strings.
Later, Allan Holdsworth taught me to enjoy wide inter-vals, and Jimmy Page’s work on Houses of the Holy and In Through the Out Door, as well as Eric Johnson’s early albums, taught me the power of finger vibrato with atmospheric chords and some nice delay or reverb.
I admit the “5 Shapes That Changed My Life” thing above is a bit disingenuous. My whole point is to encourage you to find
unusual voicings and fingerings. The shapes shown here are just a few of the weird joys I’ve come up with. But I also love getting a little witty with standard shapes. Try pairing a typical power chord with an open string—play a 3rd-fret power chord on the E string with a D on both the A string (5th fret) and on the open 4th string. Or, with a 5th-string power chord, add another fifth to the equation on the 6th string. Or experiment with open G, B, and/or high E strings inserted with standard barre chords all over the neck. Even better, dive into inversions—put your root on the 5th, 4th, or any other string except the E or A, and then add a mysterious low note on the 6th or 5th strings.
Like I said before, I’m pretty much the opposite of pedantic when it comes to playing gui-tar. Yeah, I know basic chords and the major-scale modes, but as many smarter, better players have said before, throwing out the rules after learning them is where a lot of the fun comes in. I hope you find some sort of fun or inspiration in the grips shown here, and if you care to share some of your own unusual chord approaches, I’d love to hear about them.
Shawn [email protected]
Gadd9sus
D A D G A D
Cmaj7/G
Gadd9 Em7
Seth Avett Martin player, 12 years
Learn how North Carolina’s rich musical heritage influenced Seth Avett’s sound at martinguitar.com/Seth. Order the new Martin D-35 Seth Avett Custom Signature Edition at your local authorized Martin dealer.
12 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
TABLE OF COnTEnTS > FEATURES & REVIEWS
118 TAyloR 518e120 NIk hUbER Rietbergen Standard122 DINGWAll Super P125 VAlVETRAIN Trenton128 IbANEz Echo Shifter131 MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe135 AlbIoN Gulfstream 30139 TSVG Angry Jeff142 bAUDIER Roadster145 SoURcE AUDIo Orbital Modulator148 lAcE Matt Pike Dirty Heshers
92contents
FEATURES
REVIEWS
Volume 18 Issue 6 June 2013
92Bex Marshall
Rietbergen Standard
Orbital Modulator
Dingwall Super P
122
ValveTrain Trenton
125
Ibanez Echo Shifter
128
premierguitar.com
Ibanez Echo ShifterIbanez Echo Shifter
128128
59 Musikmesse 2013PG recaps the 50 coolest tone toys from Europe’s biggest gear show.
71 Joe SatrianiThe shred legend and mentor recruits a new band and goes back to his roots.
78 The Meat PuppetsBrothers Curt and Cris Kirkwood build upon four decades of desert punk.
85 Eric Gales & Doug Pinnick
The blues-virtuoso and King’s X bass-ist forge a blazing blues-prog trio.
92 bex MarshallThis sultry U.K. songstress professes her deep love of resonator guitars.
97 Forgotten heroesThe legacy of Chicago’s founding guitarist, Terry Kath, one of the most underrated guitarists of all time.
104 case StudyWhat to consider when scouting your next hardshell case or gigbag. Plus, essential onstage accessories.
111 Visual SoundFounder Bob Weil and his family take pedal building from the kitchen table to NAMM and beyond.
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14 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
21P
ho
to b
y A
nd
y E
llis
Opening Notes
TABLE OF COnTEnTS > colUMNS & DEPARTMENTS
contents (Cont’d)
18 Rig Rundowns
21 opening Notes
26 letters
28 News
30 Staff PicksPG editors and Keaton Simons (along with our reader of the month) share musings on the most interesting eras of guitar innovation.
32 Media ReviewsMiddle Class Rut, Pick up Your Head Plus: Bart Walker, Treetop Flyers, and Gilad Hekselman
150 Modern builder VaultDreamer Guitarworks
152 Gear of the Month1969 Ampeg SVT Head and 8x10 Cabinet
160 last callIn Defense of Karaoke
DEPARTMENTS
52GIGGING & REcoRDING
34 Tone TipsRoad Guitarist’s Studio, Pt. 2
36 on bassPerfect Imperfection
38 Guitar TracksKeeping the Peace, Pt. 3
TEch TIPS
40 State of the StompThe ABCs of Compression
42 Esoterica ElectricaSucking the Sap from Tonewoods
44 Acoustic SoundboardDesigning a Custom Guitar, Pt. 3
colUMNS46 Ask Amp Man
Ignore a Modern AC30’s Standby Switch?
48 Mod GaragePreparing Your Tele for Future Mods
50 The bass benchFuther Adventures in Fretboard Design
VINTAGE & UPkEEP
52 Vintage Vault1952 Fender Precision Bass
54 Guitar Shop 101Time for New Bridge Pins?
56 Trash or TreasureEarly Fender Custom Shop Strat
oN ThE coVER Nick Page Guitars Interceptor
Ph
oto
by
Tim
Mu
llally
Vintage Vault
Volume 18 Issue 6 June 2013
GORE, ELIXIR, NANOWEB, POLYWEB, GREAT TONE • LONG LIFE, “e” icon, and other designs are trademarks of W. L. Gore & Associates. ©2013 W. L. Gore & Associates, (UK) Limited
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16 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
lESSoNS
beyond blues12 Keys, 5 Shapes, and the Blues
By Levi Clay
Style GuideDjango Reinhardt and Gypsy Jazz
By Mike Cramer
Fretboard WorkshopWhy Triads Are Essential
By Alex Nolan
Drop Dead ShredSweep City, Pt. 1By Nita Strauss
Access all of our lessons online, for free, with streaming
audio and downloadable, printable notation PDFs.
WEB ExCLuSiVES
ONly ON PremierGuitar.com…
WEIGh IN!What’s your favorite metal sub-genre? Sorting through our fair share of joke answers—Aluminum! Titanium! Cobalt! Ferrous!—we boiled it down to your top seven answers and prog took it in a landslide. Weigh in on the topic at facebook.com/premierguitar or reply @premierguitar on Twitter.
Your guide to the latest stories, reviews, videos, and lessons on PremierGuitar.com
15 Iconic Guitars from the Hard Rock CollectionSee pieces of rock history owned and played by Jimi Hendrix, Steve Vai, Scotty Moore, Dave Mustaine, Dimebag Darrell, and more, plus get the stories behind the guitars in our photo gallery.
FEATURED
Check out our latest reviews with audio of the DBZ/Diamond Hailfire, Boss TE-2 Tera Echo, Roland Cube Lite, and more.
REVIEWS
Also Zakk Wylde picks his five favor-ite Les Pauls, we report from Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Festival 2013, Mark Ribot discusses his new release, and we show you how to convert your guitar to a baritone with a new DIY video.
We’ve moved our contest schedule to page 158. Head there now to see what’s coming up and a list of winners.
lookING FoR oUR GIVEAWAy lISTING?
Prog 38%
Thrash 18%
Stoner 12%
Doom 12%
Death 7%
black 7%
Power 6%
15 Iconic Guitars from the Hard Rock CollectionSteve Vai, Scotty Moore, Dave
, and more, plus get the stories behind the guitars in our photo gallery.
picks his five favorite Les Pauls, we report from Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Festival 2013, Mark Ribot discusses his Mark Ribot discusses his Mark Ribotnew release, and we show you how to convert your guitar to a baritone with a new DIY video. baritone with a new DIY video. baritone
It turns every guitarist into a triple threat. into a triple threat.
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Introducing TriplePlay, the wireless guitar controller that lets you turn your electric guitar into any instrument that you want − and compose, perform and record like never before. Includes a comprehensive software suite from PreSonus, Native Instruments, Notion Music, and IK Multimedia.
18 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
RiG RunDOWnS
RIG RUNDOWNS® Our latest, greatest behind-the-scenes gear videos with the stars.
Steve Howe’s No. 2 is a Gibson ES-175 from ‘64-’65 that he plugs into a Line 6 DT50 combo and Pod HD500.
RIGhT: Chris Squire’s iconic mid-’60s Rickenbacker gets its unique sound from its stock bridge pickup, which is lower output than typical 4001s, and because the neck and body are thinner due to multiple refinish jobs. He plugs into a 1965 Marshall JMP and an Ampeg SVT-2PRO head.
Yes’ Steve Howe and Chris Squire guide us through their arsenal of vintage guitars and basses. Here are some highlights.
Guitar tech Silli Ragnarsson details guitarist Jónsi Þór Birgisson’s one-off guitar, bow and accessories, and surprisingly sparse pedalboard, bassist Georg Hólm’s effects-heavy pedal rig, and touring guitarist Kjartan Dagur Hólm more traditional guitar-board-amp setup. Here are some highlights.
RIGhT: Jónsi’s main guitar was handcrafted by former tech Dan Johnson with a single Seymour Duncan ’59 pickup. The guitar is called “Bird,” due to the inlays taken from the band’s “Hoppipolla” video. The bird on the body (below the neck) was carved by Jónsi himself. He plays with a cello bow, bowing both in front of and behind the bridge, and is not particular about his rosin, which Ragnarsson says darkens the tone.
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 19
RiG RunDOWnS
Watch NowHead to premierguitar.com/rigrundown or youtube.com/premierguitar to watch these three videos in their entirety, plus all
145+ Rig Rundowns in our archives. Also new this month:
The hivesNicholaus Arson and Vigilante carlstroem discuss their heavily battered go-to axes (and why it doesn’t really mat-ter for garage rock anyways), along with their mix of boutique and vintage amps and effects.
Guitar tech Hans Buscher takes a deep dive into the vast rigs of guitarists Billie Joe Armstrong and Jason White, and bassist Mike Dirnt. Here are some highlights.
RIGhT: Billie Joe’s main guitar, “Blue,” is an ‘80s Fernandes S-style guitar with a Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB in the bridge. All the controls are locked down with the excep-tion of the master volume knob. Armstrong then plugs into “Pete” and “Meat,” a pair of vintage Marshall Amplification heads that survived the mud fight at Woodstock ’94. “Pete” (top) was modded with the “Dookie” mod, which creates cascading gain stages and “Meat” was modded with an SE lead mod.
RIG RUNDOWNS® Our latest, greatest behind-the-scenes gear videos with the stars.
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 21
oPENING NoTES
RiTzy BRyAnMarch 2, 2013
The LeadmillSheffield, England
Photo by Polly Thomas
Known for being the extreme opposite of gentle with her instruments, the Joy Formidable front-
woman Ritzy Bryan gets the band’s set started with her “Ole’ Bluey” Strat, which has been one
of her main guitars since buying it on eBay in 2011. The neck and middle pickups are stock, but they go unused because Bryan relies solely on the
Seymour Duncan SHR-1 Hot Rails humbucker in the bridge position. The knobs and pickup switch
are taped down by her tech, Dan Mancini, “so they don’t move around when she smashes them up
against everything onstage.” Adds Mancini, “She doesn’t trust or like any of her guitars until she
throws them around a bit.”
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 23
oPENING NoTES
PAuL GiLBERTMarch 13, 2013
Razzmatazz 2Barcelona, Spain
Photo by Rosario Lopez
On the opening night of his 2013 European tour, Paul Gilbert rocks his latest signature
Ibanez, the Fireman FRM100TR. “It’s a sonic brontosaurus made of mahogany and strings
just waiting to be bent. I love it,” he says. The main difference between it and his FRM100
is the pickups. While the middle pickup is still a DiMarzio Area 67, Gilbert asked Ibanez to install DiMarzio Air Classic humbuckers in
the bridge and neck positions. For “a perfect mix” and to save his ears, Gilbert also swears by
Extreme Isolation headphones.
24 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
oPENING NoTES
JAkE ShiMABukuRO March 5, 20133rd and LindsleyNashville, TNPhoto by Andy Ellis
Through his awe-inspiring playing and thoughtful arrange-ments, ukulelist extraordinaire Jake Shimabukuro brings down the house at a recent private gig in Nashville. His No. 1 instru-ment, a Fishman Matrix-loaded Kamaka tenor uke, was built by Casey Kamaka in 2005 and has a mahogany neck and koa back, sides, and top. Shimabukuro still tours with just one instrument, “which makes everyone around me nervous,” he tells Premier Guitar. “I never carry a spare, but maybe I should start.”
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26 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
LETTERS
keep those comments coming!Please send your suggestions, gripes, comments, and good words directly to [email protected].
your Feedback
down 50 pretty hard now). I’m also the father to seven kids with a ratio of 5 to 2, girls to boys. Needless to say, to keep peace on family trips I will allow the radio to be turned to a dreaded pop station. Over the years I have adjusted my musical taste to include not only a tolerance of modern pop, but an actual acceptance for some of the artists in this genre as “real artists.” The aforementioned Pink [“Pop Doesn’t Suck, You’re Just Listen-ing to the Wrong Stuff,” May 2013] with Maroon 5 and Adele are some of the artists that my kids have turned me on to.
Now four of my kids still live with us— three girls and one outnumbered boy. They are 5,7,8, and 9. I’m looking forward to teaching them how to play guitar if they’re willing. Maybe the old man can turn them on to Wes, Albert, Stevie, and Jimi.—Scott Cain, Dacula, GA
FiRST LOVEJust wanted to share. In 1967, my dad took me to the music store (House of Guitars, Rochester, NY) and bought me a Christmas present. It was my first electric guitar and amp. The cost? $15 each. The guitar was a Kay Vanguard (to the best of my knowledge). Well, I recently was able to locate another Kay Vanguard of the same year (not $15). What an amazing feeling! We’re talking 46 years here! By the way, it sounds phenomenal. I’ve come full circle.—Pete Palmeri, Waterloo, NY
Editor’s Note: There’s nothing quite like your first guitar. We’d love to hear more of your “then and now” sto-ries, so if you’ve got pictures of you with your first 6-string back in the day as well as today, share it with us at [email protected].
Bathroom BibleMy boyfriend is a guitarist and I’m a blues singer. Prior to moving in together we discussed what to do with his staggering collection of Premier Guitar mags. He insisted he needs them to reference and the idea of his storage methods was mak-ing my head spin.
Like any couple combining their belongings with a lack of space, an attempt at a compro-mise was made. I bought him a very fancy and large rack for his PG magazines. They now reside in our library, or bathroom, as some would call it. As time passed and boredom set in, I found myself picking up the gearhead’s Bible and in a chance happening, opening and read-ing it from back to front. This would prove to be a rewarding happenstance.
There facing the back cover, the words of John Bohlinger. I was fascinated by the useful advice and solid writing. As a musician not quite there yet but feeling as though I’m headed quickly in that direction, Bohlinger provides me with the hand I need to hold, entering into these new phases of the industry. I find myself digging through past copies, going back to reference his previous articles. I now run for the new issue of PG with more vim than my boyfriend. And I don’t even play the guitar.
Thanks so much for Mr. Bohlinger’s contributions. They are so much appreciated.
Sincerely, —Gracie Curran, via Facebook
Editor in chief Shawn Hammond replies: Hi William. Thanks for your email. We have reviewed the Friedman amps before, and we’ve done a builder profile on Splawn (you’ll find them at premierguitar.com). By way of clarification, the annual Monsters of High Gain series is a roundup of high-gain amps that are brand new and have not been reviewed by PG previ-ously. It is not intended to provide exhaustive and comprehensive coverage of all high-gain amps on the market, given that this would be far too large of a task to be prac-tical, not to mention it would be redundant with previous reviews in many instances. Hope this helps. Take care, man!
Teach ‘em YoungAs a guitar music enthusiast for most of my life, my musical choice has been rock, blues, and jazz guitar-driven music since my middle school years (I’m staring
Monsters of High GainGood afternoon, Mr. Hammond,As I am considering purchasing an amp to be used for high-gain tones, I was excited by reading the “Monsters of High Gain” headline [May 2013]. I was thoroughly disappointed by the demos. There are those of us who play with high-gain, and actually do not tune down to A.
Additionally, there are build-ers whose myriad offerings fulfill your criteria of high-wattage and high-gain who were not represented. Friedman and Splawn come to mind. These companies’ offerings would be well served with a professional demo and review, removed from the smartphone mic/video and barefeet of-ferings currently available on YouTube.
Alas, it is not to be.Disappointed and frustrated,
—William Hedifant, via e-mail
1967 2013
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28 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
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soundboard. But beyond his powerful rhythm chops and unique approach of using his fretting hand’s thumb to barre chords was a musician who had a message of freedom and harmony to convey at a time when the country was seething with political and social upheaval.
Havens played and toured until retir-ing from the road three years ago. He released 21 studio albums, toured the world playing many major festivals, helped produce the 25th Anniversary Woodstock Festival, appeared in the stage production of the Who’s Tommy, had lead roles in several films, and in 1991 won the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award for his charity work.
Rest in peace, Richie Havens, and thank you for your inspirational music. – Andy Ellis
Andy Johns, 1950 – 2013If there were a gold standard for record-ing studio resourcefulness and profes-sionalism, Andy Johns may well have set it. Johns, who died April 7 at age 61, is perhaps most famously identified for engineering landmark LPs from Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones in the early ’70s, and was also a producer of considerable prowess—taking the helm for albums from Jethro Tull, Free, and Humble Pie in the late ’60s and early ’70s, and Van Halen (For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge) and Joe Satriani (The Extremist) in the ’90s.
Johns may have been equally capable of manning the desk as producer as engineer, but his sonic legacy will likely be his absolute mastery of the latter role. On the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street, he deftly captured the band at both their tightest, fieriest, and most gloriously ragged extremes—subtly but profoundly enhancing and highlighting the band’s muscle and killer rhythmic instincts without sacrificing an ounce of their feral potency.
On Led Zeppelin II, III, IV, and Houses of the Holy, Johns helped enable Jimmy Page’s ambitious and then explo-sively blossoming light-and-shade produc-tion vision. Johns was every bit as adept at recording the wrecking-ball monstrosity
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of “Handsome Johnny” and “Freedom” united the sounds of folk and soul music in a way no one had heard before and literally brought the Woodstock crowd to its feet.
It was through Havens that most guitarists coming of age in the ’60s first learned about open tunings. His strumming was so intense that by the time he opened the Woodstock Festival, he’d almost worn through his D-40’s
OBiTuARiES
Richie havens, 1941 – 2013The great singer and performer Richie Havens died of a heart attack on April 22 at age 72. One of the most enduring moments of the 1969 Woodstock Festival was that of Havens strumming his Guild D-40 flattop like a man possessed while singing protest songs with his gravelly, soulful voice. His spirited renditions
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of Page’s riffs and John Bonham’s thunder, as he was the deceptively complex psyche-delic and pastoral atmospherics that were critical and a beautiful juxtaposition to Zeppelin’s heavier side.
Johns’ work exemplifies a musical instinct, command at a mixing desk, sense of craft, and selfless professional-ism that above all else, served the song and artist’s vision. — Charles Saufley
chi cheng, 1970 – 2013Chi Cheng, longtime bassist for the Deftones, passed away April 14 at the age of 42 from complications resulting from a 2008 auto accident. Cheng—who held down the low-end for the Deftones since co-founding the group in 1988 up until his accident—had been in a coma since and spent his remaining years fighting for his life.
Leading the way with chameleonic bass tones and rhythms, Chi Cheng set the table for his band. His 4-string rep-ertoire ranged from the slithery, bouncy electronica in tracks like “Wax and Wane” and “Lucky You” to the crisp, propel-ling runs in “Rx Queen” and “Dai the Flu.” His stamp was felt most in his core Deftones recipe of distorted avalanche on post-grunge metal juggernauts like “One Weak,” “My Own Summer (Shove It),” and “Change (House of Flies).”
Pushing himself beyond the Deftones, Cheng released a spoken-word album, The Bamboo Parachute, showcasing his poetry in 2000. And further broadening his artistic reach, Cheng—a big follower of Buddhism, Taoism, and Shamanism—started his own community service project in his hometown of Sacramento aiming to help homeless citizens develop their talents in music, art, and other positive outlets. —Chris Kies
EVEnTS
crown of the continent Guitar Workshop Announces 2013 lineupBigfork, MT – Pat Metheny, Robben Ford, and Lee Ritenour headline this year’s Crown of the Continent Guitar Workshop from August 25–September 1. Eleven workshops in eight differ-ent genres are offered for beginner to advanced players at the family-friendly Flathead Lake Lodge in Bigfork,
Montana. Additional instructors include Scott Tennant, Livingston Taylor, Matt Smith, Jody Fisher, Jeff McErlain, Mark Dziuba, Dennis McCumber, and more. cocguitarfoundation.org
Woodstock Invitational luthiers Showcase Set for octoberWoostock, NY – The fifth annual Woodstock Invitational Luthiers Showcase and Tonewood Festival will be held October
25–27, 2013 at the Bearsville Theater and Utopia Soundstage in Woodstock, New York. The event is an alternative guitar show, featuring fine, contemporary, handmade acoustic guitars and stringed musical instruments, exhibited by their makers. There is continuous live music, including luthier mini-concerts, demos and special appearances throughout Friday and Saturday, by some of the nation’s finest musicians, in the Bearsville Theater Lounge. woodstockinvitational.com
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STAFF PiCkS
Matt haywardReader of the MonthWhat are you listen-ing to? Comedian Doug Stanhope’s The Great White Stanhope, my friend Chad Channing’s band Before Cars, and my own band Lace Weeper’s new EP, Tusk, released this month.What era or decade do you think was the most interesting for guitar and why? “True art should reflect decay.” No decade captured that more than the ’90s. Fed up with the MTV music-video saturation of the ’80s, I think the ’90s returned a valu-able element of rock to the mainstream market that was essential.
Tessa JeffersManaging EditorWhat are you listening to? The special, swinging vibe of young slide-guitarist Luke Winslow-King’s Delta-dirt-meets-gentle-folk on The Coming Tide.What era or decade do you think was the most interesting for guitar and why? Reading Pete Townshend’s memoir, I’m fasci-nated by the firsthand glimpse into the Wild Wild West landscape of the electric guitar in the early ’60s (Jim Marshall, a young drum-mer experimenting with double-stack amps, etc.). No strict guidelines or schools, any-thing went—the playing was loud and raw, authentic rock being invented.
keaton SimonsGuest PickerWhat are you listening to? The Wood Brothers, Ways Not to Lose. It’s down-home swampy blues with deep sophistication. Gets me right in the gut every time. What era or decade do you think was the most interesting for guitar and why? The 1960s, because artists were pushing the boundaries of electric guitar. With brilliant people like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, etc. paving the way, elec-tric guitar hasn’t been the same since.
Andy EllisSenior EditorWhat are you listening to? Frank Vignola and Vinny Raniolo, Melody Magic. Stunning, masterfully played arrangements of enduring classics infused with the spirit of flamenco and jazz manouche.What era or decade do you think was the most interesting for guitar and why? The late 1800s—when gut strings gave way to steel strings in America. Factory-made flat-tops and archtops defined folk, blues, and jazz, ultimately spawning the electric guitar. We take modern guitar sounds for granted, but the revolution began when we started stringing up with steel.
chris kiesAssociate EditorWhat are you listening to? Queens of the Stone Age’s single “My God Is the Sun” is making me drool like Pavlov’s dogs for … Like Clockwork.What era or decade do you think was the most interesting for guitar and why? I’d want to be in the eye of the storm in ’71–’72 for my two fave Stones LPs, ’77–’78 to rip power chords alongside Joe Strummer and Glenn Danzig, and ’91–’92 to wel-come Pantera’s thrash and the Northwest grunge assault.
charles SaufleyGear EditorWhat are you listening to? Kurt Vile and the Violators Wakin’ on a Pretty Daze. Kurt and collaborators Jesse Trbovich and Rob Laakso are masters at converting Vile’s evergreen tunes and sweetly sardonic turns of phrase into hazy, drifting reveries. Pretty Daze pretty much turns everything into lazy afternoon porch sit. Get it before summer hits.What era or decade do you think was the most interesting for guitar and why? The future. Stoked to hear what’s next.
Shawn hammondEditor in ChiefWhat are you listening to? Kings of Leon, The Collection Box. Mock the 2010 pigeon-poop gig all you want, these five albums are still chock-full of rad tunes, smart guitar parts, and tasty tones.What era or decade do you think was the most interesting for guitar and why? All eras have innumerable gems. Find new stuff via friends, authoritative sources, and cool tech gadgets. Most importantly, keep an open mind and push yourself to listen to new things. There are a zillion ways for guitar to be compelling.
Rich osweilerAssociate EditorWhat are you listening to? Junip, Junip. The Swedish trio’s sophomore effort is a menu of soft, atmospheric drone rock done right. Blending thoughtful acoustic work with a drenching of Moog tones and patient but driving beats, it’s the perfect backdrop for José González’s trance-inducing vocals.What era or decade do you think was the most interesting for guitar and why? A valid case could be made for so many decades, but the ’60s gave us more in terms of innovation and rule breaking than any other.
Jason ShadrickAssociate EditorWhat are you listening to? Josh Smith, Don’t Give up on Me. With his latest, Smith’s Albert Collins-meets-Steve Cropper style is in full force, making one of the better blues albums released this year.What era or decade do you think was the most interesting for guitar and why? My vote would be for the period between 1971 and 1976. Just far enough away from the psychedelic ‘60s and before corporate rock took hold.
It’s Evolution Baby! You know what they say: Learn from the past so history doesn’t repeat itself. In this spirit, PG editors, the reader of the month, and guitar-ist Keaton Simons discuss innovations from guitar’s past, present, and future. Send your own thoughts to [email protected].
32 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
a gumbo all his own. And to top it off, he’s a powerful vocalist—soulful and swaggering.
The song-writing elevates Waiting on Daylight beyond the typical “wannabe bluesman” fare. Walker deftly sidesteps that thorny issue by sticking to lyrics that sound believable coming out of his mouth. Bar fights, lost love, lust, and redemption? Yes. Hoodoo man up from the Stovall Plantation? Mercifully, no.
Produced and engineered by the legendary Jim Gaines (SRV, Carlos Santana, John Lee Hooker, Albert Collins), Waiting on Daylight has a big, punchy sound and Walker’s incen-diary licks leap from the speakers like a run-away steamroller. —Andy Ellis Must-hear track: “Took It Like Man”
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Treetop FlyersThe Mountain MovesPartisan Records
It’s a little hard to believe The Mountain Moves is a debut album, because it sounds like the Treetop Flyers have been doing this for a while. In fact, it’s pretty much just the youthfulness of their voices that tells us they haven’t been making music for decades.
Sounding eerily close to a perfectly pre-served piece of vinyl from the heyday of Left Coast folk-rock, this London-based quintet just oozes an early-’70s, Cali-groovy vibe. And it’s California where the Flyers teamed up with producer Noah Georgeson to make their straight-out-of-a-time-cap-sule-sounding record.
When listening to any band, it’s difficult not to make comparisons to another, espe-cially when writing a review. But, man, with the Treetop Flyers, it’s virtually impossible to not get tricked into thinking you might be hearing unreleased material from Crosby, Stills, and Nash that got mashed up with a dash of America. That’s not to say this album is an exercise in imitation, because it’s not. All 11 tracks are fresh and soulful
MEDiA REViEWS
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Middle class RutPick up Your HeadBright Antenna
For those bored with the cutesy indie schtick or ambient-prog redux du jour and on the lookout for a band making original, in-your-face tunes with transposing energy, Middle Class Rut might satiate. Nonsensically and metaphorically speaking, if bands were people and someone with the rock character and musicianship of Deftones or Rage Against the Machine made an honest woman out of Jane’s Addiction and her groove, the hypothetical sounds they’d make together are on this album.
MC Rut borrows a little here and there, yet they aren’t afraid to go off on brave, experimental tangents filled with guitarist/vocalist Zack Lopez’s ghostly background arpeggios, screaming delay jolts, and Morello-esque alien transmissions via his highly depended-on Whammy pedal—all shot down to earth by drummer/vocalist Sean Stockholm’s veritable rhythm machine gun. It makes one wonder: How are two dudes doing all of this? They’ve captured a whopping live energy, and yet every percussive clank is heard, and the haunting, guttural bass lines are as melodic and memorable as the intensity in the layered, reverb-bursting outro teetering on the edge of feedback in “Sing While You Slave.”
These guys show multifaceted skill as they pivot from balls-to-walls jams to seri-ously inspired softer harmonies, sometimes in the same song. For example, on “Police Man,” Lopez begins a guitar solo slow and sweet, with a Whammy-processed harmo-ny, and then devolves into deliciously frenetic, octave-doubled mayhem. The carefully arranged stories vary in execution, tempo, and emotion, no matter if form follows function or vice versa. Perhaps the most captivating thing is how they never lose that thrashing, raw abandon that lasting bands have and is hard to quantify. Simply, this is a band with a signature vibe and sophisticated, killer tone.
What they’re doing is even more exciting now than it was on 2010’s No Name No Color. MC Rut’s got gusto and this sophomore effort solidifies them as one of the most exciting true-to-form alternative rock bands in recent memory—the kind that’ll hopefully make hipsters everywhere unbutton their ironic cardigans, remove hands from pockets, and get moving. —Tessa Jeffers Must-hear tracks: “Weather Vein,” “Sing While You Slave”
of the cards he has up his sleeve: There’s nasty Texas snarl à la Billy Gibbons, dirty riffs that recall Gordie Johnson in Big Sugar, sassy bends that’d pass muster with Kentucky Headhunters’ Greg Martin, and fast, fluid lines that could have sprung from the nimble fingers of David Grissom or Doyle Bramhall II.
Walker references these great players and more, but he stirs their sounds into
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bart WalkerWaiting on DaylightRuf Records
If fat slide tones are your thing—like the sounds Duane Allman gave us in At Fillmore East—you’ll dig Bart Walker’s sophomore solo album. But that’s only one
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 33
tunes chock-full of multipart harmonies and shimmery guitar that may cause a few double takes.
A vintage-flavored trifecta of solid musicianship, moving vocals, and thoughtful songwriting, The Mountain Moves is a nice listen that’s timed right for summer. —Rich OsweilerMust-hear track: “Things Will Change”
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Gilad hekselmanThis Just InJazz Village
The trio format can either be a jazz guitarist’s best friend or worst enemy. On one hand, it allows freedom—both harmonic and rhythmic—to reign supreme. In less capable hands, it comes off as more of a sink-or-swim proposi-tion. With guitarist Gilad Hekselman’s latest output as a leader, This Just In, he not only embraces the freedom of the format, but also excels both as an impro-viser and composer.
Hekselman’s muscular, warm tone propels this collection of intricately arranged tunes. Focusing on mostly orig-inals—with the two covers being Don Grolnick’s “Nothing Personal” and Alan Parsons’ “Eye in the Sky”—Hekselman explores each corner with a devout curi-osity. Combining beautifully dissonant chord stabs with his admirable legato technique, he brings to mind both the conceptual nature of early Scofield tracks mixed with the forward propulsion of some of Pat Martino’s best work.
The mellow fingerstyle work on “Dreamers”—which demonstrates how tonally rich Ken Parker’s archtops can be—shows a subtle but more introspec-tive side of Hekselman’s abilities. Even within the somewhat crowded NYC jazz scene, Hekselman is near the head of the pack in terms of tone, chops, and a deep sense of melodicism. Although this might not be his most engaging album as a leader, he’s definitely someone to keep an eye on. —Jason ShadrickMust-hear track: “Eye in the Sky”
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GiGGinG & recordinG > Tone Tips
peter thorn is an L.A.-based guitarist, currently touring with Melissa Etheridge. His solo album, Guitar Nerd, is available through iTunes and cdbaby.com. Read more about his career at peterthorn.com.
the road Guitarist’s studio, pt. 2: the control room BY Peter thorn
Welcome to another episode in our nev-er-ending quest for tone. Last month’s
column [“The Road Guitarist’s Studio,” May 2013] was all about mic’ing guitar cabinets. This month, I’ll focus on my new control room. I put quite a bit of thought into designing a space conducive to creative guitar tracking and mixing, and I aim to share what I’ve learned with you here.
Tuning the RoomThe best gear in the world won’t help you make great recordings if your listening envi-ronment sounds bad. This means eliminat-ing—or at least reducing—standing waves, flutter echoes, and excessive bass waves. In a perfect world, your control room would have no parallel walls, because rooms with numerous angles help break up standing waves and other undesirable sonic artifacts.
My control-room area, however, is actually a less-than-perfect acoustical space because it’s essentially a rectangle. So, I enlisted the help of studio designer Keita Ishibashi to help me get things under control. Keita built custom bass traps for the corners of my room, as well as absorption panels and diffusers for the walls. The diffusers on either side of my mix position are really something special: They absorb bass from 70 to 350 Hz, and diffuse mid and high frequencies with the aim of not deadening the room more than necessary. And the bass traps in the corners are almost like a sonic vacu-um—when sound goes in, it doesn’t come out. With the room tuned, the end result is true and clear sound when sitting in the mix posi-tion and listening to my Adam A7 monitors. I can dial in guitar tones and mix confidently knowing that my mixes will translate well.
Amps and ModelersI mainly use heads and speaker cabinets, as opposed to combo amps. I like the flexibility of having the amp right beside me in the con-trol room so I can tweak the controls while I’m listening through the studio monitors. And it’s certainly nice to have the option of changing speaker cabs. Keita made me some custom cabinets that house my amplifier heads, and there’s a patch bay at the top where the six individual speaker outputs from the amps are located. There are also two jacks for the two speaker cable tie-lines that run into the room where my speaker cabs reside. This allows me
to easily patch an amp into a speaker cab. And because there are two tie-lines, I can also use two amps and two cabinets at once.
You could easily design something similar with shelving from your local big-box hard-ware store, foregoing the patch bay, and just having individual speaker cables coming from each of your amps. Just make sure you label each cable so you know what amp it’s connect-ed to. It’s okay to use long speaker cable runs, but you should use high-quality speaker cables of a fairly heavy gauge (mine are 12 gauge).
I keep a wide variety of amp heads in my studio in an effort to have tonal options that range from clean to crunch to modern high-gain. Another staple in my studio is a Fractal Axe-Fx II. It always delivers stellar modeled-amp tones, as well as awesome effects. I even used it on a recent session to get a very lo-fi “small amp on the verge of exploding” sound, which is probably the last thing you’d expect it to be used for.
GuitarsI consider myself a traditionalist when it comes to guitars, which is to say I’m a fan of the tried-and-true classic designs. My main guitars—both onstage and in the studio—consist of a mix of Gibson, Fender, Taylor, and Martin guitars. I’m also a big fan of Suhr guitars and I really like the EVH line for a modern hot-rod-style axe. So I can cover all the bases tonally in my studio, I generally keep a total of 12 of these guitars, including a good 12-string electric and a Gretsch hol-lowbody to round out my arsenal. That said, I think as long as you have a Strat, a Tele, a Les Paul, and 6- and 12-string acoustics, then you are well equipped for most sessions.
Mic preamps and interfacesYour front-end signal chain is important because digital recording is very unforgiv-ing—what goes in is what comes out. So it’s essential to use quality mic preamps to ensure your guitar sounds are recorded properly. I use an A2D from API and a UA 6176 channel strip, both going into an Apogee Ensemble audio interface. The API preamps are “in-your-face” and aggressive, which are great qualities if you are record-ing electric guitar. And the UA tube pre is warm, fat, and rather dark—a nice contrast to the API unit.
DAW and plug-in softwareEven though I’ve been a Logic user for over 10 years, I think all the popular DAW soft-ware has evolved to the point where it’s hard to make a bad choice. Logic works great for me with its large collection of included plug-in instruments and effects. But I also use a number of third-party effect plug-ins from companies such as Waves, Soundtoys, and Slate Digital. I’m a fan of Steven Slate’s SSD4 drum software for creating drum tracks because it sounds incredibly realistic, especially when using MIDI groove files that were played by real drummers. No matter what drum software you use, I recommend amassing a big collection of groove files. Companies such as Slam Tracks produce col-lections of MIDI grooves, which make writ-ing and production so much easier.
Computers and MonitorsI use a Mac Pro 8-core tower as my main studio computer, along with a 23" Apple monitor. The Mac has 6 GB of RAM, a 640 GB system drive, and three internal 1 TB drives for audio, samples, and backup. I believe it’s always best to use separate drives for your system, audio tracks, and samples.
My goal in creating this studio was to make a creative, productive space for tracking world-class guitar tones with a minimum of fuss. I think I’ve achieved my goal and I hope that some of my ideas and suggestions will be helpful when you set up your own project studios. Until next month, happy tracking!
Tuned, stocked, and ready to track: A control room optimized for capturing world-class guitar tones.
36 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
steve cook has been fighting his rock-star frontman urges for decades, holding down the low end for such artists as Steve Cropper, Sister Hazel, and Phil Vassar. Join in his “touring therapy” on Twitter @shinybass.
GiGGinG & recordinG > on Bass
Perfect imPerfection BY Steve Cook
One of my favorite times to play music is during soundcheck. Of course the
roar of a live crowd (or gentle golf clap, depending on the night) fuels the per-formance fire and is a wonderful instant reward for all the work we put into our craft. But for me, the time before the show in an empty house with a head full of crazy ideas can be pure magic. We tend to play odd songs, odd progressions, or even switch instruments during soundcheck. And though most people will never hear these jams, they can be some of the most creative. Beyond playing “Careless Whisper” to throw off the locals that may be listening, the parts I like most about soundcheck are the simple bass and drum grooves.
Once the drums are dialed in, we’ll check the bass signal, and then the drummer and I play together. Sometimes the grooves are great and sometimes they’re lackluster, but hearing only the bass and drums in my ears is amazing. There is no clutter from upper-register instruments, and my ears can focus on the little things I can’t hear when everyone is jamming—be it string noise, a slight fret buzz, or a little intonation problem because we’re in a different climate. Just like the stu-dio, it’s the time where my in-ears don’t lie. It’s all there for me to hear—good and bad.
That said, is the bad really that bad? Intonation, yes, we should fix that. We are the foundation in this business, so let us at least give the violin player the reference point from which to be out of tune. But string noise, fret buzz, etc., is going to hap-pen. You can’t fire up a lawn mower with-out making noise. In the same vein, a bass, guitar, or any analog instrument is going to have the occasional anomaly.
When you plug in and play through your headphones, you are going to hear the little nuances of your fingers hitting the fretboard, maybe an accidental strike of the pickups, or even the body of the bass hitting your belt. These are not necessarily bad things. No player is perfect, and unless you simply cannot produce notes because of your technique, then don’t focus on the bad. Focus on the good. Focus on the groove, the fullness of your notes and tone, and the accuracy of the licks you are work-ing on. By simply isolating your bass in your ears, you’ll instantly start to notice the things you need to work on. But you may also notice something truly special.
