Guitar World - Holiday 2017 USA

TONE SPECIAL!

GET THE SECRETS BEHIND THE GREAT GUITAR SOUNDS:

“SAD BUT TRUE,” “IRON MAN,” “PRIDE AND JOY,” “RED BARCHETTA”

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GUITAR & BASS  TRANSCRIPTIONS 

TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS

“American Girl” RUSH

“La Villa Strangiato" ED SHEERAN

“Castle on the Hill”

BILLY CORGAN GOES ACOUSTIC

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS 25 YEARS OF CORE 

ALTER BRIDGE AUGUST BURNS RED RE D

T O M   PE  P E T T Y  FAREWELL TO AN AMERICAN ROCK ICON ROCK ICON

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CONTENTS VOL. ��

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 F E A T U R E S �� AUGUST BURNS RED

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Billy Corgan with his signature Yamaha LJ16BC

Guitarists JB Brubaker and Brent Rambler give us the lowdown on August Burns Red’s ferocious new release.

�� ALTER BRIDGE Mark Tremonti provides a private, behind-the-scenes look at the band’s triumphant 2016 show at London’s O2 Arena.

�� STONE TEMPLE PILOTS Twenty-five years after Core , guitarist Dean DeLeo looks back on the album that put STP on the grunge map.

�� TOM PETTY: A TRIBUTE Guitar World bids farewell to an American icon who made the rock world a better place for four solid decades.

�� FAMOUS GUITAR SOUNDS DEMYSTIFIED Let us reveal the secrets to recreating the iconic tones of Tony Iommi, Billy Duffy, SRV, David Gilmour and more.

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�� BILLY CORGAN The Smashing Pumpkins frontman unplugs his axes and ventures into new sonic territory on his new album, Ogilala.

TRANSCRIBED “American Girl” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

DEPARTMENTS �� WOODSHED / MASTHEAD

PAGE

�� SOUNDING BOARD

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Letters, reader art and Defenders of the Faith

�� COLUMNS 90. String Theory

by Jimmy Brown 92. In Deep

by Andy Aledort

�� TUNE-UPS “Castle on the Hill” by Ed Sheeran

PAGE

��� “La Villa Strangiato” by Rush

Richie Sambora & Orianthi, Angel Vivaldi, Glenn Proudfoot, Tetrarch, Glenn Hughes, Richie Kotzen

�� SOUNDCHECK

94. Mob Rules

by Mike Orlando 96. Wood Vibrations

by Mike Dawes

79. Fender Mustang GT 40 & GT 200 amps

��� SHOP TALK

82. EarthQuaker Devices Data Corrupter

Willcutt Guitars in Lexington, Kentucky

84. Jackson Guitars Pro Series Dinky DK2 85. MXR Booster Mini

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86. Bare Knuckle Pickups The Ragnarok 86. Fender EOB Sustainer Stratocaster 88. Boss JB-2 Angry Driver

COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS WALTER/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES

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FULL-GLOSS, STAGE READY GUITARS FOR THE ROAD

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HOLIDAY ���� EDITORIAL EXECUTIVE CONTENT DIRECTOR Jeff Kitts MANAGING EDITOR Damian Fanelli TECH EDITOR Paul Riario ASSOCIATE EDITORS Andy Aledort, Richard

Bienstock,

Alan di Perna, Chris Gill

A SOUND IDEA

Gregory Adams, Joe Bosso, Mike Dawes , Eric Feldman, Randy Harward, Joe Lalaina, Mike Orlando, Jon Wiederhorn SENIOR VIDEO PRODUCER Mark Nuñez CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

IT CAME TO ME  as

I was driving home one night a few weeks ago. I was listening to Sirius on my stereo, more than likely Ozzy’s Boneyard channel, and Metallica’s “Sad But True” was blaring. Now, I’ve been doing the slow-headbang thing to that monolithic riff regularly for 26 years, same as many of you—but on this particular drive, it was the sound  of the guitars that had my attention. Such glorious depth of tone, such a gut-rumbling sound emanating from James Hetfield’s hands wrapped tight around his ESP MX-220—and it got me wondering not only just how that instantly identifiable, unparalleled guitar sound came to be, but also what it would take for the average Guitar World  reader to dial in such a sound in their own bedroom, garage or basement. But that’s just one song, one sound—and there are plenty of other songs out there with equally unique and defining guitar sounds. Once I was set on doing a feature in the magazine that focused on great guitar sounds and how to get them, I turned to our resident gear expert Chris Gill—truthfully, no one speaks that language better than Chris, and you can clearly see the extent of his knowledge and passion for guitar sounds in this month’s “Tonal Recall” extravaganza that begins on page 58. Not only did he do a fantastic job explaining the “Sad But True” rhythm sound and offer some suggestions on how you might be able to produce such a tone on your own, he did the same for a variety of s ongs, from Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Pride and Joy” to Muse’s “Hysteria” to Rush’s “Red Barchetta,” Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” and others. I couldn’t be happier with how this feature turned out because I genuinely see it as high-value content, and I’m seriously considering making it a regular department in every issue of Guitar World . If you like that idea, shoot me a note and tell me. I wish I could say I was as excited about the cover story this month— truth is, I was  extremely excited about what we had originally planned (an interview with one of my personal heroes), but a week or so before this issue was scheduled to go to the printer, we were faced with the loss of yet another legend, in this case Tom Petty, and had to bump the original cover story into the January issue. Alan di Perna had interviewed Tom in the past for us, so it was only natural that he write the tribute story—and while Alan certainly did justice to the rocker who left us with an incredible collection of great songs, I just wish we didn’t have to keep saying goodbye to our most beloved icons.

MUSIC SENIOR MUSIC EDITOR Jimmy Brown MUSIC TRANSCRIPTIONIST Jeff Perrin MUSIC ENGRAVER Patricia Corcoran

ART ART DIRECTOR Mixie von Bormann ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Tamara Lee CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER Alexis Cook

ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR Jackson Maxwell EDITOR Damian Fanelli

PRODUCTION PRODUCTION MANAGER

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SO U N D I N G B OA R D Got something you want to say?

EMAIL US AT:

go with something a little more “guitar-centric” next time. —Joe

We Salute You

Golden Age Thank you for the Queens of the Stone Age cover story in the November issue. They are a very unique and original band. Don’t ever be afraid to cover artists that don’t shred the guitar—it’s all about being creative with the instrument and just playing what’s needed. —Kevin Keeton

Fool’s Gold First off, I’ve been reading your mag on and off since the Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute issue in 1990, and I appreciate all that I’ve learned from your lessons and tabs. My gripe is with the recent David Bowie transcription in the November issue. He is my all-time favorite artist and Station to Station is probably my favorite album of his— but couldn’t you have picked a better song to transcribe than “Golden Years”? The song itself isn’t bad, but it’s just a weak choice for a transcription. Earl Slick is phenomenal on the album’s title track and “Stay,” and you pick a song that I don’t think he even played on. It’s cool that you strayed from the usual Mick Ronson classics, but maybe

I am beyond stoked that Marc Ford and Rich Robinson are playing together again in Magpie Salute [  November 2017 issue ], and I can’t wait to see them live. Their guitars on the Black Crowes’ Southern Harmony and Musical Companion weave together like Keith Richards and Mick Taylor; it’s just stellar blues-rock guitar playing at its absolute finest. Too bad you went with Queens of the Stone Age on the cover. Anyway, I tore the issue open and read the Magpie piece twice. Great interview; now, how about featuring some more classic Crowes transcriptions? —Jon Melsness

United Front I recently received the November 2017 issue of Guitar World  and I’m throwing out words of encouragement and comfort in the wake of seeing Rosa Daleno’s shocking and sickening Sounding Board rant regarding the gender of a musician. Please don’t take into consideration the lewd suggestion by this Rosa individual and allow all musicians of any sexual or gender identification to be featured in your magazine. They deserve to be viewed as a musician and be heard everywhere—please don’t be another barrier to these talented people. —Nicholas Jetty

Black Hole I’m a 10-year-plus subscriber and loyal reader for more than 20 years, and I think you guys have held the torch high for

[email protected]

all things important to the guitar. However, I feel that you are mildly out of touch with your audience, as you have completely disregarded quite possibly the most relevant active metal band today: the Black Dahlia Murder. This band has put out some of the most highly anticipated guitar albums of the past decade, and they’ve never been on your cover or had a transcription in the magazine. I’m not saying what you are doing isn’t relevant, and I’m not saying all of your readers are predominantly metalheads, but you are really missing out on a market that has pushed the envelope for guitar for years. Aside from TBDM, how about some Between the Buried and Me, Angel Vivaldi, Thy Art Is Murder or Veil of Maya? All of them have put out some great material and have large, loyal followings. It’s great that you sometimes have Dave Davidson from Revocation as a columnist and that you feature Animals As Leaders in the mag, but I feel like much is being missed. —Seth Norton

your readers to miss out on what Matt is doing. —Brian “Mac” MacDonald 

Winning Horse Thank you so much for turning me onto Polyphia [ September  2017 issue ]! Amazing band! Now, I want to suggest that you cover another amazing shreddy-proggy band that I got into about a year and a half ago: Caligula’s Horse. They have a new CD coming out in the fall, and you should show them some love. And no, I am not affiliated with the band in any way—I just think they deserve a shot at being the next Rush. —Bill McKeown

Ink Spot I got this Pearl Jam “Future Days” tattoo because it was the first dance song at my wedding. The best part is my wife picked it because she knows Pearl Jam is my favorite. —Jerry Schroyer III 

Flying High It would be great to see Matt Pike in Guitar World  again. There are many guitarists doing great things right now, and he is one who I feel has been overlooked. The mix of punk-inspired speed, heartfelt blues-based solos and droptuned metal that he brings to the table with High on Fire is truly one of a kind, often quite moving and very inspiring. (Not to mention the energy he brings forth during live shows. I have rarely seen someone get as deep into what they’re playing, night after night.) There is a lot of good music out there, and I don’t want

GOT A TATTOO of your favorite band or guitarist you want to share with us? Send a photo of your ink to soundingboard@guitarworld. com and maybe we’ll print it or post it on our Facebook page!

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READER ART OF THE MONTH

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of the Faith

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AGE

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SONGS I HAVE BEEN PLAYING

Megadeth “Symphony of Destruction,” songs by Lamb of God and Drowning Pool GEAR I MOST WANT A Mesa/Boogie amp, Jackson Mark Morton Dominion DX2

GUITAR

SONGS I HAVE BEEN PLAYING

Impellitteri “17th Century Chicken Pickin’,” the entire No Parole from Rock ’n’ Roll album by Alcatrazz, Yngwie J. Malmsteen “Krakatau,” “I Am a Viking” and “Evil Eye” GEAR I MOST WANT  Kramer Pacer, Fender Yngwie Malmsteen Custom Stratocaster

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SONGS I HAVE BEEN PLAYING

Bob Dylan “One More Cup of Coffee,” The Beatles “ For You Blue,” Sting “Fragile” GEAR I MOST WANT Gibson ES-���

Are you a Defender of the Faith? Send a photo, along with your answers to the questions above, to [email protected]. And pray!

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r i e o f p as sa ge G6136T Limited Edition Falcon™ Azur e Metalli c

Learn more about the ALL-NEW Limited Edition guitars at:

gretschguitars.com/gear/edition/limited ©2017 FMIC. Gretsch®, Falcon™ and Bigsby® are trademarks of Fred W. Gretsch Enterprises, Ltd. and used herein under license. All rights reserved.

TUNE-UPS ANGEL VIVALDI



GLENN PROUDFOOT

TETRARCH

DEAR GUITAR HERO: GLENN HUGHES







“I’ve been in some dangerous situations with gigs in the past, but I think that’s all part of paying your dues..”

Shot Through the Heart RICHIE SAMBORA AND ORIANTHI JOIN FORCES TO MAKE THE ULTIMATE GUITAR TEAM AND ROMANTIC COUPLE IN ROCK.

By Joe Bosso

FOUR YEARS AGO ,

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Richie Sambora was vacationing in Hawaii and was asked by his old pal Alice Cooper to  join hi m onstag e at his annual chari ty concert for the Maui Food Bank. The former Bon Jovi guitarist had no idea his life was about to change. “Before the show, I’m sitting in the audience with Alice while the main band is sound-

checking, and I see this beautiful girl onstage with a guitar,” says Sambora. Tkk “I said to Alice, ‘Wow, who’s that?’ He said, ‘Oh, that’s Orianthi. She’s in my band. She’s played with Michael Jackson—she’s really great.’ ” While Sambora might have been f irst attracted to Orianthi’s obvious good looks, it was love at first shred the second

RICHIE KOTZEN



he heard her play. “I was blown away, and so I was even more intrigued,” he says. “I was like, ‘All right, that’s somebody I wanna jam with!’ ” For her part, the 32-year-old Orianthi knew full well who Sambora was. As a budding guitarist growing up in Australia, she had seen him hundreds of times in Bon Jovi videos. “ ‘Livin’ on a Prayer,’ ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’—those are iconic songs,” she says. “I knew Richie was an amazing player, but I wasn’t expecting us to connect so quickly during the charity concert. We did ‘Voodoo Child’ and then with Sammy Hagar we played ‘Rock Candy.’ Our styles mixed so well—I was really pleasantly surprised.” guitarworld.com  

NEWS + NOTES

W H A T ' S

O N

M Y

PLAYLIST

ANGEL VIVALDI  1 “Meat Is Murder” The Smiths “This is, hands down, my favorite Smiths record. I found myself rediscovering their catalog over the past few months and was reminded of how great the songs are on this record. While not overly technical, Johnny Marr’s guitar work influenced an entire generation of guitarists.”

A month later, Sambora invited Orianthi to join him for a tour of Europe and her native Australia, and sparks started flying both onstage and off. “There was no hesitation with anything,” Sambora says. “We dove right in and became a couple right away. We didn’t really think, ‘Oh, we should keep the musical and personal things separate.’ ” Adds Orianthi, “I think what really helped is the fact that we’re both guitarists. We share a language, and we have so much respect for each other. That makes everything easier.” Once Orianthi fulfilled her touring commitments to Alice Cooper, she moved in with the 58-year-old Sambora in Los Angeles, where the two made firm plans for their musical collaboration. For a time, they struggled to find a suitable band name before finally deciding on their initials, RSO. “It’s better than Samborianthi,” Sambora jokes. “And Ori-Bora, that definitely wasn’t happening.” They set up a musical compound in their home—recording gear in the kitchen, amps in the dining room, and a drum room in the home theater area. “It seems crazy, but it works,” Sambora stresses. “My good friend Bob Rock [  producer of  Bon Jovi and Metall ica, among ot hers ] helped us put it all together, and he did a great job. We get some killer sounds right in the kitchen.” With Rock in tow as producer and occasional bassist, the happy couple recorded a healthy batch of the nearly 70 songs they had written over a two-year period. While Sambora and Orianthi handled vocal, gui ��

GUITAR WORLD • HOLIDAY ����

tar and some bass duties, they welcomed a host of guest players, such as keyboardist John Webster and Paul McCartney drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. “We had a blast the entire time,” Orianthi says. “Richie and Bob have a great chemistry from all their years together. I’d met Bob at some of the Maui jams Alice has thrown, so it was cool for me to finally work with him.” RSO’s first release comes in the form of a five-song EP called Rise, which features a compelling snapshot of both guitarists’ musical strengths. “Masterpiece” is a poignant piece of mainstream pop capped by Orianthi’s fiery soloing, while “Truth” is a gorgeous piano-driven ballad complete with backward acoustic guitar flourishes. Their two voices mesh beautifully on the country-laced “Good Times,” and they lock axes forcefully on the anthemic, Hendrixy title cut. “We love to play guitar together, but we didn’t want it to be a ‘guitar noodlefest record’ per se,” Sambora points out. “But trust me—that stuff is coming. This EP is  just the tip of t he iceberg.” As for how the two have influenced each other, Orianthi says she’s sharpened her compositional skills from Sambora. “He writes ‘songs within songs’ when he solos,” she notes. “But what he does is really raw and pure.” Sambora, on the other hand, credits Orianthi with awakening his love of music in general. “I don’t want to come off like some old dude,” he says, “but when you play with someone like her, the reasons why you do this come flooding back. She’s got a lot of soul for someone so young.”

2 “Recreation Day” Evergrey “This album has it all: soaring melodies, captivating riffs and guitar solos that will make any guitarist want to play. The amount of melodic content on this record is through the roof!”

3 “Transcendence” Devin Townsend “I recently discovered Devin’s catalog, and I must say I’m blown away. Everything— from his melodies, arrangements and lyrics to the production—is top-notch.”

4 “Fugue State” Vulfpeck “These guys are unreal. They’ve got lo-fi, vintage grooves for days! The bassist in particular is an absolute legend—his lines are sheer perfection. A great example of a band that knows how and when to let each instrument do its thing.”

5 “The Audio Guide to Happiness” Jolly “They’re incredibly versatile but still somehow manage to maintain their own signature sound. Imagine Muse meets Karnivool.” SYNAPSE, THE LATEST ALBUM FROM VIRTUOSO ANGEL VIVALDI, IS AVAILABLE NOW.

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NEWS + NOTES

Glenn Proudfoot THE AUSTRALIAN NATIVE SUMMONS THE RIFF GODS ON HIS LATEST ALBUM, FIRE & RAIN. By Gregory Adams GLENN PROUDFOOT IS nothing if not

prolific. The Australian guitarist/vocalist has played in several bands over the past few years, most notably the European prog-rock outfit Pražský VýbÐr. At the same time, he’s also established an impressive track record as a solo artist as he releases his fourth album, Fire & Rain. Proudfoot, who grew up an AC/DC and Metallica fanatic, remains a resolute advocate for the fundamental importance of the killer riff, even though Fire & Rain’s melodicism sounds tailor-made for active rock radio. He explains, “I always want to introduce a heavy, tough riff that listeners can sink their teeth into and then take them on the journey of the song with its melody. That was my ambition with this album.” This marriage is perhaps best captured on “Broken,” Fire & Rain’s opener and first single. “It’s a really good introduction into the album,” Proudfoot says. “It encapsulates what it’s all about. It’s heavy, with some tricky guitar parts in it, with a big chorus.” The same can be said about “Fire & Rain,” an accessible tune that features a gorgeous, lyrical solo embedded within a propulsive groove. “Riffs that feature syncopation between drums and guitar really affect me. They move me.” Despite the album’s modern sound, Proudfoot’s gear choices and recording techniques are steeped in tradition. For this record, he leaned heavily on his main ax, an Eightiesvintage Strat Plus, plugged into a Victory VX The Kraken 50-watt amp. “I record in a really old-school way, with real amps and pedals. I always try to get the most clean signal that I possibly can, whether I’m using gain or not,” he notes. And while he appreciates the utility of amp modeling, he believes his listeners can detect the tonal differences between a cabinet and a computer. “People can feel it when there are real amps used on an album,” he declares. “They know the difference.” As 2018 approaches, Proudfoot is excited to play his new material for live audiences in Europe and possibly America. “Making this album was an incredibly rewarding process for me,” he says. “It involved a lot of really hard work, but as a result I was able to take myself out of my comfort zones and push myself into new creative areas.” ��

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The Contortionist’s Cameron Maynard Glenn Proudfoot with his Fender Strat Plus

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(from left) Tetrarch’s Diamond Rowe, Ruben Limas and Josh Fore

Tetrarch ON THEIR GROUNDSHAKING FULLLENGTH DEBUT, THE MEMBERS OF THIS L.A.BASED HEAVY METAL BEHEMOTH EMBRACE THEIR FREAK ISHNESS. I SHNESS. By Gregory Adams THE SONGS ON  Freak—the first

full-length outing from Atlanta-bred, L.A.-based metal quartet Tetrarch—are built to bludgeon. Between its mix of concrete-heavy, post–nu metal beats and lead guitarist Diamond Rowe’s armorpiercing thrash leads, none of us are safe—not even Tetrarch’s own band members. For instance, during the group’s recent cross-country run with DevilDriver, a particularly ruthless run-through of the new album’s title cut nearly annihilated rhythm guitarist Josh Fore. “I was headbanging on our new song ‘Freak’ in the middle section, and as I went down, Diamond’s headstock was coming up and caught me right on the side of the face,” says Fore. “I played the rest of the show with blood going all over.” Unsurprisingly, Tetrarch’s latest knows 

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how to bring the pain. The speed present on the outfit’s earlier trio of EPs has come down a bit, but Rowe and Fore doubledown on the intensity of their playing. Detuned discordance and whammy-infused flourishes seethe on “Spit.” Elsewhere, “Pull the Trigger” finds the duo locking into a mathematical, palm-muted breakdown before the lead guitarist powers through a flashbang of fiery bends and hammer-ons. The compact micro-solo on “Freak” is less flashy, but Rowe purposefully pulled back to focus on experimenting experimenting with a series of watery reverbs and delays. “Even though all these songs have solos, we didn’t want to over-saturate,” she says. “Do I miss it a little bit? I wish there might’ve been a couple that were a little longer, but I think we did a pretty good job overall.”

“Freak” ties into the record’s overarching theme of self-discovery, Fore screaming on the song of the importance of “letting your psycho loose.” It’s a potent message, and 10 years into their career, the members of Tetrarch are more confident slinging their outsider anthems than ever before. “I’ve always been kind of weird,” says Rowe. “Weird in the sense that I’ve never been your stereotypical African-American girl—I’m into metal, I love motocross. I’ve met a lot of people through being different, and I found myself. Freak is actually a perfect title.”

AXOLOGY (Rowe) ESP LTD EC-1000 CTM, ESP LTD SCT-607B, ESP LTD EC1000 EverTune, Gibson Les Paul Standard; (Fore) LTD EC-1000 S, ESP LTD SCT-607B, ESP LTD AA-600 • AMPS (Rowe) Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier, Marshall 1960s cab; (Fore) EVH 5150III 100-watt 4x12 with Celestion v30s • EFFECTS (Rowe) Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer, Boss NS2, POD HD Pro X; (Fore) Ibanez Tube Screamer, Boss NS2

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Glenn Hughes with his Nash Guitars JB63 bass

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GLENN HUGHES He played bass in Deep Purple in the mid-Seventies and is currently providing the low end in Black Country Communion with Joe Bonamassa, but what Guitar World  Interview by Joe Lalaina readers really want to know is…

WHY DID YOU SWITCH FROM PLAYING GUITAR TO BASS WHEN YOU WERE FIRST STARTING OUT, AND WHO WERE YOUR BASS INFLUENCES DURING —BERNIE ESSER  YOUR EARLY DAYS? I switched to bass because I got to play with Mel Galley in a band called Finders Keepers in 1966. I was 15 and he was 19, and he needed a bass player. A few years later we formed Trapeze in 1969. I looked up to Mel because I was very young. To me, he was in the same league as George Harrison and Eric Clapton. My early bass influences were Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce and James Jamerson, who has probably played on more Motown hits than anyone else in history.

