Guitar Player Vault October 2012

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2

John Abercrombie

Doc WAtsonRoundup! 12 top buck Guitars

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JOHNMCLAUGHLINThe Mahavishnu orchestra guitarist details his musical background, his gear, why you have to know scales and chords, and more in his February 1975 cover story

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GUITAR PLAYER VAULT | October 2012 | 7

October 2012 · Volume 2, Number 10 contentsNew Artist FeAture08 John Abercrombie FromthecurrentissueofGuitarPlayer

From the vAult15 Classic John McLaughlin Interview McLaughlindetailshismusicalbackground,his customRexBogue6/12double-neck,whyyou havetoknowscalesandchords,andmuch moreinthisFebruary1975coverstory.

23 Bluegrass ThelateDocWatsondiscusseshiscareer andplayinginthisJuly/August1972 GPcoverstory.

GeAr28 Roundup! 12TopBuckGuitars(fromthecurrentissueofGP).

oN the NewsstANd49 GPAugust2012TableofContents

lessoNs50 Howard Roberts JazzImprovisation:Using theGlissando(fromtheSeptember1978 issueofGP).

52 Robben FordThatCoolFour-Against-

ThreeSound (fromtheOct2004issueofGP).

sessioNs54 Theever-popularTrueFire Lessons

trANscriptioNs56 “AmazingGrace”traditional hymn58 “ShadyDell”Mason Williams/arr. Barbosa-Lima60 “BestofBothWorlds”Van Halen

8 | October 2012 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT

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By AdAm Levy

T h e L AT e sT r e L e A s e B y j A z z g u i TA r i sT j o h n Abercrombie, Within a Song [ECM], is a tribute album of sorts. With the exception of two Abercrombie originals, the repertoire comprises tunes recorded—and, for the most part, written—by the musicians Abercrombie listened to in his formative years as a player. “Flamenco Sketches,” for example, is a Miles Davis tune from Davis’ iconic 1959 record, Kind of Blue. Another tune here, “Blues Connotation,” is by saxophonist Ornette Coleman. “Wise One” is by another sax titan, John Coltrane. “That’s the music I heard growing up,” says Abercrombie. “The music of my time.”

Abercrombie wasn’t just hearing these great players on record. While attending Berklee College of Music in the mid 1960s, he regularly got to see them in Boston-area clubs. “I saw Coltrane many times at the Jazz Workshop,” he recalls. “It was burning, and kind of terrifying. I didn’t understand what they were doing. But I knew it was good.”

One particular jazz recording from the ’60s, however, inspired the young Abercrombie more than any other—Sonny Rollins’ The Bridge, which featured guitarist Jim Hall. “It turned my head around completely,” Abercrombie recalls. “It was staggering what Sonny could do with a little thematic idea, twisting it inside and out. It was compositional. I don’t think I really understood much of it until later. I was just responding to the pure sound of it.” Abercrombie still finds the album inspirational, 50 years after The Bridge’s initial release, and he used the now-classic record-ing as the launching point for Within a Song. Abercrombie’s quar-tet’s instrumentation is the same as on The Bridge, the title track is based on a piece from it called “Without a Song,” and a jazz ballad from the album called “Where Are You?” is also included.

Abercrombie

See the John Abercrombie orgAn trio with DAn wAll AnD ADAm nuSSbAum performing in 2004.

John

http://youtu.be/ZrJzzjx583c CAPTION

artist feature


abercrombieWithin a Song is a tip of the hat to The Bridge. what intrigues you most about that album?

Sonny’s earlier recordings were a little more straight bop. But when The Bridge came out, I could hear more space in his playing, and more development of themes. The other part about The Bridge, of course, was Jim Hall. Hearing a guitar player in this context, accompanying Sonny with counterpoint and unusual voic-ings—things in 4ths. I’d never heard a guitar-ist doing anything like that. It’s not just that I’d never heard them. There were no other guitar

players playing like that. And he had such a beautiful tone.Do you remember where you were the first time you heard The Bridge?

It was in a record store. I was about 17 or 18. In those days you could bring a record up to the guy at the front, and he would play some of it. I wanted to hear The Bridge. The first thing to come out of the speakers in the store was “Without a Song.” I distinctly remember hearing that opening phrase. I didn’t need to hear any more. I knew I had to have that record. Hearing

these guys playing together was like listening to Bach or something, but it swung like mad.what had you been listening to before you heard that record?

The first jazz guitarist I heard was Barney Kessel. Before that, I had basically been play-ing ’50s rock and roll—Chuck Berry, Elvis, Bill Haley. When I heard Barney Kessel, it made an immediate impact on me because he played so twangy and bluesy and funky. It wasn’t a big stretch for me to go from Chuck Berry to Barney Kessel. On paper, I know that seems like, “What?” But when you listen, you can hear the relationship.You mentioned hall’s knack for accompanying rollins with melodic lines rather than with typical full-voiced chords. You do quite a bit of that on Within a Song. how did you develop that aspect of your playing?

You don’t really practice it—you just sort of do it. I find that most horn players like it, unless you get too busy behind them and start actually playing another solo. I always try to be discreet and use contrapuntal ideas in spaces where they aren’t playing. When there’s no piano or other harmonic instrument in that space, it gives me the freedom to do that. That’s what Jim took advantage of in the quartet with Sonny. He uti-lized guide-tone lines, contrasting melodies, and chord voicings to create a whole palette within the band and underneath the soloist.Do you have to calibrate your approach to the situation?

I do, but I don’t really think about it that much. I do some duo gigs with pianists—Marc Copland or Andy LaVerne. When we’ve already got a guy playing with all ten fingers, I don’t need to add a lot of harmonic information. The less I add, the better.i saw a great clip of you and Andy laVerne on Youtube, playing “gloria’s Step.” that tune is so mysterious.

I love that tune, but it’s really hard to play. It’s all five- and ten-bar phrases, and the bridge is kind of a mind trip. I don’t know how [bass-ist/composer Scott LaFaro] came up with it. It’s a series of minor7b5 chords that kind of go backwards: Am7b5 to Em7b5, Gm7b5 to Dm7b5. A tune like that—that’s what I work on. When something is harmonically difficult or I don’t understand it right away, I’ll try to approach the harmony in different ways. Sometimes I’ll rename the chords. Instead of Am7b5, I’ll think of it as Cm6. Thinking of the chords differently and improvising over that can be helpful.

I’ve been playing that tune off and on for quite a few years, so I’m not afraid of it any-more. Once you get to a point where the fear

artist feature ROCK


factor starts disappearing, then you can get into it more. In the beginning, you don’t know what to do on these changes—like you’re going to play the wrong thing. That’s part of it anyway. You play the wrong thing, and eventually you find out there are rights and wrongs.

That video clip is from an interesting tour. I usually play with two amplifiers, in stereo. But when I arrived in Europe for that tour, I real-ized I’d brought the wrong transformer for my Boss multi-effects box, which generates the stereo. We couldn’t find the right transformer,

so I didn’t use it. I went to playing with just one amp, using the reverb in the amp. That was new for me, and I wound up really liking it in that context. The guitar had a lot of clarity and immediacy, which was nice with the piano. I like the stereo thing when I play with larger groups because it fills out the sound more—but I real-ized I don’t need all this stuff to play. It’s still me playing. It’s a good realization to come to. I still like all this stuff, but I don’t need it.what are your two amps?

It varies. I have a very old Polytone Mini-Brute. I

don’t even know what year it’s from. I used that on this album, and—I think—a Fender Deluxe. I also like Roland amps. When I’m traveling, I always ask for JC-120s. I like a dark sound and they’re kind of open, bright amps. They give me the brightness, and then I can roll the tone control back on the guitar and find the sweet spot where it sounds warm and fat, but clear.what else is in your signal chain?

