2017 GEAR OF THE YEAR DFA DIAMOND ROWE JERRY DOUGLAS BAND

DECEMBER 2017
DECEMBER 2017

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72
GUITAR &
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THAT WON
THE YEAR!

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13
REVIEWS
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 TONE-HENGE Publisher Jon Levy

EDITORIAL
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919.545.0747 Managing Editor Tessa Jeffers
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Senior Editor Ted Drozdowski
Gear Editor Charles Saufley
Art Director Meghan Molumby
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Nashville Correspondent John Bohlinger
Nashville Video Editor Perry Bean
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Contributing Editor Joe Gore

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10 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 REACHREACH
HIGHER
HIGHER Redefining craftsmanship one instrument at a time
Redefining craftsmanship one instrument at a time

G U I T A R S | A M P L I F I E R S | P E D A L S | P I C K U P S
TUNING UP

Fingertip Trips & the Rule of the Thumb

BY SHAWN HAMMOND @PG_shawnh

A
bout a year and a half ago I took of us guitar dweebs embrace. Dont get me than morons like me who misjudged it
to these pages/pixels to chronicle a wrong, I love hybrid pickingits been a big would think. Rather than focusing on
decades-long plectrum journey part of my playing since an early instructor one point of contact with a flatpick, you
from early teen years not thinking a whole revealed that my first guitar hero, Eddie Van have to be a lot more in tune with exactly
lot about what sorts of picks I used, to a Halen, uses itbut the approach Im talking where each part of your thumb is, as well as
several-year run using heavy Dunlop Tortex about is more for rhythm playing, and it how every minute movement affects tone.
picks, then a long stretch with Nylons offers a completely different feel. One often And, just as with different pick materials
and Max-Grips, and finally to my current overlooked by ambitious players who wile and gauges, the unique suppleness of your
stint with thick steel jobbers [Poor, away woodshed hours honing complex skills skin, nails, and even fingerprint ridges can
Unappreciated Steel, August 2016]. to impress bandmates and audiences. individualize the sounds you get. It really is
This last phase has lasted more than five The sans-plectrum method Im talking an art form in itself.
years now and shows no signs of letting about is au naturel and pretty loosey- To get started with this technique, focus
up. Every time I experiment with reverting goosey. And yet its sensuously alluring on using your thumb kind of like a paddle.
to old faves or trying new ones, it doesnt and intimate. The dynamics of this folksy Most of the movement should come from
take more than a few chord stabs before strumming technique stem from the the first (metacarpal) joint at the base of
I miss the surety and immediacy of the same elements that make hybrid-picking your hand, with the second (proximal)
shiny little flattened shields. But, its not so captivating: Hybrid-picked riffs and joint also doing a fair share of the action.
just those qualities. Adjust grip pressure, patterns arent cool just because youre Once youve experimented with the feel
striking strength, and attack angle, and steel essentially using several picks (up to five, of this, start working in the sorts of wrist
picks yield surprisingly versatile sounds if youre really adept) that let you create and forearm movements youd typically use
including very mellow ones. And then snappier, more intricate lines. At least half when strumming rhythms with a flatpick.
theres the texture of the notes: The subtle, the magic is the fact that your living flesh And rememberloosey-goosey is key
millisecond-long atmospheric tinge of the is directly activating strings in a range of here. Thats what gives this technique its
rigid teardrop edge scraping against string motions capable of much more nuance than humanizing qualities. Master it, and youll
windings is something wholly unique from a foreign object pinned between two digits. be able to express the aural equivalent of
typical polymer-based options. Heres how it works, at least for me (I subtle facial expressions that we dont even
And yet, here I am again, describing recommend the middle or neck pickup think about as we react to everyday life.
well, not another chapter in the pick position and a warm, clean-ish tonal Once youre reasonably comfortable
saga per se (like I said, Im still a devout foundation): For starters, your thumb is the with the thumb action, its time to start
metalhead), but perhaps a new, uh, de facto power player herethough that experimenting with the perpendicular
soliloquy or footnote or something: obviously means something very different in pleasures of getting your fingertips and
Over the last year or so Ive been this approach, which is less gonzo by design. crosscutting fingernails in on it. Again, I
experimenting more and more with an Your thumb is naturally positioned basically default to letting the thumb be the power
approach thats basically at the opposite end as it would be if you were flatpicking. But player, using it both to emphasize bass
of the spectrum from steel. One so basic it also has the distinct advantage of having notes and to periodically employ its nail for
I have to sheepishly admit that, for a long both a built-in pickyour nailand a strategic upstrokes that add subtle bursts of
time, I actually kind of looked at it as an soft, fleshy pad on its underside. Dynamics focused energy. Meanwhile, careful brushes
amateur technique favored by newbs and City is what you call this. of fingertips against the strings avail shades
those who just werent serious enough Your hitchhiking member also has two as subtle as warm whispers in a lovers ear.
about guitar to put in the time and master other super-cool anatomical benefits: In Have fun exploring this low-key, not-
proper picking techniques. (I know, stupidly addition to the typical wrist and forearm so-celebrated world. Im just getting to
judgmental and closed-minded, right?) pivoting action you use when flatpicking, know these paths better myself, but Im
What Im speaking of is making your thumb has three of its own joints glad Im finally seeing them.
proper use of the fattest, fleshiest, most adding to the range of motions at your
opposable-ist digit: the thumb. (And disposal. In other words, you arent just
empty picking-hand fingers, too.) strumming up and downyour thumb
Illustration by MeggiSt

The technique Im talking about isnt can also go in circular motions, making
just using phalanges and thumb in a your attack more of a 3-D affair. Its a lot of Shawn Hammond
straightforward fingerstyle way, or in the possibilities, to be sure. Which is why this Chief Content Officer
typical hybrid-picking sense that so many technique takes a lot more time to master shawn@premierguitar.com

premierguitar.com
12 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 IntroducIng martIns new tItanIum core strIngs
SuperIor TunIng STabIlITy corroSIon reSISTance leSS fInger faTIgue
 FEEDBACK LOOP
Rochesters Socialize
Merrimac Sound with Us!
While reading Jol Dantzigs
November 2017 Esoterica
Electrica column [Strats, Teles,
and Dan Smith], I smiled when
I saw the name Merrimac Learning tabs
Sound come up in the article does not a child
as Merrimac was fundamental prodigy make.
in my musical life. Merrimac @mikesr1963
was the store to go to for amps,
instruments, and repairs in
Rochester, New York, when I
started playing guitar. Merrimac
seemed to be the place for a core
of musicians to seek advice, help,
friendship, and good equipment. My ideal desert
I bought my first good amp at island rig would be
Merrimac: a pre-enjoyed Peavey an Ibanez BTB747
The Wish Book become ritual in this house. You Mace that I wish I still had. That 7-string bass, a
Thank you for the Robin guys rock! amp took me through many Fender Rumble bass
Trower interview [Robin Uuno Stearns, bands and school band shows. amp, and my EHX Neo
Trower: Have a Blast and Let At the end of the dirt road, It went all over the East Coast Clone pedal.
It Rip, October 2017]! From Massachusetts of the U.S. and Canada. When @LuckyEastwood
the first time I heard Robin my 1974 20th Anniversary Les
Trower Live, I was hooked. The A Guitar-Playing Paul Custom (black with gold
energy, musicianship, and fun Bassist hardware) needed some fret
performed on that record set As a long-time player (I call work, it went to Merrimac. I still
the standard for my musical myself a bass player who plays have that guitar and havent had
listening all the way up to the guitar), Ive purchased a lot of to do any fret work on it since.
present day. Every garage band, guitar mags! I must say, PG is far After Merrimac closed, I learned
bar band, and benefit show and away my favorite. Its like how to do my own guitar
Ive played in the last 40-plus you took my favorite parts from repairs, setups, etc. as I couldnt
years has included at least one all the other mags and put them find anyone that seemed to do
Trower tune. Our current lineup into one awesome package. I still the job like I wanted. Merrimac
does a minimum of three songs get the others from time to time, always made sure it was done
in every show we do, and its but PG is the only one I look right for you. I still pass by the
always a good feeling to see the forward to getting every month! store where Merrimac was and
Trower fans rocking out with us. As a new garage guitar builder, smile as I think of the memories
During the mid 80s, I was Im really stoked with Mod of a place that made me a
blessed to work house crew for Garage! Im going to use the better musician, technician,
two of Robins shows in New treble bleed/Varitone wiring in a and person.
York. Truly some of the highlights 335 Im currently building. And Steven M. Keon, For anyone
of my life. The smile on his face this months FilterTron article Rochester, New York complaining about
when he plays tells it all. is especially good timing as Im paying $200+ for a
Top right: Photo by Ken Settle

Premier Guitar has become putting Trons in it as well! Keep pedal today, Boss
my monthly Sears Christmas up the great work.
Keep those Digital Reverb was
catalog (for those who John Alberts,
comments coming! $199 around 30
Please send your suggestions,
remember). Eating dinner by (33 years of playing, still feel like a
gripes, comments, and good words
years ago.
the lake, lost in every issue, has beginner half the time) directly to info@premierguitar.com. Gary Bruce

premierguitar.com
14 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 CONTENTS December 2017
ARTISTS
44
Death From
Above
How unorthodox
bassist Jesse F. Keeler
uses a guitaristic
approach to make
wild sounds.

55
Jerry Douglas
The resonator master
serves up a daring
fusion of jazz, rock,
and bluegrass.

63
John Dwyer
The DIY road dog
has kept a prolific
pace with Oh Sees: 20 LESSONS
albums in 20 years.
88 The Shred Decoder

74 90 Punk Rock Madness

92 Spontaneous Shred
Diamond Rowe
A rising shred star 97 Obsessive Progressive
burns up the fretboard
on Tetrarchs new 98 Play Like Paisley!
album, Freak.
REVIEWS
108 156 Vertex Effects Steel String 164 Yamaha BBP34

2017 156 Fluid Audio Strum Buddy 167 Stomp Under Foot Alabaster
Gear of the Year Photo by Tim Bugbee/Tinnitus Photography
157 SviSound Techno-FA 171 Hughes & Kettner Era 1
Dig into the dazzling
parade of gear that 157 Radial Tonebone Texas Pro 175 Jackson Audio Prism
made our noggins
spin this year. 159 Fender 64 Custom 178 Island Anzol
Deluxe Reverb 181 Boss GT-1B
162 Hahn 112 185 Walrus Audio ARP-87

premierguitar.com
16 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 NILE RODGERS
Plays a different city every night.
Brings NYXL to each one.
 On the Cover: 2017 GEAR OF THE YEAR DFA DIAMOND ROWE JERRY DOUGLAS BAND
DECEMBER 2017

Victory V-40 Deluxe, JAM Pedals Delay

DECEMBER 2017
2017
Llama Supreme, Gibson Modern Double
Cut Standard, Ovation Applause Elite
PREMIER
AE44II-VV, Chase Bliss Brothers, and

CONTENTS December 2017

GEAR
Warehouse American Vintage G8C.
72
GUITAR &
BASS TOYS
THAT WON
THE YEAR!

premierguitar.com
12
13
Tuning Up REVIEWS
FENDER / HUGHES & KETTNER / BOSS / YAMAHA / HAHN / SviSOUND / & MORE!

26 Reader Guitar of the Month

27 Opening Notes
32 Obituary: Tom Petty
188 Staff Picks
When looking 208 Esoterica Electrica
back on his body 210 Last Call
of work, theres
little doubt that
GEAR
Tom Petty will
be regarded 22 Gear Radar
as one of the 34 Rig Rundowns
greatest American 38 Vintage Vault
songwriters in
40 Trash or Treasure
rock history.
Bill Murphy,
42 Wizard of Odd
Obituary: Tom Petty, 52 Tone Tips
p. 32
154 Tools for the Task

HOW-TO
82 The Recording Guitarist
84 On Bass
p. 38 86 Bass Bench
100 Mod Garage
102 State of the Stomp
104 Ask Amp Man

Top left: Photo by Roger Ho Bottom left: Photo by Tim Mullally

106 Speaker Geeks

premierguitar.com
18 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
GO ONLINE

ONLY ON PremierGuitar.com
Your guide to the latest stories, reviews, videos, and lessons.

FEATURED
Brazilian Phenom
Mateus Asato and Bloodclots
Barnstorming Debut
When it comes to guitarists on Instagram, Brazilian cyber-master
Mateus Asato owns it. The Los Angeles transplant has upwards of
375k devotees, a following he built with quality content showcasing
his impressive 6-string skills. The savvy guitarist, who plays sideman
to A-list pop acts Tori Kelly and Jessie J, has a metronome-tight
rhythmic sense and can play double-stops at warp speed.
Heck, just check out Asatos posts: His lead lines are
lightning fast, yet tasteful and melodic. He switches
effortlessly between alternate and hybrid picking, extended
metal techniques, and somewhat traditional fingerpicking
sometimes within a single line. Read our interview with Asato,
who shares tips on how to build an online presence.
Speaking of strong vibes, Bloodclots self-titled debut finds
the band forging hardcore-punk thats incendiary, urgent, and
contains the kind of power and conviction thats hard to find
in 2017. Fronted by John Joseph of Cro-Mags notoriety, the
pulse is provided by ex-Queens of the Stone Age rhythmic
punishers Joey Castillo and Nick Oliveri (on drums and
bass, respectively), with guitar journeyman Todd Youth
(Warzone, Murphys Law, Danzig) handling 6-string duties.
Premier Guitar sat down with Youth and Oliveri over slices
of pie at Scarrs Pizza in New Yorks Lower East Sidethe
scene of Youth and Josephs respective hardcore educationto
chat about Bloodclots barnstormer of a debut and how
they stole the bass tone from the first Bad Brains album, right
down to the settings used.

NEW FOOTAGE!
Tales from Teds Crypt
Premier Guitars senior editor Ted Drozdowski recently went
online to debut his monthly Road Dog Livestream on PGs
Facebook page. In this series, Drozdowski shares tales from
almost 30 years of playing guitar and gigging on the road. In
the first episode, Road Dog: Epic Axe Failures, Drozdowski
tells a story about his old band the Devil Gods and the case of
Top left: Photo by Austin Cooper

the exploding SG. Episode 2, Road Dog: Haunted Gigs, is

also online, so head to our website to hear real-life adventures
about haunted places Ted has played and stayed. Tune in for
the livestream on Facebook each month, or if you cant make
it to hear the stories in real-time, all episodes also live on our
website and YouTube.

premierguitar.com
20 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 GUITARDOMS
TOP TWEETS

Taking a trip down memory lane

with my pal Peter Criss #petercriss
#john5 #memories
@John5Guitarist

The coolest I ever felt was when

Tom Petty showed up at my 30th
birthday party. With a gift. But its his
music I will treasure forever.
@wildaboutmusic

If Bon Ivers last two albums dont

resonate with you, we cant date.
@ScharffIsHere

Upgraded to Logic Pro X. Also took

home my big gig rig (Kemper Profiler).
Recording tone sounding HUGE (thank
goodness 4 online tutorials)
@AlexSkolnick

Drops of Jupiter is playing at the

airport and I started to long for a
simpler time. Help me.
@KatyTur

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 21

 GEAR RADAR
New products on the horizon.

1
4

3
5

1 2 3 4 5
CAPARISON TC ELECTRONIC ACORN AMPLIFIERS ELECTRO- G&L
Dellinger-JSM Quintessence Gainesville 50 HARMONIX Doheny
Designed with Killswitch Want dual guitar parts Looking to add more Superego+ The latest U.S.-built G&L
Engages Joel Stroetzel in your band, but youre versatility to their flagship Springboarding off the 6-string takes the bolt-on,
and constructed off the only axeman? TC can 30-watt amp, the Atlanta- originals ability to create offset body (swamp ash
the companys existing beef up your soundfrom based crew unleashed synth effects, sound layers, or alder) into fresh sonic
Dellinger II model, this country or Southern a 50-watt model with a glissandos, and infinite territory with newly-
sig features a mahogany rock harmonies to Thin modified power section for sustain, the updated tone- developed Magnetic Field
body with a walnut top, Lizzy-esque doubled riffs an extra push and added warping box now includes Design pickupsthe
a 5-piece maple-and- and screaming metal a 3-way headroom switch 11 modes: detune, delay, first on any production
walnut neck, 24 medium leadswith a stomp that that incrementally cleans flange, phase, rotary, trem, G&Land pairs them with
nickel frets, and is loaded adds perfectly harmonized up the maximum gain with pitch, filter, and more. a passive treble-and-bass
with the bands signature notes in a wide variety of no reduction in wattage. $250 street circuit.
Fishman Fluence pickups. modes and scales. $2,000 street ehx.com $2,000 MSRP
$3,199 street $149 street acornamps.com glguitars.com
caparisonguitars.com tcelectronic.com

premierguitar.com
22 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 7

10
6

6 7 8 9 10
BOSS IRON AGE GENZLER SOLODALLAS DWARFCRAFT
JB-2 Angry Driver Imperial Series AMPLIFICATION TSR4 DEVICES
JHS origins can be traced Guitar Picks Acoustic Array Pro If you watched our Rig Grazer
back to a single broken These Roman-themed The 150-watt/300-watt Rundown with AC/DC, you Get weird with this
Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, plectrums are focused on class-D acoustic amp is spotted a Schaffer-Vega granular repeater and
so it only makes sense three simple characteristics: packed with two identical wireless unit that provides glitch machine that builds
the pedal giant would grip, tone, and comfort. The channelsboth with mic Angus the sizzle and sounds by continuously
collaborate with the mod U.S.-handcrafted picks come and instrument inputs sustain he needs. And now taking tiny samples
scientists by pairing the in six models, including plus a speaker system SoloDallas has put that from the input audio.
BD-2 with JHS popular jazz-style, rounded tips, and featuring a 10" woofer technology into a 30+ dB The sounds range from
Angry Charlie high-gain large tri-picks, and are made and custom-designed 2.5" boost that gives your tone off-kilter echoes to curious
OD in a combined circuit of pistol-grip/knife-handle neodymium cone-drivers, extra sustain, fatness, and buffer overload skips,
enhanced for dual-mode acrylics offering tones onboard reverb and a rich harmonic content. all the way up to harsh
operation. ranging from razor sharp to chorus, and it weighs just $369 MSRP machine glitches.
$199 street bold and brazen. 27 pounds. solodallas-shop.com $225 street
boss.info $2025 Street $999 street dwarfcraft.com
(depending on model) genzleramplification.com
ironageaccessories.com

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 23

 GEAR RADAR
Contd

12
11

14

15

13

11 12 13 14 15
ESP MYTHOS PEDALS BARE KNUCKLE ROUGAROU CORT
LTD KH Ouija Chupacabra PICKUPS PEDALS GB75JH
Natural Need some straight-up Ragnarok Draugr The latest addition to
Metallicas fleet-fingered Texas boogie in your Peripherys Misha Mansoor The husband and wife the GB7 series combines
soloist Kirk Hammett has sound? Nashvilles once again teamed up with team of Nathan and vintage aesthetics with
been working with ESP own Mythos goes after the wire winders at Bare Kara Heck created this modern technology.
for over 25 years. This Gibbons tone with Knuckle to tackle the goal of 3-knob overdrive aimed at This 5-string features a
limited-edition model is this marriage of fuzz, making the most aggressive getting tons of headroom Canadian hard maple
built in Japan and features overdrive, and boost. pickup in the companys and gain while still neck, 2-band EQ with
a quilted-maple drop The pedal is hand- line. Its a ceramic-based maintaining clarity via a passive/active push-pull
top, partially scalloped wired, features full-size design thats aimed at circuit designed around a controls, and alnico
fretboard, and custom components, and is capturing controlled high- germanium diode. V pickups.
Ouija graphics. true bypass. end response, aggressive $135 street $899 street
$1,399 street $179 street mids, and massive, focused rougaroupedals.com cortguitars.com
espguitars.com mythospedals.com bottom end.
$171 and up street
bareknucklepickups.co.uk

premierguitar.com
24 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 19

17

16 20

18

16 17 18 19 20
DEAN MARKLEY SUHR FOCUSRITE DR. Z ROCKBOARD
SR2000 Bass Alexa Chorus RedNet X2P 2x2 AMPLIFICATION Gold Flat
Strings With two independent Interface EMS 2x12 Combo Patch Cables
Due to higher tension channels, this 100 percent This compact Dante The doctors goal was to These extremely slim
during the winding analog chorus/vibrato interface features two pack as much British dirt patch cables have a very
process, these bass strings features six different Red Evolution mic pres, into a combo as possible. low conductor resistance
offer higher performance waveforms including a stereo line out, and The rectifier can swtich and are well-shielded to
along with more low-end photocell, triangle, sine, a stereo headphone from tube to solid-state prevent signal loss. Bonus:
response. They also use and rotary. It also allows amplifier. It allows you to to allow for saggy They are available in 10
compound winding to control over the speed, expand the I/O of a Red compression or a punchier different lengths.
make the string depth, and delay of the interface or any Dante low end. The 50-watt $9 and up street
feel smoother. chorus modulation. audio-over-IP system. beast is fueled by a pair of rockboard.de
Starts at $24 per set $299 street $899 street EL34 tubes and a trio of
deanmarkley.com suhr.com focusrite.com 12AX7 preamp tubes.
$2,499 street
drzamps.com

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 25

 READER GUITAR
OF THE MONTH
Name: Steve Reuter
Hometown: Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Once youve had a taste,

Guitar: The Mule

Almost 15 years ago, I combined

its hard to turn back.

my love of music, obsession
with guitar, and respect for
woodworking and started to
Bill Frisell build guitars on nights and
weekends. This one I call my
Mule. I designed it to be strong,
dependable, and versatile, but
simple, like a mule. The body
is walnut and has a universal
bathtub route with the
electronics mounted to the
pickguard. I used quick-
connect wiring to allow
an immediate swap to
an alternate pickguard,
which could have a
completely different
pickup and electronics
layout. The current
configuration is a DiMarzio
Handmade in the USA lollarpickups.com 206.463.9838 Charlie Christian 2017 Lollar Pickups All Rights Reserved
Chopper T with a 3-way switch wired to
give me series, parallel, and split tones.
The guitar has a walnut neck with
an ergonomic trapezoidal neck profile
and a 25" scale length. It has a pau ferro
fretboard with stainless steel frets, a zero
fret, and locking Sperzel tuners. The whole
thing is finished in many coats of oil and
is rubbed out to a smooth satin finish. It
plays easy with an ultra-low action, thanks
to the low-profile Schaller bridge.
I dont play out and these days I spend
as much time building guitars as playing
them. I love building guitars that I feel
match the tones and styles in my head.
This one was designed to have a gritty
tone like a Les Paul, but in a light, simple
Tele-like platform. I built it with heavy
blues and Southern rock bands like Govt
Mule, Blackberry Smoke, and the Cadillac
Three in mind. The Mule can nail those
tones pretty good. The Chopper T sounds
great as a humbucker but can pull off
a nice P-90 tone when in parallel and a
quacky single-coil sound when split.
Its a lot of work building your own
design from soup to nuts. But seeing
your own ideas come to life is incredibly
rewarding, especially when you plug it in
and turn it up.

Send your guitar story to

submissions@premierguitar.com.

premierguitar.com
26 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 OPENING NOTES

Munaf Rayani
September 18, 2017
The Greek Theatre
Los Angeles, CA
Photo by Debi Del Grande

Explosions in the Skys Munaf

Rayani surgically plucks an S-style
axe built by Pflugerville, Texas,
luthier Chris Forshage. Fashioned
after the mid-90s Strat Rayani
played for years, it features a
one-piece swamp-ash body, Lindy
Fralin 5-percent overwound
pickups, and a deeper headstock
carve that eliminates the need
for string trees. Its played like a
dream for me going on almost 10
years now, says Rayani.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 27

 OPENING NOTES

Roger Glover
September 2, 2017
Budweiser Stage
Toronto, Canada
Photo by Andrew Hartl

Deep Purples hard-rock bass

pioneer goes high on his trusty
Vigier Excess Roger Glover
Custom. Packed with a pair of
Excess noiseless single-coils, it
has a 3-band EQ designed by
Glockenklang, a Vigier quick-
release bridge, and phosphorescent
side dots and knob markers. After
many years of playing a range
of different basses, I stopped
searching when I started using
Vigier, says Glover. Theyre
reliable, and look and sound great.

premierguitar.com
28 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 OPENING NOTES

Van McCann
September 8, 2017
Austin360 Amphitheatre
Austin, TX
Photo by Roger Ho

The Catfish and the Bottlemen

frontman lets loose with one of
his modded Fender American
Standard Telecaster workhorses.
All of McCanns touring guitars
started as circa-2015 HH Teles,
but each has had its tone control
and pickup selector removed, both
pickups wired to be always on,
and the gloss finish removed. I
wanted something that would take
a beating and get thrown around a
bit, says McCann. I like them to
look well played, and they do!