What qualities do you require from your co-musicians? —Kalevi Heino I like to work with people who are super-talented, grounded, loving and nurturing. I’ve got to have an eye-to-eye relationship with them. I’m in a different place now, spiritually, than I was 30 years ago. Do you think your talent as a bassist gets overlooked since you are such a great vocalist? —Eddie Simon Many people are not aware that I’m a bassist because my voice overshadows everything else. What I really am is a singing bassist. I became a bass player by happenstance in the Sixties. I was originally a guitarist. What are your fondest memories of playing with Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple? —Chuck Brady  When I joined Purple in June 1973, Ritchie and I went to Hamburg, Germany, one weekend and sat on a barstool for two days and

chatted about music, my playing and what my role would be in the band, among other things. That was a beautiful experience for me. When I joined Purple, they were one of the biggest bands in the world and Blackmore was one of rock’s biggest guitarists. I was just 21 years old, and he gave me the time to develop a relationship with him and the band. Ritchie and I always got along well, even though everyone knows he can be difficult to work with. My first year in Purple was easier than the second year, because then Ritchie went into his own world and shortly thereafter quit the band and formed Rainbow. He became distant and stopped talking to the members of the band. Blackmore’s playing was extraordinary on the second album I did with Purple, Stormbringer , but he didn’t come up with a lot of music, so David [Coverdale], Jon [Lord] and I had the beautiful burden to write the majority of that album.

compared to the other guitarists you’ve played with over the years? —Ben Gilbert  Joe will tell you himself that you’ve probably heard aspects of his playing in the styles of other guitarists, and that he’s not an originator of any particular style. Joe is a massive guitar fan. He started playing at age four. He was already meeting and playing with his heroes by the time he was a teenager. He’s been playing nonstop for the past 36 years and has not taken a day off. Joe is a huge admirer of Paul Kossoff. On Black Country Communion’s new album, BBCIV , he channels Kossoff brilliantly. Joe and I wrote the album from scratch. We got together in a room, facing each other toe to toe, holding our guitars, and started  jamming; that’s how all the songs came together. His playing is at the peak of his game now; he has one of the greatest vibratos of any guitarist.

Is there anything distinctive about Joe Bonamassa’s guitar work in Black Country Communion

Your autobiography, From Deep Purple to Black Country Communion , is a cautionary tale of the thrills

and perils of the rock-and-roll lifestyle. The amount of drugs that you ingested would’ve killed most people. What advice would you give those struggling with substanceabuse issues? —Kevin Miller When you’re young and find yourself in situations when you go out drinking where people want to give you things, just be careful because there’s no good side to substance abuse—it’s a silent killer. Your disease tells you you don’t have anything wrong and to continue using. But once you become addicted, it’s difficult to quit. Never did I think I would become a full-blown cocaine addict in the Seventies. I was playing with Deep Purple at the Houston Astrodome in 1974. This guy cavorting around backstage put a packet of coke in my pocket. He told me to check it out later, but I told him I didn’t want any. Nobody in Purple did drugs. One faithful night a week or so later I was alone in my hotel room in San Antonio, so I decided to give it a go, and I liked it. Before long, I became hooked and it chased me all over the world. Thank God, it’s a long-gone thing for me. That drug is demonic. Whatever energy you gain from it, you’ll lose even more, and possibly even your life. My dear friend Kevin DuBrow [of Quiet Riot] fatally overdosed from it in 2007, and other friends of mine died from it as well. Of your studio albums with Deep Purple—Burn, Stormbringer  and Come Taste the Band —which do you like most? —Bob Florsheim Burn was a hugely successful album, but Stormbringer  is my favorite; it had more groove and a lot more melodies. We couldn’t make Burn “part two” because Blackmore was pretty much absent on guitarworld.com

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Stormbringer , so the rest of the band had to pick up the slack.

After capturing such an incredibly awesome sound with a Rickenbacker bass on Burn, why did you switch to Fender Precision and Fender Jazz basses on your many subsequent albums? —Carl Fragnito When I joined Purple, I replaced Roger Glover, who played a Rickenbacker. So I decided to get one for myself because it represented the band’s sound. But when I started to play onstage with Purple, the Rickenbacker didn’t fulfill the groove-oriented sound I wanted, so I switched to the Fender basses. My playing comes from a James Jamerson place, and the Rickenbacker wasn’t the right bass to achieve that sound. I wound up foolishly giving the Rickenbacker to Geezer Butler. When I saw him at Ronnie James Dio’s funeral in 2010, I asked him if I could have it back. He told me flat out, “No,” but that he would let me look at it. I should have never given it to him in the first place, but everyone makes mistakes.

bed, a video library, a shower and a long bar with an organ built into it. When you have your own jet, you can do pretty much what you want, but we kept things pretty controlled, for the most part. I’m not saying we didn’t do anything stupid, because we did. I mean, it was the Seventies! You have a knack for combining technical proficiency and rock-solid musicianship with impassioned vocals. What do you strive to achieve as a songwriter? —Joseph Luigi  I strive for emotional groove and lyrical content. I’m quite passionate about playing, and my music provides suggestions for messages. My message is very simple: be good and kind to one another. We’re living in a dark period of time. Yeah, I’m an old hippie, but so what. The fact of the matter is that I’ve survived so many horrible, adverse conditions that I’ve become a humble, caring person. I have a wonderful life now, and I’m grateful to still be alive.

You were born and raised in Britain but have lived the majority of your life in Los Angeles. Do you love L.A.? —Sean Duff  I do. When I first came to California in 1970, Trapeze was the opening act for the Moody Blues. It was my first time in the U.S., and I landed in L.A. I fell in love with it and I’ve been living in Los Angeles since 1973. Like any city, L.A. can be a dangerous place if you’re an alcoholic/drug addict, because every street corner can trigger your addiction, as it did to me in the Seventies. Most bands that toured in the Seventies did so on a tour bus. Deep Purple chartered its own jet. What was that like? —Steve Flannery  It was simply amazing—everything that you can imagine, and more. We were flying high. There were no seatbelts, no rules and no baggage claim. The plane had a

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WHAT MENTORING MESSAGE DO YOU HAVE IN REGARDS TO BEING A MUSICIAN AND DEVELOPING YOUR CHOPS? —SID ROSENTHAL A lot of people don’t recognize that they’ve been blessed with the ability to play an instrument. I didn’t realize that I’ve been given a gift to play guitar, then learned how to play bass. Then one day I started singing, and I thought it was pretty cool. The next thing I know I’m singing in Trapeze, and a few years later I’m singing with David Coverdale in Deep Purple. I was never really thinking about how good my voice was—I just enjoyed being in the moment. You have to be able to dream and tell yourself that you can do whatever you want. Whatever you put in your mind, you can achieve, as long as you stay positive.

Black Country Communion in Los Angeles (from left): Jason Bonham, Glenn Hughes, Derek Sherinian and Joe Bonamassa

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INQUIRER RICHIE KOTZEN What initially inspired you to pick up a guitar? I was one of those kids that loved to sing and dance and try and entertain my family. I have a picture of me from when I was four or five, dressed in some kind of crazy costume with a plastic guitar and mic stand and singing—lipsynching—for my family. And then someone suggested that I should take piano lessons. So I had a few lessons and then I  just didn’t really take to it very well. And then a few years later, I was at a garage sale and there was a guitar there, and I realized that’s what I wanted to play. Around the same time, I became a fan of the band Kiss. So I kinda put it all together that those guys dressed up really cool, played really loud music and they were holding guitars. So I figured that must be the instrument I should be playing. What was the first guitar

that you owned? My first real guitar was a Gibson Marauder. I was a seven-year-old kid and I wasn’t working, so my parents bought it for me. Maybe five years later, once they realized I was really serious about the guitar, they bought me, for Christmas, a Yamaha SBG2000. That became my main guitar for a long time. What was the first song you learned? “Jingle Bell Rock,” because I had to perform it at a school function. I think I was in sixth grade. Then shortly around the same time, I learned “Purple Haze.” What do you recall about your first time playing live? It was at that school recital. I remember being very upset because I couldn’t tune the guitar. And finally there was another kid there that was much older who was in the school jazz band. He tuned it for me and I

went out and played.

Have you ever had an embarrassing moment onstage, or a nightmare gig? I can remember being booked in some really awkward places. Most of them have been on European tours. One in particular, I remember playing in what felt like somebody’s basement. It was always crowded and it felt like a fire trap. Those kinds of gigs can be really nerve-wracking, ’cause you can’t really see anything, it’s hard to hear and there’s a lot of people. I’ve been in some dangerous situations with gigs in the past, but I think that’s all part of paying your dues. Is there a particular moment on your most recent album, Salting Earth (Headroom-Inc), that you’re particularly proud of? I think my favorite track on the record is “This Is Life.” I really love the way that turned out. The song was initially written and recorded on the drums. I know that sounds insane, but I heard something in my head. So I went into the studio, sat

behind the drums with no click track, and played as if I was playing with a band. Then I put down a guitar track, and then I added the bass. And that’s what you’re hearing: the original tracks. Later on, I came up with lyrics. And then I added the piano and, of course, the guitar solo at the end. So any song can be written in any way, but that one in particular, just because of the way I recorded it, I just think it’s so unique.

What is your favorite guitar or piece of gear? My favorite piece of gear is the RK5 Fly Rig. This was a pedal I put together where I took my favorite overdrive and my favorite delay and the controls from my Fender amp, and I mounted it into one little pedal. Because, before the Winery Dogs, I was doing a lot of fly dates, where I would fly down to South America for three weeks, do a bunch of shows, come home. Then I’d fly to Europe for a month, do a bunch of shows, come home. So I needed a small rig. So I showed it to the fellows over at Tech 21 and we found a way to improve it and put it into a more professional enclosure. And now it’s available to everyone. Along with that, my favorite guitar is a Fender Telecaster; I have a signature model that’s been sold since 1996. It’s a Fender Tele that’s based off of a Custom Shop model they gave me back in 1991. Do you have any advice for young players? Follow your heart and learn the music you love. And once you have a handle on the instrument, the ultimate thing is to create and write your own music. That’s a fantastic thing, to have an idea and bring it to fruition. And the great thing about playing any instrument, and the thing that I love, right up there equal to writing, is  just improvising. Just follow the creative flow. �RANDY HARWARD

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Richie Kotzen with his signature Fender Telecaster

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PHANTOM MENACE The goofballs in August Burns Red grow up  just a little bit on their new album, Phantom  Anthem. Guitarists  JB Brubaker and Brent Rambler  give Guitar World  the lowdown on their ferocious n ew release.

BY JON WIEDERHORN PHOTOGRAPHED BY RAY DUKER

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August Burns Red’s JB Brubaker (left) with his Ibanez RGA121 (now available as a signature model, the JBBM20) and Brent Rambler with his Ibanez Custom Shop FR model

guitarworld.com

IT WAS A HUMID SUMMER NIGHT IN PARIS and August Burns

Red were playing the last show of their European tour to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their second album, Messenge  Messengers rs. The band was inside the belly of a boat of a club/restaurant c lub/restaurant affixed to a pier, and there t here were enough people in the crowd to, well, sink a ship. For the first two songs, the crowd headbanged to the frantic riffs and moshed during the breakdowns. Then, as August Burns Red entered the final passage of “Back Burner,” the power in the venue went out, killing the amps, mics and primary stage lights. If this had happened in 2007, back when Messengers when Messengers first  first came out and August Burns Red were still building a following, the audience might have heckled the band or shouted, “Slayer, Slayer, Slayer!” But August Burns Red have become substantially more popular since then. The band’s video for “Invisible Enemy,” which was posted on July 27, has garnered more than 1.5 million views. “It was quiet for few seconds, then almost everyone started chanting, ‘ABR! ABR! ABR!’ ” recalls lead guitarist and main songwriter JB Brubaker from the basement studio at his house in Manheim, Pennsylvania, about 11 miles from where August Burns Red formed. “The power was out for a good three or four minutes and the crowd was patient the whole time.” “Some of the people shouted for us to play a drum solo, of course, because you can hear the drums inside most venues just fine without electricity,” adds rhythm guitarist Brent Rambler, who, in addition to playing tight, crunching riffs, is the more theatrical of the two guitarists. “They were shouting pretty loud, but we were like, ‘Well, you guys are gonna hear a drum solo at the end of the set anyway, so we’re not gonna play one now.’ Then the power went back on, everyone cheered and we went right into the next song. It was pretty cool and the rest of the show was hot, sweaty and a lot of fun.” Energetic, entertaining and fun are words frequently used to describe August Burns Red’s progressive, mosh-friendly metalcore from the time their debut album Thrill Seeker came Seeker came out 12 years ago. Back then, Brubaker and Rambler played breakdown after breakdown, and a small but loyal l egion of fans frantically stomped, kicked, spun and punched the air, while curious but uninitiated audience members watched the show from further back to avoid suffering a broken nose or a split lip. As the band progressed, their music became more complicated, and many of the breakdowns were replaced by multifaceted rhythms and quirky multicultural melodies that gave their music a more lighthearted sound. “We’ve always been kind of a goofball band,” Rambler s ays. “I mean, come on. We play crazy metal for a living and our singer literally screams at people every song. When you think about it like that, you can’t help but see the humor in what we do.” Still, August Burns Red have developed a reputation for offer-

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ing fans new musical twists with every record. 2015’s Found 2015’s Found in Faraway Places was Places was filled with off-the-wall time signatures and sweeping cello and violin interludes. The band’s new album, Phantom album, Phantom Anthem, Anthem, is surprising in a different way. In addition to featuring offbeat rhythms and trademark lyrics about striving for independence and struggling against authority, the album includes the band’s first blatantly political song, “Hero of the Half Truth,” which takes aim at the current administration. “That’s the sort of a s ubject that we have shied away from forever,” says Brubaker. “We’ve never been the least bit political. But as we’ve gotten older it’s something we’ve become more interested in because it has a direct effect on our lives.” Not only did August Burns Red color Phantom color Phantom Anthem with Anthem with “Hero of the Half Truth,” they imbued the entire record with new shades of darkness and tension, reflecting the duality and division in today’s society in songs like “Invisible Enemy” and “Lifeline,” which contain far fewer of the musical quirks and flourishes on which they’ve previously thrived. Even when Brubaker includes throbbing keyboards and Latin guitar hooks in the middle of “Dangerous” or augments “The Frost” with reverb-saturated acoustic guitar over a flanged rhythm, the musical segments are more about diversity than diversion. “I guess it’s a more serious-sounding album in part because this whole last election cycle was really stressful,” Rambler agrees. “We’re the young people. We’re the ones who are going to have to live with the repercussions of what happens over the next however many years.”  “Like a lot of people, I think we are frustrated because it seems like no one in this country can agree on anything,” Brubaker adds. “And if you don’t agree with someone’s political views right now, you can’t even have a discussion. People immediately become very defensive and accusatory and there’s not a lot of civil conversations you can have when people are disagreeing like that.” Some August Burns Red fans might miss some of the levity that the band has integrated more on past records. That doesn’t mean ABR have gone all agitcore. Phantom agitcore. Phantom Anthem is rife with abrupt rhythm and tempo changes, off-kilter leads, undistorted (and distorted) tapping and guitar lines strong enough to carry the melody of the songs while vocalist Jake Luhrs shouts like he’s in D.R.I. At times, the juxtaposition of hooks and howls is jarring, but they often strike a creative yin-yang duality. “I write the songs as instrumentals before everyone goes in and turns them into what they eventually become,” Brubaker says. “We want the music to stand alone as instrumentals with strong hooks and then have the vocals come in and take them over the top. I like that approach because it lets us do our own thing without having

to write traditional rock songs.” As with past August Burns Red albums, Brubaker did the lion’s share of the work on  Phantom Anthem; Anthem; he wrote and recorded all but two songs, rhythms, fills, leads and all. Brubaker started working on the music in the winter of 2015, less than six months after  Found in Far Away Places came Places came out and finished all but one of his tracks before New  Year’s. He recorded most of the heavy heavy parts on his custom green Ibanez RGA121 (the company recently announced a signature model of the guitar, the JBBM20). In the studio, Brubaker ran the instrument through a Peavey 6505 Plus into a Mesa/Boogie 4X12 Rectifier. He tracked his leads with a Fractal Audio Axe-Fx on various settings, including a Bogner Uberschall and a Fender Twin. Brubaker variously tuned to drop C, drop B and drop As A s. As productive is he was, it was an arduous and stressful eight weeks. “This was my least favorite studio session in a long time,” Brubaker says. “I don’t know why I was so anxious. We had two full months, which is more time than we’ve ever had. I thought it was going to be easy-breezy, but I still felt like we were under the pressure of the clock. A lot of days, I was there from 9 A.M. to midnight and we worked right until the very end. Maybe that’s just how it goes with making a record. No matter how much time you have, you’re going to use it all.” Maybe it would have been less stressful for Brubaker if he didn’t have to record all of the rhythm and lead guitar parts. That’s just how the band has worked since they started recording. Rambler only plays guitar onstage. He uses an Ibanez Custom FR model through a Kemper profiling amplifier on a Peavey 6505 Plus setting for the distorted parts. For the clean and tapping sections, he uses a Fender or Soldano preset. “I hate playing in the studio,” Rambler explains. “I don’t like playing one-on-one with someone in any aspect at all. I don’t know why, but I get nervous. I clam up. There was one time I had to go into the studio and track a set front to back for the live album [  2010’s Home].  2010’s Home]. They wanted to be able to have reference points to come back to when they were editing, so we went in and tracked everything one take through, like it was live. I didn’t look at our mixer Carson [ Slovak Slovak ] the whole time time I just played and then he said to me afterward, ‘Wow, that was really great. Why do you hate tracking?’ I was practically shaking. I was like, “Oh, man, that was so stressful for me. Can I leave now? I gotta go!’ ” It probably had little effect on the final sound of the record, but there was one major difference between the way August Burns Red tracked Phantom tracked Phantom Anthem and Anthem and all six of their other studio albums. Instead of having drummer Matt Greiner record first before they tracked anything else, Brubaker and Davidson recorded all the main rhythm parts before Greiner even entered the studio. They planned to work as they had in the past, but the drummer was unable to make the first two weeks of the session. “He was all ready to go in and track, and then two days before we started working on the session he got a really bad case of food poisoning,” Brubaker says. “So he was totally out of commission for a while. He was sick and weak and then when he got better he

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needed some time to get his strength back so he could drum again. Phil Demmel We had to start on guitars right away and we recorded them to a click track. But it worked out fine. I was perfectly happy to do that since that’s how I work when I’m writing.” The greatest challenge Brubaker faces going forward is one he’s never had to navigate. On September 21, just under two weeks before Phantom before Phantom Anthem came Anthem came out, the guitarist’s wife Kate gave birth to their first child, Beckett. The weight of becoming a dad didn’t impact Brubaker when he recorded Phantom recorded Phantom Anthem since Anthem since he didn’t find out his wife was expecting until the album was done and he was on the North American leg of the Messengers the Messengers tour.  tour. “We had been trying for, like a year, unsuccessfully,” reveals Brubaker. “Then my wife came to Sacramento to meet me for a couple of days on tour. I had just finished playing a show at Ace of Spades and knew she was coming in from the airport. I walk out onto the sidewalk, all sweaty from the concert, and there she is pulling her bag behind her. I give her a hug and kiss and she goes, ‘Guess what?’ And I’m like, ‘You’re pregnant!’ It was crazy. I don’t know how I knew. I just did.” After October 7, when August Burns Red plays the Rock Allegiance Festival in Camden, New Jersey, the band has a two-week break before they rock the Aftershock festival in Sacramento. Then they’ll take a four-month break, which should give Brubaker plenty of experience with parenting a newborn before the band starts touring Europe in early March. After that, though, August Burns Red are scheduled to remain on the road for most of 2018. “It would be wishful thinking to be able to shorten the schedule,” Brubaker says. “There are a lot of people who want to see us play and hopefully that doesn’t change anytime soon.” Brubaker pauses and audibly sighs. “I have the feeling it’s going to be much harder on me [ emotionally emotionally ] being a new dad and and touring, but my wife’s going to be at home with our son not working. So I’ve got to go win the bread, you know? It’s my responsibility and I need to do my best to provide. Brent has a three-year-old [ son son ] and he’s made made it work. Plus, we like being on tour and playing shows, so it’s not like I’ll be doing something I hate.”

LONDON BRIDGE

To celebrate the release of  ALTER BRIDGE’S LIVE AT THE O2 ARENA + RARITIES CD, guitarist  Mark Tremonti  gives Guitar World a private, behind-the-scenes look at the band’s triumphant 2016 concert at L ondon’s famed O2 Arena.

BY RICHARD BIENSTOCK PHOTOS BY RICHARD BOOTH

GUITAR WORLD HOLIDAY 2017 ISSUE

“UP TO THAT POINT, IT WAS the biggest headlining show we’d ever done,” Mark Tremonti says about Alter Bridge’s performance at London’s O2 Arena on November 24, 2016. That gig, which the guitarist estimates to have taken place in front of roughly 15,000 fans, can now be heard in full on the recently released Live at the O2 Arena +  Rarities. The three-CD package features the evening’s set list spread across two discs, as well as a third disc of rare cuts that includes two previously unreleased tracks—“Solace” and “Cruel Sun”—from the sessions for Alter Bridge’s 2004 debut, One Day Remains. “I’ve always loved those two songs,” Tremonti says, “and I’ve been saying for years we should put them out. It just never came to fruition until now.” But while the Rarities disc unearths some interesting deep cuts, the meat of the new release is the spectacular live set, which encompasses every-

thing from defining Alter Bridge hits like “Open Your Eyes” and “Isolation,” to fan favorites like “Metalingus” and “Blackbird,” to recent tracks like “Show Me a Leader” and “The Writing on the Wall.” As for why the band decided to release the entire show on CD? “We always want to capture those key moments, when we hit those new benchmarks,” Tremonti says. But, he also admits, playing those benchmark shows can be stressful. “We were hyper-focused, because we knew we were recording and that it was going to live on for a lifetime and become part of our legacy,” he says. “So you want to make sure you don’t play too stiff, you know? You want to have a good time.” Tremonti laughs. “Then again, you don’t want to play too loose and have too good of a time, either.” Here, Tremonti walks Guitar World  through 12 snapshots from his band’s momentous day at the O2.

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“This is one of my favorite sounding and playing guitars. Paul Reed Smith and I designed it on his dry-erase board. There’s two of them—this brown one, and then there’s also a black one. The black one was the actual one-piece mahogany guitar that was kind of the guinea pig, and this was the more perfected version. I think it’s too radical a shape for some of the traditional guys there to wrap their heads around, but maybe one day PRS will put it out. It’s funny, all the younger guys in the factory love the guitar, but then all the guys who are kinda like the business people are on the fence about it. But it’s killer. That’s Frosty, my guitar tech, holding it.”

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“This is Myles’ [ singer Myles Kennedy ] pedalboard. He really loves that MXR [ GT-OD ] pedal for overdrive. He always uses that. And he’s used those Line 6 pedals for years and years for all his delays and effects. He’s totally the effects guy in the band. I’m the meat-and-potatoes tone guy. If you hear crazy delays or flangers or choruses or octaves or whatnot, that’s usually him. As you can see in the later photo, my board is much more simple. I don’t have a switching system or anything.”

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“The big triangle picks you see here are Brian’s [ bassist Brian Marshall ]. The little ones with the signature on them are Myles’. And then the yellow and red ones are the picks Myles actually uses. None of these are mine!”

LONDON’S O2 ARENA

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

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“Soundcheck on the day of the show. We’re just talking things through. You can kind of see the seriousness on our faces. [ laughs ] We know the weight of the show. We usually play ‘Cry of Achilles’ first, because it has clean tones, dirty tones and lead tones, so it’s a good one to do in order to check the sound. And then we’ll just work out the set list for that night and take songs that aren’t as common and rehearse them. After that, we’ll usually let in all the meet-and-greet folks for the soundcheck party, and then we’ll play some other songs that we need to rehearse for the night.”

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“My guitars. The Cs tuning is probably the most common tuning. Everything is mostly half-steps down to begin with, and then we have about four songs that are maybe down a whole step. And then open D5 shows itself two or three times during the night as well. To make things easier live, we just take all the open-D5 stuff and put it down a half step. Then we have the oddball tunings, like a drop-C tuning. Each guitar in each tuning also needs to have a backup guitar in that tuning. So I have about eight or nine guitars out on the road with me.”

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“The most important pedal to me is the wah [ the Morley Mark Tremonti Wah ]. Ever since I was a kid it’s just something I’ve loved. And it has a built-in overdrive as well. My signal chain goes right through the pedals—there’s no switching system. I don’t want it to get too complicated. So the wah goes right into the hand-wired [  Ibanez  ] Tube Screamer, which is my favorite overdrive, then the Dunlop Uni-Vibe and then the T-Rex Octavius. But the wah is my main thing. I could get away with doing the whole show with just that one pedal.”

