Subtly Very Different “The 594 is the best new guitar I’ve played in years. It has a vintage heart and soul but without the technical limitations that usually come along with an old instrument.”
© 2016 PRS Guitars / Photo by Marc Quigley
John Mayer
McCarty 594 The 594 has subtle but significant differences from past McCarty models. The obvious changes are the new position of the pickup selector, the 58/15 LT (low turn) pickups with coil taps and a knob layout that feels like home to a lot of players. To find out what else we changed to make this guitar feel and sound like a worn-in vintage instrument that plays in tune and delivers modern reliability, visit our website. www.prsguitars.com
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PORTRAITS
IN TONE “The great thing about the RK5 Fly Rig is that I now have my ideal pedalboard with the effects I use most, which is reverb, delay and overdrive, in a tiny little box that I can literally put in my backpack. So I’m carrying my guitar rig, for the most part, in my backpack. “What makes the RK5 so different from the standard Fly Rig is the overdrive circuit. This is something that Andrew [Barta, president of Tech 21] and I spent a good 6 months designing --going back and forth, trying to verbalize what audio qualities I wanted. And finally we came to what we call the OMG section.
Actual size: 11.5”l x 2.5”w x 1.25”h • Weight: 18.6 oz.
“The thing that’s really cool about it is Andrew put in the SansAmp. And what that enables you to do is literally revoice any amp. I can plug into a really clean amp and get my sound the same way I can plug into a dirty amp and get my sound. So you can get a great sound live through an amp, and, if the amp goes down, by using the Sans-Amp, you can literally plug right into the PA and get a fantastic guitar tone. “Beyond putting the RK5 in front of an amp, you can also use it direct. I took this pedal into the studio for The Winery Dogs ‘Hot Streak’ record. There’s a song, in particular, called ‘The Lamb,’ with a middle solo section where you can really hear the Tech 21 RK5 direct.
Photo by Michael Mechnig
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CON T EN TS VOL. 38 |
NO. 11 |
NOVEMBER 2016
FEATURES
Tim Commerford (left) and Tom Morello at Studio 1444 in Hollywood on July 21, 2016
38 PIXIES
For thirty years the Pixies have reigned as one of America’s premier alt-rock acts. Head Carrier, the band’s latest, shows the group stepping out of its comfort zone.
PROPHETS OF RAGE
44
In a time of political tumult, guitarist Tom Morello assembled a supergroup featuring members of Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill... and all hell can’t stop them now.
54 MAKING OF A PROPHET
Rage Against the Machine bassist Tim Commerford and Public Enemy MC Chuck D rap about their new band.
60 GUITAR REVOLUTIONARIES These 15 axslingers have used their talent and celebrity to fight for causes, be it anti-war, anticensorship, women’s rights, gun rights, animal rights or the straight-edge lifestyle.
66 LESSON: 100 ESSENTIAL CHORDS A guide to the most important fretboard shapes for rhythm guitar playing.
“Her Black Wings” by Danzig
PAGE
104 “Run to You” by Bryan Adams
PAGE
108 “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” by John Mayer
PAGE
114 14
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
16 WOODSHED 18 SOUNDING BOARD
Letters, reader art and Defenders of the Faith
21 TUNE-UPS
Testament, Rival Sons, Stephen Stills, KT Tunstall, Lamb of God, Crown the Empire and Dear Guitar Hero with Devin Townsend
79 SOUNDCHECK
79. Epiphone Masterbilt Century Collection acoustics 82. Jackson Pro Series Soloist SL2Q MAH electric 84. Dunlop EP103 Echoplex Delay pedal 86. Ovation Elite Plus Contour Koa acoustic-electric 88. Bare Knuckle Pickups Impulse Humbuckers
88. IK Multimedia iRig Acoustic interface
90 COLUMNS
90. Wood Vibrations by Mike Dawes 92. String Theory by Jimmy Brown 94. School of Rock by Joel Hoekstra 96. Acoustic Nation by Dale Turner 98. In Deep by Andy Aledort 100. Thrash Course by Dave Davidson 102. Mic Check by Chris Gill
130 SHOP TALK
Atlanta Vintage Guitars COV E R P HOTO GR APH BY T R AV I S S HINN
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WOODSHED VOL. 38 |
NO. 11 |
NOVEMBER 2016 EDITORIAL
IT’S NOT UNCOMMON for the public to voice their displeasure when a business makes changes to its product, and we’ve certainly had to face our share of reader backlash over the years for various things—frankly, that’s just the nature of being a media company with a loyal fanbase. Normally I wouldn’t take up this space to address such complaints—as many of you know, I often prefer to respond to you individually when you write in—but I will make an exception in this case. Because we hear you—we hear you loud and clear. Recent issues have seen a drop in the number of songs transcribed—and a spike in letters being sent in and comments being posted on our Facebook page and other social media feeds. We had been holding steady at four songs for a while, but now we’re at three, and I want to explain what led to this decision. It’s simple economics, really. The truth is, transcribing and printing songs is a very costly part of our business. We pay thousands of dollars in licensing fees for every song we transcribe, plus the cost of generating the tablature and having the music engraved by a special computer typesetter so that it’s in the format you see in our magazine. As much as we would like to give you five or six songs in every issue, the fact is, it’s simply too expensive. There are other factors at work here too: mathematics being one of them. Every issue of pretty much any magazine on the market today has a predetermined number of pages to work with, and we’re no different. We don’t have the luxury of just adding more pages to a given issue to fit more content—and if we increased our number of song pages in our current format, it would come at the expense of other pages in the magazine: interviews, lessons, columns, gear reviews, departments, etc. Personally, I would rather the magazine have a good balance of all our content every month, and if that means we can only fit three songs in order to achieve that balance, I’m comfortable with that. Listen friends, we always do our best for you—every month, year after year. We put our all into every issue, transcribing every song from scratch, trying to pick songs that haven’t been printed ad nauseam, supplementing our transcriptions with top-notch lesson content like this month’s 100 Essential Chords feature—but sometimes economics interfere with the things we really want to do. That’s just business in 2016, folks. We’re 36 years into this, which is a pretty impressive feat in this day and age of print publishing: there aren’t too many media brands, at least not in our field, that can say the same. We’re in this for the long haul, and we know that you don’t get here without encountering a few bumps along the way. Hopefully this explanation will help some of you understand the measures that sometimes need to be taken in order to persevere.
—Jeff Kitts
Executive Content Director
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 ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Natalie Skopelja
ONLINE
MANAGING EDITOR Damian Fanelli EDITORS Brad Angle, Jeff Kitts
PRODUCTION
PRODUCTION MANAGER Nicole Schilling
BUSINESS
VICE PRESIDENT, GENERAL MANAGER Bill Amstutz
[email protected] GROUP PUBLISHER Bob Ziltz
[email protected] ADVERTISING DIRECTOR - WEST Jason Perl 646-723-5419, jason@guitar world.com ADVERTISING DIRECTOR - EAST Scott Sciacca 646-723-5478, scott@guitar world.com ADVERTISING MANAGER Anna Blumenthal 646-723-5404, anna@guitar world.com GROUP MARKETING DIRECTOR Stacy Thomas 646-723-5416,
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GUITAR WORLD (ISSN 1045-6295) is published 13 times a year, monthly plus Holiday issue following December issue, by NewBay Media, LLC, 28 East 28th Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10016. Phone: 212.378.0400. Fax: 917.281.4704. Web Site: www.nbmedia.com. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. Newsstand distribution is handled by Time Warner Retail. Subscriptions: One-year basic rate (12 issues) US: $14.95. Canada: US$29.95. Foreign: US$49.95. Canadian and foreign orders must be prepaid. Canadian price includes postage and GST #R128220688. PMA #40612608. Subscriptions do not include newstand specials. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Guitar World, P.O. Box 469039, Escondido, CA 92046-9039. Ride-along enclosure in the following edition(s): B6. Standard enclosure: None. Returns: Pitney Bowes, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2, Canada. Entire contents copyright 2012, NewBay Media L.L.C. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited. NewBay Media L.L.C. is not affiliated with the companies or products covered in Guitar World. Reproduction on the Internet of the articles and pictures in this magazine is illegal without the prior written consent of Guitar World. Products named in the pages of Guitar World are trademarks of their respective companies. PRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. SUBSCRIBER CUSTOMER SERVICE: Guitar World Magazine Customer Care, P.O. Box 469039, Escondido, CA 92046-9039. Online: www.guitarworld.com/customerservice. Phone: 1-800-456-6441. Email
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GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
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I L L U S T R AT I O N BY J O E L K I M M E L
FACING THE MUSIC
EXECUTIVE CONTENT DIRECTOR Jeff Kitts EXECUTIVE EDITOR Brad Angle TECH EDITOR Paul Riario ASSOCIATE EDITORS Andy Aledort, Richard Bienstock, Alan di Perna, Chris Gill CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Joe Bosso, Mike Dawes, Dan Epstein, Randy Har ward, Eric Feldman, Joel Hoekstra, Dale Turner, Jon Wiederhorn, Dave Davidson SENIOR VIDEO PRODUCER Mark Nuñez
Gibson Explorer 2016 Traditional BOSS DD-500 Fender The Edge Deluxe
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SOUNDI NG BOARD Got something you want to say? EMAIL US AT:
[email protected]
still rips! Anyway, continue the fabulous work! —Dave Martel
The Good Fight
Labor of Love It was great to see Steve Vai on the cover of Guitar World again—and just as nice to see former editorin-chief Brad Tolinski back in the magazine’s pages. Brad’s interview with Steve proved yet again that Steve is one of the most genuine, thoughtful and deep-thinking musicians on earth. Most people will agree that few guitarists can compete on the level of Steve Vai— but as far as I’m concerned, few can compete with his intellect, his understanding of the world and the way he conducts himself either. —Harmon Rousehorn
Something in a Plaid The September issue featuring Steve Vai on the cover just came in the mail. The article by Chris Gill on the history of Yamaha was excellent, and it was great to learn the company’s history. I was surprised, though, and I’m sure I’m not the first to mention it, but the article didn’t include Blues Saraceno and his plaid Yamaha RGZ820R model guitar. When I was real young and reading your magazine those ads were everywhere, and that Plaid album
Kudos for the great article on the history of Yamaha. The only complaint I have is the omission of Rik Emmett from Triumph as one of the noted Yamaha endorsers. Throughout most of the Eighties, Rik played Yamaha guitars, from the SGB series to the RGX series. He is the reason I have my Yamaha RGX612S, which is still my favorite guitar to play. Rik was always one of those amazing guitar players that just never got the recognition he was due. He is still performing solo, duo and full band shows all over the U.S. and Canada, and he has gotten even better with age. —Kelly Shatzer
Runnin’ with the Devil’s Food I retired from the U.S. military after 35 years of service. For my retirement party I received an Eddie Van Halen plaque, then we all ate an EVH-themed cake! —Kevin Webb
Cavestany in your September issue! I was particularly taken by his statements about players like Tony Iommi who, although not technical powerhouses, have a unique way of playing and sounding that is tough to truly emulate. And Rob’s feelings that Uli Jon Roth and Stevie Ray Vaughan are “turbo-charged and a bit cleaner and more refined” in their interpretations of Jimi Hendrix, I’m so glad someone as accomplished as Rob shares the same view I have always had. —David Elliott
Out of the Black I get it that Guitar World wants to provide a spectrum of players and styles of music. With that said, it’s time for some introspection guys. Just how many angry, tattooed, speed/thrash bands do you need to throw at us at the expense of learning about timeless, incontrovertibly talented players (insert Page, Beck, Hendrix or any number of others here)? These “I wear black so I must be edgy” guys need Prozac and a good record collection, not more exposure in GW. They come off as cartoonish and ridiculous, and in 10 years no one will give a damn about their music. —Chris Anderson
plishments are many, his Bridge of Sighs album is a classic, and he is still a phenomenal guitarist today. —Dale G.
Jazz It Up I know I’m in the minority, but I can’t be the only one. How about an occasional transcription by Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, Barney Kessel, Pat Martino, Kenny Burrell or George Benson? —Seth Okrend
Ink Spot My tattoo artist has a knack for turning movie characters, musicians and everyday people into Lego characters. Since Stevie Ray Vaughan has always been my favorite ax slinger, I had him draw me up a Lego SRV. —Dale Pettigrew
Rockin’ Robin Angel’s Advocate Thank you for including the epic player that is Death Angel’s Rob
I’m a longtime GW subscriber, and after seeing all the rock stars that you put on your covers, it makes me wonder: will you ever put Robin Trower on your cover? Many people too young to know don’t realize that Robin pretty much carried on the name of Jimi Hendrix for many years after Jimi’s passing in 1970. His accom-
GOT A TATTOO of your favorite band or guitarist you want to share with us? Send a photo of your ink to
[email protected] and maybe we’ll print it or post it on our Facebook page!
SEND LETTERS TO: The Sounding Board, Guitar World, 28 East 28th Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10016, or email us at
[email protected]. All subscription queries must be emailed to
[email protected]. Please do not email the Sounding Board with subscription matters.
18
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
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If you created a drawing, painting or sketch of your favorite guitarist and would like to see it in an upcoming issue of Guitar World, email soundingboard@ guitarworld.com with a scan of the image!
J I MMY PAG E B Y K A I T LY N D A Z E
DEFENDERS
GEDDY L EE B Y E D B R Y N I N G
of the Faith
Lucy Baker
Deron Brown
Matt Normand
AGE 14 HOMETOWN Jeffersonville, KY GUITAR Fender Mini Strat SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING Metallica “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” Stephen Foster “My Old Kentucky Home” GEAR I MOST WANT Boss overdrive, wah pedal
AGE 42 HOMETOWN Xenia, OH GUITARS Ibanez RG550 “The Joker,” RG570, RG540P, ART100 “Spider-Man” and RG1570 Prestige; Fender Strat American Standard, Charvel San Dimas SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING The Aristocrats “Bad Asteroid” GEAR I MOST WANT Ibanez JEM77 PMC autographed by Paul Gilbert that I sold to buy my wife’s engagement ring.
AGE 41 HOMETOWN Livermore, CA GUITARS EVH Wolfgang Stealth, Fender Custom Stratocaster, Takamine G-Series acoustic SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING Van Halen “Drop Dead Legs,” “Somebody Get Me a Doctor” and “Panama,” Ratt “Lay It Down,” Ozzy Osbourne “Bark at the Moon” GEAR I MOST WANT Charvel Jake E. Lee Signature Model, EVH 5150 III combo
Are you a Defender of the Faith? Send a photo, along with your answers to the questions above, to
[email protected]. And pray! guitarworld.com
19
MyBeatBuddy.com
TUNE-UPS UPS STEPHEN STILLS
24
KT TUNSTALL
LAMB OF GOD
26
28
CROWN THE EMPIRE
30
PAUL GILBERT
DEVIN TOWNSEND
32
34
“ I quit doing Strapping Young Lad because I had no more gas in that tank.”
P E T E R S O N : M I I K K A S K A F FA R I / F I L M M A G I C / G E T T Y; TO W N S E N D : TO M H AW K I N S
Eric Peterson performing with Testament at The Warfield in San Francisco on March 23, 2016
Snake Guys FACED WITH LOGISTICAL OBSTACLES AND CONFLICTING SCHEDULES, GUITARIST ERIC PETERSON ASSUMES CONTROL TO MAKE THE FORTHCOMING TESTAMENT ALBUM, THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE SNAKE, A REALITY. By Jon Wiederhorn
TWO DAYS BEFORE Testament are scheduled to headline a show at AtlanticoLive in Rome, guitarist and songwriter Eric Peterson is sitting in a restaurant across from the Coliseum eating a plate of spaghetti carbonara. As he twirls his fork through the nest of noodles flavored with bacon, cheese and flecks of black
pepper, he glances at the tableaux before him and smiles. “Getting to do stuff like this is really amazing,” he marvels, then fills his mouth with the creamy pasta. “Even though we’ve been back and forth to Europe so many times I still love it over here.” As much as Testament have enjoyed playing European festivals, being on the road so much has been a double-edged sword. As soon as they’ve finished a tour and gotten back home, most of the band members delved into other projects, making it impossible for everyone to collaborate on the follow-up to 2012’s Dark Roots of Earth. Everyone in Testament wanted to do a new album, but by the fall of 2015 Peterson realized that the only way the record was going to get written was if he did it himself. Tkk “They were off doing other stuff, so I went, ‘Fuck, I gotta get this done,’ ” Peterson explains. “So I grabbed the bull by the
horns and just did it.” Surprisingly, Testament’s 11th studio album, The Brotherhood of the Snake, sounds neither rushed nor incomplete. Like Dark Roots of Earth, the songs are punchy and multifaceted, incorporating a range of musically diverse but complementary riffs and strong, layered melodies. Cuts like the title track, “Centuries of Suffering” and “The Number Game” are faster and more aggressive than anything the band’s done over the past eight years—reminiscent, at times, of the blinding thrash Testament played on 1987’s The Legacy and 1988’s The New Order. “It’s got the energy and the hunger of the early stuff but the character of our last couple records, where we’ve learned a little bit more about what we’re doing as songwriters,” Peterson says. As fully realized as Brotherhood of the Snake is, it was Peterson’s most challenging album to make. With Testament guitarworld.com
21
NEWS + NOTES
PLAYLIST
SCOTT HOLIDAY RIVAL SONS
1 “Slow Jam 1” King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
“A great band from Australia. I’m a garage/ psych junkie, and these guys really know what they’re doing. Nailing it.”
2 “Necessary Evil” Unknown Mortal Orchestra
dates scheduled through the first half of 2016, Peterson was forced to write the songs over several short stretches of down time. At first, he was unhappy with what he was coming up with. Then, around Christmas 2015, he wrote the rhythmically skewed “The Pale King,” which switches between barreling riffs and ominous, tuneful passages, ending with a majestic solo, and the tide turned. “Once I did that song I knew I had something solid and it gave me confidence,” he says. “A lot of the best songs came in January right before we toured with Slayer.” Even with 10 songs to work with, Testament were under a serious time crunch; their label needed the finished album by July 10. On April 27, drummer Gene Hoglan spent three weeks tracking drums at Trident Studios in Martinez, California. Then, Peterson recorded guitars at his home studio in Sacramento, using a Kemper profiling amp modeled after his EVH 5150 III 50-watt head. He blended the sounds of his custom Dean Flying V and a Les Paul and recorded them DI, so they could be reamped later by engineer Andy Sneap. While Peterson worked on his parts, Skolnick assembled
22
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
leads at his studio in Brooklyn. “It was so crazy because Alex had some demos, but he didn’t hear the final songs until he was recording on them,” Peterson says. “But we’ve been doing this so long, I know what he likes to solo over and I was able to get him stuff he was happy with.” Brotherhood of the Snake was mostly recorded by the beginning of the summer, when Testament headed out to play European festivals. While they were touring, Sneap mixed the songs at Backstage Studios in Derbyshire, England. On June 24, the morning after the band played a concert at a bowling alley in London, the members traveled to Sneap’s place, where Peterson tweaked some off-key guitars and Skolnick added some extra fills. When Peterson returned home on July 2, he had a 10-day break before Testament headed back to Europe. He spent three all-nighters recording four bluesy, melodic solos, then he sent his revisions to Sneap, who blended them into the final mix. “The odds seemed so against us to get it done in time,” Peterson says. “I would never want to do another album like that, but for some reason the universe just let it happen and it came out great.”
3 “Drowned My Life in Fear” Leaf Hound
“Growers of Mushroom is a super cool record. Early incarnations of the band included [guitarist] Paul Kossoff and [drummer] Simon Kirke, who left to form Free, and Rod Price, who left to form Foghat.”
4 “Sunday” Iggy Pop “Aligning Iggy with this backing band led by Josh Homme is one for the history books. The whole record, [2016’s] Post Pop Depression, is out of this world. Easily one of the best things to come out this year.”
5 “Elevated Man” Goatsnake “This whole record, [2015’s] Black Age Blues, is pretty darn perfect. Can’t say I’ve ever heard something quite this heavy meshed with harp lines, soul sista backgrounds and an undeniable soulful swagger.”
RIVAL SONS IS CURRENTLY ON TOUR WITH BLACK SABBATH. THE GROUP’S LATEST ALBUM, HOLLOW BONES, IS AVAILABLE NOW.
T E S TA M E N T: S T E P H A N I E C A B R A L ; H O L I D AY: R O S S H A L F I N
(front, from left) Chuck Billy and Steve DiGiorgio (back, from left) Gene Hoglan, Alex Skolnick and Peterson
“This is like the love child of Jan Hammer and Prince meets Abstract Workshop. Tones, groove/funk, and dig the smart major/minor stuff all over the place.”
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NEWS + NOTES
What do you remember about the Fillmore East and Bill Graham? Bill Graham gossiping about other bands. When fans approach you, what song of yours do they most often cite as being their favorite? No answer… What music are you listening to these days around the house and in the car? Miles Davis and John Coltrane.
By Corbin Reiff
S
TEPHEN STILLS—best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and more recently the Rides, his group with Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Barry Goldberg—is undeniably prolific. But as the following email interview shows, it’s safe to say that the 71-year-old rock legend prefers to let the music do the talking.
If your house was on fire and you could only carry out one guitar and one amplifier with you, what would you pick? You’re sick. My kid first, then a ’54 Strat and a ’58 Twin Reverb.
No stress.
What is your favorite non-standard guitar tuning to mess around with? Drop D.
What’s the best concert you’ve ever seen as a spectator and what’s the best concert you’ve ever participated in as an entertainer and why? Ray Charles years ago and the show I did with the Rides, night before last.
Can you describe your process for writing new songs? Turn off my radio and drive. Who has been your greatest influence as a guitar player? Who were you listening to that helped you develop your own signature style? Doc Watson, T-Bone Walker and Chuck Berry. You just put out your second record with the Rides. What do you enjoy most about creating music with Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Barry Goldberg?
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GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
How different was it making this second album versus the first? It was the same, other than mixing it took a lot longer.
What’s the current status of CSN? Are you still cool with Graham Nash and David Crosby? Ask Ann Landers. Do you think the recordings of the CSNY shows from the Fillmore East in ’70 and ’71 will ever be released? Some say those were the best concerts ever performed in that building. If you like seafood, up close it was a clam fest.
What are your thoughts about upcoming mega festival Desert Trip featuring some of your contemporaries, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Neil Young and Bob Dylan? Of course I would have liked to been invited. I’m only human. What was it like to jam with Jimi Hendrix? Think of something new to ask! Who is someone that you’ve long wanted to collaborate or write music with, but haven’t had the opportunity? Jeff Beck. What’s the status of your upcoming autobiography? Scattered, but in progress! What’s next for you after the Rides tour is up? Any plans for a solo album? I don’t really ever know; there are no plans for a solo album. What advice would you give to budding musicians trying to break through or make a living in today’s musical climate? Stay in the moment when you’re up there onstage. Can you elaborate on your memories of the concert you performed with CSNY at Seattle in 1974 to kick off that tour? No.
ELEANOR STILLS
20 Questions with Stephen Stills
You still kick around with Neil Young from time to time and he’s set to play your annual Autism Speaks Benefit Concert. Can you talk about your chemistry together? Do you see working with him on any projects in the future? It’s never changed.
KT Tunstall
THE SCOTTISH GUITARIST GETS HER GROOVE BACK WITH HER SIXTH RELEASE, KIN. By Laura B. Whitmore
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GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
TWO YEARS AGO award-winning Scottish guitarist and singer/ songwriter KT Tunstall was ready to walk away from her music career. She put all of her stuff in storage, moved to Venice, California, and enrolled in the Sundance Institute’s elite Film Composers Lab. “I was so burnt out,” she reveals, “I just didn’t want to do it anymore.” But while she may have been done with music, music wasn’t done with her. “It didn’t last very long,” she admits. “But I really felt like I just didn’t want to be defined by music anymore. I even thought, if I was in some sort of horrible accident and lost my voice or the use of my hands, who am I without the music? I didn’t know.” As it turns out, L.A. held the answer. “I’d drive through the canyons and listen to classic Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty and Neil Young, plus psychedelic stuff like Tame Impala, Django Django and Devendra Banhart. And I just started writing these songs. At first I didn’t pay much attention. But then the choruses started coming and they were really pesky, muscular choruses. And I thought it would be foolish to ignore them.” The result is KIN, a meaty synthesis of experimental and classic songs due out September 9. Produced by Tony Hoffer (Beck, Fitz and the Tantrums, Air, M83 and more), and written and recorded by KT in L.A., KIN spans the gamut from primal rock and roll to effervescent acoustic pop. The album also includes a collaboration with James Bay, “Two Way,” which is an urgent plea for give and take that perfectly melds these two talents. “He’s a force of nature,” Tunstall enthuses. “He’s really upped my game and I find it very inspiring to work with him.” Other highlights include the boisterous “It Took Me So Long to Get Here, But Here I Am,” “Run on Home,” the driving and sassy “Hard Girls,” and the sweeping album closer, “Love Is an Ocean.” Tunstall launched into the spotlight in 2004 when her first release, Eye to the Telescope, spawned the hits “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree,” “Suddenly I See,” “Other Side of the World” and others. With KIN, her sixth studio album, the guitarist feels she’s finally written a follow-up to that premiere. “It feels in a weird way that it’s taken me three records to write my second album,” she says with a laugh. “I’ve naturally gravitated back to these big, muscular pop songs, which I think is probably what I do best.”
TO M OX L E Y
NEWS + NOTES
SETLIST
MARK MORTON OF LAMB OF GOD VENUE: Brady Theater DATE: May 5, 2016 LOCATION: Tulsa, OK Interview by GREG RENOFF
“WALK WITH ME IN HELL”
“It’s consistently one of my favorite ones in the set. It was probably the first song in our catalog that represented all of the things we do as a band coming together as one piece. There’ve been other Lamb of God songs in that same vein since then, but it was the first one that signified us hitting our stride as a band. So I’ve always been really proud of that song.”
“512”
“When we’re at our best, we’re putting a handful of different elements that you don’t always find together into one song. All the different types of metal that we conglomerate into our sound can be found in it.”
“STILL ECHOES” “When we do a new album, we always want to represent it live. But Sturm und Drang is our seventh, so it’s always a challenge to think about how much new stuff can we sneak into the set without people feeling like we’ve left something out that they really wanted to hear. That’s always a delicate balance.”
“NOW YOU’VE GOT SOMETHING TO DIE FOR”
“It’s a mainstay for us. It’s got a big hook in it and it’s a good one for audience participation. It’s been sticking around in the set pretty much since its inception. That one is hard to leave out.”
“VIGIL”
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GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
“REDNECK”
“Like ‘Something to Die For,’ it’s about crowd participation. The crowd usually winds up singing half the first verse louder than Randy sings it. It’s been a closer for a little while and it’s always a solid one for us to end on. And even though we could play longer, we try to keep things concise enough so that people feel like they’ve gotten their money’s worth, but we’re not wearing them out with two hours of relentless heavy metal.”
“DESCENDING”
“We put it back in the set for this tour. It’s kind of a simple song, but it’s got a pretty unique movement to it. It’s been going over really well on this particular tour, so I’m glad to have it back.”
S H A N E B R O W N P H OTO G R A P H Y
“Along with ‘Descending,’ it’s one of the valleys in our set. We like to build in little breathers to allow people to slow down a bit and catch their breath before we pick them back up.”
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NEWS + NOTES
Brandon Hoover (left) and Hayden Tree
Crown the Empire
IT’S AN EMBRACE OF SPACE AS THE DALLAS HARDCORE ACT ISSUES THEIR THIRD ALBUM. By Chris Butera By Chris Butera
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GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
AXOLOGY • GUITARS (Hoover) CS3 Kiesel California Carved Top; (Tree) Ernie Ball Music Man Cutlass, Sabre and Stingray basses • AMPS (Hoover) Kemper Profiler; (Tree) Ampeg SVT-3PRO bass amp • EFFECTS (Hoover) Electro Harmonix Micro Pog and Small Clone Chorus, Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal Distortion, Zvex Fuzz Factory, Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter, EarthQuaker Devices Organizer, Strymon BigSky Reverberator, Line 6 DL4 Delay; (Tree) Darkglass Electronics Microtubes B7K and Duality Fuzz Pedal, Fulltone OCD Bass Drive, vintage Morley bass wah pedal
E L L I OT I N G H A M
FRESH OFF A THREE-MONTH trek on this summer’s Vans Warped Tour, post-hardcore five-piece Crown the Empire have performed a musical 180 on their third album Retrograde. Much in the vein of Bring Me the Horizon and My Chemical Romance, the first two albums by the Dallas-based outfit were dominated by guitar harmonies and screamo vocals. This time around, Crown the Empire have reinvented themselves thanks to the unlikely influences of industrial maven turned scoring guru Trent Reznor, legendary composer Hans Zimmer (Inception) and various film soundtracks. Oh, and a little movie from 1968 called 2001: A Space Odyssey. Together, it’s allowed CtE to morph into the band they’ve always envisioned, as evidenced by the bass-heavy dirges and electronic ambiance found in such tracks as “The Fear Is Real” and “Lucky Us.” “When we started putting ideas together for Retrograde, we knew we wanted to do space,” says bassist Hayden Tree. “We’d been working with some song names and artwork for about a year before we started the record, and all of it had this very blatant ‘space’ feel to it. At the studio, we had space documentaries and sci-fi movies on repeat, and 2001 was the movie that really resonated with what we wanted for this record. It’s all about looking forward into the unknown, all while telling this really interesting narrative about man and machine. After seeing all of the movements and general expansion that occurred during the Sixites, we knew we’d found exactly how we were going to say what we wanted. This is what we’ve always wanted our band to sound like.” “We focused on making everything as raw and genuine as possible,” adds guitarist Brandon Hoover. “We wanted to write songs that are potentially timeless rather than be stuck in what we thought was pretty much no different than anyone else in our scene.”