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 29

 OPENING NOTES

Gary Miller
(aka Dr. Know)
September 16, 2017
Douglas Park
Chicago, IL
Photo by Chris Kies

With a smile on his face, the one

and only Dr. Know goes to work
on Bad Brains Riot Fest set with
his 1985 ESP 48th Street Custom
axe (aka Old Blackie). The
influential guitarists S-style features
an alder body, ebony fretboard,
and coil-splitting toggles for each
of its pickups custom wound by
DiMarzios Steve Blucher.

premierguitar.com
30 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
OBITUARY | 1950-2017 |

TOM PETTY
BY BILL MURPHY

I
Tom Petty basks ts an unseasonably cool evening in
in the light while late July, but halfway into his set
on tour in 2013
with the ever-stalwart Heartbreakers
at Pittsburghs
PPG Paints Arena. behind him, Tom Petty sounds perfectly
at ease. Wow, weve got a lot of sing-
ers out here tonight! he marvels, his
laconic Florida drawl unmistakable even
after spending more than half his life in
Southern California. The sellout stadium
crowd in Queens, New York, hollers back
its approval, and as he strums the opening
chords to his signature hit Free Fallin,
the cheers build instantly to a roar that
seems to compress the night air like an
arm around your shoulder. Petty has likely
played this song more than a thousand
times since he released it back in 1989,
but he still gives it everything he has.
Its a testament to Pettys fearless
commitment to his music that he
succumbed to a heart attack at his Malibu
home on October 2, scarcely a week
after wrapping up his 40th anniversary
tour with the Heartbreakersthe band
he cofounded back in 1976 with his
childhood friends from Gainesville,
guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist
Benmont Tench. For Petty, music was
as much a means of survival as it was
expression, and while he certainly didnt
plan to go out on top, his last three
triumphant nights at the Hollywood
Bowl leave the lingering impression that
he wanted it that way.
Pettys hardscrabble upbringing in
Gainesville was the early spark that drove
himthat, and a chance meeting with
Elvis Presley in 1961, when the star was and singing original songs in Mudcrutch, and hes carrying this $80 Japanese
filming in the neighboring town of Ocala. a Southern rock band with a country guitar. At that point, we all looked at the
Three years later, the Beatles appeared on twist, with guitarist Tom Leadon, and ground like, Oh no, this guys bound to
The Ed Sullivan Show, and 13-year-old lead singer Jim Lenahan. Before long, be terrible. Mike kicks off Johnny B.
Thomas Earl Petty was officially hooked they were looking for a new drummer. Goode, and after the song ended, I just
on rock n roll. His first guitar was an We went out to audition Randall said, Hey, youre in our band.
almost unplayable Stella, as author [Marsh] at his house, Petty recalls in Tench soon joined the lineup, Petty
Warren Zanes describes it in Petty: The the 2007 documentary Runnin Down a took over lead vocals, and Mudcrutch
Biography, published in 2015. It wasnt Dream. The band also needed another became the buzz band in and around
much more than a shape to hold, an idea guitar player, and Marsh suggested his Gainesville. Eventually they signed to
Photo by Steve Kalinsky

with a strap. But it was enough. housemate. And I heard him yell, Mike, the indie label Shelter Records and
As a teenager, Petty threw himself into can you play rhythm guitar? And this relocated to Los Angeles, but when their
what was then a lively music scene in voice comes back, Uh, I think so. And 1975 single Depot Street flopped,
Gainesville. By 1970, he was playing bass into the room walks Mike Campbell, Petty found himself at a crossroads,

premierguitar.com
32 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 with the label asking to keep him on guitar figure, like the flatpicked opening as important to Petty as a memorable
as a solo artist. Tench responded by to The Waiting or the leadoff chords chord progression, especially as he gained
booking a session to track some demos of Free Fallin or the changes in You more experience as a producer.
with Campbell and two friends from Dont Know How It Feels (from 1994s For everything Petty went through in
Gainesvillebassist Ron Blair and milestone Wildflowers, with producer his lifeand there was a lot, from the
drummer Stan Lynch. He invited Petty to Rick Rubin), into something instantly painful breakup with his first wife Jane to
sing some vocals, and, within less than an touching and memorable. the near breakup of the Heartbreakers (in
hour, the Heartbreakers were born. By the end of 1987, after Petty and 1994, a combative Lynch was replaced by
They werent an overnight success the band had spent most of the past two Steve Ferrone on drums), from the loss
not that success was of any immediate years on the road with Dylan, the wheels of longtime bassist Howie Epstein (who
concern to Petty. As long as he could were already in motion for the Traveling stepped in for Blair in 1982 and was fired
keep writing songs and keep the band Wilburys. That the supergroup included in 2001, only two years before he died of
together so everyone could make a three of Pettys childhood idolsDylan, an apparent heroin overdose) to Pettys
living, he was content. On the strength George Harrison, and Roy Orbison own struggles with heroin addiction
of Breakdown, the brooding, soulful didnt seem to faze him, although Petty and depressionhe never gave up on
second single from his 1976 debut Tom consistently opted for quiet modesty when the one thing that seemed to keep him
Petty and the Heartbreakers, Petty had his in the presence of stardom; it was the grounded besides music, and that was
first Top 40 hit, but it wasnt until his cool-headed Southern rocker in him. But family. When he reunited Mudcrutch in
third album, the monumental Damn the if his long journey with the Heartbreakers 2007 and again in 2015, many saw it as
Torpedoes (coproduced with Jimmy Iovine had made him a peer in the eyes of his a way for Petty to get back in touch with
and released in 1979), that he began to see heroes, for the rock intelligentsia, his two his Southern roots, and to reconnect with
his rock n roll dream as something real. years in the Wilburys cemented his place friends whod been like brothers to him
With Campbell as his co-captain, Petty in the pantheon. since his childhood.
not only established the Heartbreakers In 2002, Petty and the Heartbreakers When looking back on his body of
as a quintessentially American rock band were voted into the Rock and Roll Hall work as a whole, theres little doubt that
that could give the Rolling Stones or, for of Fame. Petty himself never seemed Tom Petty will be regarded as one of the
that matter, the Ramones a run for their comfortable with awards. He won three greatest American songwriters in rock
money, but hed written a nearly flawless Grammys after being nominated 18 history. He could take a beautiful ballad
collection of songsamong them the times, including Best Rock Album for his like Southern Accents and make it
anthemic Refugee, the defiant Dont last two outings with the Heartbreakers, bleed, or light up a hard-rocking slab
Do Me Like That, the love-struck 2010s Mojo and 2014s Hypnotic Eye. like I Should Have Known It and
Here Comes My Girl, and the truly But its clear the recognition of his fellow make it burn. More than anything, his
masterful Even the Losersthat held a artists meant much more to him than any songs come across as raw and intensely
timeless appeal for anyone who sought a nod from the industry. His work with personal, even if the meaning behind
deeper, more evocative experience from a Stevie Nicks, Johnny Cash, the Byrds them sometimes feels mystical or
3-minute radio hit. Roger McGuinn, and, most recently, mysterious. Whenever he carried a heavy
From there, at the dawn of MTV no Chris Hillman stands with some of his weight, he often made us feel that we
less, Petty and the Heartbreakers went bestin large measure because he was so carried it with him, and thats what will
on an unprecedented run. Through six uncompromising as an artist. make his music so accessible to the next
albums over a decade, from 1981s Hard And, of course, there are the guitars. generation, and the next.
Promises to 1991s Into the Great Wide Petty and Campbell are probably two Im doing the best I can, he said in a
Open (and including his classic 1989 solo of the most knowledgeable aficionados 2014 interview. You cant say I didnt try
debut Full Moon Fever, coproduced with of instruments to ever play in a rock really hard, because Im trying really hard
Jeff Lynne and Mike Campbell), Petty band together. Campbells Rickenbacker to be good. Do I always hit what I was
honed his craft both as a songwriter and 620/12 was a frequent presence on shooting for? No. Theres no great artist
as a guitarist, prompting none other than early tours and on the iconic Damn the that hasnt done some real shit. But you
Bob Dylan to refer to him as a masterful Torpedoes cover. But over the years Petty have to do that to maybe hit the stuff youre
poet. While Pettys songs seemed to played dozens of vintage guitarsStrats, trying to hit. Its an ongoing challenge, but
capture a raw American and a particularly Teles (including a Torucaster, built its a really enjoyable one, and its something
Southern spiritever-restless for by Toru Nittono), Firebirds, J-200s, Im still pulled to. Its a great little puzzle to
meaning in life, always rebelling against Epiphone Casinos, Rickenbackers, and work out. Im just glad to have a job, to be
conformity, always bypassing bullshit Voxes. He also was honored with a honest, but Im doing this for the music,
to get to the heart of any matterhe signature Martin and Rickenbacker and to hang around with my friends and
could transform a deceptively simple both 12-strings. Tone and feel were just play music with them.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 33

RIG RUNDOWNS

Thomas Erak & Drew Pelisek

FALL OF TROY
The Seattle-based
power trio touched
Click here to
watch this down in Nashville
Rig Rundown. at the Mercy Lounge
where guitarist/
vocalist Thomas
Erak and bassist
Drew Pelisek took
a few minutes to
go over their road-
tested setups before
opening for Chon.

GUITAR
Frontman/guitarist
Thomas Erak travels
with just one guitar
this 2009 Gibson SG
Carved Top. He prefers
this one because of
its mid-focused tone
and 24-fret neck for
maximum shred. He
strings it up with Ernie
Ball Slinkys (.010.046)
and typically tunes
down a half-step.

BASS
Drew Pelisek scored
this 1982 Peavey T-40
on Reverb right before
the tour and it serves
as his only road bass
right now. Prior to
acquiring the bass, he
had the seller sand
down the neck so Drew
could keep up with
Thomas fast fretwork.
For strings he goes with
DR .045.100 and rocks
Dunlop Tortex Sharp
1.14 mm picks.

premierguitar.com
34 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 AMPS
Top: As a tenured
Orange user, Erak
has normally been
associated with the
AD140, but now tours
with the flagship OR100
that cranks through a
matching Orange 4x12.

Middle: Pelisek does

not tour with his own
amp. Instead he plugs
into the bands Orange
AD 200B MK3 that
pushes a lot of air
through a matching
Orange OBC810 cab.

EFFECTS
Erak is known for his
expressive, gnarly tones,
leading fans to assume
he brings a trailer full
of stomps. But as you
can see below, he goes
light and lean with just a
TC Electronic PolyTune,
DigiTech Whammy,
Boss RE-20 Space Echo,
GreedTone Overdrive,
Electro-Harmonix Small
Stone Phase Shifter
Nano, TC Electronic
Flashback, Orange FS-1
amp switcher, and an
Ernie Ball VP JR.
Volume Pedal.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 35

RIG RUNDOWNS

Mario Camarena & Erick Hansel

TIDBIT

CHON Ericks Ibanez is

a prototype from
the companys L.A.
Custom Shop that
is tentatively called
The SoCal quartet the AZ series.

rolled into town

Click here to
watch this and guitarists Mario
Rig Rundown. Camarena and Erick
Hansel set aside
a few minutes to
hang with PGs
Perry Bean and go
over their pedal-
heavy setups before
headlining a
jam-packed gig
at Nashvilles
Mercy Lounge.

GUITARS
Top: Mario Camarena
calls San Diego-
based teacher Seth
Hollander his guitar
guru because he taught
him and Erick their
tapping techniques, got
them into the Ibanez
family, picked out the
DiMarzio pickups in
Marios Ibanez, and
even painted Marios RG
series axe seen above.

Bottom: While this

looks just like another
RG series Ibanez, this is
actually a (tentatively
named) AZ series
prototype that Erick
recently scored from
the companys L.A.
Custom Shop. Hansel
told us that this
prototype has smaller
frets than a typical
RG and has custom-
designed humbuckers
from Seymour Duncan.

premierguitar.com
36 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 AMPS
While getting ready
to record their just-
released album, Homey,
the guys tried out
several combos and
one of them was a
Matchless Lightning
15. The studios combo
sounded so good that
Mario went out and
bought his own 1x15
combo that uses EL84s.

EFFECTS
While keeping things
minimal with just one
guitar and one amp,
Mario gets wild with
this impressive board
that is home to nearly
a dozen stomps from
EarthQuaker Devices
including the Warden,
Dunes, Arrows, The
Depths, Grand Orbiter,
Night Wire, Spatial
Delivery, Organizer,
Hummingbird,
Avalanche Run, and
Afterneath. Other
pedals in his setup are a
TC Electronic PolyTune 2
Noir, MXR Booster Mini,
Ibanez Chorus Mini,
MXR Reverb, and MXR
Echoplex Delay.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 37

 premierguitar.com
38 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 VINTAGE VAULT

Gibson Firebird I Inverness Green

BY DAVE ROGERS, LAUN BRAITHWAITE, AND TIM MULLALLY

I
n 1962, Gibson president Ted along the low side of the headstock Epiphones and some SG Specials. This
McCarty decided that a daring, the opposite side of Fenders archetypal guitar is finished in the rare Inverness
innovative guitar was needed to arrangement. The standard finish Green. The original list price was
compete with Fenders modern-looking for these guitars was a dark tobacco $189.50 plus $15 for the custom Duco
Jazzmasters and Jaguars. For a fresh, sunburst, but you could also order 10 color. The current value for a guitar
all-new concept, McCarty sought custom colors that imitated Fenders like this one in excellent all-original
aid outside the company and hired offerings, albeit with different names. condition is $15,000.
well-known automobile designer Ray The Firebirds were numbered Behind the Firebird is a 1965 Gibson
Dietrich. Dietrich had recently retired to according to price, with the smallest GA-55 RVT Ranger. Its two 6L6 power
Kalamazoo, Michigan, after 50 years of number selling for the lowest amount. tubes push 40 watts of power through
designing for top companies like Lincoln, The 1963 catalog described the Firebird four 10" speakers. The amp has two
Packard, Ford, and Chrysler. I thusly: The new solidbody by Gibson channels and is equipped with reverb and
Introduced in the spring of 1963, that is priced for the growing economy- tremolo. The current value is $500.
the new Firebird series consisted of minded market. Gives you all of the fine Sources for this article include Gibson
four guitars (the Firebird I, Firebird performance of this exciting new series of Electrics: The Classic Years by A.R.
III, Firebird V, and Firebird VII) and guitars at a price you can afford. You have Duchossoir; Flying V, Explorer, Firebird:
two basses (the Thunderbird II and to try it to believe it. An Odd-Shaped History of Gibsons Weird
Thunderbird IV). The Firebirds had The Firebird I pictured this month, Electric Guitars by Tony Bacon; Gibson
a unique asymmetrical body shape, serial number 179868, has features Guitars: Ted McCartys Golden Era,
with two mahogany wings attached on common to the entry-level Firebirds 1948-1966 by Gil Hembree; and Gibson
either side of a long mahogany neck made in 1964. These include a mini- Amplifiers 1933-2008: 75 Years of the
that ran all the way to the bottom strap humbucker in the bridge position, a 24 Gold Tone by Wallace Marx Jr.
button. Seth Lovers mini-humbucker 3/4" scale neck, an unbound rosewood
pickups, designed in the late 50s, were fretboard with dot inlays, a compensated
DAVES GUITAR SHOP
utilized, rather than the typical full- bar bridge, and a short vibrato device. Dave Rogers collection is tended by Laun Braithwaite
sized humbuckers used on most Gibsons The vibrato on this example, however, and Tim Mullally and is on display at:
Daves Guitar Shop
by this date. Another departure from is different than the Maestro-style 1227 Third Street South
La Crosse, WI 54601
Gibson convention was the use of six whammy often seen on Gibsons of davesguitar.com
banjo-style tuners positioned in a row the era, and is more like those used on Photos by Mullally and text by Braithwaite.

Opposite page:
In excellent,
all-original
condition, this
Firebird I is
worth about
$15,000 today.
The amp behind
it is a four-
speaker, 40-watt
Gibson GA-55
RVT Ranger.

Left: The six

banjo-style
tuners adorn
the bottom
of this Birds
headstock,
rather than
duplicate
Fenders six-on-
top look.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 39

 TRASH OR TREASURE

Gibson B-25N
BY ZACHARY FJESTAD

Q:
Right: Our
readers B-25N
has some Hey Zach,
obvious finish This has been my favorite guitar for many years. I bought it in the mid-
checking on 1970s while I was at school and have loved it ever since. I like small-
its spruce top,
but its a clean body guitars and the sound is very mellow. Aside from some finish
instrument cracking on the top, Ive managed to keep it relatively clean. It has a
overall serial number of 899XXX and I believe it is all-original, but who knows?
and would Can you tell me anything about the history and what it is worth today?
likely fetch
Thanks,
somewhere
between $1,200 George in Lexington, Kentucky
and $1,500.

Below: Although

A:
the plastic
bridges found Hey George, binding) to important (a new plastic Dating a Gibson guitar from this
on 60s-era Gibsons small-body bridge). This screwed-on plastic bridge era isnt always an exact science, since
Gibson B-25s acoustics such as yours found on the B series remains a major serialization before 1975 is often
have caused found popularity because of their size discussion point amongst purists, because unreliable. However, according to the
a number of
issues, the
and affordability. While the companys B on many guitars the plastic bridge serialization charts, your number falls into
company sold series guitars first appeared in the early would crack and often cause the belly the 1968 range, which is likely correct
thousands of 1960s, Gibsons small-body guitars go of an instrument to warp. Thats why a since the lower-belly style of bridge was
these guitars back many years and a number of notable number of B-series guitars have replaced introduced on the B-25 in 1968 (it had
between 1962
guitarists from Robert Johnson to John bridges and/or repaired tops, so one previously been an upper-belly style) and
and 1970 thanks
to the models Hiatt have played them. should be sure to double-check this when the adjustable saddle on the model was
small size and Gibsons first flattops were introduced looking at one. discontinued in 1970.
affordability. in 1926 as part of their L series, and As mentioned previously, the small size
many variations were produced Dating a Gibson guitar and affordability of the B series triggered
through the 1930s. In the early 1940s, Gibson to make a lot of them. Between
World War II affected the availability from this era isnt always 1962 and 1970, Gibson built nearly 34,000
of raw materialsarguably like an exact science, since B-25 and B-25N guitars combined, which
no other point in timeand this serialization before 1975 is 4,000 more than the popular J-45 model
included wood for building guitars. during the same period of time. In 1965
By 1942, spruce boards that were is often unreliable. alone, Gibson built close to 6,000 B-25
wide enough for making guitar tops models during the height of the guitar and
were becoming increasingly scarce, so The B-25N featured a spruce top, folk boom. All said, many did not survive
Gibson designed a guitar that was 2" laminated mahogany sides, a mahogany through today. Fortunately for you, a bit of
narrower than their SJ or J-45 models back, a rosewood fretboard with 14 frets minor finish-checking is all this guitar shows
to utilize more readily available wood. clear of the body, dot inlays, 3-on-a-plate and its one of the cleaner examples you
Gibson also had a new style of tuners, and the aforementioned plastic might find today. Your guitar is currently
neck they wanted to introduce bridge. The scale length is 24 3/4", the worth between $1,200 and $1,500, and
across all their lines. This new lower bout (body width) is 14 1/4", the values have been relatively stable over the
series became the LG series. body length is 19 1/4", and the body past decade. With proper care and the right
Fast-forward to 1962 depth is 4 1/2". It was available with humidity, your Gibson should continue to
when, for reasons unknown, a sunburst finish (B-25) or a natural be a treasure for years to come.
Gibson switched many of finish like your B-25N. Other original-
their LG models over to run B-series models included the B-15 ZACHARY R. FJESTAD is a
freelance writer who specializes in
the new B series. While (19671970), B-20 (19711972), B-25 guitars and amplifiers including
essentially still the same, 3/4-scale (19621968), B-25 12-string the history behind them and
their current value. Fjestad has
the differences between (19621977), the B-45 12-string (1961 been evaluating and appraising
the two series ranged 1979), and even a tenor version called the guitars for over 20 years. For more
information, email Zachary at
from cosmetic (new 3-ply TG-25 (19621968). zacharyfjestad@hotmail.com.

premierguitar.com
40 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
WIZARD OF ODD

Tracking the Elusive Humming Bird

BY FRANK MEYERS

W
hen someone says guitar,
whats the image that pops
into your head? Put another
way, whats the dictionary definition of
a guitar for you? Maybe its a blackguard
Tele, or a Les Paul burst, or a white Strat?
Well, for Japanese guitar players in the
1960s, it was a Mosrite Ventures model.
I cannot express the profound impact the
Ventures made on the Japanese youth of
that time. The Ventures were so American
cool, and because they played instrumen-
tal music, the songs were accessible to
Japanese sensibilities. Above all, players
wanted those guitars!
But finding a Mosrite guitar in
Japan was next to impossible. American
guitars were prohibitively expensive in
the Land of the Rising Sun, and even
the more available Fenders cost about a
months salary for a well-to-do family. In 1967, Tokai joined the electric- made these guitars in two colors, white
So for many Japanese guitarists, the guitar frenzy with three distinct guitar and blue, although some of the guitars
Mosrite dream remained simply that. models, all designed by Masahiro and finished in blue exhibit dark tones,
Then, in 1965, some Japanese musical Tokai. The flagship of the short-lived perhaps a few shades away from black
instrument companies began to attend electric guitar line was the Tokai 200S, (Photo 2).
NAMM. One of these company owners otherwise known as the Humming Bird Fast-forward 50 years: Tokai is now
was Eddie Wakayama. Eddie san owned (Photo 1). The Humming Bird featured reissuing the original 200S design, and
the Mitsuya electronics company, which exaggerated lines, epic styling, and a the model will be displayed at the 2018
supplied pickups and other electronic beautiful presentation that exuded flair winter NAMM show in California.
parts to guitar manufacturers. He knew and a bit of toughness. At least thats Amazingly, the guitar is being made in
the demand for Mosrite guitars and what I thought when I discovered my the same factory where it was built in
decided to purchase one from Semie first Tokai Humming Bird in the early 1967with some of the same employees
Moseley himself at the NAMM show. 1990s. The entire Tokai guitar line was still working there! Tokai remains a
This solitary Mosrite Ventures model designed exclusively for the Japanese family-owned business, and its always
made its way back to Japan and word got market, so finding one of these guitars in cool to see these factories chugging away
around quickly. Companies and designers North America was truly special. Tokai for so many years.
from all over the country made requests only made the 200S for a little over a year Oh, and that Mosrite that Eddie bought?
to study this amazing guitar. before abandoning the slumping electric- Well, it was studied and prodded and
Some of the first designers to inspect guitar market of the late 60s. dissected so many times that it eventually
this magical instrument were from Tokai, a Combining some of the best aspects separated into parts and finally faded back
wonderful family-owned business that has of the Fender Jaguar, Jazzmaster, and into the universe. Eddie never saw it again,
always produced high-quality instruments. Mosrite Ventures model, the Tokai 200S but that Mosrite gave it up for the greater
Masahiro Matsui and another designer is a total surf monster. Its pickups were good of guitar players in Japan!
from Tokai travelled to Tokyo to study this made by Shin-Ei and have a bright,
FRANK MEYERS is the author of
Mosrite with the intention of exploring punchy tone with lots of zip and sparkle. The History of Japanese Electric
its subtleties. But in the old Japanese The electronics are similar to a Jazzmaster Guitars and runs the website
DrowninginGuitars.com. He has
way, Masahiro strove to be inspired from and the neck profile also resembles been collecting and repairing
guitars for 30 years and is primarily
an artistic standpointto make a more early 60s Fenders. The body features a interested in unique, eclectic gear
extreme version of the Ventures model. beautiful German carve and overall the and shedding light on the people
and history that contribute to our
And man, did he succeed! guitar balances very well. Tokai only love of music and guitars.

premierguitar.com
42 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
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 How bassist Jesse F. Keeler
applies an unorthodox
approach to make the
wild, wide-eyed sounds of
dance-punk duo
Death from Above. Photo by Lindsey Byrnes

BY FREDDY VILLANO

premierguitar.com
44 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 W
hen you have someone else making macro alongside other luminaries, including the Strokes and Duran
decisions, it frees your brain up to address the Duran, and have remained together, releasing their second full-
smaller things, attests Jesse F. Keeler, bassist length, The Physical World, in September 2014.
for Canadian dance-punk duo Death from Outrage!, which came out in September sans 1979 in
Above [DFA]. Keeler is referencing the pile of songs he and his the bands moniker, reveals a new level of maturation for
bandmate, singer/drummer Sebastien Grainger, had written the duo. Pre-production commenced at the end of 2016 and
prior to recording their latest gut-punching opus, Outrage! Is they started recording in January 2017. All the instrumental
Now. When they got together with producer Eric Valentine, tracking was done by the beginning of March. They spent
they just dumped everything on him and let him make the a few weeks on vocals and finished mixing in April. Such
executive decisions about what they would work on. Im glad swiftness was aided by the fact that a lot of pre-production
we did do that, Keeler adds. It ended up being an album tracks ended up being on the final recordings.
because he had more perspective than we did at that point. We would dive into certain songs and feel like, Were
Toronto-based DFA formed on September 11, 2001, in not going to beat that sound, but lets try, admits Keeler.
response to the events of that day (more on that later) and Wed been demoing separately and together for over a year.
released their debut EP, Heads Up!, in December 2002. In 2004, Some of the songs, like Never Swim Alone, I wrote in the
they changed their name to Death from Above 1979 in response winter of 2015. We really planned this session. Its the most
to a cease-and-desist issued by DFA Records, and released Youre forethought ever put into making a record for us, so it was
a Woman, Im a Machine under that new moniker. Balancing smooth and quick.
what Pitchfork called riff-heavy micro-Sabbath bravado with Premier Guitar caught up with Keeler, who was at home
tenderness, the album, with songs like Sexy Results, was a in Toronto doing press for Outrage! and preparing for one-off
hallmark for the dance-punk genre. But the overt bombast with gigs, like Riot Fest in Chicago and Osheaga Festival Musique
which DFA wrote and performed underscored the tension that et Arts in Montreal, to discuss, among other things, the
existed between Keeler and Grainger and, despite their success, history of his relationship to the bass guitar, the formation
the duo disbanded in 2006, citing creative differences. They of DFA, his recording techniques, tuning down his Dan
reformed in 2011, performing at Coachella in Indio, California, Armstrong Plexi basses, and his resilient, vintage gear.

Youve had some time to live with the single time we play the songs. As soon guitar player, so I didnt want to touch
songs on Outrage! Is Now since you as I started to become comfortable a guitar. Well, I did want to touch a
recorded it. Has your relationship to the improvising onstage, thats when I started guitar, but when he would play, it was so
album shifted in any unexpected ways? to love being on tour. I didnt have to intimidating. When youre learning an E
I listen to it now and think about the stop being creative just because I was on chord and the person in front of you is
best ways to accomplish everything on the road. I could continue to be creative playing so effortlessly, its incredibleits
the record, live. In the studio, I just and not just perform something that was so fucking far away. Its so far away, its
spend time figuring out every pedal already complete. like youre an ant looking at the moon
combination to get sounds exactly right, through a cloud. So, I didnt want to do
but its not like Im not going to have How far do your improvisations push that. We lived in a house with people
a guy kneeling in front of a pedal or the song structures? from Alice Coopers band at the time,
holding it in his lap adjusting while Im Its not like Im rewriting the songs every including guitarist Prakash John, and
playing, so how do I approximate what I day. But just knowing if Ive got an idea, there was a drum kit there, so I started
did, live? Listening to the song Outrage! I can do it. I dont have to hold back. Im playing drums.
Is Now, for example, Im thinking about not trying to replicate the recording. Im
the synth sound and whether Ive already trying to make that moment be the best Do you still play the drums?
nailed it and how I can mess with it live it can be. That was very liberating for Drums are still, for me, the instrument
when its being performed. I feel like Im me. Its been 23 years of playing in front where I feel the most immediate in terms
still listening to it with those ears. of people. Understanding that I could be of the distance between my brain and
just as creative is something I only caught what Im hearing. Its the shortest. I can
Is making a record an enjoyable in the last couple of years really. execute what I hear almost immediately.
experience for you? I do feel like Im getting closer with the
Yes, but in terms of what the songs are, Your musical journey started on bass. Occasionally, I have an idea and I
live is where its the most enjoyable for drums, correct? just play it instantly and afterwards think,
me, because thats where it all comes I started playing drums when I was 3, Whoa, I can do that now. Ive been
together. I get to improvise every and thats because my dad is an incredible playing bass long enough.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 45

 TIDBIT
Listen to Moonlight on Death from
Aboves latest album to hear how Keeler
uses the EarthQuaker Bit Commander
pedal to create booming bottom end
while he plays high on the fretboard.

Live, Keeler and You eventually did pick up the guitar. the world, all shows were cancelled and
singer/drummer When did you pick up the bass? they locked everything down. All the
Sebastien
Grainger create
When I was a teenager, I started borders were closed. So, we were like, I
an astonishing playing guitar and then just continued guess we brought all the gear up out of
variety of playing guitar or drums in bands. The the basement for nothing. And I just instrument has only existed from the day
sounds for a duo, relationship with the bass was always sort started plugging stuff in and made up that I was trying to write songs on it.
spaying their
of something I would do at the end of a this bass sound Im still using today. Its That was basically it. Thats still the core
grooves with
expressionist recording. I would think, Oh, I have to essentially the same signal path from that of my approach. I like the restriction of
bass and add some bass. So, wheres a bass? and day. Cabinets have changed, speakers having just four strings. People say, You
unpredictable borrow someones bass and track it and have changed, the bass has changed, but could have five strings or six strings or
and often guitar- just really treat it like a low guitar. I did the essential setup is still there. use something else. The Dan Armstrong
likeblasts
of synthesizer.
what I think tons of rock bass players has 24 frets. Im happy with that many
probably do: just play along with the When you were writing back then, did octaves and its comfortable for me to
guitar and maybe make a modulation you think youd have a more traditional play. Im just trying to write songs, really.
underneath. You know, bass [laughs]. band configuration to play your songs?
I wrote three songs and showed them Speaking of the Dan Armstrong Plexi
Was there a defining moment for to Seb under the guise of, We can play bass, that wasnt your first bass, was it?
you when bass finally became your guitar over this. And one day he came I feel like the Dan Armstrong is an
primary instrument? to me and said, Why dont I just sing instrument that, when youre a kid, you
The day I started this band, on and play drums at the same time? So, see it at some point and youre like,
September 11, 2001, there was a Squier we went downstairs to try it. He pulled Wow, thats so cool, and then you
Jazz bass someone had left in our house. a mic over to the drums, we played one never actually hold one [laughs]. You
I picked it up because everything else song, and looked at each other like, Oh, know what I mean? No one actually
was in a case. I just started making up it worked! That was actually pretty cool. has one.
Photo by Debi Del Grande

songs. I cant tell you why, other than And that brings me to today [laughs]. The first bass I bought was a 74
that I needed to do something with Gibson Grabber, which is full scale,
my hands. Our old band was supposed Has your relationship to the bass incredibly neck-heavy. You use half your
to go play in Detroit the next day, but changed since then? left arm strength just holding the thing
considering all the things happening in My relationship with the bass as my up. Theres no way to harness that so it

premierguitar.com
46 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 doesnt fall over on you all the time. But and liked how it sounded, even though
the pickup was really hot and it sounded it sounded a bit thin compared to the
really good and I bet if I picked it up Grabber, but I took it, played that for
right now after not picking it up for years, and now I seem to be known for JESSE F. KEELERS GEAR
years, it would be perfectly in tune. Its playing the Ric.
just the way that bass was.
What made you switch exclusively to BASSES
Why did you switch to the Dan the Dan Armstrong? 1969 Ampeg Dan Armstrong Plexi
Armstrong? When we started working on the last with Kent Armstrong custom pickups
I wanted something else because we record, as we were writing, very early on,
started playing bigger shows and being I thought, You know what? Im going AMPS
on the road for longer and longer to try that bass again. So, I tracked Peavey Super Festival F-800B
periods of time, and I thought I should one down. Friends at Chicago Music Acoustic 450B
probably get another bass. So, I went Exchange put the feelers out and found Two Traynor YC-810 Big B cabs
into a music store and there was a Dan one for me. That first one that I got is Eminence PA speakers (10)
Armstrong. I tried it and thought it still my main bass. Ive got four of them Peavey Delta Blues (10)
felt weird and wrong. The 12th fret, now. But that first one is just magic.
when youre holding it on your body, From the day I got it, I started writing.
EFFECTS
is like where the 22nd fret is on the You know how it is when you have a
Death By Audio Echo Dream 2
Grabber. Just trying to move over to new instrument: Sometimes its just a
Dunlop KFKQZ1 Kerry King
it felt foreign. It felt like a toy, but I flood of creativity as you get to know it.
Limited Edition Q Zone
bought it anyway because I thought it Interestingly though, it hasnt stopped
EarthQuaker Devices Dispatch
would be cool to have two octaves to for me with that bass. Ive been playing
Master V2 delay and reverb
play around with. them now for four or five years and I
EarthQuaker Devices Bit
still feel like Im learning things about
Commander octave synth
But you only really started using it in them. Theyre all very different.
Electro-Harmonix Micro POG
the last four or five years?
Ernie Ball 6185 Wah
Thats because I took it home, re-strung Whats different about them?
Explosions Ibanez CS9 Stereo Chorus
of sounds itwe had a show the next daywent I learned from someone who worked
to the show and, when I was tuning it there that they were making the necks Morley ABY switcher
and shades
of extreme up, one of the tuning pegs just snapped by hand. I was scared about short scale MXR Carbon Copy
light and dark in half. I already thought it seemed not being deep enough, but thats not a MXR M80 Bass D.I.+
characterize MXR M108 10 Band EQ
sort of delicate with the little rosewood problem. I was worried about keeping
Keelers guitar-
bridge, but when that happened I was the intonation in over the whole neck, Palmer PDI09
like approach
to bass. He like, Fuck, this thing is not roadworthy. but I had this luthier design a bridge Roland Juno-60 synthesizer
meticulously If I bring this out and that happens, for the bass so it would have individual
crafts tones with Im screwed. I took it back to the store string height and intonation, so thats STRINGS AND PICKS
his pedals that
will work as well and they offered to straight trade it for not an issue anymore. He machined it Ernie Ball 2832 Regular Slinky
onstage as they something that was the same price. So, I entirely from a chunk of aluminum and Roundwound (.050.105)
do in the studio. tried this 75 or 77 Rickenbacker 4001 put brass seats on all of them. Dunlop Tortex .73 mm

Live is where its the most Photo by Tim Bugbee/Tinnitus Photography

enjoyable for me because thats

where it all comes together. I get
to improvise every single time we
play the songs.

premierguitar.com
48 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 Who was the luthier? Do you have any current it with MSTRKRFT [his electronic
Les Godfrey [of Torontos Godfrey Guitars] go-to effects? duo with Al-P] as well. Ill run
designed the bridge so that it would use the exact The one effect I dont know how drum machines through it, synths,
same mounting holes and the same screws, because I lived without, because its the everything. Its a magic pedal.
you really cant screw in and out of Lucite a bunch greatest thing ever, is the Death
of times. Once the grooves are there, you want By Audio Echo Dream 2, which It sounds like youre experimenting
to stick with them. And so, hes made me three is on almost every song on the with more reverb nowadays.
of them and I have one bass that has the original recordand if its not on the bass, Yeah, its an EarthQuaker Devices
bridge and thats my home bass. It doesnt come we used it on the vocals. They threw Dispatch Master, which is like a
on the road. a fuzz in there as well, which is reverb that has an echo in it as well.
incredible by itself. Ive been using I never used verbs before. I wanted
What about the pickups?
Kent Armstrong, Dan Armstrongs son, is out
there in Vermont making pickups, and although
he doesnt have them on his website, I reached out
and asked if he could make pickups for his dads
old bass. Hes made me about six so far. Ive got
some single-coilswe tried different magnets:
single, double. I think this is it for me. Im happy
with this bass. When I hold it in my hands, the
distance from my brain to what you hear coming
out of the speakers is the shortest its ever been.