There are subtleties in each of our approaches that make us unique. What one player may look at as a flaw, another may see as style. There is a place in the universe for everyone, and you shouldn’t be discour-aged if you don’t sound exactly like your favorite player. Be yourself. And if you really want to feel better about your tone or technique, try hopping online and hearing what the most popular bassists in the world sound like in their own headphones.
In scouring the world for more influence and knowledge, I have become hip to the widening trend of the isolated bass track on YouTube. These tracks are popping up all over the place, and surprisingly, they run the gamut from amazing to remark-ably average. Multitrackmaster.com is also a fine site for finding iso tracks of multiple genres. Jammit.com is another good outlet to uncover isolated tracks, but there is a fee for this one. Hearing original studio record-ings can be enlightening, educational, and disappointing all at the same time. And just like every poem is open for interpretation, so is each isolated track.
For example, let’s examine the isolated bass track from the Beatles’ “Helter Skelter.” Historians say this part was played by John Lennon on a Fender Bass VI, and for all intents and purposes, the track is wonderfully awful. (Settle down—I’m a fan, but we must be objective.) First of all, the tone is amazingly raw and nasty. The timing isn’t perfect, the technique isn’t perfect, and if most of today’s producers didn’t already know the song or track, they would probably ask this bassist to leave the studio. But would you? I hope not. While not perfect, this track drives harder than a stolen Maserati when added to the rest of the instrumentation. Just try to imagine a nice, clean, active-bass tone with an aural enhancer and a compression pedal in its place. Um, no.
On the more technically agile side, check out the isolated bass track from “Darling Dear” by the Jackson 5. James Jamerson is held in such high regard in the low-end world, and this track is a shining example of why. It’s simply stunning how Jamerson made the song pulse and move with his expression and intuitive countermelodies—all with a one-finger technique on flat-wounds. This is a much cleaner tune than the Beatles example, but this iso track can
show us how great a bass line can be, and help us stretch out from a simple root-5 bounce that we sometimes get locked into.
Another standout in the iso world for me is Geddy Lee. For such “clean” records, his tone is amazingly dirty. We could talk all day about John Paul Jones, but give “Whole Lotta Love” a listen. You will hear the overtones ringing and the pawnshop nature of his bass, but the power overtakes all. Also listen to the bass/drums/vocal track from “Space Oddity” by David Bowie. The intricacies of this track would make anyone want to sneak a fretless onto their next rock record. Thankfully, the list of available isola-tion tracks is growing every day, because I’d love to hear some iso tracks from players like John Patitucci, Michael Rhodes, and Nathan East. Any links would be greatly appreciated!
So put on those headphones and get to lis-tening, studying, and practicing. Remember that the occasional imperfection is okay, and that your contribution is part of a big pic-ture. When we focus so much on the perfec-tion of it all, tracks get sterile in a hurry.
The world of iso tracks awaits: At Multitracmaster.com, for example, you can find a wealth of isolated tracks in many styles, as evidenced by this almost 11-minute collection from Abbey Road. Listen and learn.
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38 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
mitch GallaGher’s latest book is Guitar Tone: Pursuing the Ultimate Guitar Sound. He is the former Editor in Chief of EQ magazine. In addition to being a writer, he is a freelance recording engineer/pro-ducer/mastering engineer, teaches music business and audio recording at Indiana
University/Purdue University, and is Sweetwater’s Editorial Director. www.mitchgallagher.com
GiGGinG & recordinG > guitar tracks
keePinG the Peace, Pt. 3 BY MitCh gallagher
In last month’s column [“Keeping the Peace, Pt. 2,” May 2013], we discussed
the four components of sound control: mass, decoupling, air space, and tight seals. This month, let’s talk about how to put these components to work in keeping sound from escaping our studios and music rooms. Which component(s) you can use ultimately depends on your particular situation. If you are renting an apartment, for example, add-ing mass to the walls by installing a second layer of drywall would probably be in direct violation of your lease agreement!
isolate itThe easiest way to prevent sound escape is decoupling, or isolating the sound sources that could potentially transmit sound out of the room. A combo amp or speaker cabinet sitting directly on the floor will transfer vibrations into the floor, and then into the structure of the building. Yes, placing the amp or cabinet on a solid, concrete floor—such as in a basement—will isolate it. But an amp or cab in an upstairs bedroom needs to be isolated from the floor. And heavy, dense foam underneath will do the trick. If you prefer a ready-made solution, check out the isolation devices from companies such as Auralex and Primacoustic.
You can also isolate studio monitors from the stands they sit on. I’ve used dense foam items such as mouse pads for this pur-pose. But again, there are some ready-made (and possibly better performing) monitor-isolation solutions from Primacoustic, Auralex, and other companies.
seal it upIt’s important to understand that sound can escape through the tiniest of holes. If air can get through, then sound can get through. The first thing to do is check all the pos-sible places in your room where sound could escape. And the first and often worst offender is the door. Doors connecting to outside spaces generally seal fairly tight (or they should). But interior doors, such as those into a bedroom or den—or even
those into an apartment from a hallway—rarely close tightly all the way around. Installing weather stripping around the perimeter of the doorframe is a good way to start, and really isn’t that difficult. It’s also fairly easy to reverse should you need to.
The tough part with doors is typically sealing them underneath. External doors usually have a sill at the base and some sort of weather seal on the bottom of the door. Doors in professional studios often have some sort of heavy, spring-loaded seal that drops down when the door is closed. So what do you do about the door on the bedroom you use for your studio? Seal it up as tight as you can by stuffing a heavy towel, foam rubber, or whatever else you can find down there.
Windows are another source of sound escape. Heavy curtains will help, but stuff-
ing the window opening with dense foam will be better. Another good solution is cut-ting a piece of plywood to fit the window opening, and then wrapping the edges of the plywood in soft material to protect the window frame. The tighter it fits, the better the seal will be.
Let’s not forget about heating and air-conditioning vents, and air returns. Blocking the vents will prevent air—and therefore sound—from escaping into the ductwork and propagating through the building. Just remember to uncover them when you’re finished making music so the air and heat can flow again!
space it outAir space helps to reduce the transference of vibrations. While moving the walls of
your home might be a bit too challenging, you can choose your music room/space so that it is positioned as far as possible from those who might be annoyed by your music making. For example, if your bedroom is directly under someone else’s bedroom, playing music late at night in your room could certainly be a problem. But choosing the farthest corner of the basement, isolat-ing your amp, and sealing the door opening just might make everyone happy.
MassUnless you are building from scratch or are willing to remodel to a substantial degree, adding mass to the walls and ceiling of your music room or studio probably isn’t in the cards. If you are heading in that direction, consulting one of the many books or web-sites on the subject of studio construction would be a good place to start. Or, if your budget allows, consult an acoustician for suggestions on how to proceed.
Containing sound can be quite a chal-lenge. But paying attention to sealing up your studio or music space, isolating sound sources, keeping sound sources as far as possible from potentially unwilling listen-ers, and adding mass to your space—if you can—will go a long way toward reducing noise complaints. Combine these compo-nents with some of the volume-reduction suggestions we discussed in the April 2013 issue, and you’ll be able to play your guitar without having to worry about offending family and neighbors.
LEFt: Primacoustic’s Recoil Stabilizers combine multiple layers of dense foam with a metal plate to isolate studio monitors from stands or desks. aBoVE: An amplifier isolator such as the Aura-lex GRAMMA will cut down on vibrations being transferred into the floor.
The easiest way to prevent sound escape is decoupling, or isolating the sound sources that could potentially
transmit sound out of the room.
© 2013 Zoom | Photo: Neil Zlozower | richiekotzen.com | zoomfx.com
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40 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
tech tiPs > statE oF thE stoMp
GreGG stock is Senior Analog Guru and Engineer at Strymon.
the aBcs of comPression BY gregg StoCk
“Making the needles stand on end” is how one recording engineer
described the heavily compressed sound of ’80s rock bands. What is compression and how can we make the needles stand on end? For starters, we should clarify that we’re talking about dynamic range compres-sion, using devices like compressor pedals, and not digital-data compression, such as MP3 encoding.
Essentially, compressors do what I do when I’m watching a movie after the kids are asleep. I turn up the volume to hear the dialog and quickly turn down the volume when the car chase and explosions kick in. It’s important to note that turning the volume up and down should not introduce distortion, as this volume change is done over many audio cycles. This is opposed to clipping the signal, which compresses the signal but introduces harmonic distortion.
Let’s take a look at a classic studio com-pressor, the Teletronix LA-2A (Fig. 1). See those two big knobs on the front? One is marked gain and the other is marked peak reduction. If we start by turning up the peak reduction knob, the level of the
loud parts of the signal will be reduced and the overall perception is that the pro-gram material is quieter. That’s when we can reach for the gain knob and increase the volume so that the overall perception is that we are back to where we started in terms of level, but with a reduction in dynamic range.
Dynamic range is the measurement of the difference between the quietest parts and the loudest parts. Metallica’s “Creeping Death” would have a fairly low dynamic range while Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” would have a larger dynamic range.
What about one-knob compressors? It’s possible to combine the peak reduction and gain knobs into one knob by using a pot that has two elements. These pots are usually used for stereo signals but we can
coerce it into turning up the gain and peak reduction at the same time. This is what I’ve done with the Strymon OB.1. Since a compressor is typically near the begin-ning of the pedal chain, we can adjust the amount of increased gain to match the amount of peak reduction when using a medium-output pickup. This results in an experience where everything gets smoother, but not louder or quieter.
But what about low- or high-output pickups? The low-output pickup is not going to trigger the peak reduction as often
and the signal will get louder as the comp knob is turned up. The opposite happens with the high-output pickups as they drive more peak reduction. This is where the level knob can be used to provide a fine adjust-ment on the amount of overall gain.
What’s the difference between opto, FET, VCA or tube compressors? The peak reduc-tion circuit needs to be able to turn down the volume in response to a control signal—standard audio circuit components like resis-tors, capacitors, and op-amps can’t do this.
Opto compressors use a light-dependent resistor (LDR) and a fixed resistor to cre-ate a voltage divider that reduces the signal level. The resistance of an LDR goes down as it is exposed to light. Incandescent bulbs, LEDs, and electro-luminescent panels have been used to control LDR. One of
the properties of an LDR is that it can be turned on (gain reduced) quickly, but turns off relatively slowly. This has a natural musical property and creates some the char-acter of opto compressors.
FET compressors use JFETs or MOSFETs (two types of transistors) to create a voltage-controlled resistor that is used in a voltage divider like the LDR. But FETs are lightning fast and can clamp down or release as fast or as slow as the peak reduction cir-cuit dictates. These compressors are usually associated with the pumping kind of sound you get from many compressor pedals.
VCA (voltage-controlled amplifier) com-pressors use an integrated circuit multiplier that can be very fast and precise. You are more likely to see a VCA in a rack unit than a pedal.
Many “tube compressors” are really opto compressors with tube gain stages, but there are circuits that use a tube as the variable gain element. The LA-2A we discussed ear-lier falls in this category.
What about blend knobs? Some com-pressors will allow you to mix your uncom-pressed signal with the compressed signal. If the compression circuit has a very aggressive squash, then mixing in some uncompressed signal will get some of the dynamics back while maintaining overall compression.
Do you need a compressor pedal? Before deciding, take some time to explore the various available technologies to discover which devices work best with your music and guitars.
Fig. 1. One of the great studio compressors, the Teletronix LA-2A Leveling Amplifier, first appeared in 1965 and was produced until 1969. This tube-driven electro-optical attenuator system is now available again from Universal Audio, which builds LA-2A repros in California using old-school, point-to-point wiring.
Essentially, compressors do what I do when I’m watching a movie after the kids are asleep.
I turn up the volume to hear the dialog and quickly turn down the volume when the car
chase and explosions kick in.
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42 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
jol dantziG is a noted designer, builder, and player who co-founded Hamer Guitars, one of the first boutique guitar brands, in 1973. Today, as the director of Dantzig Guitar Design, he continues to help define the art of custom guitar. To learn more, visit guitardesigner.com.
tech tiPs > EsotErica ELEctrica
suckinG the saP from tonewoods BY jol dantzig
We all love to talk gear. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be meeting like this. But when
I hear statements like “the XYZ Brotherbucker totally slays the So-and-So Wonderbucker,” my hackles go up. Not because I don’t agree, but because I believe in more nuanced—and therefore useful—information. Gear-centric discussions are often fraught with what I call “raised-eyebrow moments.” I’m not sure if I actually pull out the trademark Belushi sneer but at least mentally, I’m saying to myself: “Are you effing kidding me?” Everyone has an opinion, and some are even prepared to back it up with measurable evidence. But because so much about what we enjoy about guitars is purely subjective, it makes the subject matter not only hard to prove, but also very personal, which explains the tendency to get militant about beliefs. So, in the interest of an even less-quantifiable factor at the core of every guitar worth mentioning, let’s discuss wood drying.
If you’ve seriously shopped for a premi-um instrument, you have most likely heard the term tonewood applied to the materials coveted by guitar builders (and even some musicians). It generally applies to the woods used to build musical instruments, usually those with strings such as violins, cellos, and guitars. The inherent effect of different wood species upon the tonality of an instru-ment is a never-ending discussion, but little is heard about how wood is prepared.
The idea of old wood has currency among builders, but unless properly sea-soned, a board’s age is a worthless statistic. Labels like “air dried” and “century old” are suspect because these designations by them-selves mean nothing. As we start to examine the actual science behind how wood gains and loses moisture, the fallacy of these sorts of terms becomes clear. The correct seasoning of wood that’s used for guitars is important, but exactly why is a bit opaque as viewed through the lens of marketing.
Why We DryBuilders of all things wooden must be concerned with moisture content for many reasons. Most of the considerations are struc-tural, including the ability of glues or final finishes to bond properly. Wood shrinks in size as it dries, so it is important for pieces to be stabilized before fitting them together in a final form. Unlike a table or door, extremely small changes in dimensions can cause play-ability problems for a guitar. For all these
reasons, it is important to bring instrument wood into a state that will be at rest in “nor-mal” operating situations and environments.
appropriate Moisture contentTo begin with, wood in its natural state is fair-ly saturated with moisture in what is referred to as sap. It’s the easy flow of this moisture through the tree that nourishes its extremi-ties, much like our own body’s circulation system. After a tree is felled, it no longer draws moisture through a root system, but can still absorb water from its surroundings. Even after trees are cut into boards, the wood is at the mercy of its environment. Moisture in boards is found in the tube-like rays and vessels that
supply food to the wood cells, as well as inside the cells themselves. Transfer of waterborne food to the cells is accomplished via small gateways called pits, which act as valves. The notable thing here is that this system can work in either direction—gaining or losing moisture in an effort to reach what is called equilib-rium. This fact is important because it means that a board stored for decades in a humid environment will not lose enough moisture to be deemed usable for most furniture or musi-cal instrument purposes.
how We DryMost commercially available lumber is dried to between 8 to 12 percent moisture content, measured by weight in what is called the “dry basis.” The most common method of achiev-ing this is by using a drying oven, or kiln. It’s not just a matter of putting wood into a hot room and waiting because there are a myriad of variables to be aware of. Green (new) wood can vary greatly in moisture content,
ranging anywhere from 30 percent to as much as 200 percent as a ratio.
Moisture is divided into two different cat-egories: free water, which is found in the rays and vessels, and bound water, which is held in the cells themselves. Also, the material nearest the outside dries more quickly than the center of the board. The resulting vac-uum instigates a capillary action that draws the internal moisture towards the surface. This aspect takes more time and requires more heat. But forcing any of these issues with too much heat too soon can destroy the wood with cracks, or leave the center wet—a structural time-bomb. Some experts insist that fracturing the cells or cooking the resin left behind by overenthusiastic drying can also change the resonance of the wood. Whether or not this is true, the structural reasons are enough to warrant tailoring the drying cycle to each individual load.
Beyond the DrySince wood is porous, even if a builder buys wood that is carefully and correctly dried, it must still be kept in a controlled environ-ment or the moisture content will drift. This applies to the guitar in your home, too. Maintaining a relative humidity of around 35 to 40 percent will keep your axe close to the environment that it was (hopefully) built in. It is important to note that some of the drying parameters of commercial lumberyards do not include considerations of cell damage that may affect resonance despite being structurally acceptable for fur-niture applications. In those cases, structur-ally sound has nothing to do with the sound it makes!
In the end, it comes down to having a guitar or bass that functions properly and won’t shift too much during use. Beyond that, it has to do with resonance. Can any of this be discerned by ear? Not bloody likely. Does it matter? Sure, if your idea of getting your money’s worth includes your guitar’s maker raising the bar and under-standing their craft. You decide. You may find yourself raising an eyebrow occasionally while reading about a potential purchase.
Because wood is porous, even boards that have been carefully and correctly dried must be stored in a controlled environment or the mois-ture content will shift.
44 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
tech tiPs > acoustic sounDBoarD
mark dalton is a founding part-ner of Huss & Dalton Guitar Company. When not building guitars, Mark and his wife, Kimberly, tend to the draft horses and mules that inhabit their farm in the Piedmont region of Virginia.
desiGninG and orderinG a custom Guitar, Pt. 3 BY Mark dalton
In the first two parts of this series, we covered the basics on how to get started
ordering a custom guitar, as well as some of the construction details you’ll be deciding on in the process. This month, let’s talk about some of the cosmetic aspects you’ll need to determine for your custom instrument.
BindingsAs with most parts of the custom-guitar design process, we could go on for days about binding possibilities, but I will try and stick to the ones that we get into most often. While we do a lot of wood bindings because we prefer that look, we also do plastic bindings as well. One thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t expect to hear a difference in the tone between the two options: The choice is strictly cosmetic.
Wood BindingsThe options here are almost endless, but we usually do our wood bindings with maple, Indian rosewood, or koa. We’ll also use cocobolo or ebony occasionally. The biggest decision here comes down to how the color and figure of the bindings contrast with the color and figure of the back and side woods. You may like a lot of contrast, such as maple against rosewood, or you may like the almost-unbound look of rosewood on rosewood, with maybe just a set of black/white/black lines in-between.
You can find plenty of images on the internet to give you an idea of the differ-ent options for your guitar, so be sure to research as many as possible before decid-ing. Do be aware, however, that wood colors and grains vary, so you may not get exactly the same color and figure in your wood bindings that you saw in another example. As with all details, trust the input of your guitar builder on these things. We’ve done it many times before, so we know what works, and what doesn’t.
plastic BindingsOften, and mostly for the sake of tradition, we use various plastic bindings. These are usually ivoroid, white plastic, black plastic, or tortoise-colored plastic. If you are ordering a tradition-based model, I would recommend that you stick with whatever your grandpa’s guitar had for binding. You might like the idea of tortoise binding on your D-28-styled guitar at first, but later on—especially if you
ever want to sell it—you may end up wish-ing that you had chosen traditional ivoroid or white plastic instead.
purfling schemesThere are just as many purfling options as there are binding options, but we usu-ally see one of just a few. Those include black/white/black fiber lines, herringbone, rope style, or abalone. Abalone top trim is something that has gone a bit out of style, but is still a real jaw-dropper when you see it. It will move most instruments into a showier context, and certainly also costs quite a bit more. Herringbone is often a good choice, even on an instrument that you would normally not see herringbone. If you add herringbone to a mahogany guitar, for example, you can add flair to the look,
without giving it a design scheme that’s a bit too weird. It will look traditional, but with a different touch.
FinishesWe do several top colors other than natu-ral, including a lot of sunbursts. And we offer two basic sunbursts: our three-color (aka standard) and two-color sunburst. The two-color sunburst is reddish brown on the outside edge, whereas our standard burst is black on the outside edge. Every builder has their own, and most will gladly send you pictures. It’s worth noting that sunbursts are not only notoriously difficult to photograph—it’s very hard to do two that are exactly alike. So allow your builder some license here. I’ve been doing sunbursts for 19 years now and I’ve hardly ever done two that are exactly the same. When you embrace that concept, a sunburst can be a unique way to distinguish your guitar from a similar style.
We also do aging toner top-finish once in a while. You can add just a bit of a yel-lowing agent with the first coat of the top’s finish to give it an antiqued look. This looks best when done on very traditional-designed guitar.
As for staining the back, sides, and neck, I do recommend that you stain mahogany, especially with the lighter-col-ored mahoganies that we use today. They can be very pale and sometimes an unat-tractive pinkish color when not stained. The exception here would be mahoganies that have quite a bit of ribbon figure. They often have a darker color than normal, and will display a striking luminescence when left unstained.
Remember that these rough guidelines are influenced by personal tastes, so get with your builder and flesh out your own ideas on these things. If you’re just the right amount creative while remaining open-minded and respectful of the opinions of those with experience, you will end up with a beautiful and unique instrument.
Next time, we’ll cover inlays and move on to pickup and set-up choices.
This guitar’s Indian rosewood binding contrasts nicely against its Australian-blackwood back and sides.
Handcrafted Guitars & Mandolins. That’s what we do. Committed to a high standard of quality, Eastman Guitars uses only premium tonewoods and the finest appointments. Alongside the talent and accomplishment of our designers and luthiers, combined with our company philosophy, we continue one of the most fascinating musical traditions the world has known.
Complete the crossword puzzle below and send it in for a FREE Eastman T-shirtInclude your Name, Address, Email & T-shirt Size
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www.EastmanGuitars.comE10SS AR805CE
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ACROSS
4. Middle name, iconic bluesman that sold his soul
7. Famed guitar instructor to Exodus, Testament, Metallica
8. Eastman Music Company founder, first name
10. Buck, Elvis, Emmylou, Jerry Lee, Merle, Ricky, The Monkees
12. Last name, Whose wine? What wine? Where the hell did I dine?
15. U.S. location of Eastman Music Company, city
16. Owner of fascist killing machines, first name
17. “Jumping Flea”18. Midnight Blue20. Cortez the Killer
DOWN
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2. World’s population, rounded down3. Gypsy jazz5. He’s the one who likes all our pretty
songs6. Hiram loved honky tonkin’, first
name9. The greatest show on Earth11. Last name, He is the legendary
group’s sole continual member13. Standard guitar tuning14. Don’t let him down19. Eruption, initials
46 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
jeff BoBer, one of the godfathers of the low-wattage amp revolution, co-founded and was the principal designer for Budda Amplification. Jeff launched EAST Amplification in 2010, and he can be reached at [email protected].
tech tiPs > ask aMp Man
iGnore a modern ac30’s standBy switch? BY jeff BoBer
Hi Luis,Let’s take a look at why a standby switch is included in most amps and see if your technician has given you some sound advice. A standby switch was included as a feature on tube guitar amplifiers, not to give the player instant access to the amp’s perfor-mance mode, but actually for a much more important reason—the preservation of the tubes themselves. For proper, long-term operation of a tube, theoretically it should be heated to its operating temperature prior to applying high voltage to its inter-nal components.
When high voltage is applied before the tube reaches its operational temperature, a phenomenon known as “cathode stripping” occurs. This can happen when either a tube rectifier with a directly heated cathode or a solid-state rectifier is used, as they will gen-erate high voltage in the power supply long before a typical vacuum tube can heat up.
While this will not initially cause a tube to fail or malfunction, over time it will reduce its performance and make it weak. The addition of a standby feature lets the tubes reach operating temperature when power is applied to the amp, but before high voltage is introduced to the tubes.
You also mentioned that using the standby switch was causing damage to your rectifier tube. Generally a rectifier tube will fail if there is demand for current in excess of its capability, which could happen if too much filtering was placed on the immediate output of the tube.
In looking at the schematic for the Vox AC30 CC2, the capacitance of the filter cir-cuit placed on the output of the tube varies from 22 µF to 44 µF, depending on the setting of the “smoothing” switch, but since that does not exceed the 60 µF maximum specification of a 5AR4 tube, I don’t believe this would be the source of a problem either. What is most likely causing the recti-fier tube failure you’re experiencing is the shorting of one or more output tubes. Why they are shorting, I still have no idea.
Although I do not believe this is an issue of major concern here, there is one phenom-enon that can theoretically cause output tubes to prematurely weaken but not necessarily fail, and that is if the amp is left in the stand-by mode for excessive periods of time.
However, I do need to ask if you had been using one particular brand of output tube and then switched to another when you began experiencing no failure with the amp. Sometimes certain tubes just work better with a particular amp design. If such a change coincided with your decision to stop using the standby switch, it could be the real reason your amp is behaving itself.
And now let’s explore your tech’s sug-gestion that you no longer use the standby switch. Normally I would say this is not
a good idea, but in this instance it’s prob-ably okay and here’s why: The standard 5AR4 rectifier tube used in your AC30 is designed with an “indirectly heated cath-ode.” This means that the 5AR4 will take approximately as long (or possibly longer by design) as the other tubes in the circuit to warm up to operating temperature before high voltage appears at its output. Even without using the standby switch, the tubes will be at operating temperature prior to having high voltage applied to them. Please note this is not true when using other simi-lar octal rectifiers, such as the 5U4 or 5Y3 type, which are directly heated and supply high voltage much more quickly.
Your tech also mentioned that resistors were later added to the standby switch on these models, but I could not find any sche-matic evidence to support this. Over the years I’ve seen schematics where 22 Ω or 47 Ω resistors were added on the output of the rectifier, but I’ve only seen these on reissue models that used solid-state rectifier cir-cuits. This resistor may help limit the spike of voltage a bit when the standby switch is engaged, but there will also be a voltage drop across the resistor that would increase a bit under higher volume situations. This may actually be there to help the solid-state rectifier version of a reissue amp sound and feel more like the original model with its tube rectifier.
If you wanted to revert to using the standby switch in your amp, I’d have your tech look into installing a thermistor or “inrush current limiting” device in the cir-cuit. I hope that helps clear up your tube-consuming conundrum!
Hi Jeff,I’d really enjoy hearing your thoughts on the 2008 Vox AC30 CC2 our band bought new.
This amp has a history of eating power tubes and rectifier tubes. A few months ago, our new amp technician had a look at it and told us to stop using the standby switch, whether on start up or shut down. I’m not very technical, but his explanation was along the lines that after the warm up on standby, when the switch was flipped the rectifier tube overloaded the power tubes with current. I’m paraphrasing and I don’t wish to misquote the guy. He mentioned that at some point Vox started adding a resistor to the standby switch on this model to prevent malfunction, and reminded us that the original JMI AC30s didn’t have a standby switch.
His rule of thumb is that if the amp has a rectifier tube, he doesn’t use the standby switch. We haven’t had a single problem with the amp after we completely stopped using the standby switch. Is this a wives’ tale or sound advice? Keep up the great work!Regards,Luis Fernandez
LEFt: A 2008 Vox AC30 CC2. This 2x12 combo is powered by a quartet of EL84 tubes and has an output of 30-40 watts. aBoVE: The AC30 CC2’s chassis.
48 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
dirk wacker lives in Germany and is fascinated by anything related to old Fender guitars and amps. He plays country, rockabilly, and surf music in two bands, works regularly as a session musician for a local studio, and writes for several guitar mags. He’s also a
hardcore guitar and amp DIY-er who runs an extensive website—singlecoil.com—on the subject.
tech tiPs > MoD garagE
PreParinG your tele for future mods BY dirk waCker
In anticipation of all the Telecaster mods we have in store, let’s devote this col-
umn to getting your pickups ready for the adventure. For starters, unstring your Tele and remove the two pickups. Or if you’ve bought a new set of pickups you want to install, put them on your workbench.
Note: The following steps are only necessary when you use standard single-coil Telecaster pickups with the classic 2-conductor wiring (hot and ground). Don’t perform this work on Tele humbuckers with 4-conductor wiring or single-coils with 3-conductor wiring.
When you look at the bottom of your two pickups, they should look something like Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. (To illustrate this wiring project, I’m using an early-’90s Seymour Duncan Broadcaster bridge pick-up and a 1994 MIJ Fender neck pickup.)
Notice the two red circles. On the bridge pickup, the metal base plate is connected to the pickup’s ground with a short jumper wire to provide proper shielding. For the same reason, one tap of the neck pickup’s metal cover is also connected to the pickup’s ground with a short jumper wire.
The stock jumper wires work well as long as you don’t modify the circuit with non-stan-dard schemes. But if you perform out-of-phase or parallel/series mods with this stock configu-ration, you’ll encounter all kinds of issues with noise and hum. To avoid these problems, we’ll convert both pickups to 3-conductor wiring before heading down the path of Tele mods. The essential idea is to separate the bridge base plate and neck metal cover from the pickups’ ground. To maintain the shield, we run a new, extra ground wire to these points.
First, carefully unsolder the two jumper wires (or simply snip them off ) at the pick-ups’ soldering eyelets. Do not remove the entire jumper wire, simply unsolder one side and bend the jumper up to make it accessible. Now these jumpers should look like Fig. 3 and Fig. 4.
Next, solder a new wire to the jumper on each pickup. Make this new wire the same length as each pickup’s hot and ground wires. Insulate the soldering spot with some heat-shrink tubing, as shown. I use red wire for this operation, but you can use any color you like. Equipped with their new
ground wires, the pickups should look like Fig. 5 and Fig. 6.
Finally, solder these two new wires to another grounding point in the circuit—the back of a pot, for example—that’s connected to ground. And that’s it! The new wires are separated from the pickups’ ground, yet they always stay connected to ground to provide proper shielding regard-less of any future mods. I think Telecaster pickups should be wired this way at the factory, but most pickups are still made the traditional way with the jumper wire—the way Leo Fender did it back in a time when the word “modification” wasn’t yet applied to electric guitar.
See you next time for more Tele lore. Until then, keep on modding!
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50 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
tech tiPs > thE Bass BEnch
heiko hoePfinGer is a German physicist and long-time bassist, classical guitarist, and motorcycle enthusiast. His work on fuel cells for the European orbital glider Hermes got him deeply into modern materials and physical acoustics, and led him to form BassLab (basslab.de)—a
manufacturer of monocoque guitars and basses. You can reach him at [email protected].
further adventures in fretBoard desiGn BY heiko hoepfinger
In my previous column, we explored several alternative approaches to the
pesky problem of intonation [“Tuning the Fretboard,” May 2013]. Now let’s look at a few other things builders have done with the fretboard.
Multi-scale fretboards. Currently, there’s a lot of discussion about how to get more tension and punch for the often floppy low-B on a 5-string. For some players, the low B feels like it belongs to a completely different set of strings, and that’s annoying. Despite the “Jaco only needed four strings” attitude, several creative minds have put some effort into the question of improving the tension of low strings. One approach is to use fanned frets.
You may recall the short equation in the April 2013 column that gave us the ten-sion of a string. The equation showed that going to a longer scale length gives us a higher tension. (For more details, see “The B-String Extender Myth” at premierguitar.com.) This is the basic idea behind the multi-scale or fanned fretboards that were patented by Ralph Novak in 1989.
Fig. 1 shows an 8-string Novak with fanned frets. The principle had already been used by some 16th-century lute builders, but it was Novak who pioneered the multi-scale fretboard for modern electric instruments.
On grand pianos and harps, string length varies with the pitch of the string, but on single-scale instruments, you can only vary parameters like the overall thick-ness or ratio of core and windings to get a good balance across the fretboard. The scale length also determines the amount of upper harmonics. Going for a longer scale with more tension increases them, making low notes sound more defined and articulate.
How does it feel to play a bass with fanned frets? Different, for sure. Personally, I had some problems in the upper register, where the frets begin to flip direction above the 12th fret. So if you spend significant time in this register, give this area some additional attention when you try out a fanned-fret instrument. But if you’re an old-school player who works mostly in the lower frets, you could feel right at home.
The multi-scale concept also works with fretless instruments, as shown in Fig. 2.
Detune with constant tension. Another unconventional fretboard design came from the mind of Philip Kubicki, who developed a handy way of detuning the 4th string from E to D with the flip of a small switch positioned at the headstock of his Ex Factor basses.
Releasing the string from E to D extend-ed its scale from 32" to 36" and exposed
two additional frets (Fig. 3). Instead of slackening the string—the normal way to enter dropped-D tuning—you’d get the lower pitch and retain full string tension.
While writing this column, I received word that Phil had passed away at the age of 69. He started building classical guitars in 1959, then spent almost nine years at Fender’s R&D department, and ultimately went independent in 1973. His original Factor basses debuted in 1983 and fea-tured some very novel details. While at Fender, Phil also built the custom rosewood Telecaster George Harrison played on Let It Be and in the infamous 1969 London roof-top concert. Phil will be remembered for his innovations and bold designs.
The changeable fretboard. There are other fretboard mods that are almost for-gotten. One is the Novatone Switchboard, developed by Tom Stone. This appeared in the early ’80s, but never got very popu-lar, although it could have great appeal to those needing a fretted and fretless bass in one instrument.
The Novatone was a changeable fret-board that was attached by magnets. Novatone wasn’t making their own line of instruments, so you had to deliver your bass to them and have its original fretboard removed. This was replaced by a metal base plate to which you’d affix different fretboards. Novatone offered a variety of fretboards, including microtonal and a few other temperaments.
Unfortunately, the Novatone system required removing a lot of neck wood to make room for the metal plate and new fretboard, so the modified necks got unsta-ble, especially when the neck ended up hav-ing open truss rod channels. The truss then no longer had a solid counterpart to hold up to. Many also complained about the magnets not being strong enough to hold the fretboard in place. Novatone soon went out of business, leaving many with a broken bass. Still, the idea of having one instru-ment that’s easily converted from fretted to fretless is intriguing.
Fig. 1. (Left) A Ralph Novak 8-string with fanned frets. Jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter played a Novax 8-string for many years. Photo courtesy of Novax Guitars Fig. 2. (Middle) The multi-scale concept also works with fretless instruments. Fig. 3. (Right) Designed by the late Philip Kubicki, Ex Factor basses allowed you to drop the E string to a D without changing its tension, as would occur with normal detuning. Photo courtesy of kubicki.com
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52 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
vintaGe & uPkeeP > VintagE VauLt
1952 fender Precision Bass
This well-played, yet beautifully preserved 1952 Fender Precision Bass—serial #0215—rests against a 1952 TV front Fender Bassman 1x15 combo.
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 53
vintaGe & uPkeeP > VintagE VauLt
dave’s Guitar shoPDave Rogers’ collection is tended by Laun Braithwaite and Tim Mullally and is on display at:Dave’s Guitar Shop1227 Third Street SouthLa Crosse, WI 54601davesguitar.comPhotos by Mullally and text by Braithwaite.
Leo Fender introduced the Precision Bass in late 1951 following the success
of his revolutionary electric 6-string, the Telecaster. The P bass proved to be even more groundbreaking. The radical guitar-sized instrument was almost immediately embraced by bassists and guitarists alike.
Bassists had labored for years carrying around the huge upright, only to be barely heard over the horns and drums. Fender’s new, readily portable 4-string was easily ampli-fied and could provide a strong bottom-end complement to the drums. Unemployed guitarists, out of work due to the post-World War II trend of smaller dance bands, could get gigs without having to learn a completely new technique. An early 1952 ad listed the reasons to buy a Precision Bass: “Fretted neck, superb tone, easily played, modern design, highly por-table, extremely rugged, faster changes, light weight, 1/6 size of a regular bass.”
The P bass pictured this month dates from July of 1952. It shares the characteris-tics common to basses made between 1951 and 1954. The most prominent of these are a flat, slab ash body like the Telecaster’s with elongated horns for better balance (the body became contoured to match the Stratocaster’s in ’54), a headstock shaped like a larger version of the Tele’s (this became more Strat-shaped in ’57), black Bakelite pickguard (white by ’56, gold anodized by ’57), and a single-coil pickup (which became a hum-cancelling, dual-coil unit in ’57).
Early players of the original Precision were Roy Johnson and Monk Montgomery— two consecutive bassists in jazz vibraphonist Lionel Hampton’s band. More than two decades later, the bass again found favor with two successive bassists for the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Keith Ferguson and Preston Hubbard.
The amp behind the bass is an original 1952 TV front Bassman. It came with a 15" Jensen speaker and a closed back with two small circular ports. The chassis on the earliest Bassman was mounted on the cabinet’s bottom.
The Fender Precision Bass sold for $199.50 in 1952, and its current value is $15,000. With a current value of $2,000, the Bassman originally sold for $203.50.
Sources for this article include The Fender Bass: An Illustrated History by J.W. Black and Albert Molinaro, Fender Precision Basses: 1951-1954 by Detlef Schmidt, Fender: The Sound Heard ’Round the World by Richard
BY dave rogerS, laun Braithwaite, and tiM MullallY
The Tele resemblance is also evident in the original headstock shape.
Yes! Tone to 12—that’s one more than 11, isn’t it, Nigel?
Fender’s amp logo, circa 1952.
R. Smith, and Fender Amps: The First Fifty Years by John Teagle and John Sprung.
original price: Precision Bass, $199.50 in 1952; Bassman, $203.50current estimated market value: Precision Bass, $15,000; Bassman $2,000
54 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
vintaGe & uPkeeP > guitar shop 101
Okay, you’re restringing your acoustic guitar and discover that a bridge
pin is stuck. Now what? It could be time for new bridge pins or this could signal problems with the bridge plate. Eventually, bridge pins wear out and sometimes break, so it’s important to inspect them every time you change your strings. It’s also smart to check the bridge plate too, because when the bridge plate begins to wear out, the consequences can be cata-strophic for your guitar.
Understanding pins and plates. Most steel-string guitars use bridge pins to hold the strings against your guitar’s bridge and bridge plate. Bridge pins come in various sizes and can be made from plastic, wood, ivory, bone, and even brass. Each material offers a differ-ent tone and various degrees of longevity.
A common misconception is that bridge pins secure the strings to the bridge. Actually, the pins hold each string’s ball end against the bridge plate located inside the guitar. The string then curves around, passes through the bridge, and runs over the bridge saddle. If a string’s ball end isn’t firmly anchored to the bridge plate, the string will slip and cause the pin to launch out of the bridge. Fig. 1 shows properly anchored ball ends.
Here are some pros and cons of common bridge pin materials (Fig. 2).
• Plastic: Inexpensive and readily avail-able at any music store. Wears out eas-ily and won’t enhance a guitar’s tone.
• Wood: Available at most music stores and improves sustain and tone. Can be expensive and often requires reaming out the bridge to fit properly.
• Ivory: Increases sustain, produces a warm tone, and looks gorgeous. Very expensive, difficult to obtain legally, raises ethical issues, and often requires reaming out the bridge to fit properly.
• Bone: Increases sustain, produces a brighter tone, and looks great. Expensive, difficult to find, and often requires ream-ing out the bridge to fit properly.