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“That’s the crew day sheet. My day sheet, I do a guitar clinic every day and then I do a meet and greet. I usually go from about two o’clock in the afternoon until maybe 6:30. Then we have a couple hours to have dinner and whatnot. And then show time is around nine. This one also says ‘Happy Thanksgiving.’ Sometimes it sucks when you’re not in the States for some of these holidays. It’s  just weird. There’s no Thanksgiving in England, you know?”

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“The set list for the night, with the tunings that correspond to each song. Usually I try to have it so I don’t have to switch guitars every song. But this particular set list, it l ooks like I’m switching almost every single song. That was tough on Frosty! And the guitar laying there is the same one from the first photo.”

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ALTER BRIDGE

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“A shot of the crowd that night. The general-admission area is where all the action’s at. It’s just intense when you look out at it. Especially when those house lights kick on and you see everybody. A lot of times you’re standing up there and the light’s in your eyes and you get put in your own little world. But when those lights turn on it’s always amazing.”

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“That’s Mr. Ian Keith. He’s Myles’ guitar tech. He’s probably the longest-standing Alter Bridge crew member right now. He’s been with us for a lot of years. He’s excellent at what he does.”

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“The guitar in this photo is my favorite PRS of all time, which is my charcoal burst. This was, I think, the third or fourth guitar PRS built for me, and it just feels right. And below the bridge, that’s a sticker of Dimebag. We were doing a show in Orlando, and it was right after his passing. And a fan was going through the line and  just handing out these memorial stickers. I got my hands on one and just put it on my favorite guitar. You can see how faded the sticker is now. It’s been on there for a lot of years. And a lot of people see it. I’ll be playing a show and people will point at it and give me the horns and show their appreciation.”

“After the show. The crews are taking down the P.A.s and cleaning up the mess that the folks have made. But it looks pretty clean already. You know, folks in England, they clean up after themselves! As for the band, on a night like this there’s probably a lot of talking with guests afterward, having a few drinks and relaxing. Because leading up to the show there was a lot of stress and a lot of focus. And then you can kind of let loose afterward, and see your friends and family. Then you get to bed around three in the morning and you do it all again.”

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Stone Temple Pilots guitarist Dean DeLeo

GUITAR WORLD

HOLIDAY 2017

Twenty-five years after Core, the debut album from STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, put the San Diego foursome on the grunge map, guitarist Dean DeLeo looks back on the making of the hit-packed release that is now available in a deluxe reissue package.

By RICHARD BIENSTOCK

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(from left) Stone Temple Pilots’ Eric Kretz, Robert DeLeo, Dean DeLeo and Scott Weiland

mates experienced and achieved in those early days. “I’m gonna say this with great humility,” he says. “When we were putting that record together, Robert, Scott, Eric and myself, we knew we had something very special.” On a recent August morning, DeLeo took some time to discuss the writing, recording and aftermath of that special album.

YOU KNOW THAT THING YOUR MOM USED TO SAY TO YOU WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE?” DEAN DELEO ASKS GUITAR WORLD WITH A LAUGH. “IT’S TRUE—TIME REALLY DOES FLY.” Clapton with Cale; (right) the cover of The Breeze,  An App reciat ion o f J.J. Ca le

In this case, the amount of time that the guitarist is referring to having flown by is exactly 25 years, which is how long ago his band, Stone Temple Pilots, released their smash debut, Core. In celebration of the milestone anniversary, the album is now being reissued in a 4CD/DVD/LP Super Deluxe Edition that features a remastered version of the original 12-track effort along with rarities, unreleased demos and B-sides, live recordings, music videos and other goodies. First released on September 29, 1992, Core arrived in the days just after hard rock had transitioned from the big-hair, shred-crazed approach that characterized the music in the Eighties to the grunge and alternative sound that dominated its early Nineties iteration. And Stone Temple Pilots—which also included DeLeo’s younger brother, Robert, on bass, drummer Eric Kretz and frontman Scott Weiland (known at the time by his surname only)—quickly became one of the biggest rock bands of that moment. Throughout 1993 the band racked up hit song after hit song, from the darkly aggressive and excessively grungy “Sex Type Thing,” to the swirling technicolor alt-rock of “Plush,” the downcast acoustic balladry of “Creep” to the throbbing grooves of “Wicked Garden.”

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Core, meanwhile, to date has sold more than eight million copies. On the heels of that breakout success, Stone Temple Pilots went on to dominate the rock scene for much of the remainder of the decade; their follow-up to Core, 1994’s Purple, debuted at the top of the Billboard  charts. The 2000s, however, have been marked by fits and starts, as well as touched by tragedy on more than one occasion. Weiland, in the throes of a severe and ongoing drug addiction, was in and out of the band, and in December 2015, he died of an overdose while on tour in support of a solo album. In the years following his ouster from Stone Temple Pilots, the singer’s shoes had been filled by Chester Bennington, who, after a successful run, parted ways amicably with STP in 2015 in order to focus his attention on Linkin Park. Then, on July 20 of this year, Bennington took his own life while at home in Los Angeles. When Bennington’s name is brought up during this interview, DeLeo, clearly still deeply shaken by the very recent tragedy, is practically at a loss for words. “We lost an angel,” he says simply. When it comes to looking back at Core, however, DeLeo is excited to talk and exudes nothing but happiness and appreciation for everything he and his band-

Putting together this 25th-anniversary package must have been a little bit like  jumping back in time for you. What was that experience like?  You know, from time to time I hear the songs from the album on the radio and it takes me back. Especially with Scott’s passing. It would seem like he was just haunting me. Because every time I got in the car he was singing to me. And that’s really, really sad. But what was really interesting in putting this collection together was when we dug into the demos. Those demos were prior to us being in the studio, prior to meeting Brendan [ O’Brien, producer of  Core]. They’re from when we were in a little rehearsal room in North Hollywood with Robert’s eight-track Fostex. You could hear us talking to one another when the mics were on. You could hear the excitement in our voices. You could hear the vision we had for the songs. And there’s stuff on this collection that no one has ever heard. We kept it very close to our chests. But hearing that stuff is what really brought me back. Right back to that room, man. I can recall all these really, really wonderful moments. Meeting Brendan, and then off to Rumbo Recorders in Canoga Park to do the record, all of it. What was it like being in the studio with Brendan? That was just pure fun. A lot of laughs, a lot of great food, a lot of building lifelong relationships. And we managed to play some music. [ laughs ] Look, man, I’ve had the luxury of doing some pretty wonderful things in my career. I’ve been very, very fortunate. One of the greatest things about embarking upon a recording career was establishing a relationship and a friendship with Brendan O’Brien. Robert and I learned so much from him. And that is one part of my life…there are a lot of ifs and buts, but that is one part I wouldn’t change at all. That relationship we forged with Brendan was really special. On a personal level as well as a professional level. Let’s talk about some of the album’s most well-known songs. Core kicks off with “Dead and Bloated,” which opens with Scott singing alone through what sounds

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like a megaphone. But it’s actually your guitar, correct?  Yes. We had my Les Paul plugged in, and Scott is basically singing right into the treble pickup of the guitar. Was that something you had discussed doing? Well, we all kind of knew that pickups are microphonic, so we said, “Let’s try this.” So he sang into the guitar and it’s just one of those moments. You never know when you’re in the studio. You can go in and have this wonderful day where everything you pick up or touch and go to play works. And then there are days where it doesn’t. You’re wrestling with it. But that was just one of those moments that worked. We had the guitar plugged in the way we normally had it plugged in and Scott just laid into it. And that’s what you hear on the record.

“Wicked Garden,” in contrast, is one that sounds pretty similar in the demo and Core versions.  Yeah, not too far off. That was a song where Robert had the intro, the G to the D to the A sections. And he had the chorus and then I had the verses. We just kind of introduced them to one another and they seemed to dig each other. “Plush” was something that Robert brought in on his own, correct?

 Yes. Robert had all the parts for that one ready to roll. When you were working on that one could you tell it might be something special? I didn’t really think in those terms. And, I mean, we put the song way back on the record, too. So I don’t think we were really thinking like that. I think I kinda saw it when the label started stopping in and listening to stuff as we were approaching

The next song is “Sex Type Thing.” How did that one come together? I came up with that descending riff, the B to Bf to A and then to E. And then I immediately went to the pre-chorus section where it goes to B to A to D. That came very quickly. And the verse was something I wrote for another song when I was 15 or 16. And you know the part that’s kind of syncopated? Eric [  Kretz  ] thought we should have something just a little syncopated so he said, “Let’s do something here with this beat.” And that’s when I came up with the chords for that. But it was the main riff that came to me in my head first. And I ran right in and grabbed a guitar and transposed it from my medulla oblongata. [ laughs ] And that started the whole thing. In the “Sex Type Thing” demo on this collection, the structure is basically the same, though the overdubbed guitar that plays that higher, arpeggiated part alongside the main riff is more prominent in the mix.  Yeah, it’s that overdubbed guitar where I’m doing the riff kinda on the G, B and E strings. That was probably something we came up with at the last minute. The l ast overdub is always the loudest, isn’t it? [ laughs ] “Creep” is one that went through some changes from the demo version to the take we hear on Core. It went through a lot of changes. We took out that whole middle section, and lyrically it changed pretty drastically, too. You know, that’s a perfect example of “less is more.” That’s something we’ve always tried to adhere to. It was, “You know what? We don’t need that section. Pull it out. Lose it.” Obviously the song didn’t suffer.

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the end of making the record. Because I saw how those guys were reacting to the track. But I tell ya man, Atlantic, they were very cooperative as far as how we wanted to build not only our record but also our career. Because you get one shot, man. You get one shot. And Atlantic was a great place to be. They really let us do our thing, and then they did their thing. So we released “Sex Type Thing” first and then “Plush” was the second single. “Sex Type Thing” was a hit, but in some ways it’s also uncharacteristic of the Stone Temple Pilots sound and style. Musically, it’s pretty grungy, and the lyrics, which Scott sings in the first person, were seen by some as being overly aggressive toward women, rather than a critique on that sort of thi nking, which seemed to have been Scott’s intention. Were you bothered at all by people’s interpretation? Oh, I didn’t give a shit. It never crossed my mind. It’s like, “This is us. Take it or leave it. There’s plenty of other music out there if you leave it!” So I never thought on those terms. It was basically a s ong that wanted to bring some awareness to some really bad stuff that goes down, and still goes down to this day. It’s probably worse now than ever. It was something Scott felt strongly about. We all did. So I don’t even know how it was construed. I just know where we were coming from with it. How anyone else wants to interpret it, that’s up to them. What gear did you use in the studio? At the time I didn’t have much of a collection of amplifiers or guitars. And here’s a story: When we moved into Rumbo, we met at the studio at five o’clock the night before we were scheduled to start. Brendan met us there, with his car loaded with guitars and amps, and he and the four of us carried in all of our gear. I don’t know that Brendan O’Brien meets clients at the front door of the studio anymore to load in gear! [ laughs ] So we met at Rumbo with all our gear and fortunately at the time Brendan had a few amps and a few guitars. So he brought down, oh gosh, of his we used a beautiful Pelham Blue Gibson ES-335. We had a Gibson Les Paul Special he brought down. He brought a Strat with him. And you know, I was limited in those days. I had three guitars that I brought in: my ’78 sunburst Gibson Les Paul, which was the main guitar on the record—that’s the one where Scott sang into the pickup—and I also had a Tele, a newer one, and I had a Yamaha FG-160 acoustic I had since I was a kid. That’s what we used acoustically on the record. That

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doesn’t sound like a heck of a lot of stuff, but if you think about it, we had single coils in the Strat and the Tele, we had PAFs in the 335 and the Les Paul, and we had a P-90 there, too. So we had every choice of pickup. Then for amps, it was pretty much my live rig that I still use to this day—my  VHT with my Demeter preamp. We ran that stereo through two 4x12s. And then we had a lot of small stuff—Vox stuff, Fender stuff. Things like that that come in pretty handy for overdubs. Do you recall a moment where you could tell Core was getting big and the whole thing was really taking off?  Yeah, absolutely. We were on tour with Megadeth. It was our first introduction to playing arenas. All of us had been playing clubs from a very young age. In our teens. So we had had our fill of that. And then when STP hit the road we played our fair share of clubs globally. And when we came back we got all these offers to go out with other bands. Megadeth asked us to go out with them, and I’ll tell ya, Mr. Mustaine was very, very kind to us, man. Very supportive. That was an interesting gig because nobody knew who we were. We were simply the opening band. We would come out to an arena that was only a third full. And then we’re trying to do our thing, and you’ve got little pimple-faced boys with Iron Maiden shirts just giving you the finger all night. Like, “Man, this sucks!” They just wanted to see Megadeth. But I’ll tell you what, Dave Mustaine would sometimes come out, and he’d grab the mic and go, “Listen, you fuckers. I personally picked this band to be here. Fucking listen!” It was like, “Holy shit!” Mustaine was amazing to us. But back to your question—we were on that tour when “Plush” came out. “Sex Type Thing” had definitely set a tone, and it was doing its thing for us. But when “Plush” came out, we looked around and realized, “Hey, you know what? The arenas aren’t empty anymore!” The places were full when we went on. That’s when we saw it happen. Going back to this time period and listening to all this music again, listening to t he demos, thinking about being on the road, did it bring up any feelings about Scott and your relationship back then, and also how everything progressed with him over the years?  Yeah, it did. It was very sad digging into those demos. It took me right back to the rehearsal room, and to all the memories.  You know, Scott and I were roommates back then. We rented a house out in High-

land Park. And we lived together while writing and recording and touring that first record. And…yeah, man, it was such a different scenario from Chester because, Chester, that was very, very sudden. And unexpected. Whereas it was the complete opposite with Scott. It was, you know, a 12-, 14-year suicide. But I’ll tell you what, man, Scott was just an incredible human being. An incredibly gifted and talented human being. I mean, you saw the guy’s body, right? He was like a genetic masterpiece. So strong. And whatever he did, it was like, “You wanna go hit golf balls?” And he’s hitting them 200 yards, straight. “Let’s go waterskiing.” He’s just shredding it. He was just that guy. Whatever he did he was really, really good at. And I’ll fucking say this loud and proud: Scott Weiland was one of the best lyricists of our time. His lyrics and his melodies and his delivery…he was the fucking best, man. It was an honor to be onstage with that cat. And it was an amazing place to be there with him while writing a song. I miss that guy. I miss the guy he was. I’ve missed him for about 15 years. You mentioned Chester. I can only imagine how shocking his death must have been for you, not just on its own but also given what you had experienced not too long before with losing Scott.  You know, we lost an angel, man. We lost an angel. [  pauses ] I loved Chester dearly, man. He was just an exquisite guy. I really, really loved him. And I’m really, really going to miss him for the rest of my days. For the past year or so, you and Robert and Eric have been on the hunt for a new lead singer for Stone Temple Pilots. There have been some reports out there about possible candidates, though nothing has been confirmed. Anything you can tell us about the current status of Stone Temple Pilots? I can’t…but I think we’ll be able to sometime soon. We won’t let you down, man! Looking back over the past 25 years, what do you think is the legacy of Core? For me, it’s a reminder. It’s a reminder of a time when there were four young men aspiring to want to make records. And to be able to travel the world to play music. It reminds me of a time when four guys were very, very, very close, and very, very loving. Very much in harmony. And we got to share that. And you know, when you get to share love and respect and harmony and friendship, and then you add into that the intimacy of music? I feel very fortunate, man.

Tom Petty

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Guitar World   bids

farewell to Tom Petty, an  American icon who made the rock world a better place with such FM staples as “American Girl,” “Refugee” and “Free Fallin’,” and who never backed down, no matter what he was up against. BY ALAN DI PERNA

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tend not to do well with the critics. And vice versa. Critical faves rarely get their names and logos plastered on the bumpers and back windows of pickup trucks. Tom Petty was the rare exception to that rule. When he left this life on October 2, felled by a heart attack at age 66, he left behind a body of work that distilled the raunchy, realist essence of rock itself—the urgent jangle and crackle of cranked-up guitars, the rebellious outsider attitude,

Tom Petty hoists an Ibanez Rocket Roll in the late Seventies

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the terse, laconic songcraft that encapsulated our dreams, despair, rage and moments of transcendent love. The music he made with his longtime band the Heartbreakers, with the rock superstar aggregate the Traveling Wilburys, on his own and with his reconstituted teenage bar band Mudcrutch, was universal in its appeal . Everyone felt a kinship with Petty—alt rockers, metalheads, pop divas, rock icons, country artists, countless rank-and-file fans and, yes, rock critics. We all somehow felt like Petty was our guy—the one who spoke for us. That’s what it’s like when rock music is genuine. “We were lucky,” Petty told me in 2002, referring to himself and the Heartbreakers. “We came up at a time where I always felt like I had some kind of relationship with the audience and the fans. They watched me grow up, and we have all been through different things together. And there was that third dimension of, ‘Well, I’m kinda interested in what’s on this guy’s mind right now. ’Cause I see him as my friend or someone that I know.’ I mean I felt like that about the Beatles and the Who. I was curious, ‘What’s Pete Townshend going to think about this?’ ” While Petty’s music was rooted in the classic Sixties rock of the Beatles, Stones, Byrds, Who and Dylan, his fan base spanned every generation, from baby boomers to millennials. And he looked out for his fans, battling record companies to keep the price of his albums down in the Eighties, and forbidding concert promoters to offer elitistpriced “V.I.P. seating packages” at his concerts. At one venue, he personally carted away white-clothed V.I.P. tables from the area in front of the stage. He was more interested in donating money to charities and causes like Greenpeace, No Nukes, Fender Music Foundation and MusicCares than he was in overcharging his fans. “We’re not Robin Hood,” he told me in ’02. “But so far we’ve been able to keep our ticket prices fairly reasonable.”

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While Petty is gone, we’ll always have timeless songs like “Free Fallin’,” “American Girl,” “Refugee,” “I Won’t Back Down,” “Breakdown,” “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” “The Waiting,” “Don’t Do Me Like That,” “Runnin’ Down a Dream” and countless deep album cuts. There are plenty of the latter. It can truly be said of Tom Petty that he never put out a bad record. On one of those deep album cuts, “Dreamville” from 2002’s The Last DJ , Petty reminisced about his real-life home town, Gainesville, Florida, where he was born on October 20, 1950, and given the name Thomas Earl Petty. The song recounts the artist’s first life-changing encounter with rock and roll at age eight, at Glen Springs Pool in Gainesville. “That was the city pool,” he recalled. “They had one of the first outdoor jukeboxes I’d seen, with extension speakers. And it just rocked the place, and the music was really good. It’s one of the first times I really remember hearing rock and realizing I liked it.” His next fateful encounter with rock took place in 1962, when Elvis Presley came to Gainesville to shoot scenes for his movie  Follow That Dream. Twelve-year-old Tom was one of the onlookers. “Elvis really did mean a lot to me as a child,” Petty told me in 1999. “The whole idea that this person came from poverty like me, and he got out and made something of himself. And he did it by doing something pretty cool, rather than something that was devious, or being a crooked politician, or any of the normal Southern ways out of things.” But it was the arrival of the Beatles and other British Invaders shortly thereafter that really lit the young Petty’s fuse. He started playing guitar and had joined his first band, the Sundowners, in the mid-Sixties. Around that time, he acquired his first

12-string guitar, something that would become a lifelong sonic signature for him. He was inspired by the Rickenbacker electric 12s played by the Beatles’ George Harrison and the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn, although it would take time for Petty to obtain one of his very own. “My first Rickenbacker was a six-string,” he recalled. “The music store didn’t have a 12. That was around 1966 or 1967. And I got a Vox 12-string acoustic with a pickup, and that was actually a pretty good guitar. That’s where I kind of fell in love with the 12-string. The Byrds had a way of really featuring it, but the Beatles used it all the time too. I just thought it was a cool sound that it made along with a six-string. Then I got a  Vox Phantom 12, because I couldn’t really afford a Rickenbacker at the time. So when

The Traveling Wilburys with a gaggle of vintage Gretsch guitars in 1988: (from left) Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, George Harrison and Roy Orbison

I got a Rickenbacker 12 for the first time, it was probably in the Seventies somewhere. The Vox was pretty good, but not as sweetsounding as the Rick.” Petty switched over to bass guitar in another one of his early bands, Mudcrutch, formed in 1970. The lineup included two musicians who would become lifelong Petty collaborators—guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboard player Benmont Tench. Mudcrutch built up a substantial following in Florida, then relocated to L.A. in the early Seventies, after scoring a contract with Shelter Records. Their one and only single, “Depot Street,” flopped. But Petty found a niche for himself in the L.A. music community as an apprentice songwriter working under producer Denny Cordell and artist/producer/tunesmith Leon Russell.

While honing his own songcraft, Petty also received an education in the pitfalls of the music business. “We really saw the bullshit firsthand,” he recalled. “Groups that show up and ride around in limos on their first album, and have huge industry parties. And they’re terrible, and everybody knows it’s not gonna happen. Everybody but them. And we saw people that got sold on a gimmick: ‘If y’all dress up this way and do that…’ We knew not to do it. Like, ‘I’m not getting in any suit of clothes. I’m not joining anybody’s club. We’re just gonna do our thing.’ ” Shelter tried packaging Petty as a solo artist, pairing him with backing musicians. With his blond good looks, it might have worked. But Petty was determined to make music with his own band, like so many of his

heroes. So he got Campbell and Tench back in the picture and formed the Heartbreakers in 1975, recruiting two other Gainesville musicians—drummer Stan Lynch and bassist Ron Blair—to complete the lineup. Blair had played in a Gainesville group called RGF, which Petty described as “Mudcrutch’s biggest competition.” Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ selftitled 1976 debut LP was everything a rock and roll album should be—10 punchy, wellbuilt tunes delivered by a band that was super tight from playing countless bars and clubs, yet still fired up with the hunger and energy of youth. The 12-string clangor of the disc’s second single, “American Girl,” caused the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn to remark, “Now when did I record that?” when the record was first released.