NEWS + NOTES
INQUIRER PAUL GILBERT What influenced you to pick up a guitar? Well, I wanted to play something, but guitar—you could stand up and play it. Whereas, drums and keyboards, you had to sit down. I was six years old—before the internet or anything. So I guess it was just to look like a Beatle because they were holding guitars on their album covers. What was your first guitar? A Stella acoustic—a cheapie student model. And I didn’t know how to tune, so I solved that problem by only playing one string. I chose the low E string because it sounded the biggest. I played that one
string for about two years before I tried the other strings after taking a lesson and learning how to tune properly. What was the first song you learned? It was “25 or 6 to 4” by Chicago. I shouldn’t say I learned the song—I learned the intro riff because I could pick it out by ear. Actually, I picked it out from memory, because it’s a simple enough riff that I could hear it in my head and play it. The first song I played the entire way through was probably “Rocky Raccoon” by the Beatles. What do you recall about your first time playing
guitar live? It was a talent show in high school and I played “Cat Scratch Fever” by Ted Nugent. After I finished, all the girls ran up to me—which was exciting, and they all said the same thing: “Do you know any Bee Gees songs?” And you know, this was the Seventies, when “Disco Sucks!” was the motto of any upstanding guitar player. So I absolutely, on principle, didn’t know any Bee Gees tunes—and I should have, because I could’ve really impressed those girls. Have you ever had an embarrassing moment onstage, or a nightmare gig? In high school, I had been playing a while—I kinda had my playing together. We were gonna play “Hot for Teacher,” and we changed the lyrics to be about one of our teachers. Because it was a talent show,
they had so many performers and put our drum kit on a big rolling drum riser. When it rolled out on the stage, it rolled over my guitar cable. It didn’t break my cable, but I was stuck a foot from the drum riser and I couldn’t move or I’d unplug myself. This was the Eighties, you know, so I wanted to dive on my knees. I should’ve had a wireless transmitter. Is there a particular moment on the new album, I Can Destroy, that makes you especially proud as a guitar player? The opening riff of “Everybody Use Your Goddamn Turn Signal.” I shouldn’t say it makes me proud as a player—it makes me proud as a writer. It’s hummable and memorable. I think it sounds like me, although you can hear some Zeppelin in it, but I think it still has enough of my personality and fingers in it that it’s unique.
Do you have any advice for young players? I see a lot of younger players struggling with their vibrato because of their hand position. The trick is to get your thumb over the top of the neck, which allows you to grip it and be able to bend up. It’s helpful to have big hands. So if you’re struggling, go shop for a guitar with a skinnier neck. —RANDY HARWARD
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JAMES CHIANG
Tell me about the bonus track, your cover of Ted Nugent’s “Great White Buffalo.” Every time that came on the radio when I was a kid, it was so exciting. He’s got this really unique, chunky tone. Because he’s playing that big hollowbody and it’s on the verge of feedback and he still manages to get this tight low end out of it. It’s a great moment in time, that song. Ted Nugent at the peak of his powers, singing about buffalo. So I thought I’d try to put my feet in those shoes and see how it went.
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TO M H AW K I N S
DEAR GUITAR HERO
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GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
DEVIN TOWNSEND
This Canadian-born multi-instrumentalist is the brainchild behind Strapping Young Lad and the coffee-loving alien Ziltoid, and has created music with Steve Vai and Jason Newsted. But what Guitar World readers really want to know is… Interview by Brad Angle
LOVED THE Z² RECORD! CAN’T WAIT FOR TRANSCENDENCE. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE NEW RECORD? DID YOU ALSO WORK WITHIN A NARRATIVE —MARK BANNER THEME OR CONCEPT? Every record is just a snapshot of where you find yourself in life. So the narrative is a direct result of the input, life-wise, over the last year. It’s not as overt of a concept as Z², but there’s a theme that I found creatively interesting: letting go of some of the control. Over the past few years it’s, “Oh I have to do it this way. I have to do everything.” I found I got creatively and personally isolated as a result of that. So I tried to put myself in a position to change some of those things, and divert that need for musical control. And it resulted in a bunch of really cool inspiration.
Is the Ziltoid saga finished with Z² or will it be an epic trilogy? —Diver Well, because Ziltoid is essentially a metaphor for the part of myself that is childish and egotistical I think I got sick of that as life progressed. You get to your mid Forties and you’re like, “Well, I better get over this shit… at least temporarily.” On the last record I banished the character to a planet somewhere where he can get his shit together in hopes that if and when he does come back he’ll be less annoying to me than he was at the end of the last record. [laughs] Can you explain how you’re using the Line 6
Firehawk 1500 in your setup? —Dennis I’m such a gear whore, and it’s great. But I find because of the amount of traveling I’m doing it’s all gone digital. I’ve got a rig in Europe, North America and Australia and I just bring a USB stick and pound it in there. However, I do use the amps I have—a Mesa or Laa Custom or whatever—and I profile them on the Kemper. But most of the time I just use an Axe-Fx, or an Axe-Fx and a Kemper. Because I’ve got a wet-wet-dry signal path there have been limitless complications, from the pedal to the ground lift and ground loop… So, the Line 6 Firehawk has five speakers in the size of a combo.
I can rack it all and it’s wet-wetdry, direct outs and no ground loop because the Fractal pedal is powered by an XLR cable. It’s in one thing, it’s vertical and it can go behind the scrim. It solves so many problems. I’m so sick of messing around with gear, man, I just wanna play. With the huge array of styles and genres you’ve tackled, it seems like the only frontiers left are film scores and r&b. Can you see yourself doing either? —John O’Lear Well, I’m not very funky. [laughs] I think that r&b may not be in my immediate future. The type of music featured on Transcendence is what I’ve been doing for
20-odd years: a melodic, heavy, mash-up between Metallica and Enya, with Def Leppard in there for good measure. But my next project is actually a soundtrack type of thing with a full symphony choir, which commercially is going to be a really hard sell. [laughs] We’re doing it over in Belgium and it’s surround sound. I’ve got this concept… If the Ziltoid concept can be summarized as ego and a little left of center, this next one is going to be so over the top. My hope is that the Transcendence record sells a couple copies or else we’re fuuucked. [laughs] Is it easier to start learning guitar or bass guitar first? —Lander I don’t think it matters. I think it’s best to figure out the role you want to participate in. I started with piano and hated it. Then I went to guitar. It worked well for me because the way I write is based on a vision. I’ve got really articulated ideas that come to me, and I’m good at finding a way to get to point B. Guitar worked well for me because it’s more of a melodic vehicle. It’s funny though, as I get older all I really do is play bass. I love that thing. My constant string of grinding eighth notes are not to be rivaled! [laughs] Have you ever felt intimidated skills-wise by guitarworld.com
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DEAR GUITAR HERO
You have played a lot of guitars over the years. Which one is your current favorite? —Jorge Framus. I have a stupid amount of guitars, because I am a gear whore. But Framus came to me four or five years ago and we started talking about a collaboration, which has ended up with a few signature things that will come out this January. They just make perfect instruments for me. I have these Fishman [Fluence] pickups that we just released that are single-coil tone and heavy metal sound all in one. I’ve got the EverTune on there so I’m always in tune. It’s like training wheels for a singer. [laughs] But the Framus stuff is brilliant quality, they’re great people and I just love them. You’ve toured with Steve Vai. Could you please tell us what song was the most difficult to play? —Steve Boucher The whole thing was difficult. Obviously because he’s Steve Vai, but also because it’s a different style. My own guitar style is rooted in patterns of those
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things I incessantly practiced when I was 15 years old. Those things come easily to me because of the muscle memory. Steve is a very schooled guitarist and musician, and that’s not really where I came from. A lot of the patterns that he writes within are total tongue twisters. But once I got his perspective under control, I was able to caveman his riffs pretty well. I could do them, but they were like [speaks in a caveman voice] “Me play subtle!” [laughs] So yeah all of it was challenging. But there are certain things that I do that were challenging for him too. Because I was always in open tuning, I distinctly remember being in rehearsal and him going, “Man your guitar sounds so different than mine.” And then he grabbed my guitar, and it sounded just like him. I think on a scale of one to 100, 95 percent of the learning happened on my side. But, you know, I think that I can be bold enough to say there’s five percent in there where he was like, “What’s this kid doing?” Any chance of a Strapping Young Lad reunion show? —Reuben Ginsburg It’s unanswerable. I have no desire to, for whatever that’s worth. And it’s not out of disrespect to those guys because I love them all. It’s just I’m not there anymore. Because each record is a snapshot of a period of time, the goal is to get through it and become a better version of myself. The energy that created a very authentic Strapping Young Lad when I was 23 not only doesn’t exist anymore, but it would be akin to emotional retardation, in its literal sense, if I was like, “Now I’m a 45-year-old pissed-off guy.” Of course I’m pissed off, but about 45-year-old-guy stuff. And that creates an entirely different type of music. So I quit doing Strapping Young Lad because I had no more gas in that tank. Not to be a dick, or to discredit the music, which I love, but it makes zero sense for me to go back to it.
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
WHEN YOU ARE SAD, PISSED OFF OR GENERALLY HAVING A BAD DAY, WHAT KIND OF MUSIC DO YOU GO —GRAHAM COWLEY TO FIRST? I put on those hippie spa channels, where it’s some dude huffing into a flute in the background. [laughs] Or it’s a multi-tracked woman’s voice going, “Faaaaaahhhh.” [laughs] You get to middle age and you don’t want to hear shit when you’re in a bad mood. It used to be, “I’m in a bad mood I wanna play Fear! Fuck responsibility!” Now I wanna hear nothing. I don’t want to hear the kids in the neighborhood, or hear someone else’s problems. Fuck that. I’m gonna go organize a bag of bolts in the garage, or go take a dump and have another cup of coffee and stare at the wall. [laughs]
TO M H AW K I N S
any musician you’ve played with? How’d you get over that feeling? —Alex Sahlman Yeah, I feel that often, specifically when it comes to jamming. The initial knee-jerk reaction when you’re playing with someone great is like, “Well, I’ve got to show all my seven licks…and then stop halfway through the sixth one to make it seem like I could keep going if I wanted to.” [laughs] But at that point you’re not really jamming, you’re doing it solely to show that you don’t suck. So I try to listen, and think, Well what can I add to this? I find the really stunning players seem to appreciate it when you just do what’s right for what they’re doing. A lot of time that means the best solo is to stop playing for a bar. I can play with anybody, because I know that my limitations are such that I’m not going to impress these guys. [laughs] So it’s just about what the song needs.
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Head Cases FOR THIRTY YEARS
THE PIXIES
HAVE REIGNED AS ONE OF AMERICA’S PREMIER ALT-ROCK BANDS.
HEAD CARRIER,
THE GROUP’S LATEST, SHOWS THE PERENNIAL
HIPSTERS STEPPING OUT OF THEIR COMFORT ZONE. BY ALAN DI PERNA PHOTOS BY SIMON FOSTER
39 (clockwise from left) Black Francis, David Lovering, Paz Lenchantin and Joey Santiago recording Head Carrier
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“THIS ALBUM
SOUNDS SO ALIVE TO ME,” SAYS PIXIES GUITARIST JOEY SANTIAGO ABOUT THE SEMINAL ALT-ROCK GROUP’S NEW RELEASE, HEAD CARRIER. “IT’S JUST MAGICAL. IT SOUNDS LIKE FOUR PEOPLE WHO HAVE PLAYED TOGETHER FOR A WHILE, WHO KNOW ALL THE TWISTS AND TURNS OF THE SONG ARRANGEMENTS AND ARE VERY CONFIDENT.”
Artists’ assessments of their own work are sometimes inflated, but in this case, Santiago is right on the money. Head Carrier is by far the strongest recording the Pixies have made since reuniting in 2004. And it stands proudly alongside late-Eighties/early-Nineties Pixies classics such as Surfer Rosa, Doolittle, Bossanova and Trompe le Monde—records that did much to establish the raunchy guitar aesthetics and loud/soft dynamics of the grunge era in alternative rock. Playing together since 1986, Santiago and Pixies rhythm guitarist/ lead singer Black Francis (Charles Thompson IV) have honed a dual-guitar attack that burns white hot on Head Carrier—mesmerizing layers of grainy fuzz from which Santiago’s chiming leads occasionally emerge like random rays of sunlight in the dark throes of a violent storm. “I thought the guitars should be as superdry as possible on this record,” he says. “Maybe a little delay here and there, but really dry. For the lack of a better comparison, something like AC/DC.”
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But Head Carrier is also one of the most melodic Pixies albums ever, swimming in catchy hooks and sing-along choruses. “That’s the good part of growing up!” Santiago laughs. “We’re better songwriters now. But yeah, it is poppy.” Black Francis, for his part, attributes much of the disc’s melodicism to the Pixies’ new bass player and vocalist Paz Lenchantin, who joined the band in 2013, having previously played both bass and violin on records by Queens of the Stone Age, A Perfect Circle and Zwan, among other artists. “Knowing that we were going to record this album with Paz, we wanted to encourage and pursue a dual-vocal sound,” Francis explains. “So there was a lot more focus on ‘What exactly is the melody or the feeling that’s being carved out here?’ As opposed to, ‘Hey I’m just gonna ramble a whole bunch here.’ ” Rambling is something that Francis does quite a bit in conversation. Possessed of a hyperactive intelligence, he’s given to lengthy verbal torrents packed with digressions,
equivocations and prevarications. He’s always got a point. It just might take a while to get there. But this is also the key to his cryptic, surrealistic style as a lyricist. It’s hard to tease a specific meaning out of anything he writes, but the songs are always packed with intriguing, emotionally charged hints. European place-names and cardinal points of the compass seem to loom large on Head Carrier. Black Francis likens this phenomenon to the evocative Southern places referenced in old blues songs. “The circuit that an American bluesman would have traveled in the Thirties is very different from the circuit that I’m on today as a musician,” he says. “But the idea’s basically the same, an element of exotica. Europe is just where the musician part of me lives. Not only Europe but also the Great Plains of Canada, Tokyo, Japan…whatever. In general I’d say that blues is probably the greatest influence on all our music. Blues and a huge portion of folk music.” Head Carrier’s songs are also populated by a fascinating cast of characters, from the mysterious titular love interest in “Oona,” to the smarmy agent in “Talent” to the fashion victim in “Classic Masher.” “Sometimes they’re self-referential, you know,” Francis says of the songs’ characters. “Sometimes they refer to people who are close to you; sometimes they reference people who aren’t close to you…or historical figures.” Francis’ hyper-verbal approach to some subjects is balanced by a nonchalant, whatthe-fuck attitude toward others—such as guitar playing. “Joey is more focused on gear than I am. I
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42 “YOU HAVE A TELECASTER AND AN OLD VOX AMP;
JUST TURN THAT THING ON AND TURN EVERYTHING UP ALL THE WAY
AND IT’LL BE JUST FINE.” —BLACK FRANCIS
work with so many engineers who say, ‘So how do you envision your sound? How do you want to set this up?’ And it doesn’t really matter to me. Just turn it on and put a mic in front of it. You have a Telecaster and an old Vox amp; just turn that thing on and turn everything up all the way and it’ll be just fine. Sometimes a certain track will require a certain sound, but that’s what producers are for. I love not worrying about that very much. I just want to make the record. I don’t want to sit around and fuss and twiddle. Maybe for live, but not for an album. I’m a songwriter. A songwriter plays rhythm guitar, and you just stay out of the way of everybody else. So my guitar and amp choices tend to be pretty simple.” For Francis, this boils down to one of his Sixties-vintage Vox AC30s and either his 1958 Telecaster or a 1953 Tele he also owns. “I think it’s a ’53,” he demurs. “My brother gave it to me. I know it’s very old, but I don’t know the specific age. I just want to pick it up and play. I don’t need to take the neck off and look at the date stamp.” Santiago complements Black Francis’ sound with a black ’59 reissue Les Paul Custom and a ’60 reissue goldtop, along with a 1956 Gibson ES-345 and Duesenberg Starplayer TV. His amps for Head Carrier were a Marshall 2205 JCM 800 head through a Marshall 1960 cab, along with a 1964 Fender Vibrolux. Pedals he used on the sessions
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include a Boss FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz, Fulltone OCD overdrive and Mooger-Fooger delay. Both guitarists also credit producer Tom Dalgety with crafting Head Carrier’s guitar tones to a finely tuned degree of nastiness. It’s the first album since 1988’s Surfer Rosa where the band hasn’t worked with longtime producer Gil Norton. “We had to get away from our comfort zone this time around,” says Santiago. “We just had to be more edgy and reach out to a new audience. Tom was recommended to us by our manager. He produced the Royal Blood record, which sounds tough, and a bunch of other bands that have a real hard, punchy sound. That’s what we wanted.” Head Carrier represents the culmination of a long, and sometimes painful, process that began with the 2004 Pixies reunion. At first the emphasis was on playing songs from their back catalog to wildly appreciative audiences. Before they could move on to creating new music, Kim Deal jumped ship in 2013. “That was definitely a wrinkle,” Santiago acknowledges. “It was a surprise, and it was right in the middle of a tour! Shit, we were shell-shocked.” But Santiago, Thomson and drummer David Lovering decided to soldier on. Kim Shattuck of the Muffs and Pandoras played bass with the Pixies for a short while. Then they made a series of EPs with temporary bass-
ist Simon “Dingo” Archer. These were eventually collected on the 2014 album Indie Cindy. “Indie Cindy was very transitional in a lot of ways,” Francis admits. “Like, we can’t really get to the next record until we do this record. Also we’re just a little bit blue-collar in our aesthetic. It was kind of like, We’re here in the studio; we have to walk out with some kind of recording. It’s just a rock record. Let’s do this. Later on we’ll figure out what it means.” And it’s only with Lenchantin’s arrival that the Pixies seem to have figured out what it all means. The job of bassist in the Pixies has traditionally been a female role, as Francis acknowledges. “At first it may have been a little bit of ‘Well, you know the Talking Heads or Sonic Youth, they’ve got a woman in the band—that’s cool. And now it feels like Paz was never not in the band.” “After Kim, it just had to be a woman from here on out,” Santiago adds. “That feminine quality, the floating, ethereal female vocalist. Most important, obviously, is Paz’s chops. But I think she’s also brought a lightness to the band. In the studio we felt very comfortable taking chances with her. She’s become a very important part of the band. She’s a Pixie.” So maybe Francis is right not to worry too much. Head Carrier feels like the start of a whole new chapter for the Pixies—perhaps their best one yet. “The Pixies are very real,” he says. “You can’t even style us as ‘music that’s left of the dial.’ Go to the Pixies’ dressing room somewhere at midnight and you might hear some really strange avant garde music blasting out of boom boxes. Or you might just hear some straight-up Steely Dan. I think our fans sense that. We’re just like them. Only we’ve taken it one step further.”
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BRAD TOLINSKI PHOTOGRAPHY TRAVIS SHINN BY
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IN A TIME OF EXTREME POLITICAL TUMULT, MEMBERS OF RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, PUBLIC ENEMY AND CYPRESS HILL UNITE AND ALL HELL CAN’T STOP THEM NOW. guitarworld.com
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In the following interview with Morello, we talk about the current sorry state of world affairs and his hopes for the future. But don’t worry, this is Guitar World not CNN, and eventually we discuss the stuff that really matters. And if your immediate thought was “guitars and pedals,” you are 100 percent politically correct. You’ve stated that part of the purpose of Prophets of Rage was to bring an alternative political message to people. What is the message?
AWESOME 1953 BIKER FILM THE WILD ONE, a bubbly blonde slinks up to a surly, leather-jacketed Marlon Brando and asks, “Hey Johnny, what are you rebelling against?” With expert timing, Brando sneers, “What’cha got?” These days, “what’cha got” pretty much sums up the attitude of Tom Morello and his “elite task force” of revolutionary musicians, the Prophets of Rage, a new group that joins members of the guitarist’s old band, Rage Against the Machine, with two legendary rappers, Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Cypress Hill’s B-Real. Morello says the unabashedly political band is determined to confront a “mountain of election-year bullshit with Marshall stacks blazing.” Lord knows there’s plenty to tackle—riots in the streets, terrorist attacks, police brutality, brutality to the police, Donald, Hillary, Bernie… Armed with explosive songs from all three group’s catalogs, the rap-rock juggernaut, featuring the rhythm section of bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk, as well as Public Enemy turntablist DJ Lord, are currently touring America with the hope of rallying millennials to take part in the future of their country. And if any band could get college kids to drop their Pokémon Go! and take to the streets, it might be this one. “Dangerous times demand dangerous music,” says Morello, and the band’s rousing versions of “Fight the Power,” “Killing in the Name” and “Guerilla Radio” are definitely that. Ironically, Morello, one of the most imaginative and articulate guitarists of his gener-
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ation, doesn’t appear particularly dangerous. With his manicured stubble, resonant voice and polished agenda, he looks and sounds more like an earnest political advisor than a rabble-rousing rock and roll revolutionary. However, when talking with him, there is no denying his passion for a good throw down. “I was just sickened by hearing the multiple reports regarding the Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders campaigns referring to both of them as raging against the machine,” says Morello with a bitter chuckle. “I thought, I’ll show them what it really means to ‘rage against the machine.’ “It was just obvious we could not just sit on the sidelines during this important historic juncture and this time of great moral conflict. I knew the Rage Against the Machine catalog had to be reactivated, but the question was how to do it in a way that was not just a nostalgic tiptoe down memory lane. I wanted to do it in a way that would be powerful in 2016. We decided to go back to the people who inspired the hip-hop side of Rage to begin with. Public Enemy and Cypress Hill were two of our biggest influences and they had songs that matched the outrage we were feeling.” And as the classic Rage song “Guerilla Radio” asks: What better place than here, what better time than now?
What is as clear as day is that people are disgusted by the current state of affairs in our country. Whether they are right, left or center, they are ready to rage against the machine. However, in my view, that rage is being funneled toward two weak choices: a racist, misogynist candidate who’s advocating war crime, and a business-as-usual corporate candidate. That’s not good enough. I vote, but I don’t think voting alone will change the world. I know it doesn’t. Our intention is to use this insane catalog of Rage, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill songs to go out there, play devastating rock and roll shows, and provide a very different point of view than the one being shoved down our throats by the media. So, you see the band as a call to political action?
That’s correct. It’s not enough to merely hold your nose as you walk into the voting booth, cross your fingers and hope that things are going to get better over the next four years. Since I’ve started playing, I’ve tried to weave my convictions into what I do for a living. That’s how the world changes. Yet, it’s not up to us to provide all the answers—we’d rather inspire people to ask the right questions. Do you have your hands on the wheel of history? Are you going to let somebody else steer or are you going to do it yourself? How did you choose which songs to perform?
We knew we had a great band, and Chuck D. and B-Real are legendary in their own right, but we had to figure out how to be a great band together. It took us a month of dedicated rehearsal to figure that out. It must have been something of a challenge. There is a lot of rhythm on any given Public Enemy track, but not much harmonic information to choose from.
You’re right. The Cypress Hill songs are more conventional and tend to have more stan-
— Tom Morello
guitarworld.com
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“SINCE I’VE STARTED PLAYING, I’VE TRIED TO WEAVE MY CONVICTIONS INTO WHAT I DO FOR A LIVING. THAT’S HOW THE WORLD CHANGES.”
dard musical hooks. The PE songs were difficult, since many were built from sample collages. We had to write entirely new Rage-influenced riffs to go underneath them. I think we succeeded with “Prophets of Rage” and “Miuzi Weighs a Ton.” We really tried to wrap our heads around “911 Is a Joke” and “Bring the Noise” but felt we were unable to top the original arrangements. That’s why we made the decision to make DJ Lord part of the group and have him do a turntable breakdown in the middle of the set. So I’m a fairly well informed white guy that watches a lot of CNN, checks out Fox News and reads The New York Times. What don’t I know? What would you like me to take away from one of your shows?
Would you say you have any say in the future of your country? I think many people feel they do not. The traditional Democratic and Republican corporate monopoly parties are currently not serving the interest of the people, and that’s why you have a big portion of the country voting for a fascist like Trump, and another segment voting for a socialist like Bernie Sanders. The government basically has one function and that is to serve the interest of the people who own the country. While there are all sorts of important issues from the environment, to the economy, to guns, the main issue is, do you or do you not have a say in what the future is going to look like? I say yes, you do. You recently called Sanders “a dreamer,” but isn’t that how grassroots movements start?
That’s wasn’t a criticism. He chose a particular tactic—to hijack the Democratic Party and make it a people’s party, instead of a corporate party. That’s a legitimate tactic. It was a noble sign of resistance to this strangling two-party monopoly. He did manage to drag Hillary Clinton more to the left, but I contend the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. However, I will say this: people always ask me why there are no political bands like Rage Against the Machine, but I think Bernie Sanders is the Rage Against the Machine of now. He is the one who lit a fire under young people who were previously not political, and has opened their eyes to a world beyond what was handed to them by the mainstream media and the mainstream political parties. That’s what we were raging against in the early 2000s. You’ve identified yourself as an anarchist. Where do you come down on gun control?
I’m a big supporter of the Second Amendment, but I don’t support insanity! I think peo-
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ple should be able to have guns, but the conversation always veers into this really unreasonable territory where pro-gun advocates think if we even discuss the issue, it means the government is secretly planning to disarm them and force their daughters to marry members of ISIS. [laughs] So, how do things change when the system is rigged?
If you just look at history, how does shit really change? It doesn’t change because of this president or that president. Women didn’t get the
right to vote because some benevolent president waved a magic wand. It changed because people stood up, were organized, were sacrificed and then women got the right to vote. Lunch counters got desegregated in the South the same way. It wasn’t the wisdom of some democrat or republican that did that, it was people. Are you saying that if Guitar World readers organized, we could actually get James Hetfield elected president?
[laughs] Let me tell you, we’d be a lot better off!
“PUBLIC ENEMY AND CYPRESS HILL WERE TWO OF OUR BIGGEST INFLUENCES AND THEY HAD SONGS THAT MATCHED THE OUTRAGE WE WERE FEELING.” — Tom Morello
I would be very interested in that. Dream big, aim high! Speaking of music, where is your head as a guitarist? Do you feel like you are still developing your vocabulary?
One of the things that’s been very exciting about Prophets of Rage is, I’ve returned to playing electric guitar full time. Over the course of the last 12 years, between my acoustic Nightwatchman career and playing with Bruce Springsteen, I have not been able to play in the astral solo world. I’m totally back into
it and it’s fantastic. There is nothing like playing with Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk, who create the deepest, hardest groove outside of Led Zeppelin. This band is guitar solo heaven. There’s a lot of space to go crazy with melody, feeling and insane R2-D2 noises.
Station that was made in the Nineties. Even though I had nothing to do with it, it was originally created to basically replicate my sounds. It was their attempt to put a bunch of my shit in one of their pedals. Ironically, it’s provided me with some really surprising and excellent sounds!
Do you have a new favorite pedal?
I’m not really a “new pedal guy.” I mostly use the same pedals I always have from the old days. But I dug something out recently that I’ve been using quite a bit. You’re going to laugh, but it’s the yellow DigiTech XP-300 Space
You surprised fans by playing in Bruce Springsteen’s band for an extended period of time. What did that do for you as a player?
Two things. I was totally inspired by his absolute commitment to awesomeness. Bruce is guitarworld.com
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(From left) Brad Wilk, B-Real, Tim Commerford, DJ Lord, Chuck D and Tom Morello
— Tom Morello
something like 66 years old, yet he would play these incredible, three-and-a-halfhour shows, and each night he was determined to make it the greatest show that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band had ever played. No one is more excited to be at a Bruce show than Bruce, and for a musician, that is an example to learn from. He lives for it, and his dedication to being great is deep and meaningful. Also, before playing with Bruce, my ability to learn songs by ear was not particularly sharp. However, on the last leg of our last U.S. tour, we played 182 different songs in 34 shows. A lot of those songs were requests, and maybe I’d heard them once on the radio in the late Eighties. Suddenly I’d be called to play them in an arena, and learn them while Bruce was counting “One, two, three, four!” That was really nerve-wracking in the beginning, but after a while I developed the skill set to stay calm and learn on the fly. It was crazy. I didn’t think I could do it, but it turned out I could. You’re revisiting much of the Rage catalog with Prophets of Rage, so it begs the question: Where’s your original singer Zack de la Rocha?
We honor him every night. Both Chuck and B-Real honor him on the microphone… [interrupts] Yeah, but he’s not dead. Where is he? He hasn’t really done anything since 2000.
My understanding is that he is working on his own music, and I’m certain that when he decides to release it, it will be fantastic. Aw, come on!
[laughs] I’m not in it. You know as much as I do. I’m coaching a lot of Little League now, I’m not keeping tabs like I used to. The good news is, his tremendous ability as a lyricist, as a frontman, and as a vocalist, echoes on in both the records and the forging of this alloy of Rage, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill. Those important mes-
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(From left) Commerford and Tom Morello
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“THERE IS NOTHING LIKE PLAYING WITH TIM COMMERFORD AND BRAD WILK, WHO CREATE THE DEEPEST, HARDEST GROOVE OUTSIDE OF LED ZEPPELIN.”
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— Tom Morello
sages that he crafted are going to be in arenas all this summer. The Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep till Brooklyn” and Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” are both in your set. What did those songs mean to you when you were a young metal head?
They were huge for me. That Beasties Boys album [Licensed to Ill], along with Run-D.M.C., introduced hip-hop to the suburbs in a way that was palpable. By the time “Fight the Power” came out, I was already on the political train and I thought it was the most revolutionary anthem I’d ever heard. It spoke the truth in a way that no other song I’d ever heard spoke the truth. Both of those songs were definitely the seeds that inspired us to write the Rage Against the Machine songs. It was really that combination: The Beastie Boys’ use of the electric guitar over huge grooves married to the unfettered lyrical fire of Chuck D. That’s what we aimed for with Rage, and now it’s come full circle.
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“THIS BAND IS GUITAR SOLO HEAVEN. THERE’S A LOT OF SPACE TO GO CRAZY WITH MELODY, FEELING AND INSANE R2-D2 NOISES.”