When writing, are you influenced by drum

grooves? How do you go about crafting
your parts?
Generally, Ill have some sort of melody or riff idea
and most often itll be when I dont have a bass
in my hands, so Ill grab my phone and turn on
the voice note recorder and hum it in. If anyone
ever stole my phone there would be albums of
humming and humming [laughs]. Sometimes Ill
tap the phone to give myself a meter, tapping
the mic like a kick drum. Then Ill get a bass
and figure out what I hummed. Sometimes I go
through voice notes and find the same idea keeps
popping up and Ill go, Wow, I guess I really like
this idea, because I keep rewriting it [laughs].

Do you overdub bass parts? Sometimes I feel

like Im hearing multiple parts.
Ill always do an overdub, but its just a double.
I just play the same parts again. Mainly because
I dont want to go out live and have these
harmonies that I cant accomplish. If theres
a harmony idea that I have, Ill write it as a
synth part that Sebastien can trigger from his
sampler. There are instances where youll hear
a synthesizer part just running and Im playing
along with that or its a part that comes in and
out. If the synth is being sent through the same
signal path as the bass, they start to become
indistinguishable. Thats the only trickery: me
using my other instrument as well.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 49

 to. Wed play with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs Lets talk amps. You obviously prefer on tour with us, I used SVTs and tried to
and that dude has so much verb on solid-state heads. recreate the sound the best I could with
everything. I wanted to do that, too, but I remember when I was a kid asking my pedals. I didnt dislike it, but I found the
every time I tried it would just feedback dad about tubes and solid-state stuff, character was different.
all to hell. It was gross [laughs]. So, I because he really liked solid state-stuff,
never did it. But then on this record, Eric and what he said was, The attack on Have you ever tried to reverse engineer
basically showed me the problem was the solid-state is always going to be more the Peavey Super Festivals to clone them?
that I was putting the reverb at the wrong immediate than the tube. Maybe itll be Ive spent thousands of dollars doing that
point in my chain. I was putting it at the infinitesimal, but youll notice it. And just to have the result not be right. I talked
beginning and he told me that if I put thats been my experience. Theres no to the people at Peavey. I found out the
it at the end, right before the amps, that mush on the solid-state ampeven with whole history. The guy was hired from
wouldnt happen. The verb was basically a ridiculous amount of distortion its RCA or Zenith, so he was making amps
going through a chorus and everything still very instantaneous. And the way I with TV components because thats how
else. It ended up being too unwieldy. play and the way the songs are, I need it. he was comfortable designing. Even when
Before we could afford to bring our amps Ive tried to go one-to-one matching all the
There are a couple of songs on the
record where theres a synth-sounding
thing, but it sounds like bass to me.
Yes, Im using an EarthQuaker Bit
Im happy with this bass. When I hold it
Commander, which is like a synth thing, in my hands, the distance from my brain to
but I only use it when Im playing up what you hear coming out of the speakers
high on the neck so the parts dont is the shortest its ever been.
lose the bottom. One thing Eric really
impressed on me was, When youre
playing these parts and these riffs, we
cant neglect the low end, so lets find
ways of keeping the low end with pedals.
The whole chorus of Moonlight is up
at the 20-something fret on the F-string,
but Ive got the Bit Commander pulling
the bottom two or three octaves below
to keep it solid. The sustain on it is so
insane. Its fun to play with.

Since you mention your high F-string,

can you talk about when or why you
decided to tune down a whole-step?
I started playing guitar like that when I
was 17 or 18, and initially it wasnt some
deep meaningful thing. I had the guitar
tuned to drop tuning, which I didnt like,
but instead of tuning the guitar back up,
I tuned down to the D. I really liked how
having less tension on the strings made
it fun to play. I liked how the strings
reacted, depending on how hard you
pressed on them. When theyre that much
looser sometimes you can just press on a
string and that can be a bend. My brain
YOUTUBE IT
really likes creating in keys where those Onstage in July 2017, Death from Above claw into Freeze Me from
Photo by Perry Bean

open strings work. Half the DFA songs Outrage! Is Now. Note Jesse F. Keelers guitaristic approach on his
are in G or C or F. There are open strings Dan Armstrong Ampeg bass as he kicks into a gnarly solo a bit after
the 2-minute mark.
all over the place on all the songs. My YouTube search term: Death From Above - Freeze Me (live @
brain is just happy creating with those. Summerfest 7/4/17)

premierguitar.com
50 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 capsthe old and new values are supposed room and leave the door open and then when the speakers are moving the negative
to be the same, but you scope them and have some mics out in the room to catch motion sends some sort of resistance back
see how different the rise and fall and the room sound. into the speaker cable and somehow these
response is on some of these components. Palmer DIs pick that up and apply that. I
Im trying my best, but I guess I just have Any pieces of gear or secret weapons dont know if thats whats happening, but
to keep these old guys because theyve been that have changed your life? the DIs are passive and whatever theyre
doing their job. So, I just buy them when I Palmer DIs. This tech for the Deftones, doing, they sound amazing.
find them on the road. named Drew Foppe, gave them to me at
the end of a tour and I guess he got them You play exclusively with a pick?
How do you record your bass? from Fleetwood Mac, who he also works Tortex .73 mm big triangle, and Ive been
I record a DI signal, using the MXR M80 for. Its the PDI 09little DI boxes that using that forever. Ive tried using other
Bass D.I.+, and what Im sending through you put between the head and the cabinet. picks, and when Im playing by myself Ill
that is just probably 200 Hz and lower. Even though my amps are very powerful, play with my fingers because its just fun
It might even be lower, but its just sub I never have the volume up very loud. and its a different way of being fast. My
information. And then afterwards well I just dont need to. I guess the signal is bass influences, in terms of bass players,
screw around and run an octaver on it. not too hot for these little DIs. So, the that I really liked from when I was a kid,
There are a lot of songs where the whole combination of the mics in front of the were Larry Graham and Chris Squire. As I
song might be above the 12th fret, so cabs, mics outside the room, the DI, got older, I learned that they both played
having the octaver on the DI helps keep it and these cab DIs is pretty much how I Rics and they both played with a pick. I
as actual bass. And then I mike the cabs. recorded everything. like the harmonic control. I know how to
We mike them at a distance rather than use a pick, so I feel the most comfortable
close-miking one cone, which isnt really Do you run your sound the same way live? working that way. And, just from playing
what it sounds like to stand in front of Live we dont mike cabs anymore. I just guitar for so many years, it seemed like
8x10s anyway. We mike them about 2 feet use the Palmer DIs. I dont know if this thats how I want to playalthough, I
back or so and put them in an isolation is an old wives tech tale, but apparently play guitar with my fingers [laughs].

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 51

TONE TIPS

Effecting the Future

BY PETER THORN

G
Tore Lynggaard reetings, tone hounds! Ive said what I remember from
Mogensen from before that we live in a golden old records, how can I
TC Electronic age of guitar gear, but nowhere massage it so it sounds
explains the
companys MASH
is this more evident than the massive like what you and I have
expression-pedal range of effects pedals available today. come to expect a classic
technology to Manufacturers large and small are constant- effect sound to be? For
our columnist ly releasing new stompboxes and giving us me, its correcting and
at the inaugural
guitarists access to a seemingly unlimited perfecting things, and
GuitCon in
Markneukirchen, variety of tones. Sometimes, however, I combining effects in a way that hasnt been really easy to do, but in looking at
Germany. wonder where its all going. Are there really been done before. pictures of peoples pedalboards, Id rarely
any new sounds left to discover? see anybody using expression pedals.
I just returned from GuitCon 2017, Tore Lynggaard Mogensen
the inaugural meeting of guitarists, Your TonePrint pedals were innovative, They take up lots of space.
gear manufacturers, and guitar-oriented and now you have new versions of the Mogensen: Right, and you can usually
YouTubers held at the Warwick/Framus TonePrint pedals that feature MASH only use them with one pedal, so if you
factory in Markneukirchen, Germany. technology, which essentially turns the have three pedals with expression inputs,
We jammed lots, created tons of great on/off footswitch into an expression youd end up with a huge board. But
video content, and spent quality time just pedal. What are you excited about there are a lot of fun things to do with
chatting about music and guitar. With developing in the future? expression pedals! One of our engineers
questions in hand, I sat down with two Mogensen: I think there are still tons said, You know, we can put it in the
guys who really have their fingers on of ways to innovate. In terms of sounds: footswitch. So it turned into a year-
the pulse of modern guitar effects: Tore by mixing two or three or four existing and-a-half project to invent a pressure-
Lynggaard Mogensen and Robert Keeley. effects together to create something new. sensitive footswitch. And thats really
what it is: You press down on the switch,
Robert Keeley Unique hybrid sounds? it detects the amount of force you apply,
With so many effects pedals on the Mogensen: Yes, exactly. Thats one way to and you can control any effect parameter
market these days, do you still see a innovate, but also with what weve done this way.
space or category that needs to be filled? with MASH technology, which is just
Keeley: I think whats left for me is that scratching the surface. Basically, controlling And back to Pete. I tried two of TCs
I like to combine effects. For example: an effects in new ways to create new sounds. MASH-equipped pedals myself, and I
envelope filter combined with a phaser. A good example would be the wah pedal walked away very impressed. These pedals
Or a modulated delay, but instead of or the Whammy pedal. When the wah truly are, well, expressive. For instance,
a chorus pitch-y type of modulation, I came out, it wasnt like a filter hadnt been you can make a reverb with a 4-second
think, What would it sound like with invented before. When the Whammy tail and extend out to 20 seconds with a
a flanger? Sometimes, lo and behold, it came out, it wasnt like a pitch shifter push of the switch for ambient textures
sounds ridiculously good! Ill look and hadnt been invented before. But the that sustain into infinity. Release the
see if anyone else has ever done it, and unique thingthe thing that made them pressure and its back to the 4-second
many times, no one has. So I try and cool and funwas the way in which decay. Its addictive!
force myself to think of combinations you could control these effects. There are I came away from GuitarCon 2017
that havent been done in a single-pedal many effects out there that we already invigorated about the future of the electric
format. Its fun, to me! know of, but if we control one in a new guitar, because there is still so much yet
way, it almost becomes a new effect. to discover. Until next month, I wish you
So youre trying cool combinations of great tone!
existing effects that have never been Tell us about MASH.
combined in a single pedal. What else? Mogensen: I would scour our Facebook PETER THORN
is an L.A.-based guitarist who has
Keeley: Thats right. And the other aspect page and guitar forums looking for toured with Chris Cornell, Melissa
is how can I make it more dynamic and suggestions and improvements people Etheridge, Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi, and
many others. He released a solo
expressive? If I come across an old effect wanted to see in our pedals. One of album, Guitar Nerd, in 2011. Read
I really like but it could be better, or if I the things people would suggest was an more at peterthorn.com.

do my version of it and its not quite like expression-pedal input. That would have

premierguitar.com
52 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 Backed by an ace horn section and
a killer band, resonator master
Jerry Douglas serves up a daring
fusion of jazz, rock, and bluegrass
on his new album, What If.
BY ADAM PERLMUTTER

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 55

 F
ew musicians have put their imprint on as much music as the resonator specialist
and 14-time Grammy winner Jerry Douglas, widely considered the preeminent
square-neck resonator guitarist. As a sideman, Douglas has logged over 2,000
recording sessions and worked with such prominent artists as Dolly Parton, Paul Simon,
Eric Clapton, and Elvis Costello.
Whatever the context, Douglas plays with fastidiously good and often jaw-dropping
techniquea result of his having spent his formative years woodshedding on fiddle tunes,
with their flurries of notes. Few players can match the effortless speed he achieves on his
instrument, not to mention his accuracy with the bar in terms of intonation. Playing most
often in open-G or open-D tunings, he uses nonstandard techniques, like a range of slurs,
to achieve a richly singing sound. At the same time, his complex pick-hand workhe uses a
thumb pick, along with two finger picksadds depth to his sound.
A cross section of Douglas recorded output might speak to his breadth and diversity, but
like many resonator players, his playing is rooted in bluegrass and traditional country, and
hes a longtime member of Alison Krauss and Union Station.
As a leader, beginning with 1979s Fluxology, Douglas has pursued a synthesis of all that
catches his ears. And he clearly has catholic tastes. On his latest album, What If, Douglas
and his band mix country, bluegrass, rock, bebop, fusion, and R&B in a set thats as
technically deep as it is thrilling to hear.
One summer day, right before he kicked off a tour in support of the album, Douglas
called to talk about how he reconciles the worlds of bluegrass and fusion, how he views his
instrument mathematically, and how Joni Mitchell and other vocalists have led him deeper
into the realm of the square-neck resonator guitar.

Douglas debut powerful rock stations coming out of

album, 1979s the city. And then one day when I was
Fluxology, was living in Lexington, Kentucky, playing
a trailblazing
study in
with J.D. Crowe and Tony Rice and
bluegrass Ricky Skaggs, a friend set me down
packed with a on his porch and played me Light as
host of other a Feather [Return to Forevers second
formidable
album] and Heavy Weather by Weather
youngbloods
and veterans Report, and it blew my mind. Id never
that included heard anything like that before and it
banjoist J.D. was just overwhelming to hear that kind
Crowe, guitarist of music. I had to go out and find more
Tony Rice, Ricky
Skaggs on music like it, because I couldnt believe
mandolin and so much was happening. I had to adapt
fiddle, fiddler it to my instrument and try to find a
Darol Anger, and way into it. It was so far ahead of its
bassist Todd
time, and no ones really even caught up
Phillips.
to it yet.
My friend Bla Fleck and I were
in Nashville, and we went together to
Vanderbilt University and listened to the
You come from a bluegrass background, I was predominantly a bluegrass player, reunited Return to Forever. Our jaws
but one of your most transformative though Id been influenced by jazz were just on the ground the whole time.
Photo by Jordi Vidal

moments came when you first heard musicians like Django Reinhardt and Neither one of us could believe what we
fusion as a young musician. Can you Stphane Grappelli. I grew up close to were hearing. It was another one of those
describe what happened? Cleveland, so I also had access to the landmark moments in my life.

premierguitar.com
56 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 Tone bar king
Jerry Douglas
has risen to
the top of
the square-
neck-guitar
JERRY DOUGLAS GEAR
playing field
by developing
a style that
blends speed,
GUITARS
accuracy, and Beard Guitars Jerry Douglas Signature
melodicism BlackBeard resonator guitar with Hipshot
even in short, DoubleShot multiple-tuning tailpiece,
quick phrases
Hipshot roller nut, and
during his
30-plus-years Fishman Nashville pickup
career. Lap King Rodeo steel guitar with Supro
bridge pickup and Teisco neck pickup

EFFECTS
Boss DD-3 Digital Delay
DigiTech Whammy
Electro-Harmonix POG
Polyphonic Octave Generator
Electro-Harmonix Memory Man

AMP
Fender Deluxe (tweed)

STRINGS
DAddario EJ42 (.016.056)

Bla, of course, jumped right on it and Thats always been my main instrument. I could never know everything that he
after his time with the New Grass Revival, At that point Id dabbled with lap steel knew. But it was a nice lesson, and thats
formed Bla Fleck and the Flecktones and and electric guitar, but Dobro was my kind of the way I soaked up the jazz area.
went out and pretty much started writing instrument of choice and the conduit
his own material that kind of bordered between my head and my hands. What about the more rock-oriented
on [leader of Return to Forever] Chick aspects of your playing?
Coreas stuff. And then eventually he and You didnt set out to be a jazz musician, The more rocking area is definitely a frame
Chick became friends and they started but listening to your new record its of mindtrying to make a more powerful
working together and still are. clear you have quite a command of the statement by being explosive and very
But I didnt go at it the same way. I language. Did you acquire this skill dynamic, which is something that was easy
kind of stuck with my base and worked through formal study or just by ear? for me to come by from playing bluegrass
on the fringes of that along with David Just by ear, by osmosis, by being around music. Its acoustic and its so physical.
Grisman and Tony Rice, and sort of musicians. When I used to go out to San In bluegrass, you control the dynamics
pushed the envelope out to make the Francisco, to Marin [County], to work with your right hand instead of a volume
kind of music I was steeped in relate to it. on a David Grisman or a Tony Rice pedal. So what I usually do is just floor
At this point, I have a horn section in record, Id go to Tonys house and we the volume pedal and then do the
my band. So its pushing it even further would sit up all night and listen to Miles dynamics with my right hand. Im playing
in a way that still hits my ear in a nice way. Davis. And it soaks in. I guess youre the more rocking stuff in the same way
Im not trying to be a jazz musician. Im studying it, but not really. that I would approach bluegrass, but with
trying to be more of a hybrid musician I was just submersing myself in the a whole lot more wattage.
Photo by Frank Serio

and connect all of these influences. ways that Miles played and the reasons
whydirections and misdirection in What are some of the connections you
Were you playing the resonator guitar turning things upside down, playing make between traditional bluegrass
when you first heard fusion? alternative melodies and things like that. and fusion?

premierguitar.com
58 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 Theres a different instrumentation and shaping your solos. You start breaking turned me on to them. Some of them are
sound, scales and substance, but both it down into smaller increments to keep in my band.
are highly improvisational, and I enjoy everybody involved and listening. Its Daniel introduced me to another
floating back and forth between the two like being in a band: The best bands world. He grew up playing bluegrass
worlds. One of the fundamentals of youve heard were bands that listened to music in a family band, but he discovered
playing bluegrass music is that, much like each other and elongated one solo into this stuff as he was going through school
in a jazz setting, you state the melody another. Theyd start by echoing some and learning and playing with these
and then you have your blowing sections. phrase played by whoever soloed before different jazz bands. He really helped me
And then you restate the melody and you them and take off from there. decide to go ahead and go for it. Because
drift to the end of the tune. Its just the Its also really important to not just of him I met these other musicians who
way you formulate a tune so the listener keep the dynamics up in your face all the helped me form this band and turn it
knows whats going on. time. I like to hear breakdown sections into the record that you heard.
I really like to have the listener in songs and let things rest for a second The trumpet player, Vance Thompson,
involved. I dont like running off from before taking them back up. Those kinds teaches arranging at University of
the listener. I like connecting listeners and of things are more interesting to me than Tennessee. Jamel Mitchell, the guy
having them involved in the solo, more flat-out-in-your-face type of stuff. that plays saxophone with us, is from a
than just trying to show off my chops. completely different school. Hes from
Its boring to me to be overwhelmed Was it difficult for you to find Memphis. His father, James Mitchell,
by somebodys technique and to not musicians to play your unique music at was one of the original Memphis Horns,
understand why they did something. such a high level? and wrote all those great horn charts.
I think it would have been had I not run Jamels uncle Willie was the producer for
What kind of strategies do you use in into my bass player, Daniel Kimbro, who all those Al Green records and things like
taking listeners on the journey? studied at University of Tennessee in the that. So theres DNA there. Jamel plays
Well, I think the success of the music jazz department. He met a lot of great these wonderful solos, but he also writes
is all in the dynamics and the path, just musicians when he was there and hes really great parts that he and Vance play

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 59

 YOUTUBE IT
The ringmaster together, which really makes sense for the Can you elaborate on the mathematical
and his stuff I write. It can add comedy, or it can aspects of your music?
psychedelic be very serious. Jamel is great at figuring The way I look at it is, the fingerboard
circus, from left
to right: saxist these things outwhat the substance is is a grid and Ive got one finger to
Jamel Mitchell, and what the emotion is at the right time. work with because Im using a slide.
Jerry Douglas, My electric guitar player, Mike Seal, So Im playing with a metal bar and
guitarist Mike adds another facet to the band that I have to figure out all these different
Seal, drummer
wasnt there before. I mean, hes just combinations I can do with two strings
Doug Belote,
bassist Daniel amazing. He plays piano and guitar or three strings or all six strings. But
Kimbro, and hes just a fount of knowledge on a lot of the time I cant play an Fm
violinist anything he picks up. Our fiddle player, or an E%m chord, so Ill have to play Joined by upright bassist Daniel Kimbro at Paste
Christian Christian Sedelmyer, is classically trained different pieces of that chord to structure Studios in New York, Jerry Douglas puts a burn-
Sedelmyer.
but also steeped in old-time music and the whole chord. And they can be ing, bluegrass-infused spin on Hey Joe.
YouTube search term: Jerry Douglas Hey Joe
bluegrass, and is another incredibly substitutionsparts of the chord and
natural musician. Doug Belote, the different altered versions of it. But that,
drummer, is from New Orleans. So to me, is math: trying to figure out
weve got a real gumbo going on, but its things that work within the confines of
very cohesive. one chord. I mean, there are all kinds of
places you can go on the neck to find
How did this gumbo influence the way those, but I try to also play like a singer.
you wrote the tunes?
I try to find the essence of the band and How so?
write more adventurously. Im writing Singers tend to stay in voice. I try
On fire! The Jerry Douglas Band brings their
for these musicians, not for a bluegrass to stay in one voice and deliver a
unique blend of fusion, rock, and bluegrass to an
band. Its a different way of writing. Its statement instead of jumping all over the enthusiastic crowd at Nashvilles Station Inn.
like we all have our own opinions about fingerboard to put a solo together. There YouTube search term: The Jerry Douglas
what the melody is, and then well form are times when that does fit, when there Band - Cavebop

these counter-melodies and ultimately we are very wide phrases you want to play
Photo by Patrick Sheehan

all meet back at the end to agree on what to make a statement and create a mood,
constitutes the main melody and when but more often than not, I look at the Are there particular vocalists who have
it should be stated. Its all math, really, fingerboard and determine how small a impacted your work the most?
when you look at it, but you try not to space I can use to play a whole song and Ive been lucky to have worked with
sound like a mathematician. stay in voice like a singer. some of the greatest singers. I mean,

premierguitar.com
60 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 Alison Krauss and James Taylor and Paul
Simon and Sting but the one singer
who impacts me more and more when I
hear her is Joni Mitchell. Shes got such a
great reading of the song, but also she has
dynamics and she has range.
The truth is, whoever Im listening
to at the time influences me. Theres a
lady named Gabriela [Marrone] who has
worked with Bill Frisell and puts Spanish
lyrics to some of his songs. I dont know
what shes saying, but shes singing so
beautifully. At the same time, there are so
many instrumentalistslike [jazz pianist]
Brad Mehldau or Derek Truckswho
can emote without words. They get to me
by teaching me new things to try on the
Dobro. Im always hearing different things
that I want to express.

Its apparent that your broad listening

habits have informed the record. For
instance, in spots the title track sounds
almost like Philip Glass.
Thats funny. When I did A Prairie
Home Companion, Chris Thile told me
it sounds like Debussy. Its really kind of
athleticpull-off arpeggios in different
positions on the neck. It was an exercise
at first and then I finally added a melody,
and Jamel wrote a beautiful horn melody
that went on top of that. So it turned into
a beautiful piece. We drop that into the
middle of the set and everybody just goes,
Ah. Its a nice release from all the strife
thats going on onstage.

What If features your unique spin on

Hey Joe. How did you approach
arranging a song immortalized by
Jimi Hendrix?
Well, I cut it a long time ago with singer
and mandolin player Tim OBrien, and
Arty McGlynn, an Irish guitar player whos
just like a steamroller. But this time I took
a different approach with those nice horn
lines. Its a tune that everybody knows,
but they never heard it this way. Its just
a mixture of my world music, bluegrass,
and rock. I love playing fast arpeggios and
solos against a backdrop that everybody
knows is like a dirge, but which I see as a
fast-moving thing. And I think Jimi would
have loved it.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 61

 Of Thee
I See:
John Dwyer,
21st Century
Renaissance
Man

Now in the 20th year of

his ever-evolving band
project, the recently
renamed Oh Sees,
a DIY road dog lets it
bleed onstage and on
his new album, Orc.
BY TZVI GLUCKIN

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 63

 J
ohn Dwyer, the guitarist and the world works now, with the internet Everybodys amps are in the same
lead singer for Oh Sees (formerly and all that shit, in the underground, if room, says Dwyer. Were all standing
Thee Oh Sees), makes a good theres good music, people know about it. there looking at each other. We let it
case for the argument that the best The word spreads now. You dont really bleed a little bit. You have to train an
decade for making music is right now. need a label anymore to get out there. engineer to be okay with that because
Dwyers work ethic, attitude, and outlook A native of Providence, Rhode Island, theyre so stuck on having everything
make him the poster boy for everything Dwyer relocated to the West Coast years separated. This is a live band. We use
right about music in the 20-teens. As a ago. His main focus since the late 90s the SVT at top volume. The SVT will
musician, he embodies the touchstones has been various incarnations of Oh be in the cornerand it will be baffled
of the era: roll-up-your-sleeves DIY and Sees (including OCS and, most recently, to shitbut youll still be able to hear
the drive to embrace, not fight, changes Thee Oh Sees). His music, although it a little bit. The guitar is also baffled.
in technology and the industry. Check diverse, sounds like a strange intersection We try to keep it from bleeding, but if a
out Dwyers prodigious output: his Castle of garage, psych, noise, and the moody little blood gets on there, its not going
Face Records label, his multiple projects, space jams of krautrock pioneers Can. to hurt anybody.
his touring schedule, and how he Releasing albums at a rate of about one I didnt ask Dwyer if this is the best
promotes and manages those operations. per year over the last 20 years, Oh Sees decade to make music. Instead, we got
While these are exciting days in music, are prolific, consistent, and their music is geeky. We spoke about the newest Oh
its not exactly easy. You need to be raw and challenging. Sees release, Orc, as well as his thoughts
entrepreneurial. You need to hustle. You Oh Sees is Dwyers band project. That on maintaining and caring for metal-
at least need to be willing to advocate on meansas opposed to other projects neck guitars, his minimalist approach
behalf of your music. But if you do, the where Dwyer overdubs most of the to pedals, vintage Fender amps, and his
skys potentially the limit. As Dwyer told partsOh Sees record together, with each mysterious pentagonal trapezohedron-
Tape Op in a recent interview, The way member playing his respective instrument. shaped guitar knobs.

couple of Misfits songs that I brought in to do with this band, Pink and Brown,
to him. And the rest is history. I pretty where the lowest gauge string is dropped
much learned from jamming with people down to the next string up, so it would be
over the years. I didnt really get going a double A and then the top two strings
until I was in my 20s. would be tuned to the same B.