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(from left) Mudcrutch's Mike Campbell, Tom Petty, Tom Leadon and Randall Marsh in Los Angeles in December 1974

But the song is pure Petty. Throughout his career, he forged a unique way of writing about female characters. The typical Petty heroine is a young woman itching to break free of the confines of her small town. The theme is reflective of Petty’s own ambitions to bust out of Gainesville, but the feminine angle added a new dimension. “I always just thought that was really romantic when I was younger,” he told me in ’99. “I’ve always loved girls, and I found they were interesting characters to write about—maybe more so than men. It comes easier for me to write about female characters. And when we were starting out, you didn’t hear many positive songs about girls. There were a lot of songs about girls, but

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a lot of times they kind of put them down. They didn’t come off too strong. And somewhere along the line, around the first or second album, I started to write songs that kind of gave them a positive image.” The album’s first single, “Breakdown,” made it to the bottom of the Top 40 in the U.S. But the release of Tom Petty and the  Heartbreakers coincided with the outbreak of punk and new wave in the latter half of the Seventies. Like many new wavers, Petty and his band were drawing inspiration from rock and roll’s mid-Sixties golden era. Their concise songcraft and no-frills, two-guitar aesthetic also seemed to be coming from the same place as punk and new wave’s rebellion against the bloated, self-indulgent

excesses of Seventies corporate rock. So at first, Petty and his band were often lumped in with the new wave, which actually gave the fledgling Heartbreakers’ career a lift. This is where they found many of their early listeners. “It was unusual being lumped in,” Petty later said. “But it felt better than being lumped in with the other side! We agreed with [ the new wave bands ] in spirit. Music had gotten really bad in our view, and we hated seeing stuff we believed in watered down and crassly commercialized. But we never thought we were [ new wave ]. And we never tried to embrace it. But it felt pretty cool to be alternative, you know? And it kind of hurt when we got really popular and it felt

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Mike Campbell (left) and Tom Petty perform May 14, 1977, at London's Hammersmith Odeon

like, ‘They see us as rich people now.’ But really, we hadn’t changed.” It took a little while longer for them to get really popular, however. Petty was battling with Shelter Records for a better financial deal around the time of the Heartbreakers’ second album, You’re Gonna Get It! This wouldn’t be the last time he went headto-head with the music-biz money men. Beneath his laid-back exterior, there was a tough inner-core—an unwavering dedication to fair play and basic human decency. Further contractual hassles delayed the release of the album that became Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ commercial breakthrough in 1979, Damn the Torpedoes. Two singles, “Don’t Do Me Like That” and “Refugee,” climbed to the top of the charts. Petty was no longer just an artist for new

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wave sophisticates. He now belonged to everyone. “Refugee,” in particular, is a distillation of everything great in rock history up to that point. Dylan-esque verses tumble out with declamatory urgency, leading to a defiant, yowling, chorus redolent of outsider anthems like the Kinks’ “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” or the Animals’ “It’s My Life.” By posing with a solidbody Rickenbacker 625 12-string guitar on the Torpedoes cover, Petty—along with R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and the Jam’s Paul Weller—sparked renewed interest in Rickenbackers and the electric 12-string sound in general. He’d become that influential. But success brought more battles. Petty’s record company wanted to  jack up the price of his next album, Hard  Promises, from $8.98 to the label’s “super-

star price” of $9.98. He dug in his heels and told them “hell no,” threatening to title the disc The $8.98 Album. In the end, MCA Records (Shelter’s parent label) relented. They were one of several corporate entities who discovered that, for Petty, “I Won’t Back Down” wasn’t just a song. It was a way of life. Throughout the Eighties Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers continued to evolve without losing their edge. 1985 found them working for the first time with producer Dave Stewart, who’d risen to fame as one half of Eurythmics. The result was Southern  Accents, originally conceived as a concept album ruminating on Petty’s Southern roots. But the way forward wasn’t always clear, as is often the case when an artist casts about for a new direction. At one point during the tortuous creative process, Petty famously punched a recording studio wall in frustration, fracturing his left hand. “At that time, the Heartbreakers were looking for something new,” he later said. “We felt like we’d taken the Big Jangle as far as we could. I liked Dave [ Stewart ] because he just had no reverence for anything, which helped shake me out of what I was doing and go somewhere else.” Stewart was Petty’s neighbor at the time in the L.A. suburb of Encino in the San Fernando Valley. The two men co-wroteSouthern Accents’ biggest hit and one of Petty’s most iconic songs, “Don’t Come Around Here No More.” The track’s trippy, somnambulant electric sitar, played by Stewart, contrasted effectively with the lyric’s “Positively 4th Street” vitriol. It was something new, but still unmistakably Petty. High-powered collaborations would loom large in Petty’s career from this point onward. He had known Bob Dylan since the late Seventies. But in 1986, Petty and the Heartbreakers began touring with Dylan as his backing band. “I think I really understood what Bob wanted to do at the time,” Petty later said, “and I got off on it a lot. Like, ‘Hey, we’re Bob Dylan’s band and we’re gonna lay it down tonight.’ ” George Harrison was another musical legend that Petty had known since the Seventies. His longstanding friendships with Harrison and Dylan led to his inclusion in the Traveling Wilburys, the supergroup that also included mid-Sixties icon Roy Orbison and producer/Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) mastermind Jeff Lynne. The billion-dollar quintet recorded its self-titled debut album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, in 1988. Orbison died shortly thereafter. But

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the four remaining icons released a second LP, whimsically titled Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3, in 1990. Petty’s membership in the Wilburys confirmed his role as keeper of the flame—the younger artist carrying on the great rock tradition that giants like the Beatles and Bob Dylan had forged in the Sixties. The torch had officially been passed. “They treated me equally, which was nice,” Petty said of his time as a Wilbury. “But I always felt like I was the kid in the band. I was the one who was lucky to be

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We all somehow felt like Petty was our guy— the one who spoke for us.

there. But they never treated me that way.” Harrison would remain a close friend and occasional Petty collaborator for the remainder of his life. “Me and George have something somewhere where we’re con-

nected,” Petty said. “Some past life or something.” Petty selected Jeff Lynne to co-produce his debut solo album, 1989’s Full Moon  Fever. While nominally a solo album, it also includes input from several Heartbreakers, including Benmont Tench and bassist Howie Epstein, who had replaced Ron Blair in 1982. But the Heartbreaker who played the most prominent role on the disc was Mike Campbell, who served as co-producer, lead guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. “Mike’s so much better than me on lead guitar,” Petty said of his longtime collaborator. “I kind of specialize in rhythm. And over the years, I’ve kind of gotten used to singing and playing rhythm. If I have to play a specific line, it’s better that I’m not singing, so I can actually put my mind on what I’m going to play. But most of the time, I play rhythm, although they let me play more and more solos as time goes on.”  Full Moon Feveryielded two more of Petty’s landmark tracks, “Runnin’ Down a Dream” and “Free Fallin.’ ” The latter song, wistful and acoustic guitar-driven, is quintessential Petty—another female protagonist, this time an Eighties L.A. “valley girl,” and a narrative that name checks locations around Petty’s home in the San Fernando  Valley. Like a number of Petty songs, “Free Fallin’ ” employs essentially the same chord progression for the verses as the choruses. He doesn’t need different or extra chords to drive home the song’s anthemic chorus. All he has to do is shift his voice into its spinechilling upper register. Petty’s genius as a songwriter resided in his ability to pack a wealth of both ambivalence and resonant meaning into a simple four-word, three-chord chorus: “And I’m free, free-fallin’.” Is it a declaration of freedom, or a cry of outsider despair? Maybe both. Like all great songs, it l eaves space for you to find your own way inside. Petty went through a rough patch in the Nineties. Following his 1996 divorce from Jane Benyo, to whom he’d been married since 1974, he fell into a deep depression and heroin addiction. He’d eventually recover from both, but the despair of this dark period is eloquently captured on his 1999 album Echo. It marked his return to the Heartbreakers after a pair of solo discs and a

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film soundtrack disc that he later regretted, Songs and Music from “She’s the One.” By the dawn of the 21st century, Petty was back in fighting form, having kicked heroin and married Dana York—a union that would last until the end of his life. And “fighting form” is an apt term for the mood of his and the Heartbreakers’ masterful 2002 album The Last DJ . The record takes on the predatory greed that had decimated both the music businesses and American society at large in the early years of the new century.

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For Petty, “I Won’t Back Down” wasn’t just a song. It was a way of life.

Lines from the title track such as “they can’t turn him into a company man, they can’t turn him into a whore,” are as applicable to Petty himself as they are to the

album’s protagonist, an independentminded radio disc jockey who gets fired because he “says what he wants to say” and “plays what he wants to play.” In the wake of Petty’s passing, the song’s chorus tag line seems particularly poignant: “there goes the last human voice.” His final decade was productive. In 2007 he re-convened his old band from the Gainesville days, Mudcrutch. Original members Tom Leadon and Randall Marsh were brought out of retirement to join forces with Petty, Campbell and Tench for two albums,  Mudcrutch 1 and Mudcrutch 2, in 2008 and 2016 respectively. In this period, Petty also hosted his own Sirius radio programming— another way of connecting his fans with the classic rock music he l oved. There was one more solo album, Highway Companion (2006) and two more Heartbreakers discs,  Mojo (2010) and Hypnotic Eye (2014), not to mention a full touring schedule, which generated a substantial body of live albums. Anyone fortunate enough to have seen Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in concert knows that they never failed to deliver—performing with the precision that comes from decades of playing together, yet infusing each note with a lifetime’s worth of passion and dedication. Just a week before his passing, Petty completed the last date of what he said would be his final major tour. It was a triumphant hometown gig at the Hollywood Bowl. The night ended with “American Girl.” For a rock performer to obtain Petty’s level of success yet still manage to keep it real for four decades is a signal achievement. In 1999, Petty told me his secret for doing so: “I never have surrounded myself with very much posse,” he said. “I’ve seen artists go really wrong by having a lot of people around that keep the myth inflated. I’ve tried to stay with people who treat me fairly normally. It’s a drag not to be treated normally. I guess there’s people who love that, and really come to life in those kinds of situations. I don’t. I shrink from it. It makes me uncomfortable. I mean, I’m really glad for the success I’ve had. I think I would have been very disappointed if it didn’t happen, and thought, Shit, I shoulda been famous. But it really is a double-edged sword.”

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EVER WONDER HOW SOME OF THE MOST FAMOUS GUITAR SOUNDS IN ROCK HISTORY CAME TO BE? OR THOUGHT ABOUT HOW YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO REPLICATE THE TONES YOU KNOW AND LOVE IN YOUR OWN HOME? LET US SHOW YOU THE SECRETS TO RECREATING THE ICONIC GUITAR SOUNDS OF SUCH SIXSTRING LEGENDS AS TONY IOMMI, STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN, ALEX LIF ESON, DAVID GILMOUR AND MORE! B Y

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inding out what gear guitarists use isn’t a problem. Most players will gladly recite a list of their favorite guitars and equipment when asked, especially if they have signature model products. If they won’t, there’s usually a good chance that somebody somewhere has at least snapped a photo or two of their guitars and live rigs. The bigger challenge is finding out how most guitarists use their gear. It’s not the fault of guitar journalists or the artists themselves—cataloging every single guitar played and amp or effect setting used can be a tedious, laborious, time-intensive affair, and many guitarists can’t remember all of the details (that’s why they pay their guitar techs big bucks). I personally can’t remember every knob on certain amps I own, let alone what my exact favorite settings are. To help you figure out how to create the guitar tones of several iconic songs, we’ve dug deep into research mode, combing old interviews and meticulously examining

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stage and studio photos from the appropriate eras. I then dug into my personal gear collection of over 100 guitars, 75 amps and 400 pedals and rack processors to replicate those sounds. If I didn’t have particular pieces of gear, I used items like Fractal Audio’s Axe-Fx II XL+ and AX8 ( extremely helpful), a Line 6 POD HD500X and various iPad apps, including Positive Grid’s Bias Series and IK Multimedia’s AmpliTube Series. Much of the original gear used to record these songs is well known, and as a result many of these items are very expensive, if you can even find them. For those of you with limited funds, we’ve also put together more affordable alternative rigs that should provide most of the core elements of these tones. If you want it all, the most affordable alternative may actually be Fractal’s AX8 and a great guitar or two of your personal preference. Because control markings and layout styles are inconsistent, I’ve listed all settings from 0–10 where 0 is completely off, 10 is all the way up and 5 is exactly in the

middle. Keep in mind that the sound of even the same guitars and amp models can often vary dramatically, especially with vintage gear more than 30 years old. If the recommended settings don’t sound quite right, tweak them as you see fit. These settings worked best with my rigs and should get you very close, but variables such as a guitar’s tone woods and pickups can make a difference. Pedals are listed in the order that they should be chained together in series from the guitar to the amp. Also keep in mind that all of the examples are studio recordings, so the sounds may not be ideal for live performance. Other important elements like the mics, outboard gear and mixing console settings used in the studio while tracking, mixing and mastering can affect the overall tone, so these sounds may not completely match the final product you hear on a record. However, we hope you’ll find that our settings get you most of the way there and inspire you to come up with your own signature sounds to influence new generations.

FAMOUS GUITAR SOUNDS DEMYSTIFIED

ORIGINAL GEAR GUITARS: ESP MX-220 (black finish) with EMG 81 (bridge) and 60 (neck) pickups (bridge pickup), Jerry Jones Danelectro Longhorn baritone copy (bridge pickup) AMPS: Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC++ (Volume 1: 9.5, Treble: 5/pull shift, Bass: 2, Middle: 0, Master 1: 4/pull deep, Lead Drive: 6/pull lead, Lead Master: 4, Presence: 3, Graphic EQ: 80: +2, 240: 0, 750: -12, 2200: 0, 6600: +3), modified Marshall JCM800 (settings unknown), Mesa/Boogie Mark IV (settings unknown), ADA MP-1 preamp, Mesa/Boogie Strategy 400 power amp CABINETS: various Marshall 1960B 4x12s with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers

“SAD BUT TRUE”

METALLICA ●  BLACK ALBUM , 1991 GUITARIST: JAMES HETFIELD (RHYTHM PART ONLY)

What’s genuinely sad but true is that you’ll need to spend a fortune if you want to duplicate James Hetfield’s monstrous rhythm guitar tone on this track with a rig identical to what he originally used. And that doesn’t even include the studio, its equipment and the prodigious talents of producer Bob Rock and engineers Randy Staub and Mike Tacci. Here we can cover only about 60 percent

of what went into crafting Hetfield’s sound, and even then we need to speculate, as the details still remain closely guarded secrets. Hetfield’s rhythm guitar part is composed of numerous layers of tracks recorded through different amps and c abinets (including overdubs of individual amps dialed to different tones), various mics in different positions and outboard equalization and compression. The core of Hetfield’s sound is a mid-Eighties Mesa/  Boogie Mark IIC++ (the extra plus denotes a Mesa modification), most likely with a pair of Aphex EQF-2 EQs and an Aphex CX-1 Compressor/Expander in the effects loop. The Mesa’s

five-band graphic EQ—in a scooped mid “V” configuration—plays a key role, but the Aphex EQs further sculpt the tone, particularly by cutting 1.2kHz (this frequency cut was also the secret to Dimebag Darrell’s rhythm tone). Marshall amps strategically restored some of the midrange sculpted out of the Mesas. Further depth and texture was added by overdubbing a Jerry Jones baritone tuned an octave lower than the guitar, while additional overdubs consisted solely of muted string “chuks” to enhance the percussiveness of the attack. These tracks were all meticulously blended with Jason Newsted’s tight unison bass line to create a massive riff.

EFFECTS/PROCESSORS:  (connected to amp effects loop) Two Aphex EQF-2 EQs (EQ1: 4.2kHz shelving/+6, 1.2kHz/-6, 120Hz shelving/+4, high-pass filter 100Hz; EQ2: 6kHz shelving/+6, 900Hz/-6, 240Hz peaking/-4), Aphex CX-1 Compressor/Expander (settings unknown) STRINGS/TUNING: Ernie Ball Power Slinky .011–.048/ D standard (DGCFAD) PICK: Dunlop Tortex .88mm

GET THE SOUND, CHEAPER! • ESP LTD EX-401 • Mesa/Boogie Recto-Verb 25 combo • Mesa/Boogie Boogie Five-Band Graphic EQ pedal T O N E T I P : Place the Graphic EQ pedal in the amp’s effects loop for the best-sounding and most dramatic EQ sweep.

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ORIGINAL GEAR GUITAR: 1965 Gibson SG Special with P90 pickups (bridge pickup) AMP: 100-watt Laney Supergroup MK 1 ( Presence: 10, Bass: 0, Middle: 10, Treble: 10, Gain One: 10; guitar plugged into Bass input) CABINET: Laney Supergroup 4x12 with Celestion G12-25M Speakers PEDAL: Dallas-Arbiter Rangemaster (modified) STRINGS/TUNING: .009– .042 light-gauge/Standard (EADGBE) PICK: Medium

GET THE SOUND, CHEAP!

“IRON MAN”

BLACK SABBATH ●

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 PARANOID, 1970 ●

Tony Iommi previously laid the foundation for heavy metal guitar tone on songs like “Black Sabbath” and “N.I.B.” on Black Sabbath’s eponymous debut album, but on the band’s follow-up,  Paranoid , he perfected a sound that has inspired every aspiring metal guitarist ever since. On “Iron Man” all of the essential elements of metal guitar are in place—wicked distortion, evil riffing and fleet-fingered soloing, all wrapped up with aggressive attitude and swagger. Iommi’s “Iron Man” rig was simple—a 1965 Gibson SG Special, modified DallasArbiter Rangemaster treble booster and

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GUITARIST: TONY IOMMI

100-watt Laney Supergroup MK 1 head with a Laney 4x12 cabinet, most likely loaded with Celestion G12-25M speakers (some Laney cabs from this era had Goodman Audiom 61 speakers). Iommi plugged into one of the Supergroup’s bass inputs, turned the presence, middle and treble to 10 while the bass was at 0 and cranked the Gain 1 control all the way up to produce crunchy, natural power tube overdrive. In addition to pushing the amp’s input even further into distortion, the Rangemaster cut bass frequencies while working in tandem with the SG’s single-coil P90 bridge pickup to produce thick midrange with a hollow, boxy honk. The guitar was tuned to standard pitch (EADGBE), and Iommi used light-gauge strings (probably .009—.042) and a medium pick.

• Laney Tony Iommi Signature 15-watt combo • AXL Guitars USA Bulldog • Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra T O N E T I P : The Sabbra Cadabra pedal has four controls, while the original Rangemaster effect has only a Set (gain) control. To duplicate the sound of the original Rangemaster, set the Sabbra Cadabra’s controls as follows: Presence: 6, Gain: 4, Vol 4: 3.5, Range: 6.

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“SHE SELLS SANCTUARY” THE CULT ●  LOVE, 1985 GUITARIST: BILLY DUFFY

In 1985 while the Cult was recording at Olympic Studios in London, guitarist Billy Duffy decided to pay an impromptu tribute to Led Zeppelin, who had also recorded at that studio. Spying a violin bow and picking it up, he did his best Jimmy Page impression by scraping away at the strings and turning on several effects on his pedalboard. When an engineer interrupted him and asked him to play “She Sells Sanctuary,” Duffy complied, forgetting he had left all of the pedals on. However, it turned out to be a fortunate oversight as everyone agreed that the heavily processed sound fit the intro riff perfectly. The key to Duffy’s sound is two delay pedals (one set to a short delay and the other to a longer delay time, both with several repeats) and stereo chorus, the latter courtesy of a Roland Jazz Chorus JC-120 amp. A flanger and phase shifter provide extra-swirly modulation for the intro and bridge, but they’re bypassed in favor of an overdrive pedal at 0:18 to provide a fat but focused guitar tone that still drives the song rhythmically courtesy of the dueling delays. A 1975 single-cutaway Gretsch White Falcon set to the bridge Filter’tron pickup provides the perfect balance of clean sparkle and midrange honk.

ORIGINAL GEAR GUITAR: 1975 Gretsch White Falcon single cutaway with ceramic Filter’tron humbuckers (bridge pickup) AMP: Roland JC-120 combo amp (Channel 2, Low input, Brilliance: On, Volume: 8, Treble: 3, Middle: 7, Bass: 6, Distortion: Off, Reverb: 0, Speed: 4, Depth: 5, Chorus setting) PEDALS:  Boss OD-1 Super Overdrive (Level: 5, Overdrive: 7), Boss BF-2 Flanger (Manual: 4, Depth: 5, Rate: 6.5, Res: 6.5), MXR Phase 100 (Mode: 2, Speed 5), Boss DM-2 Delay (Repeat Rate: 4, Echo: 4—about 250ms, Intensity: 4), Boss DD-2 Digital Delay (E. Level: 3.5, F. Back: 4, D. Time: 4—about 340ms, Mode: 800ms) STRINGS/TUNING: Ernie Ball Slinky .010 .046/Standard PICK: Dunlop Herco Flex 50 medium, held sideways

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GET THE SOUND, CHEAP! • Gretsch G2420 Streamliner Single Cutaway • Roland Jazz Chorus JC-22 • Boss GP-10 Multi-effects Use the Jazz Chorus amp for chorus at the end of the signal chain. The GP-10 is ideal mainly for its series dualdelay effect. Since the GP-10’s phaser and flanger can’t be used together at once, use just the flanger.

TONE TIP:

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FAMOUS GUITAR SOUNDS DEMYSTIFIED

ORIGINAL GEAR GUITAR: 1962 Gibson SG with PAF humbuckers (bridge pickup) AMP: Diezel VH4 (Channel 1 Bright: On, Gain: 5, Volume: 3, Treble: 7, Middle: 9, Bass: 10; Channel 4 Gain: 8, Volume: 8, Treble: 7, Middle: 4, Bass: 10; Master section Volume: 3, Presence: 7, Deep: 8) CABINET: Soldano 4x12 with Eminence Legend V1216 speakers EFFECTS: ZVex Fuzz Factory (Volume: 6, Gate: 7, Comp: 0, Drive: 7, Stab: 10), Boss OC-2 (Oct 2: 3, Direct Level: 10, Oct 1: 5), DigiTech Whammy 4 (Whammy +2 octave setting during solo), Line 6 Mod Pro (MXR Phase 90 and MXR Flanger models, both at slow sweep), Line 6 Echo Pro (Delay: 480ms intro/360ms solo delay, Repeats: 4, Mix: 30% wet/70% dry) STRINGS/TUNING: Ernie Ball Slinky .010 .013 .017 .026 .036 .060/Standard PICK: Dunlop Tortex .73mm

“HYSTERIA” MUSE ●  ABSOLUTION , 2003 GUITARIST: MATT BELLAMY

One of the greatest guitar heroes of the new millennium, Muse’s Matt Bellamy combines the aural adventurousness of Jimi Hendrix with the heaviness of Metallica along with his own modern synth-like sonic stamp. Many of Bellamy’s tones sound outrageously complex, but actually the means of creating them are often simple and sometimes even primitive, employing creative blends of stomp boxes instead of complex multieffects patch programming. Such is the case with “Hysteria,” where Bellamy uses fuzz and octave pedals to generate the bulk of his tone, with body and texture added by subtle use of phasing, flanging, delay and reverb. The song starts with a slow pick s crape processed with 480ms delay, fuzz and an MXR Phase 90 at a slow sweep speed. Then he bypasses the delay and engages octave up/down effects with an OC-2 for the main riff, all played through a slightly overdriven Diezel VH4 on channel 1. For the chorus, he relies exclusively on the VH4’s fourth channel for heavily distorted and compressed but defined power chords. A 360ms delay and studio reverb give ambient depth to the fuzzed-out solo (same Fuzz Factory/OC-2 pedals as the intro), embellished further in the s olo’s second section with an added underlying layer of a Whammy shifting the pitch up two octaves. For the bridge preceding the solo and the outro, a subtle flanging effect is employed along with the fuzz and OC-2 octaves from the main riff.

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GET THE SOUND, CHEAP! • Epiphone Vintage G-400 • Randall RD20 Diavlo combo • Line 6 M13 T O N E T I P : Since the Line 6 M13 doesn’t have the ZVex Fuzz Factory or OC-2 Octaver, use the Octave Fuzz model instead (which combines both fuzz and subtle octave up effects) along with the Pitch Glide set an octave down. If you ha ve extra bucks, get the ZVex Vexter Fuzz Factory as it provides the bulk of the guitar’s distinctive distortion ch aracter.

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“WALKING ON THE MOON” POLICE ●  REGATTA DE BLANC , 1979 GUITARIST: ANDY SUMMERS

Andy Summers’ playing on this early hit by the Police is a perfect example of how a player doesn’t need to blast or fill every space to make an impression. Instead, Summers impresses with his shimmering textures, inventive suspended chords and restraint, leaving plenty of room for the rhythm section to drive the groove. This approach also was effective in the increasingly larger venues the Police were playing in the late Seventies as their popularity began to grow, creating a sound that resonated throughout the hall. The key to Summers’ especially sparkling treble comes courtesy of two classic stomp boxes: an MXR Dyna Comp and an Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress. The compressor gives consistent body to each note in the chords while the Electric Mistress is dialed to a chorus-like effect instead of the usual flanging sweep. An Echoplex set to a single repeat, with the echo volume the same as the dry volume, creates a simple rhythmic effect with a characteristic feel courtesy of overlapping resonant sustain that can’t be duplicated simply by playing two strokes in quick succession.