• Brass: Lasts forever, produces a very bright tone (good for guitars with excessive bass), and looks great. Expensive, difficult
time for new BridGe Pins?
to find, and often requires reaming out the bridge to fit properly. Can be too bright for most guitars.
My personal preference is rosewood, ebony, or bone. Brass and plastic are my least favorite because plastic breaks easily and brass is too bright for my taste.
Wear and tear. When a bridge pin wears out or breaks, the string’s ball end travels up into the bridge. Not only can this cause the bridge pins to launch out of the bridge, it can cause the bridge plate and top to crack. When the bridge plate cracks (Fig. 3), the bridge can also crack (Fig. 4) and pull away from the top. To make things worse, the braces may then fail, further damaging your instrument.
If a pin is stuck inside the bridge, you can sometimes remove it by pushing the string down into the bridge and then pull-ing the pin out. If that doesn’t work, the pins may have to be forced out by pushing them up from inside of the guitar.
Replacing worn pins. If you see wear on the pins, that’s a good sign you should replace them. Fitting the pins correctly takes the proper tool and a lot of skill. To open the holes in the bridge to the proper size, I use a tapered reamer. These are available from luthier supply companies like Stewart-MacDonald (stewmac.com) and Luthiers Mercantile International (lmii.com).
The key to successfully fitting the pins is patience. If you don’t remove enough mate-rial from the hole, the pins will stick up and poke out of the bridge (Fig. 5). And forcing the pins into holes that are too small can crack the bridge. But if the holes are too big, the pins will fit loosely and can easily fall out. When fitting the pins, take your time and check the fit after each turn of the reamer (Fig. 6). The ideal fit is when you can press the pins into the bridge—with the string in place—down to the end of the flute, so that just the round top of the pins is exposed (Fig. 7). The fit should be snug, yet
1. Bridge pins hook the strings’ ball ends to the
bridge plate, which is locat-ed under the bridge. In this interior view, the soundhole
lies north, just above the X-brace. 2. Bridge pins made from (left to right)
ivory, plastic, ebony, rosewood, and brass.
3. A cracked bridge plate.
1
2
3
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 55
vintaGe & uPkeeP > guitar shop 101
StorY and photoS BY john levan
john levan, Nashville guitar tech, has written five guitar repair books, all published by Mel Bay. His bestseller, Guitar Care, Setup & Maintenance, is a detailed guide with a forward by Bob Taylor. LeVan welcomes questions about his PG column or books. Drop an email to [email protected] or visit guitarservices.com for more
info on his guitar repair workshops.
allow you to work the pin loose when you change strings.
Where’s my flute? Not all bridge pins have a flute or channel that runs down the center of the pin. The string travels down this flute allowing the ball end to hook onto the bridge plate. Many vintage guitars were made with a bridge and plate that had the flutes carved into them. For this type of gui-tar, the pins are solid or non-fluted (Fig. 8), and the same principles apply when fitting them. However, depending on what gauge strings you use, the flutes in the bridge and plate may need to be enlarged. It’s best to let a professional tackle that particular job.
Understanding the bridge plate. Using quality bridge pins will improve your tone, and properly fitted bridge pins will help prevent severe damage to your guitar. But remember, pins are only part of the story:
Don’t overlook the bridge plate! Alas, many people do, yet it plays a crucial role in the guitar’s structural integrity.
Bridge plates are made from several types of wood and come in many different shapes and sizes. The most common material is maple, though many guitars have a plate made from rosewood, pear wood, or spruce. The plate provides stability for the bridge and, as we’ve seen, holds the strings inside the guitar.
Over time, a bridge plate can simply wear out. The holes in the plate gradually enlarge, causing the strings to travel up into the bridge. To repair worn holes, a skilled tech uses a specialized tool to remove a tapered disk of the worn-out wood, then glues in a new wood disk, and finally redrills the bridge pinholes.
But repair is not an option if the bridge plate cracks. If that happens, the entire
plate has to be replaced—a much more expensive proposition. The bottom line? Inspect your pins and bridge plate regu-larly to stay ahead of unnecessary future repairs. To inspect the bridge plate, you’ll need a small mirror that will fit inside the guitar. You can buy these from the luthier supply companies I mentioned earlier, or you can repurpose small hand-held mir-rors like those sold in auto parts stores. If you’re not confident you can spot prob-lems, take your guitar to a qualified guitar tech or luthier for an opinion.
4. A cracked bridge. 5. Improperly fitted pins stick up from the bridge. 6. Use a tapered reamer to slowly expand the bridge pinholes for a correct fit. 7. Properly fitted bridge pins sit snugly in their holes with only the rounded top exposed. 8. Some vintage guitars use non-fluted bridge pins.
4 5
6
7
8
56 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
Hi Zach,I have an early Fender Custom Shop 1962 Stratocaster replica with a gold-sparkle finish. And after disassembling the guitar, I’ve found some interesting information about who was involved in building it. I also have the origi-nal case, a certificate of authenticity signed by John Page, and all the case candy. Is this trash or treasure?Thanks,Richard Grant in Guelph, Ontario
zachary r. fjestad is author of Blue Book of Acoustic Guitars, Blue Book of Electric Guitars, and Blue Book of Guitar Amplifiers. For more information, visit bluebookinc.com or email Zach at [email protected].
vintaGe & uPkeeP > trash or trEasurE
early fender custom shoP stratocaster BY zaCharY fjeStad
Hi Richard,Do you really need to ask if it is trash or treasure? Maybe a more appropriate question would be to ask how much of a treasure it is! The Fender Custom Shop is one of the finest custom-guitar facilities in the U.S. and they’ve certainly produced some amazing (and valu-able) instruments over the years. Let’s begin with a little bit of Fender Custom Shop history.
Back in 1985, Fender nearly went bank-rupt under the ownership of the Columbia Broadcasting System before an investment group led by Bill Schultz purchased the fledg-ling company from CBS. Schultz and his crew then began revamping Fender to return the company to its roots. The Fender Custom Shop got its start in 1987 with luthiers John Page and Michael Stevens at the helm. Known for producing outstanding luthiers, both of these craftsmen would later go on to start their own successful guitar businesses after their tenure with the Custom Shop.
Part of the motivation behind the start of the Custom Shop was that Fender’s R&D department was fielding a lot of requests for custom guitars by artists, and the company wanted to shed the dark image of CBS. Under their ownership, customization of guitars was not often an option. So Page and Stevens were summoned to head up this boutique lutherie shop where the plan was to produce five or six guitars a month. But work orders for custom guitars reached nearly 600 in the first month, and the oper-ation expanded to keep up with demand.
Your Fender Stratocaster has a serial number of VO469XX, but what is more important is the neck-stamp date of October 29, 1990. The name Hector Montes is also stamped on the neck right next to the date. According to John Page, he believes Montes
was probably responsible for sanding the body to shape its contour. Art Esparza was doing the final set up on guitars in the early 1990s, and his name is printed in the neck’s mortise joint. Page mentioned that J.W. Black probably painted your guitar. And Black was known for painting the sparkle-finished guitars at his home instead of at Fender so to not contaminate the paint booth. Page also thinks that your guitar was one of several early Fender Custom Shop instruments sent out to select guitar dealers to promote the Custom Shop.
Your guitar is based on a 1962 Fender Stratocaster and boasts many unique features including Lace Sensor pickups, a highly figured maple neck, a Brazilian rosewood fretboard with abalone-dot inlays, pearloid pickguard, gold hardware, and the ultra-hip, gold-sparkle finish. The cool thing about your Strat coming from the Custom Shop is that it is more than likely a one-of-a-kind guitar.
An important component that helps determine the value of a custom instrument such as yours—or any guitar for that mat-ter—is how much documentation you have. Whenever possible, get as many details as possible in writing if the guitar has a history. This applies to a famous person previously
owning the guitar to the origins of where it was built. It’s fantastic that you have the certificate of authenticity documentation from the Custom Shop manager, and all the original equipment that came with the gui-tar. Without all this, it’s nothing but a story that would be reflected in the value.
Evaluating Fender Custom Shop guitars is often a difficult task because each instru-ment is unique. I typically look at what the guitar is based on (in this case, a 1962 Stratocaster), the value of the additions/improvements (pickups, hardware, finish, etc.), how old the guitar is (20 plus years in this case, which is an early Custom Shop model), and who worked on it. Of course, the overall evaluation factor is also based on the desirability of the guitar. In mint condition, I estimate your guitar is currently valued between $2,500 and $3,000. Keep all that documentation and case candy, and this guitar will be a trea-sure for years to come!
LEFt: Boasting an eye-catching, gold-sparkle finish, this 1962 Strato-caster replica is an early example of the quality craftsmanship coming out of the Fender Custom Shop. right: Signed by then Custom Shop manager John Page, the certificate of authenticity is an important com-ponent in determining the value of this Strat. insEt: Hector Montes, whose name is stamped on the neck next to the date stamp, was most likely responsible for sanding the body to shape its contour.
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58 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
feature > MusikMEssE 2013
E very spring, makers of guitar and bass tone toys converge on the Musikmesse show in Frankfurt, Germany, to tempt attendees’ eyes, ears, and
greedy little hands with lusty stringed things, blaring boxes, and stomp-able contraptions.
If you haven’t experienced it yourself, suffice it to say you pretty much walk
around the convention center with that look Sylvester the Cat gets when he’s hypnotized—pinwheel eyes for eight hours a day, four days straight.
We don’t say that to brag or rub it in, either. In fact, if you avail yourself of PG’s real-time Facebook posts, our galleries on PremierGuitar.com, this print wrap-up, and the steady stream of YouTube demo videos that began within hours of our trans-Atlantic flight’s touchdown back home, you may actually be living the ideal gear-junky sce-nario. Think about it—you get the goodies without the jet lag, the crappy airline food, the guy snoring like a demon baby with emphysema for nine hours straight, the miles of walking past booths blasting everything from polka to lawyer blues and speed metal, and the hassle of getting lost as
you try to figure out Frankfurt’s train system while constantly
explaining, “Ich spreche kleine Deutsch!” and hoping the locals excuse you for butchering their language with cloudy recollections of junior-high German class.
And then there’s public day. Musikmesse’s gear orgy was April 10–13 this year, with the 13th being the day anyone could wander in off the street to lust after the wailing wares. Besides being the day you have to elbow your way through crowds like you’re trying to take a breather from the mosh pit, it’s also the one day the show’s organizers waive the official 70 dB noise limit—which is kind of laughably enforced anyway. Public day is like being in 27 local bars simultaneously. Yngwie dis-ciple in one booth, Stevie Ray worshipper 15 feet away, rockabilly maven 30 feet away, Morbid Angel fan in the booth behind you, and so on throughout multiple mas-sive halls where everyone’s cranking their amps higher and higher in effort to turn the heads of passersby.
Still, it’s a lot of fun—and that’s not even taking into account the excellent beer that stalwart editor Chris Kies and I enjoyed both when off-duty and when plied by gen-erous exhibitor friends at the show (we’re talking to you, Nik Huber, and Markus Torvinen at Palmer Amplification, among others). Though the struggling European economy resulted in Musikmesse 2013 having fewer exhibitors than previous years, we’re told there was still record-setting traffic—welcome news for those who plunked down hard-earned cash to show off gear they put their heart and souls into. For those who are just eager to see all that loot, we’re happy to report that there were innumerable rad guitars, basses, amps, and pedals (even if the latter were in much shorter supply than, say, your typical stateside NAMM show). So, without further ado, we present you with the 50 devices and stringed-up planks that got us jonesing way before we’d readjusted to our native time zone.
Watch for this video icon throughout the article and head to premierguitar.com/musikmesse to see and hear our video demo from the show.
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 59
feature > MusikMEssE 2013
ElEctric Guitars NiCk PaGe GuitarS
interceptorThe Interceptor features a celluloid-bound, reverse-Rick-style body made of mahogany, and a neck of the same. Both are treated on back with oil from the luthier’s busted BMW engine. Despite their twang-bound appearance, the humbuckers are PAF-voiced models from Amber Pickups.nickpageguitars.com
ruokaNGaS Mojo grande 12-string & Mojo kingFinnish luthier Juha Ruokangas brought several fine axes to Musikmesse. Both guitars shown here feature Häussel pickups and a Spanish cedar body with Arctic birch tops. The semi-hollow Mojo Grande (left) has a steel rear-pickup plate for twangy tones and 12 adjustable bridge saddles. The Mojo King (right) also has a steel bridge plate, plus the unusual combina-tion of two T-style bridge pickups—one in the bridge, and one in the middle position—in addition to a Wilkinson tremolo and unique switching that lets you change phasing and combine the two back pickups for humbucking-type tones.ruokangas.com
HaGStroM Metropolis-c & Metropolis-sHagstrom’s funky-cool new Metropolis solid-bodies both feature a 25 1/2" scale, a paulownia body, and a maple neck with a 15"-radius composite fretboard, while the C has hum-buckers and the S has single-coils. hagstromguitars.eu
StraNdberG 6- & 8-stringsThis Swedish outfit brought the Boden 8-string (shown) and Varberg 6-string. The former features a maple-topped swamp ash body, Seymour Duncan Blackouts, and the True Temperament fretting system. The latter features a 3-piece maple, alder, and mahogany body, a patent-pending EndurNeck pro-file, and EMG Metalworks humbuckers. strandbergguitars.com
60 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
feature > MusikMEssE 2013
FraNk HartuNGEmbrace Worntage ’57The Embrace Worntage ‘57 features a classic goldtop recipe of mahogany and maple, and has a Brazilian rosewood fretboard, Ray Gerald humbuckers, a bell-brass bridge, and a nitro finish. hartung-guitars.com
LeatHer GuitarS
samaria series nature Edition
Georg Beïs’ latest addi-tion to the Samaria
series—the 24 3/4"-scale Nature Edition—fea-
tures a mahogany body wrapped in Nappa and nubuck leather. It also
features a Bigsby vibra-to, TV Jones Classics,
and PEC military-spec pots for the tone and dual volume controls.
leatherguitars.com
LâG roxane racing rr2000-VBL This storied French brand debuted a whole new look with its Roxane Racing series of electrics, which fea-tures both more spartan slab-style models and more luxurious sculpted versions like this RR2000-VBL. This vintage blue stunner is made of mahogany, has an ebony fretboard, and uses Seymour Duncan Phat Cat pickups. lagguitars.com
MatoN Ms t-Byrd
Australia’s Maton brought its new MS
T-Byrd semi-hollowbody, which features a cham-
bered silkwood body with a maple cap, Lollar pickups (a T-style bridge and a Charlie Christian
in the neck position), and a T-style bridge with
three brass saddles.maton.com.au
Fret-kiNG Esprit iii
The 25"-scale Esprit III features three stacked-
coil P-90-style pickups for quieter operation,
but the pickups use both ceramic and alnico magnets so you can use the Vari-coil knob (bot-
tom) to gradually fade out the signal from one
coil to get authentic P-90 tone.
fret-king.com
ElEctric Guitars cont’d
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feature > MusikMEssE 2013
GibSoN Bill kelliher “golden axe” ExplorerWe finally got to lay our eyes (and eager mitts) on the much-anticipated signature model for Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher at Musikmesse. The mahogany machine features a ‘60s slim-profile neck, Lace Nitro-Hemi pickups, a relo-cated pickups selector, and master volume and tone knobs. gibson.com
ibaNez rg550XhIbanez’s new RG550XH has 30 frets, bridge and middle-position pickups, and elec-tronics that cleverly mimic neck-pickup tones. ibanez.com
J. Lak rough Dynamite 6- & 4-stringsThe standard 6-string Rough Dynamite (left) features an alder body, T-style bridge with two brass saddles and one steel, and a David Barfuss pickup. The short-scale 4-string (right) has a particleboard body and a Barfuss pickup. Luthier Jozsi Lak says the latter was original-ly intended to be tuned like the top four strings of a standard guitar in order to facilitate one-finger chords as an enticement to younger players or those with fewer musical proclivities, but he says he’s since found that it’s also great for alterna-tive/exotic tunings. jozsi-lak.de
HP-GuitarS andromedaHailing from France, HP-Guitars’ Andromeda features a maple-capped sapele body, Amber pickups, and a unique switching array that uses four push-pull pots and a 3-way switch to offer 20 sound options, includ-ing series/parallel coils and a variety of phasing choices. x-tase.fr
ElEctric Guitars cont’d
64 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
feature > MusikMEssE 2013
koCH Jupiter 45Koch Amps out of the Netherlands brought another one of their great-sounding hybrid amps to Musikmesse. The 50-watt Jupiter 45 2x12 uses two 12AX7s—one in the preamp and one in the power amp—and serves up everything from fat, jazzy sounds to blazing rock tones via two channels and a cool dim-mer knob that lets you retain great dynamics even at whisper-quiet volumes. koch-amps.com
MarSHaLL 1-watt offsetThe studly little 1-watt Offset half-stack features the same circuitry (three 12AX7 preamp tubes and two 12AU7 power tubes) as last year’s 50th Anniversary models but in the old offset chassis design. marshallamps.com
tauruS stomp-head 2.BLTaurus Amplification brought two smaller versions of its 60-watt Stomp-Head amp pedals to Musikmesse. The more straight-ahead 2.BL (shown) and the metal-toned 2.High Gain (not shown) both feature two 12AX7-driven channels with inde-pendent 3-band EQs, a crunch mode on the clean channel, an effects loop, and a 25-watt mode. osiamo.com
VHt super 16The hybrid Super 16 has a 12AX7 in the preamp, a solid-state power section, an 8" speaker, aux inputs, a line out, a headphone jack, an extension-speaker jack, and tones that are both impressively dynamic and loud. vhtamp.com
Guitar amps
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PLAY LONGERPLAY LOUDERPLAY HARDERwww.bourns.com/proaudio
Rickenbacker 381V69
Collings C10Western
cme6.com1-888-686-7872 be inspired
66 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
feature > MusikMEssE 2013
EffEcts & accEssoriEs
boGNer oxford, Burnley, Wessex, & harlowBogner’s four new overdrive/distortion boxes boast badass aes-thetics and an internal battery (you can also power them with an external supply). The dynamic-sounding pedals range from (left to right) the “multi-overdrive”/fuzz of the Oxford to the more straight-ahead distortion of the Burnley, the overdrive of the Wessex, and the compression/boost of the Harlow. bogneramplification.com
HuGHeS & kettNer red Box 5H&K made perhaps the biggest update ever to its venerated Red Box direct-input device. Outfitted with a ground-lift toggle, as well as light/loose, modern/vintage, and large/small switches, and a selectable -26 dB input pad, it doesn’t just aim to sound like a mic’d cab—the com-pany says it makes your direct signal sound like the cab itself. hughes-and-kettner.com
rotoSouNd WobblerThe famed string manufacturer announced plans for a whole series of retro-styled stompboxes at Musikmesse. Following on the heels of last year’s Fuzz, the new Wobbler tremolo uses a vintage optical atten-uator and has a cool “silly germ” knob that lets you select between either a silicon- or a germanium-transistor signal path. rotosound.com
CarL MartiN tremaniacThe Tremaniac’s pan/dual toggle switch lets you have two different trems panning between stereo speaker sets, have a different trem playing in each speaker set, or just tog-gle between two trem settings.carlmartin.com
PaLMer MutterstolzThe true-bypass Mutterstolz distor-tion comes in a sturdy-as-cuss metal housing that has top-mounted jacks and is stuffed with a 12AX7 con-trolled by destruction (distortion level), dirt (harmonics), color (tone), and mother (volume) knobs. palmer-germany.com
GroSSMaN sg-Box silent guitar BoxThe SG-Box comes with one mic mount that can be positioned in many configurations, and it ships standard with a Celestion Vintage 30. For an upgrade fee, it comes with a second mic mount and three sets of quick-change jacks and hand-screw speaker mounts for swapping speakers in seconds. grossman-audio.de
oNe CoNtroL Loop controllers, a/B Boxes, & BuffersIn addition to its Crocodile Tail programmable loop/MIDI-out controller, One Control brought a range of pedalboard godsends to Frankfurt. Among the goodies are simpler 4-, 3-, 2-, and 1-pedal loop controllers, A/B boxes, and buffer units. one-control.com
It goes by many names and comes in many flavors. With vintage pedals, however, finding that sweet spot isn’t so easy. You have to deal with noise, signal loss, and tones that can change with battery life or when things heat up on stage. Some of those old Germanium-powered effects are more sensitive than a train-car of nitro.
Tech 21’s all-analog circuitry unifies righteous, vintage tones and modern dependability. Utilizing the best individually-selected, hand-biased discreet components, each unit delivers a wealth of hot driven tones. A powerful Boost function kicks in up to 21dB of clean boost, which can be used independently from the effect. It is a true post-boost to punch up the volume of the tone you dialed in, not to simply smother it in excess distortion.
Give your pedalboard a boost with some tasty vintage distortion, dirt, grit, chunk, fuzz, overdrive, grind...
When you need a huge, 360-degree, room-filling bass tone, step up to the Bass Boost Fuzz. Get the fat, gritty sounds of the ‘60s fuzz bass and put some musical rage in your low-end. When you need more focus and edge, dial in the +CLEAN control to add just the right amount of direct tone to your mix.
www.tech21nyc.com
Distortion Dirt grit chunk fuzz overDrive grinD…
BAss Boost fuzzVintage pedal hounds know that germanium fuzz sounds are way sweeter than silicon fuzz…but only when the temperature is just right and doesn’t spike. The Boost Fuzz solves that problem by nailing that creamy germanium tone, consistently all night long. This SAG control allows notes to bloom and sing at your command, for dynamic, organic performances.
Boost fuzzPutting an overdrive pedal in front of a hard-pushed amp has been the secret weapon for generations of guitarists wanting to punch up the midrange and add sustain. The Boost Overdrive is packed with voluminous amounts of screamin’ tone. Just hit the Boost switch to go bigger and badder. The unique SPARKLE control adds upper harmonics for an open, snappy sound.
Boost overDriveHey, remember the ‘80s? A lot of bad clothes perhaps but some way-cool, aggressive distortions. Tight, muscular grind with buzz-saw harmonics never went out of fashion and the Boost Distortion delivers that fast punchy tone. It features its own unique SAG control that adds an expressive,tube-like response to every pick stroke.
Boost Distortion
Designed and Manufactured in the U.S.A.
68 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
feature > MusikMEssE 2013
SPeCtor reBop-5MMFamed bass builder Stuart Spector unveiled his new Czech-built, 35"-scale ReBop-5MM, which has a curly maple top, a poplar back, and a pas-sive EMG HZ pickup. spectorbass.com
MeSa/booGie Bass strategy Eight:88 prodigy Four:88The world got a peek at the prototypes for Boogie’s new tube-driven bass heads. The 465-watt Bass Strategy Eight:88 (top) and the 260-watt Bass Prodigy Four:88 are both pow-ered by KT88 tubes and have active EQ-shaping controls. mesaboogie.com
GibSoN 50th anniversary thunderbirdThis gold beauty has T-bird Plus pickups, a 3-point adjustable bridge, and an engraved com-memorative pickguard. There’s also a similar 50th Anniversary Firebird. gibson.com
deiMeL GuitarworkS FirestarThe Firestar’s Lollar Thunderbirds use three sliders to engage a piezo disc in the body, the middle pickup, and a Jaguar-style bass-cut mode. deimelguitarworks.de
JeNS ritter r8-concept The R8-Concept features a long, metal-paper-covered ebony fingerboard and strings that lock on the back of the headstock and go through the body to Ritter’s Backside tuning machines. ritter-basses.com
oFF Guitar deSiGN soulbrothasOff Guitar Design unveiled two new 34"-scale Soulbrotha basses. The white model features an alder body and Häussel pickups with two volumes and a tone knob, while the black one has an ash body and an active Häussel humbucker controlled by volume, bass, and treble knobs. offguitardesign.com
bass GEar
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 69
800.FISHMAN • shman.com • asterope.com
feature > MusikMEssE 2013
SCHertLer giulia ampSchertler’s new Giulia amp features a 1" dome tweeter, 5" woofer, 50 bi-ampli-fied watts, two inputs (1/4" and XLR, the latter being 48V and 10V phantom-powered), and a 3-band EQ. schertlerusa.com
reGaL rD-30VThe new RD-30V roundneck resonator guitar has a laminated mahogany body, four internal posts, and a quality spun aluminum cone. sagamusic.com
Cordoba D11Cordoba brought its first-ever line of steel-strings to Musikmesse. The D11 features a solid Sitka spruce top, acacia back and sides, mahogany neck, ebony fretboard, rosewood bridge, and Grover tuners. It comes with a humidified hardshell case. cordobaguitars.com
acoustic GEar
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 71
feature > joe satriani
Gr
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By AdAm Perlmutter
Mel
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Photo by Chapman Baeher
72 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
feature > joe satriani
When Joe Satriani returned home from the South American leg of his all-star G3 tour last October—after
a nonstop year of touring that also included dates with Chickenfoot—it would’ve been perfectly understandable if he felt the need to take a holiday from music. But his mind was so filled with new musical ideas that he dove headlong into a project that had been on hold for months.
“Playing with three different G3 line-ups—and having a meeting of the minds with incredible musicians like Steve Vai, Steve Morse, John Petrucci, and Steve Lukather—was so cathartic for me,” says Satch. “A lot of things crystallized and came into perspective, and I had a much better idea of the directions that some demos I had sitting around should take.”
The fully realized versions of Satriani’s demos can be heard on Unstoppable Momentum, the virtuoso’s 14th studio
album. Like all his previous efforts, the music is something of a radical extension of the guitar-based instrumental work of the Ventures and other 1960s pioneers. But the album is perhaps more catholic in scope than most of Satriani’s previous efforts.
“With [2010’s] Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards, I set out to make an album that was all about the band—about great players coming together to form an organic whole,” explains the famed instruc-tor of Steve Vai, Kirk Hammett, and Primus’ Larry LaLonde, to name just a few. “But for Unstoppable Momentum, I wanted to see if I could make a record kind of like the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. I like that, while Sgt. Pepper’s has many straightforward rock-and-roll elements, it also has an experimental side, drawing on music from every corner of the world—from classical to Indian—and it even incorporates a little comedy. And it’s just fun to listen to.”
To that end, Satch put together an all-new band of players to complement his quirky ways. Time-keeping duties went to Vinnie Colaiuta, the fiendishly skillful drummer who has worked with everyone from Frank Zappa to Jeff Beck and Sting. “I played with Vinnie at a celebration for Les Paul’s 90th birthday—we did just two songs—and had wanted to work together ever since,” he says. “Year after year passed until I just called him to see if he was avail-able for seven to 10 days last January. Our schedules happened to line up, and it was so great to reconnect.”
After careful consideration, Satriani enlisted Chris Chaney, perhaps best known for his work with Jane’s Addiction, for bass-guitar duties. “I needed to find a bass player who’s steeped in rock but can play anything, and that’s not as easy as it might sound,” says Satriani. “I asked around and Chris Chaney’s name kept coming up. It just so happens that he’s not just a great rock
1. Satriani ponders his next move at the mixing board during the recording of Unstoppable Momentum at Skywalker Sound in Marin, California. 2. A view of the whole studio crew. 3. Up close and personal with Satch’s fretboard. 4. Satch and bassist Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction) in good spirits as they hash out tunes. Photos by Arthur Rosato
1 2
3 4
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 73
the Straight Truth About Pickups by Jason LollarYes, we’re still chasing the dragon. It’s been on my list of “great pickups I’ve always wanted to build” forever, and took several years to design — my new Lollar “Regal” humbucker.
Based on the classic “wide range” (but with a few twists of my own), it’s fat and clear, with a nice top end sparkle. Great note bloom and a vocal midrange that neversacrifices note definition. Same size as the original — drop it in and turn it up.
I personally design and wind over a hundred different pickup models including most of the vintage classics, obscure works of art from steel guitars to clavinets, and even a few of my own designs that have never existed in the past.
I invite you to visit our website for sound clips, videos and current product information or feel free to give us a call.
Lollar Pickups PO Box 2450 Vashon Island, WA 98070 (206) 463-9838 www.lollarguitars.com
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feature > joe satriani
bassist, he’s a first-call session player in Los Angeles for movies and TV—a perfect fit for the record, given its range of influences.”
Former Frank Zappa sideman Mike Keneally was recruited for keyboard chores. Keneally, undoubtedly more familiar to some as a guitarist, turned out to be a real asset to the ensemble’s chemistry. “Mike was a no-brainer,” says Satch. “I’ve toured with him since ’96, and his musicianship is just crazy. Anything I can do on guitar, you can be sure he can play it—and faster! And he’s a full-on virtuoso on keys, a very sensi-tive player who knows when to step up and when to step back.”
Memorable MelodiesFew electric guitarists have as prodigious a command of the instrument as Satriani, with his trademark brisk legato approach, his unique interpretation of blues and rock licks, and his extreme two-handed tap-ping, not to mention his ability to conjure uncanny sounds such as the lizard-down-the-throat he gets via an idiosyncratic manipulation of the tremolo bar. With such otherworldly technique, a lesser instrumen-talist might make music of empty calories, but for Satriani the song has always taken priority above showmanship. That’s why the melodies—the hooks—from tunes like “Always with Me, Always with You” and the Lydian fantasy, “Flying in a Blue Dream,” are still indelibly etched in the brains of many devout Satch fans years after first hearing them.
Unstoppable Momentum is even more about the melody than many recent Satriani works, too. Having proven himself many times over as a guitarist’s guitarist, here he regards pyrotechnics as an afterthought—and this is especially apparent in the ballad “I’ll Put a Stone on Your Cairn,” one of Satriani’s strongest melodic statements on record. The guitarist says, “On this record I wanted every moment to be super melodic. I didn’t care at all about being physically impressive. I wanted the strongest possible melody, all the better with the strongest riff. Once I was satisfied the songs had met these requirements, the technique would follow.”
Satriani also put a lot of energy into the compositions and arrangements, which led somewhat circuitously in directions that he hadn’t previously explored. For example, he wrote brass parts for the boisterous-sound-ing “Three Sheets to the Wind.”
“I drove my wife crazy, obsessively play-ing this tune a million times over the course of a month on my Ibanez JS prototype—which has a Strat-style layout—through a vintage Fender amp, totally dry,” he says. “I kept getting the sense that I was playing this very strong melody in the meekest pos-sible way. I recorded it into my phone and listened to it when I was out doing errands. Then I realized that the melody was so strong it didn’t deserve to be played on gui-tar. So I tried demoing it on keyboards—a [Hammond] B3 organ kind of thing—but it still demanded to be expanded to its full potential. Initially I resisted doing it on horns, because that’s generally not what I do. But then I thought, ‘What the hell, let’s see what it sounds like,’ and the brass arrangement ended up being exactly what the melody was calling for.”
The same track also reveals Satriani’s tendency to compose in a filmic way—a practice not necessarily apparent to the listener. “When I was writing the tune, I had this movie going in my head about a dapper young guy in a natty suit stepping out of a fancy apartment in a groovy city. The tune is all about this guy drinking copi-ous amounts of champagne, getting into all kinds of trouble, and stumbling back to his apartment at dawn, unharmed. I told Mike [Keneally] the story and he did this barroom type of piano that really made things swing.”
Home PyrotechnicsFor all the focus on melody and atten-tion to compositional detail, Unstoppable Momentum is not without its fireworks—for this is, after all, a Joe Satriani album. Fans of the pyrotechnical will find great
Satch works the whammy bar on his signature Ibanez during a Chickenfoot show at the Metro Chi-cago in 2011. Photo by Ken Settle
satisfaction in the wah’d-out Dorian solo on the aforementioned “Three Sheets to the Wind” and the punishing tapping excur-sions and tripped-out whammy-bar antics on “Lies and Truths,” to say nothing of the outright neoclassical shredding on “The Weight of the World.” In his own defense (not that he needs one), Satch says, “Again, I tried to play exactly what the songs called for without ever going overboard.”
In fact, not only are these shredding moments models of appropriateness, the solos on the record also exhibit a strong compositional logic, as well as a certain polish that owes much to Satriani’s record-ing process. The Silver Surfer of yore has a home studio that’s essentially always on standby, ready to receive his ideas and sketches at a moment’s notice. Having such a convenient setup allowed Satriani to avoid the pressure of a more formal setting and capture the very best approach for many of the solos on the record. “I recorded some of the solos with a Millennia Origin STT-1 direct into Pro Tools,” he says. “That way, I didn’t need to get caught up in the sound
and had the luxury of choosing the most inspired solos for the record. Later, I re-amped some of these solos and sent them out to a Marshall and fine-tuned the sound in the studio.”
The solos also reveal a keen attention to harmonic detail and, despite their clean
execution, a refreshing spontaneity. This sophistication is at least in part indebted to one of Satriani’s unlikely mentors, the jazz innovator Lennie Tristano—a pianist and composer celebrated for the complexity he brought to the language. “He always said, ‘Only play what you want to play. Never
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feature > joe satriani
When this track from 1987 hit the guitar universe with its twisted interpretation of a classic rock ’n’ roll form, Sa-triani’s stature as a guitar god was pretty much cemented. Youtube search term: Joe Satriani - Satch Boogie (Music Video)
Satriani has always had a way with ballads, and this live 2006 footage from the Grove in Anaheim revisits perhaps his most influential ever.Youtube search term: Joe Satriani - Always with Me, Always with You (Live 2006)
Watch studio footage from the Unstoppable Momentum sessions as you listen to Satch’s new tune “A Door into Summer.”Youtube search term: Joe Satriani: “A Door Into Summer” (from new album UNSTOPPABLE MOMENTUM available May 7)
YOUTUBE ITNeed video confirmation of why Joe Satriani is considered one of the most frightening shredders on the planet? Then crank up your YouTube and surf with the alien.
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play what you think you should have, could have, or would have played. Never live in the subjunctive mode,’” remembers Satriani. “I’ve tried to follow those lessons my whole career.”
Despite Tristano’s existential advice, some of Satriani’s prepared solos were scrapped in the studio once the full band had been assembled and recorded. Certain moments simply called for alternative strat-egies. A good example is “Jumpin’ In,” with its repurposed blues riffs and eccentric lead tones. “At home I had recorded a very pure,
traditional legato solo for the tune, but after I played it in the studio a few months later I realized it needed something more mod-ern sounding. So I went all contrarian and plugged my Whammy pedal into a Boss [OC-2] octave device, a brown one I’ve had for years, and from there it went into a Boss DM-2 analog delay and on into a cranked-up Marshall with a lot of distortion. This setup made more noise than the actual notes played—it was a really cool sound toy to play with.”
200 Pedals … just in CaseAs you’d expect, Satriani had an envi-able selection of other “sound toys” at his disposal in the studio. There was a quartet of prototypes for his signature Ibanez JS2410, a smart new guitar with an alder body, a three-piece maple-and-bubinga neck, a 25.5" scale, and a DiMarzio Pro Track neck humbucker paired with his signature DiMarzio Mo’ Joe bridge humbucker.
Also at hand was a fleet of Ibanez JS1000s, some with Sustainiac pickups for searing long notes, a couple with EverTune bridges for stability when using slackened tunings (as on “A Celebration”), and a special road-worn specimen nicknamed Willie because it was signed by Willie Nelson. Satriani also used a 1992 Ibanez JS6 prototype. “It’s unlike any of my other signature mod-els,” he says. “It’s got a Gibson [24 3/4"] scale length and an oiled mahogany body. The guitar just growls—it’s so thick and musical sounding.”
It may come as a surprise to casual observers accustomed to seeing Satriani with his Ibanez guitars and Marshall amps, but he also brought a selec-tion of vintage Fender gear to the Unstoppable Momentum sessions. It included his 1958 Telecaster, his 1966 Electric XII, and a dozen tube combo amps. “On ‘A Door into Summer,’ I played rhythm on the JS6, along with two tracks of the Tele. The Electric XII makes a four-bar appearance in ‘Shine On.’ It’s always cool to have the unex-pected bit of color that a completely different setup can provide in the middle of a song. After 64 bars of me playing an Ibanez through a Marshall in your face, two bars of another flavor like a Champ or Vibrolux Reverb is a welcome thing.”
That said, most of the album’s ampli-fied timbres came from an ensemble of Marshall heads and cabinets. “We used four of my Marshall signature heads and the original prototype,” says Satch. “They’re remarkably consistent—they all sound the same—but we sometimes grabbed one over another depending on how long it had been played. The head has such great sustain, body, depth, and presence. It makes my sound so fresh and organic, which can be tough with
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high-gain settings. I generally used the bottoms that came with the heads, though I did use one late-’60s 4x12 with Altec Lansing speakers.” He also used a Peavey 5150 amp from the first year of its production.
As for pedals, Satriani was anything but “the Extremist,” sticking mostly with his Vox wah but branching out here and there. For instance, on the breakdown of “Jumpin’ Out” he used his new Strymon Ola dBucket Chorus & Vibrato. “Before recording a new album, I sometimes go out and spend way too much money on ped-als,” he confesses. “It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling—I’ve got every possible pedal for any direction, just in case the pro-ducer suggests something that I hadn’t thought of. I’ll bring 200 pedals to the sessions and only use four.”
Joe Satriani’s Gear
GUitars Four Ibanez JS2410s, various Ibanez
JS1000s, 1992 Ibanez JS6 (all Ibanez’s feature DiMarzio pickups), 1958 Fender
Telecaster, 1966 Fender Electric XII
aMPsFour Marshall JVM410HJS heads,
Marshall JVM410HJS prototype head, Marshall 4x12 cabs, late-’60s Marshall
4x12 with Altec Lansing speakers
eFFeCtsVox Big Bad Wah, Strymon Ola dBucket Chorus & Vibrato, Boss DM-2 Delay, Boss OC-2 Octave,
DigiTech Whammy
strinGs, PiCKs, aCCessories
D’Addario EXL110 (.010–.046) strings, Planet Waves signature straps,
D’Addario signature heavy picks
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Just a few of Joe’s go-to axes at the ready in the studio. Photo by Arthur Rosato
T here was no shortage of punk bands in America’s suburbs as we entered the ’80s, but very few of them continue to make music
today. The Meat Puppets, however, are very much alive and well, and have just released their 14th album, Rat Farm.
Formed by brothers Curt and Cris Kirkwood, and their high school friend, Derrick Bostrom, the band fused hardcore punk, classic rock, AM radio country, and more than a little of Doc Watson’s influence into a unique sound that only could have hap-pened in the Arizona Desert. But their surviv-al, both as a band and as people, was far from guaranteed. After years of hard living, the band found itself in disarray in the late ’90s, with Cris eventually serving two years in pris-on in 2003 after an altercation with a security
guard. Tough times for a band that had a gold record (Too High to Die) under its belt, a suc-cessful tour supporting Stone Temple Pilots at the top of their game, and joined one of its biggest fans, Kurt Cobain, onstage during Nirvana’s now legendary MTV Unplugged in New York performance, which included three songs from Meat Puppets II in the set.