What kind of music were you doing? Do you play in standard as well?
Math-y guitar stuff. I was super into The new record Im working on right
guitar bands back then, as I still am, but now is the first time in years that Ive
a different genre. The guy I was in the played in A440 standard. Initially, my
band with used to bring a lot of bands reasoning in my brain was that if I tuned
TIDBIT through town. Wed see Polvo. They the guitar lower it would sound like I was
Orc, released in
August 2017, is were a pretty far-out alternate tuning singing higher, but then I realized the
the 19th album by
Oh Sees and was
band that played a lot of weird shit like physics of that doesnt make any sense.
recorded live with When did you first start playing guitar? Sonic Youth. I was into Sonic Youths But regardless, I got stuck on that tip and
all members in the On my 15th birthday, my folks got me early records like Confusion Is Sex and after years of just doing it, it sort of stuck.
same room. Only a
few months later, a cherry red Yamahaa shredder, pointy Sister. Probably due to my lack of actual I like the way a down-tuning sounds. I
Oh Sees announced headstock guitar that probably cost about knowledge about how to tune the guitar use .060-gauge strings right now.
its 20th album,
Memory of a Cut
$100and a Crate amp. That got stolen or what the hell I was doing, I was really
Off Head, released from me. Somebody broke into this into people who started doing their own .060s?
in November 2017. house I lived in in Providence, burned thing. Bands like that were inspirational They ground out if you tune down with
the building down, and stole the guitar to me when I was that age. regular gauge strings. I was using an old
and the amp, which was actually one Gibson Melody Maker. I would drop-
of the biggest favors that anybody ever Do you play in alternate tunings like tune on that and it would just send the
did for me. I took a few lessons when that now? whole guitar out of whack.
I was about 16 from this guy in East Yeah, all the time. I do three tunings live.
Providence. He taught me how to tune I do a dropped-D standard type thing, a Is that why you use the metal-neck guitar?
my guitar and how to string it. He taught couple of Elizabeth Cotten tuningslike Arab on Radar, a band from Providence,
me how to play Back in Black and a open Gand then I do this tuning I used always had them and Six Finger Satellite

premierguitar.com
64 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
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 JOHN DWYERS GEAR

GUITARS
Electrical Guitar Company metal-neck
guitar with acrylic see-through body
Burns Double Six 12-String
Electrical Guitar Company
metal-neck 12-string

AMPS
1968 Fender Dual Showman Reverb
1978 modded Fender Showman
Two Fender cabs

EFFECTS
This 12-string is played them, too. I got to borrow one will actually send it out of pitch. But Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner
a Burns Double on the road one time. My guitar got usually, once I tune it up for the show, Boss DD-3 Digital Delay
Six model. broken at a show and I borrowed one Im fine for the show. Death By Audio Fuzz Warr Overload
Dwyer holds his (modded/knobs removed)
guitar high while
for about half the show and I realized it
playing, so he had its own sound. I needed something You usually only use one guitar per
doesnt have to resilient. I talked to Kevin [Burkett] set. Do you do all your tunings right STRINGS & PICKS
bend his wrist. over at Electrical Guitar and he built there onstage? Cleartone Heavy Series Designed
me that acrylic/aluminum piece. Its Yeah. I used to have two guitars. I had a for Alt Tuning (.012.060)
pretty resilient, man. The one thing 12-string and the 6-string. Kevin made Dunlop .60 mm gray picks
I have to do to keep it up to snuff me a 12-string as well. I love playing
onstage isbasically at any venue, that thing and Ill probably bring it
even if its outsideI need to put the on the road for this U.S. tour. But
guitar onstage about half an hour before the reality was it was just getting too
I go up, and leave the case open. It expensive to bring it to Europe. I end
acclimates to the temperature and then up spending $1,500 putting gear on a
there are usually no trip-ups. plane, because planes are just getting
worse and worse.
Do you start having intonation problems Also, I found that my guitar will play
if the guitar gets too hot or cold? better for longer in between tune-ups After getting my teeth
Kind of. The biggest pain in the ass, at the shop if I take it into the hotel
frankly, with that guitar is if its freezing with me every night and let it dry out
broken so many times, Photo by Tim Bugbee/Tinnitus Photography

cold out, which is pretty rare. We did completely. Like I said, I get really we stopped playing
a show one time and it was like 30 sweaty and the guitar gets pretty gross.
degrees out. It was ice cold and it was If I take it out of the case and let it sit
on the floor, unless
like playing an icicle. Then when the in the hotel room and let it sleep with were playing a small
guitar heats up from your bodyI methen its also safe, because theyre
get really sweaty a lotthe guitar not exactly cheap either. But if I leave
warehouse show or
gets pretty warm pretty quick and it it in the case overnight, the knobs will something.

premierguitar.com
66 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 Dwyer uses
a Death By
Audio Fuzz
Warr Overload,
custom modded
especially for
him. He likes
to use the fuzz
with his guitars
neck pickup.
It sounds
awesome if
you turn all the
high end off,
just have the
fuzzit gets
that American
Woman sound
totally round,
he says.

get dead spots in them and the strings daysomebody refinished it and I guess You play the bass parts on your records?
corrode faster. The condensation, even they go down in value. The thing looks It depends. It varies. Theres a live band
inside the acrylic, will affect the whole brand new, though. Theres a company now for Oh Sees. Tim Hellman plays bass
play of the guitar. If I give it some air that makes P-90s that fit in a single-coil and Dan Rincon and Paul Quattrone
overnight, it seems to heal better. spaceyou dont have to rout out the play drums. The new record, Orc, is
guitar at allI put two P-90s in it and everybody playing their own instrument.
You said you use .060-gauge strings on the thing smokes. Its awesome. But I have a solo project called Damaged
the low end? Bug where I play everything. And I have a
I use this company, Cleartone. Theyre So, you upgrade the electronics on your record coming out later in the year with a
made for drop-tuning. They sent me a old guitars? different set of players. I try to change it up
box of the .070s, which are .070.013 Sometimes. I have an old 57 Kay bass to keep it interesting. But when I do play
and I tried one pack. Theyre bananas. that I use on a ton of my records that bass at home, I play that Kay bass [laughs].
Im not sure if my hands can handle the literally still has the same 4 mm-thick,
load of that, but Im leaning towards just screwed-on-top-of-the-wood pickup in I saw somewhere that Tim is the first
going there. Just start playing bass strings it that sounds like total dog shit, but in actual bass player youve played with in
on it. Why not? the best possible way. It sounds like the years. Why is that?
bass from Little Green Bag [a George Pink and Brown didnt have bass out of
Do you have other guitars that you Baker Selection hit from 1969 that was necessity, because it was just me and one
wont take on the road with you? used in the film Reservoir Dogs]that other guy. With Coachwhips, I wanted
Photo by Debi Del Grande

Oh yeah, for sure. Im a huge fan of real thumpy sound. Ive never changed it to be really dumb and simple. It was
Gibsons and old Gibsons. I love the the strings on that bass. Its a skinny snare drum, floor tom, ride, tiny Casio
Melody Maker. I dont know why. hollowbody Kay. Its my favorite. I have keyboard, an old Harmony guitar, and
I have this little 65 Melody Maker a Jazz bass, too, and its good for other two ampsthat was it. It was really basic.
that I got for, like, $700 back in the stuff, but that Kay is always my go-to. I dont know why the hell it happened.

premierguitar.com
68 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 ad_OneControl_PremGuitar_3rdpage_NEW.qxp_Layout 6 2017-06-02 10:22 AM Page 1

Thee Oh Sees, and OCS early on, just had

another guitar player playing bass parts with
an EQ pedal shifted to mostly bass end. It
sounded relatively bass-y. Petey [Dammit],
who was doing a lot of that guitar playing in
that band, was a guitar player and it never
crossed my mind to have it switched to bass.
So, Tim is my guy now, for sure.

Petey wasnt using an octave pedaljust

an EQ?
No octave, just an EQ. A graphic EQ
pedal with it steeped high end all the way
down, bass end all the way up. He started
using a bass amp after a while. It was a
little Acoustic, new school. It was like
those disposable amps. You play them on
the road and get the warranty on them.
Halfway through the tour it dies and you
go to Guitar Center and get a new one. We
tend to turn everything up as much as it
will take. New amps arent too great for that
kind of shit.

That Showman is the amp you take on

the road?
I take two of them on the road with me,
with two cabinets. Those things are great,
man. I got a 78 thats converted back to a
blackfacewe put in resistors or whatever.
My amp guy is down to the nitty gritty
in all that shit; hes great. Its funny, I was
never really a Fender guy. My first amp,
after that Crate got stolen, was a Fender.
It was like an old 4-channel PA in my first
band. But then I got hooked on MusicMan
because they were small and loud. But now
after using the Showman, Ill never go back.
Nothing sounds like those big Fender amps.
Not a Marshall. Nothing.

You run two? Do you go stereo-out from

the delay?
No. I actually dont use two. I take two on
the road. Ones a backup. I use two speaker
cabinets. I have two 15s and two 12s going
from the 68. I extension speaker it out
and then I bi-amp. I run everything into
a tunerjust a standard Boss Chromatic
Tunerand they have the splitter on the
way out. I send one to the clean channel CUSTOM REPLACEMENT PARTS FOR ELECTRIC GUITAR & BASS, MADE WITH PASSION AND PRECISION.

and the clean channel only has bass in

itall the mids and highs are turned down.
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premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 69

John Dwyer and mids with the reverb. I split the channel
the Oh Sees that way so I get the amps two channels
are known for
on like five and five.
passionate live
performances,
sometimes And you use the amps reverb as
taking things off your reverb?
the stage and All Im using live is a simple delay and
into the crowd.
Dwyer uses his
a Death By Audio fuzz pedal and thats
own PA onstage it. For vocals, I used to use the old tape
as a monitor echo [Roland RE-201 Space Echo], but
to premix I ended up having to fix that every single
his signal.
day on the road. Everybody else would
go to get Thai food and Id be like, Can
you bring me something back while I sit
by myself in the green room and try to
figure out why this isnt working again?
So, I switched over to a digital delayout teeth broken so many times, we stopped I use these tape delay emulators, they feel
of simplicity and for the sake of not losing playing on the floor, unless were playing a little dark to me. The DD-3 has a nice,
my mind on the road. But the guitar is a small warehouse show or something. resilient, clear, and simple design.
just fuzz, delay, and then, obviously, the Onstage, it just sounds like it does in
reverb tank in the amp when I want it. rehearsal. Its good. We use monitoring, too, And you also have a Fuzz Warr?
from the monitor person at the show, but a I have a Fuzz Warr Overload, which is
That Roland tape echo was just vocals, lot of timeespecially if were doing festival the version of the Fuzz War they made
not guitar. workyou just get terrible monitors. I can for me that has a high-filter pass on
Vocals and keyboards. I have a mixer up barely sing as it is, so if I cant hear myself it. I had them take all the knobs off it
there that I use and I have two synths then its a real tragedy out front and it is because I was using it turned up all the
three synths nowand my vocals and fucking embarrassing. Having my own way all the time anyway. They put in
my synths go to a mixer that goes to the super-loud power monitor that I can both resistors to make it seem like I have the
same delay. That goes to the PA we have EQ and turn up and downand its right knobs up all the way. I was just breaking
onstage and then we DI. I run a DI out next to my headis super beneficial to the knobs all the time and I had to mail
of the echo going to the PA and then what I am doing. them back to them constantly. I had like
I take a split off the DI. But nobody is 10 of them that would be in rotation at
getting a clean signal from me. They get What delay pedal do you use? all times. Now, Ive been using the same
the signal that I premix onstage. I use the DD-3. Ive tried all these two onstage since they did that without
boutique echo pedals over the years. I having to get them fixed again. There are
Do you use that PA onstage as your really like the Death By Audio pedals and no knobs on them. Genius. Its just a box
monitor? I use them in the studio a lot. But live, with two clickers sticking up out of it.
Thats my own monitor. Its for keyboards for the most simplistic, clean, and easy-to-
and vocals. Its the way weve practiced for adjust-on-the-fly pedal, I think its always Its unadjustable?
years and I started bringing it on the road going to be that DD-3. Theyre dirt cheap Its just up all the way. I do all the
with me. We were dealing with a lot of and I end up breaking them a lot on the adjustments on my guitar, frankly. The
asshole sound guys when we were younger. road. I feel a lot of the boutique echos less I have to bend live, the better [laughs].
We were punk-ish and we would want to start to get into this territory where its
play on the floor or whatever the fuck. If really cool in the studio because you can You only use two pedals, but you use them
the sound guy was a dick, I was like, Cool. mess around and get some far-out stuff, a lot. Do you practice and write with them
We dont need you. We have our own mic but onstage they have little tap switches or is that more a product of jamming?
stands and mics. The guy would always be on them that Ill break off with my foot or Both. Its funny because weve been
flabbergasted. We would play on the floor theyre incredibly complicated. I even tried playing a bunch of the new material live
Photo by Minivan Photography

of the club without any of the clubs gear, to use the Space Echo pedal for a minute and I had to change the way we play it
besides using their power. Over time, it [Boss RE-20], and its good, but the thing live. It just didnt sound right even though
became a thing where it became our sound I like about the DD-3 is that its really it sounds great to me on the record. I
onstage. There are no surprises onstage bright. It doesnt have any of that fake tape turn on the fuzz where its not on or stop
when we have all our gearunless stuff gets darkness. See, my tape delay always had playing at certain points. Its just about
broken, of courseand after getting my nice high end for some reason. Whenever what works live when youre suddenly

premierguitar.com
70 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 Dwyers pentagonal trapezohedron
dice knobs are found here:
etsy.com/shop/OAIModifications

doing it in front of an audience and the super low guitarsit reminded me of the Do you use dice as the knobs on
pedal is to the metal a lot more than it is kind of music I never likedbut the bent your guitar?
in the studio. Lately Ive been getting into wrist to get up and around the neck. That Yeah, theyre Dungeon & Dragons knobs.
having one pickup on my guitar with the always hurt my wrist. So I started playing This kid makes them. Theyre awesome.
tone knob turned all the way downso high. A lot of old jazz guys, they sit and have I loved D&D when I was a kid and it
its all bottomand having the other one their guitar really high. I found my wrist still has play in my writing now in a
with the high end cranked all the way. could be straightIm going to knock on weird way. I think role playing is just a
You can go back and forth between them. wood right now so I dont fuck myselfand huge metaphor for life [laughs]. Theyre
Thats been a lot of fun and Ive been I dont really have any wrist problems after 10-sided dice and have pointed edges. It
writing a lot around thatespecially the 25 years of playing guitar. I liken a lot of makes it super-easy to turn up and down
more improvisational stuff, live. that to my posture. I stretch my hand every by rolling your finger across iteven
day, too, especially before playing. Youve got more so than a normal knob. I really like
You go back and forth between the two? to, especially when youre getting old. Youve them for that. I can do volume tricks
You get this sort of fake wah wah sound got to stretch everything out or it just hurts. with it.
if you go back and forth between them. Also, a lot of times my strap would break
Another thing is turning on the fuzz with and I would have to hold the guitar like that What shape are those knobs?
just the neck pickup. It sounds awesome during the middle of a songand it became Its called a pentagonal trapezohedron.
if you turn all the high end off, just have the way that was comfortable. How fucking cool is that?
the fuzzit gets that American Woman

Photo by Bradford K Wolfenden II

sound, totally round.
YOUTUBE IT
Right from the first guitar break, John Dwyer uses his two pedals
Why do you wear your guitar so high constantly. He often steps on one for just a note and then turns it
and strum from the side? right off.
YouTube search term: Thee Oh Sees Full Performance (Live on KEXP)
I think its just more comfortable for me.
I always hated not just the aesthetic of the

premierguitar.com
72 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 FLAMETHROWER!
Get out the way! How Tetrarchs rising
shred star Diamond Rowe torches the fretboard
on the bands new album, Freak.
Photo by Amy Harris

BY TZVI GLUCKIN

premierguitar.com
74 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 S ome guitarists suffer from a compulsive need to
acquire gear. As in, more gearalways more. Too
much is never enough.
Is that you?
Symptoms include: a pedalboard thats in constant flux,
Tube Screamer in front of a Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier.
I always use that third channel, she says about her amp.
I would be lying if I said that I ever switched it. That third
channel is on 99.99 percent of the time. But the only way I
get it to be exactly how I want is to use the Tube Screamer, the
an overdrive thats good, but not good enough, swapping TS9, on top of it for rhythms. My TS9 is always on.
out pickups more frequently than a golfer swaps clubs, and But for Rowe, that conservative streak ends with her live
owning too many guitars (as if thats even possible). rig. In the studio, shes open to anythingdifferent amps, amp
But, and this may come as a shock, thats not every guitarist. modelers, new effectswhatever works. I like to try different
Some are content with the gear they have. They like their sound. things, she says. Lets give this a shot. Lets give that a shot.
Andthis is hugesome guitarists are even resistant to change. That adventurousness applies to her playing, which is still
Mind blown? evolving, as well. Her roots are in thrash metal and her natural
Diamond Rowe, the lead guitarist in the hook-driven, tendency is to shred, but FreakTetrarchs latest release and
melodic metal outfit Tetrarch, falls into that second first full-length album, which follows three EPsshowcases
category. I am one of those types of people, she says. I get her melodic side. Her solos are song-appropriate, tuneful, and
emotional connections to my gear. The idea of switching my shorter than on previous efforts, all by design.
rig around gives me so much anxiety. Premier Guitar sat down with Rowe to discuss her practice
Its not that Rowe isnt a gearhead. She is. But she knows techniques, tunings, new ESP LTD 7-string, and her approach to
how to get her tone. Rowe sticks with tools that work, even crafting soundscapes. She also explained why the Peavey 6505 is
if that means sticking with unorthodox workarounds. For her secret ingredient for recording modern metal rhythm guitar.
example, the staple of her sound is an always-engaged Ibanez And, of course, we discussed her reticence toward new gear.

When did you start playing? dont do a lot of scales or exercises. Rather, TIDBIT
The day I turned 12 was the day I had Ill take some of my favorite lead guitar Rowe says her
secret weapon for
my first guitar lesson. Id just gotten into playerslike Dave Mustaineand Ill go getting kick-ass
heavier music. I was listening to pop and to one of his harder solos, sit at home, and metal tone is the
hip-hop before. I started getting into tinker with that for a while. As weird as Peavey 6505, which
she used on Freak
Nirvana, Pearl Jam, System of a Down, it sounds, when you go to play your own and the bands most
and stuff like that. Metallica is my all- stuff, it helps a lot by practicing off other recent EPs.
time favorite band and I started getting people that you learn from. It keeps it fun
into Metallica at that time. for me because otherwise it gets a little
boring. Im not the exercise type. I wish
And you took lessons. I was, but it keeps it fun for me to learn
I did, for about a year. It helped me things that Im familiar with but that may
jumpstart my learning process. I never also be making me better.
really had an awkward phase with guitar,
which Im glad about. It always felt A lot of your music is very fast. How
natural to me. Lessons taught me how to
read tabs, different chords, and different I never do you keep up your stamina over the
course of a long set?
techniques like palm muting that I
wouldnt have known myself.Also, my
really had an Well, its funny, but its harder for us
to come up with things that are slower
parents bought me mounds and mounds
of tab books at Guitar Center. I would
awkward phase and more mid-tempo. When we started,
Metallica was our favorite band. Or
learn my favorite bands songs all day,
every day. I would say thats mainly how
with guitar, Testament. It was thrash bands. Now
weve moved on and our influences come
I learned guitar. which Im glad from different placesbands like Korn
or Linkin Parkstuff thats not as natural
What is your practice regimen like?
Its a bummer, because Im so bad at
about. It always for us to play. So, the faster stuff is easier
for me to play without warming up. But
practicing the correct way. Usually when
I practice, its either learning a song,
felt natural the slower stuff, the more melodic stuff,
thats more like, Man, I need to practice
warming up, or getting my chops up. I to me. this a bit and warm up.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 75

 DIAMOND ROWES GEAR

GUITARS
Gibson Les Paul Standard
ESP LTD EC-1000
ESP LTD SCT-607B
(Stephen Carpenter signature 7-string)

AMPS
Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier
Marshall 1960 cab with Celestions

EFFECTS
Line 6 POD HD Pro X
Voodoo Lab Ground Control Pro MIDI
Foot Controller
Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
Boss TU-2 Tuner

STRINGS AND PICKS

Ernie Ball Skinny Top
Heavy Bottom (.010.052)
Ernie Ball 7-String
Power Slinky (.011.058)
Dunlop Jazz III and Tortex 1.14 mm

Tetrarchs dual- Whats harder about the slower stuff? Do you record to a click? our tuning has been dropped C [CG
guitar attack is
More feel; your vibrato. Vibrato is We definitely record with a click. CFAD] or D standard [DGCF
ferocious and
straightforward. something that took me a while to be We dont practice or play live to a AD]. But this record is the first time
Rowe handles good at. A lot of guitar players will tell metronome. Actually, this is the first tour that most of this record is in dropped
the leads and you that its harder than you would think. that were playing one of our new songs, A. We also have a song in dropped B
Fore handles the Guys like M. Shadows from Avenged Freak, and its the first time weve ever [BF#BEG#C#].
rhythm parts.
The parts that
Sevenfold have great vibrato, and youre used a track on a song live ever.
beef up the like, Thats not hard. But it really is. Whats dropped A?
choruses and Im still perfecting it. More so than fast Whats on the track? Its almost like an open A. Its AEA
the lead lines alternate picking and stuff like that. Its just samples and stuff like that. DF#BE. [Editors note: AEAD
thats always
Scratchy sounds. No guitars or anything GBE is another variation.] We use the
me, Rowe
explains. Live if Many of your songs are in odd meters. like thatjust the electronics that we had 7-string for it, but we kind of play it
theres a certain Is that on purpose or just the way the on the record. We wanted to try it out as a 6-string, because we dont use that
part thats riffs worked out? live with the song. last high string.
easier for Josh Its just the way the riffs work out,
to do while hes
singing, we'll honestly. Were not theory nerds or off- Hows that working out? What are you using for a 7-string? I saw a
go ahead time nerds or anything like that. We just Its not too bad. Luckily, Im not the one picture of you with the Stephen Carpenter
and switch. play the song. Especially Josh [Fore, lead having to play to the click. Its just the guitar [the ESP LTD SCT-607B].
Photo by Jenn Curtis

vocals and rhythm guitar]. If he comes drummer. I just play to him as usual. Thats my love for 7-string. Its crazy
up with something thats off time and because weve always thought about it like,
it sounds cool, later we figure out what How do you tune your guitars? We should try a song with the 7-string.
time its in and how to record it. Usually, on every other EP weve done, We picked them up and we were like,

premierguitar.com
76 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
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STUNNING.
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D A D D A R I O . C O M / P E D A LT U N E R
 This neck feels too big. I dont like it. But One of my favorite guitar players is Jim
we tried it again since we did this record in A. Root from Slipknot. I really like how he serves
The 7-string I liked was the Carpenter. Its a songs well with solos. If theres a long solo
beautiful guitar. It has a big body. It is heavy- section, he goes for it and he shreds. But if
weighted like I like guitars to be. Its like a its a song that just needs something tasteful
perfect fit for me. I love that guitar. or short, thats what he does. Thats what we
went for on this record. I really like that. I
You like heavy guitars? want to be more of a guitar player that serves
Oh yeah. Its probably because my first main the song and doesnt automatically put a shred
guitar was a Gibson Les Paul Standard and solo in every single song.
its a heavy-weighted guitar. Anytime I pick
up anything lightweight I feel like Im playing Who does the harmony leads? Do you play
with a toy. Its just a preference. I like feeling both parts?
like I have something around my neck. Yes. Live, usually I just play the melody line.
But in the studio, I do both.
Talk about soloing. A lot of your solos
on the new album are shorter and sound How do you divvy up the guitar duties?
worked out. Its basically just rhythm/lead. Usually, the
Some of the older stuff we did was thrash parts that beef up the choruses and the lead
influenced and the solos were a lot longer. We lines thats always me. Josh does sing and
were listening to a lot of thrashier stuff then. play guitar, so live if theres a certain part thats
But to be completely honest with you, our easier for him to do while hes singing, well
least favorite comparison is when people say, go ahead and switch. But for the most part we
You sound like a thrash band. Were like, split up the guitars. Im doing the octave, the
Ah, man. [Laughs.] For this newer record, we lead lines, or the effects guitars.
really wanted to try something different. We
wanted to reach for some different influences At the beginning of Oddity, you play a
and try some stuff we never tried before. really tight interlocking rhythm part. Do

Photo by Amy Harris

premierguitar.com
78 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
WW_CS_17-3515_2,5x9,875_USA.indd 1 09/10/17 17:40
 you spend a lot of time working on those
Dwarfcraft deviceS
types of parts and composing that way? new machines for new music
That was actually the first song we wrote for
this record. It was a little closer to some of
our other stuff weve done in the past. We
came up with that guitar part and Rubn
[Limas], our drummer, just came up with
the drums. He was doing a drum fill that
was the same timing and feel as the guitar
and it came out pretty cool. Its a quick intro
to the song. Usually, we have long intros on
our songs, but this one comes right in.

Youve added a lot of atmospheric

soundscapes on the new album that
sound like theyre borrowed from black
or death metal.
Yeah. That is one of the things I was talking
about earlier. I wanted to try a lot of new
stuff on thislike effects guitar. On the The unique sound of bucket brigade A digital tool for the sonic
EPs, I never did anything with delay pedals, delay with deep controls lets you explorer, this micro-sampling
phasers, or whammysnothingand I echo your heart out, dial in a vibrato, machine provides an evolving,
really wanted to try it. Some of my all-time chorus, or sickening pitch smear. glitched out
favorite bands have textural stuff like that. creation experience.
A lot of it came out sounding cool and we
kept it. I was pretty happy about that. Its
fun to do live, too.

Did you have to modify your pedalboard

so you could do those things live?
Yeah. I have a Line 6 POD HD Pro X in
my rack that I use for all my effects. You
can use it for amp simulation, too, but I
bypass the amp simulation tones and just
use it straight for effects.

So, you programmed all your settings into

that before you went on tour?
Yeah, because I use a Voodoo Lab Ground
Control Pro to switch all my patches with.

Theres some cool stuff on there. Like on

the song Break the Trend, it sounds
almost like keyboards or synths. What are
you doing to create those sounds?
Actually, those are keyboards. We had a guy
that we know from Atlanta, he does sounds
and electronics, but hes also a keyboard
player. We had him throw some stuff on in a
couple places throughout the songs.

Do you recreate those sounds live on guitar?