ORIGINAL GEAR GUITAR: 1961 Telecaster Custom with maple neck and Gibson neck humbucker (bridge pickup) AMP: Early Seventies Marshall JMP 1959 Super Lead (Input: I lower, Presence: 3, Bass: 4, Middle: 3, Treble: 6, Volume I: 5) CABINET: Marshall 4x12 (speakers unknown) PEDALS: MXR Dyna Comp (Output: 6, Sensitivity: 6), Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress (Rate: 6.5, Range: 8, Color: 3, Filter Matrix switch: flanger setting) , Echoplex EP-3 (Mode: Echo, Delay: 330ms, Sustain: single repeat, Volume: 50/50 dry/echo)

GET THE SOUND, CHEAP! • Fender Standard Telecaster • Marshall DSL 15C combo • Line 6 M9 Stompbox Modeler Use the Marshall’s Classic Gain channel with the gain very low and the volume as high as it will go while still remaining clean. The Line 6 M9 has great models of each effect except the EHX Electric Mistress—use the Tri Chorus instead. TONE TIP:

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STRINGS/TUNING: D’Addario EXL115 .011 .014 .018 .028 .038 .049/Standard PICK: Dunlop Jazz II 1.18mm nylon

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FAMOUS GUITAR SOUNDS DEMYSTIFIED

ORIGINAL GEAR GUITAR: 1969 Fender Stratocaster (black finish) with 1963 rosewood neck and 1971 Fender Stratocaster pickups AMPS: circa 1973-74 Hiwatt DR103 modified with linked channel input (Linked input, Normal Volume: 6, Brilliant Volume: 4, Bass: 7, Treble: 7, Middle: 4, Presence: 6, Master Volume: 5–7), Leslie 147 (slow rotation rate) CABINET: WEM Super Starfinder 200 4x12 with Fane Crescendo 12-inch speakers PEDALS/EFFECTS: Colorsound Power Boost (Treble: 2, Bass: 5, Volume: 5–8), MXR Phase 90 (Speed: 6 for drone notes, 4 for solos and outro) STRINGS/TUNING: .009– .042 Gibson Sonomatic/  Standard PICK: Fender Medium

“SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND (PARTS I–V)” PINK FLOYD ●

WISH YOU WERE HERE, 1975 ● GUITARIST: DAVID GILMOUR 

Over the years, David Gilmour has crafted some of the sweetest Strat tones known to mankind. On “Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I–V),” the epic 13-minute opening track to Wish You Were Here, he lays down more awesome tones than most guitarists achieve in a lifetime, though the changes of textures are so smooth and the buildup is so subtle that most listeners don’t notice how many different sounds he actually employs. Gilmour makes his entrance just past the two-minute mark with a bluesy, clean tone played on the Strat’s neck pickup with its tone control backed off slightly. That shifts to

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a psychedelic swirl about two minutes later, where Gilmour plays a droning four-note figure through an MXR Phase 90, likely with a Leslie rotating speaker adding additional texture and depth. This leads to another clean neck pickup solo, but this time the tone control is all the way up, then he shifts around 6:06 to the bridge pickup and kicks on a Colorsound Power Boost overdrive at the peak of the crescendo. His next solo is even more aggressively distorted, played on the bridge pickup with the Power Boost and Phase 90 providing hollow midrange and modulated motion. His brief melodic passage at 9:46 is doubled and distorted, then he ends the song by playing crisp, shimmering arpeggio figures on the bridge pickup with the Phase 90 adding texture and movement.

GET THE SOUND, CHEAP�ER�! • Fender Standard Stratocaster with rosewood fretboard • Fender Super Champ X2 • Vintage FX Colordrive • MXR Phase 90 T O N E T I P : The Super Champ X2’s effects section features a Vibratone slow  setting that can be used to replicate the Leslie rotating  speaker effect. Use Channel 1 and crank up the volume control just to the edge of breakup for a fat, dynamically expressive clean tone.

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ORIGINAL GEAR GUITARS: Modified Fender Stratocaster (white) with rosewood neck (large Fender headstock), vintage-style tremolo, master volume/tone controls, Gibson-style three-way pickup selector and Gibson humbucker in bridge position (bridge pickup), Gibson ES-355 (bridge pickup, solo only)

“RED BARCHETTA” RUSH ●  MOVING PICTURES, 1981 ● GUITARIST: ALEX LIFESON

Alex Lifeson’s sound constantly evolved during the Seventies and Eighties, but his tone on Rush’s Moving Pictures combines the best of his late Seventies progressive hard rock tones with his emerging brighter, cleaner new wave–inspired sound. The core of his sound on this album was a blend of clean and overdrive textures, but not from the sources one might expect. Lifeson’s clean sound came courtesy of a Marshall combo—a 4140 Club and Country model—which was Marshall’s version of a Fender Twin. His distortion came mostly from his late-Seventies Hi-

watts—the two-input versions with higher gain than the early Seventies four-input models. Lifeson bought his first Hiwatts sometime in late 1977 or early 1978, and since Rush was based in Canada it’s likely that Lifeson bought his Hiwatts in Canada as well. Starting in 1977, Hiwatt’s Canadian distributor modified the amps so the Normal and Bright channels were linked when plugging into the Bright input. As a result, the 100-watt model (called the DR105 instead of the standard DR103) was capable of delivering a much more aggressive distorted tone. Close inspec-

tion of late-Seventies photos of Lifeson’s Hiwatts reveals that the heads were modified with a third input in the lower left corner covering the “Bright” lettering, perhaps to restore the Bright-only input. In previous interviews, Lifeson said that a modified white Strat was his main guitar on “Red Barchetta,” but the guitar tone on the solo has the distinctive fat midrange and acoustic-like honk of his Gibson ES-355. The Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble—an essential element of Lifeson’s tone starting with Hemispheres—is engaged throughout the song.

GET THE SOUND, CHEAP! •Fender Standard Stratocaster HSS with rosewood neck •VHT Special 6 Ultra •Boss CE-2W

AMPS: Two Marshall 4140 Club and Country 2x12 combos with redframe McKenzie speakers (Channel 2 High input, Master Volume: 7-8, Bass: 3, Middle: 6.5, Treble: 6, Volume: 5), Two Hiwatt DR105 heads with Hiwatt 4x12 speaker cabs loaded with Fane or Celestion speakers (Linked “Bright” input, Normal Vol: 6, Bright Vol: 5, Bass: 6, Treble: 5, Middle: 5, Presence: 5, Master Vol: 10)

*Four amps total were individually miked in stereo: one Marshall/Hiwatt rig for the left and an identical Marshall/Hiwatt rig for the right. PEDALS/EFFECTS: MXR Distortion + (Volume: 9-10, Distortion: 4, solo only), Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble (Input: Low, Level: 8, Chorus Intensity: 5, Chorus/Vibrato switch: Chorus, left and right outputs each to individual Marshall/Hiwatt rigs) STRINGS/TUNING: .009 .011 .014 .028 .038 .048 Dean Markley/Standard PICK: Kay #2 Medium nylon

T O N E T I P : The VHT combo has a great Clean channel with a Boost function that can generate Hiwatt-like grind. Use an ABY pedal to access the Ultra channel for the solo, and no Distortion + pedal is necessary. The Boss CE-2W may be expensive, but its CE-1 mode nails the original lush Boss chorus effect.

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FAMOUS GUITAR SOUNDS DEMYSTIFIED

“PRIDE AND JOY”

STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN AND DOUBLE TROUBLE ● TEXAS FLOOD, 1983 GUITARIST: STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN

When Stevie Ray Vaughan and his band Double Trouble went to Los Angeles to record at Jackson Browne’s Down Town Studio, the intention was to record a demo to shop around to various labels. However, producer John Hammond and Epic A&R man Greg Geller were so impressed with the sound and vibe that they decided to release those recordings as

 Vaughan’s first album, Texas Flood. These recordings were performed live over two days with no overdubs, providing a good representation of Vaughan’s live sound at the time. While Vaughan played through two Fender Vibroverb amps like he did onstage, only one of the Vibroverbs was miked. A Dumble Dumbleland Special amp that belonged to Browne was also

ORIGINAL GEAR GUITAR: 1962/63 Fender Stratocaster “Number One” with rosewood neck, 1959 pickups and left-hand tremolo (middle pickup: intro, verse, chorus, first solo; neck pickup: second solo/outro) AMPS: 1964 Fender Vibroverb with single JBL D130F

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15-inch speaker (Vibrato channel, Input 1, Volume: 6, Treble: 5.5, Middle: 3 Bass: 4, Reverb: off, Vibrato: off), Dumble Dumbleland Special (settings unknown) with Dumble 4x12 with ElectroVoice EVM12L speakers PEDALS/EFFECTS: Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer (Drive: 2-3, Tone: 4, Level: 9-10) ,

incorporated into his rig because  Vaughan loved its tight, big clean tones. This amp’s 4x12 cabinet was miked as well. Vaughan’s only effects were his Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer used as a boost for solos and a Roland SDD-320 Dimension D that was added to his solos during mixing, which fattened his tone thanks to its subtle choruslike doubling effect.

Roland SDD-320 Dimension D (Mode: 2, used only during mixing) STRINGS/TUNING: .013 .015 .019p .028 .038 .058. GHS Nickel Rockers/Ef standard (i.e. tuned down half step to Ef Af Df Gf Bf Ef) PICK: Fender Heavy, held sideways

GET THE SOUND, CHEAP! • Fender Standard Stratocaster • Fender Hot Rod Series Blues Junior III • Ibanez TS9 TONE TIP:

 A lot of Stevie Ray’s sound can be attributed to his heavy strings and extremely aggressive attack. No soft touch here—hit the strings hard to get them to  sing and sting.    S    E    G    A    M    I    Y    T    T    E    G     /    S    N    R    E    F    D    E    R     /    L    L    A    C    N    O    T    Y    A    L    C

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Billy Corgan with his signature Yamaha LJ16BC

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POWER OUTAGE FOR HIS SECOND SOLO ALBUM, OGILALA, FORMER SMASHING PUMPKINS FRONTMAN B I L LY C O R G A N   U N P L U G S H I S A X E S A N D BREAKS OUT THE ACOUSTICS AS HE VENTURES I N T O N E W S O N I C T E R R I T O R Y.

B Y

J O E

B O S S O

P H O T O G R A P H

IN 2005, BILLY CORGAN CELEBRATED

B Y

A L P H A

P A N

While Corgan did make good on those plans, the resulting Smashing Pumpkins reunion wasn’t the full-scale reformation many, and perhaps Corgan himself, hoped it would be: Only drummer Jimmy Chamberlin from the original group took part, with guitarist James Iha and bassist D’arcy Wretzky opting out. Throughout the next decade, Corgan recorded and toured with a number of Smashing Pumpkins lineups, with Chamberlin and guitarist Jeff Schroeder serving as the most stable band members (Chamberlin stayed from 2006 to 2009, rejoining in 2015, and Schroeder has been with the fold since 2007).

the release of his first solo album, TheFutureEmbrace, with a bold and unique self-promotion move that no doubt confounded—and possibly delighted—the marketing staff at his record label by taking out full-page ads in his two hometown papers, the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune, and stating his intention to not be a solo artist. “For a year now I have walked around with a secret, a secret I chose to keep,” he wrote. “But now I want you to be among the first to know that I have made plans to renew and revive the Smashing Pumpkins. I want my band back, and my songs, and my dreams. In this desire I f eel I have come home again.”  

GW H O L I D A Y

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guitarworld.com 

Twelve years after TheFutureEmbrace, Corgan, billing himself as William Patrick Corgan, is issuing his second solo album, Ogilala, and once again he’s hinting—haltingly so—that a possible original band reunion could be in the works. “I think the best news is that there’s peace in the kingdom, which wasn’t the case for a long time,” he says. “I’m very, very personally pleased that we’ve worked out our ‘differences’—I put that in light quotations—so there’s communication, which again, there wasn’t for a very long time. If anything musical comes out of it, that would be the best-case scenario. Personally, I would like to see us go back to working and making music.” Until then, there is Ogilala. Musically, it’s as far and away from the electronicaladen TheFutureEmbrace—and much of the Pumpkins’ overdriven rock guitar tumult— as one could imagine. Working with uberproducer Rick Rubin, Corgan has crafted a collection of stirring and stately songs in which his distinctive nasal rasp is set against minimalist acoustic guitar and piano backings, with tasteful string and symphonic flourishes occasionally mixing with the main colors. Tracks like “Aeronaut” and “Archer” find the guitarist in a somber, contemplative mood, but on numbers like “Processional” and “Half-Life of an Autodidact” he sounds both wistful and hopeful. One might speculate that recent personal developments—Corgan turned 50 back in March, and in 2015 he and his girlfriend, Chloe Mandel, welcomed their first child, Augustus Juppiter Corgan—had something to do with the album’s light touch. At first he dismisses such a notion, saying, “I didn’t notice any discernible difference in my attitude when I was writing the music.” But then he pauses, perhaps thinking better of it, and elaborates: “Looking back at the record, I guess there might be some influence, with my son being around. However, turning 50 did cause me to make a promise to myself, sort of like a New  Year’s resolution. I decided that I wouldn’t allow myself to repeat things that I knew wouldn’t work. I had enough comparable information to know now that certain patterns of behavior weren’t going to work post 50.” As we all know, the album format isn’t the cultural force as it once was. How does that affect your drive to make new fulllength records?

I’ve had to divorce myself from the machinations of the business, because overall, they’re not artist-positive. I’ve complained vociferously about it in the past, and nobody

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listened to me. Nothing’s changed, so the complaining is done. What I did do, however, was make an internal decision: “Are you still interested in music, and if you are, how are you interested in how people perceive that?” I appreciate the album as an organizing factor. It pulls together certain songs at a specific period of time, and it allows an artist to pick a lane. It’s like editing a motion picture: You could probably edit it seven different ways, and you’d wind up with seven slightly different movies. That’s how it feels when you’re doing an album. You have to kind of pick a lane. Still, there’s sometimes a resistance from audiences to new music from establish ed artists. You go to a show, and you hear those dreaded words: “We’re going to play a new song…”

 Yeah, that’s a tricky thing. I can appreciate why a certain batch of songs has gotten an artist the opportunity, and the honor, to perform for people. That said, no amount of me playing my most famous songs, or not playing them, has changed anything about where I sit in the business. At the end of the day, the only thing that’s really going to change anything for me is to write new material that would engender the same response as the old stuff. And I still have the motivational hold to want to write new stuff that goes over like the old material. That said, I’m not somebody who likes to live in sort of a delusional half-dream—you know, the resemblance to the movie Sunset Boulevard . TheFutureEmbrace  was bathed in elec-

tronics. This album is radically different— mostly piano and acoustic guitar. What led to the decision to unplug?

Well, I was making a Smashing Pumpkins album that was sort of futuristic, but I got bored and uninspired, so I ditched it. Then I found myself with nothing to do, and I thought, Okay, if you wanted to do something, what would you do? And I was attracted to playing acoustic music. So I wrote a batch of songs and I thought, Right. I need to find somebody to record these. I called Rick Rubin and asked him to recommend a producer—I thought he would appreciate the vibe of what I was doing— and he said, “Well, I’d actually be interested in doing this.” And I was totally shocked. I wasn’t calling upon him to impose. He’s a super-busy guy and he’s probably the most sought-after producer in the world. He’s  just a friend of mine, and I was trying to get some advice. The whole thing grew from

there. I sent him more songs, and eventually he said, “Do you want to record?” Because  Ogilala  doesn’t have the blazing rock gestalt of your other records, do you feel like you’re asking more from listeners? They really have to g ive themselves up to it.

It’s hard for me to respond to that. You know, during my twenties I was very focused on the audience, and then came a time in my life when I was very focused on myself. Obviously, when I focused more on the audience I had better results. But I had to go through that soul searching and focus on myself—I just needed to. Having come full circle, all I can say is that I feel like I can only do my best, and I can’t assume anything about the audience. Truth is, when you make an assumption about the audience, you really cheat people of their own experience. In that sense, you become sort of overly calculating. Even going back to the question about what songs you play live, as a listener myself sometimes my favorite song on an album isn’t the one on the radio. So at this point in my life, it’s not up to me to decide what’s worthwhile. I don’t wag my finger and say, “You must give me 40 minutes of your time, or else.” I would be happy with three minutes! [ laughs ] Playing-wise, is your rela tion to the acoustic guitar different from the electric?

It is. I don’t really put the time into the acoustic. To be a really proficient acoustic player, you have to have a good fingerpicking game, and I just don’t have that. I’m much better at getting what I want out of the instrument on the electric side of things. It’s frustrating at times, because there are times I wish I could break into a solo on an acoustic like a jazz guitar player could. It’s  just a different level of proficiency. I did notice there are n o real solos on the record. Do you feel as if you’re an awkward acoustic soloist?

No, not at all. It just didn’t feel right. This is where people might want to throw tomatoes at me, but soloing on a guitar just feels slightly out of time at the point in the world we’re in. Don’t get me wrong—there’s people who solo really beautifully—but right now there’s something about the solo sound of the guitar that isn’t as inspiring as it was maybe a generation ago. I just don’t feel as attracted to soloing as I did in those times when I was standing in the shadow of Eddie  Van Halen.

OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS, I S E T M Y S E L F A D R I F T. I REF USE D TO DO W HAT PEOP LE WANTED ME TO DO, AND I CH ART ED MY OWN COURSE.

I do like listening to certain people. I was listening to Zakk Wylde recently, and he’s just incredible. I went to one of those “night of guitars” concerts—there was Steve  Vai and Nuno Bettencourt, and I think it was Yngwie, too. All these great guitarists. And you know, as a guitar player, it was incredible watching these masters play. At the same time, it just doesn’t strike me, the voice of the guitar right now in our culture—it doesn’t feel as distinctive as it once was. Maybe I’m not enough of a guitar player to know how to fix it.

What were your main acoustics for the record?

I have an early Sixties Guild Texan that records unbelievably. It’s probably the loudest acoustic I have. That was probably my primary recording guitar. I used a Sixties Gibson Tortoise on one song, I think, but it was mostly the Texan. I brought a number of guitars to California, and then we did kind of blind taste tests. Whatever sounded best is what we used. You’re going to do an acoustic tour for Ogilala. Are you thinking that you migh t

Do you write differently on an acoustic

plug back in soon after?

than on an electric?

I don’t know. There’s obviously been a lot of chatter about the band, but nothing’s been worked out. Everything’s up in the air. One day I think, Yeah, okay, and another day I think, I’m not so sure. The vibe is very good with everybody, but as far as the possibility of something happening, I don’t know. I sort of don’t know what to think of anything anymore. Over the last 10 years, I sort of set myself adrift. I obviously refused to do what people wanted me to do, and I charted my own course. There’s been some great things, and there’s been a lot of not-so-great things. The thing I would say is, once you set yourself adrift, there really is no going back. You can look very soberly at the idea of playing rock and roll again, but it doesn’t fire the same sequence it used to, which was like, “We’ll get together, we’ll write some songs, we’ll make a record, and we’ll tour.” Or “We’ll get together and then we’ll tour.” It doesn’t work that way anymore. So now I sort of say, “I’m open to the muse of the universe, and wherever it takes me, it takes me.” I would love to play

No, and in fact, most of my famous rock songs—“Today,” “Tonight, Tonight,” “Bullet with Butterfly Wings”—almost all them were either written on an acoustic or at a piano. It’s funny: The best songs didn’t tend to come from playing electric; they came from figuring them out in an acoustic form and then translating them to electric. There is some electric guitar on the record, like those Fifties-sounding licks on “Shiloh.”

And there’s an E-bow solo on “Spaniards,” but you just can’t tell. The bit on “Shiloh” was actually a tribute to Gl en Campbell. The song reminded me of one of those Glen Campbell songs that Jimmy Webb wrote—it was my tip of my hat to them. I love the music that they made together— “Galveston” and stuff like that. At first I looked at Rick and said, “Is this too obvious?” And he was like, “But I like it.” So we left it in. We got out the Fender VI and made that sound. We tried some electric guitar on a few things, but it just didn’t feel right.

electric guitar again. I would love to rock out on the biggest stages in the world. But I look around in our culture, and I don’t see a lot of representation of that type of music. Loud guitars aren’t necessarily rooted in alternative anymore. They’re more rooted in hard rock and heavy metal, and whatever the 10,000 subgenres are—grindcore and all that type of stuff. I drive around in my car and I listen to Ozzy’s Boneyard on Sirius, and I hear all this great music. It still makes me want to crank an amp up to where it’s ready to explode, but I also don’t assume that anybody would meet my passion with an equal level of interest. What I figured out is just do the thing that feels most exciting next, and hopefully that will be met by somebody else who’s just as interested. But I can no longer assume that just because I put on an electric guitar and plug in a fuzz pedal that anybody’s going to pay much attention. The good news is that if I do pick it up, it’s because I really feel good about doing it and I’m really motivated, and I feel l ike it’s going to take me somewhere and that other people will enjoy the ride. Any more you can a dd on the future of the band?

Obviously, there’s plenty of healthy interest for us to play shows, but I’m much more interested in that if it includes us working again as a creative unit. It’s pretty obvious that I’ve had my best success as a rock musician with that lineup in some form, and I think it has a lot to do with when and how we came together. Whether we could recreate that magic in any form remains to be seen, but it would be nice to try. And to be clear, we  are  talking about the original members, right?

Well, you never know, because everybody’s got their own lives now. It’s not like people are sitting at home waiting by the telephone. I mean, Jimmy is super-involved in tech. James is a successful producer and does his own soundtracks. D’arcy is living a very private life. It’s not as simple to say, “Oh, let’s all go meet on Main Street on Tuesday.” I think there’s lots of other factors that also include children, schedules and stuff like that. But again, speaking personally, my interest is just to be creative. It’s great to play the old songs, but it’s not really a creative endeavor unless you talk about the staging and the lights. At the end of the day, you’re still doing something that’s already been done, and my heart lies in doing something that hasn’t been done. So we’ll see.

guitarworld.com

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THE NAME YOU TRUST FOR TAB You can’t always trust what you see online. Learn the right way with these authorized transcriptions! 