Though Curt continued the band as the only original member during Cris’ absence, 2006 saw a reunion of the brothers, followed by the release of Rise to Your Knees and a well-received performance of Meat Puppets II at All Tomorrow’s Parties music festi-val. If there were any remaining questions about the band’s legacy at that point, Dave Grohl selecting them to open the Sound City Players evening at this year’s South By Southwest probably answered them all.
Sharing the stage that evening with Stevie Nicks, Chris Goss, Lee Ving, Rick Nielsen, Rick Springfield, and other legends, The ’Pups took a much-deserved victory lap.
Though busy preparing for an upcom-ing tour that’ll take them around the U.S. and Europe, Cris and Curt took time to chat with Premier Guitar about the group’s humble beginnings, the new record, and the unsolved mystery of Abner’s arm.
When did you start playing guitar, Curt, and who were your early influences?Curt Kirkwood: I started taking lessons in fourth grade, so I was about 9. I loved The Beatles and The Monkees. What really made me want to play guitar, though, was my friend and I were taking clarinet, and decided the electric guitar was cool because
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feature > Meat PUPPets
Hailing from the “middle of nowhere” in Arizona, brothers Curt and Cris Kirkwood continue the Meat Puppets’
irreverent psychedelic grunge on Rat Farm, solidifying a legacy of desert-punk songcraft that influenced a generation.
By Alex mAiolo
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feature > Meat PUPPets
it looked like you didn’t have to push down on the strings—like you barely had to touch them. The clarinet was … I dunno, I liked it, but it seemed a lot easier to play electric guitar. I quit playing the clarinet, and Mom said, “You’ve got to take an instrument.” So I picked guitar, and started learning fingerstyle from a classical and flamenco guy named Juan Cordoba, at Central Music in Phoenix. I didn’t like it very much at first because, unlike what I thought, I had to push down harder than with the clarinet even. But I kept going, because my mom was strict about it.
I guess once you changed instruments you were committed.Curt: Yeah. I felt kind of foolish because I’d made a stink about the clarinet, and dodged it, then guitar turned out to be even harder. I took lessons throughout grade school and into my freshman year of high school. Eventually I started lessons with a guy named Don Brewer. I think he lived at the YMCA, and he may have even been a dope addict. He came to our house and gave lessons to both my brother and me. Then I took lessons from Joe McClarty in Phoenix, who had a music shop and had played with Barney Kessel, so he played these colored leads. He was cool, encouraging, and taught me quite a bit. Then I quit lessons. Later, in high school, when
people were carrying guitars around, trying to be cool, I realized that I could kinda play. I brought my guitar to school and started play-ing with this other guy a little bit. He always said I sucked, and I kind of did. I was rusty, and I hadn’t played in a while. My mom wasn’t happy, because I started getting into it and was slacking off with other things.
When did you make the transition to electric guitar and what did you get?Curt: I got my first electric when I was in eighth grade. It was a knockoff of a Gibson 335 that I played through a bass amp. I started playing stuff like “Iron Man,” “Satisfaction,” and other heavy riffs. That’s what I worked on in my last lessons. Our house burned when I was in high school, and I lost the guitar and amp. Then I got a Les Paul for high school graduation from my mom, even though she didn’t like it.
Music was transitioning around that time. What steered you towards heavy music?Curt: Just hearing Black Sabbath. When I was in seventh grade, The Beatles broke up, so my friends and I were looking around for other music. I heard “Whole Lotta Love,” then “Iron Man.” I loved all of that, and I tried to figure out “Day Tripper.” It was just what was on the radio in Phoenix,
pretty much. I loved the guitar on “Let It Be.” Later, I definitely got into Robert Fripp. His sound on the record he did with [Brian] Eno, Evening Star, was fantastic. He’s just a great guitar player.
It’s a pretty big jump from learning Beatles songs to putting out the In a Car EP! How did that happen?Curt: I’d been going to see concerts for a few years at that point, so I saw what real players were like live. I saw David Bowie first, then Rod Stewart, Foghat, Joe Walsh, Lynyrd Skynyrd. I started getting into just about anything really, from jazz-rock fusion, like Mahavishnu [Orchestra], to Leo Kottke and the Grateful Dead. I saw Return to Forever and Gentle Giant my senior year of high school. Then I saw Iggy Pop, with Brian James on guitar and Glen Matlock from the Sex Pistols playing bass. That led to The Damned, Stiff Little Fingers, and The Fall, which led to The Germs, The Ramones, and other punk rock.
When did you first learn to play bass, Cris?Cris Kirkwood: In the early-to-mid ’70s. I started with guitar lessons, but all I remember about that is that the guy used to put his hand on my knee and tell me that he really liked me, and that I shouldn’t tell anybody. Then I
LeFt: Meat Puppets bassist Cris Kirkwood plays Fender Precision basses, following in the footsteps of two of his favorite players—James Jamerson and Dusty Hill. RIGHT: Meat Puppets frontman/guitarist Curt Kirkwood has been rocking this 1981 ’burst Les Paul ’50s reissue (complete with epic cartoon-animal stickers) for about 20 years. Photos by Jaime Butler
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took some piano lessons from an old guy who would doze off in the middle of the lessons. I would sit there really quietly and wait for him to wake up and then I’d play the last few notes of the piece that I’d supposedly practiced, which I hadn’t. Neither instrument caught my attention. At that age, all I wanted was a mon-key, which I eventually got, and I named him Abner. He eventually wound up on the back patio with his right arm missing, which was one of the great mysteries of my life. When we were reading A Clockwork Orange in English class, we were assigned to go see the film. It was a double feature with Deliverance. The banjo sequence just lit up my little noodle, so I wound up getting a banjo and taking some les-sons. That was probably ’73. Shortly after that, I decided that bass looked cool. Fingerpicking was kind of like playing banjo, there was one less string, and they were farther apart.
At what age did you become aware that bass was different from a 6-string guitar?Cris: I understood the difference as a kid because of The Beatles. I just thought basses were neat, so just like I had to have a monkey, I had to have a bass. I decided to learn, went to Arizona Music Center, and rented one for a while. I had my eye on a Music Man, the first year they came out. I just thought they were bitchin’ looking. When I went to buy one, the guy grabbed a black Jazz Bass and said, “This’ll have more resale value.” I thought, “Okay ... whatever the hell that means.” I eventually used that on our first 7-inch and our first album. I found puberty to be unsatis-fying and high school to be extremely alienat-ing, so I got into some [heavier] rock music.
My younger self was thinking about bitchin’ instruments, a thorough knowledge of them, an applicable technique, and a background in theory, so that you could play whatever your imagination came up with. Then I realized no, that’s hard. That’s like math. I love Phil Lesh—a guy with a real schooled musical background who actually knows what he’s doing. Then the lysergic ele-ment adds something too, but he has all of his musical knowledge to bring to it.
I was really into Jaco [Pastorius]. The first time Curt and I ever smoked grass together was before seeing him play with Weather Report. The first time we ever worked with a producer [on Forbidden Places], Pete Anderson actually brought in a studio per-cussionist and it was Alex Acuña, who was playing drums the night we saw Weather
Report! I told him about that night, hop-ing he’d break forth with the “Oh, let me tell you about Jaco …” stuff, but instead he goes, “Man, that was like 50 years ago! I can’t remember five minutes ago.”
Another bass player I completely love is Dusty Hill. He’s such a different player from Lesh and McCartney. He only stomps on the groove, hits the cool riffs with the guitar player, and then just stomps right back onto the groove. There’s no impro-visational element involved. I really loved Mike Mills from R.E.M., John Taylor from Duran Duran, and Tina Weymouth. She had a different sense of things and played cool bass lines that had movement.
You started as a hardcore band, but between Meat Puppets and Meat Puppets II there was a radical shift. What happened?Curt: Just curiosity. I always have the feel-ing that you should change from record to record. You do one thing and move to something else. With painting, if you use oil paints, watercolors, charcoal, or what-ever, the medium is one thing, but the message really shouldn’t be the medium. Same with music. I figured that my ideas could be conveyed many different ways. Stylistically, I didn’t feel like being bound to anything, so that’s why Meat Puppets II turned out the way it did. Punk rock shows were fun, with everybody in the mosh pit, but they’d also spit, and throw crap at you. That influenced me to chal-lenge the audience, and even find who our actual audience was.Cris: Curt started out writing completely straightforward guitar things. Then, around the time of Meat Puppets II, he just started writing lyrics that were far out, and he blos-somed into a songwriter. Then he just kept doing it album after album after album. It’s allowed me to make records for years, and be the Meat Puppets and whatnot. It let us keep going. He’s just a composer. It’s always neat to watch the songs come out of the guy.
Did you feel like you were part of an emerging desert scene, along with Giant Sand and Sun City Girls?
Curt: I knew those guys, but I was just doing my thing. I went to school for a year at U of A, so I met Howe Gelb, in ’78, when he was still with Giant Sandworms, and I knew the Bishop brothers [of Sun City Girls]. I didn’t really feel too connected to anybody, though we played with Sun City Girls, Killer Pussy, JFA, and other area bands. I think it was more the point of view of people from other parts saying, “Oh, it’s desert stuff.” I had never been to New York City, or the East Coast, until ’82, when we started touring. I did notice it was different from Phoenix, which was the middle of nowhere.
At some point you started experimenting outside of typical Meat Puppets territory. You used a guitar synth on Mirage, right?Curt: Yeah, they were new, looked cool, and seemed like fun. So we bought a Roland 700 series guitar synth and used OctaPads for drums, just to see what we could do with them. We even used them a little bit on tour. I didn’t use that for the whole gui-tar sound. I had a Jackson at the time, and I played the Ibanez Roadstar that I used on Up on the Sun.Cris: There was a period where I got far enough away from the need to pretend like I was, you know, Keith Richards or whatever, and I was actually playing a seriously not-cool looking Steinberger. I was really into that new string sound, and I’d change them nightly back then. These days there’s just so much good TV that I have a hard time get-ting to the music store. I don’t even know what brand I use. James Jamerson didn’t change his strings, you know? Then again, I guess you don’t need to change your strings if you’re James fucking Jamerson!
Curt, is it true you retired the Les Paul for a little while? What made you decide to do that?Curt: My original Les Paul got stolen, so I got a ’72 goldtop, which I still have, then I got the Jackson and the Ibanez. I did Meat Puppets II with the goldtop, and then I did Up on the Sun with the Ibanez. I was into Prince and Duran Duran at that time. I was kind of experimenting.
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“Curt says, when a bass player’s left hand gets close to his body that’s the ‘upper register,’ when it gets down to the other end, that’s the ‘cash register.’” - Cris Kirkwood
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carr amplifiers — maN made iN pittsboro, Nc carramps.com | 919.545.0747
Due to legal issues, there was a period of several years when the Meat Puppets continued without Cris, but eventually he returned to the band. Did the break introduce a new dynamic?Curt: Playing with him is like riding a bike. He had to get his chops together a little bit. He’d been playing in prison, but he hadn’t done live shows. Playing with new people had been cool, and it gave me some perspective. Even back when Derrick, Cris and I were starting with cover songs we just had a mind meld, and an off-the-cuff way of doing stuff. That element slowly disappeared, though not altogether. There are things you just can’t go back to.
Where did you record Rat Farm?Curt: At Yellow Dog Studios, here in Austin, on South Congress, in the middle of the shopping strip. There are a lot of places to eat. You’re not stuck! Dave Percefull, who recorded Rat Farm, started it a few years ago. He had a place in Tulsa, and worked at Abbey Road, basically commuting to London, but he started his own thing. He had the little gizmo that binds Pro Tools to
the 24-track, CLASP, and I wanted to check that out. John Plymale mixed it.
With you living in different towns was it hard to prepare for recording Rat Farm?Cris: This is how we prepared: I asked Curt, “Hey, do you want to send me some of the songs?” He said, “Nah, it’s no big deal.” I went down to the airport, got on a plane, and flew to Austin on a Thursday. Friday, I went to Curt’s house and he showed me some songs, then Saturday we went into the studio. That probably just meant there would fewer curlicues and noodly bass lines.
As far as recording guitars go, do you have one that you go to most of the time? Curt: I’ve had a lot of guitars over the years. I used my ’65 Telecaster on almost all of Huevos. Sometimes I’ll just use whatever’s sitting around in the studio. Too High to Die is mostly my ’81 ’50s reissue Les Paul sunburst that I use on 90 percent of Rat Farm, too. I played it through a 100-watt Marshall, which has a cool, crunchy sort of sound. It’s got [Genalex] Gold Lion tubes in it, which are just awesome.
What basses are you using these days, Cris?Cris: On Rat Farm, I used a slab-body Precision, a salmon-colored Mexican P bass, and Dave Percefull’s Hofner. I pulled that out and plugged it in while sitting in the control room, after I had already tracked bass, but I thought, “Well, let me take a whack at a handful of these things again with the Hofner.”
For some reason, the gods of the E-string G note and the F-sharp and the G-sharp … well, it had just never been that impor-tant to me. I marvel at some bass players who are so chill and tasteful. However, that Hofner had some real clear, solid low end. I suddenly took the bass in a new direction because it was so nice, smooth, and round-sounding. Curt says, when a bass player’s left hand gets close to his body that’s the “upper register,” when it gets down to the other end, that’s the “cash register.”
On the new record you’re using things like a Coral sitar and a baritone guitar. How important is it for you to replicate those sounds in live performances?
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Curt: That’s optional. To me, the song is basically just the chords and the melody. You pick whatever tempo you want to play it at, or however you think it’s supposed to be at the time. My son has been playing with us for a while, so we have some more options now. Since the early ’90s I’ve taken another guitar player on the road for that reason. The three-piece is definitely limiting if you’ve done a bunch of stuff in the studio. We’re not going to take the Coral or the Jerry Jones baritone on tour though, and they aren’t mine anyway.
What’s your current live rig?Curt: I’ve mostly played the ’81 Les Paul through the years. For amps, I love my Music Man, but it’s broken right now. Sometimes I use a purple Soldano and the 100-watt Marshall. Both of those amps are big and heavy, so I’ll just go backline if it’s there. I don’t really care that much. If I can get a good clean tone out of it, I can use pedals. I like Sovtek Big Muffs if I can find them, which I can’t right now, so I’m using the Fulltone OCD and a Boss DS-1 distortion. I’ll run them together a lot of times. I have a Chandler Tube Driver, too. Those are great.
Cris: An old Gallien-Krueger 800RB. I love them! That goes through a GK 4x10. I’ve got a Boss Bass Overdrive pedal on the floor, but that’s only to irritate Curt. It sounds like a horsefly stuck in a screen door.
Did you use it any in the studio or is it just your “nuclear button” when you’re playing live?Cris: Yeah, it’s just that. The only real distorted bass I’ve recorded is on the song “Orange,” which is on Lollipop. When I was a kid I had some nice effects. I had a delay, a wah, a compressor, even an envelope filter. The coolest effect I ever had, though, was made by Dave Rat, of Rat Sound. He built these huge cabinets, and I thought “This is what I need.” On the front edge of the cabi-nets there was a strip of metal. At any point in the set I could crank things up, very loud, and then grind my guitar strings on that metal strip. It was exceedingly satisfying.
What’s on your pedalboard, Curt?Curt: I’ve got a [Dunlop] Slash Cry Baby Wah. For delays I use Maxon, and a [Boss
RE20] Space Echo. I like the old tape units, but I got this one a couple of years ago and use it often. I like the tap-tempo feature. I’ve used the Morley ECV [Echo Chorus Vibrato] for years now. They’re completely nuts. I’m also not much of a gearhead and some of my equipment kind of sucks. I’ve had it more together in the past. I got a Bob Bradshaw [CAE] rig, but it’s too much to lug around. It hooks up to three amps, and it’s just a little too space-age.
You’ve obviously influenced a lot of play-ers over the years. Do you feel that any of them influenced you as well?Curt: I’d say so. When we played with Soundgarden in the ’80s, Chris Cornell said he liked us, but I didn’t know just how much until we did some recent dates with them. Kim Thayil is such a great guitar player. People don’t talk about Kurt Cobain as a guitar player as often as they should. I love Dean DeLeo. I’ve done shows with Stone Temple Pilots, and he’s always amazing. He’s just got great tone, and it seems like there’s just nothing to it, it’s so easy for him. I love that casual sort of approach. He
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Basses Fender Precision
aMPsGallien-Krueger 800RB with G-K 4x10 cabinet
strinGs“Whatever is already on the bass.”
PiCKs.88 mm Dunlop Tortex picks
Cris Kirkwood’s Gear
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says if it doesn’t have a little bit of blues in it, it’s just not that good, which is cool.
I realized early on that I’m not really a shredder. I don’t really know scales or stuff like that. I think that’s more like playing air guitar on a real guitar. Coming from seeing amazing live stuff like Mahavishnu, and even like Lynyrd Skynyrd, when I was a kid, I never really tried to out-do any-body. I’ve been out there for a long time, and I’m just not very competitive. I’m more about tone and then what happens from there, playing along with the tune. Cris: To have been around long enough to be picked by the guys in Nirvana as musi-cal representatives of an entire era, and for our ideas to get to the point where they were commercially palatable was huge. It was definitely interesting to see that our ideas had become part of that makeup and, of course, the culture shift. You get to step back from yourself and realize that you played a part in art history. We started because it was something to do, and it’s about the only goddamn thing I’m interested in. Then here we are, all these decades later, and it’s like, “Wow, far out!”
On new songs like “Again” and the solo in “You Don’t Know,” your love of psychedelia comes through. How did you get those sounds, Curt?Curt: “Again” is just a slide with the Space Echo right into the Marshall, straight up. On “You Don’t Know,” I’m just holding an EBow, sliding my finger around on the neck a little bit, and I probably have the tone pot turned all the way up on the rhythm pickup. That’s all.
You’re clearly not just players, but music fans as well. How do you listen to music these days?Curt: I don’t have an iPod, but I spend a lot of time on YouTube. I can look up something, and it’ll suggest different music by the same, or different people. I just go from there and surf around like that. It’s a good time to discover things. It’s amazing how much stuff is out there.Cris, do you still play banjo?Cris: I do. The only banjo I ever record-ed was when Mike Watt asked me to play a little banjo on one of his solo records. When Curt’s will is finally broken, there will be plenty of banjo on Meat Puppets records. Don’t lose hope!
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GUitars ’81 Gibson Les Paul sunburst (’50s reissue)
aMPs50-watt Soldano with 4x10 cabinet, 100-watt Marshall
eFFeCtsBoss DS-1 Distortion, Fulltone OCD, Chandler Tube Driver, Dunlop Slash Wah, Morley Echo/Chorus/Vibrato, Maxon Analog Delay, Boss RE-20 Delay
strinGsErnie Ball Regular Slinky
PiCKs1.14 mm Dunlop Tortex picks and U.S. quarters
Curt Kirkwood’s Gear
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feature > eriC GaLes & DoUG PinniCK
By Joe ChAruPAkorn
GoSpel GrooveS & AbnormAl blues
Catching a smoke outside a Southern California hotel (and looking badass with a single-coil pickup repurposed as a necklace), blues-guitar virtuoso Eric
Gales reminisces about playing on the same bill with King’s X years ago. “I never thought that I’d have the opportunity to open up for them on my first tour ever,” he recalls. “As a kid, I’d go to see King’s X, and my head was blown away.” King’s X bassist and vocalist Doug Pinnick (aka dUg) elabo-rates. “Eric opened up for us when he was about 16. My impression of him was the same back then as it is now: He’s always been a freak of nature.”
Both men have since achieved cult status, and even though their paths crossed countless times over the decades, surprisingly they’d never collaborated on any music until now. “People had suggested it, but I never really gave it a thought,” says Pinnick, who is currently working on five separate projects. “I mean, I get so many opportunities and sugges-tions to play with people. It’s not something that I really think about.”
In 2012, Gales’ label president—the impresario almost single-handedly responsible for feeding the shred craze of the ’80s—reached out to Pinnick. “Mike Varney from Shrapnel Records called me up one day and asked if I’d be interested in doing a project with Eric and Thomas [Pridgen, ex-Mars Volta],” Pinnick says. “I said, ‘Sure, it sounds really good.’” Soon after the call, supergroup Pinnick Gales Pridgen was born. “I did it originally for the paycheck, but after I did it, I went, ‘Wow. That was a lot of fun. Let’s do it again,’” says Pinnick.
The power trio’s self-titled debut release Pinnick Gales Pridgen infuses Gales’ Hendrix-meets-Eric Johnson stylings with Pinnick and Pridgen’s prog-flavored twists to create a heavy, riff-laden master-piece of mostly originals, with Gales and Pinnick sharing vocal duties. There’s also a low-tuned cover of Cream’s iconic “Sunshine of Your Love”—a ball-sy move, given the song’s almost holy status among classic rock fans.
“I was like, ‘Everybody’s done it—now watch us [expletive] it up,’” says Pinnick. “Anybody can do that song, but nobody’s done it like we’ve done it. I thought what we needed on this record was to have Eric and Thomas do what they do best. I said, ‘Let’s just overkill. Nobody’s gonna tell you that you can’t—that’s what people want to hear!’ I just laid back and plugged along and sang, because Eric and Thomas are really killin’ it.”
Here, Gales and Pinnick tell Premier Guitar what went into the making of Pinnick Gales Pridgen and share their unorthodox approaches to their instru-ments and gear, including Gales’ signature Two-Rock amp and Pinnick’s 12-string bass—and the rare pick-ups that are the secret to his sound.
Eric Gales, King’s X bassist/vocalist Doug Pinnick, and former Mars Volta drummer Thomas Pridgen hole-up in the studio for two weeks and emerge
with an album full of blazing blues-prog.
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86 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
feature > eriC GaLes & DoUG PinniCK
Pinnick Gales Pridgen kicks ass like a band that’s played together forever. What’s interesting is that, as cohesive as it sounds, you’re coming from different musical backgrounds—Eric, you’re often labeled a blues-rock guitarist, and Doug, you’re often considered a bit of a prog-metal bassist. What was the common ground?Eric Gales: Man, you know that’s a really good question. I don’t even know if I have the proper words to say how or where it meets together. The one thing I know is that it does meet. Doug Pinnick: We’re black. That’s what I think. It’s a 3-piece, all-black rock band. We haven’t had one of those since Living Colour. There’s camaraderie between the three of us because we all came from a heavy gospel background growing up—not gospel preaching, but gospel groove. That’s the thing that I connect with them on more than anything else, and on our next record I hope that we can bring that out more.
Did any of the material brought in for this album take any of you out of your comfort zone?Gales: Never. Not for any one of us.Pinnick: Y’know, I never even gave that a thought. The thing I enjoyed about it was that Eric just stepped up to the plate. It was nice to see his eyes light up when we played some of the songs that I brought in, which didn’t have “normal” changes. He found new things to do—and when he did, he always looked up and smiled. We knew that we were on the right track.
Did you write any of the songs together?Gales: Some of them were written together. We would go in and put grooves together and write lyrics over them. Pinnick: I brought seven or eight songs in that I had previously written to see if the guys would like any of them. We took five of those. We collaborated on two, Eric brought a song in, and Mike Varney wrote two songs and brought them in.Gales: Me, Doug, Thomas, and Mike all worked together. We went in and didn’t waste any time. The whole project didn’t take more than two weeks to do—two weeks. The core tracks were done live. I like to predominantly work that way. Once you know the direction you’re going in, it should be a continuous driving force, and the people you’re working with will help you refine it. I don’t think it
should take six months or a year to do a proj-ect. You can lose the freshness.
What inspired the cover of “Sunshine of Your Love” ? Are you guys just big fans of it?Pinnick: I guess I am a fan. I don’t know … I never really tried to learn it before. I think there’s just a vibe about it that’s cool and soul-ful, like a “You Really Got Me” kind of thing. I think that was my idea. We tuned down really low on that one. I figured it would be really intense, because I know what Thomas can do—especially when he’s got a lot of space to do it in. And Eric can do leads for three hours straight without repeating himself.
Eric, in your solo, you imply parts of the original Clapton solo.Gales: Exactly—you’re a smart dude [laughs].
Did you learn the whole solo at some point in the past?Gales: I did. Me and my brothers used to play that song, and I played the solo note-for-note. For this recording, I was like,
“Well, why do it exactly like the original?” That’s why we dropped the key to D%.
Did the strings get floppy when you detuned that low?Gales: It’s not the whole guitar, just the bottom string. I usually like to play tuned down to E%, so I just transposed the bottom string. It’s a little bit looser and it’s lighter on the vocals. It’s not confusing—it’s grown to be very easy for me to do.
We’re in a few different keys on this record. Doug likes to do tunings like low C and low B%. Some of the songs are in stan-dard tuning, which I rarely ever do. Pinnick: I always play in dropped-C. When I play with other people, if they don’t want to tune down that low, I’ll tune up to them. Or maybe I’ll stay in my tun-ing anyway and make something up around it. I’ll transpose if I need to. Whatever fits. Every now and then, there are certain songs where you just have to use the open string, so I’ll tune to whatever the guitar player’s tuned to. It doesn’t matter to me really.
Eric Gales plays all of his guitars upside down and lefty, including his signature St. Blues Blindsider. Photo by Willem Kuijpers
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Tell us about “Me and You.” That one has some interesting chords.Gales: I like that one because it incorpo-rates a lot of clean stuff. It gave me a chance to throw in a lot of the Eric Johnson-y stuff that I like to do.
How did you come up with those chords—by ear or from a theoretical approach?Gales: Whatever comes to my head, man. I say, “Put the track on and let me do some-thing.” The chords were already there, but the clean stuff takes me back to my days of listening to things like “Little Wing.”
Who were some of your early influences?Gales: My older brother would put on Robin Trower, Frank Marino, Eric Johnson, Stevie Ray, Beck, or Clapton. I was five or six years old and I was digging all this stuff. The early days of listening to Albert King is where that influence of the wide bends I do comes from.
Doug, in your various projects, do dif-ferent guitarists ask for different things from you? For example, you’re also involved in a project with George Lynch, who has a totally different playing style than Eric.Pinnick: Actually, I’ve been trying to change my bass playing, period. I’ve always been one to play really simple and stay in the groove, but lately I’ve been trying to get into this John Entwistle thing every now and then, and start overplaying. It’s fun. The thing with Eric and George—or any guitar player I’m playing with nowa-days—is that I’ve decided to never follow them, or to follow them as little as I can, and make up my own bass lines. Sort of like the approach of James Jamerson, or even the old Stax records with Donald “Duck” Dunn playing. The bass lines were the things that you would remember. I’ve been trying to go back to that sensibility. It’s been interesting for me, because guitar players play more now than they used to because we’ve forgotten about the bass. The challenge for me is to see if I can come up with something that complements the gui-tar part, and sometimes those guitar parts can be pretty busy. It’s been a challenge but it’s been fun. The only feedback I get is that it’s really, really good. Hardly anybody has ever said that they didn’t like it. I know that there are people out there that don’t, but I
feature > eriC GaLes & DoUG PinniCK
This studio clip captures the raw energy of Pinnick Gales Pridgen as the trio lays down their new track “Hang on, Big Brother.” They really crank up the jam around 2:30.Youtube search term: Pinnick Gales Pridgen – “Hang on, Big Brother”
Eric Gales tears it up on a live rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition.” Check out the delicious chord voicings he uses between 1:35–1:41, which set up the avalanche to come when he kicks in the dirt at 2:24.Youtube search term: Eric Gales - Superstition
Pinnick performs “Summer-land” with King’s X at the House of Blues in Orlando, Florida.Youtube search term: King’s X - HoB 2000 - Summerland
YOUTUBE IT See and hear Eric Gales and Doug Pinnick doing what they do best in the following live clips.
Bassist Doug Pinnick uses a rare Seymour Duncan “domino” pickup with three switches, powered by 9V batteries.
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 89
DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED IN THE USA
do so much stuff that if one album sucks, the next one will be good [laughs].
Eric, “For Jasmine” is a solo guitar tour de force inspired by “Für Elise.” Was it Mike Varney’s idea to include that?Gales: I often play that live, and Mike was, like, “I think you should make that an interlude track.” That one’s for my daughter.
Are you hybrid-picking the wide triad shapes you play on that cut? Gales: Yes, exactly. I do a lot of that. I can’t particularly label what all of it is. It would take somebody like you to say, “He’s using this technique or that technique.” I do whatever feels comfortable to me. Since the beginning, I’ve been told that I play abnor-mally. Who’s to say that everybody else isn’t wrong and I’m right? [Laughs.]
Speaking of “abnormal,” you also play your guitar upside down but strung normally.Gales: Yeah, I don’t re-string it or anything like that. I just take a right-handed guitar and flip it over. I don’t reverse the strings.
Doug does. He plays left-handed but he plays an actual left-handed bass. When I first put it like this [gestures holding the guitar upside down], that’s what felt comfortable to me. Before I knew it, I was off to the races. I write with my right hand but play guitar left-handed, upside down, so my little string is up top. When I bend it, I pull down.
Do you use a pick or your fingers, Doug?Pinnick: I use a pick mainly. I can use my fingers, but I’m not as accurate as I am with a pick.
You’re known for using 12-string basses, too.Pinnick: I only have one right now. I sold the rest of them to pay some bills. They were my old, old 12-strings, so I don’t feel
bad about selling them. Although I would have loved to keep them.
Did you get a pretty penny for them?Pinnick: I don’t think I really got a lot for them, but they’re in good hands. It’s a Hamer collector who has them all, so I know where they’re at. The Yamaha, which I use live, was made specifically for me. John [Gaudesi], the guy that built it, made it for me in his spare time. There are people in high places that are King’s X fans and are really good to me and give me things and help me out. People in these compa-nies appreciate what I do, and I appreciate them. Most of them aren’t going to make a lot of money off of me, so they’re not going to make a signature anything. I’m using
feature > eriC GaLes & DoUG PinniCK
“Since the beginning, I’ve been told that I play abnormally. Who’s to say that everybody else
isn’t wrong and I’m right?” —Eric Gales
90 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
Schecter basses now. I’ve been with them for a couple of years, and they told me they’re going to make me some 12-strings.
What are your main axes now then, Doug?Pinnick: I used my Schecter Model-T bass in the studio, but I also have a Baron-H bass, which looks like a Telecaster and is kind of a hollowbody. They just started making that for me.
Is it prone to feedback because it’s hollow?Pinnick: I don’t know—I like the way it looks [laughs]. Whatever I play, it’s more because I like the way it looks than how it plays. I get pretty much the same tone no matter what I play because of the pickups I use.
What are those?Pinnick: It’s a Seymour Duncan pickup with three switches on it. There’s no name on it, but it’s the only bass “domino” pickup with three switches on it that you’ll ever see. I have it rigged up with two 9V batteries.
Does that get you super-high output?Pinnick: Yeah, super high. They stopped making them about 15 years ago. I have five of them, and I’ve been taking them out of my old basses and putting them in my new ones, so I have a garage full of basses with no pickups in them. Maybe someone will come along and be able to make me something comparable.
How about you, Eric, what are your main guitars?Gales: I have an original ’62 Strat that I take out on the road. I also have a number of different guitars from companies that I’m endorsed by, and they’re all based on the three-single-coil configuration. I don’t particularly like to choose one that’s exclu-sive. I learned that from Jimmy Dunlop. He said, “Man, that’s why Baskin-Robbins made 31 flavors.” To me, it could be a Sears Silvertone and a Pignose amp—it isn’t what it is, it’s what you do with it. I’m not what you’d call a gear freak.
But you have a signature amp from Two-Rock, a company that represents the holy grail for many a gear freak.Gales: [Laughs.] Right, right. But I just take what I have and work with it. See, amp-wise, I use my signature model Two-Rock,
but predominantly I use the clean channel on it because I like to use floor pedals—I also use a Mojo Hand fuzz pedal and an EWS Brute Drive. But I do love the gain channel of my amp.
So why not just use the amp’s gain channel?Gales: It all depends on how I feel. See, I purposely chose not to have an effects loop in my amp.
Your sound often incorporates a good amount of delay, and without a loop, you can’t place your delay after the amp’s dirt.Gales: Exactly. Now I could go and have them modify the amp, but I’ve gotten so comfortable doing it this way. It’s a personal thing and not a matter of a better or worse way of doing it.
Had you guys worked with Thomas Pridgen prior to this project?Gales: Thomas played on my previous solo record on Varney’s label, so I’ve know him for about six or seven years.Pinnick: I met Thomas once before this project—I’m good friends with a friend of his—but I never had a chance to really talk to him until I met him when we got together to make the record.
Is Pinnick Gales Pridgen an ongoing project?Gales: Absolutely. We’re already talking about going back into the studio. It’s a side project, but it’s far more than a side project. The reason I say it’s a side project is that we’re not excluding the stuff that we do on our own.
Doug, earlier you referenced Living Colour. Will Pinnick Gales Pridgen be this generation’s version?Pinnick: If it was 1990, we would have MTV and radio, and the war would be try-ing to get the band to sell lots of records. Nowadays, it’s like the Wild West, so I have no idea what can or will happen. We can make plans—touring, making records, and doing all the interviews in the world—but at the end of the day, it’s a new way of thinking. There are no guarantees [laughs].
With any star-studded lineup, one might expect a clash of egos. Was there any drama in the sessions?Pinnick: [Laughs.] No, not at all. There was no time for that. We knew that we had
to get the record done so everybody was on top of their game.Gales: An important thing is that we didn’t want to take away any of the elements of who we were before we got together. If anything, we wanted to add to that. I think that’s exactly the point.Pinnick: We were just excited to hear what the other guys would be contributing. With Eric and Thomas, they can play “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” and it’s got style and passion to it.
feature > eriC GaLes & DoUG PinniCK
eric Gales’ Gear
GUitars Fender ’62 Strat, Magneto Sonnet Raw Dawg, Xotic XS-1, St. Blues Blindsider
aMPsTwo-Rock signature model
eFFeCtsTech 21 Boost D.L.A., Dunlop EVH Phase 90, Mojo Hand FX Colossus,
EWS Brute Drive, TC Electronic Nova (for delay), Dunlop Cry Baby wah
strinGs, PiCKs, anDaCCessories
Dunlop .010–.046 strings, medium-gauge custom Dunlop picks,
custom leather strap with straplocks, Shure wireless
Doug pinnick’s Gear
BassesSchecter Model-T (studio), Schecter Baron-H, custom Yamaha 12-string
built by John Gaudesi
aMPsFractal Audio Axe-Fx Ultra (soon to
be replaced by the Axe-Fx II), Ampeg SVT-4Pro, Ampeg cabinets
strinGs, PiCKs, anDaCCessories
DR Strings .045–.100 sets, custom picks, handmade straps
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92 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
feature > BeX MarsHaLL
By Jon d’AuriA
NEED &GREEDSoulful aNd SulTrY blueS SoNgwriTer
bex MarShall diScuSSeS MakiNg House
of MerCy, The evoluTioN of her plaYiNg,
aNd her deep love of reSoNaTor guiTarS.
Marshall’s never been one to shy away from a crowd, and listening to the skillful bluesy twang of her guitar and the matching rich-ness and intensity of her voice, one would be foolish to urge her otherwise. Her latest album, House of Mercy, merges every bit of blues, soul, roots, folk, and ragtime that has influenced her to create a colorful, fiery sound that matches her equally exuberant personality. The concept for the album came from her U.K. home base, with a little help from her husband and friends.
“House of Mercy is the name of the radio station that we run from our home,” Marshall explains. “We’ve had hundreds of musicians come through our doors and this album is a tribute to the music that goes on in our home and the music that
surrounds us. The musicians that con-tributed to this are those who have come through, so it’s very special to us.”
The end result of months of writing and recording in her London home studio is a powerful album that displays her prowess as a guitarist and songwriter, and songs like “Gone Fishin’,” “Love,” and “Tough Times” exhibit her masterful use of slide guitar, solo-ing, and a unique approach to fingerpicking.
“I tried a lot of new techniques on this album,” says Marshall. “I’ve been developing a style that I use on my solo performances where it’s almost a ragtime technique with a percussive feel to it. I play with all the fingers on my right hand and I have really long nails, so I use all of them as a plectrum. I use a quick little butterfly
frailing with pull-offs all over it, and that gets a lot of notes out at once.”
Her maturity and evolution as a guitarist is evident on this album, as her playing sur-passes even that on her highly praised previous album, 2008’s Kitchen Table. Her diligence toward practicing her craft propelled her to create a name for herself early on in her career, though it took an unfortunate bit of tragedy to push her to realize her full potential.
“I wasn’t confident in doing lead parts or two-lined riffs in the beginning of my playing, but after my first album my bass player and producer Roland Harris com-mitted suicide and I was the one who found him,” she says. “It really affected me, because he was such a good friend and my staunchest supporter. Within my anger
Whether it’s for friends visit-ing her at home or folks
she’s just met in a pub, Bex Marshall tries to perform in front of people every single day. “I’ll play them some songs,” she says. “I’ve found nothing more valuable than playing in front of an audi-ence—it enhances my music.” Photo by Sue Fielding
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feature > BeX MarsHaLL
Bex Marshall’s Gear
GUitars Ozark 3515E Electro-
Acoustic Biscuit Resonator, Ozark 3515 BTEC Slimline Resonator, Ozark 3616 Deluxe Biscuit Resonator, Eccleshall Electric
Lady 103 Hardtail, 1963 Gibson Hummingbird
aMPsFender Frontman
25R and 65R, Vox AC30
eFFeCtsMarshall Bluesbreaker II Pedal
strinGsMartin Custom Light
.011-.052
94 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
feature > BeX MarsHaLL
I realized that I would play my own bass lines from there on out, so I began using my thumb technique to get the bass riff on top of the guitar riff. If he’s going to leave me, I’m going to do it myself. I’m sure he’s up there laughing at me now.”
Marshall’s weapons of choice to convey her complex and rhythmic riffs are her collection of Ozark electro-acoustic resona-tor guitars. Resonator guitars have a long history in ragtime, roots, and blues music, and their twangy sound and rustic timbre give Marshall’s music the authentic tone that her style calls for.
“The first band I took notice of that used a resonator guitar was Dire Straits,” says Marshall, “and I just loved how it sounded. I always thought they were cool-looking guitars, but when I first played one, I knew it was the only guitar I wanted to play. It’s got a dirty tone and it feels good to strum and it reacts to finger-picking really well. The slide sounds great on it, but I try not to overplay with it because I love simple slide lines where one note will make you scream.”