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RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE BASSIST TIM COMMERFORD AND PUBLIC ENEMY MC CHUCK D RAP ABOUT THEIR NEW BAND.
him feel as if he was on Meet the Press instead of playing in a rock band, bassist Tim Commerford seems to be relieved to be talking about music instead of politics. Really relieved. “I’m not gonna lie, for me, it’s all about the music,” he says. “I know we’re in a hardcore time right now where people are dying and the world is fucked up, but I’m a bass player, man, and I love playing bass, especially with Tom and Brad.” Before I can squeeze out another question, Commerford proceeds to talk for 10 minutes straight about his three-amp system, his picking technique and his new ultra lightweight, high-power custom bass cabinets made by the U.K. company Barefaced Bass. He’s having so much fun I just don’t have the heart to tell him that I’ll never have room for that kind of detail in a guitar magazine. His enthusiasm, however, is infectious. “These cabinets are the closest thing I’ve ever seen to actually being able to fit in the back of my car,” he says. “I can pick them up over my head with two hands. It’s unbelievable! I bet I could grab the band on the 8x10 and pick it up with one hand. It blows me away. And they sound incredible.” After one more extended riff, extolling
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the craftsmanship of his new Music Man StingRay bass, a brand he used on the first Rage Against the Machine album, he relaxes enough to talk about Prophets of Rage. “Making this music with Chuck and
“IT’S GREAT TO TAKE THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF MUSIC OUT ON THE ROAD AND TRY TO SMASH THE SYSTEM!” — Tim Commerford
B-Real feels really similar to when we made the first Rage album,” he says. “Creating something under a hip-hop vocal is incredibly fun; you can basically do whatever you want. You can make noise, a complete cacophony, and it still sounds sick if you repeat. You aren’t restricted by harmony.” Obviously, another similarity between Prophets of Rage and his first band is guitarist Tom Morello. “There was a time in my life where I wouldn’t have said this,” Commerford admits, “but I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for Tom. Once he gets excited about something, you can’t stop that guy. When Rage was just getting started in ’91, he had everything mapped out. He’d say, we’re going to play one show a month, we’re going to have 28 songs written, we’re going to make a cassette demo and sell it at our shows. Sure enough we ended up selling a bunch of those fucking things and we got a record deal because of that! “He’s still the same. His work ethic is unparalleled, and I’m so thankful that I’ve been around him and that I’ve been able to play music with him. I’m able to bump up my expectations of my capabilities because of him. He’s an awesome dude! I know I wasn’t enthusiastic to talk about politics, but music is the universal language and there’s not a lot of political rock and we’re very lucky to be one
GUITAR WO RLD
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ENDURING A HALF-DOZEN INTERVIEWS THAT MADE
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The bassist is right, Chuck does rule, but at a totally different speed. In contrast to Commerford’s rapid-fire excitement, the legendary Public Enemy MC is steady and deliberate. He spends the first part of the interview asking questions about my background and where I grew up. But it isn’t like he’s sizing me up, he just seems interested in how to best communicate his ideas, which are often surprising. For example, when asking him what the general public should know regarding the American political landscape, one might expect a dissertation on any number of domestic issues, instead he goes wide. “The American public is blind to the rest of the world,” he says. “Most people don’t even get passports in the United States, because they feel safe and don’t want to leave their block. The trappings of government are to have control over human beings, categorize them, put them in their place and never have them be really free to explore the planet in their lifetimes. That’s a travesty that I’ve always been against. I call myself an Earth cit-
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NOVEMBER 2016
“IT’S ALWAYS BEEN MY TOP GOAL TO SEE THE WORLD AND TAKE MY MUSIC TO IT.” — Chuck D izen and a culturalist. It’s always been my top goal to see the world and take my music to it.” Also, when I ask Chuck about the current state of hip-hop, he takes another interesting left turn. “The biggest tragedy is the eradication of groups,” he says. “The fact that the powers that be are naming one person without crediting the people that surround them is a problem. In rock music, it’s the meshing of the bass player, the guitarist and a drummer that creates the telepathy. It’s the same in hip-hop. It’s the combination of the turntablist, your dance element, your art presentation and the MC that makes it interesting. Once you strip the other elements down to just the MC, you have something that’s pretty much contrived, created and concocted in a boardroom as product. “They’ve also extracted the female ele-
ment out of hip-hop. In the beginning, women were spitting on the same par with groups as the dudes. They were included in the narrative, but over the last 15, 20 years, we haven’t seen that.” Okay, mind blown. So, how does he feel about the group he’s currently fronting? “Rage Against the Machine actually opened some shows for us in ’91 and ’92,” he says. “Zack de la Rocha said he was influenced by certain inflections I used in my early years, and Tom was influenced by some of the DJ scratch techniques used by Terminator X and the Bomb Squad. We had heard all that before, but I felt they were the first group to really take it into core mode and just expand on it. With each album they got stronger and stronger and really honed their technique. Some of the rap/rock bands in the Nineties were good, but Rage took it to another level, mostly because of the imagination of Tom, Tim and Brad as players. “It’s not like I’m looking to actually front another group, especially filling the big feet and shoes of somebody like Zack. But Tom asked and I toyed around with the idea, and after my father passed in February I said, why not? Don’t look back. I brought in DJ Lord, the greatest turntablist in the world, but I don’t think it became special until B-Real came in, and then it just blossomed from there.”
GUITAR WO RLD
PROPHETS OF RAGE of those bands. It’s great to take that universal language out on the road and try to smash the system!” I bid farewell to Commerford and tell him I’m off to talk to Chuck D. He responds, “Chuck rules, dude. Get ready for that!”
TOM MORELLO MAY BE ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED ACTIVISTS IN MODERN ROCK, BUT THERE WERE PLENTY WHO CAME BEFORE HIM. LIKE THE PROPHETS OF RAGE GUITARIST, THESE 15 FAMOUS ARTISTS HAVE USED THEIR TALENT AND CELEBRITY TO FIGHT FOR CAUSES, BE IT ANTI-WAR, ANTI-CENSORS HIP, WOMEN’S RIGHTS, GUN RIGHTS, CIVIL RIGHTS, ANIMAL RIGHTS OR THE STRAIGHT-EDG E LIFESTYLE. BY RICHARD BIENSTOCK, ALAN DI PERNA AND BRAD TOLINSKI
60 NOV 2016
John Lennon and Yoko Ono staging their Bed-In for Peace in the Presidential Suite of the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam on March 25, 1969
DY L A N : R O W L A N D S C H E R M A N / G E T T Y I M A G E S ; Z A P PA : WA L LY M C N A M E E / C O R B I S/ C O R B I S V I A G E T T Y I M A G E S ; L E N N O N : K E Y S TO N E / H U LTO N A R C H I V E / G E T T Y I M A G E S
JOHN LENNON No other musician could say so much in so few words. “All You Need Is Love,” “Give Peace a Chance,” “Revolution” and “Imagine” were not so much songs as brilliant ideas designed to instigate sweeping cultural change. And for his trouble, the Beatles guitarist was hounded by U.S. president Richard Nixon, spied on by the FBI and then assassinated by a madman. Like John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King and Gandhi, Lennon was simply too damn smart, charismatic and dangerous to live.
Frank Zappa testifying before a Senate committee on September 19, 1985
FRANK ZAPPA Zappa’s gifts as a satirist rival his stellar achievements as a guitarist. From his earliest recordings, he skewered the pernicious follies of American society in songs such as “Hungry Freaks Daddy” and “Trouble Every Day.” A tireless advocate for freedom of speech, he printed the First Amendment of the Constitution on all of his record sleeves. In
Joan Baez (left) and Bob Dylan performing in Washington, D.C. during the March on Washington civil rights rally on August 28, 1963
JIMI HENDRIX On the surface, Jimi Hendrix appeared to be apolitical. In most interviews the guitarist spoke primarily in universal hippie platitudes, while deftly sidestepping racial issues. But in a way it didn’t really matter. His very existence was a major political statement. During a time of deep racial divide, he was a black man getting rich in a white man’s world and doing it on his own terms. And when he really needed to get something off his chest, he didn’t need language— he just let his astonishing guitar playing do all the talking. His instrumental “The Star Spangled Banner” at Woodstock in 1969 is still considered the “last word” in anti-war musical statements.
1985, he testified before a Senate committee, speaking out eloquently against efforts by the Parents Music Resource Center to censor rock music. In that same period, albums such as Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention and Broadway the Hard Way offered scathing critiques of the Regan administration, Republican Party and religious right.
BOB DYLAN He isn’t the greatest guitarist on the planet, but Bob Dylan sure knows how to use it to make a point. With just a handful of cowboy chords, he ripped the world a new asshole in the Sixties and changed the course of American pop music forever. There have been a million books written on this subject, but to be honest, they all pale in comparison to his actual lyrics like: “There’s a battle outside and it is ragin’/It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls/For the times they are a-changin’.” guitarworld.com
61
Roger Waters onstage after performing with military veterans at the 7th annual “Stand Up for Heroes” event at Madison Square Garden on November 6, 2013
ROGER WATERS In the Sixties Roger Waters was just the bassist in Pink Floyd, a pleasant psychedelic space rock band that produced excellent stoner jams. However, after the outrageous success of 1973’s The Dark Side of the Moon, Waters changed gears and took control. Like a man who suddenly got straight after a decade of bong hits, the bassist woke up, looked around and apparently didn’t like what he saw. Beginning with 1977’s Animals, Waters started writing one withering attack on society after another. The Wall, The Final Cut and solo albums like Radio K.A.O.S. are among the most bitter—and best-selling—anti-government statements ever concocted by a pop musician.
62 NOV 2016
IAN MACKAYE
BOB MARLEY
Igniting hardcore punk and post-hardcore with his Gibson SG, Ian MacKaye has also been one of the movement’s chief socio-political ideologues. In the Eighties and Nineties, with his groups Minor Threat and Fugazi, he carried punk rock’s original D.I.Y. philosophy to its logical conclusion, steadfastly refusing to sign with major record labels, charge too much money for shows or do interviews with corporate media outlets. In writing the 1981 Minor Threat song “Straight Edge” he launched the drug and alcohol-free straight edge movement, which also advocates responsible sexuality. Anti-war, vegan and feminist, his clearly reasoned political positions have played a key role in setting the latter-day punk agenda.
Bob Marley was always backed by great guitarists like Peter Tosh, Al Anderson and Junior Marvin. But it was Marley’s distinctive voice and songwriting that helped to bring reggae music, as well as ideas and beliefs related to Rastafarianism and Pan-Africanism, to the world at large. Sometimes these messages were couched in frustration (“Get Up, Stand Up”) but more often in peace (“One Love”). And while, guitar-wise, Marley is closely associated with his cherry Les Paul Special, his most moving guitar moment is quite likely “Redemption Song,” the Dylan-esque acoustic tune he cut for his final album, 1980’s Uprising, and which served as a powerful summation of a life spent singing “songs of freedom.”
M A R L E Y: R O B V E R H O R S T/ R E D F E R N S/ G E T T Y; J E M A L C O U N T E S S/ G E T T Y I M A G E S
Bob Marley performing in the Netherlands on June 23, 1980
Woody Guthrie in 1943
Ted Nugent speaking at the 133rd Annual NRA Convention in Pittsburgh on April 18, 2004
S E E G E R / S P R I N G S T E E N : M A N D E L N G A N /A F P/ G E T T Y I M A G E S ; J E F F S W E N S E N / G E T T Y I M A G E S ; U N I V E R S A L H I S TO RY A R C H I V E / U I G V I A G E T T Y I M A G E S
TED NUGENT While it’s true that Ted Nugent compositions such as “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang ” and “Cat Scratch Fever” are not exactly Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” the Motor City Madman is political in the way that Donald Trump is a presidential candidate: blustery,
WOODY GUTHRIE larger-than-life, cocksure and very red state. Nugent is that rare rocker that enthusiastically embraces conservative values like pro-gun rights and immigration reform. And while we respect his right to his stance, we just wish he wouldn’t threaten to use one to shoot the other.
PETE SEEGER
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
While Pete Seeger’s big old G.S. Francis 12-string guitar helped launch both the folk revival and the folk-rock scene, his songs of conscience helped awaken several generations of Americans to just causes such as civil rights, the anti-war movement, environmentalism and the labor movement. In the Fifties, Seeger braved the House Un-American Activities Committee, telling them their questions about his politics violated his Constitutional rights. Songs that Seeger wrote or co-wrote, including “If I Had a Hammer,” “Turn Turn Turn,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” and “Knee Deep in the Big Muddy” are an essential part of American history.
Bruce Springsteen’s most famous politically minded tune, “Born in the U.S.A.,” might also be his most misunderstood, its criticism often mistaken for jingoism. In scathing portraits like “American Skin” and “The Ghost of Tom Joad” (the latter covered by Morello with Rage Against the Machine), the Boss has a way of making a specific story feel universal, with a style that can be traced in a direct line back to revolutionary singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. What’s more, Bruce can also rock plenty hard, whether raising a ruckus on “Rosalita (Come out Tonight),” gunning for glory on “Born to Run” or ripping out a searing guitar solo on “Badlands.”
“This machine kills fascists” are the words that Woody Guthrie inscribed on several of his guitars in the Forties. America’s premier folksinger, Guthrie understood the guitar’s power to rally people together and champion the causes of social justice. Through classic songs like “This Land Is Your Land,”
“Deportees,” “Union Maid,” “Do Re Mi” and “Pastures of Plenty” he stuck up for workers, migrants, minorities, the impoverished and marginalized. Having known privation and poverty, his songs came from personal experience. He sang for spare change on street corners and at massive rallies to support the labor movement.
Pete Seeger (left) and Bruce Springsteen performing during We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial on January 18, 2009 in Washington, D.C.
guitarworld.com
63
NEIL YOUNG Neil Young has written and recorded incisive protest songs over the years, from “Ohio” to “Rockin’ in the Free World” to the entire Living with War album. Roughly half a century into his career he’s angrier than ever—currently, the primary target in his crosshairs is big agri-business, as heard on 2015’s The Monsanto Years. But
an equally revolutionary aspect of his music has always been his dedication to conjuring some of the biggest, gnarliest and most feedback-drenched guitar tones in all of rock and roll. For just one of many examples, check out 1991’s Crazy Horse–backed Arc/Weld live album, and prepare to have your mind—and your ears—blown.
ANI DIFRANCO
If the Sex Pistols were punk’s snot-nosed brats, then fellow Brits the Clash, led by singer and guitarist Joe Strummer, were its impassioned political consciousness. Fueled by equal parts anger and idealism, Strummer’s monotone bark and cutting chords, pounded out on a stickered 1966 Telecaster, drove incendiary tunes like “White Riot” and “London Calling,” and demonstrated that punk could be indignant…and also intelligent. Throughout his career with the Clash and after, Strummer pushed ever forward, whether melding guitar rock with reggae, dub and other styles, or railing against injustice in song and through his activism for numerous causes. “There’s never been a musician who wore his heart on his sleeve like Joe Strummer,” Tom Morello once said. “He walked it and talked it.”
For more than 25 years, Ani DiFranco has been amongst the most outspoken—and, with her own Righteous Babe record label, fiercely independent—voices in modern folk music. Over the course of roughly 20 studio albums she has continuously railed against political and social injustice, and usually in very blunt and straightforward language—her 1999 song “To the Teeth,” for one, finds her making a call to “open fire on the NRA and all the lies they’ve told us along the way.” Furthermore, she’s a monster player, utilizing an array of unusual alternate tunings and employing an incredibly funky rhythm attack (replete with plenty of slapping, popping and tapping) that often sounds more akin to funk bass than folk guitar.
H Y N D E : B I L L M C C AY/ W I R E I M A G E / G E T T Y; YO U N G : J A S O N S Q U I R E S/ W I R E I M A G E / G E T T Y
Neil Young (left) and Willie Nelson perfoming at Farm Aid ’03 in Columbus , Ohio, on September 7, 2003
JOE STRUMMER
CHRISSIE HYNDE, GEEZER BUTLER, JOAN JETT: THE VEGAN THREE Imagine Chrissie Hynde, Geezer Butler and Joan Jett together in a room. They might not agree on music or guitar gear, but they’d all be on the same page when it came to animal rights. All three embrace a meat-free diet and have been active in PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and other animal rights organizations. Butler gave up eating meat when he was still a child. Hynde did so in 1969 and Jett in the early Eighties. All three have since moved on to a full vegan diet. Like many vegans around the world, they share the view that humans have no right to own, domesticate, exploit or slaughter animals. And all report that a vegan lifestyle has kept them rocking hard well into their mature years.
64 NOV 2016
Chrissie Hynde during the launch of PETA’s “I’m Hatin’ It” campaign at a McDonald’s in Philadelphia on May 26, 2010
CHORDS
AN EXHAUSTIVE GUIDE TO THE MOST IMPORTANT AND USEFUL FRETBOARD SHAPES FOR RHYTHM GUITAR PLAYING Chuck Berry
James Taylor
Angus Young
N
O MATTER WHAT STYLE OF MUSIC YOU PLAY, having a broad chord vocabulary is a key element to your success and growth as a musician. Whether you’re a songwriter looking for just the right chord to go with the melody in your head, or someone who plays in a cover band or works as a freelance guitarist and is often asked to read from a chord chart (no notes or tabs), there are dozens of commonly used chords that at some point will provide you with just the right sound you’re looking for. In this lesson, I offer over 100 of what I believe to be the most useful and widely applicable guitar chords in popular music. They range from basic to sophisticated and are all well worth knowing. Learning them will help ensure that you won’t be at a loss the next time you’re asked to play, for example, “Csus2,” “Am9” or “Fs7add4.” The majority of chords presented herein are played in standard tuning and most are fairly easy to finger.
YO U N G : N E I L Z LO Z O W E R /AT L A S I C O N S .C O M ; B E R RY: M I C H A E L O C H S A R C H I V E S/ G E T T Y; TAY LO R : R I C H A R D E . A A R O N / R E D F E R N S/ G E T T Y
ESSENTIAL
100 100
By Jimmy Brown
THE “CAGED” SHAPES The first thing any guitarist should learn is a handful of what are called “open chords,” also sometimes referred to as “cowboy chords,” which are shapes that are formed with the fingertips, played within the first three frets and include at least one open string. A good place to start is learning the five “CAGED” shapes— C, A, G, E and D (see FIGURE 1). These finger-friendly chords have been used in countless songs by artists in genres such as country, bluegrass, folk, blues, pop and rock, ranging from songwriters like Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, Neil Young and Bob Dylan to rock bands like the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, the Eagles, CCR, Pink Floyd, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, the Foo Fighters and many others. These five chords are great because they are easy to play cleanly, requiring only three fingertips to form, and include open strings, which lend them a rich, full tonal quality. Another nice thing about them is they facilitate the performance of what are known as “sus2 and sus4 extensions,” which are the “neighbor tones” of the chord’s third that are typically used to add melodic activity and interest, as demonstrated in FIGURE 2. Many players have employed these sus2 and sus4 extensions to craft memorable song riffs and accompaniment parts. Well known examples include James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” and “Country Road” and Jimmy Page’s strumming in Led Zeppelin’s “Thank You” and “Tangerine.” MAJOR BARRE CHORDS The five CAGED voicings (voicing refers to the specific arrangement, or “stacking,” of notes in a chord) may be played with different fingerings that free up the index finger for barring—firmly pressing the finger flat against several strings, with the thumb pushing against the back of the neck to form a clamp, or “human capo”—so that you can shift the shape up the fretboard to higher positions, as illustrated in FIGURE 3. Mind you, these movable shapes are more demanding on the fret hand to play cleanly than their open-chord counterparts, as barring a finger across several strings requires more pressure and strength than what is needed to push down on only one string with a fingertip, and both the movable “G” and “D” shapes necessitate a bit of a stretch between the fingers and thus some flexibility to form. These movable shapes take a bit of practice to master, as you gradually
FIGURE FIGURE 11 the “CAGED” shapes C
A
32 1
G
234
E
32
4
* ( )D
231
132 *open A note optional
FIGURE 22 sus2 and sus4 embellishments FIGURE
* C Csus4 C Csus2 C
1 0 2 3
1 0 3 3
1 0 2 3
1 0 0 3
0 0 0
A Asus4 A Asus2 A
0
0 2 2 2 0
1 0 2 3
0 3 2 2 0
0 2 2 2 0
0 0 2 2 0
G Gsus4 G 3 **3 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 2 2 2 0
*Don’t include high E string
3 3
3
E Esus4 E
D Dsus4 D Dsus2 D
0 0 1 2 2 0
2 3 2 0
0 0 2 2 2 0
0 0 1 2 2 0
3 3 2 0
2 3 2 0
0 3 2 0
0 2 3 2 0
**Mute A string with fret-hand middle finger
FIGURE 33 moving the “CAGED” voicings up the neck with barre fingerings FIGURE “C”-shape voicing *D C
()
*E
*F
()
()
“A”-shape voicing
*G
4fr ( )
A
5fr ( )
43 2
143121
143121
143121
143121
G
A
B
C
D
32
4
321114
“D”-shape voicing ()
D
E
11243
321114
F
11243
F
342
32
C
4
32 1
G
32
21
12341 14 4 4 1
A
B
134211
134211
7fr 134211
A
5fr ( )
7fr
11243
G
4
12341 14 4 4 1
G
134211
FIGURE 44 two fingering options for G FIGURE
G
12341 14 4 4 1
( )7fr
5fr
321114
11243
E ( )5fr
7fr
G
3fr ( )
12341 14 4 4 1
E
D ()
“E”-shape voicing
5fr
(fifth-string note optional) ()
()
243
321114
C ()
234 111
*optional: omit the bottom note and barre only the top three strings “G”-shape voicing 4fr
B
7fr
FIGURE 55 FIGURE
D
3
G
132
FIGURE 6
G
21
3
21
G5
34
2
G/B
34
1
34
FIGURE 7 open minor chords
Am Dm Em develop the ( ) physical attributes needed to play them cleanly and with minimal discomfort. And, as is the case with any 231 2 3 1 always 2 3 going to be a little chord, they’re more demanding to perform on an acousFIGURE 8 than on an electric, due to the tic guitar Asus2 Am Asus2 Am Asus4 Am Dsus2 Dm former’s thicker strings and higher action. 0 included 0 0 all 0in FIGURE0 3 1 I’ve only them 0 1 1 0 1 3 3 1 3 2 2 the 2open CAGED 2 2 to illustrate how voic2 2 2 2 0 ings may keys, but 0 be transposed 0 0 to higher 0 I would only consider the movable “E” and “A” barre-chord shapes to be essential. Note the alternate fingering options for the “A-shape” voicing (more on that in a minute).
you switching back and forth from G to C, it’s most efficient to use the 3 2 4 fingering for G, which keeps your fret hand in first position, making for minimal movement, but if you’re alternating between G and D, then it makes more sense to use 2 1 3 for G, Dsus2 Dmkeeps Dsus4your Dm hand Em Esus4 Em position Am which in second 1 for 0 both 1 3chords 3 1 (see 0 FIGURE0 4). And0 then 3 3 3 0 0 1 2 we have 2 what 2 some refer 0 2 to2as0the “rock 2 G” 0 0 0 2 2 2 open chord illustrated 5 (as 2 in FIGURE 2 0 op0 0 posed to the “folk” G” shown previously), which is a slightly different voicing that substitutes the D note on the B string’s third fret for the open B note. This shape has been used in countless hit songs, such as “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd, Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” and OPEN G CHORD VARIATIONS “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” by Green Day. The open G shape from FIGURE 1 may be If you’re playing hard rock or metal and fingered two different ways, low to high: 3 using distortion, this shape makes for a huge2 4, or 2 1 3. It all depends on where you’re sounding octave-doubled G5 power chord, coming from and where you’re going. For with a tall stack of roots and fifths—three Gs example, if you’re playing a song that has
0
(fifth-string note optional)
F
G
()
3fr ( )
11243
5fr ( )
11243
FIGURE options4 fortwo G fingering options for G FIGURE 4 two fingering FIGURE 5
A
G
7fr
11243
C
32
4
G
G
32 1
32 4
32
C
G
4 21
G
D
32 1 3
32 132
G
G
4 21
D G
21 3
3
132 34
21
5 FIGURE FIGURE 6
G
G5
21
3 2
21
34
2 2 0
2
2
2
2
2
0 2
moving from AC/ 2 2 0 C to 0Am, or 0vice versa. 0 0 2 DC’s Angus and Malcolm Young have used 0 this G5 chord to create huge-sounding riffs in such classic hard rock anthems as “Highway to Hell” and “For Those About to Rock,” as well as “You Shook Me All Night Long,” which also prominently features the G/B voicing. OPEN MINOR CHORDS
FIGURE 7 shows three must-know open minor chords, Am, Dm and Em. Like their major counterparts, these chords may be easily embellished with their related sus2 and/or sus4 “extensions,” which is something guitarists will often do while incorporating fret-hand hammer-ons and pull-offs between strums. FIGURE 8 offers a basic demonstration of these embellishment possibilities applied to our three open minor chords. A couple of examples of famous songs that feature open major and minor chords with sus2 and sus4 embellishments are Jethro Tull’s “Aqualung” (performed with a capo at the third fret) and the previously mentioned “Tangerine” by Led Zeppelin. MORE OPEN SUS2 SHAPES Earlier, we looked at sus2 and sus4 chords that are extensions of the five open CAGED shapes. FIGURE 9 illustrates three more attractive open sus2 voicings that sound great by themselves and may be used to embellish first- and second-position F, G5 and Cadd9 chords, respectively. Note the use of the thumb to hold down the low F bass note on the sixth string’s first fret in both the F and Fsus2 shapes, as indicated by the “T” below the chord frames. Fretting with the thumb in this way is what enables you to form the Fsus2 voicing with the fingers. This may feel a little awkward and slightly arduous to do at first, but with practice, it should become easier, as you
0
2 0 2 2Fsus2 0
2 2 0 F
T3 4 1
2
G5
134
2
Csus2
34
2
D/F#
Cadd9
34
21 34
T
D/F#
F
132
T
0
T
21
G
0 0 0 0 0 0 3
0
0
3
0
3
3
2
2
0
2
3
2
0
2
1
2
3
1
1
3
1
1
0
0
2
0
1
2
0
3 3 0 0 2 3
Th
FIGURE 12 12 major and minor barre chords FIGURE “E” and “Em” shapes
1
6
E
Em E
F
Fm F
G
Gm G
A
Am A
B
Bm B
0 0 1 2 2 0
0 0 0 2 2 0
1 1 2 2 3 1
1 1 1 3 3 1
3 3 4 5 5 3
3 3 3 5 5 3
5 5 6 7 7 5
5 5 5 7 7 5
5 5 6 7 7 5
7 7 8 9 9 7
7 7 7 9 9 7
0 0 1 2 2 0
“A” and “Am” shapes
1 1 2 3 3 1
3 3 4 5 5 3
7 7 8 9 9 7
A
Am A
B
Bm B
C
Cm C
D
Dm D
E
Em E
0 2 2 2 0
0 1 2 2 0
2 4 4 4 2
2 3 4 4 2
3 5 5 5 3
3 4 5 5 3
5 7 7 7 5
5 6 7 7 5
7 9 9 9 7
7 8 9 9 7
0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0
2 4 4 4 2
3 5 5 5 3
5 7 7 7 5
7 9 9 9 7
FIGURE 13 two different fingerings for anFor “A shape” major barre chord develop programmed muscle memory. such as Bob Dylan (“Don’t Think Twice, It’s E average-size D E most Dplayers with hands, this Alright,” capo 4), Jimmy Page (Led Zep( )5fr )7fr 5fr 7fr thumbed F shape(eventually feels nearly as pelin’s “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You”) and natural as an open C chord, which is a very Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac’s () 1 4 4 4(1) 1333 1333 similar shape.1 4 4 4 1 “Landslide,” capo 3), to name a few. FIGURE 11 offers an example of how you can use both FIGURE 14 Van Halen-style sus4 barre chord riff the thumbed D/Fs and F grips with some THUMB FRETTING WITH D E Esus4 G Gsus4 Asus4 A Csus4 C Dsus4 D fingerpicking to create a warm-sounding 7fr 7fr 10fr 10fr 12fr 12fr 3fr 5fr 5fr arpeggiated chord progression featuring a Another thumbed open chord shape worth descending bass line. knowing, in addition to the first-position F 1 3chromatically 1333 1334 1333 1334 1334 33 1334 1333 1334 1333 and Fsus2, is the D/Fs voicing illustrated E Esus4 N.C. G Gsus4 G Asus4 A N.C. E Esus4 N.C. Csus4 C Dsus4 D E BARRE CHORDS in FIGURE chord first popularized over P.M. MINORP.M. w/dist. 10, a P.M. P.M. 80 years9ago, D7/Fs 10 along with 12 its 12variants 13 12 15 14 9 10 6 6 5 8 8 7 9 9 9 9 12 12 12 12 14 14 9 5 5 7 7 7 9 9 and D9/Fs, guitarists, As99stated earlier,55of the 9 9by Delta blues 12 12 12 12such14as14 9 5 5 five 7 “CAGED” 7 7 9 9 voic7 7 10 10 10 10 12 7 7 3 3 35 7 the legendary Robert 0 0 0 0 Johnson (“Kindhearted 0 0ings we looked 0 0 0 0at in FIGURE 3, the movable “E shape” and “A shape” are essential, as Woman Blues”) and Blind Blake (“Wabash Rag”). All of these thumbed chord shapes, they offer the most technically accessible FIGURE 15as“A-shape” major barre chords and useful options for playing major barre or “grips,” many players likeand to sus2 call them, B used to great Bsus2 Dsus2 B key, ushave also been effect by many D chords anywhere on theDneck, in any 2 guitarists, 2 5 5 5 folk and folk-influenced rock ing compact, comfortable fingerings. A slight
44 42
0
4 4 4 2
2 4 4 2
0 2 4 4 2
7 7 7 5
7 7 7 5
5 7 7 5
5 7 7 5
5 7 7 5
7 7 7 5
0 4 4 4 2
34
Em Esus4 Em
()
213
let ring
3
D9/F#
()
C/E
fingerstyle, w/palm muting on bass strings throughout
0
D7/F#
()
FIGURE 11 11 thumb fretting and Travis picking FIGURE
2
chords with thumb fretting
Gsus2
T3 4 2 1
G5
G5
34 34
1
and two context, FIGURE 77 open minor chords FIGURE 66 ngering options forDs G (see FIGURE 6). In thisFIGURE 5 FIGURE FIGURE 7 open minor FIGURE chords you’ll no doubt wantGto exclude theG low Am Dm Em G G D G5 G/B Am Dm Em () B note on the A string’s second fret, as it () would only serve to make the chord voicing sound muddy, due to all the overtones 231 231 23 32 4 21 3 132 21 3 21 34 2 2 3 13 4 12 3 13 4 2 3 that are magnified by distortion. Simply mute the unused A string with the “paw” FIGURE 8 minor chords FIGURE 88 FIGURE of your middle finger as its tip frets the Asus2 Am Asus2 Am Asus4 Am Dsus2 Dm Dsus2 Dm Dsus4 Dm Em Asus2 Am Asus2 Am Asus4 Am Dsus2 Dm Dsus2 Dm Dsus4 Dm Em Esus4 Em Am low G note, in order to prevent the open A 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 01 01 11 0 03 0 3 31 1 3 33 1 30 3 string from ringing when you strum across 0 1 1 0 1 3 3 12 32 32 02 1 23 23 20 2 2 2 2 2 2 22 20 2 all six strings. Another option is to keep 22 22 00 2 20 0 0 2 2 2 2 0 00 0 0 0 2 2 2 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 the B note and omit the low G, so you have 0 0 what’s called G/B (“G over B,” meaning a G chord playedDm overDsus2 a B bass note),Dm which sus2 Am Asus4 Am Dsus2 Dm Dsus4 Em Esus4 Em Am has a warm sound and makes for a pleas0 0 0 1 1 0 1 3 3 1 0 0FIGURE 90 FIGURE 1010 Delta blues-style FIGURE 91 more sus2 shapes FIGURE 0 1 3 ingly 3 1 smooth 3 transitional 3 3chord 3when 0 0
FIGURE
G G/B
0 0 0 2 2 2 0
0 0 2 0 2 2 0
0
6
alteration to each of these shapes gives us two equally useful minor barre chords, which we’ll refer to as the “Em shape” and “Am shape,” based on their open forms, as illustrated in FIGURE 12. Note that the “E shape” and “Em shape” (see bars 1–5) are rooted on the sixth string and are thus referred to as sixth-string-root barre chords. Likewise, the “A shape” and “Am shape” (bars 6–10) have their root notes on the fifth string and are classified as fifth-string-root barre chords. SUS2 AND SUS4 BARRE CHORDS Just as open chords may be melodically embellished with sus2 and/or sus4 “extensions,” so can major and minor barre chords. Let’s start with the movable “A-shape” major barre chord voicing, shifted up to fifth and seventh positions, to D and E, respectively. As indicated in FIGURE 13, these shapes may be fingered with the pinkie barring the D, G and B strings, which, if your pinkie happens to be double-jointed, like mine is, allows you to arch it upward at the second knuckle to clear the high E string, so that you can include the note fretted two frets lower on that string with the base of the index finger, which forms the primary barre. If you can’t manage to arch your pinkie that high, then at least try to raise it up enough so that it does not fret the high E string, but rather mutes it, as fretting it with the pinkie would introduce a new, different note to the chord, making it a major six chord (we’ll come back to that later). Muting the high E string with the base of the pinkie like this will allow you to strum freely and with more vigor, without having to carefully avoid hitting that string with the pick. By the way, when playing any fifth-stringroot barre chord, you should always mute the unused sixth string with the tip of the finger that’s fretting the fifth string, so that the open sixth string does not ring if inadvertently strummed, which can easily happen and in many cases would be musically undesirable. Using your ring finger instead of the pinkie to form a secondary barre with the movable “A shape” will most likely preclude you from being able to arch that finger upward enough to clear the high E string, as double-jointed ring fingers seem to be rare. So you’ll probably only have the notes on the middle four strings to work with, which is completely fine for this voicing! The advantage of using the index-ring fingering is that it frees up the pinkie to add a sus4 extension on the B string, as demonstrated in FIGURE 14 with a chord riff inspired by Eddie Van Halen’s classic “Unchained” intro and chorus. Creating a sus2 extension from a fifthstring-root major barre chord is easy; keeping
A
Am A
B
Bm B
C
Cm C
D
Dm D
E
Em E
0 2 2 2 0
0 1 2 2 0
2 4 4 4 2
2 3 4 4 2
3 5 5 5 3
3 4 5 5 3
5 7 7 7 5
5 6 7 7 5
7 9 9 9 7
7 8 9 9 7
0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0
2 4 4 4 2
3 5 5 5 3
5 7 7 7 5
7 9 9 9 7
FIGURE 13 two different fingerings for an “A shape” major barre chord FIGURE 13 D
E
D
( )5fr
E
( )7fr
1 4 4 4(1)
5fr
1 4 4 4 (1)
7fr
1333
1333
FIGURE 14 14 Van Halen-style sus4 barre chord riff FIGURE
E
Esus4
G
7fr
7fr
1333
1334
9 9 9 7
Asus4
10fr
1333
E Esus4 N.C.
w/dist.