00690178 Alice in Chains – Acoustic .................... $19.99 00694933 The Allman Brothers Band – The Definitive Collection – Vol. 2 .........$24.95 00214869 Avenged Sevenfold – The Best of 2005-2013 .........................$24.99 00690820 Avenged Sevenfold – City of Evil............ $24.95 00123216 Avenged Sevenfold – Hail to the King. ...$22.99 00691051 Avenged Sevenfold – Nightmare............ $22.99 00222486 Avenged Sevenfold – The Stage.............$24.99 00690489 The Beatles – 1 .................................... $24.99 00694930 The Beatles – 1967-1970 – 2nd Edition....$24.99 00694832 The Beatles for Acoustic Guitar – Revised Edition ....................................$22.99 00692385 Chuck Berry .........................................$22.99 00147787 Best of the Black Crowes.......................$19.99 00148544 Michael Bloomfield Guitar Anthology......$24.99 00158600 Joe Bonamassa – Blues of Desperation.............................$22.99 00141446 Best of Lenny Breau..............................$19.99 00690936 Eric Clapton – Complete Clapton .......... $29.99 00192383 Eric Clapton – I Still Do ....................... $19.99 00124873 Eric Clapton – Unplugged – Deluxe Edition .....................................$24.99 00138731 Eric Clapton & Friends – The Breeze....$22.99 00127184 Best of Robert Cray ..............................$19.99 00690819 Best of Creedence Clearwater Revival ...$22.95 00122443 Dream Theater ..................................... $24.99 00699941 The Very Best of the Eagles...................$34.99 00150257 John Fahey – Guitar Anthology..............$19.99 00691024 Foo Fighters – Greatest Hits .................$22.99 00120220 Robben Ford – Guitar Anthology .......... $24.99 00139460 Grateful Dead Guitar Anthology ............ $24.99 00212480 Green Day – Revolution Radio .............$19.99 00691190 Best of Peter Green ..............................$19.99 00225431 Guitar Tab 2016-2017 ..........................$19.99

14042759 00121961 00690790 00200446 00690271 00124869 00130447 00236690 00137718 00691942 00694951 02501195 00209876 00118836 00102590 00102591 00694883 00690026 00146043 00690499

00121933 00694855 00109303 00694910 00119834 00182634 00690673

Black Sabbath – 13 ..............................$19.99 Imagine Dragons – Night Visions.......... $22.99 Iron Maiden Anthology......................... $24.99 Iron Maiden – Guitar Tab..................... $29.99 Robert Johnson – The New Transcriptions ........................$24.95 Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan – In Session ............................................$22.99 B.B. King – Live at the Regal.................$17.99 Mastodon – Emperor of Sand ..............$22.99 Mastodon – Once More ‘Round the Sun $22.99 Andy McKee – Art of Motion.................$22.99 Megadeth – Rust in Peace .................... $22.95 Metallica – Black ................................. $22.95 Metallica – Hardwired...To Self-Destruct ................$22.99 Pat Metheny – Unity Band .................... $22.99 Pat Metheny – What’s It All About ......... $22.99 Wes Montgomery Guitar Anthology ..................................$24.99 Nirvana – Nevermind ........................... $19.95 Nirvana – Unplugged in New York........ $19.95 Periphery – Guitar Tab Collection ........ $24.99 Tom Petty – The Definitive Guitar Collection ............$19.99 Pink Floyd – Acoustic Guitar Collection....$22.99 Pearl Jam – Ten ................................... $22.99 Radiohead Guitar Anthology .................$24.99 Rage Against the Machine..................... $19.95 Rage Against the Machine – Guitar Anthology ..................................$22.99 Red Hot Chili Peppers – The Getaway .........................................$24.99 Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits .........................................$19.95

00174797 00128870 00234543 00138870 00151178 00691114 00690912 00142151 00690531 00694824 00123862 00124461 00110385 00700555 00660058

00694835 00109770 00183213 00121808 00152161 00172118 00117511 00690447 00691006 00122303 00691020 00691021 00121684 00690589

Santana – IV* ....................................... $22.99 Matt Schofield Guitar Tab Collection.....$22.99 Ed Sheeran – Divide.............................$19.99 Ed Sheeran – X .................................... $19.99 Kenny Wayne Shepherd – Ledbetter Heights (20th Anniversary Edition) ...................$19.99 Slash – Guitar Anthology ...................... $24.99 Soundgarden – Guitar Anthology.......... $19.95 Taylor Swift – 1989 ..............................$22.99 System of a Down – Toxicity .................$19.95 The Best of James Taylor ...................... $19.99 Trivium – Vengeance Falls ....................$22.99 Keith Urban – Guitar Anthology ............ $19.99 Steve Vai – The Story of Light................$22.99 Van Halen – Van Halen......................... $19.99 Stevie Ray Vaughan – Lightnin’ Blues 1983-1987 ...................$27.99 Stevie Ray Vaughan – The Sky Is Crying..$22.95 Volbeat Guitar Collection...................... $22.99 Volbeat – Seal the Deal & Let’s Boogie .................$19.99 Volbeat – Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies .....................................$22.99 Doc Watson – Guitar Anthology.............$22.99 Weezer – Weezer (The White Album)* ............................$19.99 Whitesnake Guitar Collection ...............$19.99 Best of The Who ................................... $24.95 Wilco Guitar Collection ........................ $22.99 Yes Guitar Collection ............................$22.99 Neil Young – After the Gold Rush ......... $22.99 Neil Young – Harvest Moon ..................$22.99 ZZ Top – Early Classics ........................ $24.99 ZZ Top – Guitar Anthology ...................$24.95 * tab transcriptions with lyrics

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HOLIDAY ����

Mustang GT 40

the gear in review

�� EARTHQUAKER DEVICES

Data Corrupter GUITAR WORLD

GOLD AWARD

�� JACKSON GUITARS

Pro Series Dinky DK2

�� MXR

Booster Mini

�� NEW EQ

Fender EOB Sustainer Stratocaster and Bare Knuckle Pickups The Ragnarok

�� BOSS

JB-2 Angry Driver

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Wild Horses FENDER MUSTANG GT �� AND GT ��� By Chris Gill FENDER TUBE AMPS rightfully

have maintained a stellar reputation since the Fifties. However, many guitarists overlook the fact that Fender also makes great digital guitar amps that are the product of the company’s decades of tone know-how. Fender’s first Mustang Series digital amps, introduced in 2010, were designed primarily for beginners and budget-minded players looking for a versatile amp for practice and home recording, but with the introduction of their new Mustang GT models—the GT 40, GT 100 and GT 200—the line now spans everything from small, portable practice/recording amps to combos big and loud enough to gig with. But there’s more to the new Mustang amps than just a wider selection of sizes, including an expanded selection of amp and effect models, built-in wi-fi capabilities, compatibility

with the new free Fender Tone app, an upgraded fullcolor display and a looper that records up to 60 seconds of audio. We took a look at the smallest and biggest Mustang GT amps: the GT 40 and GT 200. The smaller GT 40 is a 40-watt amp with two 6.5-inch speakers, and it has five front-panel control knobs (gain, volume, treble, bass, master). While both models provide one 1/8-inch headphone out and one 1/8-inch aux-in on the front panel, the GT 200 also includes balanced stereo XLR line outputs on the rear panel. In addition to its bigger physical dimensions, the GT 200 offers more output power with its 200-watt amp and two 12-inch custom Celestion G12-FSD speakers. Its front control panel adds midrange FEATURES

guitarworld.com ��

SOUNDCHECK

Mustang GT 200

and reverb controls to the GT 40’s lineup, and the rear panel includes a stereo effects loop. The amp ships with the MGT-4 footswitch unit with four footswitches for controlling preset and effects selection and looper functions (the MGT-4 is an optional purchase for the GT 40). Both models have the same digital “engine” that provides 21 amp models and 46 effect models. Multiple effects can be used simultaneously, including ones from the Stompbox (distortion/overdrive, compressor, wah), Modulation (chorus, phaser, flanger, tremolo, pitch shift, etc.), Delay and Reverb categories. Accessing presets and programming sounds is easily accomplished via the large full-color display, function buttons and large rotary encoder wheel, but most users will find the Fender Tone app even easier to use for sound programming tasks. Audio can be streamed through the Mustang GT using Bluetooth, and a USB jack enables the amp to function as an audio interface for computer

CHEAT SHEET

STREET PRICE:

GT 40, $249.99; GT 200, $599.99 MANUFACTURER:

Fender, fender.com

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digital recording applications. The optional EXP-1 expression pedal can be connected to the footswitch jack or chained to the MGT-4 to control master volume or various selectable amp and effect parameters (such as wah sweep). The MGT-4 is a very useful controller with three different modes that reconfigure the functions of the four footswitches. In Presets mode the footswitches make it easy to select presets and scroll up and down through preset banks. In Effects mode the switches allow you to engage effects groups separately like a pedal board. Looper mode offers record/overdub, play/stop and undo functions. The MGT-4 also has a very convenient hands-free tuner mode. Fender has done a great  job of combining essential, classic amp and effect models with various adventurous, cultish and obscure selections (such as a three-speaker ’57 Bandmaster, a Sixties PERFORMANCE

The Mustang GT 40 is a 40-watt amp with two 6.5inch speakers, while the GT 200 is a 200watt amp with two 12-inch custom Celestion G12-FSD speakers.

Models of 21 amps and 46 effects provide a wide range of classic, modern and even nontraditional gear for programming presets from the front panel or Fender Tone app.

 A built-in looper records up to 60 seconds of audio and allows users to record an unlimited number of overdubs.

Silvertone, ring modulator and Gibson GA-15 reverb). I particularly loved the ’57 and ’61 Deluxe models—two of my all-time favorite “real world” amps, and the latter an oftenoverlooked beast with an awesome hard rock tone that’s more “British” than most amps made across the pond. The included presets are well-programmed and thought out, but if you want more, a vast selection of presets are available from the community of Mustang GT users via the Fender Tone app. Some skeptics have called the Mustang GT’s tones too “hi-fi,” but to my ears the sounds are more like the finished tracks one crafts in the studio and listens to through studio monitors than the “raw goods” one hears standing directly in front of an amp. The GT 40’s speakers in particular deliver crisp and clear tone ideal for practicing solo or playing along with recordings or backing tracks, while the GT 200’s Celestions are more suited toward playing loud with a band on stage.

The MGT-4 footswitch controller (included with the GT 200, optional with the GT 40) controls presets, effects, looper and tuning functions.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Whether you’re looking for a digital amp for home practice and recording use or a versatile amp for gigging, Fender’s new Mustang GT Series amps offer a huge selection of great sounds and creative power for incredibly affordable prices.

SOUNDC OUNDCHECK

GUITAR WORLD

PLATINUM AWARD E   X  C 

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Brutal Brutal Fury Fury EARTHQUAKER DA DATA TA CORRUPTER

By Chris Gill LIKE ME, you probably saw the name

“Data Corrupter” and wondered, “What does a device that hacks credit bureaus, spreads computer viruses and commandeers Twitter feeds to disseminate fake news have to do with guitar?” Well, grasshopper, just think of the notes you play on guitar as “data.” As for the “corrupter” bit? Well, it’s fuzz, Jim, but not as we know it. Simply put, the EarthQuaker Data Corrupter is the wildest fuzz pedal you’ll likely encounter in this lifetime, capable of producing psychotic oscillation, mutated modulation and synth-like octaves that are dynamically responsive and unusual yet predictably repeatable. The EarthQuaker EarthQuaker Data Corrupter combines a wicked squarewave fuzz circuit with various synth-like controls arranged in four sections: Voice FEATURES

CHEAT SHEET

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STREET PRICE: $225 MANUFACTURER: EarthQuaker Devices, earthquakerdevices. com

GUITAR WORLD • HOLIDAY ����

Mixer, Subharmonic, Frequency Modulator and Master Oscillator. The Voice Mixer features individual controls for adjusting the levels of three different voices: Square (fuzz), Subharmonic (-1 to -3 octaves with various interval divisions) and Oscillator. The Subharmonic section features a rotary switch with eight different octave/interval settings and a Unison/Oscillator switch. The Frequency Modulator section has a Glide/Vibrato switch and a Rate control. The Master Oscillator section also has an eight-position octave/interval rotary switch, plus a Root switch for selecting unison, -1 octave or -2 octave settings. There’s also a master level control, ¼-inch mono input and output jacks, true bypass switching and a jack for a standard 9V center negative power supply (not included). PERFORMANCE

If the section above was

Separate Voice Mixer, Subharmonic, Frequency Modulator and Master Oscillator sections provide a variety of controls for dialing in synth-like octave fuzz effects.

about as coherent as a drunken sailor during Fleet Week, let me just cut to the chase. This pedal generates some of strangest and most gruesomely beautiful fuzz tones I’ve ever heard, with violent, speaker-ripping intensity and oddly complex overtones that are bizarre yet musically useful. The output of this pedal is LOUD (unity with the dry signal was barely past “1”), and since it’s monophonic it’s best for playing solos or melodic lines, as chords can get pretty mangled and mutated. The Glide mode produces a portamento effect between different notes (think ELP’s “Lucky Man”) while the Vibrato mode delivers insane laser gun stuns that will make Steve Stevens pop out of his pleather pants. The octave effects may be synth-like, but the fuzz says loud and proud that this is a guitar, and you’d you’d better pay attention or i t’ll mess you up.

The Frequency Modulator section offers Glide and Vibrato modes with variable rate to create smooth note-to-note glides or wickedly warbling vibrato.

THE BOTTOM LINE Whether your taste in music leans toward the outer edges of experimental or you just want to get out of a creative rut, the EarthQuaker Data Corrupter offers a multitude of unusual but musically useful tones and textures that are violently beautiful.

The Data Corrupter is a monophonic analog PLL harmonizer with modulation. It takes your input signal and brutally amplifes it into a crushing square wave fuzz tone that is then multiplied, divided and modulated to create a wild, yet repeatable, three-voice guitar synthesizer.

MODULATED MONOPHONIC PLL HARMONIZER

www.earthquakerdevices.com

SOUNDC OUNDC HECK

Natural High

GUITAR WORLD

GOLD AWARD P   

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JACKSON PRO SERIES DINKY DK�    E

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By Chris Gill

admit I probably own way too many guitars, and as a reviewer I’m sub jected to a constantly constantly rotating selection selection of instruments. As a result, I’ve found that a lot of guitars sound the same after a while, and sometimes I just know exactly how a guitar is going to sound the second I plug it in, particularly if the guitar has two humbucking pickups. Well, my friends, I now have to admit I was completely taken by surprise—in a very good way—by Jackson’s new Pro Series Dinky DK2. Perhaps it’s because it’s the first guitar I can recall ever playing with a body made of a tone wood called okoume. Traditionally okoume is layered into plywood used to build boats because it’s light, flexible and rot-resistant, but guitar builders have discovered it has tonal properties similar to maple with much less weight, plus an attractive grain and color similar to mahogany. The wood, combined with Seymour Duncan humbuckers and versatile wiring, gives the Jackson Pro Series Dinky DK2 a I HAVE TO

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GUITAR WORLD • HOLIDAY ����

distinctive, attractive voice that really stands out in a crowd. The Pro Series Series Dinky DK2 with an okoume body is available only with a natural satin finish; the same model is also available with a gloss finish in a selection of three colors, but these versions have an alder body. Beyond that, the features of all Jackson Pro Series Dinky DK2 models are the same. The one-piece maple bolt-on Speed neck features Jackson’s innovative three-bolt “wrap around” neck joint, which provides a deeply sculpted heel for playing comfort while remaining rock solid. Other neck features include a 25.5-inch scale length, 24 jumbo frets, 12-to-16 inch compound radius, hand-rubbed urethane gel finish, ebony fingerboard, offset dot inlays placed adjacent to the low E and A strings and Jackson’s signature pointed six-in-line angled headstock affixed to the neck with a scarf joint. Electronics consist of a Seymour Duncan FEATURES

JB TB4 bridge humbucker, Seymour Duncan ’59 SH-1N neck humbucker, fiveposition blade pickup selector (humbucking bridge/bridge inner coil/both inner coils/  neck inner coil/humbucking neck) and master volume and tone controls. Hardware includes a recessed Floyd Rose FRT-O2000 double-locking tremolo, sealed die-cast tuners and metal dome-style control knobs, all with a black gloss finish. What I admire the most about the Pro Series DK2 is how it combines a very stripped-down, streamlined aesthetic with a surprisingly versatile selection of tones, thanks to its Seymour Duncan pickups and a very well-conceived pickup-wiring scheme. Instead of employing push-pull pots to engage single-coil tones, those settings are instantly accessible with the blade selector switch. Perhaps a handful of players will miss the middle/dual-humbucker setting, but I very much find the funky, honking dual PERFORMANCE

Buzz Bin GUITAR WORLD

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MXR Booster Mini

CHEAT SHEET

LIST PRICE:

$1,224.48

MANUFACTURER:  Jackson Gui-

tars, jacksonguitars.com

single-coil tone a much better alternative (go ahead, try to resist playing “Free Ride” after you select the middle setting). The bridge humbucker is very powerful but clear, with a bold midrange and focused bass that rock hard. On my Friedman Pink Taco, the bridge pickup was already overdriving the amp at the lowest gain setting, while the single-coil settings were spanking clean. At performance volume levels, I found I could get a wide variety of clean and overdrive tones just with the guitar’s pickups and controls. The Pro Series DK2’s playability is everything guitarists have come to know and love about Jackson guitars. This is a speed guitar with an extremely fast-playing slim neck profile, and the neck heel might be the most “invisible” example I’ve ever encountered from a bolt-on instrument. The okoume body’s light weight makes it a pleasure to play for hours on end, and the guitar remains perfectly balanced when playing in a standing position.

The body is made of okoume, a lightweight tone wood that combines an attractive appearance similar to mahogany with the brightness and definition of maple.

The Seymour Duncan JB TB4 bridge and ’59 SH-1N humbuckers are wired to provide a wide variety of hard-rocking humbucker and funky single-coil tones.

THE BOTTOM LINE

With a street price under $1,000, the Jackson Pro Series Dinky DK2 is a hell of a bargain for players who need a wide variety of awesome humbucking and single-coil tones plus the incredible playability that have make Jackson guitars the shredder’s choice.

As a reviewer, there are two kinds of gear you dread writing about: volume pedals and clean boosts. A, they kind of do only one thing, and B, um, that’s about it. So, imagine my anxiety when I heard I was covering yet another clean boost. However, all apprehension was put aside when the MXR Booster Mini showed up on my desk for review, because A, it’s MXR, and B , it definitely does more than one thing—and does it extremely well. The MXR Booster Mini is actually two pedals in one, combining the sought-after boost found in the MXR Micro Amp and the subtle gritty edge from the Echoplex Preamp, which also offers a touch of m usical compression. The Booster Mini comes in a lightweight mini-housing and features controls for volume and tone. The volume control offers up to +25dB of boost, and the tone control is a studio-grade high-cut knob. What makes the Booster Mini useful is an internal preamp level trimpot that adds gutsy gain, which is a great way to fatten up single-coil guitars and increased drive for humbuckers. I tend to put boost pedals after my drive pedals, and the Booster Mini works well in this capacity. Setting the internal preamp control about a quarter of the way, the Booster Mini is surprisingly loud (even at 9 o’clock on the volume) with a slicing saturation that works great for solos. The m usical tone control removes high-end harshness and smoothens unwanted frequencies. Using it as a boost in front of an amp , the pedal responds with warm sustain and ballsy overdrive. It’s hard to believe MXR has packed this much firepower in a mini boost. And that’s no small wonder. —Paul Riario

STREET PRICE: $99.99 MANUFACTURER: Jim Dunlop,

 jimdunlop.com

guitarworld.com ��

SOUNDCHECK

Bare Knuckle Pickups THE RAGNAROK

The Ragnarok is Bare Knuckle Pickups’ second signature humbucker set for Periphery guitarist Misha Mansoor. The Ragnarok was designed by Tim Mills, with Mansoor and Adam “Nolly” Getgood, formerly of Periphery and now a respected sound engineer and music producer. The Ragnarok blends the best attributes of contemporary passive and active pickups in a high-output ceramic pickup with a more aggressive tone and balanced response. The overdriven tone is the pickup’s prime strength; however, the Ragnarok also has a great range of clean tones. It’s available as a six-, seven- or eight-string pickup or as a bridge and neck pickup set. STREET PRICE

$169.73, single six-string pickup; $322.35, six-string set bareknucklepickups.co.uk

Fender EOB SUSTAINER STRATOCASTER

Fender recently partnered with Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien to create th e EOB Sustainer Stratocaster. The guitar offers a wide palette of tones, thanks to its Seymour Duncan JB Jr. humbucking bridge pickup, Texas Special single-coil middle pickup and Fernandes Sustainer unit in the neck position. The Sustainer creates near-infinite sustain on one or more strings, making it easy to achieve thick, textured sounds. Its controls include an on/off switch, intensity control and a three-position switch to select the mode: Fundamental only, Harmonic only or Blend. Other modern and classic features include a six-saddle vintage-style synchronized tremolo bridge, vintage-style tuning machines, a “10/56 V” neck profile, 21 narrow jumbo frets, a synthetic bone nut and a special neck pla te engraved with a custom “Flower of Life” emblem. STREET PRICE $1,099.99

fender.com

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GUITA R WORLD • HOLIDAY ����

What Clients are saying about the Stauer Guitar Watch

 “This thing ROCKS.”  — N. FROM PHOENIX , AZ

 “It keeps great time and has stood up to band practice very well!”  — E. FROM PHILADELPHIA , PA

 “I was absolutely blown away.”  — M. FROM L AS V EGAS , NV

Exclusively  Through Stauer 

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The Official Watch of Rock and Roll Rock around the clock tonight with the exclusive Stauer Stainless Steel Guitar Watch for under $100!

 A 

s a kid, I stood hypnotized in front of  the guitar shop window. I stared at the Gibsons, Fenders, Rickenbackers and Les Pauls, lined up like lacquered mahogany and maple trophies. With their smooth curves, each one could produce hot licks, reverb and a wailing solo. The six string guitar is the heart of rock and roll. I’m proud to say that today I feel the same way about the new  Stauer Guitar Watch .  We wanted to give our favorite vintage electric guitars their due with an impressive timepiece that captures the excitement of the golden years of rock and roll. The Stauer Guitar Watch is a legendary timepiece with bold, head-turning design and attitude to spare. It’s rebellious enough to feel like you’re getting away with something. Meet your new favorite rock star. My  only advice to the designers was to make a   watch that looks exactly like rock and roll sounds. Big, bold and loud enough to wake the neighbors. It should evoke images of Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, The King and The Boss

strumming crowds into a frenzy. But it  with a genuine black leather band and is should also reverberate with the spirit of the  water-resistant to 3 ATM.  world’s greatest rock guitar gods like Jimi, Guaranteed to rock your world. If you Eric and Keith (who was featured on the aren’t fully impressed by the performance cover of Rolling Stone magazine wearing a  and stage presence of the Stauer Guitar  Stauer watch). As you can see, the final Watch  within 30 days, simply return the product is worthy of a standing ovation.  watch for a full refund of the item price. It’s only rock and roll, but we like it. One Presently, we have only less than 200 look at the Stauer Guitar Watch’s  volup- pieces in stock, so don’t hesitate to order! tuous stainless steel body will bring you right Sorry, no Wah Wah pedal included! back to the glory days of 45 and 33 rpm Stauer Stainless Steel Guitar Watch— records. The eye-catching shape of the case $499* only $99 +S&P Save $400 recalls the round-bottomed bodies of the greatest vintage electric guitars. The unique, ivory-colored face features blue Offer Code: GUW211-07 Roman numerals on the left of the dial and You must use this offer code to get our bold Arabic numbers on the right. Blued, special price. Breguet-style hands keep time while *Discount is only for customers who use the offer  additional complications mark the day, code versus the listed original Stauer.com price. date and month. A date window sits ® at the 3 o’clock position. Inside, the 27-ruby-jewel movement utilizes an 14101 Southcross Drive W., Rating of  A+ automatic self-winding mechanism that Dept. GUW2 -07 never needs batteries. The watch secures Burnsville, Minnesota 55337 www.stauer.com

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GUITAR WORLD

GOLD AWARD P   

E  R  F 

BOSS JB�� ANGRY DRIVER    E

  C O  R  M A  N

By Paul Riario

absolute favorite overdrive pedals has been the tried-and-true Boss BD-2 Blues Driver. Its dimensional crunch contains all the warmth of a tube amp bursting into overdrive but with a top-end clarity that sets it apart from Boss’s other popular pedals, such as the DS-1 Distortion and SD-1 Super Overdrive. Indeed, I’ve always found that Boss injects a sonic signature for their gain pedals that falls somewhere between analog and digital but with all the desired harmonic overtones that make them sound inherently unique. Considering there are hundreds of boutique pedal companies that build Tube Screamer replicas and Klon clones, very few have ever emulated a Boss overdrive or distortion pedal. Not to say this is a good or bad thing, but Boss has always been fine in their “gainful” space. So, in what might seem an unprecedented move, Boss partnered with the boutique pedal company, JHS Pedals, to create the Boss JB-2 Angry Driver. The result is an extraordinary new pedal that combines the overdrive circuits of the Boss Blues Driver and the favored JHS Pedals Angry Charlie, making it one incredibly versatile dual-mode pedal. What’s even more remarkable, aside from its two very distinct crunch circuits, is the added operation to use each one independently, or combine and stack them for a plethora of overdriven colors. ONE OF MY

The JB-2 is housed in Boss’s familiar compact pedal chassis, but what’s instantly striking is the pedal’s red control knobs, a colorful addition not found on any other Boss pedal. The pedal features three FEATURES

CHEAT SHEET

��

STREET PRICE: $199.99 MANUFACTURER: Boss, Boss.info

GUITAR WORLD • HOLIDAY ����

dual-concentric controls for level, tone and drive. The tops of the knobs govern the JHS circuit, while the bottom halves control the Boss section, allowing for independent settings for its separate overdrives. A sixposition mode knob selects the overdrive and configurations (JHS, Boss, JHS/Boss, J>B, B>J and Parallel). Here you can run each pedal separately (JHS or Boss), or toggle between the two (JHS/Boss), or route the order of them in series mode (J>B or B>J) or run the pedal in parallel mode. The JB-2 also features an LED indicator that shows which effect is active (blue for Boss, red for JHS and purple when both circuits are activated). Apart from the 1/4-inch input and output  jacks, there’s also a remote 1/4-inch input  jack that allows you to connect an optional footswitch to select between two types of overdrive, or turn them on/off individually. A 9-volt battery or 9V adapter powers the JB-2. I must be up front and admit that I own at least eight Boss Blues Drivers (I have a problem), so as expected, the Angry Driver makes me feel right at home with its included circuit. All the tone of the Blues Driver is intact here—the low-tomid grind of its drive sound, a full bass response and a brilliant top-end sheen. On the flip side, the Angry Charlie has a more assertive voice, with a huge midrange bump and tube-like touch sensitivity in its medium-gain drive. It’s definitely a more boutique overdrive sound many players gravitate toward. Depending upon how you set the drive on its individual circuits, both series modes offer plenty of molten distortion sounds and PERFORMANCE

The JB-2’s three dualconcentric knobs provide independent drive, tone and level control for each overdrive type.

fully cranked lead tones with cutting mids. Because you’re stacking circuits, it’s a beautifully unbridled tone that also works well for coaxing glorious feedback. Parallel is a great set-and-forget mode where I was able to dial in an arena rock distortion that sounded big and ultra-smooth. However, I found the best way to use the Angry Driver is to set the mode switch to toggle between the JHS/Boss circuits. Setting the gain low on the JHS works well for clean and rhythm tones, and pushing the drive around two o’clock on the Boss circuit is ideal for soloing.