I’ll usually have a Boss 7-band equalizer pedal. I put the level control all the way up and usu-ally leave the EQ flat to begin with. I have dif-ferent distortion boxes I fool around with. The one I use the most is the Fulltone Full-Drive. The last thing is a volume pedal, then out of the volume pedal into an old Boss SE-50 half-rack multi-effects processor. That’s my main thing. They haven’t made it in ages, so I have about four of them in various states of working condition. I use a little bit of delay, reverb, and chorusing—all mixed together in a patch that I’ve kept the same for 20 years. I go out of the multi-effects into the two amplifiers.is that the fulltone you’re using for distortion on “blues connotation”?

Yeah. I think that’s the only use of distortion on the record. The rest of the record is pretty straight-ahead, in terms of the sound. It’s mostly just the guitar.what’s the guitar you played?

It’s a new Roger Sadowsky Tele-style guitar, with a humbucker in the neck and a single-coil in the bridge. The producer, Manfred Eicher, thought it sounded the best of all the guitars I had with me that day, so we went with that one.You play with your thumb, rather than with a pick. when did you start doing that—and why?

It happened about 15 years ago, on tour. One night we were playing a really slow gutbucket blues. I thought, “Maybe I’ll just play this tune with my thumb.” I played the melody, which wasn’t that hard to play, and then took a solo. I didn’t play a lot of notes, but it felt so good to have the flesh of my thumb on the string. As the tour went on, I kept playing other tunes with my thumb. Pretty soon, I reached a point where I just preferred the sound and the feel.

I can play almost the same things with my thumb that I could play with the pick, except I can’t play vertically across the guitar as quickly as I used to—pentatonics and that kind of thing—because it’s almost impossible unless you ham-mer-on and pull-off everything. It never quite sounds right. But I don’t miss that. I played plenty of that when I was younger—fast penta-tonic licks with a pick. That was nice then, but I don’t have to play that anymore. I’ve kept play-ing with my thumb, and it’s served me well. g

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gear bench testgear

Whether it’s automobiles, boats, booze, watches, or any other fine things that people go nuts for, there’s always a market ready to buy. Even in times of economic uncertainty, a pre-mier league of players and enthusiasts will happily pay whatever it takes to get a guitar that sounds glorious, plays like a dream, and packs a high level of aesthetic appeal courtesy of fine woods, carefully chosen pickups, and all of the labor intensive details that go along with the package. A lofty price tag can also reflect the effort it takes to properly dry the woods (excess moisture in your guitar is a tone killer), or even the builder’s skill at creating guitars that look like they’ve been played for decades—complete with worn-in necks, faux belt-buckle wear, and just the right level of corrosion on the metal parts. Guitars are kind of unique in this regard—I mean, who would buy, say, a “pre-aged” Rolex?—and what started out in the late ’90s with Fender’s Relic Series gui-tars and basses and the advent of Seymour Duncan’s Antiquity pickups has inspired many of today’s makers to create their own high-dollar instruments that proudly wear dings and patina that

seemingly only years of service in smoke-filled clubs on the Chit-lin’ Circuit could inflict.

The 12 guitars on review in this roundup range from sparkling, showroom ready models like the Gretsch CST 6120 Chet Atkins and PRS ME Quatro to the soulfully aged Gibson ES-330 to the very distressed Fano JM6. Prices here range from around $3,000 to over $12,000, which highlights just how much swing there is in the market for top-tier production guitars. Of course, compared to what you’d pay for a Jol Dantzig Crow ($30,000 +), not to mention what a historic vintage guitar would set you back—say Roy Buchanan’s ’51 Tele, which recently sold for over $57,000 in Christie’s Rock and Roll Memorabilia auction—the prices for most of the 6-string bling in this roundup actually seem pretty tame.

We tested these guitars on gigs and in the studio using a variety of amps that included a Fender Deluxe Reverb, Marshall JMP-1H, Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, Matchless HC-30, Fryette Sig:X, Victoria Silver Sonic and Ivy League combos, Vox AC4, and a Rivera Venus 6. — A r t t h o m p s o n

12 Top Buck GuitarsRoundup


t h e b a s e l i n e s h 5 5 0 c o st s considerably less than two grand—but lots of custom shop options are available, and our review instrument sports many of them. The most obvious upgrade on display is the gorgeous Honey Burst AAAA flame-maple top, matched by an equally beauti-ful back, both of which are complemented by the flame-maple sides, neck, and head-stock, fitted with gold-plated hardware. Stainless-steel frets and abalone inlays grace the ebony fretboard. There’s even a 24-karat gold-plated headstock logo. Suf-fice to say, this is one snazzy guitar.

Upon closer examination, the excel-lent overall craftsmanship becomes appar-ent. The woodworking is superb, from the gently arching top with its binding-like exposed sides to the smoothly contoured edges along the back and the neck heel to the immaculate inlay work on the fretboard. The 22 medium-jumbo frets, too, are per-fectly set and dressed. Attention to detail is obviously the name of the game here.

The SH550’s “Rapid Play” neck is rel-atively narrow and thin, which, combined with the guitar’s deep cutaway, makes for quick moves throughout the instrument’s full range. Straight out of the case the action was set very low, resulting in mild buzz-ing in a few spots and some choked notes when bending strings above the 10th fret—but both problems were easily remedied by adjusting the bridge slightly. Post-tweak-ing, the guitar played like a dream, with no dead spots anywhere on the fretboard, and

even response across all strings. The into-nation was also excellent, and the instru-ment retained its tuning even when played aggressively, due at least in part to the lock-ing Sperzel machines.

Although the SH550 has only single Volume and Tone controls, when used in tandem with the pickup selector and the bridge pickup’s coil-splitting capabilities, the guitar proved surprisingly versatile (the $40 option provides two Volume and two Tone controls with individual push-pull coil splitting). When played through a Victoria Ivy League combo it produced big, round, warm tones suitable for traditional jazz and clean rhythm work, whereas it got down and dirty through a cranked Marshall JMP-1H, with all the requisite snarl and bite for classic rock sounds—from Page-like bridge-pickup squawk to sweet Clapton-esque neck-pickup Woman Tone. Paired with a Rivera Venus 6 combo, it yielded an even wider variety of sounds—including bluesy crunch and searing fusion tones—proving that the SH550 has the flexibility to handle nearly any musical style other than, say, ultra-twangy old-school coun-try on the one hand and supersaturated modern metal on the other.

I had so much fun playing the SH550 that I found it difficult to put down. The combination of physical beauty, inspir-ing tones, and appealing playability make for an alluring musical experience, and that’s why it receives an Editors’ Pick Award. — B A r r y C l e v e l A n d

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gear roundup

one of a series of stripped-doWn Custom Shop San Dimas guitars built for online retailer The Music Zoo (themusic-zoo.com), the SD-2H features a body made from old-growth recycled redwood—which must have spent time in the bottom of a river from the number of small worm holes in it—and a bolt-on neck of beautifully flamed maple. As with other models in the Carbonized Natural Series (which includes versions with recycled ash and pine bodies), the SD-2H’s woods are subjected to a kiln drying process that uses heat and pres-sure to drive out excess moisture in order to make the woods lighter and more reso-nant, and also very resistant to changes in climate. The “cooking” process effectively ages the wood by removing the hemi-cel-lulose that gives woods their flexibility, and the end result is that the stiffness to weight ratio of the woods is increased by 15 to 25 percent (depending on the spe-cies), which enhances the tonal response and also makes the woods easier to cut and machine. The lightness of the SD-2H is instantly captivating, and since the only finish is a thin coating of gunstock oil on the body and neck, the surfaces have a very warm, natural feel. This no-frills guitar has a pair of uncovered Seymour Duncan hum-buckers (SH-2N neck, Custom 5 bridge), which are screwed directly into the body. The Volume and Tone knobs, as well as the exterior parts of the 3-way selector, are all made from machined brass.