Gsus4
10fr 1334
G
1334
Gsus4 G
Csus4 12fr
1333
0000
12 12 12 10
13 12 12 10
12 15 14 12 14 14 12 14 14 10 12
Dsus4
1333
00
10 9 9 7
1334
Bsus2
44 42
4 4 4 2
D
0
2 2 4 4 2
2 2 4 4 2
0000
6 5 5 3
7 7 7 5
7 7 7 5
D
5 5 7 7 5
0
5 8 8 7 9 5 7 7 7 9 5 7 7 7 9 35 7
Dsus2 5 5 7 7 5
1333
P.M.
6 5 5 3
FIGURE 15 15 “A-shape” major and sus2 barre chords FIGURE
B
5fr
Csus4 C Dsus4 D E
P.M.
9 9 9 7
D 5fr
1334
P.M.
12 12 12 10
C 3fr
Asus4 A N.C. E Esus4 N.C.
P.M.
10 9 9 7
A
12fr
5 5 7 7 5
7 7 7 5
9 9 9
B
0 4 4 4 2
FIGURE 16
FIGURE 16 fifth-string-root minor and sus2 chords, à la “Hey You” Esus2
Em
Esus2
Em
fingerstyle, or w/pick and fingers
let ring 7 7
9
9
8
9
9
9
7 7
9
9
8
Dsus2 5
9
5
7
Dm 6
7
Dsus2
7
7
7
5
6
7
7
5
Dm
7
FIGURE 17 17 “shimmer” chords FIGURE
E
Fmaj7#11
G6
F#7add4
Aadd2
Badd4 5fr
342
Asus2
1342
1342
Bsus4
1342
Cmaj7
1342
C#m7 4fr
34
134
134
7fr 1342
6 D9 (no3)
134
134
D9 8fr
1342
E5
5fr
6
Cmaj7
1342
134
8fr 134
12fr 1342
G6
Fmaj7#11 7fr
E 10fr
Asus2 10fr
134
12fr 134
chords FIGURE 18 power the index-finger barre in place across the top
an example of a melodic pattern based on fiveE5strings, switch from A5 either the pinkie or D5 these types by the E5 A5 D5 of chords G5 and inspired G5 A5 ring-finger barre to the “Am shape” fingering, intro to Pink Floyd’s “Hey You,” for which 5fr fretted with the three remaining fingertips, the chords are arpeggiated—played as ringbut from the Gilmour, 1 remove the 1 1 middle finger 1 11 B 1 ing single 1 3notes.1(Guitarist 3 1David 34 13 14 14 string, so that the string is fretted by the by the way, recorded that part in an unusual A5 B5 (see FIGURE B5 D5 D5 he refers E5to as “highE5 index-finger barre 15). C5 Note that C5 guitar tuning, which 5fr 7fr and sus2 7frshapes, like the 5fr and employed 5fr 7fr 7fr these movable minor string” tuning, completely open Am and Asus2 voicings they’re based different fingering shapes.) 1 3 4 are physically 13 134 1 3 to the 1 3 4 13 134 13 134 on, and visually similar 14 14 133 14 14 133 133 “E-shape” and “Em-shape” sixth-string-root 1 4 4 SHIMMER CHORDS 144 144 barre chords and open chords. The only differChuck boogie FIGURE 19 with ence is that, theBerry-style latter two, the root accompaniment note A fun and easy way to generate a variety of *A6the A5and A5fingers A6 are A5 all moved A6 A5 D6 D5 D6 D5 D6 D5 thatD6 of the chord over A6rich,D5 sophisticated-sounding chords (play 3 times) to the next lower string. have * a shimmering quality and texture is * Going from a fifth-string-root minor to take either the open E or Asus2 shape 0 simply 7 7 9 shift 7 7 it 7 up 9 the 7 7neck 7 9to7various 7 7 9 0 barre chord to a sus2 is super convenient— and 7 7 9 7 7 7 9 7 7 7 9 7 7 7 9 0 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 0 5 the 5 5middle 5 5 5finger. 5 5 FIGURE 5 5 5165is5 5 5positions while fretting the low E or A just remove
*A6(no3)
A5
A6 A5
A6 A5
*The “all-purpose passing chord”
A6 A5
A6
*
0
E5
E6 E5
D6 E5
9 9 11 9 9 9 11 9
D6 E5
E6
*
9 9 11 9 9 9 11 0
Asus2
Bsus4
Cmaj7
6
D9 (no3)
C#m7 4fr
34
string with the index finger, as you would if forming a barre chord, but without barring the B and high E strings and instead playing them open. FIGURE 17 shows a bunch of cool chords based on these two shapes. Many of them have been used to great effect in hit rock songs by players such as Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains (on songs like “The Rooster,” “No Excuses” and “Heaven Beside You,” tuned down one half step in each case), Tom Petty (“Runnin’ Down a Dream”) and Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger (“Photograph”). POWER CHORDS A power chord is, in its basic form, a twonote entity consisting of a root note and a note five scale degrees above it, which together form a fifth interval. It is essentially the bottom two notes of an E-shape or A-shape barre chord, although many guitarists like to double the root note an octave higher, so that it’s voiced “root-fifthroot” (low to high), or “root-fifth-octave.” FIGURE 18 shows several widely used twoand three-note power chord fingerings, including both open power chords, favored by hard rock bands like AC/DC (as featured on songs like “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”) and Led Zeppelin (“Rock and Roll”), and some movable shapes, employed widely by metal guitarists like Tony Iommi in such classic Black Sabbath songs as “Iron Man,” “War Pigs” and “Paranoid” and Metallica, on songs like “Master of Puppets” and “Enter Sandman.” Note the alternate fingering options for the movable shapes, which reflect different players’ personal preferences. When played with an overdriven/distorted guitar tone, power chords give you a huge, “fat” sound that’s sonically pure, as it doesn’t have the harshness or muddiness that can result from playing a major, minor or other more complex types of chords with distortion. And because a power chord does not include a major or minor third, you can play the same root-fifth voicing instead of a major or minor chord built on the same root note and let the song’s melody or other instruments, such as a keyboard, provide the major or minor third and complete the overall harmonic picture. This is an effective arranging tactic that progressive rock and metal bands like Kansas, Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree have used, with the guitarist “chugging” away on a power chord with heavy distortion while the keyboardist plays a more harmonically complex chord voicing in a higher register with an undistorted tone. Another prime example of this arranging approach is heard on Metallica’s S&M album, for which many of the root-fifth power chords played
134
134
E5
5fr
G6
Fmaj7#11 7fr
8fr
Asus2 10fr
12fr
134
134
134
134
134
134
A5
D5
D5
G5
G5
A5
FIGURE 18 FIGURE 18 power chords
E5
E5
A5
5fr 1
11
A5
1
B5 5fr
B5 7fr
134
11
1
13
C5
C5
D5
7fr
13 14
134
13 14
134
D5 5fr
13 14
134 133 144
13 14
13 14
E5 5fr
134 133 144
E5 7fr
13 14
7fr 134 133 144
FIGURE 19 19 Chuck Berry-style boogie accompaniment FIGURE
A5 *A6 A5 A6 A5 (play 3 times)
7
7 7 9 7 7 7 9 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
A6 A5
A6
A6 A5
A6 A5
7 5
7 5
A6
A5
9 5
7 5
D6 D5
D6 D5
D6
7 7 9 7 7 7 9 7 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
7 7 9 7 7 7 9 0 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 0
*The “all-purpose passing chord”
7 7 9 7 7 7 9 7 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
A5
D6 D5
*
0 7 7 9 7 7 7 9 0 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
*A6(no3)
A5
D5 *
7 5
A6 A5
A6
E5
*
0 7 7 9 7 7 7 9 0 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
7 5
A6
A5
9 5
7 5
7 5
by guitarists James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett are complemented by a full symphony orchestra, creating the best of both worlds—raw power and elegant beauty. ROCK AND ROLL BOOGIE CHORDS The legendary Chuck Berry, the man who is widely credited for inventing rock and roll back in the mid Fifties, popularized the use of power chords on his most celebrated and enduring song, “Johnny B. Goode,” and many others. What Berry would do was take a fifth- or sixth-string-root barre chord and, instead of barring and playing the whole chord, only finger the bottom two notes—the root and the fifth—with his index and ring fingers, and strum just those two strings. He would then “extend” the fifth up to the major sixth with his pinkie, two frets higher, and alternate between the root-fifth and root-sixth chord in a pattern of eighth notes to create a catchy, driving accompaniment that emulates the sound of a pianist’s left-hand “boogie woogie”–style part, as in FIGURE 19. Many rock guitarists have used this type of figure in their riff writing, such as Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page (“Communication Breakdown,” “Rock and
E6 E5
D6 E5
D6 E5
9 9 11 9 9 9 11 9 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
D5
D#5 E5
7 5
8 6
9 7
9 7
*
9 9 11 9 9 9 11 0 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 0
*
9 7
E6
9 7
0 0
A5
0 7 5
Roll”) and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones (“Midnight Rambler,” “Tumbling Dice”), although Richards would do so using an open tuning, such as open E (low to high, E B E Gs B E) or open G (low to high, D G D G B D), often in conjunction with a capo, which changes and greatly simplifies the fingering, eliminating a stretch between the ring finger and pinkie. When performing FIGURE 19, try substituting your fret hand’s middle finger for the ring finger, using your first two fingers to form the root-fifth power chord, which makes the pinkie extension much easier to reach. FIGURE 19 also includes one of the most useful guitar chords ever, what I call the “all-purpose passing chord,” which is simply the open strings (usually two or three of them). This unsung hero is used all the time by guitarists right before switching to a different chord, most of the time without the player even realizing it. It goes by quickly and unnoticed, and it buys your fretting fingers valuable time to transition from one chord shape to the next! STACKED POWER CHORDS In their quest for added heaviness and
INTRODUCING
stadium ELECTRIC BASS DI DEMOS AT LRBAGGS.COM/STADIUM
“girth” in their “crunch” riffs, many rock and metal guitarists, when playing a fifthstring-root power chord, will often double the fifth an octave lower, on the sixth string, below the root note, which sort of creates the sonic illusion of a seven-string guitar (the “poor man’s seven string”). This may be easily accomplished by simply extending the index-finger barre to include the sixth string and strumming the bottom four strings, as shown in FIGURE 20. These chords are often identified in transcriptions with the low fifth in their name, for example E5/B (E5 over B) instead of just E5, regardless of whether the bass player is playing the chord’s root note (E, in this case) or the fifth (B). Another way to stack power chords is to go up, doubling both the fifth and the root an octave higher on the B and high E strings, as we had done with the open G5 power chord in FIGURE 6. FIGURE 21 shows a stacked extension of an open A5 power chord, with the pinkie additionally barring the top two strings at the fifth fret. Again, due to the harmonic simplicity of this type of voicing—consisting of only roots and fifths—it roars and cuts like a knife, even when played with the heaviest distortion (provided you use your guitar’s brightersounding bridge pickup). HENDRIX/PAGE–STYLE CHORDS
FIGURE 20 doubled-fifth power chords FIGURE 20 doubled-fifth power chords FIGURE 20 FIGURE 20 doubled-fifth power chords
9 9 7 9 9 7 9 7 7 7
X X X X X X X
D5/A D5/A D5/A 7 7 5 7 7 5 7 5 5 5
7 7 5 7 7 5 7 5 5 5
X X X X X X X
C5/G C5/G C5/G 5 5 3 5 5 3 5 3 3 3
5 5 3 5 5 3 5 3 3 3
5 5 3 5 3 3 5 3 3 5 3 3 3 3 3
X X X X X X X
1. 1.
X X X X X X X
G5 E5 1.G5 E5 G5 E5 2 2 0 2 2 0 2 0
4 4 2 4 4 2 4 2 2 2
2 2 0 2 2 0 2 0
4 4 2 4 4 2 4 2 2 2
2. 2.
4 4 2 4 4 2 4 2 2 2
4 4 2 4 4 2 4 2 2 2
X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X
G5 E5
G5 E5 5 5 3 5 5 3 5 3
2 2 0 2 2 0 2 0
T 3211
5fr
T 3111
7fr
T 3 11
5fr
5 7 5 Am 5 7 5 5 7 5
6 5 5 7 5 6 7 6 5 7 7 5 6 6 7 6 7 5 5 7 5 7 7 6 6 7 6 5 7 7 5 3 3 5 33 3 3 3 3 3
A strings low E and 5fr A strings 5fr
strings A and D5fr strings 5fr
5fr
1 4 1 4
1 4
1 4 1 4
1 4
5fr
1 4 1 4
1 4
Em/G
A/C#
Am/C
5fr
1 4
E/G#
2134 2134
2134 2134
2 134 2 134
2 134 2 134
14 14
2134
2134
2 134
2 134
14
FIGURE 26 FIGURE 26 second-inversion chords FIGURE 26 second-inversion (fifth in the bass) chords in the bass) chords second-inversion FIGURE 26 (fifth
1 1 1 1 1
444 3 4 4343 333 444 333
7fr
Em/B A/E (fifth bass) Em/B in the A/E Em/B
1 342 1 342 1 342
7fr 7fr 7fr
A/E 34211 34211 34211
5fr 5fr 5fr
9 9 9
(Mute unused adjacent strings (Mute unused strings with the indexadjacent finger and pinkie.) with the indexadjacent finger and pinkie.) (Mute unused strings with the index finger and pinkie.)
G and E G and E strings strings G and E5fr strings 5fr
strings D and B5fr strings 5fr
5fr
7 7 10 7 7 9 7 7 9 9 7 7 9 7 9 7 7 10 7 9 9 7 7 9 7 9 9 7 3 3 7 33 3 3 3 3 3
FIGURE 25 first-inversion chords (third in the bass) FIGURE 25 FIGURE 25 first-inversion chords (third in the bass) E/G# Em/G Am/C E/G# Em/G A/C# first-inversion in the bass) FIGURE E/G# 25Em/G Am/C (thirdE/G# Em/G A/C# chords
7fr 7fr
7fr
7 9 7 Bm 7 9 7 7 10 7
7 7 7
FIGURE 24 strummed octave shapes FIGURE 24 FIGURE 24 strummed octave shapes low E and D and B A and D shapes FIGURE 24 low E and strummed and B A and DoctaveD A strings strings strings
E/B E/B E/B
00 4 4 2 4 4 2 4 2 2 2
T 3 11
FIGURE 23 Hendrix-style chord FIGURE Am 23 Hendrix-style chord embellishments Bm FIGURE Am 23 FIGURE 23 Hendrix-style chord embellishments Bm
1 4 1 4
4 4 2 4 4 2 4 2 2 2
2 2 0 2 2 0 2 0
T 3 2the 1 1 thumb to fret T 3the 1 1 1low ETstring, 3 1 1and mute T *Use the3 1 1 *Use to tips fret the ETstring, the3 1 1 A string with the thumb ringmute finger. T 3 2the 1 1 thumb T 3of 1 1the 1low 3and 1 1and T A string with the tips of the thumb and ring finger. *Use the thumb to fret the low E string, and mute the embellishments A string with the tips of the thumb and ring finger.
1144
B5/F# B5/F# B5/F#
2.G5 E5
* FIGURE A Bm A5 B5 22 22 Hendrix/Page-style thumbed *FIGURE A Bm A5 B5chords 5fr 7fr 5fr 7fr * A 5fr Bm 7fr A5 5fr B5 7fr
A5 1144 1144
5 5 3 5 5 3 5 3
B5/F# B5/F# B5/F#
FIGURE 22 Hendrix/Page-style thumbed chords FIGURE 22 Hendrix/Page-style thumbed chords
FIGURE 21 “stacked” A5 power chord FIGURE 21 “stacked” A5 power chord A5 FIGURE A5 21 FIGURE 21 “stacked” A5 power chord
E/G#
The great Jimi Hendrix, celebrated by many as being history’s most innovative and pioneering electric lead guitarist, was also a brilliant rhythm player, having honed his chord playing chops as a sideman touring the blues and r&b circuit in the earlymid Sixties. One very cool and useful thing Jimi would do is use his thumb (he had big hands) to fret the bass note on a sixthstring-root major or minor barre chord, instead of employing the conventional index-finger barre across all six strings. He would then omit the fifth of the chord on the A string, which he would mute with the tips of his thumb and ring finger to prevent that string from ringing when strummed, and use the fingerings shown in FIGURE 22 for major and minor chords, in songs like “Purple Haze,” “The Wind Cries Mary” and “Little Wing.” These grips, by the way, were also employed extensively by Jimmy Page on early Led Zeppelin songs, such as “Communication Breakdown,” “Heartbreaker” and “Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman).” These voicings, without the fifth in the low register, sound distinctly less thick than their full barre-chord counterparts, which can be a desirable thing in many musical situations.
E5/B E5/B E5/B
G#m/D# G#m/D# 4fr G#m/D# 4fr 34111 34111
4fr
34111
one-finger power FIGURE 28 movable, Both Hendrix and Page also made use of one-finger power FIGURE 28 movable, chord shape in drop-D tuning shape in voicings drop-D tuning the thumbed-power chord also G5 chord movable, one-finger power FIGURE 28 G5 chord shape in drop-D tuning shown in FIGURE 22,any forfinger which thestrings.) third of 5fr (Use to barre G5 (Use fingeristoadditionally barre strings.) the chord, on5frthe G any string, 5fr (Use any finger to barre strings.) muted 1by 1 1 the fretting fingers. 111 Another cool thing about these thumbed 111 chord grips is that they allow you to add decorative melodic embellishments to the chords with the pinkie on the G, B or high E strings, as demonstrated in FIGURE 23, using quick hammer-ons and pull-offs. Hendrix made great use of this technique in many of his songs, most famously in “Little Wing” and “Angel.”
STRUMMED OCTAVES Another must-know guitar chord, which
4fr 4fr 4fr
Em/G 14 14
3fr 3fr 3fr
14
A/C# A/C# A/C# 14 14
4fr 4fr 4fr
14
Am/C Am/C Am/C 14 14
3fr 3fr 3fr
14
Em/G E/G# Em/G E/G# 9fr E/G# 9fr Em/G 311 311 311
9fr
311 311
9fr 9fr 9fr
311
FIGURE 27 FIGURE 27 Steely Dan-style “slash” chords FIGURE 27 Steely Dan-style “slash” chords FIGURE 27 Steely Dan-style “slash” chords
A/D A/D A/D
13211 13211 13211
5fr 5fr 5fr
D/G D/G D/G
1 444 1 444 1 444
3fr 3fr 3fr
G/A G/A G/A
C/D C/D C/D
3 4211 3 4211
1111 1111
3 4211
1111
5fr 5fr 5fr
theoretically isn’t a real chord, is the strummed octave, a two-finger fretboard shape popularized by jazz legend Wes Montgomery in the early Sixties and later used to great effect by Hendrix and many contemporary rock guitarists, such as the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and countless others. A strummed octave doubles a melody note in two registers, which really makes it stand out in a mix, making it great to use for main song riffs. FIGURE 24 shows four standard strummed octave shapes, the one on the A and G strings being the most commonly used. In each case, the finger that frets the lower note, the index finger, also mutes the unused middle string.
E/B
Em/B 7fr
1 444 1 333
INVERSIONS Earlier, we looked at the open D/Fs and G/B voicings. These are examples of what are called inversions. An inversion is a chord, which can be major, minor or some other type of chord, that has its third, fifth or seventh as its lowest note, or “in the bass,” instead of the root note. These are called first-inversion, second-inversion and third-inversion chords, respectively. Classical composers have employed inversions for centuries, as a tool to expand their palette of musical colors. Inversions are also used quite often by songwriters, in styles ranging from pop and rock to country and r&b. FIGURE 25 shows several useful, movable first-inversion voicings (with the third in the bass) for major and minor chords. The opening verse to Pearl Jam’s “Better Man” is a good, well-known example of a song that includes the E/Gs shape. FIGURE 26 presents several secondinversion voicings (with the fifth in the bass) that are good to know. “Under the Bridge” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is a prime example of a song that includes the Gsm/Ds and A/E shapes, which guitarist John Frusciante plays during the verse sections.
or a whole step. FIGURE 28 shows a movable root-fifth-octave power chord shape in drop-D tuning that only requires the use of a single finger, any finger, to barre the bottom three strings, which greatly facilitates the performance of riffs that feature quickly shifting power chords, such as Alice in Chains’ “Dam that River,” “Spoonman” by Soundgarden and Tool’s “Aenima.” Another cool thing about drop-D tuning and this one-finger power chord shape is that you can easily octave double the fifth and root on the G and B strings
A/
4fr
34211
34111
13
movable, one-finger power chord shape in drop-D tuning
G5
5fr (Use any finger to barre strings.) 111
FIGURE 29 FIGURE 29
stacked power chord shapes in drop-D tuning
G5
FIGUR
G5 5fr
Gsus 5fr
1113
11134
1113
FIGURE 31 Deftones-style drop-D power chord extensi
G5
Gm
5 5
5 5
5 5
8 5 5
Gsus2
8 5 5
8 5 5
7 5 5
G5
7 5 5
7 5 5
5 5 5
5 5 5
5 5 5
seventh chords with open strings
FIGURE 32 Cmaj7
Cmaj7
32
C7
342
Am7
Amaj7
3241
Am7
Amaj7
213
1114
Am7¨5
Am7
Adim7
2 1
2314
2 14
2 3
1324
G7
G7
B7
E7
E7
213 4
213 4
2314
Em7
Dmaj7
213
4
Em7
2
4
Fmaj7
12 34
Fmaj7
3421
T3 4 2 1
2 1
D7
111
Dm7
213
211
F#7
F#7
F#7
F#
321
T3 4 2 1
3421
T
Cmaj7
C#m7
B¨dim7
Emaj7
E7 6fr
13 4
314 213
214
5fr
214
213 324
FIGURE 33 movable seventh chord shapes (no open str E7
DROP-D POWER CHORDS Drop D tuning, for which the guitar’s low E string is tuned down one whole step (low to high, D A D G B E) has, since the early Nineties, become almost as common as standard tuning in rock and metal, with bands like Alice in Chains, Tool, Soundgarden and the Deftones having employed it in many of their biggest hit songs and most memorable riffs, often with all six strings additionally tuned down a half step
G#m/D# 5fr
1 342
FIGURE 28 FIGURE 28
SLASH CHORDS The concept of putting a bass note other than the root under a major or minor chord extends beyond the use of inversions, as discussed above. Many jazz, r&b and pop songwriters have experimented with so-called “slash chords” (nothing to do with Slash from Guns N’ Roses, but rather the use of a slash in the chord name), by putting a variety of different bass notes under any major or minor triad (three-note chord consisting of a root, third and fifth). Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen and Walter Becker have written a bunch of great, inventive songs, like “Josie,” “Kid Charlemagne” and “Babylon Sisters” that employ modern, beautiful voicings like those illustrated in FIGURE 27.
