Guitar World

WHY DO WE crave new guitars when we already have a SWAT team’s worth of guitars in all different shapes, sizes and pickup configurations? I’ve come to realize that — unless you’re super wealthy and buy guitars simply because you can — it all comes do

LAST MONTH, I introduced the expressive approach of playing all the notes of the E minor pentatonic scale (E, G, A, B, D) on the B string only, utilizing bending techniques to scoop into a note from below or swoop down to it from above, in the latter

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Damian Fanelli damian.fanelli@futurenet.com SENIOR MUSIC EDITOR Jimmy Brown TECH EDITOR Paul Riario ASSOCIATE EDITORS Andy Aledort, Chris Gill PRODUCTION EDITOR Jem Roberts MUSIC TRANSCRIPTIONISTS/ENGRAVERS Jeff Perrin CO

IN THIS COLUMN, I’d like to focus on the intro rhythm part from the song “Gainesville Station,” from my latest record, Soul Shifter. Guitarist Steve Gaines from Lynyrd Skynyrd was a big inspiration for me when I was a kid, and I wrote this song as a

LAST MONTH, WE analyzed the hypnotic, cyclical rhythmic pattern featured in the Led Zeppelin classic “Kashmir” and learned how to count it a couple of different ways. I then offered a few “spin-off” variations on it that I came up with, which posed a

CONSIDERING THAT THE Boss OC-2 Octave — with its straightforward sub-octave pitch-shifting — has been the perennial “thickening agent” for so many guitarists and bassists since its introduction in 1982, it’s somewhat surprising that this glittery esp

ANYONE WHO HAS seen Joe Bonamassa’s massive vintage guitar collection has probably assumed that the dude is hell on every and Sixties. While sometimes that I wish that he’d leave things alone just for a little while so the rest of us could have a cha

• GUITARS 2001 Fender Stratocaster with DiMarzio Cruiser pickups • AMP Fender ’68 Custom Deluxe Reverb reissue • EFFECTS MXR M148 Micro Chorus, DigiTech Whammy (5th Gen.), Dunlop GCB95 Cry Baby wah, Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter, Boss DS-1 Distortion, MX

AT THE BOTTOM OF THE “THANKS” LIST on Mr. Bungle’s first demo tape, The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny, the Humboldt County, California, teenagers offer their fans, herein described as “demented geeks & skankers,” an all-caps message outlining thei

I want to thank GW for producing such a high-quality tribute to the G.O.A.T., EVH [January 2021]. I’ve purchased several magazines remembering EVH, and I’m proud to say as a longtime subscriber, none stacked up to GW. I was particularly moved by the

2020 IS OFFICIALLY a bust, thanks to the pandemic, but the silver lining of being shuttered indoors is that many of us have taken up new hobbies or simply making a fresh start with stuff we’ve never had time for — like that guitar hanging on the wall

THE KEY TO getting great live guitar tone is by following a similar approach to what an engineer does in the recording studio: using a high-pass filter to cut excess bass, adjusting key EQ frequencies and applying high-quality transparent compression

LAST MONTH, I introduced the basic approach I use to play the song “Over the Line,” a traditional bluegrass-style tune I cowrote with Steve Poltz that appears as the title track on an album by the band Jeff Scroggins and Colorado. Traditional bluegra

Squier Classic Vibe ’70s Stratocaster HSS Randall RG80 1x12 combo Boss DS-1 Electro-Harmonix Small Clone Seymour Duncan JB bridge humbucker TONE TIP: Since the Boss DS-1 provides the bulk of the distorted tone character, an amp with good clean tones

AGE: 54 HOMETOWN: Smithville, MO GUITARS: Ibanez JS140, JS1000, JEM “Bad Horsie,” JEM 77FP, JEM 777, homemade light-up JEM, Ibanez EW20ASE SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING: Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” The Vapors “Turning Japanese,” Black Sabbath “

ProBucker 2 and 3 humbucking pickups are made with several identical details to original PAF pickups to provide authentic vintage tones. The “epsilon logo” tuners are based on the unusual stock Kolb tuners found on Joe’s original Black Beauty Les Pau

GUITAR: Early Nineties Japanese Fender Stratocaster with rosewood neck and Seymour Duncan JB bridge humbucker (bridge pickup), Volume: 10 AMPS: Mesa/Boogie Studio preamp (Rhythm channel, Volume: 6, Master: 5, Treble: 6, Bass: 3, Middle: 8, Reverb: 0

STREET PRICE: $289 MANUFACTURER: DryBell, drybell.com The Boost and Range controls provide sound similar to a classic Rangemaster Treble Booster with the added versatility of Low and High EQ shaping. Whether adjusted from fully dry to fully wet, t

CO-GUITARISTS AND SISTERS Rebecca and Megan Lovell turn in a refreshingly raw and soulful performance with this popular 2017 cover of an old Son House blues classic. The song is in the key of D, for which Rebecca’s drop-D-tuned electric guitar (low t

STREET PRICE: $129.99 MANUFACTURER: Boss, boss.info The inclusion of a +1 OCT control provides an octave-up effect in both Vintage and Poly modes to blend in with the lower sub-octaves or simulate 12-string sparkle. In Poly mode, the OC-5’s variab

THE EFFECT THAT Nirvana’s sophomore album Never-mind had upon popular music a few months after its release on September 24, 1991, cannot be overstated. By January 11, 1992, it knocked “the king of pop” Michael Jackson out of the #1 spot on the Billbo