While resonator guitars are likely the only ones you’ll see her working onstage, it was an acoustic guitar that first piqued her interest in music. As a young girl growing up in the U.K., Marshall found the key to her destiny in an unlikely place.
“The exact moment that I first began playing a guitar was when I opened an old cupboard under the stairs of my home when I was 8 years old and found an abandoned guitar in there,” recalls Marshall. “It only had two strings and in that moment I knew it was mine. So I would sit in the kitchen and just strum away on it, and I realized I had urgency and a need to be able to play it. Once I met people who played, I learned very quickly on it. I immediately knew that was what I wanted to do.”
And even with the notoriety she receives for her playing, Marshall continually strives to bet-ter it, practicing every moment she can. But it’s more than recognition that drives her; it’s her love of playing that still excites her today.
“I pick my guitar up every single day because I need to connect with it constantly,” she shares. “I’m always writing new stuff, espe-cially when I’m supposed to be practicing for a show. [Laughs.] Ever since I first held a guitar, it’s been greed more than need and it drives me every day. I want to learn everything—musi-cally I want it all.”
Bex Marshall shows her serious slide chops while performing her new single, “Love,” in her home studio.Youtube search term: Love – Bex Marshall
Bex plays “Little Wing” into “Purple Haze” during a 2009 gig, starting the transition around 3:00.Youtube search term: Bex Marshall – Little Wing/Purple Haze [2009]
This collection of clips includes upbeat grooves from Bex and her band playing the 2010 Maryport Blues Festival.Youtube search term: Bex Marshall Band live at Mayport Blues Festival 2010
YOUTUBE IT
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feature > terrY KatH
TERRY KATH By CorBin reiff
Born: January 31, 1946 Died: January 23, 1978
Best Known For: A founding member of Chicago—one of the first rock bands to incorporate a horn section—Kath helped forge a path for this band that included eight platinum albums in as many years. In addition to penning many of the group’s songs, his inventive solos purportedly impressed Jimi Hendrix enough for him to tell Chicago’s saxophonist Walt Parazaider, “I think your guitarist is better than me.”
terry Kath
In 1968, the Chicago Transit Authority found themselves playing a show at
the renowned L.A. club the Whisky a Go Go. The gig itself was unremarkable, just another in a long series of dates they’d been playing since changing their name from the Big Thing. It was what happened after the show that made this evening memorable for the group—and especially for their guitar-ist. According to the band’s saxophonist Walter Parazaider, after the show, “This guy came up very quietly and tapped me on the shoulder. He says, ‘Hi, I’m Jimi Hendrix. I’ve been watching you guys and I think your guitarist is better than me.”
The guitarist Hendrix was referring to was Terry Kath, and whether or not the above story is true or apocryphal is immate-rial: The fact that one could hear Kath and then judge the story plausible matters as much as its authenticity. And among those who either witnessed his prowess firsthand or came to know it after his untimely demise at the age of 31, it is virtually unanimous that Kath is one of the most criminally underrated guitarists to have ever set finger to fretboard. Give a listen to what many consider to be Chicago’s signature song, “25 or 6 to 4,” one is instantly trans-fixed by the punch of the chromatically descending opening riff, the funky fills, the slippery licks, and the tones that range from wooly fuzz to searing, wah-inflected colors.
Kath dedicated his life to making music, but as the years wore on the grind of longer tours and greater expectations took a toll. He became increasingly unhappy and on January 23, 1978, he put what he thought was an unloaded gun to his head and pulled the trigger, ending his life. Though he is gone, his incredible talent certainly isn’t forgotten.
a MysticTerry Alan Kath was born on January 31, 1946, to Ray and Evelyn Kath in the west-ern suburbs of Chicago. Terry was enam-ored with music at a young age and with the encouragement of his parents he quickly learned how to play drums, accordion, piano, and banjo. His childhood friend and P
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98 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
January 31, 1946Born Terry Alan Kath in the western suburbs of Chicago
1970Releases Chicago and “25 or 6 to 4”
A Terry Kath Time Line
future bandmate Brian Higgins was quick to observe in an interview with Chicago-area music chronicler Tim Wood that, “From the eighth grade on, Terry knew he was going to be a professional musician.”
Like many youths from that era, it was only a matter of time until he discovered the guitar. Kath’s first rig consisted of a basic guitar and amp made by Kay, and he spent hours practicing on it in the comfort of his basement. Only once did he attempt to get professional lessons, but it didn’t go as well as he hoped, as he recalled in a 1971 interview with Guitar Player: “He just kept wanting me to play good lead stuff, but then all I wanted to do was play those rock and roll chords.”
Over time, Kath’s playing chops devel-oped and he linked up with a group of his high-school buddies to form a band
called the Mystics. Kath soon became the focal point for those who came to see the Mystics play, and he became the de facto leader of the group. The band tooled around Chicago’s many dance halls, clubs, and Veterans of Foreign Wars halls, playing one or two shows a week, and quickly built a dedicated following. Kath had a deep love of jazz, which inspired him to spurn the solid-body Gibson and Fender guitars popular amongst players of the day, Instead, he elect-ed to play a Gretsch Tennessean. “He did a lot of work on that guitar. No one but him could play it without it buzzing,” recalled Mystics rhythm guitarist Brian Higgins.
After a few years in the Mystics, Kath left the group and joined up with Jimmy Ford & the Executives, where he was asked to switch to bass. The Executives were one of the most talked-about groups in Chicago
and served as a road band for Dick Clark’s Cavalcade of Stars—which featured such noted artists as Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and the Yardbirds. Kath proved to be a valu-able member, and as future Chicago drum-mer and Executives band member Danny Seraphine wrote in his memoirs, “He was the closest thing to a leader in the band in terms of the direction of the music.”
Kath’s time with Ford and the Executives was as hectic as it was brief. Along with Danny Seraphine and Walter Parazaider, Kath was shown the door when the group decided to join up with an R&B horn out-fit and take the music in a new direction. It didn’t take long for Kath and his exiled bandmates to find a new group, and in short order they found themselves playing in a cover band called the Missing Links. The band was led by Parazaider’s childhood
January 23, 1978Passes away after
tragic gun accident
1963Joins the Mystics
1965Plays with Jimmy Ford & the Executives / Dick
Clark Calvacade of Stars
1966Forms the Missing Links
1967Forms the Big Thing
1968The Big Thing
becomes Chicago Transit Authority
and moves to L.A.
1969CTA releases The Chicago Transit Authority, with the experimental “Free Form
Guitar,” then becomes simply Chicago
1972Invests in
Pignose Industries
1973Acquires favored
Fender Telecaster
1975Releases Chicago
VIII and “Oh, Thank You Great Spirit”
1976Releases Chicago X, band wins first
Grammy for “If You Leave Me Now”
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friend Chuck Madden, whose father was known locally for being a big-time book-ing agent. Owing to that boon, Kath soon found himself earning more money per week than ever before—a whopping $500.
The Missing Links tore up Chicago’s club scene and regularly drew large crowds eager to hear hits of the day per-formed live and in person. But the grind of regularly playing other artists’ songs over and over, night after night, began to wear on Kath. As audiences began to dwindle and as the band members’ tal-ent grew, the Missing Links decided to call it a day. Out of the ashes, Seraphine began forming ideas for a new outfit and invited Kath and Parazaider to join him in what he envisioned to be a Chicago-area supergroup. Invitations also went out to trombonist James Pankow, trumpeter Lee Loughnane, and singer/keyboardist Robert Lamm. Soon they were on the road tour-ing under the name the Big Thing.
the Big thing in L.a.Shortly after forming, the six men began to convene on a regular basis in Parazaider’s basement to work out song arrangements and collaborate on mate-rial. As Pankow recalled on Chicago’s website, “We figured that the only people with horn sections that were really mak-ing any noise were the soul acts so we kind of became a soul band doing James Brown and Wilson Pickett stuff.” The Big Thing made its live debut at a club just outside of Chicago called the GiGi-a-Go-Go in March 1967 and soon began playing regular dates around the city and as far away as South Dakota. Kath was playing an off-brand Register guitar that he purchased for $80 after a succession of previous instruments had been stolen at various gigs over the years.
With a wealth of talent and tight arrangements, the Big Thing drew notice from all corners almost as soon as they hit the stage. People couldn’t take their eyes off the group’s enigmatic lead gui-tarist, whose innovative—some might have even said “crazed”—playing style demanded attention. Pankow described Kath’s wild ways in the liner notes to Chicago Box. “We were working clubs in Chicago, and Terry was banging his guitar against amplifiers and making it talk.” Record producer Jimmy Guercio,
a longtime friend of Parazaider, went to check out the Big Thing for himself at a gig in Niles, Michigan, and came away so impressed that he came calling in March of 1968. As Pankow recalled on Chicago’s website, “He told us to prepare for a move to L.A., to keep working on our original material, and he would call us when he was ready for us.” When the call came, the band was only too eager to make the move. Shortly before their departure, looking to beef up their sound, they invited local
musician Peter Cetera to handle bass duties. One more change was in order, as well. Guercio didn’t care for the band’s name and took it upon himself to change it from the Big Thing to the Chicago Transit Authority, after the bus line he used to ride to school.
Upon arrival in L.A., Kath and com-pany played almost every night at various clubs around the city, including the famed Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip. In this setting, Kath rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest musicians of the day:
feature > terrY KatH
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HALLMARKS OF KATH’S STYLE Though Terry Kath was about as versatile as they come, his style was mainly rooted in the jazz he was weaned on. Trying to stand out in a 7- or 8-piece band is certainly a tall order for any guitarist, but Kath was able to consistently create unique and ferocious parts that always managed to attract notice amidst a complex and varied arrangement. One of the key examples of this is the horn-heavy “25 or 6 to 4,” on which Kath’s absolutely locked-in rhythm parts are both interesting and varied without distracting from the song’s main riff. When it comes time for Kath to own the spotlight, he lets loose with a solo that pulls out all the stops, wailing on the wah pedal with all the mastery of his personal hero, Jimi Hendrix.
In fact, Hendrix was the inspiration for two other Kath stand-outs—“Free Form Guitar,” off Chicago Transit Authority, as well as “Oh, Thank You Great Spirit” from Chicago VIII. The former was an homage to the guitarist’s playing on Are You Experienced, and the latter was a stunning tribute to his dear, departed friend. In both cases, Kath evokes Hendrix without seeming like just another clone. “Free Form Guitar” is almost startling in its manic nature, with dive-bombs that seem to reach the lowest levels of sanity or hell … or maybe both. On the flip side, “Oh, Thank You Great Spirit” finds Kath using wah to create a soundscape that’s simply breathtaking in its serenity. From there, he layers guitar track upon guitar track to create a complex piece with intricate rhythms, sear-ing leads, and soft acoustics.
Terry Kath playing his custom Tele with Chicago in the summer of 1975. Photo by Frank White
Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Carlos Santana, and Frank Zappa, to name a few. As the band’s success grew, Kath decided it was time to trade up and jettisoned his beat-up Register in favor of a white Fender Stratocaster with a rosewood fretboard. In the previously mentioned 1971 inter-view, Kath remarked of the guitar, “The Stratocaster has the best vibrato, but I have trouble bending the strings without slipping off … my hands are pretty strong, I guess from playing bass all those years.” Despite those strong hands, Kath still preferred fairly light strings—but with a twist. For his high E, he typically used the high A string from a set of tenor guitar strings. For the rest, he used a stock Fender set, using its high E as his B string and then progress-ing on through the pack from thinnest to thickest. The inclusion of the tenor string meant there was always an extra, so the Fender pack’s 5th string was actually Kath’s low E, and he ended up tossing aside the 6th string.
As Chicago Transit Authority drew big-ger and bigger crowds, Guercio was able to land them a coveted recording contract with CBS Records. So it was that Kath and his bandmates set off to New York City to record their debut album. In preparation for the sessions, he bought a Gibson SG that is featured prominently throughout the album. He also acquired a 60-watt Knight amplifier, as well as a Fender Dual Showman that he used extensively over the next few years both live and in the studio. The group’s self-titled double album quickly became a smash hit, selling well over a mil-lion copies less than a year after its release in April 1969.
One of the most stirring tracks from Chicago Transit Authority was titled “Free Form Guitar” and featured Kath alone play-ing essentially experimental music reminis-cent of Hendrix’s performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” at Woodstock just a few months later. The piece was recorded in one take, without the use of any pedals, and was improvised on the spot. Kath also penned the song “Introduction,” which was fittingly placed as the first track on the album and featured the guitarist taking over lead-vocal duties. It seems everyone in the band was given a moment to shine on the track, and when Kath’s turn comes he lets loose with a breathtakingly understated yet forceful solo.
“This guy came up very quietly and tapped me on the shoul-der. He says, ‘Hi, I’m Jimi Hendrix. I’ve been watching you
guys and I think your guitarist is better than me.” — Chicago saxophonist Walter Parazaider
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What’s in a name?After the band’s recorded debut, Chicago Transit Authority was forced by the threat of legal action to change their name once again. Kath and his cohorts opted to just cut it short, and thus Chicago was born. Riding high on the LP’s success, they hit the road for a relentless touring schedule of 200 to 300 shows a year, a pace that didn’t abate for Kath’s entire tenure in the group. With his newfound success, Kath began acquiring more guitars, including a 1969 Gibson Les Paul Professional with a pair of unconven-tional low-impedance pickups that required a special impedance-matching transformer for use with a standard high-impedance-input amplifier. This guitar became one of his favorite stand-bys in the years to come.
A year after recording their first album, Chicago hit the studio to record Chicago—aka Chicago II—which was a monster success and reached No. 4 on the U.S. charts. The biggest hit off the album, the previously mentioned “25 or 6 to 4,” was written by keyboard-ist Lamm and is easily one the group’s most recognized pieces. After the soph-omore release, Chicago went on a tear nearly unprecedented in the history of commercial music, releasing eight studio albums and one live recording over the subsequent eight years—all of which achieved platinum status. Other opportunities followed, and in late 1972 Kath and Chicago’s manager, Guercio, were approached by amplifier maker Richard Edlund to see if they’d be interested in financing his start-up company. The two men were intrigued by Edlund and his little amplifiers, and thus started Pignose Industries, which debuted their first “legendary” Pignose amplifier at the 1973 NAMM show. Kath naturally became Pignose’s first endorsee and appeared in an ad for the company, decked out in gangster attire with the slogan, “What Pignose offers, you can’t refuse,” appearing below his picture.
Kath made another guitar change that same year, finally settling on a Fender Telecaster that he used almost exclusively for the rest of his career. He
asked his tech, Hank Steiger, to make a few modifications, including replacing the stock neck pickup with a Gibson humbucker and changing the bridge from a 3-saddle model to a 6-saddle version that would facilitate more precise intonation. In not-so-subtle support of his side business venture, Kath affixed a few Pignose stickers—25, to be exact—as well as a Chicago Blackhawks logo and a large sticker with the Maico motorcycle company’s logo.
a tragic endDespite Chicago’s enormous success throughout the 1970s, Kath was quite depressed. “He was an unhappy individual,” Pankow remembered in the liner notes of Chicago Box. “His relationship was not going well. He was also certainly more dependent on chemicals than he should have been. He wasn’t addicted to anything, but he was abusing drugs. We were all doing drugs at that stage of the game. But
feature > terrY KatH
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if you’re incredibly unhappy and depressed and doing the drugs on top of that, it com-pounds the situation.”
On the night of January 23, 1978, in a tragic turn, Kath accidentally shot himself in the head while messing around with one of his handguns. The only witness to the incident was Chicago’s keyboard tech, Don Johnson, whose account of what hap-pened was later summarized by Pankow. “Evidently, he had gone to the shooting range, and he came back to Donny’s apart-ment, and he was sitting at the kitchen table cleaning his guns. Donny remarked, ‘Hey, man, you’re really tired. Why don’t you just put the guns down and go to bed.’ Terry said, ‘Don’t worry about it,’ and he showed Donny the gun. He said, ‘Look, the clip’s not even in it,’ and he had the clip in one hand and the gun in the other. But evidently there was a bullet still in the chamber. He had taken the clip out of the gun, and the clip was empty. A gun can’t be fired without the clip in it. He put the clip back in, and he was waving the gun around his head. He said, ‘What do you think I’m gonna do? Blow my brains out?’ And just the pressure when he was waving the gun
around the side of his head, the pressure of his finger on the trigger, released that round in the chamber. It went into the side of his head. He died instantly.”
The loss of Terry Alan Kath was felt across the world of music, but nowhere more than with his bandmates in Chicago. “Right about there was probably what I felt was the end of the group,” says Peter Cetera on Chicago’s website. “I think we were a bit scared about going our separate ways, and we decided to give it a go again.” The band decided to soldier on and auditioned somewhere around 50 guitarists to take Kath’s place before ultimately settling on Donnie Dacus. But without Kath’s guitar, the band was not the same. Many divide the long history of Chicago into pre-Kath and post-Kath, and it could be argued that the majority favor the earlier period.
Kath was an incredibly versatile guitar-ist. On one track he could play some of the wildest, most sonically expansive guitar you’ve ever heard, and on the next he could play the smoothest runs this side of Charlie Christian. He lives on in the music he cre-ated and continues to inspire those who listen to his records.
Like many new Kath fans, his daughter, Michelle Kath Sinclair—who was only 3 when he passed away—is on her own odyssey to find out more about her father. Her story is told in the yet-to-be-released documentary Searching for Terry: Discovering a Guitar Legend, and she lays out her rea-sons for creating the film in a message on the official Terry Kath website (terrykath.com). “I always felt that he never got the credit he deserved for his contribution to guitar. His approach to playing and writing music were unique to his own. I was always saddened by his untimely death, not only because I missed out on knowing him, but also because there was so much more that he had to offer the music world.”
Chicago’s keyboardist and lead vocalist Robert Lamm probably said it best in the liner notes for Chicago Box when he stated, “He was an original thinker. He was an inventor, in many ways. He invented the way he played his guitar. He was the kind of guy that could probably teach himself to play almost any instrument.” He added, “I don’t think there’s ever been a better rhythm player. And then, Terry’s leads are, for that day especially, world class stuff.”
MuST-WATCH MOMEnTS Over the course of the decade he toured with Chicago before his untimely death, founding guitarist Terry Kath saw the band reach great heights, including its first Grammy and 10 chart-topping albums. This footage shows Kath and company at their most inspired.
On this 1970 live version of the band’s most famous tune, Kath absolutely wails on an orange S-style guitar. The fan-tastically unhinged solo begins at 2:30.YouTube search term: Chicago 25 or 6 to 4 Jul 21, 1970
In this rare black-and-white footage, Kath lays the wah licks on heavy, using his signature guitar “vocals” to accent the lead vocals.YouTube search term: Chicago (Terry Kath) – I’m a Man 1968
Kath sings lead vocals on the first track of Chicago Transit Authority, which he wrote.YouTube search term: Chicago 1972–Introduction 1/16
Kath’s slick rhythm work throughout this bluesy mid-tempo tune is treated with a phase shifter. YouTube search term: Chicago – Dialogue (1975)
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Some years ago, Andy Cabic, who now leads the band Vetiver, was driving up Interstate 95 in his Honda Civic. His beloved 1967 Fender Mustang sat beside him, comfy in its soft, easy-to-schlep
gigbag. Cabic reached across the seat to retrieve a cas-sette from off the floor, and when he sat back up it was too late—he slammed into a tractor-trailer that had stopped in the right lane. “I was lucky to be alive,” says Cabic. The same couldn’t be said for his guitar. “I still have the body—which is fine—but the neck was destroyed.”
The incident speaks not just to the perils of distracted driving but to the importance of choosing a case or gig-bag that will stand up to the rigors its likely to encounter while conveying your treasured instruments to and from jams, rehearsals, recording sessions, and performances. And despite horror stories like Cabic’s, there aren’t always clear-cut answers about what’s best for your needs. For instance, enough factors come into play when you pit a Civic against a diesel—speed, height of the two vehicles’ bumpers, airbags, and placement of the guitar—that a hardshell case won’t necessarily guarantee that your axe emerges unscathed. Some of the more heavy-duty (and pricey) products on the market would probably do the trick in most nightmare scenarios, but then there’s the question of whether you’d really want to lug around ultimate protection everyday. In other words, whether the trade-offs you encounter with a gigbag are worth it is up to the player and the circum-stances. The average guitarist may find that the relative affordabil-ity and convenience of gig-bags—which are lighter and more comfortable to transport, and which make it much easier to carry multiple instru-ments at once—outweigh the risks of one-in-a-mil-lion catastrophes. Players who regularly throw their
gear into a van full of drum hardware and precariously positioned PA components may beg to differ.
But it’s really not as simple as “soft vs. hard,” because there are extreme variances within each category. Hardshell cases are available in models made from wood, plastic, or metal (or a mix of those), and both the finer points of their exteriors, as well as the strength and placement of the inte-rior padding can provide very different types of protection—with some being deceptively unprotective [see the sidebar “Veer Away from Vintage” on p. 105] and others being strong enough to withstand the abuses of negligent and/or sociopathic airline baggage handlers. Gigbags also vary from budget models with minimal padding and little to no protection from liquids to high-end designs with water- and tear-proof fabric and copious amounts of dense foam. Let’s take a closer look at each category.
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FEATurE > cases & gigbags
By AdAm Perlmutter
LeFT to RigHT: Ameritage hardshell case, Reunion Blues Sonoma gigbag, Reunion Blues Continental gigbag, Reunion Blues Aero gigbag
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FEATurE > cases & gigbags
GiGbaGsIf you’re usually schlepping one or more axes to local gigs, rehearsals, or jam sessions, then you’ll benefit from having a gigbag to ease your load. A gigbag typically has a fabric or leather exterior with inner padding that varies in density and thickness (usually between a half inch and an inch thick) as you move up the price ladder. The most protective gigbags also have added support in vulnerable areas like the neck. Pretty much all gigbags have two shoulder straps and at least one carrying handle, and virtu-ally all are secured with a heavy-duty zipper. Unlike hardshell cases, the typical gigbag has an outer compartment large enough to accommodate sheet music, in addition to smaller items like picks, strings, and capos.
“I prefer gigbags because they’re lighter and I can carry them on my shoulder,” says Mac Randall, a guitarist and music journal-ist in New York City who still uses the same Mooradian gigbags he bought 20 years ago for their superior protectiveness. “All my elec-tric guitars—a late-’70s Strat, an early-’70s Les Paul Custom, and a mid-’90s Tele with B-Bender—are fairly heavy, so I appreciate every break I can get on overall weight.” He adds, “I will opt for hardshell cases when longer travel’s involved, though—either road or plane.” You can score a Mooradian stan-
dard gigbag like Randall’s, for any type of acoustic or electric guitar or bass, for
around $220. (All prices quoted in this article are street.)
For those who prefer the svelte-ness of a gigbag, one of the top names is Reunion Blues. The bags in their Continental Series go for about $200 and strike a nice balance between portability and protection. These water-resistant bags have high-density, dual-
layer foam and an internal neck-brace system. Of a
Continental
prototype, Leah Murphy, Reunion Blues’ director of marketing, says, “After we tested it in various scenarios, we knew that people would still hold onto old beliefs, so we did the unthinkable—with a Stratocaster inside, we dropped it off a three-story building and onto gravel and loose concrete. It survived every time, without a scratch. Although we do not condone doing this at home—nor do we claim our cases will survive every drop from a building—there is something to be said [for the stellar test results].”
Another reliable name is Levy’s Leathers, whose gigbags feature 1"-thick foam interiors and are often luxurious enough to set you back more than $500. For around the same price, Levy’s also offers a series of unique double gigbags, including the polyester CM series or the leather LM series, that can accommodate an acoustic and an electric guitar, two electric guitars, or two bass guitars. And for the cash-strapped, the company also offers nylon bags in its EM series with less padding that come in under the $100 mark. Other companies worth considering include Fusion, with its sporty F1 ($200); Gator, offering the very utilitarian Commander ($160); Mono, whose super-rugged Vertigo is a unique, top-loading option ($200); and Access, with the luxurious Harvest series of cowhide-, buffalo-, and crocodile-
covered bags (from $429).
HardsHell CasesTraditional hardshell cases are typically made from a multi-ply wooden structure covered with a material such as vinyl, a textile such as tweed, or leather. This type usually either follows the contours of the guitar (similar to most Gibson acoustic or electric cases) or is rectangular, like those for Fender solidbodies. It is secured with a series of metal latches and carried with a handle made from plastic or leather. Some hardshell cases also include a pair of hooks designed to accommodate a strap for carry-ing. Many also have metal feet on the butt end to protect their coverings when placed in a vertical position, and on the bottom to keep them level when horizontal.
Many moderate- and most high-priced guitars come with hardshell cases, and if you’re a bedroom rocker, or if you play local gigs and have a streamlined rig with little to carry other than your axe, then this may be your preferred method of transport. If you acquire an instrument that doesn’t include any sort of case, or it came with a gigbag and you’re worried it won’t provide enough protection (which may not always be the, er, case—again, it all depends on your play-ing circumstances), one obvious solution is to simply buy the model of hardshell case offered by the instrument manufacturer.
But there are many other options for a good wooden hardshell case at all price points. For less than $100, companies like Gator and Silver Creek offer well-built
wooden cases with Tolex covering (the faux-leather material used on many amplifiers) in a range of sizes that will fit everything from parlor-sized acous-
tics to Precision bass–style solidbodies.
Veer Away from VintageNot long ago, L.A.-area blues guitarist Dave Widow learned a terrible lesson on the fallibility of some vintage guitar cases. “I had my Gibson Custom Shop ‘Beano’ Les Paul in an exact replica of a late-1950s case. It fell from a standing position and the neck broke in two—ouch!”
While many period-correct reproduction cases on the market look cool, most don’t offer nearly the impact protection that a good modern case does, particularly in
the neck area. This is especially important for Gibson models that are notoriously susceptible to headstock breakage.
If you’re the owner of a vintage guitar with its original case, consider keeping the case in a safe place and buying a new one to use for gigging and travel. Not only will this offer superior protec-tion, it will help preserve the original case, which will be useful if down the road you decide to sell the guitar.
premierguitar.com
balance between portability and protection. These water-resistant bags have high-density, dual-
layer foam and an internal neck-brace system. Of a
Continental
F1 ($200); Gator, offering the very utilitarian Commander ($160); Mono, whose super-rugged Vertigo is a unique, top-loading option ($200); and Access, with the luxurious Harvest series of cowhide-, buffalo-, and crocodile-
covered bags (from $429). to simply buy the model of hardshell case offered by the instrument manufacturer.
But there are many other options for a good wooden hardshell case at all price points. For less than $100, companies like Gator and Silver Creek offer well-built
wooden cases with Tolex covering (the
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FEATurE > cases & gigbags
TKL—which manufactures many of the cases that come with new instruments from Gibson, Martin, and others—offers a similar style of case, the Prestige, that has a tougher DuraHyde covering, a thickly pad-ded interior, and a roomier accessory com-partment. These start at around $90 street.
If you want the snuggest possible fit for your guitar or bass—especially if you’ve got one in a nonstandard size or shape—then a custom hard case is the way to go. Fill out a spec sheet with a couple dozen measure-ments of your guitar, and a company like Cedar Creek (a division of TKL) or C&G (which also makes cases for the Fender Custom Shop and Paul Reed Smith, among many other high-end clients) can build you a smart case with your choice of exterior and inner coverings, hardware packages, and other options.
Erich Solomon, a master luthier who ships many of his finished archtops with an American Vintage Series CC720 Cedar Creek case, is a staunch proponent of mak-ing sure a case hugs its contents tightly—a fit that is pretty much guaranteed with a custom build. “A proper fit is a must for any decent guitar case, especially in regards to the way the neck and neck angle are addressed in the case,” says Solomon. “If the neck is supported on too short of a distance—or the neck angle is not correct and the body falls too deeply into the case, and the neck just contacts in one spot—if there is a shock, it will act as a fulcrum, and potentially cause damage to the instru-ment.” This is why Solomon says it’s critical to take precise measurements of your axe when ordering a custom case.
In the late 1970s, SKB pioneered an alternative to wooden cases—the acrylo-nitrile butadiene styrene molded hardshell case. Better known as ABS plastic, this is the same lightweight, resilient material used for athletic helmets, sprinkler pipes, and car bumpers. SKB currently offers its vacuum-molded ABS cases—made by pouring warm thermoplastic into a mold and applying suction—to fit a wide range of guitar and bass styles. The SKB-FS6, for instance, with its universal fit for almost any solidbody electric guitar, has a street price of $100. At the other end of the spectrum, beginning at around $500, Hiscox offers its Liteflite case, available in the Standard, Pro II, and Artist versions, with an ABS outer layer and a semi-rigid cellular foam inner layer
HAndy ExtrAs to tAkE Along witH your CAsE or gigbAgIn addition to the proper guitar case, a few essential pieces of onstage gear will help you keep everything in order at jams, rehearsals, and recording or performing gigs. A good guitar stand such as Musician’s Gear tubular model ($10) or Hercules with folding yoke ($49) is a no-brainer that avoids tragic falls when you think your guitar is leaning against an amp, wall, or chair. If you need one that accommodates multiple axes, the K&M Guardian comes in versions that hold either three ($190) or five ($230 street) electric, acoustic, or bass guitars in a row. Ultracases GSX models are rugged road cases that open up into a stand that can accommodate or four ($399), six ($449), or eight ($499) guitars. Similarly, Fender offers a guitar-case stand that resembles a vintage tweed or black case when closed, but opens to hold either three ($250) or seven ($310) guitars. One benefit of the several-in-a-row-type stands is that they’re much less prone to tipping over than conventional single-guitar types.
Whichever stand you choose, make sure it’s one that doesn’t feature materi-als that can damage or chemically alter the finish type of your guitar (nitrocel-lulose lacquer finishes are particularly prone to this discoloration). And even if the stand is chemically safe for your finish, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to cover the points of contact with scraps of soft cotton in order to prevent damage.
Given how many of us are using combo amps these days, another great take-along tool is a stand to get your amp off the floor and where you and the audience can hear it better. Sure, you can try the cheap milk-crate option or maybe a chair, though neither is particularly stable—and definitely not adjustable. For a minimal investment, the On-Stage RS7000 ($40) is adjust-able for height and tilt angle, and its rubber pads and feet grip the amplifier
and prevent the stand from sliding. Other makers to check out include Mu-sician’s Gear, whose Deluxe Amp Stand is an affordable option at $20; Ultimate Support, offering the compact Amp-150 Genesis stand with folding arms and legs ($30); and Quik-Lok, which designed its double-brace low-profile stand with large amps in mind ($50).
Another aspect you might want to consider about your amp is that it’s often as vulnerable as your guitars dur-ing transport. So, it’s never a bad idea to stow them in cases when not in use. Some of the manufacturers featured in this piece—Anvil, SKB, and Gator—offer roadworthy cases for any type of amp, from a 1x12 combo to a 4x12 cabinet In the Fly Anvil line (from $285) you’ll find a relatively lightweight option for every-thing from a 100-watt head to a 2x12 combo. SKB’s neat Amp Utility Vehicle ($385) fits any 2x12 and doubles as a riser for onstage projection. And Gator has a range of sensibly priced amp cases from the G-ROTO-112 ($105) for a 1x12 combo to the G-ROTO-212 ($125) for a 2x12. Whatever case you choose for your amp, be sure it has some seri-ous casters—three inches in diameter, at minimum—to provide a smoother roll, which translates to less potential shock to the amplifier parts and circuitry inside.
And, finally, cable clutter is a musi-cian’s enemy, and there are a number of easy ways to fight it. Planet Waves makes elastic ties ($9 for a 10-pack) that will keep your 1/4" cables unkinked and neatly organized. Monster Cable’s Ca-ble-It (from $19.95) is a cable-manage-ment kit that zips up a bunch of cables into one unit—perfect for guitarists and bassists with complicated setups.
All of these solutions remove poten-tial distractions from what’s most im-portant—keeping your mind on making music when it’s time to hit the stage.
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FEATurE > cases & gigbags
with thermal insulation. The standard case has a crush resistance of more than 1,100 pounds, as is neatly demonstrated in a video on the company’s website, while the Artist series is four times as resistant to impact and puncture.
Other companies such as Musicians’ Gear, Guardian, Superior, and Crossrock use lightweight, impact-resistant fiberglass in place of a wooden shell. These typically have what’s sometimes called a “universal fit” to accommodate a range of instrument styles, many for less than $200. Calton Cases also makes high-end, extra-heavy-duty fiberglass cases that can be ordered for any type of guitar or bass. Prices start at about $750. Many pros, including Andy Cabic, swear by their Caltons for touring, even with air travel. “I keep my acoustic—a Martin 000-15—in a Calton case, which is indestructible and amazing,” says Cabic.
Just as some guitar makers have turned to carbon fiber as a substitute for wood, Accord and Hoffee are two companies using this highly stable material to protect instruments in transit. Coupled with the
highest quality hardware, these lightweight cases are exceptionally protective, and both brands can fit a case for your specific instru-ment based on measurements you provide. They’re among the finest hardshell cases you can buy, with prices to match—they start
at around $1,000. “We make cases out of carbon fiber because it is one of the best materials available, in terms of the strength-to-weight ratio,” says Jeff Hoffee of Hoffee Cases. “It provides great strength while reducing weight as much as possible. In
Hoffee makes sturdy hardshell guitar cases out of highly stable carbon fiber.
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FEATurE > cases & gigbags
addition, the weave pattern of carbon fiber makes our cases very attractive.”
In its Gold Series, Ameritage makes an interesting hybrid case that starts at around $400 for acoustic, electric, and bass guitars. It uses a strong, 6-ply wooden shell covered in ultraviolet- and tear-resistant Cordura—a material often used for gigbags. Inside the case, Ameritage’s proprietary suspension system—a series of highly supportive pads—envelopes the guitar to protect it from shock, while a combination hygrometer/thermom-eter monitors the environment and works in tandem with Ameritage’s built-in Humidity Control System to keep the interior “climate” ideal—a huge plus for acoustic guitars travel-ling between varying external climates.
FliGHt CasesPlayers who often have to entrust their instruments to throw-happy luggage han-dlers or similarly rugged conditions can likely identify with singer-songwriter Dave Carroll, whose “United Breaks Guitars” songs and videos on YouTube lament the demise of his Taylor 710 at the hands of the airline’s workers. And maybe you’ve heard the sad story of the 1965 Gibson ES-335 that belonged to Dave Schneider, singer and guitarist in the Zambonis and the LeeVees. On a recent flight, Schneider was forced to check the guitar (which was stored in a modern hardshell case) with other luggage. It got stuck in an elevator when it was being unloaded. The case was destroyed and the instrument sustained heavy damage. “It was an emotional TSA [Transportation Security Administration] moment,” says Schneider of the instant he was reunited with the guitar after a worker spent an hour freeing it.
If you often fly with your guitar and check it as baggage, then a case designed and tested specifically for this type of travel is a wise investment. Many touring musicians swear by Calton and Accord flight cases, but companies such as Gator also make flight cases for those on more modest budgets. For $140 street, you can get a Gator ATA molded case that’s made from tough, military-grade polyethylene and features a Transport Safety Administration-approved locking center latch—a lock that allows a TSA officer to eas-ily open the case for inspection while keeping it impenetrable by other airport personnel. These cases have a plush, universal-fit interior that accepts any bass or guitar. For $100 more, the company offers its G-TOUR flight
cases with heavy-duty plywood construction, aluminum-reinforced corners, and recessed twist latches.
Anvil/Calzone, which also makes cases for sensitive military, medical, and aerospace equipment, makes standard Airport Transportation Administration-approved cases for Les Pauls (around $450), Stratocasters ($450), and P basses ($500). The company says the cases are 30 percent lighter than standard flight cases but just as shock and drop resistant. They can also be custom ordered to fit any guitar or bass, and they’re available in a rainbow of exterior and interior colors.
Another good bet for air travel are the injection-molded ATA cases from SKB (like the 3i-4214-66 for Stratocaster- or Telecaster-style guitars, which goes for around $250). Formed by feeding plastic into a heating mold and letting it cool and harden to the shape of the mold, this mili-tary-grade design is made of an ultra-high-strength polypropylene copolymer resin that’s airtight, water resistant, and resistant to corrosion and fungus—attributes that make them good candidates for, say, a home that may be prone to a waterlogging situ-ation like a basement flood. These SKBs are available for a variety of guitar and bass types, and they feature a patented trigger-release latch system with TSA locks and wheels for easy transport. “You can drop one of these cases with a guitar in it in the ocean,” says SKB product manager Will Steven, “and it will float. Put some weight on it and it will sink. Then, when you remove the case from the water and open it, the guitar will be completely dry.”
Case Extreme has a unique take with its crush-resistant shells coined The Clam, which start at around $270 and feature an outer layer of aerospace-grade plastic. Inside, they use a series of thick foam pads to sheathe standard hardshell cases or even gig-bags. The company also offers models (like the CXLP for a Les Paul or the CXFS for a Strat) that cradle a guitar or bass in 3" foam padding and prevent the instrument from touching the walls of the case. These cases, which start at $300, can withstand an 850-pound crush test, and they can also be built to accommodate any type of instrument—or even two in one.
a case for every caseAs we said at the beginning, which case you buy for your guitars is really a case-by-case decision. It could be that you only need the case your instrument came with. You may also find that the hardshell case that came with your bass is a bit cumbersome for what you usually do. Or, you might benefit from having as many as three different types: a gigbag for local shows, a hardshell case for gigs involving longer travel on the road, and a flight case for dates requiring air travel. Assess your needs and select the very best you can afford in whichever category meets your needs. And remember, models that inhibit the bass or guitar from moving around inside and offer optimal support to vulnerable areas like the neck are going to safeguard your babies better than those that don’t. Take this precaution, and you’re much less likely to receive a nasty, costly surprise when you open your case after your next trip—regardless of whether it’s a long or short jaunt.
SKB’s 3i series of waterproof flight cases uses molded thermoplastic and plush padding for apt protection.
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 109
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FEATurE > cases & gigbags
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MAnuFACTurerS & deAlerS indexWhether you’re looking for the ideal case or gigbag for your acoustic or electric guitar or bass, or you need a variety of onstage accessories, the following manufacturers offer quality gear that runs the gamut of prices and applications. Check out their websites for details, as well as pricing and contact information.
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A-Frame Guitar StandGBA-300The beauty of an A-frame guitar stand is its simplicity. Our A-frame Guitar Stand consists of a robust, mandrel-bent steel frame and all-metal locking hinge. We designed it to be opened and closed with one hand, so your axe need never touch the floor.