A/E 7fr
A7
A13
5fr 3241
Dm7
131241
Dm7¨5
Ddim7
13124
5fr 1324
5fr
5fr 131241
Am7 4fr
2314
Am7¨5
Amaj7 5fr
5fr
131211
5fr
A7
A7
5fr
5fr 131111
Adim7
4fr
2 else 1 4is. 3 Visit reverendguitars.com 1 342 3 4 your 1 journey. 2 131 to2 start Jake Woodruff of Defeater knows you can’t be an original if you’re playing what everyone
1
A7sus4 4fr
131411
with the ring finger and pinkie to create FIGURE 30 “color tones” stacked power chord FIGURE stacked power chord FIGURE 30 adding “color tones” FIGURE3029 adding the thicker-sounding stacked voicings drop-Dpower powerchord chords shapes in drop-D tuning “color tones” FIGURE 30 adding FIGURE 29 tostacked shapes in drop-D tuning to drop-D power chords illustrated in FIGURE 29. You can also add shapes in drop-D tuning to drop-D power chords G5 G5 Gsus2 29 Gmaj7(no3) Gmaj7sus2 stackedGmaj9(no3) power chord adding “color tones” FIGURE 30 FIGURE G5 G5 Gsus2 Gmaj7(no3) Gmaj9(no3) Gmaj7sus2 “color” tones on top of the foundational shapes in drop-D tuning to drop-D power chords G5 G5 Gsus2 Gmaj7(no3) Gmaj9(no3) Gmaj7sus2 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr power chord, such as the sus2 on the high G5 5fr G5 5fr Gsus2 5fr Gmaj7(no3) 5fr Gmaj9(no3) 5fr Gmaj7sus2 5fr E string and/or the major seventh on the 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 1113 11134 111341 11134 111341 11444 B string, or barre the pinkie across the D, 11 11 11 33 1111113344 1 1 1 13 1 4 11 3 4 1 1 1 1 3141 1 3 4 1 1 1 3 4111 1 3 4 1 1 1 4 4 4 1 1 4 4 4 Deftones-style drop-D power chord extensions G and31 B strings to get a warm-sounding FIGURE 1113 11134 111341 11134 111341 11444 Deftones-style drop-D power chord extensions 31 Deftones-style power chord extensions FIGURE 31 FIGURE 31 sus2maj7G5voicing (see Gm FIGURE 30). Gsus2Another G5 FIGURE Gsus2 G5drop-D Deftones-style power extensions Gsus2 FIGURE 31 G5 Gm drop-DGsus2 G5 Gsus2 chord Gsus2 thing you can do is play melodic extenGm G5 G5 G5 G5 Gm G5 Gsus2 G5 Gsus2 G5 sions up to the sus2 and minor third on the 7 5 5 5 5 7 7 7 5 8 8 guitarist 8 7 7Stephen fourth string, as Deftones 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 8 8 58 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 7 7 5 55 55 55 57 7 77 7 5 5 5 does 5 in 5 “Change 5 5 5(In5the5House 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Carpenter 55 55 55 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 55 55 55 55 5 55 5 5 5 8 7 5 55 55 55 5 5 8 55 8 55 7 5 57 5 57 5 55 5 55 5 55 5 55 5 57 5 5 5 7 55 5 5 5 of Flies),” similar to FIGURE 31. 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 FIGURE 32 seventh chords with open strings chords open strings FIGURE 32 SEVENTH CHORDS seventhA7 chordswith with FIGURE 32A7 seventh Cmaj7 Cmaj7 C7 Amaj7 Amaj7 A7 open strings FIGURE 32 seventh chords with open strings FIGURECmaj7 32 Cmaj7 C7 Amaj7 Amaj7 A7 A7 A7 Cmaj7 Cmaj7 C7 Amaj7 Amaj7 A7 A7 A7 Another important and useful chord Cmaj7 Cmaj7 C7 Amaj7 Amaj7 A7 A7 A7 category that any aspiring guitarist should 32 342 3241 213 1114 2 3 2 34 1112 get to know well is seventh chords, particu32 342 3241 213 1114 2 3 2 34 1112 Am7¨5 Am7five primary Am7 seventh-chord Am7 Gmaj7(no3) 3 2Gmaj7 342 3 2G7 41 213 1114 2 3 2 34 1112 larly the types, Adim7 32 342 3241 213 1114 2 3 2 34 1112 Am7¨5 Am7 Am7 Am7 Adim7 Gmaj7 Gmaj7(no3) G7 or qualities, which are major seven (maj7), Am7¨5 Am7¨5 Am7 Am7 Am7 Adim7 Gmaj7 Gmaj7 Gmaj7(no3)G7 G7 Am7 Am7 Am7 Adim7 Gmaj7(no3) dominant seven (7), minor seven (m7), minor 2seven flat-five known 1 2 3 1 4 (m7f5; 2 also 14 2 3 as 1324 2 1 2 31 32 1 2 1 2314 2 14 2 3 1324 2 1 2 31 32 1 “half-diminished G7 G7seven”) and B7 diminished E7 E7 E7 Em7 Em7 2 1 12 3 13 2 31 2 1 22 11 22 3 13 41 4 2 21 41 4 2 32 3 1 3 2 14 3 2 4 2 32 1 seven (dim7). These types of chords have G7 G7 B7 E7 E7 E7 Em7 Em7 been used often in pop songwriting, by G7 G7 B7B7 E7 E7 E7 E7 E7 E7 Em7 Em7 Em7 Em7 G7 G7 great composers like Jimmy Page, Paul 213 4 213 4 213 4 2314 2 1 2 14 23 4 2 McCartney, John Lennon, George Har213 4 213 4 213 4 2314 2 1 2 14 23 4 2 Dm7¨5 Em7James Dmaj7 Dm7 Ddim7 Fmaj7 rison,Em7 Neil Young, Taylor, NoelD7Gal221133 44 2 21 13 3 4 4 2 1231 34 4 2 3 1243 1 4 2 12 1 2 1 42 1 4 23 4 23 4 2 Dm7¨5 Em7 Em7 Dmaj7 D7 Dm7 Ddim7 Fmaj7 2 lagher of Oasis and John Mayer, to name a Em7 Em7 Dmaj7 D7D7 Dm7Dm7 Dm7¨5 Dm7¨5 Ddim7 Em7 Em7 Dmaj7 Ddim7 Fmaj7Fmaj7 few, as well as in jazz, blues, r&b, country 2 4 styles. 1 2FIGURE 34 111 213 211 111 2 3 321 and other 32 shows a bunch 2 4 12 34 111 213 211 111 2 3 321 of finger-friendly chord Fmaj7 Fmaj7 open F#7seventhF#7 F#7 F#m7add4 C#m7¨5 F#m7¨5 B¨m7¨5 2 4 12 34 111 213 211 111 2 3 321 Fmaj7 2 4 Fmaj7 1 2 3 4F#7 F#m7add4 C#m7¨5 F#m7¨5 B¨m7¨5 voicings that include open strings, which 1 1F#7 1 2 F#7 13 211 111 2 3 321 Fmaj7 Fmaj7 F#7 F#7 F#7 F#m7add4 C#m7¨5 F#m7¨5 B¨m7¨5 lend them a full and shimmering quality, Fmaj7 Fmaj7 F#7 F#7 F#7 F#m7add4 C#m7¨5 F#m7¨5 B¨m7¨5 and 3 4 2 1 FIGURE T3 433 2 1 presents 3 2 1movable T 3 4 2voicings 1 3421 T3 4 1 31 2 341 1324 T 231 that don’t include any open strings and 3421 T3 4 2 1 321 T3 4 2 1 3421 T3 4 1 31 2 341 1324 Cmaj7 Emaj7 E7 Em7 E7sus4 A7sus4 D7sus4 C#m7 B¨dim7 T 231 3421 T3 4 2 1 321 T3 4 2 1 3421 T3 4 1 31 2 341 1324 may be shifted up or down the neck to any Cmaj7 Emaj7 E7 Em7 E7sus4 A7sus4 D7sus4 C#m7 B¨dim7 T 231 6fr 5fr 5fr 3421 T3 4 2 1 321 T3 4 2 1 3421 T3 4 1 31 2 341 1324 root note. Cmaj7 Emaj7 6fr E7 5fr Em7 5fr E7sus4 A7sus4 C#m7 B¨dim7 T 2 3 1D7sus4 Cmaj7 Emaj7 E75fr Em7 E7sus4 A7sus4 D7sus4 C#m7 B¨dim7 5fr 13 4 314 214 214 213 314 2 3 2 4 26fr 14 SIXTHS AND 2 1 3 NINTHS 324 6fr 2 1 3 5fr 3 1 4 5fr2 3 13 4 314 214 214 2 4 214
FIGURE 29
0
213
324
13 4 314 214 214 213 314 FIGURE 33 movable seventh chord shapes (no open strings) 213 324 Almost as ubiquitous as seventh chords seventh (no open 1 3Dmaj7 4 33 movable 3 1 4D7 2Dm7 1 4 chord 2shapes 14 2 1 3 strings) 314 E7 A7 A13 A7 FIGURE are sixths and ninths, of which there are 213 3 2 4 strings) FIGURE 335fr movable seventh chord shapes (noA7open E7 Dmaj7 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr A7 5fr A13 several specific qualities that show up E7 5fr seventh A7 5fr chord A13 shapes A7 FIGURE 33 5fr 5fr FIGURE 33 movable (no 5fr openDmaj7 strings) from time to time in the vast catalog of
1 3 1 5fr 41 E7
1A7 3 1 5fr 21
A135fr
A75fr
00 0
2 3
2 4
2 3
D7 D7
5fr Dmaj7
5fr
214
2 4
Dm7 Dm7
5fr D7
214
5fr 5fr
Dm7 popular guitar-based music, namely major 3241 131211 131241 131241 13241 13141 13121 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr Dm7six (m6), Am7 Am7 Am75fr Dm7 5fr six (6), minor major Ddim7 nine (maj9), Dm7¨5 3241 131211 131241 131241 13241 13141 13121 Am7 Am7 Am7 Dm7 dominant nine (9) 5fr and minor 5fr nine (m9). 4fr 5fr 5fr Dm7 5fr Dm7¨5 5fr Ddim7 Dm7 Ddim7 Am7 Dm7¨5 FIGURE 34 presents a large group of what 3 2 4 1 5fr 1 3 1 2 15fr 1 1 3 1 2 4fr 41 1 3 1 25fr 4 1 Am71 35fr 2 4 1 Am7 1 35fr1 4 1 Dm7 15fr 3121 4fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr I feel are particularly 13124 1 3appealing 24 2 3and 14 131111 131141 3 1 1 5fr 11 1 3 5fr 42 Dm7 Am7 Am7 Am7 Dm7 Dm7¨5 2 3Ddim7 13124 1324 14 131111 131141 3 1111 1 342 useful A7 sixth and ninth chord voicings, Amaj7 Am7¨5 Adim7 A7sus4 D7sus4 Am7¨5 Adim7 5fr 5fr 4fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 13124 1324 2314 131111 1 3 1111 and FIGURE 35 illustrates the classic Jimi A7sus41 3 1 1 4 D7sus4 Am7¨5 1 3 4 2Adim7 5fr 5fr 4fr 4fr 5fr A7 5fr Amaj7 7fr Am7¨5 7fr Adim7 Hendrix “Purple Haze” chord, E7s9, and A7 5fr Amaj7 5fr Am7¨54fr Adim7 4fr A7sus45fr D7sus45fr Am7¨5 7fr Adim7 7fr 13124 1324 2314 131111 131141 3 1111 1 342 another cool, useful 7s9 voicing, for A7s9. 4fr 5fr 5fr 7fr 7fr 2 143 1 342 2 341 2 131 131411 1 3 1 5fr 41 1 3 5fr 33 1 3 4fr 24 1222 2 1A7 43 1 Amaj7 342 2 Am7¨5 341 2 1Adim7 31 1 3 1A7sus4 411 1 3 1D7sus4 41 1 3 3Am7¨5 3 1 3 2 4Adim7 1222 REGGAE CHORDS 5fr 2 3 4 1 4fr 2 1 3 1 4fr1 3 1 4 1 1 5fr1 3 1 4 1 5fr 1 3 3 3 7fr1 3 2 4 7fr 2 1 4 3 5fr 1 3 4 2 3241
131211
131241
131241
13241
1222
Reggae and reggae-influenced guitar parts—by artists such as Bob Marley and rock bands like the Police and Sublime, are often sparse and punctuated, so as
2 143
1 342
2 341
2 131
131411
13141
1333 1222
1324
COWBOY FANCY RIDES AGAIN Though the Bob Weir signature model may be best known for its striking visuals, it may also rank as one of the most tonally flexible guitars ever built. As the Dead established its power to mesmerize fans over four-hour-long live sets, Weir imagined an instrument more chameleon-like than any previous – one that could jump from classic tone to other-worldly and all points in between. The BWM1BS stands today as one of the most versatile musical tools in guitar history, as well as the talisman of one of rock’s greatest rhythm guitarists.
to let the song’s melodic bass line and FIGURE 34 FIGURE 34 sixth and ninth chords snappy drumbeat carry the groove and E6 Em6 A6 FIGURE 34 sixth and ninth chords leave plenty of sonic space for the vocals. The chords are typically strummed on the E6 Em6 A6 eighth-note upbeats and quickly muted 2314 23 4 1111 with the fret hand, so that there are rests, G6 Gm6 C6 or “holes of silence,” on the downbeats. 2314 23 4 1111 FIGURE 36 shows some essential threeG6 Gm6 C6 note major and minor triad inversions on 3241 3141 14444 the topFIGURE three strings that areninth the bread 34 sixth and chords 13333 and butter of reggae and also ska rhythm Em9 E9 E94 4 4 E6 Em6 A6 Am6 Dm6 3D6 241 3141 1 4G6 ) guitar parts. 3333 FIGURE( )34 5frsixth( and ninth1chords 11fr 11fr Em9 E6
MINOR MAJOR-SEVEN 2314
23 4
E9 Em6
(E9 )
A6
5fr 11fr 11fr FIGURE chords 2 1 34 324 3 sixth 1 3and 224 1 ninth 3123 2 4 4
1111
2314
E6
Em6
21
A6
Am6
D6
()
Am6
Dm6
G6
Dm6
( )G6
()
D6
()
()
2314
2 3
2 1
A6 2314
Am6 2 3
Emaj9 2 1
5fr
A6
Am6
5fr
2 143
2 1333
A9
4fr
Emaj9
4fr
Am9
2 1C6 43 ()
A9 Am6 41233 1
Am9 D6
() 23
5fr
Am6
21
6fr
5fr
E9
21333
Amaj7 Dm6 () 23
5fr
D6
Dm9 G6
6fr
()
C6 E13
4231
6fr 6fr
Dm9 21333 6fr
C6
4231
E9 32
Amaj7 2143
2 1333
5fr
()
3 (2) 21
6fr
2143
()
13
E13 21334
6fr 6fr
Dmaj7 21334 5fr 5fr
Dmaj7 C6
()
13
6fr 6fr
Dm6 G669 C669 Am9 Am ( 2) 3 ( ) Am 13 13 2 1 10fr 3 2( ) 4 2 3 1 4fr 6 10fr 6 2 1 Am9 Am 9 Am9
Em9 Am9 Am9 A9 Amaj9 ( )2 3 G6 chordsGm6 C6 A6 E13 2Am6 134 1Emaj9 324 1 3E9 244 13 The intro guitar to Led Zeppelin’s 2314 23 4 1 1 1 1 7fr 2 3 1 4 11fr 2 3 11fr 5fr 4fr 6fr 6fr 6fr “Stairway to Heaven” and the Beatles’ Em9 Am9 Am9 A9 Amaj9 G6 Gm6 C6 A6 Am6 Emaj9 E9 E13 “Michelle” are classic examples of what is 11fr 10fr 3 2 10fr 2314 2234 143 1 1 1 17fr 2 3 1 411fr 41233 1 4fr 1 32 34fr 1 32 16fr 6fr 2 11 3 6fr 241 41 14444 2 143 21 31 323 3 2143 241332313 21133 3 45fr known as the 3minor drop3 1progression, 13333 6 G6 E6 Gm6 D 6 C6 Dm 6 A6 Gmaj7 Am6 G7 Emaj9 Gm7 E9 Gm7¨5 E13 Gdim7 in which theEm9 root of a minor chord deA 9 9 9 Dm9 E9 E9 A9 Dmaj7 9 Amaj7 1Am9 3 2 2413 4321 13 13 13 13 13 3241 3141 14444 2 1 4 3 5fr 2 5fr1 3 3 3 4fr 2 1 4 3 6fr 2 1 3 3 3 6fr 2 1 3 3 4 6fr scends chromatically (one fret at a time) 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 6 4fr 6 1 3 3 3 3 5fr 6 6 11fr 5fr 11fr 11fr 5fr 5fr 6fr 6fr A E D Dm Gmaj7 G7 Gm7 Gm7¨5 Gdim7 9 9 9 9 to the major seven, minor seven and six. Em9 E9 E9 A9 Am9 Amaj7 Dm9 Dmaj7 11fr 1 4 4 4 44 2 1 2 1 4 3 1 4 4 425fr1 3 3 3 1 3 2 4 5fr 2 1 4 3 1 4 2 3 5fr 2 1 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 5fr 2 1 3 3 4 1 3 2 4 5fr FIGURE 37 shows some1useful voicings for 1 3 2 1 1 3 4 4fr32234 15fr 1 1 1 3 3 32134 111fr 431 5fr 6fr 5fr 6fr 1 3 31 3 311fr 2134 324 13244 1 3 5fr this evergreen progression, with the deEm9 E9 E9 6 A9 6 Am9 Amaj7 Dm9 Dmaj7 Em9 Am9 Am9 A9 Amaj9 Am9 Am Am 2 1 1 3 4 35 1 1the 1 3 3Jimi Hendrix 431 1324 1 4triad 23 2111 1324 FIGURE chord FIGURE reggae-style voicings 94 2 1 9 1 4 4 4 36 scending line being either on the bottom, 5fr 5fr 6fr 2 1 3 4 5fr 1 3 2 4 11fr 1 3 2 4 4 11fr 13 23 23 1 3 5fr 1 3 6fr 7fr 11fr 11frA7#9 10fr 10fr 4fr E7#9 Em Em Em D 6 D D on top or in the middle. 6 35 FIGURE 35 the Jimi chord A9 FIGURE 36 reggae-style triad (FIGURE ) Em9 Am9 Hendrix Am9 Amaj9 Am9 Amvoicings Am9 9 6fr
13 2 ADD9 CHORDS
A 69
2413
4321
Dm 69
D 69
E69
13
E7#9 2 11334 () Em9 6fr 2134 Gmaj7
5fr
7fr
12fr
5fr
10fr
1324 13244 1 3 Em 2 3Em 23 13 13 D A7#9 Em 11fr 10fr D 10frD 4fr 13 1 3 7fr 1 3 11fr 6 6 Am9 Am9 A9 Amaj9 7fr Am9 12fr Am 9 Am 5fr 5fr 9 10fr 1 3244 231 321 111 132 341 211 G7 Gm7 Gm7¨5 Gdim7
11fr 11fr 10fr 10fr 4fr 13 2 2413 4 3 2 1 7fr 13 13 13 13 13 Our final category of essential guitar chords 4fr 11fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr minor-drop progression FIGURE 2 163 4 37 the 231 321 111 341 211 A9 E169 3 2 4 4 D 69 Dm 69 Gmaj7 G7 Gm7 1 3 2 Gm7¨5 Gdim7 comprises what are known as major and Am 1 3 2 Am(maj7) Am74 3 2 1 Am6 Am(maj7) Am6 2413 13 1 3Am 13 1 3 Am7 13 minor add9 the4 3ninth chord 11fr 5fr 5fr 5fr 5fr FIGURE 2 1 1 3 chords. 4 1 1Unlike 133 1 421 1 4 4 44fr37 the 1 3 2 4minor-drop 1 4 2 3 progression 2111 1 3 2 45fr ( )5fr 6 5fr 4fr A 69 ( )5fr Am(maj7) E69 ( )5fr D Am7 Dm 69Am6( )4fr Gmaj7 Am G7 Gm7 Gm7¨5 Gdim7 types we looked at earlier (namely major 9 Am Am(maj7) Am7 Am6 FIGURE 36 FIGURE 35 Hendrix FIGURE 36 reggae-style triad voicings nine, dominant ninethe andJimi minor nine), chord add9 2 1 1 3 4( 4fr 1 5fr 3 2 4 5fr 1 4 4fr 2 3 5fr 2 1 1 1 5fr 1 3 2 4 5fr )5fr 1 1 1 3 3 11fr ( )5fr 4 3 1 ( )5fr 4 2 1 4fr 1 4 4 4 5fr 1 1 1D1 1 333 342 341 341 E7#9 Em3 1 1 1 Em 2 1 1 Em D 11 23 23(23) D chords do not includeA7#9 a seventh and are thus () FIGURE 35 the Jimi Hendrix chord FIGURE 36 reggae-style triad voicings a simpler chord 6frstructure, with 5fr the ninth be7fr 12fr 5fr 10fr 2 13113141 1 1 123131 1 421 1222 1 332441 11 3 3 31 3 2 4 3 4124 2 3 324111 1 Em Em(maj7) 4 3 1 1 1Em7 Em6 1 4 4 4 1 3 3 3 Em A7#9 E7#9 Em Em D D D ing added to a straight major or minor chord 7fr 7fr 7fr 6fr ( ) FIGURE 35 1the Jimi Hendrix chord 3 4 1 Em6 FIGURE 36 reggae-style 7fr 12fr triad voicings 5fr 10fr Em7 as a “thickening agent,” 2134 1 3to 2 4 4make it sound 2Em 3 1 6fr 3 2Em(maj7) 15fr 11 132 211 A7#9 7fr E7#9 7fr Em Em Em D D D more dense. FIGURE 38 presents a handful of 7fr 6fr 14231 13121 2 143 FIGURE 37 the minor-drop progression ( 12) 31 43 24 1 6fr 1 3 2 4 4 5fr 231 3 2 1 7fr 1 1 1 12fr 132 3 4 1 5fr 2 1 1 10fr beautiful add9 and minor add9 voicings that Am Am(maj7) Am7 Am6 Am Am(maj7) Am7 Am6 creative guitarists have often used to craft FIGURE 1 3 4 2 1 38 add9 1 4 2 3chords 1 13121 2 143 FIGURE 37 minor-drop FIGURE 37 the )5fr ( )5fr ( )5fr 4fr progression 15fr3 2 4 4 231 321 111 132 341 211 dreamy song( parts and accompaniments. ( )4fr2 1 3 4 Am 38 Am(maj7) Am7 Am6 Am Am6 Cadd9 Cadd9 Eadd9 Em(add9) Aadd9 Am(maj7) Am(add9) Am7 FIGURE add9 chords These chords—well over 100!—are just minor-drop progression ( )5fr37 3 3 the ( )5fr 3 4 2 ( )5fr 3 4 1 5fr 4fr 1 1 1 musical2 1iceberg 11 1 1 1 1 it 1 2 2 2FIGURE 3 341 ( )4fr the tip of 3the when Cadd9 Eadd9 Em(add9) Aadd9 Am(maj7) Am(add9) Am7 1 3 3 3 Cadd9 Am Am(maj7) Am7 Am6 Am Am6 comes to Em all the possibilities for different Em(maj7) Em7 Em62 13 1 31 (41 )5fr 2 1 1 (31 )5fr 1 21 41 (1 )5fr 1 2 2 42( )4fr 3 13 43 25fr 3 4 2 44fr 341 341 1 chords types and voicings on the guitar. 1333 7fr 7fr 7fr 6fr Aadd9 Am(add9) Dadd9 Dm(add9) Gadd9 Gm(add9) If you want to further your knowledge 2Em 1 34 21 3 2Em7 41 2Em6 4 142 241 Em(maj7) 3111 2111 1111 1222 333 342 341 341 of chords beyond those presented in this 6fr 5fr 7fr 6fr 3fr 3fr 1333 7fr 7fr 7fr 6fr 13421 14231 13121 2 1Aadd9 43 Am(add9) Dadd9 Dm(add9) Gadd9 Gm(add9) lesson, study the music of your favorite Em Em(maj7) Em7 Em6 6fr 5fr 7fr 6fr 3fr 3fr guitarists and composers, both by ear 32 31 34 32 4211 4111 FIGURE 38 add9 chords 1 3 4 2 1 7fr 1 4 2 3 1 7fr 1 3 1 2 1 7fr 2 1 4 3 6fr and using transcriptions. And if you reCadd9 Cadd9 Eadd9 Em(add9) Am(add9) 32 31 32 4211 4111 ally want to be a Jedi Knight of chords, FIGURE 38Aadd9 add9 chords 1 33142 1 13421 14231 2 143 consider studying guitar and music Cadd9 38 Cadd9 Eadd9 Em(add9) Aadd9 Am(add9) FIGURE theory at the university level, or check FIGURE 38 add9 chords 2 1 3 4 2 1 3 2 4 1 2 4 1 4 2 2 4 1 out my Mastering Fretboard Harmony and Cadd9 Cadd9 Eadd9 Em(add9) Aadd9 Am(add9) Mastering Fretboard Harmony, Part Two Dm(add9) Aadd9 Am(add9) Dadd9 Gadd9 Gm(add9) 21 34 21 3 241 24 142 241 instructional 6fr DVDs, available through7frthe 5fr 6fr 3fr 3fr Aadd9 Am(add9) Dadd9 Dm(add9) Gadd9 Gm(add9) GuitarWorld.com online store. 32
31
34
21 34 6fr 32
Aadd9 32 32
6fr
21 3 5fr 4211
Am(add9) 31 31
5fr
241 4111
Dadd9
7fr
24
6fr
Dm(add9)
142
Gadd9
3fr
241
3fr
Gm(add9)
3 4 7fr
3 2 6fr
4 2 1 1 3fr
4 1 1 1 3fr
34
32
4211
4111
LIMITED EDITION ECLIPSE Violet Shadow
Limited Edition Eclipse in Violet Shadow #5 of 15 is available at:
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N OVE M B E R 2016
the gear in review
Masterbilt Century De Luxe
GUITAR WORLD
PLATINUM AWARD EX
82
JAC KSON Pro Se rie s So l o is t S L 2 Q M A H e l e c tric
84
DUNL OP E P 103 Ec h o p l e x De l ay p edal
86
OVAT ION E li te P l u s Co nto u r Ko a ac o u s tic e l e c tric
88
B ARE KNUC KLE PIC KUPS Im p u l s e Hu m bu c ke rs
88
I K MUL T IMEDIA iR ig Ac o u s tic interf ac e
CELLENCE
Master Class EPIPHONE MASTERBILT CENTURY COLLECTION By Chris Gill THE ARCHTOP ACOUSTIC, particu-
larly the “modern” version of the instrument featuring f-holes, enjoyed only a brief period in the limelight as the instrument of choice for performing guitarists, particularly those who played in big bands. Its days of dominance were numbered once the electric guitar came along in the mid Thirties, and after World War II it virtually became extinct. From the Sixties until recently, the archtop acoustic has mainly been an expensive curiosity, built for either wealthy pros or collectors in extremely limited numbers by a handful of major manufacturer custom shops and exclusive boutique luthiers. Epiphone’s new Masterbilt Century Collection boldly reintroduces the archtop acoustic as a working musician’s instrument for the new millennium. These new affordably priced models are actually acoustic-electric instruments that sound equally great whether played unplugged or amplified. Epiphone offers three different Masterbilt Century archtop models: the Olympic, Zenith and De Luxe. The Zenith and De Luxe models are available in a choice of either f-hole or roundhole versions, while the Olympic is only available with f-holes. We took a look at Epiphone’s two largest models, the 16-inch Zenith Classic with f-holes and the 17-inch De Luxe with a round sound hole.
guitarworld.com
79
SOUNDCHECK
For video of this review, go to GuitarWorld/Nov2016
Masterbilt Zenith Classic
CHEAT SHEET
FEATURES Visually the Zenith Classic and De
Luxe are stunning, boasting several design elements inspired by Epiphone’s original Masterbilt series guitars from the early Thirties, including the banner inlays on the headstock overlays and the De Luxe’s notched diamond fingerboard inlays. While all three models have the same names as Epiphone Masterbilt models from the Thirties, the new Masterbilt models have entirely new designs and refinements, and all but the staunchest purists will find the new models improvements over their original pre-1934 namesakes. Besides having a body that is about one inch bigger all around (lower bout, upper bout, waist and length), the De Luxe features a floating pickguard. The Zenith Classic has no pickguard, and it features “falling snowflake” fretboard inlays instead of notched diamond inlays. The Zenith Classic and De Luxe both feature an arched solid spruce top with longitudinal bracing, laminated flame maple back and sides, and a five-piece laminated hard rock maple and mahogany neck with a rounded C-shaped profile, ebony fretboard, 20 medium frets and 25 1/2–inch scale length. Hardware includes Historic Epiphone reissue “E-stamp” 18:1 tuners with marboloid “crown” buttons (cosmetically based on the tuners found on high-end Epiphones starting in 1939), a nickelplated Historic Epiphone trapeze tailpiece and a floating adjustable Ebonoid bridge that is more robust than ebony. A Shadow NanoFlex HD pickup is mounted under the saddle, which is connected to an eSonic HD preamp system. On the roundhole De Luxe, the master volume and master EQ controls are mounted just inside the sound hole, while on the f-hole Zenith Classic the volume and EQ controls are mounted inside the lower (treble bout) f-hole. The easy access compartment for the nine-volt battery that powers the preamp and the 1/4-inch output jack are located just below the endpin.
PERFORMANCE One of the coolest features of a good archtop acoustic guitar is the fast, percussive attack (often described as “cut”) it delivers when strumming chords. Our Zenith Classic model with its f-hole design provided classic archtop tone that reminded me of several outstanding vintage and boutique archtop acoustics I’ve played that sell for thousands of dollars. While the attack is very aggressive and punchy, the sustain is also impres-
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STREET PRICES Masterbilt Century Zenith Classic, $739; Masterbilt Century De Luxe, $899 MANUFACTURER Epiphone, epiphone.com The Zenith and De Luxe models are available with either a traditional f-hole design or a round sound hole that delivers bigger, more resonant tone. The Zenith has a 16-inch body and “falling snowflake” fretboard inlays, while the De Luxe has a 17-inch body and “notched diamond” fretboard inlays. Both models have a solid spruce arched top with longitudinal bracing to produce fast, percussive attack and outstanding volume projection.
sive, although the resonance is not quite as rich and reverberant as a flat top acoustic. The overall frequency response is also a bit tighter, with fat but focused bass and brilliant but not shrill treble. If you prefer a bigger, more resonant tone, the round-hole version of the Zenith or De Luxe may be a better choice. Our De Luxe had the added advantage of having a bigger body than the Zenith, but the increased resonance likely was influenced more by its round-hole design than its bigger size. The De Luxe is an impressive powerhouse either way, with aggressive volume projection and a slightly wider frequency range with bigger bass and more complex treble. The electronics amplify the natural acoustic tone and character of both models in accurate perfection. The master EQ provides the right amount of bass boost or treble emphasis, and the system can handle impressively loud output levels without feeding back.
The Shadow NanoFlex HD under-saddle pickup and eSonic HD preamp system amplify the guitar’s archtop tone with all of its natural warmth and body.
THE BOTTOM LINE The Epiphone Masterbilt Century Collection guitars are the perfect affordable choice for any guitarist interested in exploring the signature sound of an archtop acoustic guitar or anyone who wants a finely crafted, visually stunning acoustic guitar for recording and performing.
SOUNDCHECK
Lean & Mean
GUITAR WORLD
GOLD AWARD P
ER
FORMANC
For video of this review, go to GuitarWorld/Nov2016
JACKSON PRO SERIES SOLOIST SL2Q MAH E
By Ch ris G ill
A LOT OF guitars these days are designed with special features that make them stand out from the crowd. That’s great for me as a reviewer as it gives me something different to focus upon, but as a player there are times where I just want a good ol’ straight-up rip-roaring shred machine with a no-nonsense simple design. Jackson’s Pro Series Soloist SL2Q MAH may be a high-tech guitar, but all of the tech goes into details like feel and playability rather than complicated switching systems, sophisticated electronics or other features that get in the way when you want to plug in and play.
FEATURES The Jackson Pro Series Solo-
ist SL2Q MAH places the emphasis where it really counts—high-quality materials, professional electronics and hardware, and meticulous craftsmanship. At its core it’s a stripped-down shred machine with a pair of humbucking pickups (Seymour Duncan TB-6 Distortion bridge and SH-6N Distortion neck), a robust Floyd Rose FRT-O5000 recessed double-locking tremolo, master volume and tone controls, and a three-way toggle pickup switch with the usual bridge/both/neck settings. The Soloist’s true devil is in its details however. The neck is one of the fastest and most comfortable I’ve ever played,
CHEAT SHEET
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LIST PRICE $1,360.53 MANUFACTURER Jackson Guitars, jacksonguitars.com
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
featuring a one-piece maple neck-thrubody design with a sturdy scarf joint and a 12-to-16–inch compound radius. The neck also boasts 24 jumbo frets, a 25 1/2–inch scale, and a smooth-as-silk ebony fretboard. The neck is inserted into a resonant slab of mahogany, and the whole shebang is topped with a hypnotically figured layer of quilted maple. The neck’s oiled finish provides the feel of raw wood, while the body has a mirror-like gloss finish. PERFORMANCE Everything about this model’s design just feels right, including the body’s weight, overall balance and playability of the neck’s slim, flat profile. The guitar is very comfortable to play, and whether seated or standing the neck automatically settles to an ideal playing position. The jumbo frets are polished to a very smooth and rounded profile that allows players’ fingers to glide up and down the fretboard almost without any resistance. The Soloist’s tone is very lively, responsive and aggressive, thanks to its resonant tonewoods and high-output humbuckers, which are mounted directly to the body. Both pickups have an attractive upper midrange character that delivers ample presence and body that strikes an ideal balance between power chords and fat, singing solos. It may deliver only three sounds, but they’re all ones that you will use often.
Seymour Duncan TB-6 Distortion (bridge) and SH-6N Distortion (neck) humbuckers are mounted directly to the body to provide fat, resonant tone.
The recessed Floyd Rose FRT-O5000 double-locking tremolo has a deep cavity to enable generous pitch raising as well as low dives.
THE BOTTOM LINE While the Jackson Pro Series Soloist SL2Q MAH may offer a basic setup, the quality of its hardware, tonewoods and craftsmanship make it a high-performance shred machine that truly delivers when it comes to tone and playability.
SOUNDCHECK
EP103 Echoplex Delay (left) and optional MXR M199 Tap Tempo switch
GUITAR WORLD
PLATINUM AWARD EX
CELLEN
CE
Tale of the Tape DUNLOP EP103 ECHOPLEX DELAY By Ch ris G ill
ONE OF THE greatest effects for electric
guitar is also one of the earliest—the tape echo unit. While the Echoplex, which electrical engineer Mike Battle and guitarist Don Dixon developed in 1959 and brought to market in 1961, wasn’t the very first commercially available tape echo, many guitarists still consider it the best. Of the various tube Echoplex units from the Sixties (EP-1 and EP-2) and solid-state units of the Seventies (EP-3 and EP-4), most guitarists prefer the EP-3 for its preamp (which Dunlop recently duplicated with the EP101 Echoplex Preamp pedal), quiet performance and enhanced sound quality of its delay signal, which was cleaner and brighter than that of the tube echo units. No wonder that the EP-3 was the preferred choice of countless pros during the Seventies and Eighties, including Eric Johnson, Brian May, Jimmy Page, Andy Summers, Eddie Van Halen and many other highly respected players.