Live, we dont do those. On that song live,
the predominant lead part that you hear,

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 79

 Rowe puts her thats the part that I play. There are a
ESP LTD EC-1000 few guitars and a few effects and synths, YOUTUBE IT
to the test with Diamond Rowe shreds her way through Tetrarchs Relentless,
several alternate
so we just take the parts that people from the bands EP of the same name. Shes playing a composite of
tunings, probably hear the most and recreate her own searing lead lines and singer-guitarist Josh Fores rhythm
including those live. parts, on a Kirk Hammett ESP LTD KH-602. Note the skull-and-
dropped C, D crossbones inlays.
standard, and YouTube search term: Tetrarch - Relentless Guitar Playthrough
Now that youre using the POD HD,
dropped B.
She also uses are you still using stompboxes? Im not going to lie. Some bands go into hell record to those. Then we edit the
a dropped-A No. Everything is running out of that the studio and they bang out songs so drums. Then we do guitars and bass,
tuning on her POD. All I have is my Ground Control fast. Were not the fastest songwriters, and then vocals, and then leads.
7-string. footswitch and thats it. Im thinking unfortunately. I wish we were. Usually
about switching over to some stompbox we go in the studio and the songs are Is the album mixed with you inone
pedals after this tour. Theyre a little more about 80 to 85 percent done. Usually speaker and Josh in the other, or is it
versatile, I think, and you can get a lot the most work we have to do is on the more complicated?
more of what you want out of them. But vocalson lyrics and vocal melodies. On this record Josh recorded most of
the idea of switching my rig around gives Usually the music is pretty much done. the rhythms. But on our EPs, its me on
me so much anxiety. Obviously, when you get in the studio, one side and Josh on the other.
things get rearranged. Luckily, it usually
I saw that you were using a Tube goes quickly. Whats the secret to getting your tone
Screamer, which is not a typical heavy in the studio?
metal pedal. Whats that for? Talk about songwriting. Whats your We used a Peavey 6505 and thats the
Man, see, my main amp is a Mesa Triple process? Do you and Josh come up secret to studio tone for metal. That
Rectifier and theyre very odd amps. You with riffs, save them to your phone, or an EVH. Thats the tone thats
really have to dial them in perfectly to get jam as a band? flawless for metal records and thats
what you want. But the only way I got Me and Josh live together now that predominantly what we used on this
it to be exactly how I wanted was to use weve moved to L.A. [from Atlanta], so record. I think thats on every recording
the Tube Screamer, the TS9, on top of its easy. Usually hell come up with a riff weve ever done.
it for rhythms. My TS9 is always on. It or a full song, or Ill come up with a riff
just adds a little more gaina little more or a full song. Well demo it out in our Why dont you get one to take on the
chunkiness and depth to my amp. own room and then call the other one in road with you?
and say, Check this out. Then we work God, everyone keeps saying that! Josh,
Even now with the POD, you still have together on what we have. the other guitar player, plays an EVH
the Tube Screamer on? now and everyone asks me, You dont
Oh yeah. Does the band track live or do you get want to get a 6505? Im just married
Photo by Jenn Curtis

a good drum track and then replace all to my amp. Ive had it for so long. But
Do you show up with the songs written the guitars and bass? when I do get the guts, the bravery,
and ready to go or do you compose in We usually do it one at a time. We lay to switch over, it will be to that. I get
the studio? down a scratch track for the drums and emotional connections to my gear.

premierguitar.com
80 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
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THE RECORDING GUITARIST

Crafting Countermelodies
BY JOE GORE

Y
ouve probably had the experience Its musically fascinating, too. the original melody descends. Most of the
of accompanying a singer/ Sometimes its performed in 3/4, Shenandoah melody moves in baby steps
instrumentalist and needing to sometimes in 4/4, and sometimes in a from note to adjacent note, but this phrase
come up with an appropriate guitar part free mix of both meters. (My version leaps up two octaves like a cat scaling a tree.
on the fly. It doesnt matter whether it was starts in 4/4 and ends in 3/4.) And that I added the little interjection at 01:06
a high-stress studio session or just singing heartbreaking melody so sad and sweet! just because the clash between my D and
around the campfire. You still had to create The song has inspired countless artists. Bob the underlying F# minor chord sounded
a musically meaningful accompaniment on Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, appropriately poignant. And while the final
the spur of the moment. Emmylou Harris, Paul Robeson, Bing new phrase at 01:08 is a straightforward
Sometimes you get luckyan idea Crosby, Jerry Garcia, Tennessee Ernie bass line, its also an inversion of the
materializes in your head and magically Ford, Jerry Reed, Pete Seeger, Roger original melodys second phrase.
emerges from your fingers. And McGuinn, Tom Waits, and the Mormon When they go low, go high. Besides
sometimes theres absolutely nothing in Tabernacle Choir have all recorded it. Two playing the most where the vocal melody
your head, so you just noodle around of my favorite renditions are by Richard does the least, I steer clear of the original
within some scale or blues-box pattern, Thompson and the Robert Shaw Chorale. melodys register. Most of my notes fall in
hoping not to hit too many bad notes.
So allow me share a technique thats
saved my ass countless times. When searching for accompaniment ideas,
Working with whats already there.
When searching for accompaniment
listen closely to whats already there.
ideas, listen closely to whats already there. A preexisting melody can be a goldmine.
A preexisting melody can be a goldmine.
I dont mean doubling the tune, though
that can be a lovely thing. Im talking I play the tune through twice. The the octave below the main melody or in
about using the extant music to generate second time around, I add countermelodies the octave above.
new parts. inspired by the original tune, as transcribed Are there actually geeks who do
If your new part builds on whats already in Ex. 1 (see opposite page). The this sort of music math while theyre
there, theres a greater chance that everything transcription starts at 00:39 in the audio improvising? Guilty as charged. But thats
will congeal into a coherent whole. Most clip, right before the second guitar enters. beside the point, because these techniques
listeners wont even realize what youre I chose where to play by listening for can become instinctual once you train
doing, but that doesnt matter. If theres the places where a singer would breath. yourself to listen for them. They also
a subliminal sense that the parts belong The first countermelody enters at 00:44, apply when youre not improvising, but
together, youre most of the way there. just before the end of the first phrase. are laboriously composing a part to suit
Hopefully that resonates as a general The tune should sound familiarits an an existing song.
concept, but it still doesnt tell you what echo of the initial melody. (The music Theres no place like home. You
damn notes to play. So I cooked up an theory term for this is imitation.) know all those stories where the hero goes
example using Shenandoah, my favorite At 00:51, the initial idea gets flipped on a grueling quest only to discover that
American folk song. aroundliterally. This countermelody the thing they seek already exists within
The wide Missouri. Sorry for employs the same rhythm as before, but them? These musical techniques are a
sidetracking, but Shenandoah has now it moves downward step by step, as lot like that. Sometimes the best way
a fascinating history. It was probably if the original melody were reflected in to generate a new musical idea is to use
first sung by fur traders working the a mirror. (Music theory geeks call this whats already there.
Missouri River. Shenandoah was as real inversion.)
18th-century Iroquois chieftain. Many When they go right, go left. JOE GORE has recorded and
versions of the song tell of a trader Sometimes the exact opposite technique performed with Tom Waits, PJ
Harvey, Tracy Chapman, Courtney
falling in love with the chief s daughter. works. That is, injecting ideas that are as Love, Marianne Faithfull, Les
Im not sure how a song about inland different as possible from the part youre Claypool, Flea, DJ Shadow, John
Cale, and many other artists. Joe
waterways became popular on the open complementing. The new countermelody at has written thousands of articles
ocean, but it did. Shenandoah is one 00:59 is fast, while the original tune moves about music and helps develop
music tools for Apple and other
of the best-loved sea shanties. slowly. It rises at a point in the song where clients. He blogs at tonefiend.com.

premierguitar.com
82 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 Shenandoah
(Traditional)

Drop D tuning:
(low to high) D-A-D-G-B-E

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D G A7 Dmaj9 G A6

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hear soundclips.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 83

ON BASS 1

More Than Four Extra Notes

BY VICTOR BRODN

I
Photo 1: This n last months column [The String or coming out of a section of a song, I
root-5 voicing is With the Most Bass, November often go for a slide. There are a number
highly effective 2017], I made a case for the benefits of different kinds of slides I described in
in many musical
situations, and of playing a 5-string bass. Please know a previous column [Humanity, Schmutz, 2
very easy to that I am completely aware there are and Intentional Imperfection, April
play cleanly on also downsides to a 5-string bass when 2017], but sliding on the 5th string
a 5-string bass compared to a 4-string, but again, I truly especially if you are used to playing a
by using the
feel that the pros outweigh the cons. So 4-string bassis supremely liberating
bottom part of
your first finger whether you are just getting acquainted and fun. A big slide (about an octave in
to cover the with a 5-string or you are primarily a length) on the 5th string moves a massive
high 5. guitarist whos considering an inexpensive amount of air. Its an effective statement
one for your home studio, Id like to offer that I use regularly and it almost provides
Photo 2: A
root-%7 voicing a brief guide to basic 5-string bass appli- the same sub-sonic thunder as Larry
is easily cations and discuss a few of the pros. Its Graham hitting his signature, overly
accomplished my hope that the following will help you saturated fuzz through a big PAall on the 1st stringagain fretting the bass
on a 5-string by utilize some of the new possibilities at without me having to change a single note with your second finger, and using
using the second
finger for the
your disposal right away. setting or hit any pedals. your fourth finger to cover the top note
bass note and Thumb anchoring. For regular The chordal possibilities. Playing (Photo 2). Because I love the open-
the fourth finger readers of my column, the topic of string- chords on a standard bass guitar is an sounding quality and the simplicity of
for the high %7. to-string evenness is not a new one. It is interesting undertaking that usually these chords, theyve become my go-to
crucial as a bassist that your instrument requires a few tweaks from your normal much like the 4-string variation of the
has even output throughout its entire fatter bass-playing settings. First of all, same concept thats heard on so many
register. In addition to the bass itself chords typically require leaning on the records with the bass note on the 4th
having inherent evenness, the way we bridge pickup ever so slightly in terms string and the 3 on the 1st string. Whats
pluck the strings needs to be as even as of volume, since this removes a fair great about these very basic chords is
possible so the front-of-house or studio amount of low frequencies that can really that they require less EQing or pickup-
engineer doesnt have to use a lot of muddy up two or more strings ringing selector adjustment due to the large tonal
compression to make up for technical together. If you are a player who prefers interval between the root note and the
unevenness in our playing. half-round, flatwound, or even older, top one or two chord tones.
Most 4-string players spend a fair broken-in strings for recording, chordal The dub sounds. If youre a player
amount of their time on the 4th string, clarity gets even trickier. (You might have who likes to roll off the tone control to
at least when playing a traditionally to change strings or switch to a different get your lowest few notes on a 4-string
supportive role. Playing the 4th string bass altogether.) With the additional four to sound fat and soft (aka more felt than
typically requires a player to anchor notes on the 5th string, basic chording heard), try using the same notes, but
their thumb on the top of a pickup, on gets a more open sound that not only utilizing their location on the 5th string
a thumb rest, or sometimes on the top adds to your harmonic options, but helps of a 5-string bass. This provides an even
of the neck if you are a reggae player. remedy the sonic issue I just described. less defined, slower attack due to the mass
Subsequently, the 4th string gets played A great chordal option to explore is of the string and its less-bright nature.
slightly differently than the other three to simply add the 5 in the next-higher Remember: Dont let anyone tell you a
strings since your fingers arent quite octave, which is easily done by fretting 5-string bass is just four extra notes.
plucking the notes from the same angle. your bass note of choice on the 5th string
When playing a 5-string bass, however, with your second finger, and then adding
VICTOR BRODN is a Nashville
the natural place for your thumb to rest the high 5 (technically the 12, since the bassist and producer, and the host
when playing the 4th string is typically 5 is an octave-and-a-half above the root) of The Lowdown Society Podcast.
Victor has toured and recorded
the 5th string for most players, thereby with your first finger. Sometimes I dont with more than 30 major-label
artists, including LeAnn Rimes,
providing a more even and cohesive tone even bend the finger and instead use Richard Marx, Casting Crowns,
for the 4th string, which arguably still the softer part closer to where the finger and Randy Houser. His credits
also include Grammy-winning
gets the most playing time. attaches to the hand (Photo 1). albums and numerous television
The earthquake. When other bassists Another easy-to-reach, common, and specials and network talk-show
very usable voicing is to put the %7 up
performances. You can reach him
go for a tasteful fill going into a chorus at vbroden@yahoo.com

premierguitar.com
84 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
BASS BENCH

Pondering the Cabinet Conundrum

BY HEIKO HOEPFINGER

I
Right: Polar plot n recent decades, the bass has center of the speaker. It has more to do
of a loudspeaker expanded its frequency rangenot with the overall geometrical parameters
going from
only in the lower register, but also in of the speaker and cabinet, and a direct
omnidirectional
to directed, the higher realms. Thats not just because relationship of speaker size to wavelength.
and its as of newer extended range basses. Its also Or more generally: The larger the source
complicated as because of what todays players and is compared to a certain wavelength, the
it looks! listeners accept as a modern bass sound. more directional the beam. (If you want to
Below: Cutaway
Which begs the question: In contrast to dig deeper, the Huygens-Fresnel Principle
view of a typical all the attention we lavish on the details makes a good starting search term.)
bass speaker: of our instruments, do we devote enough Here are some numbers about the range
(1) magnet, (2) time to pondering the functionality and were talking about. Lets say the lower end
voice coil, (3)
details of our cabinets? should be around 20 Hz, which isnt far
suspension, (4)
diaphragm. In addition to checking the wattage from the fundamentals of a low F#. This
rating, here is what most of us expect from frequency has a wavelength of 678 inches,
a good cabinet: fairly linear, unaltered which is 56.5 feet or 17.2 meters. On
amplification over the complete frequency of this, how can we make sure everybody
range. Sounds almost simple, right? in a rehearsal room is hearing the same
However, in terms of physical acoustics, In terms of physical thing? We cant. But theres no need to
cabinet and speaker designs are spiked by so acoustics, cabinet and freak out, because in real life all this
many compromises one wonders how much supposed chaos works surprisingly well.
of what were hearing accurately reflects the
speaker designs are spiked Still, a few things become obvious
sound of the string weve just plucked. And by so many compromises once we learn more about the physical
the deeper one digs, the more confusing one wonders how much basics: For example, as opposed to many
and unsolvable the physical limits appear guitarists, bassists use closed cabinets
to be, especially after phase, direction, and
of what were hearing because an open cabinet acoustically
room acoustics are factored in. accurately reflects the short-changes our critical low range.
Lets start with the sweet spot sound of the string weve Apropos low range: It helps to place bass
something we understand from listening cabinets in a rooms corner to circumvent
just plucked.
to home stereo systems. Its not only the the long waves omnidirectional spread
location thats an equal distance from both and keep them directed.
speakers. Its also the position where we good hi-fi systems, the upper end is often Beaming in higher frequency ranges
get to hear the complete frequency range 20 kHz or above, with 15 kHz being an explains why some 4x12 guitar cabinets
because our ears are at the same height and optimistic limit for aging rock stars, while have two tilted upper speakers, and why
(almost) perpendicular to the a practical upper limit for bass is around some guitarists use wedges and tilting
area of the speaker cones. This 10 kHz. At 10 kHz, the corresponding helpers for small guitar combos. And
is because speakers beam wavelength is 1.36 inches, which is 0.11 the more we bass players break into
at higher frequencies, feet or 0.03 meters. It would be naive to higher frequency ranges, the more we
meaning the higher the expect linear, uncolored output over this should think about this, too, whether its
frequency, the more a huge range, especially because most bass using wedges, putting a greater distance
speakers output shifts cabinets sport an array of identically sized between ourselves and the sound source,
from omnidirectional speakers, perhaps augmented with a tweeter. or exploring other solutions to more
Illustrations courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org
to directed. And if you think the answer lies in an array directly face our own speakers instead of
As musicians, of different speakers, having more than one wobbling the air around our trousers.
were all familiar with source of waves means there will be phase
this effect, yet its correlations and places of total cancelation. HEIKO HOEPFINGER is a
German physicist and long-time
rare to encounter an If we examine the details, even one bassist, classical guitarist, and
explanation. And no, its speaker is more than a single source. And motorcycle enthusiast. His work
on fuel cells for the European
not because the higher then theres room acoustics that generate orbital glider Hermes led him to
the frequency, the more reflections, cancelations, resonances, and form BassLab (basslab.de)a
manufacturer of monocoque
it comes from the conical standing waves from the walls. With all guitars and basses.

premierguitar.com
86 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
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LESSONS

The Shred Decoder: Expand Your Melodic and Rhythmic Control

BY AL JOSEPH

I
n my experience, constructing lines
has always been about texture and Chops: Intermediate
structure. Developing ideas for Theory: Intermediate
soloing and writing melodies takes a keen Lesson Overview:
sense of harmonic and rhythmic context.
Its about seducing the listener and Understand how to work different rhythmic subdivisions into a
delivering a ride thats hard to forgeta rock groove.
ride that caters to the listener. Of course,
Combine related arpeggios all over the fretboard.
its important to write for yourself and
from the heart, but also remember that Learn how to combine pentatonic sounds with arpeggio-based lines.
if your hearts intent is to inspire others,
then youre on the right track for the long
haul. And this is where melody comes in. one octave at a time, and then take that through a sequence. Think of Ex. 3 in
Melody deserves a certain level of shape and move it wherever I need to groups of five. When practicing such
priority in relation to harmony and chase the melodic and rhythmic ideas lines, I like to use drum grooves instead
rhythm. In this lesson, Im going to show that inspire me. of a metronome. Now heres the twist:
you a quick way to start improving your Ex. 2 (see opposite page) follows the To progressively challenge my technique,
lines. The good news is music knows no same idea, but this time using a Gmaj7 I keep changing the subdivision of the
bounds and music doesnt care what level arpeggio (GBDF#). Ive chosen E meter Im using. For example, were in
youre at. Harmony and rhythm need to minor and G major because they are 4/4 time here. As I develop the sequence,
help each other tell your story. closely related key centers. When learning Ill increase the subdivision from quarter-
In Ex. 1 well be playing the Em7 these arpeggios, focus on the string notes, to quarter-note triplets, to eighth-
arpeggio (EGBD) in two positions. pairs that occur in each octave. In the notes, to eighth-note triplets, then
Dont worry, we wont get into too much extended arpeggio that ascends from the 16th-notes, and finally 16th-note triplets.
theory, just remember these shapes can 2nd fret, notice how the patterns recur in That not only increases my speed but it
be transposed into any key. The top one each octave. Thats not always the case, also forces me to be rhythmically aware,
starts in 10th position and shifts up the as youll see in the second arpeggio that thus giving me both speed and accuracy.
neck, while the bottom one starts in ascends from the 9th fret. It gives me full control. Take your time
5th position. Getting these under your Next, were going to use the first with this example because well apply the
fingers will help map out quite a bit Gmaj7 arpeggiothe one with the same shifting-subdivision concept to the
of the fretboard. I try to only visualize recurring patternto practice running next one.

Ex. 1
Ex. 1


& 4
# 4

15 19 15

15 17 17 15
12 16 16 12
12 14 14 12
10 14 14 10
10 12 12 10 12

&
#

10 12 10
8 12 12 8
7 9 9 7
5 9 9 5
5 7 7 5 5 7
7 3 7

premierguitar.com
88 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 Ex.22
Ex.

#4
& 4

7 10 7

7 8 8 7
4 7 7 4
4 5 5 4
2 5 5 2
2 3 3 2 3

#

&

14 15 14
12 15 15 12
11 12 12 11
9 12 12 9
9 10 10 9 9 10
10 7 10

Click here for Ex. 3 Click here for Ex. 6 which is at the 2nd fret, and once
again mixes in that good ol E minor
We revisit the Em7 arpeggio pattern Enough with the exerciseslets make pentatonic (EGABD) tonality. We
at the 12th fret for Ex. 4. Lets take a some music. Ex. 7 starts out by traversing repeat the same thing an octave higher,
moment to talk about picking. Please the Em7 arpeggio with 16th-notes, then but because we run out of real estate, we
use whatever technique you feel most transitions into the next octave using need to slide up before finishing off the
comfortable with, but if you must know, 16th-note triplets. Then for variety, we line in a G major tonality.
in the corresponding audio clip Im mix in some pentatonic lyricism. That
using as much legato technique as I can. brings me to a side note: Always step away Click here for Ex. 9
For those not familiar with this term, for a moment from using only arpeggios
it means Im using hammer-ons and by mixing in some pentatonic or scalar In our final example (Ex. 10), we return
pull-offs to sound many of the notes, as lyricism to your lines. A line composed to the Gmaj7 arpeggio in its higher
indicated in the notation and tab. But of only arpeggios can sound stiff and position, though were treating it a bit
theres no need to get hung up in the redundant. One way to avoid this is to more lyrically this time around. No
picking technique. If you want to pick sprinkle some scale tones into the phrase. sequences, just playing bits and pieces of
every note using alternate or economy the arpeggio.
picking, then do so with style. If you Click here for Ex. 7
want to hybrid pick, go for it. The point Click here for Ex. 10
is to increase your rhythmic knowledge In Ex. 8, were using Em7 arpeggios
and execute some creative ideas. again, but the position conveniently Click here for the backing track.
gives us a full three octaves to work
Click here for Ex. 4 with. Instead of sticking exclusively to I love getting the opportunity to show
the basic shape, I also included some my peers just how far the basics can be
Now its time to step up the subdivisions. pentatonic moves. Notice how mixing stretched, so stay tuned for more lessons
In Ex. 5 and Ex. 6, were using the same 16th-notes and 16th-note triplets add like these in Premier Guitar. Play hard
arpeggios we mapped out earlier, only color to the line. The key to sounding and happy shredding!
this time were playing 16th-notes. If this like a professional player is to make sure
is something you havent done before, your playing offers the listener variety in
dont be alarmed. Just think of it as a rhythm and note choice. AL JOSEPHs debut album,
Out in the Open, spoke to a
slight increase in speed. Learning to shift new generation of progressive
metal connoisseurs. A Berklee
subdivisions with seamless control is a great Click here for Ex. 8 graduate, Joseph relocated to Los
Angeles in 2016 and released
way to expand your ability to develop lines. his latest album, All of Creation,
We head back to the Gmaj7 shape for in partnership with Jam Track
Central. For more information,
Click here for Ex. 5 Ex. 9. It starts out in the lowest octave, visit aljosephofficial.com.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 89

LESSONS

Punk-Rock Madness: Its More than Power Chords

BY SHAWN PERSINGER

M
any people cite the first
Chops: Intermediate
wave of punk rock as lasting
less than two years. An Theory: Beginner
oversimplified timeline would run from Lesson Overview:
the release of the Ramones self-titled first
album in April of 1976 to the breakup of Learn how to combine elements of funk and reggae into attitude-filled
the Sex Pistols in 1978. In fact, however, rhythm parts.
these two years represent little more than a Explore the immensely hypnotic aspects of ostrich tuning.
snapshot of the time when punk captured
a mainstream audiences attention. Sadly, Develop more experimental guitar techniques.
it is also the time when bands from
that era played the most idiomatic style
of punk music that was transparently
aggressive, willfully antagonistic, and
showed a disregard for technique and
ability with a guitar approach that focused CLICK HERE
TO LISTEN
almost entirely on power chords. This
lesson aims to set the record straight:
The first wave of punk started in the
1960s, evolved fruitfully during the
1970s, featured clever and inventive guitar
playing throughout, and was more of an
attitude aimed at originality, rather than
stylistic conformity.

The Velvet Undergrounds

Ostrich Tuning
Most music scholars agree that if you
want to trace punks origins, you need to
start with the Velvet Underground. And and All Tomorrows Parties (the latter For prime examples of these unexpected
in many ways, you couldnt find a more accompanied by the distinctive percussion juxtapositions have a listen to Who
punk sound than Lou Reeds ostrich style of drummer Moe Tucker). Says? (Its Good to Be Alive) and Liars
tuning. Reed named it after his novelty Beware. You can check out some takes
song The Ostrich, which he recorded Click here for Ex. 1 on this style in Ex. 2 and Ex. 3.
with the Primitives in 1964. Check out the
video on the right to hear Reeds song. The The Guitarists of Hell Click here for Ex. 2
ostrich tuning assigns one note, in two or Richard Hell that is. Hell, born Richard
three octaves, to all the guitar strings. Lester Meyers, sang and played bass for Click here for Ex. 3
In Ex. 1, we have a short riff where all several proto-punk bands in the early
the strings are tuned to D. You achieve 1970s and wrote one of the genres Television
this by tuning the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 6th classic songs, Blank Generation. He Prior to fronting the Voidoids, Richard
strings down, tune the 2nd string up, and also surrounded himself with several Hell cofounded the band Television with
leaving the 4th string as is. This creates interesting and innovative guitarists. drummer Billy Ficca and guitarists Tom
an idiosyncratic droning sound that On his most well-known record, Blank Verlaine and Richard Lloyd. Hell left the
allows for melodies to be easily played Generation, he was joined by guitarists group before they recorded their seminal
while simultaneously strumming chords Robert Quine and Ivan Julian, whose Marquee Moon. In Hells absence, Verlaine
that would be impossible to finger in playing comes off as a punk version of went on to write songs that are as much
any other way. The Velvet Underground James Browns rhythm section mixed Steely Dan as Velvet Underground. And
used this tuning to great effect on two with some of the angular, single-note boy could Verlaine and Lloyd play some
songs recorded in 1966, Venus in Furs lines like King Crimsons Robert Fripp. weird guitar! Just check out the 1975

premierguitar.com
90 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 recording Little Johnny Jewel (Part 1 & Jones delivered in London Calling. songs on that record). Ex. 6 demonstrates
2), which features the sound of strings In this example, Guitar 1 adds some an approach akin to Albertines scratchy
pushed against pickups, heavily muted punchy accents over a very straight, rhythms on tracks like Instant Hit,
arrhythmic chromatic single-note lines, non-reggae bass part, while Guitar 2 Shoplifting, and Ping Pong Affair.
non-bluesy quarter-step bends, jagged, plays a traditional reggae rhythm, but
staccato chord stabs, and pick scrapes with with a more aggressive tone and attack. Click here for Ex. 6
rhythmic definition. Ex. 4 demonstrates This recognition and understanding of If youve gotten this far and are
these techniques over a static bass vamp. other musical traditions, coupled with thinking None of this sounds like punk
a complete disregard for playing them to me! Good. Maybe you can take
Click here for Ex. 4 conventionally, is a hallmark of punk. away more than just some guitar parts!
Punk isnt a sound, its an attitude and
Reggae and the Clash Click here for Ex. 5 approach to music, and power chords will
Although the Clash was one of the only get you part way there.
many bands guilty of using the power The Slits
chord clichs of 1976, they did so with The last guitarist Id like to look at
SHAWN PERSINGER, a.k.a.
panache, as well as with solid songwriting is the all-too-often overlooked and Prester John, has performed
and vocal ability. And they evolved! uncelebrated Viv Albertine from the and taught guitar on five
continents, in 36 countries, and
By the time they released their third Slits. The Slits were a pioneering all- hundreds of cities. His music has
been described as a myriad of
album, London Calling, the Clash had female band whose 1979 album Cut delightful musical paradoxes:
incorporated reggae, rockabilly, and ska features many punk songs with a reggae complex but catchy; virtuosic yet
affable; smart and whimsical.
into their unique blend of punk. influence. (For a differentand much Readers and critics are hailing
his latest book, The 50 Greatest
Ex. 5 demonstrates a distinctive more aggressivetake on many of the Guitar Books, as a monumental
take on reggae rhythm guitar, inspired songs on Cut, I recommend searching achievement in music education.
For more information, visit
by what Joe Strummer and Mick out live performances and early demos of greatestguitarbooks.com.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 91

LESSONS

Spontaneous Shred
BY JON FINN

B
eing a rock guitar teacher manipulate what you already know. In Ex. 2, we revisit this concept while
at Berklee, which is known It relieves the pressure of trying to be using G Mixolydian (GABCDEF)
primarily for jazz, is a bit like original and lets you experiment without to play over a G7 chord. To make the
being the best dogsled racer in Hawaii. worrying too much about results. If line sound fluid, pay attention to the
At the same time, it has its advantages. you like it, keep it. If not, throw it out. position shifts.
Mostly, I get a unique perspective on Simple as that.
things simply because of where I am. Often, I find myself playing a game Click here for Ex. 2
Theres been a long-standing debate of What if? In other words, Ill create a
among musicians about the advantages rule for myself, just to see what happens. Roots Are for Kids
and disadvantages of being musically Even though at first it seems like Im It might be hard to fully embrace
educated. Some feel its essential, while artificially limiting myself, this approach this idea, but the root isnt the most
others say it kills creativity. For me, its actually brings an odd sense of freedom. important note in a chord. Lets try
not what you know, but what you do Once you limit your options, the mind leaving it out and see what happens. In
with what you know. tends to think of a lot of possibilities Ex. 3, we have a short line based around
Writing about rock improvisation within the set of rules. Many times I find A Mixolydian (ABC#DEF#G)
is difficult. Its not any one thing that things I might not have thought of, or that skirts around the root, but never
makes it happen, but rather several paid any attention to. actually includes it. Notice how each
elements converging. A great rock solo
tells a story that gives you chills when
you listen intently. It makes you feel. Its
visceral. My point is that learning scales
Once you limit your options,
and music theory will certainly broaden
your horizons, but it might not help your
the mind tends to think of a lot of
rock improv.
When I think about what to practice,
possibilities within the set of rules.
I think about balancing the head (the
ability to intellectually understand If you try this approach, these things phrase or motif starts on a chord tone
what Im doing), hands (the ability to are guaranteed: other than the root.
physically execute the musical phrase
Im envisioning), and heart (creative Youll come up with things you Click here for Ex. 3
expression). If Im honest with myself, I havent thought of.
usually find that one of those elements You wont love every idea you come Now, lets move this no-root concept to
is a little out of balance with the others. up with. the key of D. In Ex. 4, we avoid the root,
That helps me decide what to practice Youll see that there are tons of but we also outline some diatonic chords.
next. If those elements are in balance, possibilities that should keep you For example, we start off with a F#m7
Im playing at my current maximum practicing for a very long time. arpeggio (F#AC#E) that leads right
potential, but Ill know that there will into a C#m7 arpeggio (C#EG#B).
always be room for improvement. Dont Step in the Hole Note: G# is an outside notei.e., one
Most rock tunes tend to be Our first restriction is entirely rhythmic not found in the key of Dthat adds
harmonically simpler than most jazz and the idea is simple: Dont play on beat flair. Remember, there arent any wrong
tunes. For this reason, knowing a lot of 1. Youll find that you have to listen to notes, its all about how you use them
different scales wont necessarily make your playing closely to understand where and resolve the tension they create.
you a better rock improviser. So then beat 1 actually is. In the beginning, it may
the question is, what do you practice sound stiff, but given a little time, youll be Click here for Ex. 4
to become a better improviser? When surprised at how many variations you can
your goal is to generate a fresh idea, come up with. Check out Ex. 1 to see how Slippery Strings
very often this creates a kind of mental I might use an easy A minor pentatonic Heres another practice rule to explore:
Photo by Andy Ellis

pressure that achieves the exact opposite (ACDEG) shape to practice this. Try playing an entire solo without using
of creative flow. One solution to this the 2nd string. Why would you do this?
dilemma is to look for new ways to Click here for Ex. 1 Well, sometimes in the heat of a song,

premierguitar.com
92 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 a string gives up the ghost but you still Ex. 7
need to melt faces. If you develop the
ability to be musical while dodging a
string, youll be ready for this inevitable
event. In Ex. 5, well riff in G major
without touching the 2nd string. We
start with some diatonic sixths and then
go into an E minor-inspired idea before
ending with a descending scalar phrase.
Ex. 8 Backing Track
Click here for Ex. 5

And of course, we can reverse that idea.