The workmanship on the SD-2H is stellar. The jumbo frets are crowned and polished to perfection, the neck fits super tightly in the body, and the intonation in all regions of the fretboard is very good. The action is extremely low, and the play-ing feel is light and quick. I dig the neck’s slim profile, and my only gripe is that the brown position dots on the fretboard can be difficult to see in dim light.

The machined brass NOS trem is an old-school affair that features adjustable saddles and an arm that has to be threaded in carefully to avoid cross threading. It’s not great for bending anyway, so I just left the arm off and enjoyed the solid, sustain enhancing contact with the bridge seated flush to the top with three springs in place. If you’re a serious trem user you’re prob-ably going to want to put a Floyd on this guitar and keep the NOS unit around for a paperweight or something.

The SD-2H sounded great whether dialed for crisp clean tones, warm solo textures, or moderately overdriven sounds when played straight into either a Fender Deluxe Reverb or a Victoria Ivy League combo. When using pedals for distortion (including a Hermida Audio Nu-Valve and Fuzz Face), the SD-2H tended to get a bit wooly sounding when pushing high gain settings, but by slightly backing off the Volume control (or lower-ing the gain slightly) the clarity instantly returned and sustaining notes sounded stringy and well detailed.

Light, toneful, and fun to play, the SD-2H definitely brings a sly, “parts guitar” atti-tude to a price category where the norm is flame tops and fine gloss finishes. This guitar radiates coolness, though, and anyone looking for a different take on a twin-humbucker solidbody should give it shot. — A r t t h o m p s o n

cONtact Charvel, charvel.com

MODeL san dimas sd-2h

PRIce $3,452 retail; $2,499 street

NUt wIDth 1.65"

NecK Carbonized flame maple,

bolt-on

FRetBOaRD Carbonized maple, 25.5”

scale

FRets 22 jumbo

tUNeRs die-cast

BODY recycled redwood

BRIDGe nos brass trem

PIcKUPs duncan sh-2n (neck),

Custom 5 (bridge)

cONtROLs volume, tone, 3-way selec-

tor

FactORY stRINGs Fender .010-.046

weIGht 6 lbs. 3 oz.

BUILt UsA

KUDOs light and toneful.

very resonant. superb play-

ability. Awesome organic

finish.

cONceRNs nos trem is useless. diffi-

cult to access the trussrod.


Charvel San Dimas SD-2H Carbonized Natural Series


gear

although still knoWn primarily for their amazing acoustic guitars, Collings is continuing to make a glorious noise in the electric market, and this beauty is sure to take that up a notch or two. Picking up where the venerable Les Paul Special left off, the 290 DC is, as the name intimates, a double-cutaway slab of gorgeous mahogany with a pair of P-90s. Collings gussies things up with the cool tortoiseshell pickguard and sexy ebony headstock veneer, and caps it all in a righteous high-gloss nitro finish.

Right out of the case (a sweet, deluxe Ameritage model), the 290 DC rang with a huge acoustic resonance. You really feel the sustain through the body and the substan-tial-but-comfy neck. The guitar ships with .011s but they feel like .010s—the mark of a supremely well-built guitar. The frets are perfectly level and beautifully rounded, and, although the bridge can’t be adjusted, it does have an intonation contour milled into the top bearing edge, and as a result it intonates like a dream.

We plugged the Collings into a variety of amps and it sounded awesome through each one. The Lollar pickups have great output, but it’s the detail that really knocks me out. They sound balanced and rich with a clang-ing bottom end and a silky, musical treble response. On a recording session, I ran both pickups with the bridge rolled back to 7 into a mildly dirty amp and the tone was big, open, and very dynamic. I was especially impressed with how responsive the 290 was to where I picked on the string. Even a difference of an inch or two toward or away from the bridge produced noticeable, use-able changes in timbre. And on the subject of the Volume controls, these are some of the best voiced pots I’ve ever experienced, with every part of the taper bringing out great new colors.

I seriously can’t find a single fault with the 290 DC. It’s all too easy for guitarists to say, “If I’m going to spend that kind of money, I’d just buy a (fill in the blank).” Nope. Not any-more. This guitar is not cheap, but it is worth every penny. We’ve long been impressed with this company’s acous-tic offerings, but I have no choice but to view Collings as a serious player in the electric game from this day forward. Rea-sonable people can disagree on things like scale length, body wood, electronics, etc., but for what it is, the 290 DC might just be the perfect guitar. Well done. —mAtt BlACkett

cONtact Collings,

collingsguitars.com

MODeL 290 dC

PRIce $3,275 retail; $2,947

street

NUt wIDth 1 11/16"

NecK mahogany with hand-set

mortise and tenon neck

joint and ebony peghead

veneer

FRetBOaRD 24 7/8"-scale rosewood

FRets 22 medium jumbo

tUNeRs Gotoh sG301 with vin-

tage-style buttons

BODY solid mahogany

BRIDGe Collings Custom Intonated

Wraparound tailpiece

PIcKUPs two handwound lollar

p-90s

cONtROLs two volume, two tone

3-way selector

FactORY stRINGs d’Addario eXl-115 .011-

.049

weIGht 7.86 lbs

BUILt UsA

KUDOs Flawless construction.

Gorgeous, 3-d tones.

Impeccable playability.

cONceRNs none.


Collings 290 DC


gear roundup

i fell in love With dennis fano’s Alt de Facto SP6 while reviewing it for Guitar Player (January, 2012), and this Custom

JM6 Set-Neck built by Dennis himself has the same instantly-bond-withable appeal. The premise of the Alt de Facto series—Fano’s creation of a “missing link” line of collaborations between the great Ameri-can guitar makers of the 1950s and ’60s—might read a little clunky on paper, but the guitars are so well executed that I have yet to find a player who hasn’t uttered a heart-felt “oooh!” when handling one in person. While most Alt de Facto guitars are built with bolt-on necks, Fano kicks it up a notch with this JM6, as he does occasionally, by using a glued-in neck joint.

A list of this JM6’s pertinent details reveals the middle ground between Fuller-ton and Kalamazoo circa 1962. The Jazz-master-shaped body is made from a single piece of solid mahogany, wears a nitrocel-lulose faded cherry finish, and carries an aged nickel TonePros Tune-o-matic bridge with nylon saddles and a Bigsby vibrato. The four-ply tortoiseshell pickguard is loaded with Lindy Fralin P-90 pickups, black top-hat knobs and a 3-way toggle switch. The glued-in mahogany neck runs to a 25.5" scale length, with aged nickel Kluson-style tuners on a back-angled headstock, and a width of 1 11/16" across the Tusq nut. This Custom JM6 has a sumptuous dark-choco-latey Brazilian rosewood fretboard—though this option will no longer be offered—with clay dots and 22 pristine Jescar 6105 frets, and the neck back is carved to a rounded late-’50s profile. The neck has a superb feel, and the compound 7.25" to 9.5" radius takes you easily from low-fret chording to

upper-fret riffing and bending. The entire guitar, other than fretboard and frets, has been given Fano’s medium-heavy distress-ing, a notion that might seem a little phony in theory, but which feels very authentic in the hand. The dings, chips, forearm and left-hand wear and buckle rash, as well as the gentle patina of the hardware, all help to bring home the “long lost legend” premise at the heart of the Alt de Facto series, while making the guitar feel like an old friend the first time you lift it from the case.