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Tape echo units fell out of favor as analog and digital delay technology became less expensive, and the bulky size, constant maintenance, service issues and increasing scarcity of tape also didn’t help either. But for some players nothing else ever sounded quite the same or as good as a genuine Echoplex—until now that is, with the introduction of the EP103 Echoplex Delay. The EP103 offers the same echo effects and controls as the original EP-3 Echoplex in a compact pedal format that’s the size of a Phase 90, plus a few new features such as an Age mode, selectable stereo or mono modes, an optional tap tempo control, and more. All that’s missing is the sound-on-sound feature, but that’s what loopers are for. FEATURES Like the original EP-3 tape
echo unit, the Echoplex Delay pedal provides a relatively simple set of controls, consisting of Sustain and Volume knobs
as well as a Delay knob that dials in delay times from 40 to 750 milliseconds, similar to the Delay slider that adjusted the placement of the record/erase head on the original tape unit. The Volume knob also provides a push function that engages the Age mode. By holding the Volume control down for about two seconds, users can adjust the Age mode to dial in darker, warmer tones and increased “wow and flutter” modulation that replicates the sound of worn-out tape. The final Age setting can be locked in, allowing users to access it instantly just by pressing down the Volume control. An internal switch allows users to select a stereo output mode that sends dry and wet signals to separate terminals of a TRS splitter cable. Users can also engage a true bypass relay that cuts off the delay effect when the bypass switch is engaged or a buffered trails bypass mode that allows the delay trails to continue after the effect is bypassed. A wet mode is also available that
For video of this review, go to GuitarWorld.com/Nov2016
The EP103 absolutely nails the original EP-3’s echo effect’s lush, three-dimensional sound. Ibanez
IRON LABEL S SERIES MODELS
CHEAT SHEET
sends the wet signal only to your amp. The EP103 can store all of these advanced mode settings using a simple knob setting and pressing procedure to access startup mode. The EP103 also includes a Tap jack for the optional MXR M199 Tap Tempo switch, which increases the maximum delay time to four seconds. PERFORMANCE The original EP-3’s echo
effect has a characteristic lush, three-dimensional sound that combines delay and warm, natural-sounding reverb. Most digital emulations of this effect sound comparatively flat, but the EP103 absolutely nails the EP-3’s unique character. The Age control is the key to much of this charm, providing the perception of depth and a distinctive pitch warble that’s similar to chorus. Chords sound rich and lively, while individual notes retain body and punch. The echo effects also sound great in front of a distorted amp and maintain excellent definition and clarity.
The Ibanez Iron Label S Series Models are available in two new six-string guitars and one new seven-string. The SIX6 (pictured) and SIX7 guitars blend the iconic S Series body with the Iron Label “made for metal” design aesthetic. The guitars feature mahogany bodies with flamed maple tops, reverse headstocks, super-fast, three-piece maple/bubinga Nitro Wizard necks and DiMarzio Fusion Edge pickups. LIST PRICE $1,199.99–$1,333.32 Ibanez.co.jp
LIST PRICE $285.70 MANUFACTURER Dunlop Manufacturing, jimdunlop.com The Age mode replicates the warm sound and chorus-like wow and flutter of aged tape to provide truly accurate analog tape tones. The optional MXR M199 Tap Tempo switch adds a tap tempo function and increases the maximum delay time from 750ms to four seconds.
THE BOTTOM LINE The drop-dead gorgeous effects of the original Echoplex tape echo live on again in the wonderfully versatile EP103 pedal, but without the maintenance, cleaning and other headaches associated with a vintage tape echo unit.
D’Addario
ECLIPSE TUNERS The D’Addario Eclipse clip-on headstock tuners provide fast, accurate chromatic tuning. The Eclipse features an unobtrusive and compact design, full-color vertical display and automatic power-off to save battery life. It can be mounted in front of or behind the headstock on any right- and left-handed instruments, and the multi-swivel action allows for the perfect viewing at any angle. The tuners are available in a variety of colors. LIST PRICE $29.95 daddario.com
guitarworld.com
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SOUNDCHECK
For video of this review, go to GuitarWorld.com/ Nov2016
Foxy Brown
GUITAR WORLD
GOLD AWARD P
ER
FORMA
NC
OVATION ELITE PLUS CONTOUR KOA
E
By Chris Gill
OVATION—THE COMPANY THAT pio-
neered the modern acoustic-electric guitar and popularized the use of composite materials for acoustic guitar construction— celebrated its 50th anniversary this year in a big way by introducing 33 new models. With its enticing combination of exotic tone woods, professional-quality electronics, intricately detailed inlay work and surprisingly sensible price, the new Elite Plus series stood out from Ovation’s similarly impressive crowd of new offerings. We took a look at the Elite Plus Contour Koa, which features a figured koa veneer top, although other Elite Plus choices include models with okume feather, flame maple and quilted maple tops. FEATURES With its figured koa top with
a rich, brown hue, flame maple multiple– sound hole epaulets, hand-inlaid abalone purfling and abalone diamond and dot fretboard inlays, and deluxe grade ebony fingerboard, the Ovation Elite Plus Contour Koa has a breathtaking appearance rivaling custom acoustics that cost five times as much or more. Numerous other upscale features abound, including the five-piece mahogany and maple neck with its satin natural finish, an angled fretboard that provides 20 frets for the low E string and 23 frets for the high E string, scalloped quarter-sawn X-bracing and a pinless bridge and tuner buttons crafted out of ebony. The back is Ovation’s
CHEAT SHEET
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STREET PRICE $1,199.99 MANUFACTURER Ovation Guitars, ovationguitars.com
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
Ovation’s Elite Plus Contour models are available with figured koa, okume feather, flame maple or quilted maple veneer tops.
signature Lyrachord composite with the Contour cutaway that provides comfortable access to the uppermost frets. The Elite Plus models are equipped with Ovation’s OP Pro Studio preamp electronics and OCP-1K pickup. The OP Pro Studio preamp features an onboard compressor (Expressor) with its own level slider, individual low, mid and high sliders for the three-band EQ, gain and drive knobs, and a tuner with an easy-to-read LED. The entire preamp assembly pops out with the press of the button to provide access to the battery compartment. PERFORMANCE The Elite Plus Contour Koa delivers harmonically rich tone with attractive treble overtones and focused bass. The sound is decidedly upscale, with expressive nuances players look for in a professional-quality instrument. While it may not be as resonant as more traditional acoustic designs, this is actually an advantage when amplifying the guitar for live performance as it avoids feedback. The craftsmanship throughout is outstanding, although our example’s circular rear access port, which is anchored via a single flathead screw, didn’t fit entirely flush to the Lyrachord back. Some players may view this as an insignificant annoyance, which is more than compensated for by the stellar playability of the Elite’s silky smooth neck and the gorgeous glow of the koa top and abalone inlays.
The built-in OP Pro Studio preamp features a compressor to deliver professional-quality sound for any live performance or studio recording application.
THE BOTTOM LINE The Ovation Elite Plus Contour Koa’s distinctive, upscale appearance is perfect for any performer who wants an attention-getting guitar, but its stellar sound ensures that the audience will continue to pay attention throughout the set.
Gibson 1959 Historic Select Les Paul Electric Guitar Beauty of the Burst Serial No. #96114 7.96 lb. SKU No. J33004
C
arefully chosen combinations of wood grain, weight, feel and tone make every Private Reserve Guitar tell a unique story. With an in-depth report on the guitars that suit your tastes, our Guitar Advisors will help you find more than just the best of the best. They’ll help you discover the one guitar that truly tells your story.
Call our Guitar Advisors: 866-926-1923 Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. CST www.musiciansfriend.com/privatereserve Backstage Pass members get 8% in rewards and free shipping on everything within the contiguous United States
SOUNDCHECK
For video of this review, go to GuitarWorld.com/ Nov2016
Buzz Bin
IK Multimedia iRig Acoustic
The Sweet and Low
GUITAR WORLD
GOLD AWARD P
ER
FORMANC
BARE KNUCKLE PICKUPS IMPULSE HUMBUCKERS E
By Paul Riario
IN ADDITION TO offering many traditional vintage-style and high-output pickups, Bare Knuckle specializes in handcrafting some of the most innovative high-gain humbuckers with apocalyptic pickup-cover designs for metal and djent players. With names like Warpig, Painkiller, Juggernaut and Aftermath, these powerful pickups look and sound as deadly as their monikers imply. Bare Knuckle’s brand-new Impulse is a signature high-gain humbucker for Josh Smith, guitarist for Australian metalcore band Northlane. While the Impulse may possess a less threatening name (and look), its forceful complexity of depth and detail make it ideal for drop-tuned guitars and progressive-metal styles.
FEATURES Impulse pickups come in individual bridge and neck, or calibrated bridge and neck sets, the latter which is what I installed into an Epiphone Les Paul. The Impulse is completely hand wound and utilizes Alnico V magnets for both its bridge and neck pickups. The pickup is offered only as a short-leg option and its blade design eliminates the need for different spacing. Impulse is available in two-conductor
CHEAT SHEET
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STREET PRICE $270.92 (as reviewed, six-string calibrated cover set) MANUFACTURER Bare Knuckle Pickups, bareknucklepickups.co.uk
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
wiring, or four-conductor wiring schemes for series humbucking, parallel humbucking or coil splitting. The humbucker comes in radiator-style covers in brushed nickel, chrome, gold, black, brushed nickel, raw nickel, camo, black battle worn, burnt chrome, aged finishes and even custom colors including the new Bare Knuckle “pickup tattoo” custom etches. PERFORMANCE Tuned down a whole step and using an EVH 5150 III amplifier, the Impulse humbuckers reveal a potent midrange and a brassy high end that slices through when chugging or palm-muting low notes. The bridge and neck are optimally balanced in volume and complement each other with wide-open tones, making them extremely versatile. The pickups have incredible detail and a hint of warmth that’s mostly due to the pickup’s Alnico magnets, which soften the hard edges but stay incredibly focused and thick whether on a clean setting or blazing with full-on high-gain distortion. I also had the guitar wired for coil splitting and was able to get firm single-coil quack rather than the common output drop that coil-splitting guitars suffer from.
THE BOTTOM LINE The Bare Knuckle Pickups Impulse humbuckers are muscular-sounding pickups with plenty of low-end brawn and tightly wound highs that offer brilliance and clarity to drop-tuned guitars or baritones.
When it comes to guitar interfaces to plug into your mobile device or tablet, you have several options—as long as you use an electric guitar. IK Multimedia is changing the game with iRig Acoustic, the first mobile acoustic guitar microphone/interface. iRig Acoustic conveniently attaches to your acoustic guitar and allows you to play, practice and record, anywhere and anytime, on your iPhone or iPad, when combined with IK Multimedia’s free AmpliTube Acoustic app. The iRig Acoustic is a clip-on microphone/interface shaped like a pick that easily and discreetly clips onto the rim of any acoustic sound hole. It features advanced miniature microphone technology, which means it replicates the best elements of piezo and magnetic pickups and professional-grade studio microphones to capture your acoustic guitar’s tonal character and reproduce it into stunning high-definition sound. iRig Acoustic also has an audio output for monitoring and line-output capabilities for recording and performing live. The free AmpliTube Acoustic app features a solid-state acoustic amp with built-in effects, “Feedback Killer” effect, a built-in single-track recorder and other tools tailor-made for acoustic playing. Paired with iRig Acoustic, the app takes you through a swift calibration process to analyze your acoustic’s frequency response and recreates it as an optimized miked sound that you can save as a profile. After calibrating my Taylor 612, I was floored by the studio-sound quality of iRig Acoustic combined with the AmpliTube Acoustic app. The sound is crystal clear and absolutely nails the “sweetspot” overtones of the Taylor’s sonic character. Plus, I was able to quickly sketch out and save ideas thanks to the recorder. For even more fun and flexibility, spring for app store extras like the Tube and Solid State 2 amps, which both sound outstanding. —Paul Riario
STREET PRICE $49.99 MANUFACTURER IK Multimedia, ikmultimedia.com
by Mike Dawes
HARMONIC CONVERGENCES
2
2
7 7 0
5
5 7
0 5
7
6
0
0
0
5
0 2
5
0
5
5
*
4
2
2
0
0 2 0 0 2
4
4
T.H.
0 0 (12) 2 2 0 4 4 0 (12) 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 0
0
0
0
0 2 0 2 0 0 2
0
0
0
3
G/B
T.H.
2 4 4 (16) 2 4 2 0
4
G/B 2 4 2 0 0 2 0
0
D
2
3
2 0
5
5
A7sus4 A7
2 0 2 0 0 0
D
3
Gmaj7
4
4
54
4
2
A7
5
4
G/B
0
Gmaj7 5
0
0
D
2
1
let ring throughout
T.H. T.H. T.H. 0 (12) 0 (12)2
0
T.H.
T.H. T.H.
4
5 (17) 4 0
0 (12) 0 (12) 0
2 (14)
*“Touch harmonic”
D
T.H.
(4) 0 (14) 2
G/B
2
4 40 2 20 4 2 0 12
0 0
0
0
9
3
FIGURE 1 illustrates the first eight bars of the song. There is a pick-up bar before bar 1, and here I strike the open top two strings, followed by a hammer-on up to the second fret on the first string, setting up the introduction of the D major chord on beat one of bar 1. For this first chord, and for many of those that follow, I use a “rolling” technique with the pick hand, arpeggiating the strings from low to high. This first chord is sounded with the thumb, index and middle fingers, but for the full D chord on beat two, the pick-hand thumb is dragged across all six strings. It is not until the very end of bar 4 that I bring touch harmonics into play, in each case lightly touching the string with the
12 12 9
D/F#
0 5
5
5
2
A
*N.H.
0 (19) 0 (19)
D
T.H. 0 (12) 4 (16) 0 (12) T.H.
7
5
4
Asus4 A
0 2 4 0 2 4 4 2 0 2 2 2 0 0
0 (19)
T.H.
T.H. T.H.
6
N.C.(A)
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
Slowly
where Home,” which appears on What Just Happened, one objective was to investigate musically creative ways to weave the sound of harmonics into the composed melodies. For review, a natural harmonic (N.H.) is produced by lightly touching an open string with a fretting finger at a specific location, called a node, the most prominent nodes being directly above the 12th, seventh and fifth frets. When the string is picked, a chime-like sound is produced, which continues to ring even if the finger is lifted off the string. If one were to lay a fret-hand finger lightly across all six strings at any of the aforementioned nodes, as if you were barring, but without pushing the strings down to the frets, one could then strum the strings to produce six harmonics that will ring together. A natural harmonic may also be performed entirely with the pick hand. Lightly touch the string at one of the nodes with the tip of the index finger and then pick the string with the thumb, middle finger or ring finger. This technique is sometimes referred to as a “touch harmonic” (indicated by the abbreviation T.H.). The beauty of it is that it frees up the fret hand completely, which may then be used to perform a second, independent part. For “Somewhere Home,” my guitar is tuned to DADGAD (low to high: D A D G A D), with a capo on the second fret. As is usually the case when using a capo, I think of the pitches as “transposing,” meaning I will refer to notes and chord names as if the capo were not in use. For example, with the capo on the second fret, picking the open first string produces a concert pitch E, but I think of this note as D, as if the capo wasn’t there. For most players, thinking this way helps with the recognition of chord shapes.
FIG. 1 1 FIGURE
FOR MY ORIGINAL composition “Some-
DADGAD tuning, capo 2 All notes and chords sound one whole step higher than written.
Creative ways to incorporate harmonics, and how to play “Somewhere Home”
90
For video of this lesson, go to GuitarWorld.com/Nov2016
*Natural harmonics on fourth and second strings only.
tip of my pick-hand index finger while picking it with the middle finger. Notice that I utilize hammer-ons in conjunction with the technique. As I progress through bars 5 and 6, touch harmonics are produced either in this manner or with the use of a pull-off in place of picking a given string. When sounding a harmonic with a fretted note, be sure that the “touching” index finger is positioned exactly 12 frets up from the fretted note. This is a complex piece, so work through each bar slowly and carefully, with great attention to detail. Bringing these kinds of techniques into my playing style widens my sonic palette, and I encourage you to experiment with them in your own playing and composing.
Mike Dawes is an English guitarist and touring musician, hailed as one of the world’s most creative fingerstyle performers and renowned for his ability to seamlessly replicate a full band on a single instrument. For more information, visit mikedawes.co.uk.
L A R RY D I M A R Z I O
COLUMNS
WOOD VIBRATIONS
COLUMNS
By Jimmy Brown
BEBOP BLUES
Soloing over jazz-blues chord changes OVER THE PAST five issues (June
through October 2016), I introduced the basic jazz-blues progression, with subtle variations, and demonstrated several cool things you can do with it, in terms of accompaniment—specifically, various ways to play chords and/or walking bass lines. I’d now like to focus on the art of crafting single-note melodies over the progression in a classic jazz style known as bebop, with ideas inspired by such great composer-improvisers as alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and guitarists Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery and Grant Green. Again, we’ll be using the key of G and one of my favorite sets of jazz-blues chord changes, which we’ve been working with in the previous lessons on comping (chord playing). FIGURE 1 presents two back-to-back 12-bar choruses of soloing, played with a swing feel at a moderately fast tempo. The rhythmic phrasing is primarily eighth notes, but, to add interest and variety, I also use some simpler quarter-note rhythms (see bars 1, 5, and 9) and a dotted quarter note (bar 23). Moving in the opposite direction—meaning subdividing the beat into “smaller, faster” rhythms—I also threw in a couple of eighth-note triplets (bars 9 and 22), a pair of 16th notes (bar 4) and a quick 16th-note triplet (bar 18), all of which are signature bebop-style rhythmic motifs and also serve, along with the occasional rests, in bars 1, 2, 5, 14, 19 and 21, to propel the groove forward while allowing it to breathe and breaking up the monotony and predictability of long, unbroken strings of eighth notes. It is these kinds of little rhythmic variations that help make a melody sound more musical, conversational and sing-able. Of equal importance is the shape, or contour, of the lines, meaning the ways in which the melody goes up or down and changes direction, which creates its own natural accent pattern, or “rhythm within a rhythm.” The goal should be to strive to sound fresh and avoid falling into a predictable “sing-song” phrasing habit (as we discussed in last month’s lesson on horn section-style comping).
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For video of this lesson, go to GuitarWorld.com/Nov2016
STRING THEORY
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
FIG. 1 1 two choruses of soloing over a jazz-blues progression in G FIGURE Moderately Fast Swing 1st Chorus G7
1 3 7 5 3 3 3 4 643 5 5 6 6 4 5 3 6 6 4 5353 2 5 4 3 5 2 3 6
C7
5
3
5
1
5
G7
4
4 3
3 4
5
4 5
Bm7
2 3 4
3 4 5
5
4
E7alt.
3 6
5 4
6 5
Am7
5
3
E7alt.
2 5 6
3 6
6
Am7 7 3
51
7
5
C7
9 10 10 10 10 10 8 10
5 7 8
8 5 6 7
13
10
12 11 10
13 10 11
12 9 12 9 10 11 G7
E7alt.
12
C7
11 13 15 11
12 11
13
11 10
11 12
10
E7alt.
11
9 12
Am7
12 131210
9 10
9 13
12
D7alt.
9
In terms of technique, I’m primarily employing alternate picking here, using my own idiosyncratic approach of mostly picking upstrokes on the downbeats and downstrokes on the upbeats, which is the opposite of what most guitar players do and is just the way my jazz soloing style developed. (Sorry, if this way of playing is alien to you!) I do use a little bit of legato technique here and there, such as the occasional hammer-on, pull-off and finger slide, to help vary the phrasing and soften the note attack. I also perform a couple of bends and vibratos, which I employ as
13
10 10
13
10
11 12
8
1/4
6
12
10
12
12
13 12 10
3
Am7
13 12 10 11 12 15 12 13 14 11 10
( 10 )
F7
11 12 10
4 2 1 4
3
2nd Chorus G7
D7alt.
G7alt.
Bm7
23
4 3
5
G7
Dm7
19
3
3
C7
2 1 0
15
G7alt.
F7
2
Dm7
6
D7alt. 10
C7
D7alt.
7 8
7 11
10 13 11 10
3
Ending G7 (hold last chord)
17 21 21 17 ! 22 ! x! x 12
x
1
x
decorative elements, in an effort to impart a bluesy touch to the solo. You’ll notice that most of the lines are built from arpeggios, with the emphasis on outlining each chord change by landing on a chord tone, such as the root, third, fifth, seventh, ninth or 11th. I also employ both chromatic and diatonic (scale-based) passing tones, which serve as transition notes that smoothly connect the targeted chord tones. For a more in-depth, playby-play analysis of the solo, be sure to check out this lesson’s companion video on GuitarWorld.com.
To download Jimmy Brown’s latest DVD, Jimmy Page Playing Secrets, Vol 1: Electric Style—as individual chapters or the complete disc—visit guitarworldlessons.com or download the official Guitar World Lessons app in iTunes.
To create a reverb as immersive as BigSky required tremendous feats of sound engineering and artistic imagination. BigSky gives you twelve studio-class reverb machines, with simple and powerful controls. Hear the floating particles of the Cloud machine. Defy the laws of physics with the Nonlinear reverbs. Unleash the multi-head reverberations of the Magneto machine. BigSky. Lift your sound into the stratosphere.
strymon.net/bigsky
COLUMNS
SCHOOL OF ROCK
For video of this lesson, go to GuitarWorld.com/Nov2016
by Joel Hoekstra
HYBRID VEHICLES
Using hybrid picking to create unusual, unique melodies
FIGURE FIG. 1 1 hybrid picking: p = pick; m = middle finger; r = ring finger; c = pinkie
G
94
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
5
5
3
5
5
Bm
7
7
5
5
7
7
7
p m a c a m p m a c a m
F#m7¨9 (F#°)
ONE OF MY favorite ways to spice up
both my rhythm and lead work is to employ hybrid picking, a technique that has you using both the plectrum (flat pick) and your fingertips to pick different strings. For the examples in this month’s column, we will be fingerpicking with all three available pick-hand fingers: the middle (m), ring (a) and pinkie (c). Along with the use of the plectrum (p), this gives us four different options for picking a given string. A perfect way to get a handle on this approach is to play four-note groups, one note per string, with each string picked in an individual way. In our first two examples, phrases are played on the bottom four strings, with the plectrum used to sound all notes on the low E string with a downstroke, and the middle finger, ring finger and pinkie used to pick all notes on the A, D and G strings, respectively. Let’s investigate some of the possibilities hybrid picking offers by moving through all seven chords of the harmonized G major scale, which is formed by playing a chord or arpeggio from each scale degree. In FIGURE 1, I play ascending and descending triplets for each arpeggio, picking each different string in the manner described above. While playing through each shape, lift each fretting finger off the string after you pick it, so that only one note sounds at a time. We can expand on this concept by altering the shapes slightly and adding a melodic twist to each arpeggio. As shown in FIGURE 2, I begin with an Em(add9) arpeggio played across the bottom four strings and add two different hammer-pull moves on the G string, first toggling between the minor third, G, and the fourth, A, and then between the minor third and the fifth, B. This approach is then applied to other add2-type arpeggios, moving down the neck across the same four strings. FIGURE 3 demonstrates another effective application of hybrid picking, one that incorporates string skipping. Here I’m playing four-note arpeggios across the
Am
4
14
16
15
16
15
17
15 17
9
9
9
sim.
G
14
C
7
9
8
D
10
12
11 12 11
14
12
sim.
898 10
10
12
12
12
12
12
14
p
16
m
12 14 12
16
a c
14
12
a m p
m
14
12
14
12
G
7
12
9 11 9
Am
7
5
10
8
FIGURE FIG. 33
8 11
10 9 9 7
9 12 9
8 5 5
10
9 7 7
5
10
8
9 7 7
12
11 9 9
14
12
12
14
12
Em 15 16
17 14
6
c m p
14
16
17 14
14
a m p
G
14
D
* 14
16
14
15 12
14
12
16
8
10 7 5 8
7 5
a mp c
6
14
16
17
19 16
C 12 12
13 10
6 *repeat previous beat
C(#11)
875
9 12 9
13
c p m p a p m p sim.
G
15
12
11 12 9 9 10 10
19
6
14
14
14
a
12
F#m7¨9 (F#°)
c
14
m
12
6
10
16
12
10
C
10
17
12
a c
10
Bm
8
7
12
15
FIGURE FIG. 55
14
12 16 12
16
14
14
12
14
Em(add9)
Em
FIG. 44 FIGURE
10
D 12
10
B(add¨2)
7
10
Cadd2#4
14
10 9
10
Em
11
FIGURE FIG. 22
16
Dadd2
10
9
17
16
B 11 11
12 9
11
17
19
9
12 10 10
20 17
12
6
D
G
141210 151210 151412 171412 20 19 17 13 13 15 15 20 20 7 12 12 14 14 19 5 10 10 12 12 17
a m p sim.
6
6
top four strings in a 16th-note rhythm and varying the top note of each arpeggio the second time I play it. I move up the neck through all the chords of the harmonized G major scale, maintaining the same picking and string skipping pattern for each new arpeggio. We can apply a similar approach to a descending arpeggio pattern, while switching to a sextuplet rhythm, as shown in FIGURE 4.
6
6
6
FIGURE 5 brings a double pull-off into play, for a nice legato touch. In this example, I play only G, C and D arpeggios, beginning each beat with three notes sounded on the high E string, the first of which is picked and the next two pulled off. This pattern demonstrates an effective way to combine hybrid picking with other techniques to facilitate the performance of more complex melodic patterns and ideas.
New York City guitarist Joel Hoekstra plays for Whitesnake, the Trans Siberian Orchestra and his new side project, Joel Hoekstra’s 13, who recently released their debut album, Dying to Live.
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KYSER® MUSICAL PRODUCTS
COLUMNS
ACOUSTIC NATION
by Dale Turner
UNSUNG TROUBADOUR Chris Whitley’s bootstomping guitar style
WHILE CHRIS WHITLEY’S name might
be unfamiliar to many Guitar World readers, a list of the late singer-songwriter’s fans includes musical heavyweights Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Dave Matthews, John Mayer and Joe Bonamassa (who even covered Whitley’s “Ball Peen Hammer”), to name only a few. Though Whitley succumbed to lung cancer in 2005 at age 45, he left behind a dozen solo albums—dark, grungy designs on folk rock and country blues (influenced by players like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimi Hendrix and Johnny Winter), ripe with unorthodox strumming techniques, (literal) boot stomping, fierce slide playing and inventive tunings, picked on Thirties-era National Steel Resonator guitars (Style O and Triolian models—essentially an acoustic guitar with “a dirtier tone,” Whitley once stated). Let’s examine CW’s twisted take on the blues and beyond. Whitley’s recording history dates back to the early Eighties, when he was discovered playing and singing on the streets of New York City and given a plane ticket to Belgium, where he recorded with assorted bands (A Noh Rodeo, Kuruki and Nacht und Nebel). Returning to New York in 1990, a meeting with producer Daniel Lanois (U2, Peter Gabriel) led to Whitley’s solo debut album, Living with the Law, its title track akin to FIGURE 1. Originally played in a DADADE tuning, in later years, Whitley resorted to the Bsus2 tuning presented here (even lower—to Bfsus2—on Weed, 2004’s intimate “live to two-track” re-recording of Whitley’s staple songs). Use downstrokes on each beat and (in bar 2) strum upward with your pick hand’s middle finger on the upbeats. A similar pick-and-fingers approach is used in “Poison Girl,” like FIGURE 3, a groovy vehicle for Whitley’s stunning vocals (note the Eadd4 tuning), and Living with the Law’s third single. (The title track and “Big Sky Country” reached number 28 and number 36, respectively, on Billboard). Though Whitley’s success seemed to be on the rise, it took him four years to is-
96
For audio of this lesson, go to GuitarWorld.com/Nov2016
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
= downstroke = upstroke
m = pick string w/middle finger
FIGURE FIG. 11 Bsus2 tuning (low to high, B F# B F# B C#) B
E/G#
B5
let ring
7 9
0
999 0 0
0
Bsus2
*0m 0 0m
0 0 5
00 0 2 02
0 5
0 0
0 5
0 0
0 5
0 0
B
Bsus4 B
F#sus4
sim.
7 9
00 7 X 0
999 0 0
0 0 5
0
0 44 5
0
B5
0 0 0
7 7
0 0 0 7
0 0 0 7
*upward strum w/finger
FIG. 22 Eadd4 tuning (low to high, E A E G# B E) FIGURE C#m7 E/A
B7sus4 E
let mringm m m m m 0
0
3 4 4
0
0 0 0
0
0
1 2 2
0 0
m
2 4 0 0
1/2
0 0 0
2 4
0
0
Gsus2
4 4 2
m
0 0 0
0 0
0 0 0 0 0
E7
0 0 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 7 5 5 5 5 5 5 7 3 3 3 3 3 3 0 0
5 5 0 3
FIG. 33 Eb minor tuning (low to high, Eb Bb Eb Gb Bb Eb). FIGURE Music sounds one half-step lower than written. Em Em/D C#m7¨5 Cmaj7 Em7
0 0 0 let ring
3 0
m
m
m
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 3
2
1
3 0
Asus 24
0
m
0 3 3 4
Cmaj7/B
Gmaj9/F#
0m 0m 0m 0 0 7
3 5
7
m
0 0 0 5
m
0 0 0 0 0 5
7
FIGURE FIG. 44 Absus2 tuning (low to high, Eb Ab Eb Ab Bb Eb). Music sounds one half-step lower than written. A w/slide
let ring
FIGURE FIG. 55
0
m
0 3 5
0
let ring
0 2 0 2
0 3
m
m
3 0 4 5 4 2
0
m
0 2 0
0
0
0 0
2 0 0
2
2 2 2
sim.