In Ex. 6, the entire phrase involves only
the 2nd string. This is played over a D7
sound, so well stick to D Mixolydian
(DEF#GABC). Naturally, theres a
wealth of possibilities here. For example,
try playing a melodic minor scale along
the 4th string while experimenting with Ex. 9
different combinations of glissando,
hammer-on, and pull-off moves. Or what
about some Dorian sounds on the 1st
string? Bonus: Try playing such single-
string exercises with a slide to work on
your intonation.

Click here for Ex. 6

Ex. 9 Backing Track
Target Practice
Even if you dont know much music
theory, the sound of target notes has
already been etched into your psyche.
Listen to Ex. 7 to hear a simple DAE
progression and discover how easy it is to
build a line by focusing on a few essential
chord tones.
Simple, right? Im hitting a D over
the D chord, C# over the A, and G# it will feel like youre throwing a ball at unpack the method behind this madness.
over the E. We will treat these notes as something, rather than simply throwing For Dm7, Im using the D Aeolian mode
somewhat of a starting point to create a ball. Lets expand on this idea with the (DEFGAB%C), and then going
longer, more interesting lines. First, just next set of examples. to a B% Lydian %7 scale (B%CDEF
try to play simple, melodic lines that hit GA%) for B%7. Notice how these two
our target notes on the downbeat. Soon Click here for Ex. 8 scales differ by only one notethe A
youll find a mix of scales and arpeggios drops to A%. Why is that important to
that will make you sound like you. For In Ex. 9, we have a Dm7B%7Dm7G9 know? Because it busts the myth that for
me, it comes out something like Ex. 8. progression. The harmony here is a little every chord you must learn an entirely
Ive also included some backing tracks more expansive, but the concept still new scale. Also, you can use D Dorian
(above right) to practice bridging target holds true. My target notes are A, A%, A, (DEFGABC) over the Dm7 and
notes in your improvisations. After and B, respectively. G Mixolydian (GABCDEF) over
practicing this idea for a while, you may The chords in this example are a tad the G7. And what do you know? Both
find youre able to weave the concept of jazzier than previous ones. For those scales contain exactly the same notes; the
bridging target notes into your soloing. of you that hate jazz, I apologize. Sort only thing that makes them different is
It may seem calculated at first, but soon of. For the rest of you folks, lets try to their starting point.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 93

 Ex. 11
Play the same lick four times, but end
on a different note each time.
Imagine yourself as someone else, and
play accordingly.

True improvisation takes on a life of

its own. Usually when Im improvising,
it feels like Im not thinking at all, that
Ex. 11 Backing Track the music is just coming out of me
with no effort on my part. Typically,
Im thinking about the story I want the
song to tell and how the solo might
contribute to the emotional arc of the
music. Im not consciously thinking
about notes, scales, picking, or amp
settings. Those things happen in practice
at home so I dont have to think about
Tip: When improvising, I find it easier to what you like and discard what you them when improvising. I work a lot on
to concentrate on the notes that need to dont, but keep at it. a concept I call ear/hand coordination,
change when the chords change (Ex. 10), where ideally what I hear in my head
rather than wiping the slate clean and Whats Next? emerges from my fingers without any
mentally assigning a fresh scale to every Learn all the licks in this lesson as written. obstacles or hesitation.
chord. Its a subtle conceptual difference, Then focus on understanding how they When truly improvising, theres
but once you start looking at progressions work. Finally, invent your own variations always the risk that what I play wont
this way, it can transform your playing. of these licks using the same principles. sound good. But I think its important
You may be surprised how different yours to be willing to risk playing wrong
Click here for Ex. 10 will soundand thats a good thing. notes because I might stumble onto
something unexpected and cool. Yet as
Our final set of examples tackle a simpler Here are few other ideas to investigate: I do that, I have to be sure Im listening
route through a common progression. to whats actually coming out, not what
In Ex. 11, you can hear a DABmG Imagine that when youre playing I think is coming out. Its important
progression with a target-note line that guitar, youre speaking. Think about not to judge what I play, other than
goes F#, E, D, and Bthe 3, 5, 5, and 3 of the story youre trying to tell, and whether or not I like it. I cant control
our four-chord progression. what it would sound like if someone the thoughts or opinions of others, so I
In Ex. 12, I went for simple. I started was telling the story in a way thats dont bother trying.
with the four target pitches and just engaging and exciting. Mimic the When writing this lesson, at first I was
walked from one to the next. Though pacing of that with the phrases you hesitant to notate licks because the surface
its the simplest of solutions, Im always play. Even if youre the only one who message might seem to be learn these
surprised by how good it sounds. Never knows the story thats being told, licks and youll be improvising. But then
overlook a melodic move just because its your audience will understand that I remembered Im writing a piece that digs
easy to execute. youre speaking rather than just into the deeper levels of being a guitarist
showing off. and that musicians are smart enough to
Click here for Ex. 12 Put your hand in an unfamiliar place recognize the difference. The licks are here
on the fretboard, and force yourself to demonstrate an example of each concept.
Theres no magic formula or method to find things that sound good. Its Of course, the next step is to use these ideas
for selecting target notes. Its simply useful to learn to operate outside your to create something of your own.
about choosing a few notes that sound comfort zone. Remember, progress is But then, you already knew that.
good with a given chord. Once youve never comfortable.
explored these examples, come up with Take any lick youve played a million JON FINN has been a member of
Berklee College of Musics guitar
your own target notes and work out times, and play it using a completely faculty since 1988. Hes written
some licks that walk from one target different rhythm. If you always start several guitar instruction books,
DVDs, and videos for both
note to the next. To do this effectively, on beat 1, try starting it on the and Truefire.com and Mel Bay. For
more information visit jonfinn.com
youll need to experiment, and this of 1 instead, and pay attention to how
requires time and patience. Pay attention the notes get accented differently.

premierguitar.com
94 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
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 LESSONS

Obsessive Progressive: Tools Adam Jones

BY LEVI CLAY

F
ormed in 1990, Tool is still
considered to be one of the premier Chops: Advanced
progressive rock bands of the era. Theory: Intermediate
While guitarist Adam Jones playing is Lesson Overview:
firmly rooted in the progressive idiom,
he doesnt hesitate to draw on elements Explore the sound of the Phrygian dominant scale.
of grunge and even stoner rock, and the Learn how to combine odd-meter signatures.
groove-based style of drummer Danny
Use open strings to create hypnotic, droning riffs.
Carey and rock-solid timing of bassist
Justin Chancellor results in heavy hypnotic
riffs with constant shifting time signatures
and exciting changes in dynamics. In this and there are songs of theirs where I still played over five strings, and then one note
lesson, well touch on some of the topics cant work out what the time signatures is changed (B%) on the 3rd string to create a
from previous lessons and dig into exactly change between as theyre so frequent moving inner voice. As in previous examples,
how Adam Jones makes somewhat difficult and well masked by the groove. This idea the sound has a lot more to do with the
riffs and concepts groove so easily. could be seen as an eighth-note motif with driving rhythm than the notes being played.
In Ex. 1, we take some ideas from our a 16-note triplet played as an informal
polymeters lesson for a hip single-string turnaround. In the first measure, its a Click here for Ex.6
riff in dropped-D tuning. Each measure four-note idea, and in the second this is
follows a 7-7-2 grouping to give the riff extended to six notes. This sounds very Not all the bands riffs are based around
an odd-time feel without actually leaving unexpected the first time you hear it, but thick, saturated distortion. In Ex. 7 we use
4/4. Not too much thought went into after a few plays youll get in the groove. a clean tone with some effects to create a
the note choices here, but in essence moody riff in 5/8. You want to let the notes
its using notes from the D Phrygian Click here for Ex. 3 ring out as much as possible, so be careful
dominant scale (DE%F#GAB%C). with your finger placement as the bass notes
In the next few examples, well explore how start moving from D to F, and finally to G.
Click here for Ex. 1 Adam layers different rhythmic parts on In terms of sonics, Ive put different delays
top of each other. Our first piece is Ex. 4, on the left and right channel, plus a phaser
Ex. 2 uses notes of the D Phrygian mode which also hovers around the D Phrygian on one side and a flanger on the other. The
(DE%FGAB%C), mostly against dominant scale we touched on earlier. The concept here is to create a richly textured
the low open D. To execute this cleanly, minor third between E% and F# gives this part that could support a vocalist.
use the tip of the fretting-hand first finger scale its distinctive sound. Also, you might
to mute the 5th string. This allows you have noticed how the open string creates Click here for Ex.7
to strum the low three strings and get an an almost drone-like quality. Thats another
aggressive sound. The riff is a repeating signature part of Tools music. The final example (Ex. 8) mixes
idea in 5/4, so spend some time listening Now, we create a simple melodic idea arpeggiated notes with bigger chord stabs
and counting along before trying to to go over what we played in Ex. 4. As you for some drama. I made sure everything
play the idea. Also, for the sliding power can see in Ex. 5, the Gtr. 2 part is our low- rang out because this gives the biggest
chords at the end, I slide up on the third end riff and Gtr. 1 is a rather syncopated sound and is perfect for a full-band setting.
finger, and down on the first. This feels riff that combines eighth- and 16th-note The idea is based around D minor, but the
comfortable, but the jump back to the start patterns. Especially prevalent in Danny A% (%5) adds a darker, bluesy sound.
of the riff will still be tricky, so heads-up! Careys drumming, these complex rhythms
are at the core of the bands ethos. Click here for Ex. 8
Click here for Ex. 2
Click here for Ex. 4 LEVI CLAY is a London-based
guitar player, teacher, and
Our next riff (Ex. 3) takes inspiration transcriber. His unique approach
to learning keeps him in constant
from one of Tools most famous jams, and Click here for Ex. 5 demand from students the world
is a fun little idea that alternates between over, and his expertise as a
transcriber has introduced his
5/8 and 7/8. Tool are no strangers to Ex. 6 uses bigger chord voicings to get a work to a whole new audience.
For more information, check out
multiple time signature changes like this, huge sound. In essence, a big D5 chord is leviclaycom.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 97

LESSONS

Play Like Paisley!

BY JIM LILL

W
hen you listen to Brad
Paisley play guitar, you Chops: Intermediate
feel two things. The first Theory: Beginner
is unmitigated joy at the creativity and
Lesson Overview:
expression in his playing. But then the
second creeps in, which is frustration Discover backward pick scrapes.
over not understanding what he does. Create blistering pull-off licks.
Ive felt those things, and over years
of hacking away at solo after solo Ive
Develop faux G-bender phrases.
noticed some of Brads patterns and
habits. Some are as difficult as they sound,
but many of them are actually within standard pick rake, he also likes to accent Staccato Notes
reach of us mortals. Lets focus on some important notes on the low strings with Brad is in control of the exact length
of Brads signature techniques that we can backward pick rakes. of each note he plays. I dont just mean
adapt to our own playing right away. The rules for a backward pick rake are This is a quarter-note, and this is an
the same, but instead of strumming down eighth-note. Im talking about the
Backward Pick Rakes to get to your note, you strum upward specific amount of time he lets his
A pick rake is when you strum through starting at the 1st string and stopping at notes ring. He makes great use of legato
dead strings to reach the note youre the note you want. Use this technique playing (letting the notes ring right
targeting. The traditional way to do on low notes that need a little more up until the start of the next note for
this is to power across the completely explosiveness and thickness than standard maximum smoothness), but something
muted low strings to attack a note on picking can provide (Ex. 1). that Ive seen people miss when trying
the 2nd string. Brad goes the traditional to sound like Brad is his mastery of
route all the time, but in addition to the Click here for Ex. 1 staccato playing.

premierguitar.com
98 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 Staccato notes are cut short. They
CLICK HERE
dont ring out. Theyre punchy little pops TO LISTEN
that are intended to contrast with normal
guitar soloing. Without them, a solo can
sound like a run-on sentence. But with
them, a solo can sound like a melody
driven right into your soul. Throw some
short notes into your playing, and feel
the space they open up (Ex. 2).

Click here for Ex. 2

Triplets, Triplets, Triplets

When I used to listen to Brad Paisley
songs, all his fast playing just sounded
hard. Now, about 90 percent of his fast
playing sounds hard, and the rest I can In this 2013 video, Brad explains how Diamond Rios Jimmy Olander inspired him to
recognize as him playing triplets with check out a G-bender and walks us through exactly how and why he uses one.
pull-offs.
Brad likes to play two harmonized
notes back to backusually thirds or For his speediest licks, Brad relies heavily
sixthsthen pull off to an open string
from the higher of the two notes. The on open strings and familiar positions.
pull-off to the open string doesnt require
extra energy, so he can increase his speed
by 33 percent without any added work. Click here for Ex. 6 The key to sounding like you have
For the right hand, always pick the a bender is to bend notes a whole-step
bottom note, pluck the top note with your Click here for Ex. 7 on the G string while fretting sustained
middle finger, and pull off to the open lower notes on the 4th and/or 5th strings.
note. Youll find your rhythm (Ex. 3). Click here for Ex. 8 Its an uncommon enough technique
that listeners think That sounds like a
Click here for Ex. 3 Okay, Lets Talk About the G-bender!
G-Bender Ex. 9 has a few chord shapes where
Open-String Runs Brad has his electric guitars equipped with you can fool the world into believing
For his speediest licks, Brad relies a device called a G-bender. Instead of you have a G-bender like Brad. Note:
heavily on open strings and familiar securing his strap conventionally, he only You have to press down on the 3rd
positions. In each of the main guitar- fastens one end of it to the guitars bottom string behind the nut for the last one.
friendly keys (E, A, D, G, and C) there strap button. The other end of the strap Itll hurt at first, but your callouses will
are two money notes on each string, attaches to a lever connected to the neck get thicker.
that when combined with an open plate. That lever is linked to an apparatus
string can lead you up or down the open that runs through the inside of the guitar Click here for Ex. 9
position in a fury. body and ultimately ends up under the
When descending, the picking hand bridge at the G string. When Brad yanks Now youre equipped with a new set of
should use the following pattern: down, the guitar neck toward the floor, the lever tools you can use to make your playing
up, pull-off. The ascending version of the pulls up, causing the bender mechanism expressive and creative in a very Paisley-
pattern would be down, hammer-on, up, to precisely raise the pitch of the G string approved way.
with the up being the first note on the one whole-step. Whoa!
next string. In the next five examples, Ill Armed with a G-bender, Brad can JIM LILL is a professional country
musician and writer in Nashville.
demonstrate this concept in our guitar- hold triads or full chords and bend He tours as a guitarist and pedal-
friendly keys. notes on the G string inside the voicing. steel player with Josh Thompson
and runs a popular YouTube
Alas, we dont all have G-benders in our channel featuring guitar
videos. He also curates the
Click here for Ex. 4 guitars, and that can make it tough to @GuitarLickADay Instagram
sound like Brad but tough doesnt account and hosts the Back
from the Gig Podcast. For more
Click here for Ex. 5 mean impossible. information, visit jimlillmusic.com.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 99

MOD GARAGE

May the Phase Be with You

BY DIRK WACKER

W
eve explored pickup phase
and polarity over the years, Pickup #1 Pickup #2 Result
Polarity Winding Direction Polarity Winding Direction
and now its time to bring
North CW South CCW In phase, hum cancelling.
all the parameters together so you can
South CCW North CW In phase, hum cancelling.
successfully combine single-coils from
North CW North CW In phase, no hum cancelling.
different manufacturers in one guitar South CCW South CCW In phase, no hum cancelling.
without creating sonic issues. Its common North CW South CW Out of phase, no hum cancelling.
to mix pickup brands, and when you use North CW North CCW Out of phase, no hum cancelling.
each pickup alone, all is good. The fun South CCW North CCW Out of phase, no hum cancelling.
begins when you combine two pickups South CCW South CW Out of phase, no hum cancelling.
without knowing their magnetic polarity
and winding direction. Odds are youll designed to yield a hum-cancelling effect of simply reversing the pickups two
accidentally create an out-of-phase pickup when combining two single-coils. A wiresthe black one becomes hot and
ensemble. Youll know it when you hear modern Stratocasters middle pickup is the white wire goes to ground. But
it: Out-of-phase pickups sound shrill often RWRP in relation to the neck and make sure the original ground wire isnt
and thin. (Some players want that, but bridge pickups, so when you combine connected to any grounded metal part on
were addressing an unintentional out-of- middle with neck or bridge single-coils, the pickup. On Teles, the black ground
phase pairing.) To avoid this, you must you also engage the hum-cancelling wire is typically connected to the bridge
know the pickups magnetic polarity effect. In this dual-pickup setting, pickups metal baseplate or the neck
and winding direction before installing the two single-coils work as a kind of pickups metal cover. If thats the case,
them. Scour the spec sheets or contact the humbucker, only with the two coils far youll need to break this connection and
respective pickup manufacturers for this away from each other, rather than side install a third, dedicated ground wire
info. (We also explored how to suss this by side as on a standard humbucker. The thats always connected to ground.
out yourself using a compass and DIY hum cancelling isnt as effective as a true 3. Alas, changing a pickups magnetic
phase-testing unit. If youre an intrepid humbucker, but its pretty good. polarity is not easyonly a few pickups
modder, check out Whats the Deal Mellow yellow. The yellow are designed to remove and replace the
with Pickup Polarity? and the two-part combinations are also desirable and often magnets. For all other pickups: Dont
Build a Pickup Phase Tester series on found on vintage and vintage-inspired try this! Youll likely destroy the pickup.
premierguitar.com.) Stratocasters with a non-RWRP middle Instead, send it to a skilled pickup tech,
There are four rules regarding winding pickup. Many players prefer this old- or just buy a new pickup with the desired
direction and polarity when combining school approach because it offers more magnetic polarity.
pickups: quack in the dual-pickup positions.
The downside? No humbucking effect, so Note: Changing a pickups magnetic
1. Opposite winding direction + opposite these positions can produce noise. polarity and winding direction will result
polarity = in phase with hum cancelling. Stop! The red combinations yield in the original phase configuration with
2. Identical winding direction + identical out-of-phase soundsexactly what most the same problems as before.
polarity = in phase, no hum cancelling. players dont want. Things can seem confusing when you
3. Identical winding direction + opposite This table will help you avoid trouble, look at all the possibilities for magnetic
polarity = out of phase, no hum cancelling. but what if you already have two pickups polarity and winding direction. But a
4. Opposite winding direction + identical that are out of phase with each other compass, DIY phase-testing unit, and
polarity = out of phase, no hum cancelling. when combined? Dont panic! Follow the above table should help you sail
these three guidelines and youll have a through this.
This brings us to a phase/polarity traffic- fighting chance of saving the situation:
light table that shows what happens with DIRK WACKER lives in Germany
all possible combinations of two pickups. 1. Determine each pickups magnetic and has been a guitar addict since
age 5. Hes also a hardcore DIY-er
(CW indicates a clockwise winding polarity and winding direction and then for guitars, amps, and stompboxes
direction, CCW is counter-clockwise.) use the above traffic light table to see and runs a website on the subject
(singlecoil.com). When not
Go green. The green combinations what disaster category youre in. working at his guitar workbench,
he plays country, rockabilly, surf,
are typically described as reverse wound/ 2. If you need to reverse a pickups and flamenco. Contact him at
reverse polarity (RWRP), a scheme winding direction, this is often a matter info@singlecoil.com.

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100 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017


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STATE OF THE STOMP

Welcome Back, Bad Monkey!

BY BENJAMIN HINZ

H
ey everybody! Thanks for about 40 bucks. Runner-up
joining me for my last State in my strange internet circles
of the Stomp. The column was the Hot Head (bright
will continue with others flying the flag, orange!), but that was viewed as
but for me, I think its been a good run. maybe too much.
Ive complained about a lot of important I got that Monkey and used the
things and Ive explained plenty of petty hell out of it! I ended up building a rig It was, to use industry
opinions as if they were facts. around it and started my first band, parlance, authentically relicd. Glue
Just when I thought I was completely the Ronald Raygun, which is still going stuck on the back where Velcro used to
out of pedal-related things to write about, today. By the time we recorded our first be. Dings, dents, and chipped finish all
I had a surprisingly pleasant experience! (disastrous) full-length, I was rocking a around. A loose audio jack, and that
To tell this story right, we must hop in pretty cool rig comprised of a wah, the bothersome sticky dust in all the crevices
the Wayback Machine and dial it to the Bad Monkey, my dads old digital delay, too small for my sausage fingers to get at.
halcyon days of 2004. My wife, Louise, a Big Muff copy, and a whacky envelope I had to try it. I was sure it wouldnt
was in college, we had our first child, Isis filter that I never quite got a handle on. work, but I was wrong! It was a sound
was just a post-metal band, people still This was all getting blasted through a I hadnt heard in ages. It was refreshing
borrowed your internet, and I feel like Peavey VTM 60an amp I didnt fully and excitingnoticeably different
we were on a pretty manageable hurricane/ understand until after Id sold it. than the ODs Ive been using in the
societal disaster schedule. I was also busy intervening years. I remembered why I
falling in love with the guitar. I was 21 picked this thing in the first place: the
and had spent the previous five or six
I remembered why I simple joy of making your instrument
years making, primarily, electronic music. picked this thing in the kind of crunchy.
I guess by then I had practiced enough first place: the simple joy I was feeling pretty smart, actually. I
to make the guitar expressive for mea guess not every musical choice I made
development thats been the turning point
of making your instrument back then was foolish. I picked a cool first
with every instrument Ive pursued. kind of crunchy. dirt pedal. And I never bought a chorus.
That all sounds good, but I was also I tried it on bass: ooooh, exciting!
trying to become something. Im not Not long after the smoke cleared from I tried it on a drum machine: ooooh,
sure what some kind of pretty-music that recording session, my Bad Monkey exciting!
maker. Despite that my favorite rock stopped working. I didnt worry about it I tried it in a demo video rig: ooooh,
bands were Nine Inch Nails, Tool, and too much. Id moved towards a cleaner poor choice. Cant win em all, I guess.
Mogwai, I found myself on a quest for clean and a heavier distortion tone, and Im so glad to have my old pal back,
cowboy distortion. was more concerned with saving up for and Im excited to do some exploring
Yeah, nobody knew what I meant a looper than replacing an overdrive that with it with more than a decades
then, either, because its kind of a dumb didnt really fit my immediate taste. additional experience under my belt. Its
phrase. What I was looking for was a Somehow this broken pedal survived kind of a mini-restart, but like when you
device that would make me that super- six moves, two more kids, who knows beat a game and get to start over with all
sexy hybrid of dangerous and clever, like how many bands and projects, and 13 your gear and skills from when you beat
Oh, I dont need all that fuzz. Just listen brutal Wisconsin winters to be recently it the first time.
to the honesty and passion Ive carefully found sticking out of a basket in Louises Let me leave you with a pro tip as
constructed. What I told people I was office at Dwarfcraft Headquarters. we part: Pull out your oldest gear and
looking for was just a bit of distortion I saw it, and my curious mind fell see how you feel about the person who
and sustain, not too much. Ugh. An back in the memory hole. Where did picked it out. It can be rewarding.
overdrive, you dolt! You wanted to play this come from? I asked. Nobody really
with overdrive so you could sound smart. knew, so I assumed it was mine. I was BENJAMIN HINZ is the Supreme
Commander at Dwarfcraft
Luckily, DigiTech launched a series of shocked. Considering all the pedals Ive Devices. In addition to
pedals that year that was color-coded, cheap, sold over the years and the broken gear experimenting with audio, he
really enjoys Blade Runner
and everywhere. The sleeping giant among Ive tossed away in a fury while moving, and Tom Pettys Wildflowers.
them was the Bad Monkey, a green overdrive this little brick must have had some kind
that weighed about four pounds and cost of protection spell over it.

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102 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
Riversides cascading gain stages create harmonically
rich drivesfrom silky clean overdrives, saturated
distortions, and all points in between.