The six-position mode selector allows each overdrive to operate independently, or combine them together in series and parallel configurations.

THE BOTTOM LINE The Boss JB-2 Angry Driver combines two signature overdrives; the Boss Blues Driver and JHS Pedals Angry Charlie, into one versatile pedal capable of touch-sensitive gain and smooth distortion.

N E W

GUITAR SOLOING BASICS  by Jeff Clementi 

This detailed book and audio guide uses an easyto-understand, systematic teaching approach. With loads of scales, licks, solos and essential lead techniques, you will build your improvisation skills and knowledge, and with the hundreds of audio demonstration tracks, play-along backing tracks for jamming, and easy-to-read rhythm tab notation provided, you’ll be burning up the  fretboard in no time! 00201956 Book/Online Audio ..................... $19.99

HOW TO PLAY OUTSIDE GUITAR LICKS  by Chris Buono

Renowned guitarist and teacher Chris Buono takes you on a comprehensive exploration deep inside this versatile octatonic scale, providing loads of playing examples, fingering patterns, licks and detailed breakdowns to study and practice. In addition, Chris demonstrates every playing example in the book for you on the video which is provided online for download or streaming. 00140855 Book/Online Video ..................... $19.99

 VISUAL IMPROVISATION FOR JAZZ GUITAR  by Brent Vaartstra

This is a comprehensive practice method for understanding and commanding the fretboard. Through a system of visually connecting the shapes, patterns, and intervals of the fretboard, this book and audio pack will be your guide to  fretboard freedom. Topics include: triads and seventh chords; altered chords and extensions; scales and arpeggios; licks and exercises; audio demonstrations; fretboard diagrams; and much more! 00191843 Book/Online Audio ..................... $19.99

F R O M

GUITARIST’S GUIDE TO ECONOMY PICKING  by Chad  Johnson

MODERN JAZZ & FUSION GUITAR  by Jostein Gulbrandsen

Economy picking is an exciting technique that allows you to do some pretty amazing things on the guitar. By studying the picking techniques of guitar masters like Yngwie Malmsteen, Eric Johnson, Zakk Wylde, Frank Gambale and more, this book and audio method digs deep into the micro-mechanics of the picking hand, providing loads of practice examples, real-world licks, and play-along tricks to hone your skills.

Through a blend of European, American Jazz and fusion, Jostein Gulbrandsen has developed a unique style that is both melodic and harmonically rich. In this book he will teach you to play: lines over dominant seventh chords; lines over minor seventh chords; lines over major seventh chords; major ii-V-I lines; minor ii-V-I lines; and more. You’ll also learn to play  five jazz standards. The book includes online access to more than 140 video examples!

00183056 Book/Online Audio ..................... $19.99

00143188 Book/Online Video ..................... $19.99

HOW TO PLAY ROCK LEAD GUITAR

 by Brooke St. James In  How to Play Rock Lead Guitar, Brooke St. James guides you through the essential basics that every lead guitarist should know. Featuring full-length video lessons, Brooke demonstrates every playing example in the book, covering a wide range of topics including pentatonic scales, bending, vibrato, harmonics, repeating licks, tapping, gear, and much more! This title also includes online video lessons with demonstrations of all the playing examples in the book. 00146260 Book/Online Video ..................... $14.99

HOW TO PLAY ROCK RHYTHM GUITAR  by Brooke St. James

Providing the vital backbone for countless songs, the rhythm guitarist plays a crucial role in rock music. This book guides you through the essential basics that every rhythm guitarist should know so you can learn to play like Jimmy Page, Malcolm Young, Keith Richards, Eddie Van Halen, John Sykes and other masters. Includes full-length video lessons with demonstrations of all the playing examples in the book. 00146261 Book/Online Video ..................... $14.99

Hundreds more titles available! See website for complete offerings. FREE SHIPPING with any order of $25 or more! Mention ad code GUIGW.

101 MUST-KNOW  ACOUSTIC LICKS

 by Wolf Marshall 

Now you can add a major acoustic guitar style, neatly organized into easy-to-use categories. They’re all here: classical, neoclassical, Spanish, blues, pop, rock, folk,  jazz, bossa nova, swing, country, ragtime, and more! The price of this book includes access to audio tracks online, for download or streaming, using the unique code inside. 00696045 Book/Online Audio ..................... $17.99

TEACH YOURSELF TO PLAY BLUES GUITAR

 by Dave Rubin

Teach yourself to play authentic blues guitar with this book and video teaching pack! Each music example in the book is taught and performed on video by author and blues historian Dave Rubin. You’ll also learn many tips, techniques and tools of the trade along the way as you hone your burgeoning blues bravado. Topics covered include: 12 bar, 8-bar and minor blues • common chords and scales • boogie patterns and bass-string riffs • slide guitar • solo fingerstyle blues • and much more. 00148796 Book/Online Video ....................... $9.99

Call  1-800-637-2852  or visit

    S     N     M     U     L     O     C

STRING THEORY By Jimmy Brown

DROP DOWN AND STRETCH Another useful, lower repurposing of the sus4f9 arpeggio, plus an exotic, wide-interval variation of musically intriguing ways to repurpose the four-note sus4f9 arpeggio we looked at in the November and December 2017 issues, I’d now like to show you yet another cool way to apply it and also introduce an exotically interesting and enigmatic-sounding variation that entails the challenging use of a wider interval and fret-hand stretch. To review, in the previous two lessons, I presented a pair of diagonal fretboard paths for an Asus4f9 arpeggio, spelled A Bf D E, or 1 f2 4 5, both based on the same fournote shape that’s initially played across two adjacent strings, two notes per string, then repeats in higher octaves on higher strings. We then took both paths, one beginning on the low E string’s fifth fret and the other on the 12th fret of the A string, and transposed all the notes down a half step and one fret, using the same shapes. Played over the same A bass note, this harmonic reassignment transformed our four-note arpeggio to Amaj7f5, starting on the seventh: Gs A Cs Ef, or 7 1 3 f5. We then looked at a variation in which we “un-flatted” the fifth, Ef, raising it to the perfect fifth, E natural, which gave us the more common and conventionalsounding Amaj7 arpeggio, again starting on the seventh—Gs A Cs E, or 7 1 3 5. Finally, we changed our accompanying bass note to the relative minor tonal center of Fs (minor), which instantly yielded two additional and very cool arpeggio sounds to play with— Fsm6-9 and Fsm9. Continuing along these lines, FIGURE 1 shows last month’s two different Amaj7f5 arpeggio paths transposed down a whole step and two frets to Gmaj7f5, in each case starting on the seventh—Fs G B Df(Cs ). As indicated, these patterns also can melodically describe an Em6-9 sound—2 f3 5 6 (or 9 f3 5 6)—and, when played over an A bass note, A13. In this latter context, Fs becomes the sixth, or 13th, G is heard as the minor, or “flatted,” seventh, B as the second/ninth and Cs as the major third. FIGURE 2 shows the same transposition CONTINUING OUR EXPLORATION

��

For video of this lesson, go to GuitarWorld.com/Hol2017

GUITAR WORLD

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 H O L I D A Y � � � �

FIGURE FIG. � 1 Gmaj7 5, Em6-9 or A13 (Play each pattern ascending and descending)

T A B

7 7 4 4 2

3

1

2

2

4

1

3

9

9

14

8

12 14

6

11 12

5

1

2

1

3

1

2

1

3

9

10

1

2

9

11

1

3

1

2

1

3

3

FIGURE FIG. � 2 Gmaj7, Em9 or A13sus4

T A B

7 10 10 7 4 4 2

3

1

2

2

5

1

4

14

8

12 15

7

11 12

5

1

2

1

4

1

2

1

4

9

10

1

2

9

12

1

4

1

2

1

4

3

FIGURE FIG. � 3 G Lydian (alternate pick or slur)

T A B

7 9 10

7 9 10

78 46 7

46 7

45

47

45

25

78 46

45

45

24

23

2 3

FIGURE FIG. �4 G Lydian (alternate pick or slur)

T A B

12 14 15

12 14 15

11 12

11 12

9 12 9

9 11

10

9 10

FIG. � 5 Gmaj7 5, Em(maj7) or A13 11 FIGURE T A B

7 11 11 7 4 4 2

3

1

2

2

6

1

4

14

8

12 16

8

11 12

5

1

2

1

4

1

2

1

4

9

10

1

2

9

13

1

4

1

2

1

4

2

FIG. � 6 G Lydian sharp-five FIGURE T A B

4 2

3

1

2

2

6

1

4

4

5

1

2

1

6

2

8

4

and harmonic reassignments applied to last month’s Amaj7 arpeggios (with the pinkie brought into play), again shifted down to Gmaj7. In this case, changing the bass note to E gives us Em9, starting on the second, or ninth, Fs, and changing it to A creates a fusion-y A13sus4 sound, with D now being heard as the perfect fourth. As FIGURES 3 and 4 demonstrate, including both the Df(Cs ) and D notes in any octave within any of these patterns gives us additional useful phrasing and technique options for G Lydian modal sounds. Taking our Gmaj7 (or Em9 or A13sus4) arpeggio shapes and raising the D note to

4

5

1

2

4

8

1

4

7

8

1

2

7

9 11

1

2

11 12 11 11 10

4

Ds, one fret higher and fretted with the pinkie, produces the enigmatic-sounding variation I spoke of earlier, the exotically interesting Gmaj7s5 arpeggios illustrated in FIGURE 5, which may alternatively be heard as Em(maj7) or A13s11(no3). And, similar to what we did in FIGURES 3 and 4, FIGURE 6 demonstrates how you can add Ds to our original four-note Gmaj7f5 arpeggio to create a rather complex and spooky G Lydian sharp-five sound. Play all of these patterns both ascending and descending, and be sure to check out the video for more in-depth demonstrations and applications of them.

To purchase instructional lessons by Jimmy Brown—as downloads or DVDs—visit guitarworldlessons.com or download the official Guitar World Lessons app in iTunes .

LESSONS

The H9 MAX is a dream pedalboard that ts in your glovebox. Packed with Eventide’s iconic reverb, delay, modulation, pitch-shifting and distortion eects, it’s “the only guitar pedal you’ll ever need.” — Guitar Tricks. Now featuring:

Eventide is a registered trademark of Eventide Inc. © 2017 Eventide Inc.

    S     N     M     U     L     O     C

by Andy Aledort

GAME OF DRONES Utilizing open-string drones for single-note licks, melodies and solos of an open string as a “drone” within licks and solo lines is a great, creative way to establish the sound of harmony while playing a single-note phrase. Drones figure prominently in Indian classical music, as heard on instruments such as the sitar and sarod. The concept is simple: while a melody is played up and down one string, an additional open string (or strings) is sounded simultaneously, most often serving to establish a reference to the tonic, or “one” chord, which represents the home key of the piece of music. On electric guitar, the strings used most often for drone-type licks are the open low E and A, but I’d like to kick things off with utilizing the open G string as our drone, and the lines played around it will be in the key of G, establishing the G note as our tonic. The next choice to make is which scale to base your melody on, so let’s begin with the G Mixolydian mode (G A B C D E F), which alludes to the sound of a G7 (dominant) chord. This is an easy mode to remember because there are no sharps or flats; G Mixolydian also comprises the same seven notes as the C major scale (C D E F G A B). FIGURE 1 illustrates G Mixolydian played in second/third position, ascending and descending. Let’s apply the drone-string concept by picking each note of the G Mixolydian mode, as fretted on the A string, simultaneously with the open G note, as demonstrated in FIGURE 2: the constant presence of the G tonic serves to clearly depict the sound and quality of each of the intervals in G Mixolydian, so focus on the sound of A, the second, against the G tonic, as well as B, the third, C, the fourth, D, the fifth, etc. FIGURE 3 offers an example of a simple melody, played utilizing the drone-string concept: starting on a fretted G note, the line moves down to F and then back up the mode through each scale degree to the major third, and then back down through the entire mode, articulating the movement among the various pitches with slides. FIGURE 4 offers a more complex melody played against the open G-string drone, with INCORPORATING THE USE

��

For video of this lesson, go to GuitarWorld.com/Hol2017

IN DEEP

GUITAR WORLD

•

 H O L I D A Y � � � �

FIGURE FIG. � 1 G Mixolydian mode, second position 3 5

T A B

7

7 5 3

3 56

6 53

2 4 5

5 4

2

23 5

53 2

2 3 5

5 32

35

5

3

FIG. � 2 G Mixolydian w/open G drone string FIGURE T A B

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 5 7 8 10

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

12 14 15 17 19 20

0

0

0

0

20 1917 1 5 1 4 12 10 8

7

0

0

0

5 3 2 0

3

3 w/bar 

FIG. � 3 FIGURE N.C. (G)

T A B

0

0

10

8

10

12 12 14

0 12

0

10

8

0

7

5

3

2

0 3 w/bar 

FIGURE FIG. � 4

F sus2 C/E

N.C. (G)

T A B

0 14

0

0 14

0 0 0 14 14 12 10 9

12 10 8 10

0

0

0 2

12 10

3

0

0

0

3

3

1

0

0

0 14

0 0 0 14 14 12 10 9

12 10 8 10

0

0 03

0

0

3

3

7

0

N.C.(G)

F sus2 C/E

N.C. (G)

14

0 2

03

1/2

0

0

0

0

0

3

3

0 2

12 10

3

3

1 3

FIG. � 5 FIGURE N.C. (G)

T A B

0 17

0 0 15 14 15

0 14 12 14

0 0 12 10 12

0 10 9

0 9  10

0 9

7

0 9

7

5

0 7

0 5

3

0 5

w/bar 

0 2 3

0 2

0

0

5

23

0

0

0

1

3

3

0 3

7

2

0 3

FIGURE FIG. � 6 G Mixolydian

T A B

0 2 3 5 7 9 10 12

w/bar 

1 4 1 5 17 19 2 1

the harmony expanded to include reference to different chords in bars 3 and 4, and in bars 7 and 8. In these bars, an F note is used against the open G to reference Fsus2, and an E note is used to imply C/E (a C chord over an E bass note, or “C over E”). Now let’s move the Mixolydian mode onto another string. As shown in FIGURE 5, G Mixolydian is played in a descending

0 0

0 2 3

5

0 0 7 9 10 12

0 0 14 1 5 17 1 9 2 1

melodic fashion on the D string while the open G is sounded simultaneously. FIGURE 6 shows the mode in its single-note form, as well as in conjunction with the open G-string drone. Next time, I’ll show you more interesting and useful ways to incorporate the drone-string concept into solos and melodic phrases.

To purchase instructional lessons by Andy Aledort—as downloads or DVDs—visit guitarworldlessons.com or download the official Guitar World Lessons app in iTunes .   Contact Andy at andyaledort.com.

LESSONS

Rails under the wound strings. Poles under the plain strings. A revolutionary design from Joe Naylor that tightens the lows and fattens the highs, for exceptional clarity and punch beyond conventional pickups. Check out Railhammer pickups today at railhammer.com. They will change the way you play. Dealer and guitar builder inquiries welcome.

    S     N     M     U     L     O     C

MOB RULES

For video of this lesson, go to GuitarWorld.com/Hol2017

by Mike Orlando of Adrenaline Mob

FREE�RANGE CHICKEN PICKIN’ More on exploring countrystyle “chicken pickin’ ” techniques in metal

Tune down one whole step (low to high, D G C F A D).  All examples performed with hybrid picking. FIGURE FIG. � 1

T A B

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GUITA R WORLD

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 H O L I D A Y � � � �

10

7 10 7 10

7 10 7

10

10

10

3

7107 10

3

3

N.C. (B) 10

T A B

10

10

FIGURE FIG. � 2

LAST MONTH, I introduced the concept

of bringing the country guitar technique known as chicken pickin’  into metal music and metal-style solos. To review, the technique is performed using hybrid picking , as notes are alternately sounded with the downstroke of the pick followed by an upstroke with a fingertip (typically the middle finger). The fingerpicked upstroke serves to snap the string against the fretboard, and this aggressive, “cluck”-type sound is the reason this technique is often referred to as chicken  pickin’ . I presented the technique last month by playing phrases that moved across pairs of adjacent strings, from high to low, starting with a picked downstroke on the lower of the two strings, followed by a fingerpicked upstroke on the higher of the two strings. We’ll now delve deeper into other neat things you can do with chicken pickin’. I am fascinated with the idea of applying syncopated, drum-like figures to the guitar, and I have found that using chicken pickin’ is a great way to recreate those sounds in a melodic way. One such syncopation is that of two 16th notes followed by a 16th-note triplet, played repeatedly on the downbeat of each quarter note across multiple bars. FIGURE 1 illustrates this pattern performed on the top two strings, starting with a pick stroke on the B string followed by a fingerpick on the high E string, after which the two techniques alternate throughout the remainder of the figure. Notice that the 16th-note triplet is achieved via a quick hammer/pull between two notes on the high E string. The next step is to move this concept across every pair of strings in a descending manner, as demonstrated in FIGURE 2: at the culmination of executing the initial pattern on the top two strings, I begin the next sequence on the third and second strings with a pickup into beat two, by sounding the 10th fret of the third string on the last 16th note of the first beat, following each quick hammer/pull. I then apply this same “jump start” to each new string pair as I progress

N.C. (B) 10

10

7107 7

10 7107 10 7

7

797

10

7

9

9

9

7 97 7

9 9

79 7 7

9 10

3

FIG. � 3 FIGURE

3

3

3

797 7

7 7

3

575 5

3

5 2 7 3

1

10

T A B

7 10 7

10

12

10

10 12 10

12

14

12

12 14 12

14

3

17

14

17

3

14 1714 17

19

3

3

2

19

17 19 17 19

22 22

19 22 19

24

22

19 24 19

24

3

19

22 22

3

19 22 19 22

19

3

3

3

19

17 19 17 19

17

14 17 14

17

17

14

12 14 12

14

3

14

12 12

3

10 12 10 12

7

3

3

4

10

710 7 10

10 10

710 7 10

9 9

797 9

9 9

797 9

9 9

797 9

9 10

3

3

FIGURE FIG. � 4

3

3

79 7 10

3

7 7

5 75 7

3

2 7 3

N.C. (E) 1

12

T A B

1215

15 15

1215 15

11

10 11

14

14

1114 14

10

9 10

13 13

1013 13

9 8 9

12 12

9 12 12

7 8

3

8

11 11

8 11

11

7 6

7

10 10

7 10

through the entire pattern. The scale upon which these phrases are based in the B blues scale (B D E F Fs A). Another effective approach is to remain on a single pair of strings but move up and down through all of the fretboard positions of minor pentatonic. In FIGURE 3, I begin with the same phrase that kicks off FIGURES 1 and 2, but I immediately shift from seventh position up to 10th position on beat two to sound the notes associated with B minor

10 4

9

pentatonic (B D E Fs A) in that position. This is followed with shifts up to 12th, 14th, 17th and 19th positions. And finally, yet another cool twist is to use non-adjacent strings, as shown in FIGURE 4: here, I remain on the third and first strings and progressively descend the fretboard in a chromatic, one-fret-at-a-time manner. Now that you have the basic idea, try devising your own chicken-picked phrases and solo ideas.

Mike Orlando is the lead guitarist and a founding member of heavy metal powerhouse Adrenaline Mob. Their new album, We the People, is out now via Century Media.

   Z    E    H    C    N    A    S

LESSONS

   Y    N    N    A    D

TURN OVER A NEW LEAF. MAPLE. Guaranteed for life. www.kysermusical.com

TRANSCRIPTIONS

 AMERICAN GIRL Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Words and music by

D

 As heard on TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS Transcribed by PATRICK MABRY  Bass Transcription by MICHAEL DUCLOS

TOM PETTY

•

•

D oct.

D5

D5

E5

7fr 

132

13

E

231

A

2

3fr 

1 4

G5

34

G5 5fr 

13

A

A

234

1114

A5 8fr 

13

10fr 

13

Em

13

A5

23

Bm

1144

13421

Intro  (0:00) Moderate Rock

D

= 120, w/double-time feel

oct.

Gtr. 1 (elec. w/light dist.) let ring throughout  1

(let open D notes ring)

10

10

10

10

7 0

7 0

7 0

7 0

 0

 0

10 7 0

D5

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

7 0

7 0

7 0

7 0

7 0

7 0

7 0

7

7

D

D5

2 0

2 0

3 2 0

3 2 0

7

7 !

10

10

Gtr. 2 (clean elec. 12-string) let ring throughout  0

2 0 0

2 0 0

2 0 0

2 0 0

2 0 0

2 0

0

2 3 2 0

2 3 2 0

2 3 2 0

2 0

3 2 0

2 0

3 2

0

3

2

 N.H.

Bass 1

7

 Rhy. Fig. 1 4

10 1010 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 7 7 0

7 0

7 0

10 10 10 10

7 7 7 7 7 0 0

7 7 7 7

D

10 10 1010 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 7 7 7 0

7 7 7 7 7 7 7

10 10 10 10

7 7 7 7

7 7 7 7

10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 0

7 7 7 7 7 7

7 7 7 7

0 0 0 0 0 0 5

0

N.C.(D5)  Rhy. Fig. 1a

0

2

0

3 2 0

3 2 0

2 3 2 0

2 3 2 0

7

7 !

0

2 0

2 0

0 5

0 0 0

0 5

0 0 0

0 0 0 5

0 0 0 0 0 5 5

7

7 7

7

7

7

7

0

 N.H. 7

��

GUITAR WORLD • HOLIDAY ����

7 7

7

7

 N.H. X 12

“AMERICAN GIRL” WORDS AND MUSIC BY TOM PETTY COPYRIGHT � ���� ALMO MUSIC CORP., COPYRIGHT RENEWED ALL RIGHTS RESERVED USED BY PERMISSION REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF HAL LEONARD LLC

“ A M E R I C A N G I R L”

(0:17)

(D)

Gtrs. 1 and 2 repeat Rhy. Figs. 1 and 1a five times (see bar 5) Bass 1  N.H.

7

7

(E/D)

(G5/D)

 N.H. 7

7

 

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

12 !

7 !