Tested through an EL34-modded sil-verface Fender Bassman and a Matchless HC-30, the JM6 displayed a willingness to go just about anywhere you want to take it, and have a great time on the jour-ney. The entire vibe of the guitar seems to lean you toward loose garage and grunge at the outset, but excursions into country, jazz, funk, or even some early-’70s classic metal are easily navigated. Tonally, look at it from either direction: The set neck and mahogany construction add warmth and depth to the traditional Fender formula, or the 25.5" scale livens up the Gibson-esque fur. Either way, there’s juicy bite and snarl aplenty in these Fralin P-90s, but with a bolder low-end boing than most Gibsons offer, a sophisticated sparkle in the highs, and a tautness that helps each note cut through. And the bonus is that the guitar stays in tune remarkably well, even with considerable Bigsby use. Ultimately, the Fano Custom Alt de Facto JM6 Set-Neck is a guitar with boatloads of character and surprisingly versatile talents. —dAve hUnter

cONtact premier Builders Guild,

premierbuildersguild.com

MODeL Fano Custom Alt de Facto

Jm6 set-neck

PRIce $3,230 street

NUt wIDth 1 11/16", Graphtech tusq

Xl

NecK mahogany, late-’50s

roundback profile

FRetBOaRD Brazilian rosewood, com-

pound radius 7.25" to 9.5"

FRets 22 Jescar 6105 (narrow,

tall)

tUNeRs vintage kluson-style

tuners

BODY solid mahogany

BRIDGe tonepros tune-o-matic

and Bigsby vibrato, aged

nickel

PIcKUPs two lindy Fralin p-90s

cONtROLs single volume and tone,

3-way switch

FactORY stRINGs dark horse .010-.046

weIGht 7.5 lbs

BUILt UsA

KUDOs excellent construction.

Boatloads of character

and a surprisingly versatile

voice

cONceRNs side-mounted output jack

requires right-angle plugs.


Fano Custom Alt de Facto JM6 Set-Neck



gear roundup

for most rockers it Was Jimmy Page in The Song Remains the Same, but for me, it was seeing Alex Lifeson play “Xanadu” that started a lifelong fascina-tion with doublenecks. There’s nothing quite like a doubleneck to embody the more-is-better ethos that guitarists know so well, and when a massive Fender case arrived at the office, I could barely con-tain my excitement. What we saw upon opening that case was this awesome sun-burst/tortoiseshell creation. It took me a second to figure out exactly what it was: a Jazzmaster paired with a Bass VI. I tuned it up and started riffing and I was blown away by how great the setup was on both necks. Easy fretting and bending on the guitar side, smooth chording and tic-tac-ing on the bass half. Without even plug-ging in, this is an incredibly resonant instrument, because A) its body is as big as a coffee table and B) you can’t help but get righteous sympathetic vibrations from whatever neck you’re not playing on. I was instantly hooked and needed to plug in.

To amplify this beast, I ran into a DR. Z EZG-50 for huge clean sounds and into a Marshall JMP for world-destroying dirty tones. Navigating the control matrix took a little getting used to. The 2-position slider switch on the upper bout lets you toggle between Jazzmaster only (on rhythm pickup, with volume and tone handled by the cool roller knobs) and both necks on. I chose to run both necks, kicking the Bass

VI neck in and out with the pickup on/off switches. The tones were what you expect from a Jazzmaster: brilliant chime and twang, with the ability to get into jazzier textures on the neck pickup and brash rock and surf sounds on the bridge. Switching over to the Bass VI was a mind-blower. I don’t consider myself a great bass player, but I do own a bass and when I play it, I really try to play it like a bass and not a guitar. This thing, however, with its guitar-down-an-octave tuning, is practi-cally begging you to grab A and D chord shapes and move them around. When you do, it’s a huge and inspiring sound. The string spacing is tight, so I was more comfortable with a pick than fingerstyle but everything sounds good on this. And just when I thought it couldn’t be any more bitchin’, I took the two trem arms out of the case, installed them, and more than doubled my cool factor with amaz-ing drunken Peter Gunn-isms on the Bass VI and trippy, drippy Ventures adventures on the Jazzmaster.

I can easily say that I’ve never played anything like this. I can also add that no one really needs this instrument, and, at eight large, very few can afford it. But I will say this without hesitation: Everyone who has the chance should try a Double Neck Jazzmaster/Bass VI because it’s just too much fun. And, if you do, have a friend take your picture with it. Come on … you know you want to! —mAtt BlACkett

cONtact Fender,

fendercustomshop.com

MODeL double neck Jazzmaster/

Bass vI (master Built by

dennis Galuszka)

PRIce $10,200 retail; $8,152

street

NUt wIDth 1.650” (Jazzmaster), 1.50”

(Bass vI)

NecK maple

FRetBOaRD round-lam rosewood

FRets 21 vintage-style per neck

tUNeRs vintage Chrome

BODY Ash

BRIDGe Jaguar tremolo

PIcKUPs two vintage Jaguar (Bass

vI), two vintage Jazzmas-

ter (Jazzmaster)

cONtROLs Upper bout: Jazzmas-

ter rhythm volume and

tone (roller knobs), 2-posi-

tion neck selector switch;

lower bout: four individ-

ual pickup on/off switches,

master volume, master

tone

FactORY stRINGs Fender .010-.046 (Jazz-

master), Fender .025-.095

(Bass vI)

weIGht 14.7 lbs

BUILt UsA

KUDOs Unique. very well made.

totally inspiring.

cONceRNs heavy as hell. expensive as

hell.


Fender Double Neck Jazzmaster/Bass VI

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gear roundup

introduced in 1959, the gibson ES-330 is one of many jewels in the Gibson ES line. Often overshadowed by the ES-335

and its brother from another mother, the Epiphone Casino, the ES-330 has been pressed into service by players such as Grant Green, Brian Jones, and B.B. King. Gibson’s Memphis, Tennessee, Custom Shop has brought this beauty back to life with an eye-catching “aged” reissue that gives this classic instrument the props it deserves. Sporting a VOS (vintage original specification) sunburst lacquer finish, the ES-330 pops visually, but it also exudes a satiny, worn-in quality that is easy on the eyes. The binding on the body and neck are aged to the point that they look like they have spent the past 40-plus years drink-ing coffee and smoking cigarettes, and the scatter-wound “dog ear” P-90s sport rusty polepieces that further add to the ES-330’s half-century-old vibe. These elements con-trast with the nut and tuner buttons, both of which are pure white.

The minute I picked up the ES-330, I knew I was cradling a winner. It plays beau-tifully and exudes the ultimate in vintage cool. The classic neck shape is inviting to play, and, quite frankly, makes the ES-330 tough to put down. Everyone who came in contact with the guitar gushed about its playability and its tasty worn-in looks. Sonically, the ES-330 doesn’t miss a beat. The hollow body in conjunction with the

trapeze tailpiece make for a lively sound-ing guitar—both plugged in and acous-tic—and the tones leap out of the body and the speaker as the guitar bursts with sonic energy. Running through a ’52 tweed Fender Deluxe or a late-’60s Princeton Reverb, the ES-330’s tones are pure vibe, with a beauti-ful amalgam of chime, barky midrange com-plexity, and a lush burnished texture that can work in a variety of musical contexts. Hell, you can even mic the ES-330 acous-tically and use it on a track—it’s that loud.

The ES-330 yearns to be plugged into a cranked tube amp where it can respond beautifully to every nuance of your play-ing. Some players may be bugged by the neck joining the body at the 16th fret, as it limits high-position access, but I found it refreshing as you get coaxed into a dif-ferent way of thinking when you’re play-ing, urging you to respond to what the instrument is willing to give. From jangle to rockabilly to badass blues, the ES-330 can deliver. It features a unique sonic sig-nature that is a boon for anyone search-ing for a tone tool that isn’t the garden variety Strat, Tele, or Les Paul thing. The ES-330 is lovingly crafted and it shows in both its outstanding cosmetics and won-derful playability and tones. Most excel-lent! — d A r r I n F o X

cONtact Gibson.com

MODeL Custom shop es-330


street

NUt wIDth 1.687"

NecK mahogany with maple

spline

FRetBOaRD rosewood 24.75"scale

FRets 22

tUNeRs tonepros kluson

BODY 3-ply maple/poplar/maple

top, back, and sides

BRIDGe trapeze-style

PIcKUPs dual “scatter wound” p-90

single-coils

cONtROLs two volume, two tone,

3-way selector

FactORY stRINGs Gibson .010-.046

weIGht 6 lbs. 3 oz.