Exceptional touch sensitivity comes courtesy of our

all-analog JFET gain stage, while our precision-crafted
DSP gain stages generate dynamic complexity and
pleasing harmonics. Continuous circuit adjustments
are made as you turn the Drive knob, allowing the
sweet spot to follow you at every gain level.

strymon.net/riverside
 ASK AMP MAN

Beefing Up a Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue

BY JEFF BOBER

H
Top right: The ello, Ask Amp Man fans. Im you may want to consider replacing the
reissue Fender once again gonna forgo a reader speaker lead with something of better
Deluxe Reverb
question and bring you a story quality, whether you make it yourself
is becoming a
popular amp, I think youll find interesting. A friend or buy a pre-made assembly. Ive seen
so why not do recently purchased a new amp and asked these plastic molded jacks fail more
some rewiring to me to do the same thing you did to my than once, and thats not healthy for
get the most other amp years ago. That was probably your output transformer or speakers.
out of it?
20 or more years ago, and the amp at Next, disconnect all the ribbon
that time was a Fender Vibrolux Reverb. connectors from the front panel board.
What I did then was re-contour the tone Then youll need to remove all the
of the normal channel and add reverb knobs and potentiometers and jack
and tremolo to it. Ive done this to many, nuts from the front panel. This will
many amps over the decades and I can do let you pull out the entire front panel
it in my sleep. circuit board assembly (Photo 1). (C3 and C4) in the tone stack. The
This time was a bit different, however, The first step I like to perform, since typical Fender values here are 0.1 uf and
because he had purchased a new Fender there is no bright switch on the amp, is 0.047 uf, but were going to remove them
Deluxe Reverb reissue. It has basically the to remove the bright cap (C10) from from the board and replace them both
same circuit as most Fender amps, but the normal channel (Photo 2). Next, with 0.022 uf caps (Photo 3). That will
the reissue amps are built utilizing circuit well change the bass and mid capacitors give this channel more of a mid-flavored
boards. This is not a problem for me,
but since the blackface Deluxe Reverb 1
reissueor DRRI, as theyre frequently
calledseems to be very popular and
becoming ubiquitous in backlines, I
thought there might be more than a few
of you out there who could benefit from
this modification.
A bit of warning first: The circuit
boards used to build these amps are
whats known as single-sided boards
and do not have something called
plated-through holes. This means the
thin, foil-like trace is the only thing on 2
the board the solder adheres to. Its a
very inexpensive board, used to keep
production costs down, and is not
the best when it comes to servicing or
modification as it easily overheats and
becomes damaged. I recommend that
anyone attempting to service or modify
these or any other similarly constructed
amps be extremely experienced with a
soldering iron.
The tone mod. Heres the approach:
First, of course, pull the chassis from the
combo. Remember to disconnect the
reverb and speaker cables, or else you
might damage them with one big chassis
pull. (I speak from experience. Ha ha!)
And, by the way, if youre so inclined,

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104 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 3 4

British tone, which is a nice complement

to the stock vibrato channel.
5
Reverb and tremolo. Okay, were
finished with the tone mod on this
board. So, lets move on to the effects
modification. This can be performed on
the main board and in two ways. One
component on this board needs to have
one of its leads disconnected from the
circuit board. If youd like to do this
the more proper way, youll need to
unscrew all the mounting screws that
attach the board to the chassis, fold it
up with the dozens of other wires still
attached to the board (unless you want
to disconnect them all), and attempt
to unsolder one lead of R12 from the
board. This would, of course, allow you
to reverse this part of the mod using the
original resistor, should you wish to do
so in the future, but even to me, this is
a bit of overkill. Instead, I would suggest of this wire to the lead of R25 that faces we all used to do with 4-input Marshall
simply clipping the lead on the top of the the rear of the amp (Photo 5). amps! This, by the way, was not possible in
circuit board and, should you ever wish Jump it! To minimize failure and assure the stock amp, because the two channels
to reverse this part of the mod, worry proper operation, use some silicon glue or are out-of-phase when the amp leaves the
about pulling the board and replacing the hot wax to stabilize the cut leg of R12 and factory and would tend to cancel each
resistor at that time. Its your call. to affix the added wire to the circuit board other out depending on volume settings.
So, disconnect or clip the lead of in a few places. Thats it! Now you have a Funny thing about having effects on both
R12 that points to the rear of the amp. DRRI with two channels that are voiced channels: This feature is now included on
On the other lead, which faces the front differently, with both having reverb and the new handwired Deluxe Reverb reissues.
panel of the amp, carefully attach a wire tremolo. You can use an A/B box to switch Hmmm Well, enjoy your new custom-
(Photo 4) long enough to reach R25 between the two, or even jump the two wired Deluxe Reverb!
with a nice routing. Attach the other end channels together using a short cableas
JEFF BOBER is one of the
WARNING: godfathers of the low-wattage amp
revolution. He co-founded and was
All tube amplifiers contain lethal voltages. The most dangerous voltages are originally the principal designer
stored in electrolytic capacitors, even after the amp has been unplugged from for Budda Amplification, though
he launched EAST Amplification
the wall. Before you touch anything inside the amp chassis, its imperative that (eastamplification.com) in 2010.
You can catch his podcasts at
these capacitors are discharged. If you are unsure of this procedure, consult your
ampsandaxescast.com or email
local amp tech. him at pgampman@gmail.com.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 105

SPEAKER GEEKS

Three-Part Harmony
BY JOHN PAICE

W
hen building a guitar It turns out that if you put enough neodymium can be used to provide
speaker, one can signal into a speaker with a straight-sided a tonality thats somewhere between
make 101 micro- cone, it eventually reaches a point where it that of ceramic and alnico, but with an
adjustments, whether its an extra suddenly and very quickly breaks up and additional level of note separation and
turn of coil wire here or a thicker resonates. Any audiophiles worth their salt fidelity that many consider desirable.
bead of glue there. However, these would likely cover their ears in disgust, but Wind me up. The voice coil is a length
things are secondary to the three thats what we guitar players know as tone. of copper wire wound around a former.
key elements that control most of a And this explains why the modern guitar Its the moving part of the speakers motor
speakers tone, and its the speaker speaker evolved from the old-fashioned, whose configuration and performance is
Made from designers prime directive to get these three straight-sided radiogram speaker. very much wrapped up in the amount of
pulped and elements working together in harmony. Poles apart. When Celestion first power a designer can make a speaker capable
chemically The membrane. Chief among started making moving-coil speakers of withstanding. This too affects tone.
treated paper,
stacks of cones
these things is the sound-producing for guitar amps in the late 50s, we Consider the coil-former material:
wait to be membranethe cone. Guitar speaker used an alnico magnet. This was the A paper former, as used in the 1950s,
assembled into cones are (still!) made from pulped and most commonly available technology is less heat resistant than, say, fiberglass.
guitar speakers. chemically treated paper pressed into at the time and what was used for all The difference in material properties
the conical shape were all familiar with. loudspeakers, regardless of application. will impact the speakers tolerance of
After all these years, we still use paper Forward to the 1960s and alnico heat, which contributes to overall power
because it provides the attributes we became increasingly difficult to source, so rating (heat resistance directly correlates
need: Its lightweight, relatively (but guitar speakers were made instead with an to power handling). And because various
not too) rigid, easy to shape, and cost- iron-based ceramic magnet. While it was former materials sound different, this too
effective to produce. relatively simple to replicate the amount contributes to the speakers tonal character.
Despite being made of humble of magnetic force of an alnico magnet Just as important is the diameter of
materials, the cone is by no means a with the ceramic material, the two magnet the voice coil. A smaller coil flexes less
simple thing, and we can introduce types produced a noticeably different tone. than a larger one, but results in a larger
variation into its production to control With its more aggressive in-your- cone length (the distance between cone
tonality. Thickness of the membrane face sound, coupled with a high-end neck to surround), meaning the cone is
is important. Ive already touched graininess, the ceramic magnet assembly more likely to bend. A bigger coil will flex
on this in a previous column, but it was perfect for the music that rock n more, but the cone length is shorter, which
bears highlighting again: A thinner roll was evolving into during the 60s. means the cone is geometrically stiffer. A
cone deforms more easily under the Compare this to alnico, which was smaller coil will also have less mass and less
pressure caused by coil movement. If relatively laid-back in its attack and inductance. All these physical attributes
you make the cone thicker, it becomes delivered an overall smoother feel and a impact the sonic signature. Smaller coil
more resistant to those forces. However, distinct chime at the top end. speakers tend to feel brighter and break
these deformations are part of what After further experimentation, engineers up more aggressively. Their fans consider
contributes to the speakers tone. The and designers discovered just how much them to be sparkly, whereas detractors
skill of the speaker designer is to make the size of the magnet affected tonality. would say they were lightweight.
a cone thats thin enough to produce a By the end of the 60s, Celestion offered More than anything, speaker tone is a
musical tonality, while still being strong their original ceramic guitar speaker in direct result of a bunch of physical processes
enough to withstand the application of a three different magnet sizes: the 50-ounce doing different things all at the same time.
satisfyingly powerful kerrang. H (heavy), 35-ounce M (medium), and The better we can get these individual
The shape of the cone itself is also 20-ounce L (light). As magnet weight elements to work together in concert, the
interesting. Way back in the days of radio, increases, so does the control of voice coil more desirable the resulting tone.
when a 1-watt amp was as powerful as you and cone movement. This has the effect of
could get, straight-sided cones were used tightening the bass end and adding extra JOHN PAICE has worked in
Photo courtesy of Celestion

product marketing at Celestion

to tease as much output from the system aggression in the vocal range. for nearly 14 years. With a degree
as possible. The geometry of a straight- In recent years, neodymium has in acoustics and another in
physics, alongside a passion for
sided cone made it stiffer, so it could be become another magnet material used guitar music, Paice figures it was
somehow inevitable he would end
constructed lighter, which enabled greater for guitar speakers. Its very powerful up working in the tech end of the
sensitivity and thus higher output. for its size, and if properly controlled, music industry.

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106 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
MINI JUBILEE,
MAXIMUM TONE.
2525 COMBO, 2525 HEAD, 2536 & 2536A CABINETS

Inspired by the acclaimed JCM25/50 Silver Jubilee Series, the 20 Watt Mini Jubilee 2525
combines classic Silver Jubilee preamp tone, features and styling in a lower power, mini design.
This contemporary take on the Jubilee Series features an ECC83 & EL34 valve set, High/Low
output switching (20 Watt to 5 Watt) and FX Loop. The Mini Jubilee 2536 cabinets are loaded
with two Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. The 2525 and 2536 are designed and made at the
Marshall factory in England. For more information, contact your Marshall dealer.
 JAM PEDALS
Delay Llama Supreme
p. 110

2017 PREMIER

GEAR

OVATION APPLAUSE
Elite AE44II-VV
p. 122

WAREHOUSE
American Vintage G8C
p. 120

VICTORY
V-40 Deluxe
p. 140

GIBSON
Modern Double
Cut Standard
p. 150 CHASE BLISS
Brothers
p. 144
premierguitar.com
108 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 BY PREMIER GUITAR STAFF

A
nother year, another dazzling
parade of pedals, guitars, amps,
modelers, and accessories
that made our noggins spin. This years
Premier Gear Award winners are, as usual,
an eclectic setfull of old-school vintage
homage, leading-edge digital developments,
and imaginative meetings of those worlds.
Dig in and dig it as we revisit the gear that
fired the enthusiasm and wonder of our
editors and contributors in 2017.

PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 109

 Fractal Audio Systems
AX8
(January 2017)
Fractal Audio Systems rackmount Axe-Fx units
awakened many players to the possibilities of
digitally modeled amps, cabinets, and effects.
The AX8 puts Fractals realistic modeling
technology into the pedalboard format and
provides plenty of juice for most applications.
The ruggedly built unit sounds stellar, and if
you invest the effort to get acquainted with this
open-ended device, youre likely to be inspired.
$1,299 street, fractalaudio.com

Godin
Summit Classic CT Convertible
(January 2017)
Though skeptical about guitars that claim to be all things, Ted Drozdowski found the Godin
Summit Classic CT Convertible lives up to its name. Whether he played it through a vintage
Twin Reverb, a Marshall Super Lead, or an Orange Micro Terror, the Convertible sounded great
and felt familiar. With its Duncan P-Rails and active/passive HDR Revoicer circuit, the versatile
Convertible is ready for any gig or session.
$1,595 street, godinguitars.com

JAM
Delay Llama Supreme
(January 2017)
Powered by a new-production bucket brigade delay chip, JAMs Llama
Supreme analog delay combines vintage tone with modern features, including
tap tempo with switchable subdivisions, controller pedal connectivity, an
adjustable LFO oscillator, a low-pass tone knob, a variable Q control, and a
hold function. If youre looking to craft wild new variations on a classic color,
youll love the Llamas expanded sonic repertoire.
$419 street, jampedals.com

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110 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
THE HOLIDAYS
JUST GOT A LITTLE
BIT MORE JOYFUL.
Experience the worlds finest guitars, right
in time for the holiday season. DHR Guitar
Experience specializes in high-end, vintage
and rare guitarsboth right and left-handed.
See our guitar and amp selection at
dhrguitarexperience.com

Featuring the Swart Mod84, the Koll Junior Glide Special,

the Milkman Dairy Air Combo and the Thompson Parlor 2 Koa

Our shop is located at 3092 Madison Road in Cincinnati, Ohio 45209 | 513-832-7571
 B.A. Ferguson
Classic Class Shirley
(January 2017)
The Classic Class Shirley is about as nice a compromise between the worlds of Gibson and
Fender as you are likely to find. Light, compact, and with a sweet blend of humbucker
sonorities and 25 1/2"-scale zing, the Shirleys plentitude of sounds makes the $1,500 price
tag look like a bargain.
$1,499 street, bafergusonguitars.com

Foxpedal
Defector
(February 2017)
A modern take on the Sovtek Big Muff,
the Defector Fuzz boasts two independent
sections: a rather gritty boost and a 4-stage
transistor fuzz. A small toggle switch selects
three different fuzz flavorssilicon-diode
clipping, no clipping, and LED clipping
and a flexible mid control lets you beef up or
scoop out the tone. This knob alone is worth
the price of admission.
$199 street, foxpedal.com.com

TC Electronic
Tailspin
(February 2017)
TC Electronics Tailspin is, in most
respects, a derivative of parent
company Behringers UV300 vibrato.
The Tailspin, however, takes that
famously overachieving circuit and
situates it in a sturdy metal enclosure.
That makes this hip-looking stomp
a screaming dealand perhaps the
best budget alternative to a vintage
VB-2 anywhere.
$50 street, tcelectronic.com

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112 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 MXR
EP103 Echoplex Delay
(February 2017)
The sounds and legend of the original Echoplex tape delay are tough to live up to. But
MXR impressed with the EP103delivering digital approximations of the Echoplexs
ravishing echo tones and sonic quirks like tape compression, warble, and high-end
decay that proved the company was not content with a mere retro branding exercise.
$199 street, jimdunlop.com

Sandberg
Forty Eight
(February 2017)
While the relicd Forty Eight reviewer David Abdo took for
a ride displays some obvious cues from Gibson Explorer and
Thunderbird models of yesteryear, it proved to be in a class
all its own. Decked out with a Sandberg V-style split-coil and
Power Humbucker combo, its ready to rock, but it shows its
mettle as a very versatile axe as well.
$3,035 street (as equipped), sandberg-guitars.com

Milkman
Pint
(February 2017)
True class-A amps usually have just one output tube, but the 10-watt, 1x12 Milkman Pint deploys two
6V6s in parallel, essentially treating them as a single tube for increased output. The Pints workmanship
is faultless, its lightly overdriven tones have complexity, the tremolo and verb are to die for, and its
beguiling clean tones make it ideal for refined jazz and fingerstyle guitarists playing in intimate venues.
$2,499 street, milkmansound.com

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114 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 115
 Dunlop
Cry Baby Mini Bass Wah
(February 2017)
Big wah in a little box is the name of the game for this new
addition to the Cry Baby family. So impressed with how the
Mini Bass Wah inspired funky, filtered sweeps and its ability
to give bass lines a vocal quality rife with blossoming
wahs, reviewer David Abdo found himself utilizing the
pedal for almost the entirety of a 3-hour soul gig.
$119 street, jimdunlop.com

Lollar
Staple P-90
(February 2017)
Introduced in 1954 as a more articulate
version of Gibsons P-90 pickup, the alnico 5
pickupusually called the staple pickup
is one of the great forgotten guitar gizmos.
The alnico 5 design is a classy, relatively hi-fi
alternative to the traditional P-90, and it
works particularly well in the neck position.
With its extended range and extra air on
top, Lollars gorgeous-sounding Staple P-90
is a stellar incarnation of the original.
$145 street, lollarguitars.com

Fender
57 Custom Pro
(February 2017)
The 57 Custom Pro-Amp isnt a
reproduction of the Pro that Fender
made in the 50s, but its inspired
by the originals 5A5 circuit, which,
like this new 26-watt combo, was
wired into a thin-bodied cabinet.
With its custom 15" Eminence, the
amp offers a wide tonal spectrum
and clear bottom end. A superb
pedal platform, the 57 Custom
is a boutique-level product with a
major manufacturers nameplate.
$2,499 street, fender.com

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116 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 PRS
Sonzera 50
(March 2017)
This dual-channel 50-watt combo features a 12" Celestion V-Type speaker and
is powered by two EL34s. Each channel has independent reverb, bass, mid, and
treble controls, while the clean channel has its own master and volume, and the
gain channel has independent level and drive knobs. The versatile Sonzera 50
can easily cover everything from pop to blues to math-metal, and its bang-for-
buck ratio is equally impressive.
$899 street, prsguitars.com

Digitech
Whammy Ricochet
(March 2017)
When DigiTech unveiled the
Whammy pedal 28 years ago,
it was an instant hit. With its
built-in controller pedal, the Supro
Whammy was fresh-sounding Westbury
and expressive. DigiTech marked (March 2017)
the Whammys latest anniversary The dual-pickup Westbury is part of Supros Island
by nixing the expression pedal series, whose models are based on Jimi Hendrixs first
at least on the Ricochet, which guitar: a 1962 Supro Ozark. Cool features include an
is designed to fit on a crowded alder body, a set maple neck, asymmetrical headstock,
pedalboard. With a handful of jumbo frets, and a wave tailpiece. But the star
knobs and switches controlling attractions are the recreated gold-foil pickups, which
transposition, the streamlined boast an airy high end and fat, full-range sound.
Ricochet provides a superb Oozing character, the ultra-playable Westbury sells for
introduction to pitch-shift effects. under a grand.
$150 street, digitech.com $999 street, suprousa.com

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118 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 SKBs 2U Studio Flyer and 6 variations of ATA Fly Racks
are waterproof, lightweight, and virtually INDESTRUCTIBLE.
With features like easy-to-operate trigger release latches
and convenient wheels and pull handles for easy towing,
these cases are the perfect solution for flying sensitive
equipmentall made in the USA and backed by SKBs
Unconditional Lifetime Warranty.

Call the Experts at

www.sweetwater.com
2017 SKB Corporation 800.222.4700
 Epifani
Piccolo 999
(March 2017)
Epifanis svelte class-D Piccolo 999 might be a featherweight
at a mere 4 1/2 pounds, but its 1,000-watt punch said
otherwise to reviewer David Abdo who bestowed a Premier
Gear Award upon the amp for several reasonsone being its
simple but effective EQ section. The bass, mid, and treble
controls are expertly voiced for quick tone-shaping with
significant shelving capabilities, remarked Abdo.
$1,199 street, epifani.com

Warehouse
American Vintage G8C
(April 2017)
The 8" American Vintage G8C packs serious punch. It
sounds rich and loudand broken-in straight out of the
gate. Installed in a vintage silverface Fender Vibro Champ,
it provided superb enjoyment for at-home playing and,
Weber with a quality mic, yielded recorded tones so grand that
8A125 listeners were amazed to learn they came from such a
(April 2017) small speakerlet alone a brand new one.
When PGs Shawn Hammond tested this 8" alnico speaker in $39 street, wgsusa.com
a 76 Fender Vibro Champ, he admired how it handled a wide
range of pickups with minimal harshness, regardless of volume.
Even with a Teles bridge pickup and the amp cranked, he found
it virtually impossible to get the 8A125 to sound piercing. If you
want a fat-sounding 8" speaker, this Weber is an excellent choice.
$85 street, tedweber.com

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120 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 HIGH
BREAK
POINTS.
NOT
HIGH
PRICES.
Confused by high priced innovation strings that some companies seem to create
every time you turn around? So are we. They claim to make their strings stronger with
every innovation. Why werent they stronger in the first place?
GHS Strings have always stood strong, every performance, without the premium
pricing. That strength, as always, is available in every set of GHS Strings. So choose
GHS and youll save money while the only breaks youll think about are the ones you
take when you leave the stage.

PLAY WITH THE BEST

BOOMER TOUGH. ghsstrings.com

E L E C T R I C G U I TA R BASS ACOUSTIC CLASSICAL MANDOLIN BANJO BAJO DULCIMER PEDAL STEEL R E S O N AT O R UKULELE AND MORE
 Ovation Applause
Elite AE44II-VV
(April 2017)
Acoustically, the AE44II has a balanced sound thats great for both
strumming and gently fingerpicked passages. The bass response
wont threaten a dreadnought, but its still respectable. Plugged
in, the Applause confronts challenges similar to those of other
affordable, single-element piezo systems, but boosting the mids a bit
and reducing treble and bass a tad yields impressively usable tones
especially considering the price point.
$299 street, ovationguitars.com

Fender
American Professional
Stratocaster
(April 2017)
The original Strat design is so
iconic and beloved that one must
be cautious about referring to
changes as improvements. But
with its updated pickups, hardware,
and treble-bleed bypass wiring, the
American Professional Stratocaster
will delight those who relish both its
vintage-approved tones and the new
possibilities afforded by the revised
wiring. And theres no denying the
Professionals fine build quality, zingy
resonance, and richly nuanced tones.
$1,399 street, fender.com

G7th
UltraLight Capo
(April 2017)
Since G7th began making capos in the mid-oughts, the company has
found multiple ways to refine the capo concept. The UltraLight earned
kudos not just for its utility and light weight, but affordability that
makes buying a spareor threesuper easy on the pocketbook.
$12 street, g7th.com

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122 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 SET AND FORGET

www.henrettaengineering.com

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 123

 BC Audio
Audio JMX 100
(April 2017)
With its top-shelf components, magnificent point-to-point wiring, octal preamp tubes, and four EL34s, the 100-watt
JMX 100 is impressive in terms of construction and authoritative sound. Note fundamentals are rock solid, and the crisp
and definitive transients transmit every nuance of pick and finger. Hit the cranked JMX 100 with a great fuzz pedal and
the amps clarity and headroom yield godlike saturation. A high-wattage beast for the connoisseur.
$3,000 street, bcaudio.com

Darkglass
Microtubes 900 LunaStone
(April 2017)
This relatively young Finnish company has
the Pusher
(May 2017)
already garnered quite a fan base with their
LunaStones the Pusher is a devastatingly
pedal offerings for bassists, so it wasnt a
beautiful clean boost thats bound to
huge surprise that their maiden amplifier,
shatter some expectations about the
the Microtubes 900, came away with a
utility of a one-knob pedal. With said
win this year. Especially impressed with
knob at noon, it gives a healthy bump
its available grit, reviewer Jordan Wagner
without infringing on amp tone or
proclaimed, The overdrive produced by its
its neighboring dirt pedals. The very
Microtubes Engine can cover a wide gamut
affordable Pusher ups the volume
of tones and has enough on tap to make
without getting in the way.
you think twice about keeping that Rat or
$99 street, lunastonepedals.com
Big Muff on your pedalboard.
$999 street, darkglass.com

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124 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 Marshall
2525C Mini Jubilee
(May 2017)
A 20-watt rendition of Marshalls
legendary Silver Jubilee, the 2525C
Mini Jubilee is available as a compact
1x12 closed-back combo or head.
Powered by two EL34s and decked out
in signature silver-and-grey vinyl and
chrome, it exudes the coolness of its big
brother. Both a great grab-and-go amp
and studio workhorse, the Mini Jubilee
delivers authentic Marshall tones across
all gain and volume ranges.
$1,499 street, marshallamps.com

Universal Audio
Apollo Twin MkII
(May 2017)
UAs superb-sounding Apollo Twin MkII audio interface
comes bundled with wonderful plug-in models of classic Rivolta
compressors, limiters, and preampseven a full-featured Combinata
virtual mixer. It has enough connectivity for ambitious project (May 2017)
studios, yet it fits in a gig bag. Equipped with two gorgeous A new creation from luthier Dennis Fano, the Rivolta
mic preamps, pristine A/D/A convertors, and a flexible set of Combinata boasts two P-90s, a wraparound bridge, super-
inputs and outputs, the MkII is a perfect entry portal for UA sized position markers, a substantial old-school neck,
newcomers and recording guitarists. expertly installed vintage-flavored frets, an offbeat vinyl
$1,299 street (as reviewed with quad-core processor), pickguard, and excellent workmanship for its price range.
uaudio.com Tones are attractive and effervescent at all control settings
and gain levels. If jangle is your angle, youll be happy here.
$1,199 street, rivoltaguitars.com

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126 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 PAHOEHOE
STRINGS
Upright tone, smooth
feel, deep low-end

CUSTOM

SHORT SCALE
Huge tone in an extremely
portable bass

Available in 4 and 5 String,

Fretted and Fretless

Designed and Handmade at the Kala Shop in Petaluma, CA

UBASS.COM
 Taylor
GS Mini-e Bass
(June 2017)
After spending quality time with Taylors 23 1/2"-scale GS Mini-e Bass, associate editor Rich
Osweiler confirmed that size doesnt necessarily matter for pulling big bass tones out of an
acoustic bass guitar. Osweiler was especially enamored with the punchy thump and warmth
that leans towards the darker tones of an upright, and didnt think twice about tagging the
Mini-e with a Premier Gear Award.
$699 street, taylorguitars.com

Spaceman
Titan II
(May 2017)
With their 60s avionics-derived
enclosures and top-quality builds,
Spaceman effects have become objects
of lust for many fuzz fetishists. But the
real appeal in Spacemans pedals is an
audible originality, and that quality
shows through brightly in the Titan
II. Loud and gainy, the Titan II is less
nuanced than some Spaceman effects,
but it still successfully carves out its own
beautifully fuzzy sonic niche.
$249 street, spacemaneffects.com

TWA
Hot Sak
(June 2017)
The TWA Hot Sak delivers tons of
tone-shaping power for its size and
price. From luxuriantly transparent
boosts that rival some of the
best Klon clones (thanks to the
fantastically tunable EQ) to woofy
grind when you max the drive and
rein in the mids and tone, Hot
Sak offers exceptional flexibility
for a small, straightforward, and
reasonably priced stomp.
$189 street, godlyke.com

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128 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED BY TECH 21 USA, INC.
For details and video, head to tech21nyc.com
 Winfield
Dust Devil
(June 2017)
Built to serve transatlantic tastes, the
Winfield Dust Devil seems to speak
most strongly in British hues. But
we found that issues of accent were
soon forgotten once we plugged in.
And the Dust Devil proved versatile,
airy, powerful, and full of brash and
complex presence.
$1,700 street,
winfieldamps.com

Breedlove
Premier Concerto
(June 2017)
Based on Breedloves Concerto body, the Premier
is engineered to deliver the booming sound of a Carr
dreadnought without sacrificing playing comfort. Mercury V
Its solid Sitka top, solid East Indian rosewood (June 2017)
body, Honduran mahogany neck, versatile voice, The Mercury V is a perfect example of Steve Carrs tradition with a
and excellent playability make it a standout flattop, twist approach to building amps. The 16-watt, 1x12 combos Brit-style
and at just over two grand with a deluxe hardshell features include a simple yet versatile preamp section that mimics the
case, its a good buy for an American-made guitar gain characteristics of Marshall amps from the 60s through the 90s.
of such exceptional quality and design. The Celestion speaker is another British nod. Workmanship is top-
$2,199 street, breedlovemusic.com notch. PGs Joe Gore declared it simply one of the finest-sounding
amps Ive ever played.
$2,530 street, carramps.com

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130 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 from
NewMAD R
SO
ROFES
P
mpamp.com

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 131

 Electro-Harmonix
Blurst
(June 2017)
The Blurst is an endlessly entertaining
analog filter pedal packed with tone-
shaping and modulation options.
It employs a low-pass filter, which
removes frequencies only above the
cutoff pointthe quintessential
analog-synth filter sound. It also has
an onboard LFO oscillator and offers
expression pedal connectivity. With
its versatile controls, the Blurst is a
productive and cost-effective way to
enlarge your palette of filtered tones.
$134 street, ehx.com

Art & Lutherie

Roadhouse Guild
(July 2017) D-55
Though it visually evokes a 1920s (July 2017)
Gibson L-1, the little Roadhouse is The most encouraging
a response to a resurgent interest in news amid Guilds latest
parlor guitars. The solid Sitka top is transfer of ownership
paired with a layered wild cherry body and in the new D-55is
and a silverleaf maple neck, which are that so many of the
harvested from already-fallen trees. The idiosyncrasies that make
Fishman Sonitone electronics make the Guilds special remain
guitar gig-ready, and with its modest intact. But this guitars
price tag, the easy-playing instrument balance and dynamism also
represents a value thats hard to beat. make it a dreadnought of
$449 street, copious practical upside on
artandlutherieguitars.com stage and in the studio.
$2,999 street,
guildguitars.com

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132 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 Kill It Onstage and in the Studio
Crank up legendary tones with Eleven Rack
Put the sounds of the worlds greatest guitar and bass amps at your (calloused) fingertips.
Pro Tools | Eleven Rack is a revolutionary guitar recording and signal-processing system that
makes it easy to dial-up jaw-droppingly realistic vintage and modern amp tones in Pro Tools
or live. Plus, re-create the unmistakable tones of Joe Satriani, Steve Stevens, Buddy Miller, Keb Mo,
and other guitar greats with 104 celebrity presetsa Sweetwater exclusive!