0 0 44
4 5 0 4
0
70 90
sue a follow-up. In 1995, he emerged with a striking new sound—a mix of edgier rock that, to some extent, alienated his fan base—on Din of Ecstasy; it was clear that Whitley was more interested in “a constant quest for musical growth” than appeasing the musical marketplace. To wit: Whitley cut 1998’s Dirt Floor at his father’s barn in one day, with just his guitar, banjo, voice and trademark “boot stomping.” The high-energy “Ball Peen Hammer” was picked on an Ef-minortuned five-string banjo, arranged similarly for six-string acoustic guitar in FIGURE 3. Meanwhile, Whitley’s stinging slide work
7 0
0
0
F#7sus 24
Bmaj7/D#
Dadd#4
m 5
B6(no3) tuning (low to high, B F# B F# G# B)
B5 C#7(no3)
m
7 0 9 0 0
4 5 5
m
0
E7
m
4 4 5 5 5 5
0 0
0 3 2 0
Eadd2 10 0 9 10
10 0 9 10
E(add#4) 10 0 9 10
10 0 9 10
10 0 9 10
10 0 9 10
0 4 5 X 5
is showcased in “Accordingly,” played in an unusual Afsus2 tuning; the track features bluesy licks picked on higher strings, over a droning open fifth string, similar to FIGURE 4. 2005’s Soft Dangerous Shores is the last album Whitley issued while alive. (Reiter In was recorded in June 2005 and released posthumously). A family affair, it features Chris’ daughter Trixie and brother Dan on select tracks. We’ll close this lesson with the brooding “Her Furious Angel,” which informs FIGURE 5, its chunky two-note chords and jarring voicings sculpted from Whitley’s B6 (no 3) tuning.
To download Dale Turner’s Secrets of the Great Acoustic Songwriters DVD—as individual chapters or the complete disc—visit guitarworldlessons.com or download the official Guitar World Lessons app in iTunes.
LESSONS
COLUMNS
by Andy Aledort
POWERS OF THREE
Learning major triads all over the neck A QUESTION MANY students have
asked me over the years is, “How can I learn all the major and minor chord forms all over the neck and apply them to progressions and songs?” The answer is it takes a lot of time and work to learn just the basic chord types—major, minor, major seven, minor seven and dominant seven—all over the fretboard in every inversion and key. The good news is that the layout of the guitar fretboard is such that specific chord shapes recur in different areas and on different string groups, so applying oneself to the study of a few of these chord types will ultimately get you a long way toward understanding and visualizing all of the other chord types that there are. The way to begin this study is to start with major triads. As its name implies, a triad is a three-note entity, generally comprised of a root note, third and fifth. A major triad is built from the root, major third and fifth. FIGURE 1 illustrates the three notes of an E major triad: E (the root), Gs (the maj3) and B (the 5). The way to determine what the root note, major third and fifth will be based on any given note is to play a major scale starting on that note and pinpoint the third and fifth scale degrees. FIGURE 2 illustrates the E major scale played across the top four strings in first position, with each scale degree indicated. As you see, the first, third and fifth notes of the scale are the notes that form the E major triad. Since triads are built from three notes, a systematic way to learn major triads on the fretboard is to divide the guitar strings into four groups of three adjacent strings, and then learn the three major triad shapes, or inversions, on each string group (and their octave replicas 12 frets higher). FIGURE 3 illustrates the three different E major triad inversions: Gs, B, E (called first inversion because the major third is the lowest note), B, E, Gs (called second inversion because the fifth
98
For video of this lesson, go to GuitarWorld.com/Nov2016
IN DEEP
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
FIG. 1 1 FIGURE
1
2
1 3 (root)
E major scale
E
2 4 24124
0 0 1 2 5
1 2 3 (root)
FIGURE FIG. 4 4
E
1
FIGURE FIG. 66
0
0
4
3
4
5
9
3
E
1 4 9 13 2 6 9 14 2 7 11 14
7
7
13
2
1 (root)
2
3
12
3
12
18 19
0 2 2
5
A 2 2 2
5 6 7
10 9 11
14 14 14
FIGURE 13 FIG. 13
A
2 7 11 14 4 9 12 16 5 9 12 17
19 19 21
19
19 20 21
E triad inversions
17 18 19
4 7 12 16 5 9 12 17 4 9 13 16
19 21 21
17
3
E
0 5 9 12 1 4 9 13 2 6 9 14
17 21 16 21 18 21
E
5
1 2 (root)
3
5 6
4
7 8 (octave)
4 6
1 2 (root)
A
0 2 2
5 9 12 5 10 14 6 9 14
A
2 2 4
6 7 7
9 11 12
FIGURE 14 B major scale FIG. 14
2
2 2
0
0
17 21 21 17 22 22 18 21 21
FIG. 12 FIGURE 12
4
FIGURE 10 FIG. 10
2 4 5
2 3 5
2 4
0
2 6 9 14 18 14 9 6 2 7 11 14 19 19 14 11 7 4 7 12 16 19 19 16 12 7
FIG. 55 FIGURE 17
4 5 7
3
4
5
4 6 7
6 7
FIG. 17 FIGURE 17
B
4 7 12 16 4 8 11 16 4 9 13 16
16
3
FIG. 1616 FIGURE
17
8 (octave)
0 4
0 0 0 5 1 1 4
FIGURE FIG. 99 A major scale
FIG. 1111 FIGURE
16
0
FIGURE FIG. 77
16
0
4 5 6 7
3
FIGURE FIG. 88 A major triad
FIG. 33 FIGURE
FIG. 22 FIGURE
E major triad
B
4 8 11 16 4 9 13 16 6 9 14 18
is on the bottom), and E, Gs, B, which is considered the root position form. The initial first-inversion shape then repeats 12 frets higher, as do the other two. One could play these triads as single notes, as shown in FIGURE 4. Now that you understand the concept, I’ve simply repeated the drill on the other string groups in FIGURES 5–7. Let’s now address expanding our view to a chord progression, by looking at the
20 21 21
8 (octave)
14 14 16
18 19 19
FIGURE 15 FIG. 15
B
2 7 11 14 4 7 12 16 4 8 11 16
19 19 20
FIG. 18 FIGURE 18
B
1 4 9 13 2 6 9 14 2 7 11 14
16 18 19
chords of a typical 12-bar blues in the key of E. If E is the root, or “I” (one) chord, then A is the IV (four) and B is the V (five). FIGURES 8 and 9 show the notes of an A major triad and A major scale, and FIGURES 10–13 depict the triadic voicings. FIGURE 14 illustrates the B major scale, and FIGURES 15–18 present all the B major triad inversions. Be sure to memorize all of these shapes. The next step is to combine them within a chord progression.
To download instructional guitar DVDs by Andy Aledort— as individual chapters or complete discs—visit guitarworldlessons.com or download the official Guitar World Lessons app in iTunes.
LESSONS
COLUMNS
THRASH COURSE by Dave Davidson of Revocation
SHIFTY BUSINESS
Soloing in odd meters ONE SIGNATURE MUSICAL element
I often rely on when writing music for Revocation is the use of shifting meters, or time signatures. I love the sound of a primary riff that is built from sudden and unexpected rhythmic shifts, such as alternating between 4/4 and 7/8 or moving from 7/4 to 6/4 to 4/4. When I’m incorporating odd meters into a song, I have the freedom to imagine a given phrase in different rhythmic patterns: for example, a shift from 7/4 to 6/4 could just as easily be conceived as 4/4 to 3/4 to 4/4 to 2/4. This is exactly the case with the song “Profanum Vulgus,” from the new Revocation album, Great Is Our Sin, which is the focus of this month’s column. FIGURE 1 illustrates the song’s intro and primary riff, which is also played during the guitar solo section. I begin in 4/4 time, with an inherent rhythmic feel of three evenly spaced notes within each beat, expressed as eighth-note triplets. Throughout bar 1 and across beats one and two of bar 2, I move alternately between the low C root note and the full Cm(maj7) chord. Notice that the chord is accented in different rhythmic patterns on each beat, which lends an intriguing sense of musical ambiguity to the phrase. At the end of bar 2, I move down a minor third, to Am(maj7), but then on the first beat of the next bar, I immediately move the root note of the chord down a half step, changing the chord to Af. Bar 4 shifts to 2/4 meter, and here I bring the open G string into play, sounding an Afmaj7 chord. These types of seventh chords are not usually found in metal and thrash music, which, for me, represents part of the attraction. In fact, at the very end of the phrase, I bring in a dominant seven sound, with the use of Af7. Dominant seven chords are very common in blues and rock, but are rarely heard in metal. With all of these unusual and shifting rhythmic accents, I recommend first playing through the phrase slowly and care-
100
For video of this lesson, go to GuitarWorld.com/Nov2016
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
FIGURE FIG. 11 tune down one half step (low to high, E¨ A¨ D¨ G¨ B¨ E¨) 1
5
Cm(maj7)
8 8
88
9 9 6 6
3
6
3
3
5
9 9 68 8 8 8
3
3
11 11 8
3 3 3
346 5
3
3
Am(maj7) 1
1
3
Am(maj7) A¨
13 13 12 !
1
13
A¨
13
3 3 3
3
3
5
1518 18 18 1516 13 15161514 1516 ! 3
3
fully, counting as you go. Once the pattern is rock-solid in your head, you’ll have the freedom to lean into it with the power and speed necessary to make it musically compelling and effective. FIGURE 2 shows the solo I play over the riff, and for the majority of the solo I rely on the C Aeolian mode (C D Ef F G Af Bf), with an emphasis on C minor pentatonic (C Ef F G Bf) and the C blues scale, which adds the flatted fifth, Gf, to C minor pen-
063
0 6 6 6 6 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4
3
3
A¨maj7 A¨7
3
3
4444444 3333333 4444444 3
3
3
A¨maj7 Cm(maj7)
3 4 6 3 10 8 5 ! 5 5 5 3 5 5 5 3 ! 5 A¨maj7 A¨7
5 8
6
3
111511 13 12 1312
1
3
A¨
3
3
3
3
643 3
3
13 13
3
6 3 4 4 4
6 6 6 6 6 5 3 3 3 3 3 33 444 4 444 4 44 4
3
11 11
11 11 ! 11 !
A¨maj7
6 6 6 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
3
9 6 6 3 8555
Am(maj7)
1
Am(maj7) A¨
3
3
3
14
3
9 6 6 3 8 8 8 5 5 5
Cm(maj7)
3
10
3
3
9 6 8 88
9 8
8
3
9 6 88 8
1 11
96
9 6 8 8 8
3
Cm(maj7)
FIG. 22 FIGURE
9 6 8 8 8
3
1
9 9 6 6
Am(maj7) A¨
3
98
3
811 ! 11
3
A¨maj7
Cm(maj7) 1
3
1
!
13 13 13 13
13 13
3
12
3
Cm(maj7)
13151312 13 13 12131211 ! 12 1514 3
18 16 1816151615
3
3
3
1
3
16 18 16 181615 161516
3
14 17
0
1
3
tatonic. For this particular solo, I chose to “float” over some of the odd-meter shifts, with held and tied notes, as this gives the solo a feeling for freedom as it develops. I also use a “surrounding note figure” technique in bars 13, 14 and 16, as I will play the “home” note on the downbeat and then hammer-on to the note one half step above it, then use a double pull-off to the note one half step below it before returning to the initial note.
To download Dave Davidson’s Heavy Metal Hybrid Picking DVD—as individual chapters or the complete disc—visit guitarworldlessons.com or download the official Guitar World Lessons app in iTunes.
LESSONS
COLUMNS
MIC CHECK
by Chris Gill
PASS THE MIC
The Three Types of Mics You Will Meet
Types of microphones: (from left) Shure SM57 dynamic mic, Royer R-121 ribbon mic and Blue Bottle Rocket Mic Locker condenser mic
IF YOU HAVE been playing guitar for a
while, chances are pretty good that you have more than one guitar. More specifically, you probably have more than one type of guitar, such as electrics with humbuckers, guitars with single-coil pickups, a steel-string acoustic, a nylon-string acoustic, solidbodies, semihollows, archtops and so on. The reason why is simple—no single guitar is the right choice for every style of music. Just as most guitarists would never consider owning only one guitar, they also shouldn’t settle for owning just one microphone, as no single mic is the right tool for every job. For musical applications, there are three basic categories of microphones to consider: condenser, dynamic and ribbon. Within these categories, there are also several variations that may be better suited to specific applications, such as recording bass guitar or acoustic string instruments. A dynamic microphone is the most popular choice for electric guitarists. These mics often have very sturdy construction and generally can handle very loud sound pressure levels, which makes them ideal for live performance applications. The design consists of a thin diaphragm attached to a wire voice coil wrapped around a magnet. As the diaphragm moves, so does the coil, which disrupts the magnetic field and sends an electrical current to an amplification source. Dynamic mics typically have heavier diaphragms that accentuate upper midrange frequencies while rolling off high frequencies, which makes them a good choice for miking an electric guitar cabinet both live and in the studio. Dynamic mics are also typically used on stage by vocalists, particularly by performers who prefer to hold the mic in their hands. The Shure SM57 is probably the most popular dynamic mic for recording electric guitar, and there are a variety of dynamic mics designed for specialty applications, such as large-diaphragm dynamic mics (like the AKG D112 and Sennheiser e602 II) designed for bass guitar and kick drums that can handle extreme volume levels and attack transients. Condenser microphones are a better choice when you need to capture a wider frequency range, more detail and nuances.
102
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
Because condenser mics have lighter diaphragms, they tend to be more fragile than dynamic mics and more sensitive, which requires the use of a shockmount to isolate the mic from external vibrations from the floor, mic stand and mic housing. The capsule design consists of a very thin diaphragm plate placed in front of a stationary back plate. Both plates are electrically charged by an external power source to create a capacitor. When the diaphragm vibrates, the distance between the diaphragm and back plate changes, which also changes the capacitance. Different capsule designs provide different prominent frequencies as well as overall frequency response. As a result, pro studios often have a wide variety of condenser mics to offer vocalists a choice to best match their voice characteristics. Some condenser mics, like the Blue Bottle Rocket Mic Locker, have interchangeable capsules to offer the benefits of a complete mic collection for a smaller investment than purchasing mics
individually. Condenser mics with small diaphragms (also known as “pencil mics”) are generally more responsive to fast, sharp attack transients and capture richer highfrequency detail, which makes them ideal for acoustic guitar and drum/cymbal overhead recording applications. Ribbon mics aren’t as popular as dynamic or condenser mics, but they offer very smooth, natural sound that makes them a useful option in the studio. The design consists of a very thin strip of aluminum or other metal placed between two magnets. Because this design can be very fragile and susceptible to damage from loud signals or extreme attack transients, ribbon mics are typically used only for recording studio applications. High frequencies are rolled off in a pleasant, natural-sounding fashion that provides warm, rich vocals and room ambience. Ribbon mics have become increasingly popular with acoustic and electric guitarists in the studio.
Chris Gill is the Editor-in-Chief of Guitar Aficionado magazine and a digital audio recording professional who previously worked for Digidesign (Pro Tools) and Roland Corporation.
“Yeti sounds so good that we actually used some inspired vocal demo performances on the new record.” — Dan Reynolds, Imagine Dragons
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TRANSCRIPTIONS
HER BLACK WINGS Danzig
As heard on LUCIFUGE Words and Music by GLENN DANZIG • Transcribed by JEFF PERRIN
B5
A5
D5
A5 5fr
133
A
11
13
13
Intro (0:00, 2:37) Moderately Slow q = 73 N.C.(F#5)
Gtrs. 1 and 2 (elec. w/dist.)
1
Bass
B
P.M.
2
(repeat previous bar)
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
1
2
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
Bass Fig. 1 2
2
0
Verses (0:06, 1:05, 2:44) 1. Blackest of the black she comes (2.) 3. See she comes
Darker than night the eve of dusk blacker than pitch Gtrs. 1 and 2 substitute Rhy. Fig. 1 twice on 2nd Verse (see bar 7) on
in
Come another Have
0
1
to
me my form to make this
bleeding fallen
light
With the bitch
Gtrs. 1 and 2 P.M. 3
2
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
2
2
Bass plays Bass Fig. 1 twice (see bar 1) Bass substitutes Bass Fig. 2 on 2nd Verse (see bar 5)
comes See she scent of rain All I want
She comes her All I
upon
Bass
2
0
There
Enter oblivion brings the lust Demoness calls
she
Gtrs. 1 and 2 P.M. 5
2
now neck crave
The
1
2
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
1
2
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
B5
A5
4 4 2
2 2 0
2
0
Bass Fig. 2 2
2
0
she is Supernatural bitch is come N.C.(F#5)
harder than life ceasing never those who won’t
for
Gtrs. 1 and 2 Rhy. Fig. 1 P.M. 7
2
2
0
in my on and cross the breach in
slight P.H.
1
2
2
0
1
2
5
2
3
arms on Hell
and
There Her See
on B5
A5
4 4 2
2 0
P.M.
2
0
2
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
Bass plays Bass Fig. 2 twice (see bar 5)
104
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
“HER BLACK WINGS” WORDS AND MUSIC BY GLENN DANZIG COPYRIGHT © 1990 AMERICAN DEF TUNE AND EVILIVE MUSIC ALL RIGHTS ADMINISTERED BY UNIVERSAL MUSIC CORP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED USED BY PERMISSION REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF HAL LEONARD CORPORATION
“ HER BLACK WINGS”
she
stride is N.C.(F#5)
She
such
entwined
here
Unclean she with love Mortals freeze when she walks bedeviled with breasts enchantment
is
slight P.H.
P.M.
9
2
C
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
2
Pre-chorus (0:33, 1:32, 3:10) And she comes B5
Gtrs. 1 and 2 11
5
3
2
down
to
on
legs B5
A5
4 4 2
2 0
P.M.
2
me
0
2
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
yeah
A5
P.M.
4 2
is past
P.M.
4 2
2
2
4 2
4 2
4 2
2
2
2
2
2
2
4 2
4 2
2 0
2 0
0
0
2 0
2 0
2 0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2 0
2 0
Bass 2
And she
2
2
offers
to
sleep
2nd time, skip ahead to 3rd time, skip ahead to
under
13
P.M.
4 2
4 2
2
4 2
2
4 2
4 2
4 2
0 0
3 2 0
0 0
0 0
pitch:
2
D
2
2
1st Chorus (0:46) Whoa N.C.(F#m)
2
2
2
2
oh (G#dim)
2
2
4
Gtr. 3 (elec. w/dist.) Rhy. Fig. 2
7
Gtr. 4 (elec. w/dist.) Rhy. Fig. 2a
4
4
7
Bass
2
4
7
4
4
4
7
4
Bass Fig. 3
2
her D5
2
5
1/2
2
5
0
3 2 0 0
1/2
P.M.
2
5
1/2
5
5
under
Gtrs. 1 and 2 15
2
4
4 5
4
4
4 4
2nd Chorus (bar 21) 3rd Chorus (bar 27)
4 4
-1/2
-1/2
4 4
4 4
-1/2
4 4
F# C#
5
black
5
5
5
wings B5
5
4
2
1/2
4 2
4 2
4
4
2
5
4 2
4 2
2
G2
G2
G4
1/2
7 5
G4 1/2
7 5
5
N.C.(G#dim)
P.M.
1/2
4
5
black
F H
0
“dip” w/bar
N.H.
P.M.
3 2 0 0
her
D5
B5
0
7 5
4 2
4 2
4 2
2
1/2
2
2
4
guitarworld.com
105
TRANSCRIPTIONS Whoa (F#m)
oh (G#dim)
17
2
4
4
under 1/2
4
Rhy. Fig. 3
5
7
Rhy. Fig. 3a
7
7
E
2
3 2 0 0
0
7
5
4
2
2
4
4
4
4
4
2
4
2
1/2
4
4
4
4 2
7 5
4 2
5
A5
4 2
4 5
1/2
Bass Fig. 4
2
4
B5
1/2
P.M.
2
her black D5
4
4
Gtrs. 1 and 2 P.M. 19
0
1
2
7 5
7 7
7 7
7 7
7 7
2
0
1
5
2
slight P.H.
3
2
0
Go back to
N.C.
2
2
(0:59)
2
7 5
B
2nd Verse (bar 3)
B5
A5
4 4 2
2 0
2. There
P.M.
2
0
2
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
Bass plays Bass Fig. 2 (see bar 5)
F
2nd Chorus (1:45) under Whoa oh N.C.(F#m) (G#dim) Gtr. 3 plays Rhy. Fig. 2 three times (see bar 15) Gtr. 4 plays Rhy. Fig. 2a three times (see bar 15)
Gtrs. 1 and 2 21
2
Whoa (F#m) 23
4
oh (G#dim)
4
2
4
4
4
2
her black wings D5 B5
26 3 2 0 0
106
1/2
4 2
4 2
4
4
2
G4
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
3 2 0 0
0
4 2
0
4 2
4
4
under
2
4
her black D5
G4
4
oh Whoa N.C.(F#m) (G#dim)
G4
4
4 2
1/2
4 2
N.C.(G#m) 1/2
oh Whoa under N.C.(F#m) (G#dim) Gtr. 3 plays Rhy. Fig. 3 (see bar 17) Gtr. 4 plays Rhy. Fig. 3a (see bar 17)
2
wings B5
3 2 0 0
her black wings D5 B5
1/2
4
1/2
4
under
her black D5
4
1/2
4
4
2
0
wings B5
A5
1/2
4
Bass plays Bass Fig. 4 (see bar 17)
4
2
0
3 2 0 0
4 2
7 5
7 5
“ HER BLACK WINGS”
G
Guitar Solo (2:11) N.C.(F#5) B5 A5 Gtrs. 1 and 2 play Rhy. Fig. 1 four times (see bar 7)
5 4 4
Gtr. 3 29 5
5 2 P.H.
5
slight P.H.
1
5
4
N.C.
2 4 2 4 424 2 42
4
2
42
B5
1/2
slight P.H.
2
4
2 2
2
4
4 3 2 3 2 2
5
0 2 2 0
A5
1/2
2 3 4
1
4 4 2 5 5 2 2 4 4 2 2 2
5
5
pitch: C#
Bass plays Bass Fig. 2 four times (see bar 5)
N.C. 33 5
1
1
5
5
1/4
2 5 2
2
0
5
4
4 4
2
B5
1/2
2 2
13 14 13 14
16 14 16 14 16 14
16 14 16 14
14 14 16 14
16 14
16
14 14
16
3
N.C. 35 17
1
1
17 17
1
17 17 14
1
17 17 14 16
14 17
14 17
16
16
H
3rd Chorus (3:23) Whoa oh under her black wings * (She’s got me under on repeats: wings) N.C.(F#m) (G#dim) B5 D5 Gtr. 3 plays Rhy. Fig. 2 twice (see bar 15) Gtr. 4 plays Rhy. Fig. 2a twice (see bar 15)
Gtrs. 1 and 2
37
2
4
4
1/2
4
4
2
0
41
I
4 2
4 2
4
0
1
2
2
G4
of under Whoa under wings) N.C.(F#m) (G#dim) Gtr. 3 plays Rhy. Fig. 3 (see bar 17) Gtr. 4 plays Rhy. Fig. 3a (see bar 17)
2
0
1
2
2
17
17 17 ( 17 ) 16
under her black wings (She’s got me under B5 D5
Whoa oh wings) N.C.(F#m) (G#dim)
(play 3 times)
4
4
0
1
2
2
4
0
her black D5
B5
A5
1/2
Gtrs. 1 and 2 P.M. 45
2
A5
*2nd time: (She’s got me under her black wings)
Outro (4:16) N.C.(F#5)
2
14 17 17 14
1/2
3 2 0 0
Bass plays Bass Fig. 3 twice (see bar 15)
Whoa oh under her black wings wings) (She’s got me N.C.(F#m) (G#dim) D5 B5 Gtr. 3 plays Rhy. Fig. 2 (see bar 15) Gtr. 4 plays Rhy. Fig. 2a (see bar 15)
14 16
Intro (bar 1)
A
slight P.H. 1
1
1
17 14 17 14
14 17 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14
Go back to
B5 1
A5
1
4
2
0
3 2 0 0
4 2
7 5
7 5
(play 7 times and fade out)
Gtr. 3 (w/clean tone)
Bass plays Bass Fig. 1 (see bar 1)
(piano arr. for gtr.)
2 !
Bass plays Bass Fig. 1 (see bar 1)
guitarworld.com
107
TRANSCRIPTIONS
RUN TO YOU Bryan Adams
As heard on RECKLESS Words and Music by BRYAN ADAMS and JIM VALLANCE • Transcribed by JEFF PERRIN
Gtrs. 1-4 are capoed at the 2nd fret. All chords and tablature positions for Gtrs. 1-4 are relative to the capo. Non-bracketed chord names indicate concert-key harmony. A [G]
F#m7 [Em7]
E [D]
D [C]
Badd4 [Aadd4] 4fr
1
5fr
32
A5 [G5]
F#m [Em]
C#m7 [Bm7]
E [D]
7fr
A
2
34
132
7fr
1333
1333
2 333
2 334
B [A]
F#5 E5
E5 [D5]
D5 [C5]
7fr 12
Aadd2/C# [Gadd2/B]
111
5fr
133
133
133
Intro (0:00) Moderately q = 126 A [G]
F#m7 [Em7]
Badd4 [Aadd4]
F#m7 [Em7]
*Gtrs. 1 and 2 (elec. w/clean tone, capo 2) Rhy. Fig. 1 let ring throughout 1
0
0
2
2
0
0
2
0
3
A [G]
(repeat previous two bars)
0
2
5
4
0
4
Badd4 [Aadd4]
5
*Alternately, tune Gtrs. 1-4 up one whole step (without capo), as per studio recording.
Bass
F#m7 A Badd4 [Em7] [G] [Aadd4] Gtrs. 1 and 2 play Rhy. Fig. 1 twice (see bar 1)
Gtr. 3 (elec. w/overdrive, capo 2)
5
Bass
1
3
3 !
3 !
Bass Fig. 1 4
4
2
2
4
0
2
Fill 1 (1:14) Gtr. 3
108
A [G]
14
Badd4 [Aadd4]
w/slight fdbk.
1
2
F#m7 [Em7]
2 !
Bass Fill 1
2 !
0
2 !
4 4
4
2
2 !
2
2
4
0
2
0
0
4
0
Fill 1 (1:25)
(A)
4
Gtr. 3
(Badd4) 3
3
5 !
5 !
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
(A) (Badd4)
1
10 10
10 10 ! !
(F#m7)
(A)
(Badd4)
“RUN TO YOU” WORDS AND MUSIC BY BRYAN ADAMS AND JIM VALLANCE COPYRIGHT ©1984 IRVING MUSIC, INC., ADAMS COMMUNICATIONS, INC., ALMO MUSIC CORP. AND TESTATYME MUSIC ALL RIGHTS FOR ADAMS COMMUNICATIONS, INC. CONTROLLED AND ADMINISTERED BY IRVING MUSIC, INC. ALL RIGHTS FOR TESTATYME MUSIC CONTROLLED AND ADMINISTERED BY ALMO MUSIC CORP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED USED BY PERMISSION REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF HAL LEONARD CORPORATION
“ RUN TO YOU ”
B
9
Verses (0:15, 1:08) could never die 1. She says her love for me 2. She’s got a heart of gold She’d never let me down Badd4 F#m7 F#m7 A [Aadd4] [Em7] [Em7] [G]
A Badd4 [G] [Aadd4] Gtr. 3 plays Fill 1 on 2nd Chorus (see previous page)
Gtrs. 1 and 2
0
0
2
0
2
0
2
0
0
2
3
0
4
5
4
5
Substitute Bass Fig. 1 on 2nd Chorus (see bar 5)
Bass
2 !
2
0
4
2
But that’d change if she But you’re the one that always F#m7 [Em7]
2
4
0
ever turns A [G]
4
4
2
2
0
4
found out about you and I me on You keep me comin’ ’round Badd4 F#m7 [Aadd4] [Em7]
0
0 0
0
2
2
0
0
2
3
5
4
0
4
0
A [G]
4
0
Badd4 [Aadd4]
Gtrs. 1 and 2 13 2
0
5
Bass plays Bass Fig. 1 (see bar 5)
love is cold love is true but it’s A Badd4 F#m7 [G] [Aadd4] [Em7] Gtrs. 1 and 2 play Rhy. Fig. 1 twice Gtr. 3 plays Fill 2 second time (see bar 1) (see previous page) Oh I
Bass 17
4
4
2
C
wouldn’t hurt her if she didn’t know love to you so easy damn makin’ A Badd4 F#m7 [Em7] [G] [Aadd4]
but her know her
2
0
4
4
0
0
4
0
4
2
2
0
4
0 !
0
2nd time, skip ahead to F 2nd Chorus (see bar 37)
Pre-chorus (0:30, 1:32) when it I got my
’cause
your I need to feel your I need to feel C#m7 Aadd2/C# [Bm7] [Gadd2/B]
gets too much mind made up
D [C]
E [D]
Gtr. 1 21
touch I’m gonna touch I’m gonna C#m7 [Bm7]
w/overdrive
5 5 5 3
5 5 5 3
5 5 5 3
5 5 5 3
5 5 5 3
5 5 5 3
5 5 5 3
5 5 5 3
Gtr. 2
0
5 5 5 3
5 5 5 3
5 5 5 3
0
5 5 5 3
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5 5 5 3
5 5 5 3
5 5 5 3
0
7 7 7 5
7 7 7 5
7 7 7 5
7 7 7 5
7 7 7 5
7 7 7 5
7 7 7
7 7 7
7
7
7 7 7 5
7
8 7 7
8 7 7
7 7 7
7 7 7
X X X
X X X
7 7 7
7 7 7
X X
X X
4
2
0
w/overdrive
0
5 5 5 3
Bass 5
5 5 5 3
7 7
8 7 7
8 7 7
4
4
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
4
4
guitarworld.com
4
109
TRANSCRIPTIONS
D
1st Chorus (0:45) run to you A5 F#m [G5] [Em]
Gtrs. 1 and 2 (w/dist.) Rhy. Fig. 2 25 3 0 3 0 0 2 0 2 X 0 X 3 Bass
I’m gonna E [D]
3 3 0 0
2 3 2 0
X X
3
B [A]
2 3 2 0
2 3 2 0
X X
2 2 2 0
2 2 2 0
4
2
2
2 2 2 0
run to you F#m A5 [Em] [G5]
2 2 2 0
0 0 2 2 0
0 0 2 2 0
X X
4
2
2
4
’Cause when the E [D]
3 3 0 0
3 3 0 0
3
3
0
0
X X
B [A]
2 3 2 0
2 3 2 0
2 3 2 0
2
2
2
X X
2 2 2 0
2 2 2 0
2 2 2 0
2 2 2 0
2
2
2
0
Bass Fig. 2 2
2
0
4
feelin’s F#m [Em]
0
0
0 0 2 2 0
X X
2
4
2
2
I’m gonna E [D]
right A5 [G5]
29
3 3 0 0
3 3 0 0
3
3
run all
2 3 2 0
X X
2 3 2 0
2 3 2 0
2
0
night B [A]
X X
2 2 2 0
I’m gonna
2 2 2 0
2 2 2 0
run to F#m [Em]
2 2 2 0
0 0 2 2 0
0
4
4
2
2
0
4
0
0
2
4
2
2
4
2
2
2
0
4
A5 [G5]
X X
2
2
E [D]
3 3 0 0
3 3 0 0
3 3 0 0
3 3 0 0
3
3
3
3
4
0
0
0
4
(1:00)
2 3 2 0 0
0
2
2 !