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premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 111
BuildEr proFilE > visuaL sOuND
Visual Sound hovers in a rarified space between a boutique builder and mass manufacturer. Though the pedals are constructed in China,
the company’s design guru, R. G. Keen, also operates geofex.com—a site that has educated untold scores of DIY builders. Visual Sound’s effects are affordable, solidly constructed, and sound great, yet sometimes they seem mysteriously underappreciated. We had a candid chat with founder Bob Weil about the company’s “boutique” beginnings, its miraculous rescue, and the footswitch of 10,000,000 hits.
By michAel ross
As a teenager, Bob Weil taught himself how to build stompboxes by disassembling off-the-rack pedals and adding
the features he wanted. Before long, he was coming up with his own designs and taking them to industry trade shows. Then he enlisted the help of DIY pedal guru R.G. Keen, and the two came
up with their now-famous line of stompboxes that fall somewhere between boutique and mainstream.
Weil about the company’s “boutique” beginnings, its miraculous rescue, mysteriously underappreciated. We had a candid chat with founder Bob Weil about the company’s “boutique” beginnings, its miraculous rescue, and the footswitch of 10,000,000 hits.
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BuildEr proFilE > visuaL sOuND
Touch and goAs you might suspect, Weil is an avid gui-tarist. “I started playing when I was about 17,” he recalls. “I would go to a friend’s house in Connecticut and play one-finger versions of ‘Smoke on the Water’ on his acoustic.” Years later, married and living in California, Weil found a particular pedal in his arsenal wanting. “I had bought a popular volume pedal and very quickly grew frustrated with it because the taper went very suddenly from zero to 10, and the pot got scratchy after a few months. I also thought it should have some sort of zero-to-10 [visual] reference on it,” Weil says. “I went shopping and was shocked to find that nobody made a volume pedal with that feature. I thought, ‘How hard could it be to make one?’ Unfortunately I had no electronics background.”
Weil’s initial design efforts to rectify the situation incorporated a zero-to-10 visual scale and pointers that were mechanically pulled along the base of the pedal as the treadle moved. Weil also used a mixing-board-style fader rather than a round potentiometer. “I tried some goofy ideas in that direction, and then I realized I would prefer an LED display,” he relates. “This was before the internet, so I started going to the library and reading books on elec-tronics that were way over my head. If you stare at them long enough, it starts to sink in. I started experimenting and eventually learned enough to start building one of these things. I began experimenting around 1990 and by 1995 had built some proto-types that actually worked.”
These new prototypes were Weil’s secret weapon when we went to the NAMM Show in January of 1995. “I handed them out to artists that looked either famous or really good [laughs],” he remembers. “I didn’t even necessarily know who they were. Guys like Victor Wooten and John Patitucci looked at it and said, ‘Why hasn’t some-body done this before?’”
Weil soon moved back to Connecticut, where he and his wife, Julie, began building the units at home. “You couldn’t just call up Hammond [organ company] and order pre-punched and painted housings like you can now,” he says. “Only five years, later things had changed a lot—but when I started it was very Stone Age.” In 1996, Weil began experimenting with putting effects—like overdrive or distortion—in the volume
pedal housing, with the treadle controlling the amount of drive. What knowledge of effects design and construction he accrued was a product of reverse-engineering and modifying existing pedals, as well as more library research. “I’d figured out how to trace circuit boards and what connected to what—and why,” he explains. “It was a lot of late nights, tearing things apart and fig-uring them out. There were no schematics floating around the web in those days.”
By 1997, Weil had moved to Florida and expanded the line to include the 2-channel Jekyll & Hyde pedal. The more mild-mannered Jekyll overdrive channel was a variation on the Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer, while the Hyde transformed your tone with more monstrous distortion. But the road from ideas to manufacturing and distribution proved a bit bumpy. “I tried using independent reps for a while, which worked, but not that well,” he recalls. “We tried using manufacturing subcontractors in the United States for the volume pedal and some other experimental things. That didn’t go that well. It was lots of trial and error—mostly error. So Julie and I hand-soldered and hand-assembled the first 100 Jekyll & Hyde pedals on our kitchen table—not fun. After that, we looked at each other and said, ‘We are never doing that again.’” [Laughs.]
back from the abyssBesides kitchen-table fatigue, one of the other difficulties with the early Visual
Sound business model was that Weil was not charging the boutique prices required to make handbuilding cost effective. “We were just trying to make stuff that work-ing musicians could afford,” he says. “It was a very difficult first few years. I dove right in by quitting my day job—I don’t recommend that [laughs]. The volume pedal sold pretty well for a volume pedal, but lesson number two was, ‘Don’t start a busi-ness with a volume pedal’—not that many people use one. I should have started with an overdrive, but I had started with what I needed. The volume pedal did well enough that Musician’s Friend was mad at me when I stopped making them in 1998.”
So if the volume pedals did so well, why did Weil stopped making them? Because despite the fact that production had moved to Taiwan and become more affordable, Visual Sound’s debt had piled up to an untenable level. “About halfway through 1998, we had to call it a day,” he reveals. “I planned to go out of business at that point, but a very curious thing happened two weeks later. I got a faxed order from a dis-tributor in Germany who’d picked up a few of our new Jekyll & Hyde pedals earlier in the year. He called the next day to ask if I had his order. I said I did and thanks a lot, but unfortunately we are out of business. He replied, ‘That’s terrible. I have given them to two guitar magazines in Germany and the reviews come out next month say-ing it is the best overdrive pedal they’ve
Bob and Julie Weil started bulding pedals on this kitchen table back in the mid-’90s. Photo by Michael Ross
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 113
Gator offers a huge selection for every guitarist.Gig bags for the gigging rocker to ATA ight cases for the touring shredder. Pack up yourguitars, pedals, amps and amp heads withease and hit the road with Gator.
114 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
ever tested. We already have back orders.’ I told him I was sorry I couldn’t make them because I didn’t have any money.”
In order to have his overseas vendors fill the day-saving orders, Weil had to prepay. To his astonishment, the German distribu-tor offered to pay for the pedals in advance. “I got off the phone with him and called our English distributor, who had Jekyll & Hydes on a backorder I could no longer fulfill,” Weil continues. “I said, ‘This crazy guy in Germany offered to prepay his order. Forgive me for asking, but would you be willing to prepay your order?’ He said, ‘No problem—in fact, double our order. We need that many.’ Bear in mind, normally nobody pays for an order before you have even made the pedals! The funny thing was, those two orders were the exact amount of money I needed to buy another production run from Taiwan—to the penny! I looked up to God and laughed. I said, ‘I don’t know why you have me in this stupid busi-ness, but okay, let’s try this again.’”
From that low point, things began to take off. The Jekyll & Hyde became a huge suc-cess. The equally acclaimed Route 66 over-drive/compressor, H2O chorus/echo pedals, and the 1 Spot power supply soon followed. Weil moved his company and family to Tennessee, where he bought a home that also served as an office and shipping facil-ity. The company soon outgrew his house and, in 2005, he purchased two units in an industrial park in Spring Hill, Tennessee.
As industrial-park offices go, the Visual Sound location is quite homey, with a peaked roof, columned entrance, and a beamed interior that Weil built into the raw space. Offices are arranged around a com-fortable lounge with Memphis-style chairs and a sofa abutting an equally warm demo room with Dr. Z and 3rd Power amplifiers. “I’d been coming up to Nashville for sum-mer NAMM for years,” Weil says. “It made sense for the business to be here. It’s a much more central location for shipping and for visiting other states. The music industry here is huge—and it is not just country music. Going to studios and hanging out
with artists is easy, and with the facility we have here, we have musicians visiting a couple of times a week.”
So far, other than the volume pedal, all Visual Sound stompboxes have been dual-effect pedals—a fact that Weil and his team could boast of well ahead of the current trend. The V2 series debuted in 2007 and essentially offered single-effect version of effects previously available only in dual-effect stomps. “People said if only we came out with the compressor or overdrive in a
single pedal, they would buy it,” says Weil. “I expected the singles to explode off the shelves. They’ve done okay, but the funny thing is the duals were still more successful. Those who’d been asking bought them, but others figured it’s not that much more to get the dual, so why don’t I just get that?”
bringing in the big DogAlthough Weil oversees conceptualization of all Visual Design pedals, he is wise enough to work with another bona fide guitar-effects guru by the name of R.G. Keen. Keen, who’s been designing hardware, soft-ware, and systems since the early ’70s, has
worked full time with Visual Sound since 2005. “Pretty much since the beginning of the web, R.G. has been this brilliant engi-neer who has helped people out behind the scenes,” says Weil. “He started this website, geofex.com, as a hobby, and has taught so many of the boutique pedal builders how to build effects. We met over the early internet in 1996.—I had only been in busi-ness about a year. I posted a question, and he came back with this amazing educated answer. We got to know each other better and I found out he had taken early retire-ment from IBM—he is a true rocket sci-entist. I am just a hacker—I cobbled these things together more through determina-tion than knowledge.”
Keen has been helping informally with board designs since the late ’90s, but now he and Weil design the line together. “Some of the technology is, frankly, over my head,” Weil admits. “Like the Dual Tap Delay, which is hybrid digital with some analog, and custom programmed chips. I just call up R.G. and say, ‘Do you think you could make something that can do this?’ He thinks about it and a day or so later comes up with something. With the Time Bandit, I called him up and said, ‘I think there are a lot of guys who would like to stop tapping tempo and just plug in the click track to drive the tempo of their effect—not MIDI, just an audio click track.’ No one had done it before, so that one took him a little while.”
BuildEr proFilE > visuaL sOuND
LeFT: Pedal guru and Visual Sound designer R.G. Keen. RigHT: (Front to back) Dana Weaver, Bob Weil, and Zac Childs doing quality control testing of the Visual Sound Time Bandit.
[R.G. Keen] is a true rocket scientist. I am just a hacker—I cobbled these things together more
through determination than knowledge.
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going to the garageAs reasonably priced as Visual Sound effects are, in 2008 the company felt a need to produce the even more budget-friendly Garagetone line. The timing couldn’t have been better. “I was reading articles about emerging-market countries,” says Weil, “places where people didn’t have a lot of money but if you could give them some-thing high quality at a reasonable price they would buy it. I was reading all this just before the financial crisis in 2008, after which I realized I could sell them right here at home. R.G. and I took a lot of time designing those circuits, making sure they were simple enough to be manufactured inexpensively, but still sounded killer. We put them into metal housings and made them as reliable as we could. We didn’t skimp on features. Frankly, we took a lot lower profit margin.”
In addition to the lower prices, Weil offers hefty product warranties—even on the more affordable gear. “We offer a life-time warranty on our V2 and V3 pedals,” he says. “It is a pretty audacious move—it
BuildEr proFilE > visuaL sOuND
Clint Lagerberg and Bob Weil demoing the Time Bandit with the Tap Delay.
LeFT to RigHT: The first pedal Bob Weil ever made was a wooden volume pedal, followed by “Slide,” which incorporated plastic housing and a zero-to-10 scale on the sides. The third pedal pictured was the first official Visual Volume pedal, which Weil brought to NAMM in 1995. The fourth incorporates a special fader, and the last pedal on the right is the most current model.
Evolution of thE VIsual sound Volume Pedal
The very first pedal that Visual Sound founder Bob Weil made was a wood-en volume pedal that he “cobbled together” around 1989. Early versions had a 0-10 scale on the sides of the pedal, as seen in the second pedal shown in the photo. “At the time, I didn’t know anything about electronics, so I just stuck a fader in there and soldered some wires to jacks,” the self-taught pedal builder remembers. “It hummed like crazy because I didn’t know what shielding was!”
The second VS volume pedal, which Weil calls “Slide,” was created around 1991 and was slightly more advanced. It had a plastic housing that he routed out to serve his purposes, as well as shielding he made out of aluminum foil glued to paper. “Up to this point, I was only prototyping for my own needs and for a few interested musicians.”
The third version was the first true Visual Volume pedal, and it was among the first samples Weil brought to his first NAMM show in January of 1995. “This was the pedal that started Visual Sound,” he beams. “I’d learned a bit more about electronics by that time—along with a little mechanical engineering—so my vision of having a zero-to-10 LED scale was finally a reality.”
In 1996, Weil made several improvements to his fourth version, mostly to address reliability concerns. “I couldn’t seem to stop reinventing the wheel,” he says, “so it too used a fader inside, with a really odd strap mechanism to pull the fader back and forth.”
The current version of the Visual Volume came out in 2006. “It was sup-posed to be the 10th Anniversary Edition, but we were a year late,” Weil admits. Features include a die-cast aluminum housing with some artful lines to it, a standard rack-and-pinion mechanism like that in a wah pedal, a buffered and boostable preamp for no signal loss, a custom-tapered pot, and blue LEDs. Weil is quite happy with it … at least for now. “We didn’t hold back on features for this one, and the technology is far more ad-vanced than my clunky early versions.”
exposes us to unlimited warranty returns—but our stuff just doesn’t come back much.”
Although the superiority of true-bypass switching has been debated of late, Weil says that whatever the sonic advantages true-bypass switches may or may not have, those switches can be wanting when it comes to roadworthiness. “True-bypass switches are not designed for switching low-voltage signals,” he explains. “A typical gui-tar signal is between a tenth of a volt or half a volt, maximum, depending on whether they are single-coil or humbucker pickups. If a tiny bit of oxidation happens on that true-bypass switch, your signal stops as if it hit a wall. Those switches are designed to have 240 volts going through them. That many volts can get through a little oxida-tion, but with a tenth of a volt, the switch needs to be replaced. For that reason, I have never used them—and because they have a loud mechanical thump that comes through the amp. When I designed the V2 series, we started using our buffered Pure Tone system with a switch rated at 10 million hits, so you can stomp on it all day and night for the rest of your life—it’s just not going to wear out.”
envisioning the FutureDespite a world run rampant with pedal makers—from one-person outfits to smaller boutique outfits and medium-sized manu-facturers—Visual Sound is thriving. Still, Weil recognizes all too well the challenges of this crowded product niche. “Five years ago, it was easier to be well known, because not everyone and their dog was making pedals. Now everyone and their dog, their cat, and their cat’s cousin is making ped-als,” he says, adding with a laugh, “and it is mostly R.G.’s fault for having that site!
“It has gotten difficult to stand out from the crowd,” Weil explains. “There are guys doing what I was doing in 1995—making stuff in their basement. They don’t know any more than I did then. They watch some YouTube videos, solder up some pedals, and sell them on the web for $400. I am not say-ing that to put it down. It is like the record-ing industry: The great news is you can make a CD for next to nothing and sell it to anyone in the world. The bad news is—so can everyone else. I wouldn’t want to start a pedal company these days. As a hobby, sure, but as a business it would be like getting onto an L.A. freeway with a bicycle.”
116 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
BuildEr proFilE > visuaL sOuND
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Phone 615.256.2033 Web guitars.com Email [email protected]
Gruhn Guitars features the world's premier collections of vintage and used fretted instruments as well as a wide selection of new instruments from Martin, Taylor, Collings and many independent builders. Visit us downtown at 400 Broadway before we move to 2120 8th Ave S in June! For more information, visit gruhn.com/2120.
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Thanks to international distribution handled by Zac Childs, robust artist rela-tions coordinated by Steve Bliss, and a social-media push spearheaded by Jamie Rowe, Visual Sound is staying in the game. It helps, too, that it is something of a fam-ily business. In addition to advice from wife Julie, Weil’s mother Phyllis does the books,
and brother Mike is operations manager. And in a seismically shifting market where one day’s hot pedal is next week’s eBay item, that means a whole lot more to Weil and his crew than whether you call Visual Sound “boutique” or “mass market.” Because in the end, as their motto says, their real goal is to provide “Real Tone for Real People.”
BuildEr proFilE > visuaL sOuND
Visual Sound Headquarters: (Left to right) Zac Childs, Michael Weil, Phyllis Weil, Dana Weaver, Ste-ven Bliss, Steve Mikesell, and Bob Weil. (Not pictured: Jamie Rowe and R.G. Keen.)
Phyllis Weil (Bob Weil’s mother) does the books for Visual Sound.
Mike Weil, operations manager for Visual Sound.
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iPhoneAndroid
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tAylor518eBy chArles sAufley
118 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
rEviEw > TayLOR
to hear audio clips of the guitar at premierguitar.com/jun2013
CLICKHere…
Bob Taylor has an knack for knowing when to heed tradition and when to forge
ahead on his own path. His bolt-on NT neck may be the most obvious example, but Taylor has never been shy about tinkering with his guitars or embracing new designs when he thinks it’s a step in the right direction.
Take Taylor’s jumbos: The original design was the work of Sam Radding, the luthier behind the American Dream collective that fostered Bob Taylor’s early development. Knowing a good thing when he saw one, Taylor retained the Jumbo design when American Dream became Taylor Guitars. The model became a pillar of the early Taylor line, and when Neil Young played a 12-string 855 version in his 1978 Rust Never Sleeps film, the model was cemented in legend.
Times being what they were (there were no hordes of online guitar nerds dissect-ing a guitarist’s every onstage move and model choice back in ’78), Neil’s use of the instrument didn’t translate into immediate sales. Maybe that’s why Bob Taylor feels less sentimental about the model. Whatever the reason, Taylor saw room for improvement in the venerable Taylor Jumbo. And the result is the new Grand Orchestra—an evolution of the biggest Taylor that’s unique in voice and shape, and that in the mahogany-and-spruce 518e incarnation reviewed here, inhabits an intriguing and expansive tonal spectrum.
New DirectionsIf a new shape for one of Taylor’s most adored body styles isn’t testament enough
to Bob Taylor’s open-mindedness, the fact that he left the redesign to a young luthier named Andy Powers is more than ample evi-dence. Taylor has not been shy about all but anointing Powers as his successor. And a first gaze at the 518e suggests that Taylor may be onto something. The body profile Powers drew for the Grand Orchestra is attractive and well balanced. Measuring 16 3/4" at the lower bout, it’s got the voluptuous dimen-sions that make the classic jumbos—the Guild F-50, Gibson J-200, and the Taylor 855, for that matter—such formidable and beautiful instruments. But the taper at the waist and the slim silhouette of the upper bouts assert a Taylor family connection.
With a trace of what you might call melt-ed bear claw pattern in the Sitka spruce top,
118 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
thinks it’s a step in the right direction. Take Taylor’s jumbos: The original design
was the work of Sam Radding, the luthier behind the American Dream collective that fostered Bob Taylor’s early development. Knowing a good thing when he saw one, Taylor retained the Jumbo design when American Dream became Taylor Guitars. The model became a pillar of the early Taylor line, and when Neil Young played a 12-string 855 version in his 1978 Rust Never Sleeps film, the Rust Never Sleeps film, the Rust Never Sleepsmodel was cemented in legend.
the new Grand Orchestra—an evolution of the biggest Taylor that’s unique in voice and shape, and that in the mahogany-and-spruce 518e incarnation reviewed here, inhabits an intriguing and expansive tonal spectrum.
New DirectionsIf a new shape for one of Taylor’s most adored body styles isn’t testament enough
Guild F-50, Gibson J-200, and the Taylor 855, for that matter—such formidable and beautiful instruments. But the taper at the waist and the slim silhouette of the upper bouts assert a Taylor family connection.
With a trace of what you might call melt-ed bear claw pattern in the Sitka spruce top,
Sitka spruce top
Mahogany back and sides
Expression pickup and preamp system
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 119
rEviEw > TayLOR
RATINGS
Pros: Killer low end. complex sound that’s full of color and overtones when played with a light touch. Cons: heavy picking makes midrange blurry and com-pressed. expression controls detract from a beautiful design.
Tones
Playability
Build/Design
Value
Taylor 518e, $2,649 street, taylorguitars.com
the 518e has beguiling and organic visual presence. It manages to seem simultaneously light and deep in texture (a visual foretell-ing of its most pronounced sonic qualities, as it turns out), and the swirling, reddish faux-tortoise pickguard is a perfect comple-ment to the spruce top’s visual complexity. This is the kind of attention to aesthetics we see from luthiers trying to make a splash at Healdsburg, but coming from the Taylor factory, it has a way of bolstering your hope for art and craft in mass manufacturing.
The 518e has just enough in the way of flash accoutrements to assert up-market sta-tus without looking ostentatious. The three-ring rosette has a center ring of abalone and a super-fine pinstripe inlay around the fretboard is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it detail that up close, imparts a luxurious sense of bespoke detail.
Visually, there’s almost nothing wrong with the 518e, save for the Expression system controls, which are mounted on the upper bout. While it’s hard to argue the functional-ity of the controls, they’re a jarring presence on a guitar that’s otherwise this exquisite. The same goes for the battery drawer located at the endpin. It’s fast and convenient, but looks terribly out of place on a guitar that will set you back more than $2,500.
Though the plastic parts of the Expression system detract from a near perfect exterior, a peek inside the soundhole reminds you why Taylor remains among the most-esteemed builders in the business. The construction is virtually flawless—all precision cuts and tidy glue work. Look closer and you’ll notice that Powers’ rethink of the Taylor jumbo model applies to more than its shape. The bracing is light and thin—a big part of what makes the 518e and its cousins in the Grand Orchestra series sound so very different.
boom and bounceWhether you’re used to the power of a dreadnought or the control and harmonic balance of an OM, picking up the 518e is a pronounced departure. That said, it exhibits some of the best performance aspects of both styles. When I lightly fingerpicked a chord progression in double-drop D, the 518e sounded alive and responsive. It has the mellow presence and definition in the midrange you’d expect from a mahogany-backed small body like a 000-18—or Taylor’s own Grand Concert—but with a lot more body. Even with a light touch you hear and feel the extra oomph and presence in the low end as well as baritone, harp, and dulcimer overtones—a cool and very complex voice.
The low end has a sort of elasticity that’s attributable to the light bracing, the body’s considerable depth, and the expansive real estate behind the bridge. There’s a lot of vibrational surface and it seems to work with the lighter bracing to create a very bouncy and reactive—if not immediately responsive—feel. If you use a thumbpick or hybrid picking approach, you’re more likely to notice the less immediate attack and a touch of natural compression in the bass and midrange. In the first few sessions with the 518e, the sonic sum can be a little bit con-fusing. There’s no doubt that the low-end is big—you can feel it in your ribs. But the rubbery bass and the way it blends with the compressed, almost scooped low-mid output blunts the otherwise remarkable articulation just a touch. For folks who play fingerstyle without a thumbpick or flatpick, this might not be an issue at all. But players who use an aggressive picking approach may favor the more reflective, immediate, and responsive properties of the rosewood 918 version.
The bouncy low end and compressed low mids can make heavy strumming with a heavy pick sound paradoxically small as well. Put a thinner celluloid pick and a light touch in the mix, though, and the
518e sounds positively orchestral. Open tunings built around doubles and octaves sound enormous, lending propulsive force and color to Fahey-style workouts and giv-ing languid Indian-flavored drone pieces an intricate and rich harmonic foundation. Strum with a light pick in standard tuning and this guitar is a Jeff Lynne-style pro-ducer’s dream—bright, detailed, balanced, and precise enough to contribute hi-hat-like rhythmic textures and add texture to chord melodies.
The verdictBob Taylor’s willingness to tinker is one of the great creative energies in the guitar busi-ness. In the case of the 518e, that spirit, and Taylor’s incorporation of the adventurous, player-centric design skills of Andy Powers, yields a guitar just a few shortcomings shy of being a modern masterpiece. Its most pronounced drawback is a sound that can be confoundingly small and compressed and a bit blurry under heavy picking attack. But for players who use a more dynamic and generally lighter fingerstyle approach, the 518e is a wonderland of color, overtones, and rich, low-end throb that can make a solo composition sound massive and lend body to a spare band mix.
Like most high-end Taylors, the crafts-manship is exemplary. But whether the mahogany-and-spruce tonewood recipe of the 518e is the best match for the light bracing and big body of this new Grand Orchestra model is debatable. Players who incorporate heavy picking may prefer the greater definition and projection from the rosewood 918e or the brighter, more-even, maple-backed 618e. There is no debating, however, that Taylor and Powers have cre-ated an exciting and gorgeous new shape in the Grand Orchestra. It’s an instrument that’s full of sonic potential, and given the way these guys are inclined to innovate, odds are even that this design will yield magical guitars in the years to come.
premierguitar.com
on a guitar that’s otherwise this exquisite. The same goes for the battery drawer located at the endpin. It’s fast and convenient, but looks terribly out of place on a guitar that will set you back more than $2,500.
Though the plastic parts of the Expression system detract from a near perfect exterior, a peek inside the soundhole reminds you why Taylor remains among the most-esteemed builders in the business. The construction is virtually flawless—all precision cuts and tidy glue work. Look closer and you’ll notice that Powers’ rethink of the Taylor jumbo model applies to more than its shape. The bracing is light and thin—a big part of what makes the 518e and its cousins in the Grand Orchestra series sound so very different.
complex voice. The low end has a sort of elasticity that’s
attributable to the light bracing, the body’s considerable depth, and the expansive real estate behind the bridge. There’s a lot of vibrational surface and it seems to work with the lighter bracing to create a very bouncy and reactive—if not responsive—feel. If you use a thumbpick or hybrid picking approach, you’re more likely to notice the less immediate attack and a touch of natural compression in the bass and midrange. In the first few sessions with the 518e, the sonic sum can be a little bit confusing. There’s no doubt that the low-end is big—you can feel it in your ribs. But the big—you can feel it in your ribs. But the bigrubbery bass and the way it blends with the compressed, almost scooped low-mid output blunts the otherwise remarkable articulation just a touch. For folks who play fingerstyle without a thumbpick or flatpick, this might not be an issue at all. But players who use an aggressive picking approach may favor the more reflective, immediate, and responsive properties of the rosewood 918 version.
The bouncy low end and compressed low mids can make heavy strumming with a heavy pick sound paradoxically small as well. Put a thinner celluloid pick and a light touch in the mix, though, and the
niK huBerRietbeRgenstandaRdBy Ben friedmAn
120 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
rEviEw > Nik HubeR guiTaRs
Since 1996, Nik Huber and his team have been crafting highly regarded electric
guitars from their shop 20 miles outside of Frankfurt, Germany. With an emphasis on quality, measured growth, and a genuine love for the guitar, Huber has thoughtfully expanded his line to cover multiple facets of electric guitar design. From his flagship Dolphin to the Les Paul-inspired Orca, the Tele-esque Twangmeister, and the Les Paul Junior-influenced Krautster, Huber covers a vast sonic landscape.
An archtop was a logical extension of the line, and the team embarked on that
mission in 2011 using his single cutaway Dolphin model as the foundation. The first prototype became the first production model, with just a few modifications. The result, the Rietbergen, is an exceptionally fine instrument that reflects the talent and equally exceptional qualities of its creator.
Time is RietHuber’s family has been involved in cabinet making and master woodworking for over 100 years. Though his father was a pilot, he taught Nik the family trade at a young age, crafting toys and other projects in their
substantial home woodshop. Nik also devel-oped a love for guitar early on, aspiring to be a professional musician until well into his 20s. In the early ’90s, Huber attended lutherie school in Spain and discovered his true calling.
Early on, Huber forged a vitally impor-tant friendship with Paul Reed Smith, who provided guidance and insight. And while
to hear audio clips of the guitar at premierguitar.com/jun2013
CLICKHere…
Häussel 1959 (bridge) and 1959 Custom (neck) split-coil humbuckers
Flame maple top
Curly mahogany body
ddd
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 121
rEviEw > Nik HubeR guiTaRs
RATINGS
Pros: flawless construction. spectacular range of tones. superb playability that makes heavy strings feel light. Cons: expensive.
Tones
Playability
Build/Design
Value
Nik Huber Rietbergen Standard, $7,325 street, nikhuber-guitars.com
there are subtle aspects of Huber’s designs that nod to Smith’s influence—scraped bindings, hybrid hardware, and carved top contours, for example—the designs are uniquely his own. He currently produces about 120 guitars a year across 11 models, including the Rietbergen.
The Rietbergen exudes understated elegance with its classic appointments and thin semi-gloss polyurethane finish. Double-stained in tobacco sunburst, the single-cut-away body is carved from solid tone woods—a flamed, book-matched European maple top and one-piece mahogany back. The latter has been carved out to create hollow chambers on the top and bottom with a solid core down the middle of the guitar. The top features a pair of f-holes, and the muted glow of the fin-ish has just enough yellow and dark caramel accents to look like it has been around for decades. The sunburst finish is accented by a scraped top with pleasing flame grain that accents the top’s warm hues.
The neck is made from a single piece of nicely figured mahogany that joins the body with a sculpted set-neck joint design that improves upper fret access. The neck is capped with a figured East Indian rosewood fretboard and features an ebony headstock veneer with a mother-of-pearl and abalone dolphin inlay and matching ebony truss rod cover. The dol-phin inlay ties in nicely with the abalone dot fretboard markers. Our review guitar also fea-tures a hardware upgrade package that include a milled brass AVR-II TonePros bridge, alu-minum tailpiece with brass studs, aged nickel pickup covers with brushed crème surrounds, gold bell-style brushed knobs, 3-way switch with crème plastic tip, Schaller tuners with ebony wood buttons, and an aged Schaller strap locking system.
In addition to the aesthetic appoint-ments, Huber incorporated some design
elements that might make the Rietbergen a little more playable than traditional archtop designs. It features a 25 1/2" scale and a reduced headstock angle that give the guitar a wonderful balance of comfortable string tension and note articulation.
The instrument also has an 11" to 14" compound radius fretboard with 22 medi-um jumbo frets made from a hardened alloy that has the tone of traditional fretwire but a hardness approximating stainless steel. It’s worth noting that the fret slots do not span the entire fingerboard, which negates the possibility of protruding fret ends and lends the feel of a bound fretboard. The bone nut is a little wider than other Huber guitars, measuring 43.5 mm (1.712") and the string spacing is very comfortable. So is the neck profile, which is best described as a rounded C carve with a little less shoulder. For a relatively thick neck, it feels fast, thanks in part to the semi-gloss finish. Huber called on the seasoned German pickup maker Harry Häussel to outfit the Rietbergen with a pair of PAF-style humbuckers—a 1959 model bridge humbucker and a 1959 cus-tom model in the neck position.
semi-hollow, super TonesPlugged into a Tomaszewicz amplifier, the Rietbergen is capable of producing an impres-sive array of tones for a multitude of musical genres. The natural assumption is that any archtop leans toward the blues or jazz vein. But rock and country cats are every bit as likely to find interesting—even ideal—tones in the Rietbergen. Predictably, it has a thick, bold primary voice, but with sweet highs that can be very easily shaped and accented just by varying your pick attack. The guitar still exhibits all the traditional benefits of a semi-hollow design—Nigel Tufnel-approved sustain and expansive frequency response. But there’s none of the soft or dull note bloom that you hear in some semi-hollow electrics. Instead, notes seem to leap off the Rietbergen’s fret-board with great immediacy and clarity.
Pulling up on the tone knob splits the Häussel humbuckers, unveiling another pleasing palette of single-coil tones that, not surprisingly, is a great match for the 25 1/2" scale. The split humbuckers exhibit some of the volume drop you’d expect, but interestingly, they tend to highlight more of the Rietbergen’s acoustic qualities—a range of tones that jazz players in particular are bound to appreciate.
In both split and true humbucking mode, the Häussel pickups are a perfect match for the Rietbergen—capturing and highlighting both the massive natu-ral sustain of the guitar and the excellent string-to-string articulation. It’s hard not be impressed with how both fretted notes and open strings rang out so distinctly and clearly when played in unison. I also appreciated how comfortable the .011–.049 strings felt with the long scale. I executed full-step bends with ease, and needless to say, the heavier strings brought out the bold, yet nuanced voice of the instrument.
The verdictNik Huber named this archtop model to honor his wife Ingrid’s family name, because she is one of three daughters and the Rietbergen name would not continue past the current generation. Fortunately, the guitar that bears the same name is likely to not only survive, but also enjoy considerable renown for generations to come. The quality and design execution are top-shelf. And the range of tones you can summon form the split-coil/humbucking Häussel and the long-scale, semi-hollow construction is bound to dazzle or surprise, depending on the extent of your experience with semi-hollow archtops.
It’s no secret that Nik Huber’s instru-ments are hard to top in terms of heir-loom-level craftsmanship. But what the Rietbergen can deliver in musical terms reflects an equally impressive sense for what makes a guitar sound not just great, but extraordinary.
1.712" nut width
review > amptweaker
DR1 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
amptweakerbass tightfuzz by Steve Cook
To paraphrase William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 59, there ain’t nothin’ new under
the sun. Though Bill was spouting this more that 400 years ago, the concept often holds true today when it comes to music products—especially new pedals or amps that always seem to include references to existing amps or pedals, while still touting
to hear audio clips of the pedal at premierguitar.com/jun2013
CLICKHere…themselves as “new.” Engineer James Brown of Amptweaker boasts an impressive resume with his 25-plus years of bringing a number of amp designs to market, but he still admit-tedly contends that “tweaking” sounds is his specialty. And while Brown didn’t invent distortion, he has definitely found a way to harness and sculpt it to new levels.
With his company Amptweaker, Brown has been making quality guitar and bass pedals with direct input from players on features and tone. This open-door approach
bass tightfuzz bass tightfuzz bass tightfuzz bass tightfuzz bass tightfuzz bass tightfuzz
PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
products—especially new pedals or amps always seem to include references to always seem to include references to always
existing amps or pedals, while still touting
his specialty. And while Brown didn’t inventdistortion, he has definitely found a way to harness and sculpt it to new levels.
has been making quality guitar and bass pedals with direct input from players on features and tone. This open-door approach
Tight control
On/off battery switch
Germanium/silicon transistor switch
’60s/’70s tone switch
Dry low control
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 DR2
review > amptweaker
RATINGS
Pros: keeps the bottom end big with lots of usable tones. Cons: a little heavy on the pedalboard. price could be in the high side for those only looking for occasional fuzz.
Tones
Ease of Use
Build/Design
Value
Amptweaker Bass TightFuzz, $220 street, amptweaker.com
has endeared his gear to the likes of Reeves Gabrels, Doug Pinnick, and Steve Stevens, as well as many lesser-known players that have just as much input into the construction as a superstar musician. One such user-tweaked bass pedal is the new Bass TightFuzz, an extremely versatile bass distortion that’s packed with smart features and great tone.
that warm, Fuzzy FeelingAn evolution of Amptweaker’s original TightFuzz for guitar, the Bass TightFuzz is a stocky 2-pound beast that is most likely not going to move once planted onstage. Sporting a silver finish that contrasts its black knobs and settings-saver bar, this pedal looks like it would be at home on an Apollo mission. The Bass TightFuzz runs with either a 9V or 18V power supply, or any voltage between, with different per-formance specs depending on the adapter chosen. (Rumor has it the pedal works with as little as 6 volts as well.) When powering with a 9V supply, the signal is the most dis-torted, and with an 18V, the tone is cleaner and louder. Using a supply also powers the LEDs imbedded in the knobs.
For the 9V-battery purists out there, Amptweaker has one of the most ingenious battery compartments I have ever seen: It’s a slide-out chamber that is held in place by magnets. With no screws to drop or plastic tabs to break, it enables what could arguably be the fastest 9V change in history. That said, 9V swaps shouldn’t be happening too frequently with the pedal’s on/off battery switch that saves battery life when not in use.
The Bass TightFuzz is packed to the gills with controls, but don’t worry, the manual is one of the easiest I’ve read. And if five knobs and three switches sounds like a lot for a fuzz box, it’s really not. You’ll quickly realize why each control is important and how they add to the overall function of the Bass TightFuzz. If you have used bass distor-tion before, you will find the typical volume and fuzz knobs intuitive. And when dig-ging into the tone and tight controls, you’ll notice that the distortion spectrum opens up considerably. Rounding out the pedal’s control panel, literally, is the dry low knob, which adds clean low end to your signal.
Tucked just below the knobs are the three switches that hold the keys to making this pedal special. First up is the ’60s/’70s switch, and it toggles the fuzz between a bright tone to a fuller, beefier tone. To its
right is the germanium/silicon switch which moves from a lower-gain germanium out-put stage to a high-gain silicon transistor. And finally, the edge/smooth switch can keep your fuzz relatively even and contained when set to smooth, or give it a more aggressive but not overbearing attitude when in the edge mode. These three extra features take the contour and flexibility of the Bass TightFuzz to another level, yet still keep the tone usable and warm.
If these controls weren’t enough, the pedal also features 1/4” effects send and return jacks to create your own series loop, enabling you to add pedals to alter this fuzz box even further. And underneath the Bass TightFuzz is an effects loop pre/post switch to set according to your signal chain and preferences. With everything this box has packed onboard, it really wouldn’t be that surprising if the Swiss Army ordered a few to de-engineer and figure out how Amptweaker got so much into one pedal.
Here Comes the FuzzSetting up the Bass TightFuzz between a Warwick CCL 210 and a vintage StingRay for an initial run through, I went to town. I was impressed with the options afforded me, and with so many tones available, it was hard to stick with just one. I found myself making small adjustments to each knob and finding a sweet spot that had me rocking, but would then move one of the switches over, and poof, yet another great tone.
Starting with all of the controls off, I slowly eased up the tone, dry low, and tight knobs, while leaving the fuzz control down. What I found was a great little preamp of sorts—fuzz free—with the dry low giving the StingRay huge bottom end. Switching from edge to smooth took the fuzz-free signal from crisp to more subdued, again creating another useful setting. And after setting up a nice, clean tone, easing the fuzz control up a little at a time took me from a slight dusting of dirt to a John
Entwistle-esque solo tone in just a half a turn. Only when the fuzz is cranked does the square-waved chainsaw sound arrive, but even then, the tone still stays in check because of the pedal’s tight circuit.
When A/B’ing the two modes of the ’60s–’70s switch, it was like switching amp heads, with the ’60s mode boasting more bite than its ’70s counterpart. Yes, the bass tones from the 1960s and 1970s are in there, but I also was pleasantly surprised to find more modern, hard-hitting dirty tones as well.