BUILt UsA

KUDOs killer looks, playability,

and tones all wrapped up in

a classic package.

cONceRNs none.


Gibson Custom Shop ES-330 Reissue


gear roundup

b ritish luthier roger giffin first made a name for himself in 1960s London, and serviced the guitars of many

of the era’s biggest names in his workshop under the arches of a bridge crossing the River Thames, while simultaneously pioneer-ing a line of his own designs. Having moved his operation to America’s West coast in the mid ’80s, Giffin is now part of the Premier Builders Guild stable, where several of his models are built by the small team in Arroyo Grande, California. The Valiant Solid Body was built by PBG master builder Gene Baker to Giffin’s exacting specs, and is said to be Giffin’s response to the frequent request, “Roger, can you make me a Les Paul?” As such, it’s a speedy and streamlined update on the format.

The Valiant’s raw ingredients—a solid mahogany body, glued-in mahogany neck, carved plain maple top, dual humbuckers, and a 24.625" scale length—will have an air of familiarity. The details, however, such as the swept-back lower bout for excellent balance on the lap, the straight string line from Tusq nut slots to the Sperzels’ posts for tuning stability, the extra couple of frets access afforded by the deeper cutaway, and the comfort provided by the belly contour, all speak to careful consideration of every element of the design.

The use of a fully intonatable TonePros wraparound bridge and just Volume and Tone controls avoids cluttering the faintly glittering surface of the Cadillac Green top (other finishes available), aiding a simple elegance that defines the Valiant. Gold-plated hardware seems the right choice for this look, while the rosewood-faced headstock with abalone “Giffin” inlay and the vertical-line abalone inlays in the

rosewood fretboard further enhance the guitar’s individuality. It’s all amped via a pair of Amalfitano Fullbuckers; PAF-style humbuckers wound to vintage specs, with readings of around 8.2kΩ in the bridge and 7.5kΩ in the neck.

From stem to stern, workmanship is top notch. The softly V’d “late-’50s” neck pro-file feels great, the fret ends are smooth, and the action is sweetly easy all along the neck. The only minor hitch was an adjust-ment screw that had worked loose on the south side of the neck pickup. It still rat-tled slightly in its mounting ring once I had re-seated it and adjusted the pickup height (something that longer springs for increased mounting tension might cure).

Tested through an EL34-modded sil-verface Fender Bassman and a Matchless HC-30, the Valiant proved an able and ver-satile performer. Even with the Bassman’s gain advanced toward plexi-like crunch, the neck pickup remained surprisingly crisp and clear, with a nasal honk that contributed to an extremely distinctive, vintage-voiced tone. There was plenty of grunt from the bridge pickup, which is enticingly warm and avoids that ice-picky edge that some bridge humbuckers supply, while retaining plenty of midrangey bark and enough grind to roll from classic rock to grunge to indie without missing a beat. The Valiant offered excellent sustain and a ringing, overtone-laden harmonic bloom in all settings—tes-tament to its solidity, and the basic virtue of the build—and, in short, proved an excel-lent LP-alternative with abundant mojo of its own. — d A v e h U n t e r

cONtact premier Builders Guild,

premierbuildersguild.com

MODeL Giffin valiant solid Body

PRIce $3,995 street

NUt wIDth 1 11/16" Graphtech tusq

Xl

NecK mahogany, softly v’d pro-

file

FRetBOaRD rosewood, 12" radius

FRets 22 medium-jumbo

tUNeRs enclosed sperzel solid

pros, gold

BODY solid mahogany with

carved plain maple top

BRIDGe Gold tonepros Avt Wrap-

around

PIcKUPs two Amalfitano Fullbucker

humbuckers

cONtROLs master volume and tone

controls, three-way switch

FactORY stRINGs d’Addario .010-.046

weIGht 8.8 lbs

BUILt UsA

KUDOs A simple yet elegant and

original take on the set-

neck formula. Beautifully

crafted and sonically ver-

satile.

cONceRNs minor issues with neck

pickup mounting hardware.


Giffin Valiant Solid Body


gear

i don’t often hold $12,000 guitars in my hands, and, as I have a completely innocent proclivity to, um, “wound” instru-ments at gigs, I was pretty much fouling myself in fear while reviewing the CST 6120. Happily, for the sake of my intes-tines, the Gretsch family, and this fine guitar, the manufacturer needed the CST 6120 returned almost immediately, so all testing was done in the relative safety of the Guitar Player soundroom. I ran this custom-shop-crafted 6120 through a Marshall 50th Anniversary JMP-1H head and 1x12 cabi-net, a tweed Victoria combo (loaded with a 12" Jensen), and a Fishman SA 220. For added fun, I tossed in a Hartmann Tommy Bolin Fuzz and a Boss RE-20 Space Echo.

The CST 6120 produces a full-bodied acous-tic zing before you even go near an ampli-fier. There’s a nice chunk-and-shimmer to pick attacks, and fingerpicked parts are clear and articulate. If recorded with nothing but a decent microphone, this guitar could sub quite ably for a flat-top acoustic. It should be no surprise to Gretsch fans that, once plugged in, the CST 6120 delivers a beauti-ful and vibey Duane Eddy-style tone for sin-gle-note runs and bass-string riffs. You get that thick, low-midrange pop, along with a smooth treble. These tonal colors remained intact throughout clean to gritty settings on the test amps, but obviously compressed a bit for more saturated sounds (though no

low-end mud was audible at any time). I pre-ferred the bridge pickup for rockier sounds, and basked in that ballsy, punk-esque roar that The Living End’s Chris Cheney’s goes for. The tone still has some nice pop and thud, but the bridge pickup also produced a singing, stinging, edgy treble. I couldn’t bring myself to really bash on this posh jewel, but dynamic impact was excellent—both while adjusting Volume controls and easing up on pick and finger attacks.

Cosmetically, the CST 6120 is stun-ning. It’s hard not to be beguiled by the Lake Placid Blue finish, the gold hardware, and the cat’s eye f-holes. Workmanship is excellent, as it should be for this price. Playability is similarly outstanding for a hollowbody—although the placement and nature of the controls can take some get-ting used to, and for 12 grand, I’d prefer a 2-position, off/on kill switch, rather than the somewhat head-scratching 3-position switch offered here (on/off/on).

Ultimately, the CST 6120 is an exqui-site example of the classic Gretsch hollow-body. But, at more than $12,000, I can’t imagine it as a gigging instrument. (I can’t even believe I held this beauty in my hands without turning to dust.) So if you’re into truly collectible 6120s, and want some-thing spectacular to match your powder-blue Bentley, this is definitely your go-to guitar. — m I C h A e l m o l e n d A

cONtact gretschguitars.com

MODeL Gretsch Cst 6120 Chet

Atkins

PRIce $12,350 retail

NUt wIDth 1 11/16"

NecK maple, “Fat C” shape

FRetBOaRD 24.625”-scale ebony

FRets 22 vintage (with zero fret)

tUNeRs Grover roto-matic with

Imperial buttons

BODY maple

BRIDGe Brass rocking Bar tru-Arc

with Bigsby B-6G

PIcKUPs two tv Jones Classic

cONtROLs master volume, neck

volume, bridge volume,

3-way selector, tone

switch, standby switch

FactORY stRINGs d’Addario, .010 set

weIGht 8.5 lbs

BUILt UsA

KUDOs Classic tones. dazzling

appearance. excellent

playability.

cONceRNs Way pricey for just-plain

folk.