Go back to
Gtrs. 1 and 2 play Rhy. Fig. 1 twice (see bar 1) Gtr. 3 33
10 ! 10 !
1
10
10
10
4
you
2 3 2 0 0
Bass Fig. 3
E
2 2 2 0
B
2nd Verse (see bar 9)
10 !
(let ring next two bars)
1
Bass plays Bass Fill 1 (see bar 4)
F
2nd Chorus (1:38) run to you run to you F#m A5 [Em] [G5]
Gtrs. 1 and 2 37 3 0 3 0 0 2 0 2 X 0 X 3
3 3 0 0
3 3 0 0
3
3
run to you Yeah I’m gonna Oh when the feelin’s right F#m B A5 [A] [Em] [G5]
E [D] 2 3 2 0
X X
2 3 2 0
2 3 2 0
2 2 2 0
X X
2 2 2 0
2 2 2 0
2 2 2 0
Bass plays Bass Fig. 2 (see bar 25)
feelin’s right I’m gonna stay all E F#m A5 [D] [Em] [G5] Gtrs. 1 and 2 play Rhy. Fig. 2 (see bar 25) Bass Bass Fig. 4 41 2
110
2
4
0
0
2
2
2
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
0 0 2 2 0
X X
run all
2 3 2 0
3 3 0 0
3 3 0 0
3 3 0 0
3
3
3
2 3 2 0
X X
’Cause when the night I’m gonna B [A]
2 3 2 0
2 2 2 0
X X
2 2 2 0
2 2 2 0
2 2 2 0
2 2 2 0
Bass substitutes Bass Fig. 4 second time (see bar 41)
1.
0
0 0 2 2 0
I’m gonna E [D]
4
night B [A]
4
2
2
I’m gonna
4
2
0
run to you F#m A5 [Em] [G5]
2
2
4
0
E [D]
0
0
4
2
2
2
4
Yeah B [A]
I’m gonna
2
2
2
0
4
“ RUN TO YOU ”
2.
run F#m [Em]
to
you A5 [G5]
45 Gtrs. 1 and 2 0 0 2 2 0
X X
E [D]
3 3 0 0
3 3 0 0
3 3 0 0
3
3
3
0
2 3 2 0 0
X X
2 3 2 0 0
Bass plays Bass Fig. 3 (see bar 31)
G
Interlude (2:25) F#5 [E5]
Gtr. 3 Riff A 47 9 10 9
9
9
9 !
(When the feelin’s right girl)
E5 [D5]
8
7
9 !
7
7
7
7 !
7 !
Gtrs. 1 and 2 (w/clean tone) Rhy. Fig. 3
0
0
2 !
2 !
9 9 7
Bass
Bass Fig. 5
D5 [C5]
51
5
6
0
9 9 7
5
5
2
5 !
4 !
2
5
0
7
0 5 5 3
4 !
9
Gtr. 4 59 5
11
9
9
9
11 !
11 !
Bass plays Bass Fig. 5 simile (see bar 49) D5 [C5]
7
5
5
5
7 !
7
7
end Riff A
7
7 !
5 !
0
0
2 !
0
7 !
7
end Rhy. Fig. 3
7 7 5
E5 [D5]
0 !
4
Oh
8
F#5 [E5] Gtrs. 1 and 2 play Rhy. Fig. 3 (see bar 47) Gtr. 3 plays Riff A (see bar 47)
Gtr. 4 (elec. w/dist., capo 2) 55
7 7 5
2 !
5 !
7 7 5
E5 [D5]
5 !
5 5 3
0
7 7 5
9
7
7
7
7
0
4
4
7
9 !
E5 [D5]
9
7
9 !
7
9 !
9 !
Bass 5 !
2 !
4 !
4 !
4 ! guitarworld.com
111
TRANSCRIPTIONS
H
(2:35)
F#m [Em]
A5 [G5]
Gtrs. 1 and 2 63 0 0 2 2 X 0 X
E [D]
3 3 0 0
3 3 0 0
3 3 0 0
3
3
3
Bass
I
“ RUN TO YOU ”
B [A]
2 3 2 0
X X
2 3 2 0
2 3 2 0
2 2 2 0
X X
3rd Chorus run to you feelin’s run to you F#m [Em]
F#m [Em]
2 2 2 0
2 2 2 0
2 2 2 0
Oh E [D]
A5 [G5]
I’m
gonna
B [A]
2 2 2 0
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
(2:43)
I’m gonna
right
stay all
night
Yeah B [A]
E [D]
A5 [G5]
Gtrs. 1 and 2 (w/overdrive) 67 3 3 0 3 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 X 0 X 3 3
3 3 0 0
2 3 2 0
X X
3
2 3 2 0
’Cause when the I’m gonna run to you Oh I’m gonna I’m gonna run to you when the feelin’s right I’m gonna stay all night B F#m A5 E [A] [Em] [G5] [D]
Yeah
2 3 2 0
2 2 2 0
X X
2 2 2 0
2 2 2 0
2 2 2 0
(play 3 times)
2 2 2 0
Bass plays Bass Fig. 4 (see bar 41) Bass substitutes Bass Fig. 2 second time (see bar 25)
Bass plays Bass Fig. 2 (see bar 25)
when
Oh F#m A5 [Em] [G5] Gtrs. 1 and 2 play Rhy. Fig. 1 (see bar 1)
the E [D]
feelin’s
right B [A]
now
Bass 71
2
J
2
0
4
0
4
4
7
7
7
7
9
9
yeah When the feelin’s yeah now Oh yeah I’m gonna run B F#m F#m E A5 [A] [Em] [Em] [D] [G5] Gtrs. 1 and 2 play Rhy. Fig. 2 twice (see bar 25) Substitute Bass Fig. 2 four times simile, all repeats (see bar 25) Oh
9
9
9
0
run for you run to you F#m [Em]
0
0
2
0
2
run to you
A5 [G5]
2
4
yeah
E [D]
2
2
Oh Babe
2
0
4
oh I’m gonna
B [A]
2
2
right
now
run for ya A5 [G5]
9
0
4
0
2
Oh night B [A]
run all E [D]
4
2
2
2
4
F#m [Em]
2
2
Yeah oh
run to you E [D]
A5 [G5]
I’m gonna I’m gonna now
2
0
4
I’m gonna
B [A]
(play 3 times and fade out)
77 2
112
9
Outro (3:09) run to you
73
2
2
4
0
0
2
4
2
2
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
4
4
2
2
2
0
4
2
2
4
0
0
2
4
4
7
7
7
7
9
9
9
®
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TRANSCRIPTIONS
SLOW DANCING IN A BURNING ROOM John Mayer
As heard on CONTINUUM Words and Music by JOHN MAYER • Transcribed by JEFF PERRIN
Chords for Gtr. 1 C#m E
Amaj9
9fr
A
4fr
T 3111
312
(T= thumb)
E
4fr
Esus2
5fr
2131
9fr
T 3211
311
Chords for Gtr. 5 (acous.) Badd4 C#m
Badd4 4fr
411
A
F#m11
4fr
321
F#m7add4
E
T3 4 1
134
Slowly q = 67
9
X X X
9 11
8 9
11 11 11
9 9 9
4
134
C#m
E
let ring 5
231
5 4
5
5 4 6
5 4 6
0
0
let ring
9
11
9
Amaj9
Bass 5
4 4 5
12
14
7 0
7 0
7
0
0
X X X
1
5
7
14 14
1/2
16 16
14 !
16 !
9 11
4 5
6
4
0
0
4
2
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
4
X X
14
12
11
16
14
12
9 11
X
4
9 9
4
11
9 9
11
4
12
14
12
5 5 6 7 5
7
11 11 11
9 9 9
4
11 12
12
8 9
12 11
1/2
16
9 11
X
E
A
1
14
4
C#m
Gtr. 2 (elec. w/clean tone) Riff A1
4
4
E
4
4
Gtr. 3 (elec. w/clean tone) Riff A 4
Gtr. 1 let ring
Bass Fig. 1
X X
*Chord symbols reflect overall harmony.
Bass
114
T3 4 1
9
9
123
A
11
13421
* C#m
Gtr. 1 (elec. w/clean tone) 1 let ring
4fr
Intro (0:00)
1342
C#m7
4fr
A
C#m
7fr
13
12
13
12
14 14
1/2
14
16 16
let ring 9 9 9
0
11 11
7
1
0
0
9 9 9
9 11
9
11
“SLOW DANCING IN A BURNING ROOM” WORDS AND MUSIC BY JOHN MAYER COPYRIGHT © 2006 SPECIFIC HARM MUSIC ALL RIGHTS ADMINISTERED BY GOODIUM MUSIC, INC., C/O CAL FINANCIAL GROUP, 700 HARRIS STREET, SUITE 201, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA 22903 INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT SECURED ALL RIGHTS RESERVED REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF HAL LEONARD CORPORATION
“SLOW DANCING IN A BURNING ROOM ”
14 14 ! C#m
7
16 !
14
12
11
16
14
12
10
13
X X
B
9
X X
1st Verse (0:30) silly little C#m
X X
9
X X
4
4
9 9
11
moment
Gtr. 1
9 9 9 11
9 9 11
5
not the
9
9
11
9
11
9
0
0
7
end Bass Fig. 1
0
2
4
storm before the calm A E 5 6 7
9 9
11
9
7
This is
5
let ring
11
11 11
9
0
it’s
9 9
5
4
let ring
5 5 6 7
11
9 !
9
9
4
11
9 9 9
9 !
9
1/2
16
E
12
It’s not a
A
1
the
let ring
5 6 7
9
5
0
9 9
11 9
11
9
12
Gtr. 4 (elec. w/clean tone) Rhy. Fig. 1 P.M.
9 11
9 9 11
X X
9 9 11
5 6 7
0
5 4 6
5 4 6
Bass plays Bass Fig. 1 simile (see bar 1)
Gtr. 1 11
deep and dyin’ breath of This love C#m Gtr. 4 plays Rhy. Fig. 1 three times (see bar 9)
9
13
hold you like I want to C#m
gonna come and save C#m
9
11
you
9 11
9 9 9
11
9 9
9 9
We
8 11
on
Can’t seem to E
11
11
9 9 0
can feel you in A
11 11
9
5
I
11
let ring
5 5 6 7
11
so
9 9 9 11 9
15
9 9 9 11
that we’ve been workin’ A
my arms E
9
5
0
too many false Amaj9
11 11
9 9
6 4 5
11 11
9
alarms
We’re goin’ Esus2
4 6 4 5
4 4 7 9 0
7
9
7
Nobody’s
let ring
5 5 6 7
pulled
9
, 4 4 7 0
7
9
7
guitarworld.com
115
TRANSCRIPTIONS
C
Chorus (0:58, 2:03) down (Down Badd4
*Gtr. 1 17 0 7 8 9
0 7 8 9
And you can
0 7 8 9
0 7 8 9
0 7 8 9
0 7 8 9
0 7 8 9
0 7 8 9
0 7 8 9
0 7 8 9
4 4
5
4 4
see it ah) C#m 9 9 11
too
9 9 11
9 9 11
9 9 11
9 9 11
We’re goin’ A 0 5 6 7
0 5 6 7
0 5 6 7
0 5 6 7
0 5 6 7
0 5 6 7
0 5 6 7
0 5 6 7
5
4
5
0 5 6 7
*Gtr. 1 doubled throughout (simile) by Gtr. 5 (acous.) (See chord frames for Gtr. 5)
Gtrs. 2 and 3 Riff B let ring throughout 4 4
5
4 4
5
(repeat previous bar)
4 4
5
Bass
4 4
5
2
4 4
5
4 4
2
2
5
2
2
down (Down Badd4 Gtrs. 2 and 3 play Riff B twice (see bar 17)
Gtr. 1 19 0 7 8 9
0 7 8 9
7 7 8 9
7 7 8 9
7 7 8 9
2
0 7 8 9
0 7 8 9
Bass 2
7 7 8 9
4
And you
0 7 8 9
0 7 8 9
0 7 8 9
0 7 8 9
5
know that ah) C#m
0 7 8 9
9 9 11
9 9 11
5
we’re doomed
My
dear
0 0 2 4 4
0 0 2 4 4
* F#m7add4
9 9 11
0 0
0 0 2 4 4
0 2 4 4 2
0 0 2 4 4
0 0 2 4 4
0 0 2 4 4
*Fret sixth string w/thumb.
2
2
5
2
2
4
2 !
2
On 2nd Chorus, skip ahead to F Guitar Solo (see bar 35)
C#m
slow
We’re
Gtr. 1 Rhy. Fig. 2
21 9 9 11
9 9 11
9 9 11
9 9 11
Gtr. 5 (acous.) Rhy. Fig. 2a 4 5 6 6 4
Bass
116
4
4 5 6 6 4
4 5 6 6 4
4 5 6 6 4
dancing
9 9 11
4 5 6 6 4
4
9 9 11
4 5 6 6 4
4
4
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
9 9 11
4 5 6 6 4
4
9 9 11
4 5 6 6 4
in
a
9 9 11
9 9 11
4 5 6 6 4
4 5 6 6 4
burning room A E Gtr. 2 plays Riff A on 1st Chorus (see bar 4) Gtr. 3 plays Riff A1 on 1st Chorus (see bar 4)
0 5 6 7
0 2 2 2 0
0 5 6 7
0 2 2 2 0
0 5 6 7
0 2 2 2 0
let ring
9 9 9 9 11 11 0
0 0 1 2 2 0
5
7
0
9 9 11
0 0 0 1 2 2 0
0 !
9 9 11
9
7
9
12
9
7
“SLOW DANCING IN A BURNING ROOM ”
D
(1:20)
C#m
Gtr. 1 Rhy. Fig. 3 let ring 23 9 9 9 9 9 XX 9 9 11 11 11 11 9 9 11 9
A
C#m
4 5 6 6 4
4 5 6 6 4
4 5 6 6 4
4 5 6 6 4
4 5 6 6 4
4 5 6 6 4
4 5 6 6 4
4 5 6 6 4
C#m7
4 5 6 6 4
5 6 9 7 9
9
5
0
A
E
0 2 2 2 0
0 2 2 2 0
0 2 2 2 0
0 2 2 2 0
A
Gtr. 5 Rhy. Fig. 3a 4 5 6 6 4
E
11 11
9 11
9 11
let ring
let ring
9 9 X X 9 11 9 9 9 11 9 11 9
11
0 0 1 2 2 0
0 0 1 2 2 0
0 0 1 2 2 0
0 0 1 2 2 0
0 0 1 2 2 0
0 0 1 2 2 0
0 0 1 2 2 0
0 0 6 6 4
5 6 9 7 9
5
C#m7
0 0 1 2 2 0
9
0
A 0 0 6 6 4
0 0 6 6 4
0 0 6 6 4
0 0 6 6 4
0 0 6 6 4
0 0 6 6 4
0 0 6 6 4
0 0 6 6 4
I was the
E
0 0 6 6 4
0 0 6 6 4
0 2 2 2 0
0 2 2 2 0
0 2 2 2 0
11 11
9 7
9
E
0 2 2 2 0
0 0 1 2 2 0
0 0 1 2 2 0
0 0 1 2 2 0
0 0 1 2 2 0
0 0 1 2 2 0
0 0 1 2 2 0
0 0 1 2 2 0
0 0 1 2 2 0
Bass plays first six bars of Bass Fig. 1 simile (see bar 1)
E
2nd Verse (1:34) one you always dreamed of You were the one I tried to draw C#m A E Gtr. 4 plays Rhy. Fig. 1 four times (see bar 9)
Gtr. 1 27
9 9 9
9
Gtr. 5
G
4
4
5
6
7 7
6
6
5 6 7
9 9 11 0
5 0 2 2
6
0 0 1 2 2 0
0
Bass plays first six bars of Bass Fig. 1 simile (see bar 1)
light I ever saw A E 5 6 7
5
9 9
9 11 11
9
0
0
9 9 11 0
7
9 9 9
9
9
0 0 0 1 2 2 0
12
9
0 0 0 1 2 2 0
G
4
4
7 7
0
6
4
4
6
4
5 6 7 5
9 9
9
(C#m)
4 5
4
4
4
9 9 11 0 0 0 1 2 2 0
9 9 11 0
7 7
5
0
0
4
5
4 7 0
E 0 2 2
4
0 0
A
Gtr. 5
Bass
6
6
6
You try to
9 9
11
0
C
9
11 9
9
7
0 0 1 2 2 0
Go back to
We’re goin’
Chorus (see bar 17)
4 !
6
0 2 2
hit me just to hurt me so you leave me feelin’ dirty ’cause you can’t understand C#m A Esus2
Gtr. 1 33
Baby you’re the only
You’ll be a bitch because you can A E
4 !
9 9 9
0 0 1 2 2 0
0 2 2
I’ll makethe most of all the sadness C#m
let ring
30
How dare you say it’s nothin’ to me C#m
7
0 0 1 2 2 0
0
4 7 0
4 7 0
0
4 7 0
6
0 0 1 2 2 0
0
0
4
4
guitarworld.com
117
TRANSCRIPTIONS
F
Guitar Solo (2:24) C#m Gtr. 1 plays Rhy. Fig. 3 (see bar 23) Gtr. 5 plays Rhy. Fig. 3a (see bar 23)
Gtr. 6 (elec. w/light overdrive)
1
35 14
14
14
14
A
1½
13
13
3
13
13
E
1
11
1
11
11
11
11
9
11
13
13
1/4
9
9
12
3
Bass plays first four bars of Bass Fig. 1 w/ad lib variation (see bar 1)
C#m
*-e
1/4
37
12
9
9
12
1/4
9
12
9
1
Go
12 12
9
1
12 9
11 9
11
Bridge (2:38) cry about it why don’t you Badd4 F#m7add4 C#m Gtrs. 2 and 3 play Riff B six times (see bar 17)
12 ( 12 )
5 A
0 5 6 6 4
0 5 6 6 4
0 5 6 6 4
12 !
0 5 6 6 4
0 5 6 6 4
0 7 8 9
0 7 8 9
Go
cry
about
0 7 8 9
0 7 8 9
0 0 2 4 4 2
5
0 0 2 4 4 2
A
0 0 2 4
0 0 2 4 4 2
0 0 2 4 4 2
4
* w/sub-octave effect 1/2
14 12 13 11
12 14 13 11
1/2
9
9
9
9 !
9
1
12 ( 12 )
12
it why don’t you C#m
0 0 2 4 4 2
0 0 2 4 4 2
12 11
0 5 6 6 4
5 A
4
4
0 5 6 6 4
0 5 6 6 4
12 !
0 5 6 6 4
0 5 6 6 4
2
4
*Set to produce additional note one octave lower.
Bass
2
2
Badd4
0 7 8 9
A
2
4
4
Go
2
1/2
1/2
9
2
2
9
9
2
4
2
cry
2
about it
F#m7add4 0 0 2 4 4 2
0 0 2 4 4 2
5
4
0 0 2 4
0 0 2 4 4 2
9
2
9 !
2
2
4
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
2
0 0 2 4 4 2
1
12 ( 12 )
4
4
0 0 2 4 4 2
0 0 2 4 4 2
2
4
2
why don’t C#m 0 5 6 6 4
5 A 0 5 6 6 4
2
4
2
you
4
2
4
4
4
2
Badd4 0 5 6 6 4
0 5 6 6 4
0 5 6 6 4
0 0 0
12 12 ( 12 ) !
4
2
4
0 7 8 9
0 7 8 9
2
4
0 7 8 9
4
My 0 5 6 7
0 5 6 7
5
5 A
0 5 6
0 5 6
0 5 6 7
5
w/sub-octave effect 1/2
9
2
9
dear
A
0 7 8 9
4
0 7 8 9
4
0 7 8 9
2
4
w/sub-octave effect
118
12 11
11
0 0 0 4 4 2
1
Gtr. 7
42
0 0 0 4 4 2
11 9
F#m7add4
0 0 0 4 4 2
Gtr. 1 39 0 0 0 4 4 2
11
3
*Notes layed slightly “behind the beat.”
G
1
11 11 9
Gtr. 7 (elec. w/clean tone)
1/2
6
6
0
0
9
2
9
1/2
9
9
“SLOW DANCING IN A BURNING ROOM ” we’re slow C#m Gtr. 1 plays Rhy. Fig. 2 (see bar 21) Gtr. 5 plays Rhy. Fig. 2a (see bar 21)
dancing
45
in
a
burning A
Gtr. 7
1/2
9
1/2
9
9
1/2
9
9
9
1/2
9
9
9
1/2
9
9
9
9
11
9
1
1/2
12 14
14 16
14 16
Gtr. 2
1
1/2
9
Gtr. 3
1/2
9
room E
9
9 !
9
Bass plays first two bars of Bass Fig. 1 simile (see bar 1)
H
Outro (3:07)
Gtr. 6 47
Gtr. 3
Riff C
1
0
1/2
14 16
14 16
12 14
11 12
12 14
12 12 9
1
9
1
12
9
12
1
12
3
9
12
3
11 12
12 13
12
1
12 14
12 13
12
3
11
12 9
9
(Burning A 11 8
9 11
11
14 16
1/2
14 16
1
0
14 16
14 16
12 14
(Yeah yeah yeah yeah C#m Gtr. 2 plays Riff C through fade (see bar 47) Gtr. 3 plays Riff C1 through fade (see bar 47)
Gtr. 7 Riff D
12
( 12 )
1/2
12
11
11
9 11
9
12
11 12
9 11
11
3
12
12
12
1/2
11
9
7
9
11
9
11
11
9
11
9
9
9
7
9
3
end Riff C
9 9
1
12 14
9 9
14 16
12
1/2
14 16
end Riff C1
12
9
9
9
3
1/2
G
9
room) E
9
7
7 9
Burning A 1
9 3
9 10
1
1/2
14 16
1
room) E
3
Gtr. 6 51
room)
Riff C1 Bass plays Bass Fig. 1 w/ad lib variation until fade (see bar 1)
C#m
49
14 16
11 12
E
Gtr. 2
(Burning A
C#m Gtr. 1 plays Rhy. Fig. 2 until fade (see bar 21) Gtr. 5 plays Rhy. Fig. 2a until fade (see bar 21)
1
12
1
9
9
12
12
12
9
guitarworld.com
119
TRANSCRIPTIONS
(Yeah C#m 53
12
“SLOW DANCING IN A BURNING ROOM ”
yeah
yeah
9 11 9
yeah
1/2
12
11
12
11
12
Burning A
12
11
11
1
9
11
12
9
12
12 9
3
11
1
12
Don’t you
room) E 1
1
12 12 9
3
11
think we ought - a
1
1
12 12 12 9
3
3
1
12 12 12 12 9
11
3
3 1
!
12
know by now (Yeah yeah C#m Gtr. 7 plays Riff D w/ad lib variation through fade (see bar 51)
Gtr. 6 1 1 55 12 12 12 12
1
9
11
1
1
12 12 12 12
9
11
1
12 12 12 12
9
11
9
end Riff D
12
12
Don’t you think we yeah
yeah
12
9
11
9
11
9
11
9
should have
11
9
11
9
5
learned Burning A
56
some
how
9
11
9
11 11
9
9
11
11
Don’t
room) E
11
9
think we ought - a
7
you
7
11
9
9
11
11
9
11
9
7
9
11
11
11
3
know by (Yeah C#m 1
57 11
now yeah
yeah 1
10
X X X X
11
9 11
9 11
Don’t you think we should have learned yeah Burning A
1
9 12
11 11
3
know by (Yeah 59
C#m 21 21
120
now yeah
21
21
19 19
19 19
9
1
1
11 11 9
12 12
1 12
12
some how
1
12 9 12
1
12 12
12
room) E 1/2
Don’t you think we ought - a
14 14 14 12 12 14 14 12 14 16 1/2
3
3
Don’t you think we should have learned some yeah Burning yeah
how
17
GU I TA R WOR L D • NOV EM BER 2016
16
16
14
12
A 21 21
21 21
19 19
19 19
17
(fade out) room) E 16
16
14
12
13
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Monster Grips™ is a revolutionary guitar pick grip that is super grippy, non-sticky, and stays clean. Surprisingly durable, yet ultra-thin, it is extremely comfortable and is certain to enhance your playing experience. Monster Grips™ amazing properties allow you to hold the pick even more lightly, producing even better articulation, while reducing fatigue. MSRP: $9.99 monstergrips.com
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GUITAR WORLD
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PRODUCT PROFILE
CONTEMPORARY GUITAR IMPROVISATION (Utilizing the Entire Fingerboard) Book & CD Marc Silver
Since 1978, 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: $42.00 USD (includes delivery in the U.S.) MarcSilverGuitarImprov.com
SHREDNECK BelAir Models
The new Shredneck Bel Air models draw on styling and color cues from the vintage Bel Air car models. The Bel Air models feature a larger picking route, pearl dot inlays on a rosewood fingerboard, chrome hardware and white pearl pickguard material on the headstock which adds to the classic design of this model. Tuner Tips and a GB1 gig bag are included. SRP: $129.99 Shredneck.com
RATIO® MULTI GEARED TUNERS OPTION KNOB, INC GloKnob
CONTROL YOUR SOUL! This brighter version of our best selling OKnob Classic is easier to see on any stage, plus charge it with light and it illuminates in the dark. Pull off your factory knob, push on the GloKnob, and instantly tap into real-time control of your favorite parameters - without having to bend down! MSRP $11.95 GloKnob.com
[email protected]
Graph Tech Guitar Labs Available Now
Tuning has never been faster, more precise or intuitive, guaranteed. Individual gear ratio’s for each string lets every string feel and react the same to all tuning adjustments… a simple idea, long overdue. Available for acoustics and electrics, in: chrome, nickel, black, and gold. MSRP PER SET: $99.99–109.99 (non-locking), $139.95–154.95 (locking), $154.95 (open-back) graphtech.com/gw896 1-800-388-7011 US Patent: 8,859,868 & US Patent: 9240166 B1
[email protected] International Patents Pending
For more information on advertising in the Product Profile section, contact Anna Blumenthal at
[email protected] or (646) 723-5404! guitarworld.com
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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.
No Velcro Patents Issued Lifetime Warranty Curved Deck 2 Levels
Better. By people.
Dangerously obsessed www.chemistrydesignwerks.com 126
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E D U C AT I O N Online Vacuum Tube Guitar Amplifier
Correspondence Course Learn What Makes Them Tick kendrick-amplifiers.com INSTRUCTION
Tools and parts for working on your guitar Shipped fast Rock-solid guarantee
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 1-1/2x7/8StutterFdtnVisitUs.qx
THE STUTTERING FOUNDATION ® Visit us at www.stutteringhelp.org 1-800-992-9392
Where the pros shop, since 1969
stewmac.com guitarworld.com
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GUITARINSTRUCTOR.COM • THE BEST ONLINE SONG LESSONS, GUITAR TAB & MORE!
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Whether you’re looking to learn your favorite songs or to improve your chops, GuitarInstructor.com offers trusted, quality content that will make you a better player. Now you can also get the gear needed to be the best you can be. Experience GuitarInstructor today and enter for a chance to win over $2,000 worth of prizes including:
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ONE GRAND PRIZE WILL BE AWARDED AND TEN SECOND-PLACE PRIZES OF ALL-ACCESS 1-YEAR PASSES Contest begins September 1, 2016 and ends November 1, 2016. Visit www.guitarinstructor.com/UltimateGuitarSetUp to fill out an entry form. No purchase necessary. Open to residents of U.S.A. only. Must be at least 18 years of age to enter. Other restrictions apply. See contest details and official rules on website.
• Asterope Premium Cables • 1-year all-access pass to GuitarInstructor.com • Hal Leonard Instructional Materials
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AN INSIDE LOOK AT SOME OF THE COOLEST BRICK-AND-MORTAR GUITAR STORES IN THE U.S.
ATLANTA VINTAGE GUITARS
3778 Canton Road, Suite 400, Marietta, GA 30066 atlantavintageguitars.com
ATLANTA VINTAGE GUITARS celebrates their 30th anniversary this year, which is a testament to their deep ties to the local guitar community. Their new and expanded 4,000–square foot location is filled with a killer selection of guitars. Coupled with expert knowledge and great service, AVG is a mustsee destination. And it’s a cool place to hang out. NUMBER OF INSTRUMENTS CURRENTLY IN STOCK Greg Henderson (owner) Approximately 300. COOLEST INSTRUMENT CURRENTLY IN THE SHOP Tied between a 1968 Gibson ES-335 with oddly placed stop bar and a 1949 Martin D-28. FAVORITE INSTRUMENT YOU EVER SOLD A 1967 Gibson Firebird XII sold to Warren Haynes’ guitar tech, and now Warren plays it onstage. Another was a 1957 Esquire from the original owner; he still had the layaway ticket for it! STRANGEST REQUEST FROM A CUSTOMER We have people come in wanting to do major alterations to a guitar that really make no sense, and would ruin the guitar’s value. I remember some guy wanted us to rout out a 1968 Tele for a Floyd Rose and I said I can not in good conscience do that…why not buy a replacement body? BEST ADVICE FOR A CUSTOMER Listen with your ears, not your eyes. Thirty years ago there were not a lot of good guitars out there outside of Gibson, Martin, Fender, Rickenbacker and Guild—but now it’s amazing how much guitar $300 can buy. MIM Fenders are some of the best bargains
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out there, and most of the pros we know in town play them as their go-to instruments. Hagstrom, Michael Kelly and Danelectros are also great guitars made overseas. MOST EXPENSIVE INSTRUMENT YOU HAVE EVER SOLD A 1953 Gibson Les Paul. MOST SOUGHT-AFTER INSTRUMENT BY CUSTOMERS Telecasters—USA or MIM. Also Michael Kelly Guitars and Danelectros. BIGGEST PET PEEVE AS A SHOP OWNER That I cannot keep more of the guitars that come in the shop for myself! I am cut off and in recovery from GAS—Guitar Acquisition Syndrome—except for guitars for the shop. FAVORITE CELEBRITY ENCOUNTER John Sebastian from the Loving Spoonful, Tom Petersson from Cheap Trick, Rick Derringer, and all the great guitar dealers that I am friends with, like George Gruhn, Walter Carter, Jim Singleton and Drew Winn. ONE FACT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ATLANTA VINTAGE GUITARS We have expert amp and guitar repair, and we try to make guitar buying fun like it used to be in some of the legendary shops in Atlanta that are no longer open. MOST COMMON SONG OR RIFF PEOPLE PLAY WHEN TRYING GUITARS A tie between “Crazy Train” and “Little Wing”…and we do have an egg timer at the ready for those times when, you know, some folks think they are at an audition.
by Eric Feldman, guitarshoptees.com