It’s the tight knob that really keeps the whole pedal together by taming the signal and slightly squashing it the more you add. Getting to an SVT-like driven sound is just a matter of rolling it all the way up. But if you do like a wide-open, harmonics-ringing fuzz tone, leave the tight knob off. I got to the Bass TightFuzz’s edgiest sound—though still useful and musical—by taking it to the extreme through spiking the tone and fuzz, and turning off the tight control. However much I tried to make this pedal sound bad, I just couldn’t.
the VerdictIt’s rare you find a pedal with this many features and a $220 price tag. The Bass TightFuzz is well made, well thought out, and most importantly, it’s a fuzz pedal that’s truly tuned for bass. A common issue with many bass fuzz boxes is the lack of low end, but this pedal keeps your signal intact and gives a boost with its dry low control, which helps to keep your tone authorita-tive and massive. The tonal possibilities are so wide and effective that you’ll want to try out all your basses through this box. You can emulate a lot of eras and familiar tones with the Bass TightFuzz, and its spec-trum of tones truly inspires with even the slightest adjustments. So if you need a fuzz box that keeps the fuzz beefy and doesn’t compromise your tone—while simultane-ously packing a lot of character and range into a user-friendly presentation—the Bass TightFuzz is worth a long look.
dingwAllsuPeR PBy steve cooK
122 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
rEviEw > DiNgwaLL guiTaRs
Breaking from tradition can be a slip-pery slope. But when a talented and
passionate craftsman does so with an instrument, the possibilities and results can sometimes be downright incredible. Sheldon Dingwall, founder of Dingwall Guitars, falls into this camp. Whereas not entirely a household name, the basses roll-ing out of his workshop are known in the bass universe for envelope-pushing designs and superb construction. These attri-butes—combined with upscale features and versatile tone—have helped turn a number of players on to the quality basses being built in the company’s humble workshop in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
One of Dingwall’s latest designs, the Super P, is a modern bass with its roots very
firmly planted in P-bass tradition. Though its fanned frets and angles of the bridge and pickups make it look like it’s moving at 100 miles per hour, it doesn’t lose the true spirit of a Precision. The Super P is certainly a stunner at the very first glance, and as it turns out, this bass can be judged by its cover.
No brick in DingwallRight out of the included, custom gig bag, the Super P was a joy. Its svelte 8-pound alder body almost lifted itself out of the case. Once in the light, the fiesta-red finish—which leans towards coral in color—looked to be flawless, and the 3-ply tortoise pickguard was the perfect choice to accent this bass. The smooth and extremely
comfortable C-shaped neck is constructed of five pieces of maple and topped with a pau ferro fretboard, setting the stage for the Super P’s fanned frets based on the Novax system. (We’ll jump deeper into that in a moment.) The staggered, 4-bolt neck joint felt rock-solid, and when exam-ining further, I was amazed that there was absolutely no pocket gap where the neck meets the body. None. I have honestly never seen this before.
The Super P’s bridge was designed by Dingwall and constructed by Hipshot, who also makes the set of countersunk Ultralite
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Dingwall-designed Hipshot bridge
Novax fanned-fret system
Dingwall Super P neodymium pickups
Tone-Fusion control
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rEviEw > DiNgwaLL guiTaRs
RATINGS
Pros: incredible build, solid tones, familiar body. Cons: the fanned frets may potentially scare folks off. it’s not inexpensive.
Tones
Playability
Build/Design
Value
Dingwall Guitars Super P, $2,730 street, dingwallguitars.com
tuners which include a drop D. The pas-sive pickups are made in Dingwall’s shop using neodymium magnets and computer-controlled windings, and the Super P’s Tone-Fusion circuit and control replaces your daddy’s tone knob with its next gen-eration of tone sculpting. It’s a standard tone control with a passive mid-cut in one knob. I have to admit I was a little giddy to give the Super P a try after conducting this initial inspection.
Trip the Light Fanned-tasticWhen Sheldon Dingwall first introduced his fanned-fretted basses, he had his work cut out for him to convince players about the benefits of breaking from the tradition of parallel frets. But when Lee Sklar jumped in as an endorser, however, it seemed that Dingwalls were starting to pop up more often. Personally, I had zero fanned-fret experience, and without knowing anyone that owned a Dingwall, I had a number of obvious questions. How does it feel? Would this seem unnatural? Do I need to change my technique?’
Well, the bass simply felt great. There was some minimal adjustment needed ini-tially, but yes, it felt natural. While you’ll
miss an occasional note at first, after a minute or two you won’t even think twice about it. The neck was smooth with no dead spots, and all 22 frets were very easily accessible. Unplugged, the Super P sounded fantastic, and it seemed to sustain for about the length of the national anthem.
super-ToneI ran the Super P at full bore through an Eden WT550 and matching 6x10 cabinet. With the amp set flat to best hear the tones of the bass, I started off with the bass volume all the way up and the Tone-Fusion control at dead center. (This set-ting switches itself out of circuit to ensure the purest signal path possible.) The bass gave me a slightly aggressive, traditional P-bass tone that lacked just a little of the
warmth, instead replacing it with a hint of bite. Digging in harder in the upper registers, the Super P handled everything I threw at it, and notes above the 12th fret sang with strength and clarity. Fingerstyle players, slap monsters, or plectrum lovers would all be happy here. I actually could have stayed on this one setting for the duration of the review, but alas, there were more tones in store.
Turning the Tone-Fusion knob counter-clockwise, I was greeted with a deep tone, ready for my next vintage R&B project. But this wasn’t the wet-blanket sound you sometimes hear when rolling off the tone knob. The bass maintained clarity, and whereas it was more subdued than its other settings, you can ease the knob back to cen-ter to add attack if that suits you.
Rolling the knob all the way clockwise, the mids are cut from the signal, and for us bassists, this is an automatic signal to turn our hands over and start slapping. While the slap-contoured tones from the Super P are great, I found my personal sweet spot by easing some of the mids back in. With the tonal range of this bass, I would imagine you could find your spot too.
The verdictThe Super P is a beautiful 4-string bass, shining with modern appointments within the institution that is the P-bass design. Like a Saleen Mustang or AMG Mercedes, this variation on a theme lets you know that there is still respect for the past, but there is so much more to this bass. After spending just a little time with the Super P, the fanned frets began to feel as natural as a traditional fretboard. So if you’ve been hesitant at all about exploring a fan-fretted, multi-scale bass, there’s really no need to be. The tonal range of the Super P is broad and the craftsmanship is simply exceptional. Onstage or in the studio, this bass with a modern approach to a legendary design can and will tackle it all.
I actually could have stayed on this one setting for the duration
of the review, but alas, there were more tones in store.
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rEviEw > vaLveTRaiN
vAlvetrAintRentonBy dereK see
ValveTrain has always had their heart in making affordable, American-built
amps—often in the classic Fender blackface vein. Because—let’s face it—like a well-tai-lored black suit with narrow lapels, Fender’s blackface amp designs are timeless both for their own sonic signature and because the pure tones they generate can be used as a
clean slate from which to shape tones for practically any application and style.
The 16-watt, 6V6-powered Trenton amp is ValveTrain’s newest entry in the popular under-20-watt pack. But it stands out from the pack with a strong musicality, as well as versatile and musical tones that go way beyond just delivering high saturation at low volumes.
stylish and stealthily PotentWhile the earliest amps from Florida-based ValveTrain were typically function over form, the spiffy-looking Trenton combo is subtly stylish and will look great in any backline or studio—or living room, for that matter. It can be configured as a 1x12, 2x10, or head, but here we’re reviewing a
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 125
enton
Raw switch
Series effects loop
126 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
rEviEw > vaLveTRaiN
RATINGS
Pros: sweet tones. high headroom even at low wattages. A solid value. Cons: would be just about perfect with reverb and tremolo.
Tones
Ease of Use
Build/Design
Value
ValveTrain Trenton, $1,399 street, valvetrainamps.com
2x10 loaded with custom 25-watt Weber 10" speakers. The Trenton’s relatively spare control set—which looks a little like Fender tweed control panel flipped over and moved to the front panel—has “chicken head” knobs for volume, treble, middle, and bass, in addition to a raw switch that effectively bypasses the EQ.
From clear to crazy HorseMy first test with the Trenton was at a band practice. Because reverb and tremolo are a big part of my personal sound and the Trenton has neither, I used it in com-bination with my trusty blackface Twin Reverb, a ’65 Jazzmaster, and an A/B Box. I was impressed with both the clarity and thickness of the amp, and though it’s obvi-ously less powerful than the Twin, it filled the rehearsal room with huge chunks of additional clarity without any harshness whatsoever.
The EQ section made significant adjust-ments easy, with a minimum of fuss, and the controls have a very wide and effective sweep. Experiments with the raw switch transformed the amp into a roaring tweed
Fender Deluxe, but with a barking quality that hinted at AC30 territory—a very cool tonal convergence! Even with the Trenton’s volume at 10, the amp stayed relatively clean—remarkably so, given the wattage—with a subtle but very nice tube compres-sion. Single-coil pickups were a great match for the amp—retaining clarity of tone with-out inducing any fizziness. Even so, notes and chords packed such a gut-punching wallop at higher volumes that, at times, the Trenton evoked the sensation of play-ing through a ’60s Marshall combo. I was also struck by how dynamically the amp responded to volume adjustments at the guitar, and the two 10" Webers highlighted that with their tight, clear bass response.
Predictably, humbuckers changed the character of the Trenton significantly. A ’65 Gibson SG Custom drove the amp harder, and it got very raunchy past five on the amp’s volume control. And when I flipped on the raw switch, the ValveTrain bounded
for Neil Young’s Crazy Horse territory—heavy with saturation and a creamy but very musical fuzz. At lower volumes, the Trenton-and-Gibson combination yielded a warm tone that would work well for jazz, with plenty of volume to ride over a drum-
mer with a light touch.Testing the 6-watt mode, I was immedi-
ately impressed with its clarity. Given my preference for high headroom and clarity, I’m typically pretty unimpressed with the lower-wattage sounds from amps that allow you to decrease power. Of course, many players enjoy the capacity for low-wattage saturation that this type of feature usually affords, because it can be great for record-ing or apartment playing. But the Trenton’s low-wattage mode is also great if you prefer starting with a clean slate and getting your
saturation with a pedal. Single-coils take on their own charm at the lower wattage set-ting, too. When I plugged the Jazzmaster back in and started playing my favorite Steve Cropper licks, the compression had a sound and vibe just like the Tweed Harvard tones Crop’ cooked up on countless Stax Records classics.
The verdictIf the Trenton had reverb and tremolo, it would be in the running for the most com-plete modern, low-wattage class A/B amp out there. As it is, however the Trenton is still among the best-sounding amps you’ll find in this class. And if you favor high headroom above saturation at low output, the Trenton is a very attractive alternative. And at around 1,400 bucks, the handwired Trenton is one of the more competitively priced amps you’ll find in this crowded cor-ner of the amplifier market.
Experiments with the raw switch transformed the amp into a roaring tweed Fender Deluxe, but with a barking quality that
hinted at AC30 territory—a very cool tonal convergence!
Two Weber 10" speakers
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world class.www.empresseffects.com
review > mj guitars
DR3 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
mj guitarSDuke Devilleby taylor loCke
The guitar market is swamped with reis-sues, throwbacks, and nostalgia for all
things retro. Not all players are looking for a period piece, though, and MJ Guitars has become a great option for less puritani-cal players who like the quality and design behind golden-era electrics but prefer a less rigid style agenda. Needless to say, the Duke Deville owes more than a thing or two to the Telecaster in terms of style, but features like a Duncan mini humbucker whose coils can be split provide more mod-ern performance flexibility on top of the familiar snap, bite, and throaty rasp of a great Tele.
Familiar But Forward LookingThe Duke Deville comes in various wood combinations, as well as in a chambered version called the Duke Deville Special. Our review model, however, features a more traditional solid poplar body in a beautiful lake placid blue-style metallic finish. And though the body shape owes much to the Telecaster, there are hints of Les Paul Jr. in the more rounded contours. The maple neck is capped with a 22-fret rosewood fretboard that’s great for play-ers who need access to that extra high D note and favor a longer 25 1/2” scale. The neck is slightly wider than a Telecaster,
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but the slim profile makes it feel fast. It’s bound to appeal to more modern-minded players who didn’t grow up with some of the fatter old Fender neck profiles. The neck has other very un-Fender character-istics, like the three-on-a-side tuning-peg arrangement—which is more than a little evocative of a PRS—and the asymmetri-cally placed dot inlays. The guitar showed up with delightfully low action, but those interested in monster bends will also be glad to know that the fretboard radius allows for bending all the way up to a major third before fretting out as you approach a perfect fourth.
Seymour Duncan Five-Two
Seymour Duncan Custom mini humbucker with coil splitting
Solid poplar body
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 DR4
review > mj guitars
There’s no shortage of very traditional T-style touches to satisfy old-school players, to, like the barrel-style compensated brass saddles and the string-through-body layout. But the double-action truss rod, precisely angled headstock, and strap-lock buttons are very functional deviations from the tradi-tional T-style template.
t-tone menagerieThe Duke Deville’s Seymour Duncan pick-ups generate a hit parade of T-style tones and are wonderfully balanced as well. The bridge pickup is Duncan’s Five-Two, which uses three alnico 5 magnets for the low strings and three alnico 2 magnets for the high strings in an effort to increase tonal
balance. The decision to include a Duncan Custom mini humbucker in the neck posi-tion was an inspired choice, and the push-pull volume pot splits the coil to switch between true single-coil operation and humbucking mode. In single-coil mode, the Duncan delivers a lot of the snap and
dynamics you’d expect from a T-style neck pickup. In humbucker mode, though, the MJ growls with thick, greasy, full-throated Keith Richards tones. Coupling neck and bridge pickups—and the ability to coil-split—gives you even more options.
Players who enjoy shaping their overdrive
sounds and EQ via the guitar’s controls will love the Duke Deville’s copious capabili-ties. The taper of the volume pot is smooth and linear, with no loss of high end when you dial it down. And the tone knob can be used for subtle high-end adjustments, or more aggressively for filtered, wah-like tones.
Indeed, the Duke is very malleable, respond-ing wonderfully to your touch and whatever pedals or amplification the player chooses. From the familiar Bakersfield country snap of the bridge pickup to the gutsy punch of the neck pickup and the clear chime of the center position, this guitar offers a delightful array of sonic possibilities.
the VerdictThe MJ Guitars Duke Deville is a high-end workhorse for the player who likes contempo-rary playability but is less interested in retro authenticity. The versatility and classic T-style tonality of this instrument are exceptional by any measure, and they’re very well suited to almost any musical style. In short, this guitar can do a lot—and it <em>should</em>, given the $2,395 direct price. That said, there are a lot of similarly priced instruments that don’t deliver nearly as much flexibility, so it’s a pretty decent value for a handbuilt, American-made guitar that could easily replace two with all its tone potential.
RATINGS
Pros: Fantastic, super-versatile tones. excellent playability. Cons: modern styling may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
Tones
Playability
Build/Design
Value
MJ Guitars Duke Deville, $1,777 direct, mjguitars.com
From the familiar Bakersfield country snap of the bridge pickup to the gutsy punch of the neck pickup and the clear chime of the center position, this guitar
offers a delightful array of sonic possibilities.
iBAnezeCho shifteRBy chArles sAufley
128 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
rEviEw > ibaNez
W hen I was a kid, I thought The Song Remains the Same looked like pretty
good fun. Donning dragon flares, walking the back forty of your Welsh farm, and play-ing hurdy gurdy with glowing eyes by your very own castle all seemed like excellent ways to while away your time. But none of the aforementioned activities looked quite as thrilling as being Jimmy Page, freaking out with the playback head slider on an Echoplex, driving Robert Plant to yowling insanity! That, I thought, was something to aspire to.
As my current post as Premier Guitar gear editor might suggest, I never got the castle. I did get the Echoplex though, and nearly ran the damn thing into the ground thrashing away at that playback head slider. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of going mad on your own Echoplex, it’s hard not to twitch a little at the sight of the delay-time slider on Ibanez’s new Echo Shifter. Sure, there are hyper-powerful DSP delays that can replicate virtually imperceptible nuances of tape delay, but few can deliver the tactile delights of manipulating your delay with a slide control. And what’s cool about the Echo Shifter—which has an all-analog signal path, with the added flex-ibility of digitally controlled tap-tempo—is that it delivers all the bizarre, expressive power of a slider control plus a set of potentially freakish oscillation and manipu-lation controls that open up uncommon delay possibilities and sweet baseline echo tones—all at the going rate of much more conventional delays.
Micro Moogleplex!While the Echo Shifter bears some clear family ties to old Ibanez pedals like the Standard Fuzz, Ibanez unabashedly embraced mid- to late-’70s synth style in designing the Echo Shifter. The knobs are the same you’d find on a vintage Mini Moog, and the wood side panels and
graphics look lifted right from the Moog playbook, too.
Controls are very logically and thought-fully situated. Three knobs control feed-back, mix, and depth. The first two are standard delay controls, while depth con-trols the intensity of the modulation func-tion when you switch it on. The oscillation function dramatically increases the self-oscillation tendencies and sensitivity of the feedback control. But the centerpiece of the control set is the delay-time slider, which looks lifted from an old Ibanez Standard Fuzz. Two footswitches turn the effect on and off and enable tap-tempo functionality.
Freak MachineWhile there’s no doubt the Echo Shifter was built for getting weird, it’s a great delay in the conventional sense. It delivers clean analog repeats that are colored by an
organic and clear, if slightly boxy, tone as they decay, including “Shine on You Crazy Diamond”-style echo that could pass mus-ter with most Gilmour tone-o-philes.
Putting an aggressive fuzz or distor-tion before the Echo Shifter highlights the colder qualities of the repeats—especially if you like longer delay times. But the effect can be quite pleasing in short-delay situa-tions—and for some, the high-end taper on the decays may be exactly what they want from an analog delay.
The Echo Shifter’s control interface feels intuitive in conventional settings, but it shines brightest when you probe the outer limits. The sensitivity and sweep of the feed-back control, as well as the responsiveness
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nezneznez
Tap-tempo footswitch
Oscillation toggle
Pitch-modulation switch
Delay-time slider
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rEviEw > ibaNez
RATINGS
Pros: super expressive controls provide a wide range of traditional and out-there sounds. wonderfully intuitive design. looks fantastic. great value. Cons: sensitive oscillation control could be a little less touchy.
Tones
Ease of Use
Build/Design
Value
Ibanez Echo Shifter, $149 street, ibanez.com
of the delay-time slider, make the Echo Sifter an expansive playground for radical and explosive sounds that you can trans-form from insane to tame in a fraction of a second. The most out-there applications require moving fast—most likely with two hands. But one of the real upsides of the delay slider and its orientation is that you can manipulate it with your foot pretty readily, provided you don’t prefer platforms or thick-soled boots. And if you happen to jam barefoot and tend to be dexterous at the lower extremities, you’ll be surprised at the dramatic effects you can pull off with your big toe. You do have to mind the feedback control. And riding it from 50 to 80 percent and working the delay slider delivers cool flying-saucer-lift-off swells that teeter at the edge of self-oscillation.
At these highest reaches, the feedback knob is touchy, but with the oscillation switch on it becomes terrifyingly—and delightfully—temperamental. Just a nudge can cause speaker-blowing oscillation loops that balloon as fast and explosively as a nuclear blast over the Bikini Atoll. It’s
delightful but it’s easy to lose control if your fingers and mind are elsewhere. The func-tion would be a bit more musical if Ibanez split the difference between baseline gain and what you get when you flip the switch.
The modulation control uses pitch modulation to create lovely underwater warbles or tape-style wobble with the depth control at lower levels. Set depth all the way up, and the modulation detunes and returns to pitch somewhat like Freddie Tavares’ “Looney Tunes” pedal-steel intro.
The verdictIf you’ve spent most of your guitar-playing life pining for an Echoplex, only to find
the originals too expensive, and analog and DSP approximations dissatisfying to oper-ate, the Echo Shifter just might be the fix. You’d be hard-pressed to find a cooler-look-ing pedal, and it sounds range from better than average to excellent for an affordable delay, depending on the application. But it’s the smart layout and functionality of the controls that make the Echo Shifter a standout and help bridge the gap between modern stompbox practicality and the quirky joys of tape delay and analog synths. And the street price of just 150 bucks is more than fair for a thoughtfully designed delay that covers so much ground—freaky or otherwise.
629 Forest Ave. • Staten Island, NY 10310 • 718-981-8585 mandoweb.com • [email protected]
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Finger Pickin’ good!
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rEviEw > MxR
mxrbass ChoRus deluxeBy dAvid ABdo
More than ever, pedal builders under-stand that guitarists aren’t the only
ones looking for new dimensions in sound. Consequently, the number and variety of effects for low enders grows each year. One long-standing member in this society of pedal builders is MXR. Thanks to their extensive product line, they’ve played a part in some of rock’s most memorable music for decades. And with Jim Dunlop at the helm, MXR Bass Innovations has produced a num-ber of bass pedals that have garnered high praise from players over the years. Looking to continue on that success, they recently introduced their latest effect for bassists—the feature-packed Bass Chorus Deluxe.
Time Tweakers and stereo shiftersThe Bass Chorus Deluxe is powered by “bucket-brigade” technology, an old-school approach of taking the signal and passing it through a series of capacitors. This meth-odology to sound transmission is meant to create a unique and musical delay that keeps the original notes up front and shifts the secondary signal into a more supportive role.
Delving into the aqua-blue Bass Chorus Deluxe is simple, as the dials and switches are logically arranged and clearly marked with their function. The standard intensity, rate, and width knobs are there, but MXR also included additional features not found on many chorus pedals.
Attentive to the bassist’s primary role in an ensemble, MXR installed a crossover (x-over) switch. This decreases modulation at 100 Hz—focusing the chorus in the mid to upper ranges—and is meant to preserve the fundamental notes while delivering just the right amount of effect. A sweet little gift sitting to the right of the x-over switch is the flanger button that MXR placed onboard for the occasions when a player wants more
intense modulation. And those who like the option of being able to add warmth or top-end edge will certainly find the separate bass- and treble-boost/cut knobs a nice bonus.
For bassists who like to hear and feel their effect, MXR provided a head-swaying feature inside the Bass Chorus Deluxe. It’s an internal switch that toggles between true-bypass and a TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) stereo-hardware-bypass mode. The stereo mode allows a player to plug in a Y-splitter cable to divide the signal and connect to two amplifi-ers, thereby permitting the modulation effect to shift from left to right.
Dr. chorus and Mr. FlangeFor my initial go, I sent the Bass Chorus Deluxe into a Phil Jones D-600 head con-nected to a pair of Glockenklang Space Deluxe 112 cabinets. Equipped with a 1966 Fender Jazz, I started out by experiment-ing with the sample settings provided in the manual. Sting fans can cop that spacey bass sound in “Walking on the Moon” by configuring the controls to the hilariously labeled “The Po Po” mode. The “John Francis” setting is a tribute to everybody’s favorite bridge-pickup bassist, and it creates a clean effect that veers towards Jaco’s chorus heard in many of his live recordings. And “Fixation Blvd.” is MXR’s aptly named tag for the control setting that goes after Simon Gallup’s sound on “Fascination Street.”
As I moved on to concoct some custom choral creations, the Bass Chorus Deluxe delivered a controlled chorus effect with a mild amount of saturation. Variances in the rate and width never seemed to be overpow-ering, but instead wrapped the bass notes in a swirling sheen. With all of the dials at their fullest, the pedal created a throbbing, quivering timbre that might work well for bassists wanting to capture the vibe of a Hammond B3.
The flanger mode is an awesome addi-tion to the Bass Chorus Deluxe, and it can go from whooshing to wacky pretty easily. I was able to conjure up some very cool tones with the pedal’s responsive knobs, rang-ing from a Duff McKagan-esque Use Your Illusion era bass sound, all the way to mak-ing the neck pickup on my ’66 Jazz sound like Darth Vader. In fact, the latter discovery sparked my inner nerd so much I couldn’t resist plugging a microphone into a Digitech Whammy pedal, setting it to the octave-down mode, and sending that signal into the
Individual bass and treble controls
Flanger mode
X-over mode
132 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
rEviEw > MxR
RATINGS
Pros: thoughtful features, easy to use, excellent flanger. Cons: the chorus might be too dry for some tastes, x-over switch takes away too much effect.
Tones
Ease of Use
Build/Design
Value
MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe, $169 street, jimdunlop.com
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flanged-out Bass Chorus Deluxe to get me even closer to the voice from the dark side.
Lost in space, safe in the studioThe Bass Chorus Deluxe drew mixed results in a live situation. While perform-ing with an R&B/fusion band, I placed the pedal in between the same Jazz bass and a Markbass Little Mark Tube 800 that was paired with a Glockenklang Quattro 410. While the Bass Chorus Deluxe gave bass lines a delicate, atmospheric texture during quiet moments in jams and slower ballads, the effect seemed to have a tendency to get somewhat lost in the mix at medium to loud volumes. The bass itself stayed present, but the chorus was having trouble doing the same. Engaging the x-over button took away even more and made the effect almost non-existent onstage. Cranking the knobs brought out the expected warbling bass lines, which were audible at higher volumes, but that sound was a little extreme for this particular application. Instead of removing the Bass Chorus Deluxe from the signal chain, however, a press of the flanger button
saved the day. It functioned well at all vol-umes, and I ended up keeping the pedal in that mode for the rest of the show.
Despite some volume issues onstage, the Bass Chorus Deluxe performed quite well in the studio. In both chorus and flanger mode, the controlled environment allowed all of the pedal’s characteristics to come through. It gave a pickup-equipped German upright a smearing, moody vibe, and put a Nash P-style bass on the mothership with some throbbing, flanger-induced funk.
The verdictMXR Bass Innovations prides itself on producing products by bass players, for bass
players. And the onboard features of the Bass Chorus Deluxe exemplify this ethos. What was most impressive was that no mat-ter where the dials were placed, the Bass Chorus Deluxe still preserved the original signal. Its primary effect could be consid-ered the “white tea” of chorus pedals—clean and smooth with subtle flavor. Some might argue that its chorus effect leaves something to be desired, but either way, the flanger, EQ, and stereo option offer a lot of upside to the Bass Chorus Deluxe. So if you’re seeking a pedal that serves up a clean cho-rus that preserves your primary bass tone—and offers up some cool extras—the MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe might have a spot on your pedalboard.
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 133
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premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 135
review > ALBION
ALBIONGULFSTREAM 30BY ALex MAIOLO
Apart from having one of the most rock ’n’ roll names on the planet, Steve
Grindrod is best known for his impres-sive curriculum vitae as an amp builder, with almost four decades spent in R&D at Marshall and Vox. In 2008, he was snapped up by the Wharfedale company, which launched Albion in 2009. Albion’s first amps were essentially tweaked Wharfedales, but Grindrod’s own designs began emerging not long thereafter.
The latest of these is the Gulfstream series, a Chinese-built line of 6V6-driven
to hear audio clips of the amp at premierguitar.com/jun2013
CLICKHere…amps dressed in boutique-style livery and designed to deliver American/Brit channel-switching features at a value price. The Gulfstream comes in 15- and 30-watt ver-sions and can be purchased as a head or combo. For this test I checked out the 2x12 GS30C combo.
It’s No LightweightThe GS30 and GS15 are very similar, and apart from wattage, the principal differ-ence is that the larger amp features two additional power tubes and a 2-channel
setup. Channel A is actually quite sim-ple—just a preamp volume, a tone knob, and a voicing switch. Channel B features an EQ section with bass, middle, and treble controls, as well as gain and volume knobs. There are also two toggle switches for gain and voicing. Both channels share a master volume control and onboard tremolo and reverb.
Two-channel design
Voicing switch
Gain switchReverb and tremolo
136 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
review > ALBION
RATINGS
Pros: Channel B alone is probably worth the cost of the amp. Offers tonal versatility while keeping it classy. Cons: Concerns about build quality and road worthiness. Subpar reverb.
Tones
Ease of Use
Build/Design
Value
Albion Gulfstream 30, street $1,199, albionamps.com
Loaded with a pair of Albion 12" speak-ers, the cabinet is sturdily built and sports two handles—it ain’t a lightweight. The amp shipped with three 12AX7s for the preamp and four Tungsol 6V6GTs in the output section. A look inside the amp itself reveals all circuit-board construction, which appears solid and well mounted. One con-cern, though, is that the input and output jacks are plastic and mounted directly to the board. It’s a cost-driven decision that keeps the street price and manufacturing costs lower, but I’ve never felt this was a jus-tified savings. Metal jacks connected to the board via wires is infinitely more reliable and, should the need arise, quickly repair-able. A standby switch, which is an almost requisite feature for minimizing wear on tubes and filter caps on a tube amp at this power level, is noticeably absent.
On the back panel, you’ll find an effects loop and an input for the included foot-switch, which controls channels switching, reverb, tremolo, and the effects loop. The thoughtfully designed footswitch layout is nice, the box is solid, and LEDs keep you from having to guess what’s on or off. The unit connects to the amp with what looks like a standard, 5-pin DIN/MIDI style cable, so you’ll never have to track down a proprietary one, should it fail.
Cross The ChannelChannel A is the most American or Fender-y of the two, and the voicing switch acts as a mid-cut—essentially serving the function of a tweed/blackface selector. I plugged in my Telecaster and dialed up a relatively clean sound—relative because you hear a little grit even at a fairly low volume. The extra sizzle is nice, but you shouldn’t expect the crystal-clean tones of a Fender Twin Reverb.
With a little more volume, the Gulfstream starts to open up. The lightly driven sounds become fuller and the bot-tom end blooms significantly—imagine a low-wattage amp pushed to its limits and you’ll get the idea. From there, things get louder, but not much more distorted.
A switch to a Les Paul to thicken things up with humbuckers generated a nice, crunchy overdrive, once I got past the lower volume range. Barre chord-based riffs sounded great on the Les Paul when the volume was at 12 o’clock, but beyond that threshold I felt the tone lacked a little depth
and sounded less dimensional than the complex, all-enveloping sound you associate with a vintage Fender.
Channel B is the more British-voiced of the two, and the real keys to channel B are the switches for gain and voicing. Those familiar with the top boost feature on AC30s will have a pretty good idea what the latter does. Simply put, it toggles between a round, full sound, and a more cutting, bright tone.
The gain switch, however, really sets the scene for exploring the potential of chan-nel B and enables you to move between standard and high-gain modes. The interac-tive nature of the gain switch, gain control, and volume can take you from mild grit to a nice overdrive rhythm, and then into high-gain distortion. The high-gain voice is more in line with classic rock-style crunch than metal saturation. So while you prob-ably won’t use a wall of Gulfstreams in your Slayer cover band, the highest-gain mode is very musical and gives notes from either single-coils or humbuckers a lovely singing quality. Leads are a joy to play and individual notes sustain beautifully. Yet even with the high-gain switch off, the Albion gives chords the kind of nice Marshall-flavored crunch you’d associate with AC/DC’s Malcolm Young or Sloan’s riff master Patrick Pentland.
With the voicing switch in the top-boost position, you don’t get trademark Vox chime, but making a clone probably wasn’t Grindrod’s goal. And in fact, if I had to wrap up this channel in a sentence, I’d say it occupies a nice middle ground between a JTM45 and Vox-like chime. I never got a super-clean sound out of channel B, but I much preferred channel B’s cleaner tones to channel A’s.
The master output section is effective for keeping tones consistent and intact throughout the range, save for the very low-est volumes, which is typical of any master volume amp. And if you use this amp in a
studio, practice space, small club, or large club, you won’t notice dramatic loss in tone moving between high- and medium-low volume settings—a great quality in an amp with a worth that can’t be overstated.
The effects are less useful, and the reverb in particular is subpar given how much effort was put into making the GS30 a classically inspired tube amp. Digital reverb has its place and can sound good, both as a spring replicator on a pedalboard and for mimicking halls, cathedrals, and chambers, which aren’t exactly portable. In this case, though, the reverb doesn’t fit the classic vibe of the amp, as it adds an arti-ficial sheen with a pulse that’s more like a washed-out delay than a reverb. It’s not use-less as an effect, if your taste leans toward more contemporary digital reverbs, but fans of traditional amp reverb are likely to be underwhelmed. The tremolo sounds much better and produces everything from a mel-low throb to choppier modulations just short of intense helicopter effects. It isn’t the fastest tremolo, but speed is a matter of personal preference.
The VerdictWith vintage-inspired looks, transatlantic tonal reference points, a company name that highlights its ties to the Sceptered Isle, and a model name that celebrates the Yank/Brit bond, the Gulfstream is targeted to the guitarist looking for a boutique amp that bridges the American/British tone divide, but may not have the budget for one. Albion should be applauded for their efforts and it’s a niche we’d like to see develop.
Given the Albion’s price, most players won’t mind things like the mini-toggles and thinner, less road-worthy vinyl that help make the amp more affordable. If 15 watts is enough power for your needs, the GS15 (which is essentially channel B and the master section) makes an intriguing alternative to the GS30. Still, in the GS30, Albion has produced an amp that delivers timbral flexibility and great sounds without breaking the bank.
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 137
It’s not the size of the dog in the fightit’s the size of the fight in the dog
IRONBALL Prepare to be stunned by the new Engl E606 Ironball.This 20-watt brute delivers huge punch in a compact package. Two chan-nels of ferocious all-tube tone (2 x EL 84 power amp, 4 x ECC 83 preamp),with switchable power settings: 20w, 5w, 1w and speaker off. The Ironball handles everything from classic clean to garage growl to modern metal. Plug in and you’ll immediately yearn to unleash the beast.
engl-amps.com
VELVET [email protected]
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 139
review > TSVG
TSVGAnGRy JEFFBY ChArLeS SAufLeY
In the guitar industry, the term “bou-tique” is a little like “organic” in the
farming world: Once both meant some-thing was made in an uncomplicated, old-world kind of way by members of community too close-knit to dare abuse the term. But just as the agriculture indus-try discovered there was big money in the organic business, so too did guitar, amp, and pedal builders start bandying the “b” word with little regard to the craft, dedica-tion, and principles that originally gave the term meaning.
Granted, a pedal built by a solder-huff-ing hermit is no guarantee something will sound good. But if there were a standard by which true handcrafted provenance could be judged, TSVG pedals would be a lock for certification. And as the Angry Jeff fuzz tested here reveals, handbuilt—from the right hands—can still mean stompboxes of exceptional quality that are a welcome deviation from the norm, too.
A Wolf in Cloth Wire ClothingAt a glance, the Angry Jeff doesn’t scream “handcrafted!” For one thing, that univer-sal signifier of boutique-pedal status—an enclosure painted by hand—is eschewed in favor of a decal. And the lack of knob labels suggests something cheekier than focus-group-driven wit. There’s not even the
vaguest suggestion it’s a fuzz. If you picked Angry Jeff up in a recording studio without any awareness of who or what TSVG is, you’d just have to plug the dang thing in to find out.
Just as surprising is what you find when you remove the back panel. There isn’t a circuit board anywhere. Instead, you see an ordered, many-tentacled mélange of cloth
to hear audio clips of the pedal at premierguitar.com/jun2013
CLICKHere…
wire—all point-to-point wired to a beautiful array of AC 128 germanium transistors, and Mullard tropical fish and Sprague capacitors.
The functions of the unlabeled controls are fairly easy to decipher with a little trial and error. But there is a twist. While the knob at far left is a pretty standard volume/level control and the one in the middle is a
fairly typical fuzz control, the third is a bias control that’s a big part of what differenti-ates the Angry Jeff from more classically voiced fuzzes.
The Many Moods of JeffThe voices that lurk within the Angry Jeff elude the most obvious sonic touchstones. The germanium transistor-based circuit has
the spitty, hectic qualities of an old Fuzz Face. It can even take on the burly, bossy intensity of an old Triangle Muff, though it lacks that pedal’s singing sustain. But it’s the differences that make it special.
Entering Angry Jeff ’s world takes the willingness to experiment. Getting the pedal above unity gain means cranking the volume to about 2 o’clock. Once you’re there, things happen fast. Roll the volume back and crank the fuzz, and Jeff will spit out the buzzy, ’66-style sounds of a simi-larly configured germanium Fuzz Face. But the pedal is happiest when the volume is wide open, and that’s where you hear the unique colors of the Angry Jeff best.
The fuzz control is much more adapt-able, and its range makes Jeff a chameleon. With fuzz and volume cranked, power chords take on the cool texture of chaos on top of a fat, smooth harmonic bed. It’s wilder than a Muff and more bossy than a Fuzz Face or Tone Bender. It enables first-position and power chords to pull of the
Handwired, point-to-point circuit
Level knob Fuzz control Bias control
With fuzz and volume cranked, power chords take on the cool texture of chaos on top of
a fat, smooth harmonic bed.
140 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
review > TSVG
RATINGS
Pros: Beautiful, handwired, point-to-point circuitry. Lots of unique tones. Cons: Could use a touch more sustain.
Tones
Ease of Use
Build/Design
Value
TSVG Angry Jeff, $155 street, tsvgpedals.com
cool trick of maintaining string-to-string clarity and articulation while fractured har-monics explode over the top. In this way, it’s like a Univox Super-Fuzz with fewer octave overtones.
Rolling back the fuzz tames the spittier aspects and rounds the output in a way that makes driving barre-chord progres-sions deliciously savage. It also makes single notes a little more controlled and singing. That said, the Angry Jeff is not a sustain machine, and while you can shape lead tones into everything from hectic to nearly violin sweet (especially when you throw in some fast finger vibrato), you won’t get the even, lingering taper on a note you’d get from a Big Muff. And if you dig the sweet-er-to-squirrelly potential of the Jeff but crave a little more sustain, you may need to count on throwing some boost and subtle delay in the mix.
The bias knob has an enormous effect on Jeff ’s output. And like the fuzz control, it can be transformative. Cranked counter-clockwise, it has less effect on the tone. And it’s here that you’ll get the most output and
harmonic color. But turn it clockwise to starve the pedal of voltage, and unexpected things can happen. Between 9 o’clock and noon, the bias control has a smoothing effect on mids, creating a slightly boxy and wooly, but still very rich and sonorous lead tone that works great with bridge or neck pickups. Past noon, bias makes Angry Jeff progressively more rabid—creating a splin-tered, cracked, and chaotic mid- to high-frequency overtone field that gives power chords and leads a particularly feral edge.
The VerdictThe very individual, handbuilt Angry Jeff is not a fuzz for everybody—particularly
not traditionalists who prefer working within the well-known performance parameters of the classics. But given how confrontational it can sound, it’s remark-able how effective it is at shape-shifting for different musical settings. It’s prob-ably best suited for garage and avant art-ists who like their tones big and rich but a little less pretty. But if you’re willing to experiment, it can deliver interest-ing twists on Fuzz Face, Super-Fuzz, and Big Muff tones. And if you’re willing to accept that the path to extracting your own unique voice from this beautifully built pedal will be a bit indirect, chances are you’ll uncover a universe of killer fuzz textures along the way.
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 141
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142 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
review > BAudIer
It’s not uncommon for a guitarist to hot-rod a guitar or amplifier—that is, modify
it for enhanced performance like a race car builder might. Baudier, however takes the hot-rodding concept in a slightly different and more literal direction, offering souped-up guitars that also borrow cosmetic cues from hot-rodding culture. Talk to Tony Baudier, the brains behind the company, for a minute and you’ll understand why. “I love cars,” he says. “I was a professional drag racer and I couldn’t think of a better idea than to make guitars like hot-rods—cool-looking and high-performance. That’s been the concept of Baudier from the start, cars and guitars.”