Gretsch CST 6120 Chet Atkins


gear roundup

as the latest guy to fill the shred chair in Megadeth, Chris Broderick is bring-ing a boatload of chops and tone to the party. Jackson is recognizing Broderick’s impressive talents with two signature models—a 6-string and a 7-string. The 6-string reviewed here is a gorgeous, sleek burner, with a cool, trans-white finish that shows off the quilt top (and matching headstock facing) in a classy way, while the horns and the headstock are just pointy enough to bring a little danger and not let the guitar be too pretty. The feel and setup are right on the money, with smooth

frets and action that is high enough to pro-duce great sustain but low enough to blaze on. The neck heel has an incredibly low pro-file and polished finish, making it a breeze to reach all 24 frets and imparting the illu-sion that the entire instrument was made out of a single piece of glass. The Broderick is heavy in a substantial kind of way, feel-ing solid but not clunky. It definitely feels like an ax for players who like some heft in their tone and their music.

I plugged the Broderick into a Blackstar HT5 and a Fryette Sig:X and heard incred-ible punch from the bridge humbucker. It’s a loud, strong tone with a huge mid-range thump, even on clean sounds. The top end has enough slice to lend clarity to even the fastest low-string riffs. Accord-ing to DiMarzio’s Steve Blucher, Broder-ick used the company’s ceramic-magnet D Activator humbucker as a jumping off point for his signature pickup. Because Broderick does a fair amount of soling on the neck pickup, he wanted his neck model to have the clarity of DiMarzio’s PAF Pro, but with a more vocal top and fatter highs. That definitely sounds like what this pickup can do—even at massive gain settings, it sounds clear and articulate with no mush or buzziness. Nice! Splitting the coils gave me more flexibility on clean sounds, with the neck humbucker getting particularly funky. Bypassing the Tone control by pull-ing up on it didn’t do too much to my ears and isn’t something I would need, but the kill switch could definitely come in handy for silencing the guitar between tunes or doing a righteous Tom Morello stutter. The floating Floyd gives rise to great vibrato, divebombs, and crazy harmonic warbles.

This guitar is a lot of fun to play, with an excellent combination of bridge pickup scream and neck pickup sing. It’s amazingly solid and would be a great choice for aggro modern metal players and old-school (i.e. Rhoads-era) burners alike. — m At t B l A C k e t t

cONtact Jackson,

jacksonguitars.com

MODeL Chris Broderick soloist 6


street

NUt wIDth 1.687"

NecK Quartersawn maple

FRetBOaRD 25.5"-scale ebony with

quilted maple binding

FRets 24 jumbo stainless steel

tUNeRs planet Waves Auto-trim

BODY mahogany sides and back

with quilted maple top

BRIDGe Floyd rose pro

PIcKUPs two direct-mounted

Chris Broderick-designed

custom dimarzio hum-

buckers

cONtROLs volume (with push/pull coil

split), tone (with push/pull

tone bypass), 3-way selec-

tor, kill switch

FactORY stRINGs Fender .010-.046

weIGht 9.56 lbs

BUILt UsA

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Aggressive, biting tones.

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gear roundup

this chena from knaggs’s Influ-ence series is a medium-sized, single-cutaway hollowbody that’s carved both outside and in. More than merely chambered, it has acous-tic air space throughout the body between the maple top and mahogany back, except for where the integral mahogany sustain block rises to meet the top just below the bridge, a point at which the Chena reaches its maximum depth of approximately 2.25". As a Tier 1 instrument, Chena is decked in the height of Knaggs finery. A sedately lively Winter Solstice nitro finish displays glow-ing blue-to-indigo highlights in the beauti-fully figured top, which goes one up on the

trend for natural wood edges with a three-ply inlay cleverly inserted within the flamed maple outer band. Intricate Koa-and-Ecru shell inlays adorn the unbound ebony fret-board, while a matching seahorse dresses up the ebony headstock facing, upping the ele-gance of the gold Waverly tuners and ebony trussrod cover.

The gold-plated hardware includes Dunlop StrapLoks and Knaggs’ own Influence bridge design, which pairs a string anchor and a Tune-o-matic bridge in a single screw-down unit intended to enhance sustain. On evi-dence of the unplugged Chena, it sure seems to work: The guitar rings with a lively, loud acoustic resonance that blooms with a longer note decay than heard in most hollowbod-ies. The neck is carved to a comfy rounded ’59 profile, and the 22 medium-jumbo frets are all immaculately dressed and crowned. A pair of Lindy Fralin Pure PAF humbuck-ers (8.08kΩ neck, 8.48kΩ bridge) route through individual Volumes, master Tone, and a 3-way selector.

Tested the through a Matchless HC-30 head and cab, a tweed-like 15-watt 1x12 combo, and a range of pedals, the Chena sounded lush, rich, and exceedingly toneful at every turn. The hollow body with sustain block and Influence bridge partner up to generate a thick yet clear and harmon-ics-laden voice, which these PAF-like Fralin humbuckers translate to your ideal boutique-grade rendition of classic electric archtop and semi-hollow tone on demand. It’s an ideal choice for a player who wants an instrument to purr like a great L-5CES, but also needs to rock-out ES-335 style too, and it can even tread some LP-ish ground when required. Get close to a cranked amp and you’ll encounter some body howl, but you’d rarely need to play in a position that makes that a problem, and it’s even a useful sustain and feedback generator when you need it. From sound to look to playing feel, the Chena is one extremely impressive guitar. — d A v e h U n t e r

cONtact knaggs Guitars, knaggs-

guitars.com

MODeL Influence series Chena

(tier 1)

PRIce $6,895 street

NUt wIDth 1 11/16”, bone

NecK mahogany, rounded ’59

profile

FRetBOaRD ebony, 24.75” scale, 12"

radius


tUNeRs open-backed Waverly, gold

BODY Internally carved hollow

mahogany body with

flame-maple top

BRIDGe knaggs Influence tune-

o-matic style bridge with

integral tailpiece

PIcKUPs lindy Fralin pure pAF hum-

buckers with gold covers

cONtROLs Independent volumes,

master tone, 3-way selec-

tor

FactORY stRINGs d’Addario Xl .011-.049

weIGht 5.89 lbs

BUILt UsA

KUDOs A beautifully crafted show-

piece that also offers

stellar tones and superb

playability

cONceRNs none.


Knaggs Influence Series Chena

Xtremely Tasty

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gear roundup

the fourth incarnation of the Modern Eagle series, the MEQuatro is most similar to the Modern Eagle II in its layout and design. Updates include the compa-ny’s stunning V12 finish, ultra-comfortable

Pattern neck shape (a variation of the PRS wide-fat carve), and a pair of meticulously voiced 53/10 pickups. The process of cre-ating the 53/10s began when PRS scrupu-lously analyzed the individual components of 1959 PAF neck pickup from a Les Paul Custom in a quest to further understand the equation that generates the coveted PAF tone. The findings were then paired with those from a similar study on a 1953 single-coil pickup to create what ultimately became the 53/10 series.

To experience the result of all this effort in a real life setting, I brought the Quatro out with me for two different tours. The first was with country duo, Big & Rich. Their set ranges from Tom Petty and Chili Peppers covers to their own songs, which require everything from twangy tones to turbo overdrive. The Quatro’s push/pull Tone pot (which splits the pickup coils) certainly helped in achieving many of the sounds I needed, but one of the most strik-ing sonic aspects of this guitar is the 53/10 pickups—in particular, the character of their high end. The pickups have plenty of vintage bite, but the highs are wide and meaty, even in split-coil mode. Engaging both humbuckers yielded a stellar slide tone, and it was nearly impossible to get any tubby and bulging lows or shrill highs out of the Quatro without making illogical EQ changes to the amplifier.