7

7 !

Bass 2

9

(A5/D) 12

(E/D)

9 !

7 !

12 !

2 !

9

9

9

9

1st and 2nd Verses 1.

Well

2.   Well

(G5/D)

(A5/D)

D5

12

11 !

12

11

12

12 1 2 1 2 1 2

10

!

10

10 10

9 !

11

7 5

7 5

12

7 5

7 5

7 5

12

12 12

5

7

 0

9 7

9 7

(0:34, 1:24)

she was an American it was kinda cold E5

girl that

raised on She stood there alone over the

night G5

Gtr. 1

17

7 !

grad. slide

 N.H.

7

B

(D)

11 !

 0

 0

 0

5 3

7 5

D5

10 8

N.C.(E)

G5

Gtr. 2 (play simile on repeat) 0 0

0 0

2 0

0 0

 0 2 0

0 0 0

0

7

7

0

0

0

7

7

2

0 0

3 3

3 3

5

5

3

Bass 1 slight P.M. throughout 5

5

5

X

5

5

5

5

promises balcony A5

20

7

7

7

5

She couldn’t help Yeah she could hear the D5

 0

 0

A5

D

12 10

0

0

X

7

0

5 5

2

2

0 0

0

X

7

7

2

4

2 0

5

5

X

5

7

thinkin’ that there cars roll by E5

5

7

was a out on

 0

5 3

5 5

7

7

5

7 5

N.C.(E) 3 2 0

5

3 2 0

2 3 2

5

 0 2 3 2

5

5

7

0

0

7

7

0

0

0

7

7

2

5

guitarworld.com ��

“ A M E R I C A N G I R L”

C   Chorus  (1:08,

1:58)

Oh

yeah N.C.

G5

all

right

Take it easy baby

A5

D

Gtr. 1 (doubled)

33 0

0

3 3

3 3

5 5 0

3

2 0

2

0

5 5

0

0

2

3 2 0

0

3 2 0

2

2

5

5

7 7

Bass 1 3

X

3

3

3

2

3

5

5

Make it last all night (Make it last all N.C.(Bm) 1

36

5

5

2

5

4

She

5

5

X

was

an

night) G5

5

American

4

girl

A5

1 7

9

9

2

2

7 9

2

9

2

7

9

2

0

3 9

1

7

0 0

2

3

0 0

X

3

0

0 0

3

3

3

3

7

5

D girl D5

2 0

2 0

5

5

5 5

5 5

5

5

2 0

5

2

4

Interlude  (2:15) (w/half-time feel)

(Ah) N.C.(G7)

Gtr. 1

39

*

10 10 10 10 10 7 7 7 7 7 7 0

10 10 10 7 7 7 7 7

10 10 10 10 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7

10 10 7 7 7 7

10 10 7 7 7 7

10 10 10 10 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 0

10 7 7 0

P.M. 0 0

5

5 5

5

5 6

*include F  notes (on B string) first time only

N.C.(D) Gtr. 2 0 5

P.M.

0 0

0 0 0 5

0 5

0

0 5

0 0

0 5

0 0

0 0 0 5

0 0 0 5 5

0 5

0 5

X X X X X 3 X X 3

X 3

3 4

3

3 4

Bass 1 5

X 5

5

5

2

0

2

5

5 5

5

5

7

9

7 3

3

guitarworld.com  ���

TRANSCRIPTIONS

1., 2., 3.

4.

(A)

(D)

(A)

P.M.

42

P.M.

7

7

7

7

P.M.

7

7

P.M. X X

5

X

X

5

6

7

X

5

5

X

X

X

X

X

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

X

X

X

5

5

(2:32) (end half-time feel)

D oct.  Rhy. Fig. 2 44

10

10

10

10

7 0

7

7

7

7

0

0

0 5

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0 5

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

N.C.(D5)  Rhy. Fig. 2a

0 5

0

0

0

0 5

 N.H. 0 !

7

0 !

N.C.(D)

(E)

(G)

Gtrs. 1 and 2 repeat Rhy. Figs. 2 and 2a five times (see bar 44) Bass 1  N.H.

46

7 !

7

7

7

7 7

7

7 !

7

5

5

7 ( 7 )

7 7

7

7

5

7

7 !

7

7 7

( 7 )

7 7

7

7 !

5

5

Bass 2 5

5

5

4

5 !

5

(Asus4)

5

X 5

(D)

5 5 5 5

5

(E)

7

7 7

5

7

(G)

5 5

7 9

(Asus4)

 N.H.

51

7

7

 ���

7 7

7

7 !

7

7 4

GUITAR WORLD

•

7

5

7 7

7

5 5

 H O L I D A Y � � � �

7

7

7

5 5 5 5

7

5

7 7

0

7

0 0

7

0

7

7 !

7

7

7

7

5 7

7 7

5 X 5

7

7 !

5

5

7

7 5 7

7

7 7

7

7 7 7

7 !

7

7 9

7

9

7

TRANSCRIPTIONS

CASTLE ON THE HILL �ACOUSTIC� Ed Sheeran OFFICIAL ACOUSTIC SINGLE VERSION, AVAILABLE AS A DIGITAL DOWNLOAD

Words and music by

D5

G5

13

2

A

Bm7

34

1

3

A5

D/F

1134

1

23

Asus4

11

D

113

Dsus4

132

Gadd9/B

134

1

Dsus2

234

13

= 142

D5

2 0

2 0

I was running I was younger then D/F

P.M.

0

0

0 0

2

3

3

from my brother

0 0 3

3

2 0

2 0

0

and his

rolled down A7sus4 P.M.

2 0

2 0

0

2

2

2

3

2 0 2

0 2

0 0 2

0 2

2

friends Take me back Bm7

G5

2 0

0 0

3

P.M.

0

grass I G/B

P.M.

0

D5

2 0

Transcribed by JEFF PERRIN

When I was six years old I broke my leg tasted the sweet perfume of the mountain N.C.(D/F ) G5 Bm7

2 0

B

23

A7sus4

P.M.

1

5

G/B

•

1st Verse  (0:00)

Moderately

Acous. Gtr.

1

ED SHEERAN and BENJAMIN LEVIN

0 0 0 0 2 2

3

0

3

3

0 0 3

0 0

3 2 0 2

0 0

3

0

0

to when

0

0

3 2 2 0

3 2 2 0

I A7sus4

P.M.

0

2 0

3 3 2 2 0

P.M.

2

3 2 0 2

2

3 2 0 2

3 2 2

0 0

2

0 0

2 2 0

0

0

3 2 2

3 2 2

2 2

2

0 0

0 0

1st and 2nd Pre-choruses (0:27, 1:40) (1.) found (2.)   weekend

my

heart jobs

and broke and when we

G5

it got

here paid

Made friends we’d buy

A5

and cheap

lost spirits

D5

 Rhy. Fill 1

9

P.M.

P.M.

0 0 3

3

0 0

0 0

3

3

3 0 0 3

them through and drink

0 0

0 0

2 2 0

3

the them

P.M.

0

2 2

0

years

2 2

0

2 2 0

0 0

And I’ve not Me and my

straight

0 0

2 0

0

seen friends

G5

2

0

0

0

the roaring have not A5

Bm7

3 2 0

3 2 0

3 2 0

fields thrown up Asus4

Substititute Rhy. Fill 1 second time (see bar 10)

12

P.M.

P.M.

0 0 3

3

in in 15

3

0 0

0 0

3

3

so so

3 0 0 3

long long

0 0

I Oh P.M.

0

3 2 0

3 2 0

0 0

GUITAR WORLD

•

HOLIDAY ����

3

3

3

0 0

0 0

0 0

3

3

3

grown grown

3 2 0 2

2 2

2

But I But I

can’t can’t

0 0

0 0

0 0

3

3

3

2 2

0

3 2 2 0

3 2 2 0

3 2 2 0

wait to go home wait to go home Asus4

P.M.

0 0 3

 ���

3

know I’ve how we’ve G5

3 2 0

0 0

3

P.M.

3 2 0

0 0

3

D5

2 0

0 0

P.M.

3

0 0

0 0

0

3

3

3

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0 3

3

3 3 0 0

3 3 0 0

 0 3 2 2 0

“CASTLE ON THE HILL” WORDS AND MUSIC BY ED SHEERAN AND BENJAMIN LEVIN. COPYRIGHT � ���� SONY/ATV MUSIC PUBLISHING �UK� LIMITED AND PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO PAY ME MUSIC. ALL RIGHTS ON BEHALF OF SONY/ATV MUSIC PUBLISHING �UK� LIMITED ADMINISTERED BY  SONY/ATV MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, ��� CHURCH STREET, SUITE ����, NASHVILLE, TN �����. ALL RIGHTS ON BEHALF OF PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO PAY ME MUSIC ADMINISTERED BY SONGS OF UNIVERSAL, INC. INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT SECURED ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF HAL LEONARD LLC

“CASTLE ON THE H ILL”

C   Chorus (0:44, 1:56)

I’m I D 19

on my way miss the way Dsus4 D

Drivin’ you

0

3 3 2 0

0

0

2 3 0 0

0

0 0

3 3 0 0

0 0

3

country watched Dsus4

we D 23

2 3 2 0

0

3 3 2 0

0

0

3

3 3 0 0

3 3 0 0

3

3

lanes the sunset D/F 3 2 0

0

0 0 0

2

2nd time on Chorus, skip ahead to

3 3 0 0 3

at feel

me Gadd9/B

G5

let ring throughout  3 3 2 0

make

0 0

3 3 2 0 2

0 0

3

3 2 0 2

2

ninety

down real

And it’s A7sus4

3 2 0 2

0 2

2

3 3 2 2 0

0 0

3 3 2 2 0

0 0

3 2 2 0

2 0

3 2 2 0

2 0

Singing

2 2 0

2 0

X 0 X 0

to

over

“Tiny castle

the

G5

0 0 0

those when

Gadd9/B

3 3 0 0

3 0 0

3 0 0

3 3 0 0

3 3 0 0

3 3 0 0

3 3 0 0

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

0 0

3 3 2 0 2

0 0

2

3 3 2 0 2

2

3 2 0 2

2

3 2 0 2

0 0

0 0

(bar 37)

E

Dancer” And on the hill 26

D

A7sus4 3 3 2 2 0

D

2 2 0

3 3 2 2 0

2 2 0

2 0

2 0

first

D5

3 2 0

0 0

years old kiss D/F

0

2 3 2 0

3 2 0

2 3 2 0

2 3 2 0

2 3 2 0

hand night

-

G5

3 2 0

0

3 2 0

2 0 0

did

2 0

0 0

0 0

0 3 2 0

0

Dsus2

2 3 2 0

0 3 2 0

3 2 0

0 0

0 3 2 0

0 3 2 0

2

it

3

3

0

0

3

3

3

0

0

0

3

3

3

3 2 2 0

2 0

3 2 2 0

2 0

3 2 2 0

2 0

0 0

D5 3 2 0

0 0

getting drunk with Take me back to Bm7

3 2 0

0

0 0

0 0

my friends when Asus4

P.M.

2nd time, go back to 2nd Pre-chorus (bar 9)

we

2

2

2 0 2

2

2 0 2

2 0 2

0 0 0 0

2 2 0

0

0

3 2 2 0

2 0

3 3 2 2 0

the castle Bm7

2 0 2

2

2 0 2

3 2 0 2

0 2

through the backfields

0 0

0 0

and

0 3

3

0 0

0 0

3

3

3

0 0

0 0

0 0

3

3

3

E   (2:23)

37

0 0

on

0 0

2

found A7sus4

P.M.

3 2 2 0

reckon

P.M.

0

B

0 2

Running from the law I was younger then D/F G

But P.M.

3 3 2 2 0

cigarettes don’t I

P.M.

3

right A7sus4

rolled

Bm7

0

P.M.

2 0 2

smoking Friday

P.M.

that I Asus4

35

0

2 3 2 0

and on a

P.M.

3 2 0

32

X X

Dsus2 D 2 3 2 0

2nd Verse   (1:14)

Fifteen Had my 29

3 3 2 2 0

We D

watched the sunset Dsus4 G5

2 3 2 0

3 3 2 0

0

2 0

0

0

over

3 0 0

3 3 0 0 0 0

3 3 0 0

3

3 3

3

3 3 0 0 3

3

3

3

3 3 0 0

3 3 0 0

3 3 0 0

3

3 3

F   (2:29)

the hill

A7sus4

Bm7 P.M.

39 3 2 0 2

2

2

3 2 0 2

2

2

3 2 0 2

X X

0 0

3 3 2 2 0

2 0

2 2 0

3 3 2 2 0

0

2 2 0

3 3 2 2 0

0 0

0 0

2 0 2

0 2

0 2

2 0 2

2 0 2

0 2

0 0 2

0 0

guitarworld.com  ���

TRANSCRIPTIONS

“ C A S T L E O N T H E H I L L”

G5

D

Dsus4

Asus4

A

P.M.

42

0 0 3

G

3

3

3 0 0

3 0 0

3

3

0 0

2 0 0

0 0

2 3 2 0

0 0

2 3 2 0

3 2 0

P.M.

3

3 2 0

3 2 0 0

3 2 0 0

3 2 2 0

0 0

3 2 2

3 2 2

3 2 2

2 2 2

2 2 2 0

0

  Bridge  (2:36)

One One’s 45

friend left already

to sell clothes and on his second wife and

one one’s

Bm7

G5

D5

P.M.

P.M.

P.M.

2 0 2

2

2 0 2

2

2

2 0 2

2

0 0

0

0

3

3

3

3

3

3

3 0 0

3 0 0

3 0 0

3

3

3

2 0

works down just barely A5

by the gettin’ by

coast But

P.M.

2 0

0

2 0

3 2 0

0

2 0

2 0

0

2 0

2 0

0

0 0

(play repeat simile)

One had two these people 49

Bm7

but lives alone me and I G5

D5

P.M.

P.M.

P.M.

0 2

H

2 0 2

2

2 0 2

kids raised

3 2 0 2

0 2

3 2 0 2

on

3 2 0

my

3 2 0

3 2 0

0

3

3

3

3

3

2 0

2

3 2 0

3 2 0

3 2 0

0

2 2 0

3

way D/F G5

2 0

0 0

2

3

country

3

0 0

0 0

3

3

3

lanes

D5

0

2 2 0

0

2 2 0

3 2 2 0

0

3 2 2 0

0 0

I Bm7

still

2 0 2

2 0 2

remember

these

old

A5

D/F

0 0

0 0

0 0

3

3

3

when G5

2 0 2

2 0 2

2

we Bm7

did not

3 2 0 2

3 2 0 2

2 0

3

0

2 0

0

know

0

2 0

0

0 0

the answers

And

A7sus4

P.M.

57

3 2 0

0

0

3 2 0

0

0

2 0

0 0

2

2

3

3

0 0

0 0

3

3

3

0 0

0 0

0 0

3

3

3

0 2

0 2

0 2

3 3 2 0 2

0 2

0 0

0 0

3 3 2 0 2

2 0

2 0

3 3 2 2 0

2 0

3 2 2 2

2 0

0 0

0 0

  Outro  (3:16)

I we We D 2 3 2 0

2 0

2 3 2 0

miss the watched watched Dsus4

way the sunset the sunset D/F

3 3 2 0

3 2 0

3 2 0

0 0

0 0

2

0 0

you

 0

 ���

2 3 2 0

GUITAR WORLD

3 3 0 0

3 3 0 0

3 3 0 0

3 3 0 0

3 3 0 0

3 3 0 0

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

•

feel the castle the castle

Gadd9/B

3 3 0 0

 0

2

me

G5

3 0 0

2 0

make over over

We watched the sunset D D/F G5 65

0

0 0

P.M.

53

61

0

0 0

overdosed to go home And Asus4

  Breakdown  (3:02)

I’m D5

I

3 2 0 2

One’s brother can’t wait A5

HOLIDAY ����

over Bm7

 0 3 2 0 2

0 0

3 3 2 0 2

0 0

2 0 2

3 3 2 0 2

3 3 2 0 2

the castle on the hill Asus4

 0 3 2 0 2

3 3 2 0 2

2 0 2

3 0 0

3 0 0

And it’s on on A7sus4 3 3 2 2 0

3 3 2 2 0

3 3 2 2 0

D

 0 2 3 2 0

2 3 2 0

3 3 2 2 0

real the the

when hill hill

(play 3 times) 3 3 2 2 0

3 3 2 2 0

3 3 2 2 0

0 0

0 0

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(Utilizing the Entire Fingerboard) Book & CD Marc Silver Since , Contemporary Guitar Improvisation is THE classic book for learning guitar improvisation. This innovative system is based on five basic fingering patterns that form the foundation for improvising over virtually any chords, in any key, across the entire fingerboard. All patterns are diagrammed, so note-reading ability is not necessary. Recommended by guitar legend George Benson. MSRP: . USD (includes delivery in the U.S. )

MarcSilverGuitarImprov.com

WINGMAN Option Knob Option Knob Inc releases its 3rd generation universal model that’s been molded by consumer requests across the globe to be their most advanced solution yet! WingMan’s upgrades include: • More compact wing design for a smaller footprint on your pedals. • Pointed wing tips for enhanced grip and maneuverability. • A beefier shaft for added stability. • Comes with 2 shaft inserts one Classic & one Boutique so it will fit any pedal. • WingMan™ comes standard in glow for maximum visibility on any stage. Every Pedal Needs a WingMan™! MSRP: $9.95

GRIP REAPER GUITAR HANGER GuitarGrip Tired of stands taking up valuable floor space? Want easy access to your instrument? Customize your jam space with sculpted wall mounts from GuitarGrip. These unique designs will show off your guitar, or bass, like a work of art while enhancing the decor of any room. GuitarGrip is easy to install, constructed with a cushioned insert to protect the instrument, and available in a collection of models and colors. Limited Offer: Use discount code GW2017 at checkout and receive FREE SHIPPING. MSRP: $39.99 - $65.00

wingmanfx.com [email protected]

guitargrip.com

For more info on advertising in the Product Profile section, contact Jonathan Brudner at [email protected] or (!

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If you want tomorrow to be different, then you need to do something different today.

Holeyboard™ Evolution Series www.chemistrydesignwerks.com

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GUITAR WORLD

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To Someone Who Stutters, It’s Easier Done Than Said. For help, write or call toll-free:

www.stutteringhelp.org

1-800-992-9392 THE STUTTERING FOUNDATION

®

P.O. Box 11749 • Memphis, TN 38111-0749

INSTRUCTION

MUSIC THEORY COURSE FOR GUITAR

Correspondence Course. Certificate issued on completion. Beginning courses also available. Course outline and enrollment order form for this and other home study courses, write to: Jim Sutton Institute of Guitar, 23014 Quail Shute, Spring, TX 77389-3944, USA 1-800-621-7669 E-mail: [email protected] Web Site: www.JSIGuitar.com

Guitar World Magazine Statement of Ownership 2017

Post Office Notice: Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation for Periodicals class privileges as required by 39 USC3685: 1. Title of Publication: Guitar World. 2. Publication No. 10456295. 3. Date of Filing: 10/01/17. 4. Issue Frequency: Monthly plus Holiday issue following December issue. 5. Number of Issues Published Annually: 13. 6. Annual Subscription Price: $14.95. 7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: NewBay Media L.L.C., 28 East 28th Street, 12th Floor, New York, 10016. 8/9. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters of General Business Offices of Publisher, Editor and Managing Editor NewBay Media L.L.C., 28 East 28th Street, 12th Floor, New York, 10016; Publisher: Bill Amstutz - New Bay Media, LLC, 28 East 28th Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10016; Editor: Jeff KittsNew Bay Media, LLC, 28 East 28th Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10016; Managing Editor: Brad Angle – New Bay Media, LLC, 28 East 28th Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10016. 10. Owner: The Wicks Group of Companies, LLC, 405 Park Avenue, Suite 702, New York, NY 10022. 11/12. N/A. 13. Publication Title: Guitar World. 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data below: November 2017. 15. Extent and Nature of Circulation Given in This Order: Number of Average Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months Followed by Actual Number of Copies Published Nearest Filing Date: a. Total Number of Copies: 116,553;110,359. b. Paid Circulation: (1) Mail Subscriptions Outside-County: 42,598; 42,191. (2) Paid In-County Subscriptions: 0; 0. (3) Sales through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other NonUSPS Paid Distribution: 15,962; 14,429. (4) Other Classes Mailed Through USPS: 0; 0. c. Total Paid Distribution: 58,560; 56,620. d. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution: (1) Free Outside-County Copies: 742; 834. (2) Free In-County Copies: 0; 0. (3) Free Mailed at Other Classes Through USPS: 0; 0. (4) Free Distribution Outside the Mail: 242; 0. e. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution: 984; 834. f. Total Distribution: 59,544; 57,454. g. Copies Not Distributed: 57,009; 52,905. h. Total: 116,553; 110,359. i. Percent Paid: 98.35%; 98.55%. 16. Total Circulation does not include Electronic copies. 17. Publication of Statement of Ownership is required and is printed in this issue of this publication: Holiday 2017. 18. I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete: Bill Amstutz, Vice President & Publishing Director.

guitarworld.com  

INSIDE THE COOLEST GUITAR STORES  IN THE U.S.

WILLCUTT GUITARS

406 Rosemont Garden Lexington, KY 40503 Established: 1968 willcuttguitars.com

AS ITS TH

anniversary approaches, Willcutt Guitars is the epitome of a “guitarist’s guitar store,” featuring an amazing selection, a knowledgeable staff, talented technicians and a passionate owner. It’s hard to not immediately take note of the extraordinary amount of fine boutique guitars in stock, along with a team that can answer any questions you might have. It’s no wonder  just about eve ry touring gui tar player pa ssing thro ugh Kentucky has, at one time or another, wound up on Willcutt’s doorstep. NUMBER OF INSTRUMENTS CURRENTLY IN STOCK

MOST SOUGHTAFTER INSTRUMENT BY CUSTOMERS

Fender Custom Shop True 62 Stratocaster and Rickenbacker 4003 CB Orangeglo bass. BIGGEST PET PEEVE AS A SHOP OWNER

Customers who repeatedly return items and never purchase any. FAVORITE CELEBRITY ENCOUNTER

Eddie Van Halen, Joe Bonamassa, Howard Leese and Jimmie Vaughan have all been in the shop, which is nice since we’re in Kentucky and not L.A.! ONE FACT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT WILLCUTT

I, the owner with 50 years experience, or my other luthier with 35 years experience, set up and check each instrument before it leaves the shop.

Bob Willcutt  (Owner): We

usually have about 4,000 to 5,000 upscale guitars in stock, although it changes daily.

MOST COMMON SONG OR RIFF WHEN TRYING GUITARS

COOLEST INSTRUMENT CURRENTLY IN THE SHOP

“Sweet Child O’ Mine” or “Crazy Train,” but no songs from current artists!

They’re all cool; it would be like trying to pick a favorite child. They all have their attributes.

ADVICE FOR SOMEONE LOOKING TO BUY A GUITAR

FAVORITE INSTRUMENT YOU EVER SOLD

Buy the best guitar you can possibly afford. It costs you less in the long run and inspires you to play your very best.

A 1954 Fender Telecaster (final assembly by Fender assembly line worker Gloria Fuentes). We sent it to the Fender Custom Shop to have exact copies spec’ed from it. MOST EXPENSIVE INSTRUMENT YOU’VE EVER SOLD

A Martin D-100 Deluxe, list price $114,999—and we sold four of them!  

GUITAR WORLD

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HOLIDAY 

THE BEST PART ABOUT OWNING A GUITAR SHOP

Getting to experience the world’s best guitars, finding loving homes for them and then ordering or commissioning more. (And not having to wear a tie doing it!)

by Eric Feldman, guitarshoptees.com

Player Grade Vintage: ‘78 Fender Telecaster Deluxe

BUY | SELL |

PLAY 

 The world’s largest marketplace  for musicians, Reverb.com.