Baudier Guitars got started in the mid-2000s when Baudier and his son began playing and collecting cheap guitars.
Baudier also has a background as a visual artist, so he couldn’t help but customize these axes—often with spectacular paint jobs. Baudier grew tired of working with more familiar and derivative designs, how-ever, and made some sketches of original guitar ideas to show his musician friends. Bolstered by their positive responses, Baudier brought the drawings to life. “I wanted to do something original,” he says, “that also happened to be the best playing and greatest sounding guitar I could build for a customer.”
At his Harahan, Louisiana, workshop, Baudier and two assistants make a range of models, including the RatRod Roadster Custom they sent us for review. We first saw this wild-looking solidbody electric (which you might recognize from the Premier
Guitar April 2013 cover) at last winter’s NAMM show, and were psyched to bond with it in a much calmer environment.
rat rod StyleThe RatRod Roadster is inspired by that bare-bones, no-frills mixture of custom and hot-rod car culture—the rat rod. Resourcefully built from unfinished body panels and parts on hand and meant to be driven and raced rather than shown, rat rods are the custom car world’s ultimate embodiment of function over form.
Outwardly, Baudier’s Roadster shares a lot of those attributes with the cars that
to hear audio clips of the guitar at premierguitar.com/jun2013
CLICKHere…
142 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
it for enhanced performance like a race car builder might. Baudier, however takes the hot-rodding concept in a slightly different and more literal direction, offering souped-up guitars that also borrow cosmetic cues from hot-rodding culture. Talk to Tony Baudier, the brains behind the company, for a minute and you’ll understand why. “I love cars,” he says. “I was a professional drag racer and I couldn’t think of a better idea than to make guitars like hot-rods—cool-looking and high-performance. That’s been the concept of Baudier from the start, cars and guitars.”
Baudier Guitars got started in the mid-2000s when Baudier and his son began playing and collecting cheap guitars.
ever, and made some sketches of original guitar ideas to show his musician friends. Bolstered by their positive responses, Baudier brought the drawings to life. “I wanted to do something original,” he says, “that also happened to be the best playing and greatest sounding guitar I could build for a customer.”
At his Harahan, Louisiana, workshop, Baudier and two assistants make a range of models, including the RatRod Roadster Custom they sent us for review. We first saw this wild-looking solidbody electric (which you might recognize from the Premier
The RatRod Roadster is inspired by that bare-bones, no-frills mixture of custom and hot-rod car culture—the rat rod. Resourcefully built from unfinished body panels and parts on hand and meant to be driven and raced rather than shown, rat rods are the custom car world’s ultimate embodiment of function over form.
Outwardly, Baudier’s Roadster shares a lot of those attributes with the cars that
Coil-tapped humbuckers
4-way switch
Mahogany body
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 143
review > BAudIer
RATINGS
Pros: Great playability. Coil-tapping gives you access to a lot of tones. Cons: Can’t run the two pickups together.
Tones
Playability
Build/Design
Value
Baudier Roadster, $2495 street, baudierguitars.com
gave it its name. The body is finished (for lack of a better term) with a mixture of col-ored paints and iron powder, and the metal parts are intentionally distressed and rusted. The resulting patina effect is beautiful and complex, a sea of turquoises, browns, blues, and foams that look like the hood of a ’52 Dodge that’s spent decades languishing in a high desert scrap lot. The metal control plate, also hand-painted, is designed to look like a shard of a gasoline can, and the toggle switch, held in place by two metal bars, looks a lot like one of those floor-mounted gear shifters from a car so bare-bones you can see through the floorboards to the road.
The Roadster might look like it was built from junkyard scraps, but it’s crafted from rather conventional and very nice tonewoods. The offset body on our test ver-sion—which looks a little like a mash up of non-reverse Firebird, Jazzmaster, and Old Kraftsman shapes—is crafted from mahog-any, though it’s also available in alder. The neck and fretboard are both made from handsome examples of maple, and there’s a pronounced curl on the neck and a subtle quilt on the fretboard, suggesting that Baudier has a good eye for guitar lumber.
Baudier outfitted the Roadster with twin humbucking pickups, which are made in conjunction with Brian Porter of Porter Pickups and mounted directly into the gui-tar rather than on plastic rings. But if the pickup array is Gibson influenced, the rest of the guitar is built like a classic Fender, with a bolt-on neck and a 25.5" scale length.
Elsewhere on the guitar, Baudier embraced a few less traditional design ele-ments, including a triple truss rod. This sys-tem uses carbon fiber rods that are intended to add not only stability, but also richness to the guitar’s tone. In the newest models, the truss rod is adjustable via a spoked wheel at the neck pickup.
Though aging makes it less apparent at first glance, the Roadster sports premium hardware. ABM makes the hardtail bridge, the nut is by Graph Tech, and the tuners are Gotoh’s Delta Series 510s with a 1:18 gear ratio. Pots are by Mojo, and every-thing is connected with cloth-covered wire. Other hardware, though, stays true to the rat-rod theme, and the strap hooks, the mismatched tone and volume controls, and the toggle-switch cap are fashioned from hardware store and parts bin finds.
For all the left-to-die-in-the-desert weathering, the Roadster is very well built. The 22 nickel-silver frets are meticulously seated and polished, and the nut is cleanly shaped and slotted. The neck-to-body junc-tion feels very solid, though it looks like the neck pocket could have been shaped just a little more tidily. The satin finish on the neck is smooth and inviting, and the distressing adds a cool visual effect without any roughness to the touch.
Four Ways to rev It upWhen I removed our Roadster from its cus-tom C&G hardshell case (the same compa-ny that makes cases for the Fender Custom Shop and other high-end clients), I noticed that it’s moderately hefty at about eight pounds. But basically it’s a comfortable guitar and I enjoyed its acoustic liveliness and smooth playability. The C-shaped neck is inviting whether you’re forming chords or flying around the fretboard in lead mode. However, I did experience some fretting-out during extra-deep bends past the 12th fret, though a little extra neck relief or a slightly higher bridge setting would likely alleviate the problem.
Rather than a 3-way switch, which would allow using the pickups individually or simultaneously, the Roadster has a 4-way switch, which lets you use each pickup with both coils engaged or with coils tapped. It also has a kill switch that mutes the pickups with the press of a finger—helpful
for adding a staccato tremolo effect after a chord is strummed.
The Roadster impresses from the moment you plug in. And indeed, like a hot-rod it has an assertive voice. Both the front awnd rear pickups pair nicely with distortion for searing lead tones and punchy rhythms. The bridge pickup positively growls without being strident and the neck pickup is classically warm and round. While I definitely missed the ability to use the two humbuckers together, it’s easy to appreci-ate the glassy single-coil tones afforded by the Roadster’s coil-tapping capabilities. In tapped mode, the bridge pickup becomes an express ticket to hot country-style solo-ing, while the neck pickup is transformed into a vehicle for Memphis-flavored R&B chordal accompaniment. Even in these pretty familiar and traditional musical set-tings, the kill switch was great fun to use for rhythmic accents.
The VerdictWith the RatRod Roadster Custom, Baudier has successfully synthesized the design aesthetic of the rat-rod subculture and electric guitar design in an instrument that plays and sounds great—all while look-ing quite unlike any other on the market. Some players will no doubt be put off by the guitar’s rough-and-tumble folk art guise. But more adventurous players will relish both the individual look and the wide array of sounds and textures that you can sum-mon from the coil-tapped humbuckers and kill switch. The inability to use the two humbuckers together will be a bummer for those who love the fat-and-jangly tones they get from the middle switch position on their SG or Les Paul, but that drawback aside, this feels like a players instrument. And like those rat rods roaring across the blacktop, this guitar isn’t for babying or locking up in a glass case, but built to run hard while generating tough and sweet tones in a mul-titude of rock ’n’ roll settings.
premierguitar.com
pronounced curl on the neck and a subtle quilt on the fretboard, suggesting that Baudier has a good eye for guitar lumber.
Baudier outfitted the Roadster with twin humbucking pickups, which are made in conjunction with Brian Porter of Porter Pickups and mounted directly into the gui-tar rather than on plastic rings. But if the pickup array is Gibson influenced, the rest of the guitar is built like a classic Fender, with a bolt-on neck and a 25.5" scale length.
Elsewhere on the guitar, Baudier embraced a few less traditional design ele-ments, including a triple truss rod. This sys-tem uses carbon fiber rods that are intended to add not only stability, but also richness to the guitar’s tone. In the newest models, the truss rod is adjustable via a spoked wheel at the neck pickup.
just a little more tidily. The satin finish on the neck is smooth and inviting, and the distressing adds a cool visual effect without any roughness to the touch.
Four Ways to rev It When I removed our Roadster from its custom C&G hardshell case (the same company that makes cases for the Fender Custom Shop and other high-end clients), I noticed that it’s moderately hefty at about eight pounds. But basically it’s a comfortable guitar and I enjoyed its acoustic liveliness and smooth playability. The C-shaped neck is inviting whether you’re forming chords or flying around the fretboard in lead mode. However, I did experience some fretting-out during extra-deep bends past the 12th fret, though a little extra neck relief or a slightly higher bridge setting would likely alleviate the problem.
Rather than a 3-way switch, which would allow using the pickups individually or simultaneously, the Roadster has a 4-way switch, which lets you use each pickup with both coils engaged or with coils tapped. It also has a kill switch that mutes the pickups with the press of a finger—helpful
Gotoh 510, 18:1 tuners
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premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 145
review > SOurCe AudIO
SOurCe AudIOoRbiTAL ModULAToRBY MATThew hOLLIMAN
As you navigate the controls for the new Source Audio Orbital Modulator—or
any of its cousins in the Soundblox 2 fam-ily—you’ll notice readouts for “options” and “control.” If you’ve worked with Source Audio’s pedals at all in the past, you know those two words might as well be part of a company mantra. Indeed, the Massachusetts pedal manufacturer can seem more stacked with engineers than MIT, and many of their stomps are designed to deliver something approaching the processing power, function-ality, and control of a larger rack device.
The powerful DSP-based Orbital Modulator embodies that approach, packing 12 modulation effects (two of which can be saved as presets and assigned to the two footswitches) and significantly shaping power in a compact pedal that’s formidable onstage or in the studio.
Shuttle Craft With all its knobs, buttons, and blinking lights, the Orbital doesn’t boast the world’s most welcoming interface. But it doesn’t take long to learn how to navigate the unit. The centermost knob accesses four effect groups—chorus, flanger, resonator, and phaser. Within each of these modulations you can select vari-ations, including quad chorus, vibe (based on the original Uni-Vibe built by Japan’s Shin-Ei in the 1960s), and multi-stage phasing. The remaining knobs control parameters such as depth, speed, and wave shape.
The option control opens up even more fine-tuning potential, enabling adjustment of six parameters (as shown by the LEDs at left) in conjunction with the option knob. Delay/freq adjusts the delay time between the dry and modified signal when using chorus or flang-ing. When using the phaser, a clockwise turn moves the modulation center point over higher frequencies and gives the effect a brighter tone. Feedback controls the amount of wet signal fed back into the pedal, an essential adjustment that affects overall presence and definition.
The volume parameter provides up to 6 dB of gain, and lo retain isolates low-end out-put in case you want less effect on your bass
to watch a video demo of the pedal at premierguitar.com/jun2013
CLICKHere…frequencies. Increasing tremolo adds another layer of modulation to your base modula-tion, and you can dial up the presence to generate a more robust chop. Mix adjusts the overall ratio of your dry and wet signal, with a maximum wet signal when cranked clock-wise. However, the 12 o’clock position pro-duces a completely dry signal, and once you start going counter-clockwise the frequency becomes inverted—typically pulling out some of the low end, depending on the effect.
Although the fact that the Orbital can only be powered with the included 9V barrel adapter might be a bummer to some play-ers, the two footswitches boast flexibility that should more than make up for it: Both can be switched to either true or buffered bypass. On the downside, their proximity to each other, to the other controls, and to the edge of the housing can make it difficult to engage one without hitting a knob or button, the other footswitch, or an adjacent pedal’s footswitch.
Each switch can also be used as a tap tempo for the speed control. If the left preset
is engaged, the right switch becomes the tap switch, and vice versa. There’s also a multi-function in/out that can be used to adjust modulation via MIDI, an expression pedal, or Source Audio’s unique motion-sensing Hot Hand.
Into OrbitInserted between a Les Paul and a ’68 silver-face Fender Bassman, the Orbital Modulator displayed a lot of range—and headroom. I first dialed in a dual chorus effect for a deep, inter-woven waver that remained impressively com-plex without getting oversaturated or mushy. At these settings, the basic character of the Orbital Modulator is fairly bright, which obscured some of the Les Paul’s low-end honk. But I was able to enhance low-end definition with the lo retain parameter. Notching up feedback helped pull out more top-end too, and what I ended
True-bypass or buffered switching
56-bit DSP
Four basic effect groups
Waveform shape control
146 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
review > SOurCe AudIO
RATINGS
Pros: Lots of effects for the money. Compact. True or buffered bypass option Cons: Switch proximity may cause difficulties on a busy board.
Tones
Ease of Use
Build/Design
Value
Source Audio Orbital Modulator, $169 street, sourceaudio.net
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up with was a very full-bodied chorus that was perfect for ’80s Cure-inspired leads.
The Orbital’s “12 stage” setting showcas-es its more extreme capabilities. It’s the most chaotic of the phaser’s four stages and takes you giant leaps away from the Leslie-like sounds of tamer settings. Single-string runs using a sine wave took on a cosmic charac-ter, sending ringing trails chasing after each picked note. Using tap tempo to increase the speed gave the modulated tones a metal-lic, hollow, and springy feel, perfect for a dub vamp. Rolling off the bridge pickup’s tone knob created a hazy, percussive tone perfect for a slow Funkadelic jam.
The phaser control’s lower stages approx-imate the wobble on classic-rock records, and again tap tempo was indispensable for quickly and precisely changing speed.
With a Stratocaster in the mix, I discovered one of my favorite settings was a vibe option. Making the most of it demanded the use of an expression pedal for adjusting the speed, but it sounded excellent at a fixed rate, too. Keeping the Bassman at the verge of breakup and kicking on the vibe yielded Hendrix-like
tones—two-note bends became a dizzying howl, particularly with two pickups engaged.
Adding a Fuzz Face clone yielded more savage Jimi tones, and in this much louder, more hectic setting, the Orbital’s fine-tuning capabilities were invaluable. The lo retain and feedback parameters helped me fine-tune the output so the fuzz cut through the swirling, complex mix. And despite all its tweakability, the Orbital is very transparent and friendly to the intrin-sic voices of your rig elements.
The VerdictAt $169 street, the Orbital Modulator is a great deal for such a complete, capable, and
option-filled modulation machine—and its 56-bit DSP processing makes many of the more analog-like effects sound quite genu-ine. There are plenty of parameters to dis-cover new and colorful sonic textures, and it’s friendly to single-coils and humbuckers.
Perhaps best of all is that all that param-eter control means you can really tailor the waveform and EQ characteristics of this pedal to suit the idiosyncrasies of your rig. Given that flexibility, the Orbital Modulator is a great solution if you’re trying to sack a few effects from your chain, save pedalboard space, or are looking for a highly configu-rable modulation pedal that can move read-ily from stage to the studio.
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 147
review > DBZ DiamonD
DR5 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
DbZ DiamonDhailfireby jorDan wagner
Since launching in 2008, DBZ Guitars has introduced some of the most
eye-catching instruments in the industry, quickly garnering the attention of play-ers like John Corabi, Kid Rock’s Jason Krause, Train’s Jerry Becker, Kelly Pickler’s Josh Henson and the late Mike Scaccia of Ministry. The company’s latest lineup, rebranded DBZ/Diamond Guitars and launched at NAMM ’13, features three new
streamlined headstock designs and several new models designed by DBZ/ Diamond Founder, President and CEO, Jeff Diamant.
Among the new models is the Hailfire series, a cool twist on the Firebird/RD Artist template. And though it might not be as radical looking as other DBZs we’ve seen in the past, it packs a lot of bold style and authoritative tone in a relatively affordable axe. The series includes two models—the
to hear audio clips of the guitar at premierguitar.com/jun2013
CLICKHere…
solid-mahogany Hailfire ST and the Hailfire SM reviewed here, which features though-body stringing, upgraded pickups, spalted maple top and flashier finishes.
Bird of preyThe Hailfire’s debt to the Firebird is obvi-ous both in its body profile and the raised center section. The construction, however, is very different from a Firebird. Instead of
Mahogany body
Seymour Duncan ’59 humbucker
Seymour Duncan JB humbucker
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 DR6
review > DBZ DiamonD
a multi-ply walnut neck-through design, the Hailfire SM is built with a relatively light mahogany body that’s capped with a dra-matically carved and striking spalted-maple top. Its painted wings and raised, natural center area give the illusion that it’s a neck-through model, but in reality the guitar’s 22-fret, rosewood-capped mahogany neck uses set-neck construction and a contoured heel that enables access to the upper frets.
In terms of hardware and electronics, the Hailfire keeps things pretty lean. The through-body stringing negates the need for a tailpiece and improves sustain, and a Tune-o-matic-style bridge and Grover tun-ers help you keep intonation correct and the guitar in tune. Two Seymour Duncan humbuckers—a ’59 in the neck and a JB in the bridge—are responsible for the guitar’s considerable output. Both pickups are con-trolled by a 3-way switch and master volume and tone controls. This setup is nice and streamlined, though it may be limiting for players who like to switch between, say, a super-dark neck-pickup sound and a bright, spunky bridge pickup.
open FireAfter warming up a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier half-stack and strapping on the Hailfire, I was blown away by how light the guitar is. At a hair over 6 pounds, it doesn’t put as much strain on your shoulder as most guitars of this size—and nowhere near as much as your typical maple-capped mahogany guitars. The neck-to-body bal-ance is pretty even, too, and the weight of the headstock doesn’t pull the neck down to the floor when standing.
Most players know of the huge tonal range you can get by combining a Duncan ‘59 and JB model—it’s one of the most popular humbucker combinations on the planet—and they live up to their consider-able reputation in the Hailfire SM. The neck pickup produces super-smooth mids and thick, even lows for jazzy clean work, and digging in coaxes out a rich high end without any harsh edginess. When output is clean or colored by slight overdrive, the neck pickup has a response and warm array of tones that are very similar to a Gibson SG, but with tighter, more focused mids and highs (a point that is likely attributable in part to the Hailfire’s maple top). The neck’s slightly wider feel toward the headstock makes chords comfortable, but it’s a little tougher to pull off lightning-quick legato leads and clean, string-skipping melodies.
With light to moderate overdrive, the Hailfire SM yields a muscular array of rhythm and lead tones. The JB’s character-istic detailed highs cut like a knife, and its raw midrange and thick low end provide a solid foundation for everything from classic-rock rhythms to late-’80s hard-rock riffing. Turning up the gain on my Mesa’s
orange channel added a little congestion in the midrange and dampened the presence a touch, and I experienced the same problem after switching over to a more mid-heavy Marshall JCM800. So when using the Hailfire’s bridge pickup for heavier tones, it’s best to set the amp’s gain right at the point where the tone is both saturated and bal-anced, and then to use the amp’s EQ to add low-end punch and more blistering highs.
the VerdictThe DBZ/Diamond Hailfire SM is solid guitar capable of covering much more musical ground than its flashy looks might suggest. Its lightweight, balanced construc-tion alone make it a winner in a world that’s constantly demanding lighter, more comfortable guitars, and the solid build and pickup complement are capable of handling everything from jazz to rock, blues, country, metal, and beyond. Shredders might prefer a narrower neck, but if you’re in the market for a guitar with hot-rodded tone and cus-tom looks to match—and at a pretty damn reasonable price—the DBZ/Diamond Hailfire SM offers a lot of compelling sell-ing points.
RATINGS
Pros: light and comfortable. tried-and-true Duncan pickup combo offers a plethora of tones. wide neck eases simple and complex chording. Cons: master volume and tone controls might be limiting to some. bridge position gets muddy with a lot of gain. Shredders might prefer a narrower neck.
Tones
Playability
Build/Design
Value
DBZ Diamond Hailfire SM, $849 street, dbzguitars.com
mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard
Grover tuners
LACeMATT PikE diRTy hEShERSBY JOrdAN wAGNer
148 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
review > LACe
As one of the most important guitarists to emerge from underground metal
over the last two decades, Matt Pike has influenced a generation of players with his crushing yet uniquely melodic songwriting and playing. Armed with a Les Paul, Green Matamps, and a Soldano X-77 preamp, Pike worked in the ’90s with the legendary band Sleep, and his sound—a monstrous wall of fuzz that harkened to Blue Cheer and Black Sabbath—was a huge departure from the processed rock of the era.
His style got faster and more aggressive with his next—and current—outfit, High on Fire. Jeff Lace, chief designer at Lace Pickups, is a big fan, and he recently teamed up with Pike to produce the company’s first-ever signature set. The Dirty Heshers are designed to produce the massive tones Pike is known for, only bigger and richer than you’d expect from super-hot humbuckers.
Beyond NitroThe passive, coil-splittable Heshers are based on Lace’s fire-breathing Nitro Hemi humbuckers. Their windings have been tweaked, per Pike’s specifications, to expand midrange presence and response. Each pickup uses not one, but 10 barium ferrite ceramic magnets, which makes each pickup nearly double the weight of a set of Seymour Duncan or Gibson humbuckers. Interestingly, the magnetic field is emitted from the edges of the coils rather than the center. Don Lace Sr. pioneered this process
with his Lace Sensor pickups years ago, and it significantly increases the string surface area the pickup detects. The chrome covers are emblazoned with Pike’s last name, and they’re also epoxied to reduce squealing and feedback. Four-conductor, vintage-gauge wire enables series, split, parallel, and out-of-phase wiring.
dirty LoveThe Dirty Heshers have a very wide and powerful tone quite different from other metal-oriented humbuckers. I expected a more focused and compressed tone, similar to a Gibson 500T or Duncan Invader. But the Heshers hit your amp with incredible force without automatically overdriving it, which means you can crank the amp with-out muddying your tone. And the dynamic response when you move from chords to single notes is remarkable—single notes offer almost as much volume and girth as power chords.
Mounted in a Les Paul Traditional driv-ing an overdriven Orange TH100, the 19k bridge-position Hesher delivered dirge-like rhythm tones with a forceful upper mid-range. Sleep’s “Dragonaut” tone was easy to get by dropping the guitar’s volume knob about 30 percent. Maxing the volume takes you to fuzzier High on Fire territory, and tight, Motörhead-style riffs delivered per-cussive, thrash-friendly response.
The 15.8k neck pickup yields a forceful, refined low end that opens up when you
pile on the gain. Roll down the volume, and the mids morph from round and fat to focused and biting. The upper-mid presence is so strong in these pickups that it’s hard to dial it out if you don’t want it, a property that might confound metal players used to scooped tones. But the rich midrange also lends definition to clean tones and makes room for the deep and resonant low end—all of which creates impressive sustain.
The VerdictLace’s Dirty Heshers stand out as some of the most distinctive humbuckers in the heavy metal pickup world. They’re loud, brash, and powerful. But they’re also organic, dynamic, and responsive—qualities a lot of hotter humbuckers can’t deliver. The robust and wide midrange make them a less ideal choice for scooped Meshuggah-style extreme metal. But for doomier, sludgier styles—where loud mids play a crucial role—the Dirty Heshers deliver the raucous, mid-heavy wall of sound those genres demand.
to hear audio clips of the pickups at premierguitar.com/jun2013
CLICKHere…
RATINGSLace Matt Pike Dirty Heshers
(bridge and neck set) $174 street, lacemusic.com
Pros huge, grinding mids that cut like a knife. Clean up well with picking and volume changes. Perfect for sludge and doom metal. Cons Strong mids are less ideal for modern metal.
Tones
Versatility
Build
Value
10 barium ferrite magnets
Split-coil capability
150 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
modern builder vault
Dreamer GuitarworksBY rICh OSweILer
It’s somewhat ironic that the home of the world’s most revered guitar tonewood is not
a hotbed for a relatively large base of guitar builders and available instruments. That’s part of the reason Brazilian luthier Celso Freire started building instruments for a living, form-ing his company Dreamer Guitarworks.
When Freire started playing bass at the age of 15 in the 1980s, it was very difficult
to get a good bass in Brazil, even with money in hand. He was frustrated with the lightweight, unbalanced body of the J-style he owned that was manufactured in a Brazilian factory, but he did find a well-balanced Fender P in 1984. Freire immediately went to work trying to clone its body with a piece of mahogany to use with parts from his old bass. Though the
first attempt at the body didn’t work out, the aspiring builder bought a router and had better results the second time around. Once he got the body right, he took it to a luthier to install a fretless rosewood finger-board onto the neck of his old J-style, but ended up having to learn how to do the job himself because “the guy was so slow,” says Freire. When it came time to paint his project bass, Freire found a small guitar factory near his home where he ended up working for three years and learning the craft. A luthier was born.
On top of his self-taught skills and guitar factory experience, Freire already had a solid background in electronics from his childhood, helping his father put together hi-fi audio
dreamer TLThis red-burst, T-style Dreamer TL features a marupa body with a curly maple top. Curly maple is also used for the neck, which is capped with a Brazilian rosewood fretboard that’s adorned with gold mother-of-pearl dot inlays. Hardware appointments include the Graph Tech Black Tusq nut and string trees, Sperzel locking tuners, and a Babicz Full Contact bridge. For electronics, this twang machine is loaded with a set of Bare Knuckle Piledriver pickups.
dreamer MJ BassFreire’s Dreamer MJ bass utilizes Brazilian cedar (aka cedro rosa) for its P-style body, and maple for the neck. The 34"-scale Brazilian rosewood fretboard features abalone dots on the front side, as well as Lumilay side dots for gigs with less-than-stellar onstage lighting. The Dreamer MJ is outfitted with an EMG BQC preamp, and for pickups, a Seymour Duncan SMB-4a in the bridge position and a Seymour Duncan SJB-3 Quarter Pound in the neck.
dreamer #12001 PrototypeThis 7-string prototype is part of a collabora-tive beta-test effort with New Jersey luthier Rick Toone. Both the neck and the Tru-Oil-finished body are constructed from Brazilian mahogany, while the fan-fretted fretboard—25"-scale on treble side and 26"-scale on the bass—is carved from Brazilian rosewood. The headless guitar features the Toone Townsend Tuning System and is outfitted with an EMG 81-7 in the bridge posi-tion and an EMG 707 in the neck.
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 151
modern builder vault
cabinets and tube amplifiers. He struck out on his own with Dreamer Guitarworks in the early 1990s with the goal of providing unique instruments built with the best available com-ponents and wood—a mission he continues to stay true to today in his one-man shop.
As a high-end boutique builder in Brazil, Freire faces some unique challenges. “We have in our culture that what comes from the U.S. and Europe is better,” says Freire. “This paradigm is very difficult to change, but it is changing.” The luthier also shares that the “abusive” Brazilian taxes can be a deterrent when attempting to increase production with-out compromising the quality of his instru-ments. Said tax is approximately 60 percent on imported guitar parts.
Citing Paul Reed Smith and Tom Anderson as the two builders providing the most inspiration for his work, Fender’s influence is also evident with Freire’s vari-ety of instruments. For electronics, Freire prefers EMGs, but also utilizes Seymour Duncan, Bare Knuckle, Fender, Joe Barden, Lindy Fralin and others, depending on the build. Woods like maple and mahogany that Freire utilizes may be familiar, but the luthier also incorporates some of the gor-geous and more exotic woods from Brazil that he has access to like tauri, imbuia, and freijo. And when it comes to Brazilian rosewood and what restrictions are in place for Brazilian craftsmen, Freire says they can still find the wood, and buy and sell guitars
legally. “I just don’t know for how long,” he adds.
Pricing and AvailabilityFreire builds approximately 30 guitars annu-ally, but with plans to upgrade his shop in the near future by purchasing a CNC machine, he expects his annual produc-tion to increase to nearly 100. All Dream Guitarworks instruments are custom made, and because of the country’s spirited tax system, have a base price around $2,300 in Brazil, but are 30 percent less if purchased in the U.S. The current wait time for a cus-tom Dreamer guitar is approximately four months. dreamerguitars.com
dreamer dT Green BurstThe Brazilian cedar body of Freire’s DT Green Burst is topped with curly maple, while the hard maple neck is topped with 25"-scale ebony fretboard that’s dressed with abalone dots. Hardware appointments for this jewel include the Gotoh/Wilkinson VS401 bridge, Gotoh Magnum Lock tuners, and a Graph Tech Black Tusq nut. Going with Seymour Duncan for the pickups, Freire loaded up the DT Green Burst with a SH-4 JB in the bridge and a SH-2 Jazz in the neck.
dreamer JMCThe body of this hi-gloss, nitro-finished Jazz-master tribute is carved from Brazilian ma-hogany and paired with a neck and matching headstock cut from maple. With mother-of-pearl dots populating the landscape of the Brazilian rosewood fretboard, other features include the Gotoh Magnum Lock tuning machines and a Fender Jazzmaster bridge. This classic-looking axe conjures up its tone with the help of the pair of Joe Barden JM Two/Tone pickups.
dreamer eXPBuilt with heavy and metal in mind, the Dreamer EXP is a neck-through designed axe with a Bra-zilian cedar body and mahogany neck. Adorning the 25"-scale ebony fretboard is a mother-of-pearl “D” initial that stretches from the 11th to 13th frets. Hardware appointments include the Gotoh Floyd Rose bridge, Gotoh tuning ma-chines, and Dunlop Straploks. And for electron-ics, Freire opted for an EMG 89 in the neck and an EMG 81 in the bridge.
152 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 premierguitar.com
gear of the month
1969 Ampeg SVT Head and 8x10 Cabinet BY ChrIS KIeS
The 1969 Summer of Love is often remembered as a time of classic
music, flower power, and few inhibi-tions, all of which was epitomized by the 3-day Woodstock Music & Art Fair. For the Rolling Stones, however, it was a tumultuous year of firsts and lasts. It was the last year Brian Jones contributed to a Stones album (two tracks on 1969’s Let It Bleed) before passing away that July. Consequently, it was the band’s first year with guitarist Mick Taylor, who hit the ground running and contributed parts on two songs for Let it Bleed and performed at the band’s November concerts, which were released on 1970’s Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out. And 1969 was also the first and last year of the Altamont Speedway Free Festival—which was headlined and organized by the Stones, and billed as “Woodstock West.” Sadly, it’s primarily remembered for its fatalities, including the infamous scuffle between a Hells Angel and a murderous meth user.
Gear-wise, 1969 was the birth of Ampeg’s SVT amplifier—the backline choice not just for bassist Bill Wyman, but also for Mick and Keith Richards during the band’s 1969 U.S. winter tour.
Ampeg’s Bill Hughes and Roger Cox designed the “Super Vacuum Tube” amps with help from Bob Rufkahr and Dan Armstrong. They debuted at the ’69 NAMM Show in Chicago. The 95-pound, 2-channel, 300-watt head was originally loaded with 14 tubes, including six large, volatile 6146 power tubes. A year later, the 6146s were switched out for more reliable 6550s. The earliest “blue-line” SVTs like the one shown here (which has since been updated with KT88 tubes) had control panels engraved with blue lines and text, though Ampeg later switched to a more leg-ible black format.
SVTs of this era had volume, treble, midrange, and bass knobs for the first channel, while channel 2 only had volume, treble, and bass. Extra flexibility came via the five rocker switches along top, which engage ultra-hi and ultra-lo boosts for each
Got some gear that would make a great Gear of the Month? Then email pics and its story to us at [email protected].
channel, and a 3-position mid-tone control. There were also four inputs, normal and bright for each channel.
The Stones’ 1969 U.S. tour, their first since 1966, was the group’s seminal run in American arenas—up until then they’d been playing smaller theaters and auditoriums. The need to move and groove fans in the nosebleed seats made the powerful SVTs a perfect choice. The amps were so loud they came with a Surgeon General-esque warning: “This amp is capable of delivering sound pressure levels that may cause perma-nent hearing damage.”
During rehearsals, the band report-edly pushed the prototypes to the brink of meltdown. Production models weren’t out yet and backup rigs weren’t an option, so
Ampeg’s Rich Mandella joined the tour as the official SVT babysitter.
Today, Ampeg builds recreations of this beloved behemoth in the Classic and Heritage lines, both of which mix vintage SVT soul with modern needs such as cool-ing fans, tube-bias controls, Neutrik con-nections, and direct outputs. The SVT Pro series has models with more modern voic-ings, solid-state and class D power amps, graphic EQ, and power-reduction circuitry. And Ampeg’s recent GVT amps are specifi-cally voiced for 6-stringers looking to emu-late Ya-Ya-era Keef.
A special thanks to Jeff Sadler of Rock N Roll Vintage Guitars in Chicago and Ampeg for the opportunity to feature this fine piece of gear and its story.
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2013 153
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rIVAL SONSGuitarist Scott Holiday dishes on his latest guitar obses-sion (a Kauer Banshee), and what it feels like to be a mem-ber of Jimmy Page’s favorite new band.
ACOuSTIC rOuNduPIn the market for a new acoustic guitar? Check out five new affordable small-body acoustic models from Loar, Guild, Martin, Simon & Patrick, and Epiphone. We also go inside two of the biggest names in the industry today: Godin and the Fender Acoustic Custom Shop.
rONNIe eArLOne of the best kept secrets in the New England blues scene explains his bare bones approach to tone and how Muddy Waters inspired him to play guitar.
NeW GeArWe check out the new Danelectro 67, Ibanez Iron Label RG, and Vitorian El Grace electrics, as well as three new amps: the Quilter Aviator, Tone King Sky King, and a Humphrey acoustic. Low-enders get a rundown on the Spector Coda Pro and the Darkglass Microtubes Vintage, while other effects reviewed include the Circus Freak Pickled Punk, the ZT Distortion, and the Boss MO-2.
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Somewhere, someone has a video of a PG columnist attempting to disrobe while singing Macy Gray’s “I Try” at an after-hours karaoke bar. Worth tracking down, perhaps?
John bohlinger John Bohlinger is a Nashville multi-instru-mentalist best known for his work in televi-sion. He led the band for all six seasons of NBC’s hit program Nashville Star, the 2012, 2011, 2010, and 2009 CmT music awards, as well as many specials for GAC, PBS,
CMT, USA, and HDTV.
laSt Call
in defenSe of KaraoKe BY JOhN BOhLINGer
I’ve always favored the prototypical rock-guitarist persona established by Jimmy
Page and Keith Richards: Sing when you must, but ultimately that’s the dubious task of the prancing egomaniac hogging the front of the stage. I feel much more at home slightly to the right of the drums tak-ing care of the actual music-making, while leaving the majority of the singing and crowd-working to a self-absorbed diva.
Being the singer in a band seems a bit silly; singing to tracks in front of an audi-ence? Fug-ged-eh-bout-et. That’s ridicu-lous. If you’ve been to a karaoke bar and observed those delusional fools stiffly hold-ing a mic in front of their sweaty, boozy faces while nervously caterwauling “Don’t Stop Believing,” you’ve probably thought “I’d have to be out of my mind to do that.”
About 12 years ago I was quite literally out of my mind while on tour, thanks to some serious pain meds my doctor pre-scribed after he removed discs 7 and 8 from my neck. I should have stayed home to convalesce, but I had to pay for the opera-tion so I went on the road.
I pilled up and toughed my way through two weeks of shows. Each day of the tour I’d play the gig, then decrepitly shuffle to my bed and descend into a medicated coma. On the final night of the tour, my bandmates pulled me out of my bunk and dragged me to a bar for a post-show, cel-ebratory drink.
The details remain a bit cloudy, but from what I can piece together through my cheesecloth memory and the few videos that regrettably captured the evening, after my third scotch and Demerol, I comman-deered the karaoke mic for a spirited ver-sion of Macy Gray’s “I Try.” It was a power-ful performance that concluded with me trying to take my pants off over my head. (Although the good people at YouTube’s Standards and Practices removed the video,
I’m sure it’s out there somewhere.)
I learned two valuable lessons that night: It’s best to heed to those warning labels on pill bottles, and, karaoke can be fun.
Karaoke is undeniably ridiculous, yet strangely engaging once you embrace your inner geek. The masses rarely get a chance to perform in front of an audience. Karaoke gives everyone license not only to sing, but also to act like a rock star. For me, it’s an Andy Kaufman-inspired moment—an opportunity for anyone to attempt to entertain a crowd either through musicality or stupidity.
Here are a few tips for those of you brave enough to be idiotic.
Do not attempt karaoke while sober. Let me preface this with a heartfelt plea:
Drink responsibly and do not mix medica-tion with alcohol. This isn’t just the boys in legal talking, I actually mean it. Also, if you’ve used up all your drink tickets in life, continue working your recovery program. That said, karaoke is no time for clear thinking. The brain cell you kill may be the one that’s holding you back from being the performer who truly delights.
Don’t just sing it, sell it. Now is the time to apply every over-the-top rock-star cliché: Strut about the stage, fall to your knees and cry, raise your fist in the air and maniacally pump it, twirl and spin like Prince and James Brown, spread-eagle jump like David Lee Roth, circa 1978.
Engage the audience. Get them to join you on the final chorus. There’s something genuinely sweet about a sing-along. It
makes strangers feel like family, which in a way, they are.
Find a killer song that fits you. As long as it’s not Macy Gray’s “I Try”… that’s mine. The track’s key should be in your range and you should kind of know the words so you’re not dully staring at the video moni-tor. More importantly, your song should draw something out of you emotionally.
Avoid overtly sexual songs. That’s just creepy.
Avoid the trite. Not even Jimmy Buffett should be allowed to sing “Margaritaville” again.
We all fear embarrassment. We pri-vately worry that others think our hair is all wrong, our body isn’t quite right, or we sound stupid. Most of us are plagued by private anxieties that something about us just doesn’t measure up to some unachiev-able image of perfection. These mostly unfounded fears rob us of many of life’s joys. It’s wonderfully liberating to let go of our inhibitions. By taking risks and laugh-ing at ourselves, we strip those hobgoblins of self-consciousness of all their power. It also just plain feels good to sing as loud as you can, even if you kind of suck at it.
I commandeered the karaoke mic for a spirited version of Macy Gray’s “I Try.” It was a powerful performance that concluded with me trying to take my pants off over my head.
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