The second tour was with a new artist that could best be described as Linkin Park meets Rage Against the Machine with fiddle. The Quatro handled the drop tunings with

rock-solid stability and paired nicely with a Mesa Boogie Multi-Watt Dual Recti-fier for authentic heavy riffage. I like how even and well-balanced the Quatro’s fre-quencies are, and in true vintage form, the 53/10s respond well to the Volume knob being rolled back for cleaner tones, even when the amp is dialed up with an over-driven sound.

As is typical with PRS guitars, the Quatro’s playability is excellent. The rosewood neck features a sanded-down and buffed-out treatment on the back that provides instant comfort with a the feel of aneck that has been worn in without feeling worn out. The frets are dressed with first-class skill, and the cream-colored binding on the rose-wood ’board really helps the fret markers pop with greater visibility, which is criti-cal on dimly lit stages. The V12 finish on the body and headstock facing delivers the classic PRS “dipped in glass” appear-ance, but still allows the guitar to breathe. Even when the Quatro is played acousti-cally, the vibrations generated by chords are felt throughout the instrument, which is a consistent.

Excellence lies in the details, and every-thing from the gemstone-like scalloped knobs, signature bird inlays, and coco-bolo headstock veneer, and even the gui-tar’s paisley case shows the company’s dedication to detail. The bottom line: The ME Quatro is a high-quality, sonic work-horse designed to satisfy the most discern-ing guitarist who appreciates exceptional aesthetics. — p A U l “ t F o ” A l l e n

cONtact prs Guitars, prsguitars.

com

MODeL me Quatro

PRIce $4,399 street

NUt wIDth 1 11/16"

NecK select east Indian rose-

wood, glued-in

FRetBOaRD Bound east Indian

rosewood, 25" scale

FRets 22

tUNeRs prs phase III locking

BODY mahogany with figured

“artist grade” maple top

BRIDGe prs stop-tail

PIcKUPs two prs 53/10 humbuck-

ers

cONtROLs single volume and push/

pull tone, 3-way selector.

weIGht 7.1 lbs

stRINGs sIt power Wound, .010 -

.046

BUILt UsA

KUDOs exceptional quality and

playability. 53/10 bridge

pickup has a smooth and

full high end.

cONceRNs none.


PRS ME Quatro

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gear roundup

roger sadoWsky offers a broad menu of options for the guitars and basses that he and his team build in Long Island City, New York, and the HSH S-Style on review here features an upgrades list that includes a mahogany body ($50), flame- maple top ($300), scraped “binding” ($50), ebony fretboard ($100), and black hard-ware ($50)—the total of which elevates the base price of $3,775 to $4,325. As you’d expect for this kind of money, the HSH S-Style is a finely crafted instrument with every element attended to for opti-mum tone, playability, and appearance. The natural maple neck feels sleek and invit-ing, and the expertly finished frets, low action, and solid intonation add to a feel-ing of unhindered playability. Trem users will also appreciate the smoothness and excellent return-to-pitch response of the Gotoh 510 bridge. The added stability of locking Sperzel tuners makes it an ideal setup for those who don’t want the drama of a double locking system.

The HSH S-Style’s electronics package is an ambitious affair that features a pair of custom-wound DiMarzio humbuckers flanking a single-coil in the center slot. A 5-way switch provides the usual combi-nations, but also works in tandem with a 2-position mini toggle that either acti-vates a neck-plus-bridge combination when the 5-way is in either the neck or bridge position, or activates all three pickups when the 5-way is in the middle position.

But wait, there’s more: A second 3-way mini toggle lets you choose total bypass (fully passive), preamp on (which also brings in the Middle control to provide a variable boost at 400Hz), and gain boost (adjustable via a trimpot on the circuit board). Needless to say, there’s a mind-boggling number of ways to change up the sounds of this guitar—from tradi-tional passive humbucker and single-coil tones, to more powerful “active” sounds that can easily push an amp into over-drive while giving more precise control of the midrange frequencies. The preamp (which is also very quiet) is powered by a 9-volt battery that rests in a sep-arate rout inside the neatly wired con-trol cavity. Noteworthy is that the cover plate for the electronics is secured with machine screws that won’t strip out like wood screws can. The trem bay cover uses wood screws, however.

Whether you’re going for sparkling clean tones with clucky in-between tonal-ities (very crisp and bell-like with the Tone knob pulled up to put the humbuckers in single-coil mode) or heavily distorted shred tones—or any point in-between—the HSH S-Style makes it easy to get there. The gui-tar’s chameleon-like sonic abilities might create some option anxiety, but if having tons of sounds at your fingertips is impor-tant, this 6-string equivalent of the Swiss Army Knife with its top-tier build and play-ability is a winner. — A r t t h o m p s o n

cONtact sadowsky Guitars; sad-

owskyguitars.com

MODeL hsh s-style

PRIce $3,775 base, $4,325 as

tested

NUt wIDth 1.69"

NecK Flat sawn eastern maple,

bolt-on

FRetBOaRD ebony, 25.5" scale


tUNeRs sperzel locking w/custom

post heights

BODY Chambered khaya mahog-

any w/optional flame-

maple top

BRIDGe Gotoh 510

PIcKUPs two dimarzio custom

wound humbuckers, one

dimarzio single-coil

cONtROLs volume, tone (pulls to

split the humbuckers),

5-way selector, 3-way mini

toggle (preamp off, on,

gain boost), middle con-

trol (functions only when

preamp is active), 2-way

mini toggle (adds neck +

bridge pickups or all three

pickups simultaneously)

FactORY stRINGs sadowsky Alloy 52 .010-

.046

weIGht 6.5 lbs

BUILt UsA

KUDOs superb playability. excel-

lent workmanship. tons of

sounds.

cONceRNs none.


Sadowsky HSH S-Style

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current issue

42 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2 G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

Artists

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OCTOBER 2012 $6.50

A N E W B A Y M E D I A P U B L I C A T I O N

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D.i.y. Mixinglesson

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Demons of Dark & Light

John 5 & BrenDon smaLL

gpr1012_cover3b_ph1.indd 1 7/31/12 7:01 PM


Gear

For more than 20 years now, Kim Breedlove has proved himself one of the more innovative luthiers in the business. This Oregon-based maker has studiously rethought his approach to body shapes and wood dimen-sions, bridge design and bracing systems, tonewood selection, and more. For his new Voice Series, Breedlove applies equally thorough R&D into the marriage of instrument and pickup/preamp system, partnering with LR Baggs to create a range of guitars that sound as much as possible like their acoustic selves through the pickup maker’s Anthem Tru-Voice Electronics System. On review this issue, Breedlove’s Voice CM, Voice Concert, and Voice Auditorium, all of which carry the Anthem Tru-Voice system, while displaying variables in body style and woods.

Breedlove Voice Series CM, Concert, and Auditorium Acoustic Guitarst ested By dave hunter

gpr1012_Gear_Breedlove_dc1.indd 122 8/2/12 10:37 AM


Lessons

TAB

TAB

TAB

Elec. Gtr. (clean)

Amaj7 G 6 Cm7 5 Bm7= 85

Moderately fast

=

3

3

E6 Amaj7 Cm11 5 Bm7

E6 Amaj7 Cm6/7 F 7 5 9 Bm11

0 0

9 9 7

0 0

7 7 6

5 5 4

4 6 5 6

0 4

4 2 3 3

1 1 1

2

2 2 2 3

2 4 2

2 0

0

4 2

2 2 0 0 1 3

3 3 0

0

2 2 1

0 0

2 2

0 1

0 0 2

4

4 2

2 2 0 0 1 3

3 3 0

0

2 2 1

0

0 0 2 3

0 1 2

5 3 3

4 5 2 2

0 0 0

2 2 0 2

4 5 2

2 2 0

0 4

A

1 1 1 3

1 1

4 1 4 2

2 2 3

4 5 4

2 2 0

4

EvEry oncE in a whilE a tunE captures your interest almost to the point of obsession. Case in point: While attending high school in the early ’70s in Brockville, Ontario, Canada, I stayed up late most nights to watch The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. It wasn’t really for the guests that plugged their wares but to hear and see the

house band and whoever sat in with them. (Fun fact: While a student at GIT in Los Angeles in the ’80s I even attended a taping of the show and Robben Ford, a regular cli-nician at the school, was performing with Doobie Brother Michael McDonald. Score!) Needless to say, the theme song for the show made a huge, nightly impression on me.

So, in tribute to Johnny Carson and Paul Anka I‘ve arranged a short fingerstyle guitar chorus of “Johnny’s Theme,” essen-tially what the band played as Ed McMahon introduced Carson. I had already arranged the tune for a local big band a number of years ago (my first attempt at scoring for such an ensemble), so I thought I’d create a brief solo guitar version as well. My tem-plate was culled from a Doc Severinsen CD featuring the whole band, and I’ve tried to capture or imply the horn nuances and lines. Originally recorded in Db, I’ve arranged it down a major third for the more guitar friendly key of A.

This arrangement is essentially five cho-ruses of a four-measure I-VIm-IIm-V pro-gression in A, or Amaj7-F#m7-Bm7-E7. The first two measures are a call between saxes and trumpets and a response by trombones. These motifs are repeated in measures 7 and 8 and form the basis of the tune. I’ve tried to stay true to the original horn voic-ings with the elaborate chord grips in mea-sures 6 and 10. The fingerings may take a while to nail at this tempo but once you have them, the arrangement flows nicely. The humorous soli tag in measure 21 sets up the final measure. Take it slowly and build your tempo. Heeeeere’s Johnny! g

Hemme Luttjeboer has transcribed more than 250 guitar music books. Check him out at musiconpaper.com

Big Band Arrangement of “The Tonight Show Theme” for Fingerstyle GuitarBy hEmmE lutt jEBoEr

m o r E o n l i n E

• SeevideoofLuttjeboerplayinghisarrangementatguitarplayer.com.

Get this link and more at guitarplayer.com/october2012

gpr1012_less_dc1.indd 94 8/1/12 12:04 PM

Here’s what’s in the October 2012 issue of GP, on Newsstands Now!

GP COMMUNITYIt’s all about you! Share your photos, gear and CD/DVD reviews, likes/dislikes, favorite amps and guitars, tone and technique tips, gig stories, and more with the Guitar Player reader community. Come on! Join in!

Opening ShotsWe get up close and personal with the wire, wood, hardware, and voodoo that make playing guitar the coolest thing in the world.

RIFFSSteve Lukather on rocking with Ringo, Matt Schofield on his signature Two-Rock amp, the Montreal Guitar Show, the Sweetwater GearFest, Editors’ Faves, and more!

COVER STORYJohn 5 and Brendon Small - A metal meeting of the minds, the Dethklok guitarist and the Rob Zombie sideman talk to GP and talk to each other in this one-of-a-kind cover story. Bonus! Exclusive lesson!

ARTISTSJohn Abercrombie · Neal Schon · Ahmet Bilgiç · Mayhem Festival

LESSONSThe Tonight Show ThemeThe big band favorite interpreted for solo guitar.

I-IV-V LessonThe three most common chords in western music, presented in uncommon fashion.

Hey Jazz GuyJake Hertzog gives you the inside scoop on playing outside.

Beginner Lesson: Led ZeppelinThe “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” intro, from the book Led Zeppelin Guitar Method by Alfred Publishing.

GEARRoundup! 12 top-shelf electrics Breedlove Voice Series CM, Concert, and Auditorium acousticsSterling S.U.B. AX3 and S.U.B. Silo3 electrics Yamaha THR10 Stompbox Fever! Dunlop JB95 Joe Bonamassa Signature Cry Baby and EJF1 Eric Johnson Signature Fuzz FaceMoogerfooger MF-108M Cluster FluxBrain Snack Five Things About Picks

PERFORMINGGig Smarts D-I-Y Mixing

ROCKlessons


lessonslessonslessons

Howard roberts performing at tHe roberts music institute of bellevue, wasHington, witH bob magnussen (bass), Joe porcaro (drums), and carl scHroeder (keyboards).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h76NVQjwRR0

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Distribution USA: U S M u s i c C o r p . • 1 0 0 0 C o r p o r a t e G r o v e D r i v e • B u f f a l o G r o v e I L 6 0 0 8 9 • P h o n e 8 0 0 8 7 7 6 8 6 3 • F a x 8 4 7 9 4 9 8 4 4 4 E - M a i l : F r a m u s . i n f o @ U S M u s i c C o r p . c o mDistribution Canada: K o r g C a n a d a , a d i v i s i o n o f J A M i n d u s t r i e s • P h o n e 5 1 4 4 5 7 2 5 5 5 • W e b : w w w . k o r g c a n a d a . c o mArtist Contact: W a r w i c k M u s i c E q u i p m e n t T r a d i n g ( N Y U S A ) I n c . • 7 6 - 8 0 E a s t 7 t h S t r e e t N e w Y o r k • N Y 1 0 0 0 3 • P h o n e 2 1 2 7 7 7 6 9 9 0 • E - M a i l : a r t i s t @ f r a m u s . c o m Headquarters: W a r w i c k G m b H & C o . M u s i c E q u i p m e n t K G • G e w e r b e p a r k 4 6 • 0 8 2 5 8 M a r k n e u k i r c h e n / G e r m a n y Branches: SHANGHA I / P.R .Ch i n a • DÜBENDORF / Sw i t z e r l a n d • PRAHA / C z e c h & S l o v a k i a R epub l i c • WARSAW / Po l a n d • H A I LSH AM / G r e a t B r i t a i n

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mason Williams/arr. Barbosa-Limatranscriptions

GUITAR PLAYER VAULT | October 2012 | 59Used by Permission of ALFRED MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., INC.

mason Williams/arr. Barbosa-Lima


transcriptions van halen


GUITAR PLAYER VAULT | October 2012 | 61Used by Permission of ALFRED MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., INC.

van halen


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van halen


transcriptions



transcriptions


van halen


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Handcrafted in Germany

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US Music Corp. • 1000 Corporate Grove Drive • Buffalo Grove • IL 60089 • Phone 800 877 6863 • Fax 847 949 8444 E-Mail:[email protected] o r g C a n a d a , a d i v i s i o n o f J A M i n d u s t r i e s • P h o n e 5 1 4 4 5 7 2 5 5 5 • W e b : w w w . k o r g c a n a d a . c o mWarwick Music Equipment Trading (NY USA) Inc. • 76-80 East 7th Street • New York • NY 10003 • Phone: 212 777 6990 • E-Mail: [email protected] W a r w i c k G m b H & C o . M u s i c E q u i p m e n t K G • G e w e r b e p a r k 4 6 • 0 8 2 5 8 M a r k n e u k i r c h e n / G e r m a n y SHANGHA I / P.R .Ch i n a • DÜBENDORF / Sw i t z e r l a n d • PRAHA / C z e ch & S l o v a k i a Repub l i c • WARSAW / Po l a nd • HA I LSHAM / G r e a t B r i t a i n


transcriptions


van halen

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10.1

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Guitar Player Vault October 2012