Sweetwater Sales Engineers were blown away the minute they heard Eleven Rack. Get
that same reaction from your fans about your tonecontact Sweetwater to hear how.
(800) 222-4700
www.sweetwater.com
2017 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice. Avid, the Avid logo, Eleven, and Pro Tools are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
 AER
Compact 60/3 TE
(July 2017)
The 60-watt Compact 60/3 TE is
the third iteration of a fixture in
AERs acoustic-guitar amp lineup,
and its fingerstyle wizard Tommy
Emmanuels signature model. At
14 pounds, the tiny 2-channel
60/3 feels lightweight, yet rugged.
The tone controls and four preset
digital effects offer plenty of sonic
flexibility, and the 8" speaker sounds
punchy and organic. Portability,
ease of operation, and beautiful
transparent tonetheyre all here.
$1,199 street, aer-amps.com

Fuchs Audio
Technology
ODS Classic
(July 2017)
The ODS Classic is ridiculously well made, and Titan
its tones are ridiculously rich and defined, with KR1
ridiculous headroom and touch response. Andy (July 2017)
Fuchs freely admits that Howard Dumbles amps Doug Kauers Titan KR1 is an American-made guitar that sells for a base
influenced his own models, which explains all cost of $1,299. The boutique luthier delivers this modest price thanks
the knobs and switches, including numerous to ingenious design and a build-to-order business model. Top-notch
dual-function concentric and push/pull pots. hardware and electronics are all standard, and you can choose from a
The price is formidable, but the build, sound wide variety of pickups as an upgrade. On all frontsincluding sound
quality, and versatility are everything youd hope and playabilitythe superbly crafted KR1 is remarkable for the price.
for in an ultra-premium amp. $1,299 street ($1,375 as reviewed with Seymour Duncan Seth
$2,795 street, fuchsaudiotechnology.com Lover humbuckers), titanguitars.com

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premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 135
 Hughes & Kettner
Grandmeister Deluxe 40
(August 2017)
Powerful and programmable, the Grandmeister Deluxe 40 manages to strike a cool middle
ground between the turn-it-up-and-rip immediacy of traditional tube amps and modelers
that offer thousands of tone options. Reviewer Joe Charupakorn found the programmability
instinctive and the onboard effects superb. But it was the fundamental sound and fury living
in H&Ks circuitry that ultimately led to this Premier Gear Award.
$1,199 street, hughes-and-kettner.com

Curtis Novak
Jazzmaster Widerange Set
(August 2017)
Two designs once relegated to oddball bins of Fenders historythe Jazzmaster
pickup and the Seth Lover-designed Wide Range humbuckerwere re-imagined
by Curtis Novak, builder of some of the best Wide Range repros available. This
splendid set retains traditional Jazzmaster looks, with less noisy, meatier, Wide
Range-style tonalities.
$150 (each) street, curtisnovak.com

Fender
American Professional Jazz Bass
(July 2017)
Reviewer Steve Cook found that Fenders refresh on one of the
companys most iconic bass models was a move they didnt take
lightly. Calling out the slim, C-shaped neck as lightning fast
and noting that it begs you to play all over the neck and
as quickly as possible, Cook had difficulty finding anything
subpar about the V-Mod Jazz pickup-loaded 4-string. J-bass
nirvana equals a Premier Gear Award in 2017.
$1,549 street, fender.com

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 Dunable
Cyclops
(August 2017)
Martin Brutish and simple as a
0-18 battle axe, but handsomely
(August 2017) refined, the Cyclops
The relatively diminutive Martin 0-series streamlined, original lines
guitars are unsung recording studio heroes. and top-flight construction
And this newest 14-fret, mahogany-and- dazzled reviewer Ted
spruce incarnation exhibits the concise, Drozdowski. So did the
punchy, and zingy characteristics of a sounds: articulate, massive,
classic 0-series, with the practically perfect singing, dynamic, and
construction quality we see in so many versatile beyond the guitars
contemporary Martins. rock-tough visage.
$2,499 street, martinguitar.com $1,799 street,
dunableguitars.com

Hilbish
Design Beta
(August 2017)
The original Sunn Beta Lead began its unlikely rise to legend status thanks to
the Melvins Buzz Osborne, and the Hilbish Design Beta delivers Osbornes
massive clean-to-sludgy muscle with killer authenticity. It also provides
surprisingly powerful active-EQ tone-shaping capabilitiesall at a refreshingly
affordable price.
$1,100 street, hilbishdesign.bigcartel.com

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 Mu-FX
Phasor 2X
(August 2017)
Mike Beigels original Mu-Tron designs were fantastic and complex sounding,
and looked hip as hell. In both respects, the twin-decked Mu-FX Phasor 2X is
something of a time machine. Reviewer Joe Gore found the sounds immersive
and tactile, but loved the extra dimensionality of the stereo outputs.
$339 street, mu-fx.com

Victory
V-40 Deluxe
(September 2017)
While this English amp builder isnt a
household name, a number of recent
releasesthe Victory V40 in particular
are making the company a growing
presence stateside. It is punchy, defined,
and impressively well built at a relatively
accessible price. We ended up very impressed
with the V40 Deluxes combination of
classicism and unique voices.
$1,849 street, victoryamps.com

BYOC
Crown Jewel
(September 2017)
Our colleague Joe Gore hinted that the
Crown Jewel could be the most versatile
overdrive ever. And with a modular design
that enables you to re-configure modules
covering everything from Fuzz Face and Klon
clones to Orange Squeezer and Rangemaster-
style tones, were inclined to agree.
$219 street ($483 as reviewed with
all 11 preassembled boost modules),
buildyourownclone.com

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140 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
#SHOWYOURPRESTIGE
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PRESTIGE IS EARNED. SHARE YOUR PICS.

GET THE DETAILS AND JOIN US ONLINE AT

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 EarthQuaker Devices
Erupter
(October 2017)
Simplicity is beautifuland mighty
potentin the form of the EarthQuaker
Erupter, a vision of fuzz perfection (at least
in the eyes of EQD founder Jamie Stillman)
that utilizes a bias knob as its only control.
The breadth of available tones is inversely
huge to the number of knobs, however. And
this loud, boisterous box happily hollers in
voices ranging from splatty to soaring.
$145 street,
earthquakerdevices.com
Friedman
Dirty Shirley Mini
(September 2017)
Given the companys high-
wattage heritage, its hard not
to be tickled by the thought of Keeley
a 20-watt, 1x10 combo bearing Filaments
the Friedman name. What really (October 2017)
tickled us, though, were the Robert Keeley isnt known as a high-
outsized and glorious sounds gain pedal builder. But this impressive
of the Dirty Shirley Mini first foray into the field is no casual bit
and the fact that reviewer Ted of dabbling. And its 6-knob array and
Drozdowski couldnt actually three gain stages enable a huge range
summon a lousy tone from this of tone-shaping options and shades of
little powerhouse. gain intensity running from crunchy to
$1,799 street, bludgeoning.
friedmanamplification.com $189 street, robertkeeley.com

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142 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 POWER.
TONE.
Now you can have them both
Vintage tone or high power handling? It used to be a choice not any
more. The new G12H-150 Redback combines authentic Celestion tone
with a 150-watt power rating to create a 12-inch speaker capable of
transforming a high power combo or cabinet. So now you can have it all.

150
WATT

celestion.com
 Chase Bliss
Brothers
(October 2017)
Its hard to imagine stuffing more options into a 125B enclosure than
Chase Bliss has with the Brothers. And none of the gajillion switches
and knobs are wasted in this unit that incorporates opamp and JFET
distortion circuits that can be used independently, cascaded, and tuned
to deliver everything from sparkling boost to fiery fuzz.
$349 street, chaseblissaudio.com

Gurus
Sexy Drive MkII
(October 2017)
Rather than hone in on a single overdrive color, Italian builder Gurus
made versatility the calling card of the Sexy Drive MkIIwith a powerful
3-band EQ, buffers at the input and output, and a dry/dirty balance
control that means rainbows of overdrive color many times over.
$249 street, gurusamps.com

Way Huge
Conquistador
(October 2017)
Gated fuzz isnt for everyone, but in the form of the Conquistador, Way
Huge created a gated fuzz box that hints as much at spitting 60s fuzz
antecedents as contemporary instruments of doom and thrash. And its
this ability to cover Davie Allan as readily as Queens of the Stone Age
that knocked us out.
$149 street, jimdunlop.com

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144 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 Julian Lage
and Collings Guitars

Serious Guitars | www.collingsguitars.com

 Electro-Harmonix Meris
Canyon Mercury7
(October 2017)
(October 2017)
Although the Mercury7 is inspired by the
EHXs Canyon proved to be the little echo that could. With 11 delay
legendary Lexicon 224 reverb, reviewer Joe
functions, including Deluxe Memory Man simulations, octave and
Charupakorn found the pedals power and
modulated delays, a looper, and more, it impressed reviewer Dave Hunter
depth considerably beyond a single authentic
with its versatility. But it also dazzled on the purely sonic frontdelivering
reverb simulation. A potent pitch vector
deep, immersive delays and plenty of subtle textures, all at a dirt-cheap price.
control is the star of the showgiving reverb
$139 street, ehx.com
textures startling complexity and a range of
tones that takes guitar sounds well outside
typical 6-string tone spheres.
$299 street, meris.us

Seymour Duncan
Andromeda
(October 2017)
The Santa Barbara company best known for legendary
pickups has been on a roll with great effects lately. But
Seymour Duncan went big and triumphed mightily
with the Andromeda, an ambitious dynamic delay that
Joe Charupakorn declared an instrument as much as
a stompbox, capable of inspiring unexpectedand
undiscovereddirections.
$299 street, seymourduncan.com

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146 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 PURSUIT EXOTIC SERIES
We designed the Pursuit Exotic Series to
make you sound and play better than
you ever thought possible. Crafted with
stunning exotic tonewoods like koa,
cocobolo, ziricote, bubinga and striped
ebony. At a price that will not break the
bank.

Love your look, love your sound.

Hear audio samples and compare

exotic tonewood sound and tone
at BreedloveGuitars.com
You will sound better
on a Breedlove.

aud io
/ p r o
rns .com
. b o u
www

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 147

 Mooer
Mod Factory Pro
(October 2017)
Mooer is a master of stuffing
great-sounding circuits in small
enclosuresand making the
prices smaller still. But even
by Mooers lofty standards
(for little pedals), the Mod
Factory Pro is overflowing with
features, functionality, and value.
Everything from tremolo to
phase to ring modulationand
powerful controls for tweaking TC Electronic
themis on tap, all for the cost
of one or two larger and much less
Echobrain
(October 2017)
capable pedals.
Unless youre obsessive about pristine
$169 street, mooeraudio.com
predictability, analog delays are
one of the greatest stompbox joys.
Ampeg The Echobrain reminded us why.
Scrambler Bass Overdrive Tactile, mechanically interactive,
(October 2017) organically responsive, and just a
Ampeg knows a thing or two about bass overdrive tones, and when bit unpredictable and hairy, the
reviewer Jon DAuria got his hands onand bass intothe companys Echobrain sounded deep and full of
$99 Scrambler Bass Overdrive, he found a versatile range of drive tones. characterall at a street price that
Impressed with the way the pedal maintained signal strength when pushed verges on preposterously cheap.
to the extreme, DAuria summed it all up by saying: The pedal can do a $59 street, tcelectronic.com
lot to enhance your soundwhether adding the perfect dusting of grit or
full-blown, overdriven bliss.
$99 street, ampeg.com

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148 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 TURN OVER
A NEW LEAF.
MAPLE.
Guaranteed for life.

www.kysermusical.com

KYSER MUSICAL PRODUCTS MADE IN USA

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 149

 Gibson
Modern Double Cut Standard
(October 2017)
Though Gibson polarized some loyalists with the Modern Double Cuts styling, reviewer Ted
Drozdowski found its tones and playability beyond reproachenjoying the super-slinky feel, 24-fret
range, and fat, classic Gibson humbucker tones that, in some cases, bettered Teds own vintage Gibsons.
$3,999 street, gibson.com

Bigfoot Engineering
King Fuzz XL
(November 2017)
Pairing an overdrive and a fuzz in a single
pedal is no big thing. But to combine two
very original, seamlessly compatible, and
dazzlingly musical circuits in a single stomp
is a rare feat, and those qualities made the
loud, dynamic, and rich-sounding King
Fuzz XL a Premier Gear Award shoo-in.
$265 street, bigfootengineering.com

HeadRush
Pedalboard
(November 2017)
As impressive and powerful as multi-effects and modelers can be, most are
inevitably complex. What sets the HeadRush amp/modeler apart is its relative
simplicity and streamlined functionality, enabled by a touchscreen that unlocks
HeadRushs potency in a snap.
$999 street, headrushfx.com

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150 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 Zuma and Ojai are the highest horsepower, most technologically
advanced effects pedal power supplies. Each output provides a
staggering 500mA of current. Our optically isolated feedback and
advanced multistage filtering allow your pedals to sound the way they
were designed to sound. Never worry about power again.

strymon.net/power

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 151

 Coppersound
Foxcatcher
(November 2017)
Its not easy standing out among overdrives. Yet with an
ability to move effortlessly from blackface tones to Brit grit
and, in particular, its penchant for extracting Vox-y sounds
from Fender-style circuits, the Foxcatcher proved a powerfully
chameleonic tool for overdrive tone hunters.
$199 street, coppersoundpedals.com

Pinter
SB1-J Jazz Jr.
(November 2017)
Pinters Jazz Jr. was among the most unique guitars we
saw all yearfrom its British racing green finish and
Coral-influenced body profile, to its flatwound optimized
design. But the biggest surprise was how stunningly good
it is as a jazz guitarjust as advertised. And with its
mellow and articulate Joshua Spataro-designed pickups
and smooth playability, it distinguished itselfeven
among Premier Gear Award winners.
$2,500 street, pinterguitars.com

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152 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 Plus! December Premier Gear Award Winners
Read the full reviews on the pages indicated below!

1. Island Anzol (p. 192), $2,200 street, island-instrument.com

2. Hahn 112 (p. 176), $1,950 street, hahnguitars.com
3. Stomp Under Foot Alabaster (p. 181), $225 street, stompunderfoot.com
4. Radial Tonebone Texas Pro (p. 171), $169 street, tonebone.com
5. Fender 64 Custom Deluxe Reverb (p. 173), $2,499 street, fender.com
6. Hughes & Kettner era 1 (p. 185), $1,199street, hughes-and-kettner.com
7. SviSound Techno-FA (p. 171), $169 street, svisound.com

3
2

1
5

6
7

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 153

 TOOLS FOR THE TASK
Look for this icon
to click and
purchase the gear.

Volume Pedals
A volume pedal isnt the sexiest effect on a pedalboard, but for many, going without hands-free volume controlnot to
mention all the other interesting things you can do with oneis a scary thought. Here are 10 thatll help get your swell on.

1
GOODRICH SOUND 1
H-120 Standard
Whether youre behind a pedal steel or a 6-string, this
stomp features dual outputs and is equipped with an
Ultra Life million-cycle potentiometer to ensure many
hours of trouble-free use.
$229 street
goodrichsoundcompany.com
2
2
CLASSIC AUDIO EFFECTS
Passive Volume Roller G2
This pedal incorporates a unique Kevlar drive-belt system
and preserves real estate by trading the treadle for a
roller to manipulate volume.
$119 street
classicaudiofx.com
3
3
JIM DUNLOP
DVP4
At about half the size of its big-brother DVP3, this mini
features adjustable rocker tension, a low-friction band
drive for durable action, and expression-pedal mode with
the flip of a switch.
$119 street
jimdunlop.com

4 4
MISSION ENGINEERING
VM-1 Aero
The ergonomically designed VM-1 Aero features an
illuminating base and houses a passive no tone suck
circuit, an isolated tuner out, and an integrated mode switch.
$179 street
missionengineering.com

5 5
ELECTRO-HARMONIX
Volume
This lightweight-yet-rugged volume pedal features
smooth action and a selectable high- or low-impedance
switch for universal compatibility.
$63 street
ehx.com

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154 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 6
ERNIE BALL
6 MVP
Housed in aircraft-grade aluminum and designed to
provide an ultra-smooth foot sweep, the MVP has a
powerful gain boost permitting an increase of the audio
signal up to 20 dB.
$154 street
ernieball.com

7
HILTON ELECTRONICS
Pro Guitar
7 Built to last and adjustable, these volume pedals house
an internal preamp thats responsible for helping to
preserve pickup frequency response at any volume.
$319 street
hiltonelectronics.com

8
LEHLE
Mono Volume
8 The magnetic sensor in this pedal allows it to run nearly
wear-free, and its buffered direct output can be used to
supply a DAW, tuner, or second amp without affecting
the sound.
$279 street
lehle.com

9
9
SONUUS
Voluum
Much more than a standard volume pedal, the Voluum
also boasts onboard features such as a chromatic tuner
and five effects including compression and tremolo.
$299 street
sonuus.com

10
DOD
Mini Volume
10 Sized right to maximize pedalboard space, this pedal
features a long-throw treadle for full range of control, a
built-in treble-bleed circuit, and a gear drive for worry-
free performance.
$99 street
digitech.com

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 155

REVIEWS

Quick Hits
VERTEX EFFECTS FLUID AUDIO
Steel String Strum Buddy
By Jason Shadrick By Rich Osweiler

The mythology that When I first heard about the Strum Buddy,
surrounds Alexander my mind immediately flashed back to the
Dumbles creations has led film Fletch and the super-cool, turban-donning shredder Harry
to an entire cottage industry Perry cruising Venice Beach on skates. Before you get too excited,
of builders trying to replicate this mushroom-cap-shaped little amp that attaches to a guitar
that sound, but without the via its integrated suction cup isnt going to provide the volume
five-figure price tag. Vertex needed for a loud busking gig. But, as a mobile monitor to pull
Effects take on a Dumble some juice out of an unplugged guitar for practice, its a cool
Steel String Singer is billed as device, and sounds better and louder than I had anticipated from
a clean drive, but I found a battery powered, 6-watt amp with a 1 1/2" driver. It has three
the latter descriptor to be button-activated effectsdistortion, chorus, and reverbbut no
more apt. In addition to the volume or tone control. (Those are governed by your guitar.)
volume and gain controls, Am I going to tell you the tone and effects sound
theres a filter knob that helps to focus the midrange. amazing? No. The Strum Buddy does, however, make for a
I was quite surprised with how much gain the SS could much better experience than playing dry when youre inspired
churn out. In front of a clean amp, the pedal could get to woodshed and arent near an amp and your favorite pedals.
very growly and, at times, heavy on the low end. Even Its also rechargeable via USB for 3-plus hours of playing time
with rather bright T-style pickups, I found myself fiddling and, depending on your case, likely small enough to fit inside
with the filter control to help clear up some muddiness. itgreat features indeed. Tip: Plan before you purchase. My
The volume knob tended to really bring the best out Bigsby-equipped Epi didnt have the real estate to position
when pushed past noon. The thick D-style feel and warm, the amp where I could still play the guitar, and the light,
smooth compression was there, but I think it really shined nitro finish on my SG wouldnt allow it to stick. When I
in rougher, grittier tones with the gain knob at least at 2 placed the Strum Buddy on a Strat, however, I was off to the
oclock. If your tastes are more Texas Flood than In Step, races cruising around the house trying to impress my 8-year-
then the SS might be the best way to save $90,000 on your old. It feels a bit pricey at 80 bucks, but I think plenty of
rig for the next blues jam. folks would be psyched to discover one in their stocking.

TEST GEAR Schroeder Chopper TL, Gibson Les Paul, Fender TEST GEAR 2008 Gibson SG Special Faded, 1975 Epiphone Coronet,
ML212, Supro Statesman 1985 Fender Stratocaster, Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 interface, MXL V63M mic

PROS More versatile than I PROS Simple amplification

$199 street, vertexeffects.com expected. Nice amount of gain. $79 street, fluidaudio.com from a super-mobile design.
Youre nearly cordless.
CONS Somewhat unbalanced
Tones Tones
on the low end. Filter control CONS Not a ton of volume.
Ease of Use is surprisingly subtle. Ease of Use Gets in the way of playing
when attached to instrument.
Build/Design Build/Design
Effect-button labels are
Value Value difficult to read.

CLICK HERE TO HEAR this pedal. CLICK HERE TO HEAR this amp.

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156 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 SviSOUND RADIAL TONEBONE
Techno-FA Texas Pro
By Shawn Hammond By Charles Saufley

Hailing from Count Draculas Radial is famous for reliable

favorite shipping port (Varna, DI boxes tough enough to
Bulgaria), the SviSound Techno-FA double as ball peen hammers.
is, pound for pound, inch for inch, But the companys utilitarian
one the most powerfully addicting image often seems to obscure
phasers on the market. Packed how thoughtfully designed
into its 1.5" x 3.6" steel housing and musical their stompboxes can be. Those qualities are easy
is an analog circuit with four mini to hear, see, and feel in the Tonebone Texas Pro.
knobsfrequency (rate), range (how Like Radials DIs, the Canada-built Texas Pro is
far the effect shifts in each cycle), ridiculously robust: heavy gauge steel, smooth, precise, and
bright, and deptha pushbutton for sensitive controls with perfect resistance, a smart effects loop,
selecting two- or four-stage phasing, and a slightly confusing and switches and jacks that seem impervious to wear. The
array of sci-fi-cool LEDs indicating effect status, stage layout, too, is simple and sensible, with streamlined control
selection, and phasing rate. sets for the boost and overdrive arrayed across the compact 4
Simply put, the FA is one of those effects that immediately 1/2" enclosure.
inspires. For disorientingly warbledbut still classic- The Texas Pro is solid on the sound side of the equation,
soundingaural vortexes, choose four-stage mode and too. I enjoyed the vintage overdrive setting mostespecially
crank the range knob. For a cushier, more inviting vintage its ability to deliver TS-style presence with a smoother, more
sound that can lull you into blissful oblivion in myriad ways, even harmonic profile. It is perfectly matched to the boost.
choose two-stage mode and tune to taste. The bright control Together they are a magnifying glass for a guitars essential
is a genius inclusion, but regardless, virtually every setting voice, striking a cool balance between color, toughness, and
seamlessly melds with your overall tone. About the only way transparency. The modern mode is killer for punky riffage
designer Mark Svirkov could improve it would be to somehow and Jimmy Page-style lead heat. The maximum setting,
defy physics and fit an expression-pedal jack on the housing meanwhile, seems best suited for searing leads and chunky,
so you could modify effect rate while playing. A must-try for aggressive chording. Taken together, the tone variationsand
the vintage-inclined player looking for tiny but mighty! possibilitiesare striking.

TEST GEAR Squier Vintage Modified Tele with Curtis Novak JM-V TEST GEAR Telecaster Deluxe, Fender Jazzmaster, blackface
and Tel-V pickups, Fender 64 Custom Deluxe Reverb Fender Tremolux

PROS Unusual and super- PROS Lots of overdrive colors

$169 street, svisound.com useful control set. Great $169 street, tonebone.com in a compact package. Tough as
variety of beautiful phase nails. Beautifully built.
sounds in a miniscule
Tones Tones
footprint. CONS Even harmonic profile
Ease of Use Ease of Use can sometimes read as
Build/Design
CONS Control labels difficult Build/Design
sterility.
to read.
Value Value

CLICK HERE TO HEAR this pedal. CLICK HERE TO HEAR this pedal.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 157

 2017 PRS Guitars / Photo by Marc Quigley

High Value Acoustics With a Famliar Feel

 REVIEWS

FENDER
64 Custom Deluxe Reverb
By Shawn Hammond
Normal-channel

F
bright-cap-removal mod 20 watts
rom its blackface glory years (1963
1967) to the slightly less lusted-after Original blackface preamp
silverface years (6882) to the 65
Reissue-series period (93present), the Fender
Deluxe Reverb has boasted tonal flexibility
and portability that have made it a wonderful
all-around combo for everything from country
to jazz, rock, experimental music, and beyond.
Surprisingly, though hordes of players have
long been willing to pay a lot for 50-year-old
handwired DRs (unmodified blackfaces in good
condition go for upwards of $2,500, while
silverfaces go for $1,300 and up), Fender itself
hadnt offered a handwired Deluxe Reverb for
more than 35 yearsuntil this past summers
unveiling of the 64 Custom Deluxe Reverb.

Boutiqued and Slightly Modded

The 64 CDR boasts many of the qualities
that make vintage DRs so desirable, not least
of which are a completely handwired circuit
with Mylar-and-tinfoil Astron tone capacitors
(just like the originals), and a solid pine cabinet
(verses the Reissue series birch plywood
housings). Tweaks to the original recipe range 12" Jensen
from the cool but sonically inconsequential Solid pine cabinet with C12Q speaker
(heavier-than-normal vinyl covering, reverb- extra-heavy vinyl

tank cabling with woven metal sheathing) to

those that greatly expand the platforms utility. Foremost among combinedhas been a huge hit because its reliable, sounds
the latter mods is the fact that both channels can access the great, and is moderately priced. But its popularity, as well as the
tube-driven spring reverb and tremolo circuits. (Interestingly, scarcity of vintage units, will no doubt skew the perceptions of
the latter is output-tube-bias as opposed to the photoresistor players who havent played a healthy vintage specimen.
type found on most Fenders.) Equally impactful, while the For instance, while stock reissues can be pushed into
bright channel (previously called vibrato) features an authentic nice grittiness or serious growlage, when run at low volumes
blackface-voiced preamp, the normal channel has had the they can also function essentially as a low-wattage, half-sized
capacitors responsible for yielding brighter tones removeda Twin Reverb: With volume below 6 or so, theyre a fairly
popular aftermarket mod for those looking for more rounded pristine platforma wonderful blank slate for pedal junkies.
tones from instruments with pointed treble attack. Meanwhile, near max volume, they yield a surprising amount of
somewhat modern-sounding distortion.
A Little Perspective In contrast, the breakup on well-maintained original DRs
The 65 Deluxe Reverb reissuewhich has now been around tends to begin earlier and proceed more gradually, subtly,
longer than both the original blackface and silverface eras and organicallyand the amount of breakup is also hugely

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 159

REVIEWS

dependent on where youve set the EQ. at 4, though humbuckers usually fared to careful caresses that elicited seductive
The headroom difference between eras is better with higher bass and lower treble clean notes absolutely alive with body
partially due to reissues having a slightly settings. Interestingly, the normal channel and depth.
higher-wattage power supply than both doesnt just sound warmer and less trebly
originals and the 64 CDR (22 verses 20 than the bright channel at identical The Verdict
watts), but of course there are also many settingsit also has more grit, body, Fenders 64 Custom Deluxe Reverb
small but cumulatively significant sonic and volume. For example, with my Tele is both long overdue and a smashing
differences between the circuits, both I could get pristine clean tones from the success, nailing the magical paradox
in terms of individual components and bright channel with volume a little under players seek in vintage amps: Fantastic
construction approach. 6, whereas the normal channel became touch sensitivity married to an addicting,
grittyin a full, gorgeous waywhen lived-in feel. Inveterate tweakers are
Delux-ing It Up volume approached 4. bound to still experiment with things
I tested the CDR with a variety of Once youve found the right preamp like tube and speaker swaps, depending
instruments, including a Tele with match for your pickups, pushing the on their needs, but in all the CDR
Curtis Novak JM-V and Tel-V pickups, volume dials past their clean threshold is delivers both vintage-vibed goods and
a Gibson Les Paul Traditional with 57 a bit like the sonic equivalent of picking sensible, no-brainer modifications in
Classics, and a Gretsch Players Edition a polished granite stone from a riverbed spades. Its on the pricey side, but when
Broadkaster with FullTrons. Somewhat and slowly turning it over to reveal the you factor in how much it would cost to
surprisingly, most of the time I found grittier underside thats been protected have a tech (blasphemously) perform its
myself gravitating to the second input from the overhead rush of water: Like two primary circuit mods on a vintage
of the normal channelthe one whose the stone long submerged, the grit never unit, you quickly realize its a pretty
preamp departs from vintage spec and becomes sharp or displeasingly jagged damn good deal.
has the bright-cap-removal mod. With even with volume at max, where you get
the beefier-sounding Les Paul, I also corpulent, lardaceous distortion. That
enjoyed plugging into the second input said, humbucker players wanting to play
of the original-spec bright channel. (Both in the volume knobs nether regions may
second inputs have a -6 dB pad.) prefer a speaker with higher headroom
This is of note for a couple of reasons: and tauter response.
First, guitar culture is so rife with vintage I felt the CDR was best matched to
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A
worship that its easy to believe stock my Tele, serving up astonishingly iconic
REVIEW DEMO of this amp.
classics are nothing short of perfect. This twang and shimmer. But rockabilly
has likely led to disappointment for a riffing and staccato surf maneuvers on the
number of players whove scrimped and Gretsch also sounded flat-out incredible.
saved for an oldie, only to find that their The reverb goes from subtle to lusciously
other gear and/or playing approach dont deep, and the trem throb is deliciously Fender 64
instantly morph into fried gold upon captivatinghowever, at high volumes it Custom Deluxe Reverb
plugging in. My preference for steel picks can sometimes be difficult to discern the $2,499 street
and pickups with articulate, single-coil- undulations amidst the din, even with fender.com
like high end most certainly factored into high intensity settings. Meanwhile, the
my opting for the padded second inputs, Les Paul conjured snarl and beef great Tones
as well as my view that the blackface- for classic and blues rock, though at Ease of Use
specd channel sometimes sounded times it was difficult to conjure a balance Build/Design
strident. Other players are bound to have that yielded a full range of sounds from Value
different results with their unique setups. the more powerful pickups without
Whats remarkable is that the CDR sacrificing headroom, volume, or clarity. PROS Stellar tones and dynamic
has something for a host of tastes and With either channel, pushing EQ response. Reverb and vibrato available
approacheswithout necessitating extra knobs past about 5 also adds more gain on both channels. Normal-channel
knobs, sliders, push-pull pots, etc. to the overall sound, especially on the bright-cap-removal mod greatly
Breakup-wise, the CDR follows the bass control. The effect is especially expands versatility.
previously mentioned vintage basics noticeable on the normal channel, where
CONS Some players might prefer
including the dependence on EQ setting. setting volume anywhere from 6 to 8 sent a more dynamic, higher-headroom
With most guitars I found the best my Tele to seventh heaven and enabled speaker. Instrument cable didnt snap
tonal flexibility for medium- to high- me to go from violent chord slashes that firmly into the normal channels input 1.
volume tones with bass at 5 and treble showered the room in harmonic sparks

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160 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
INTEGRATION EVOLVED

The MS-3 Multi Effects Switcher is a new-concept pedalboard solution that maximizes your creative
options by combining a world-class multi-effects engine and multi-pedal switcher in one small, dedicated
unit. Now, anyone can put together a professional effects system thats incredibly compact, extremely light,
and versatile enough to achieve nearly any sound imaginable. The MS-3 is a sonic powerhouse capable
of running six internal pedal effects at once while seamlessly integrating three of your favorite external
pedals. It also offers deep rig control capabilities, allowing you to switch amp channels, adjust effects
in real time, work with MIDI devices, and more. With the MS-3, its easy to create a portable board or fly
rig without the compromises associated with traditional loop switchers and all-in-one multi-effects units.
units

For more information visit boss.info

REVIEWS

HAHN
112
By Joe Gore

I
f this guitar were getting married and you were an usher, Mr. In-Between
you might have trouble seating the guests appropriately. Fender fans will instantly feel comfortable with the 112s neck,
Yeah, you could put the Telecaster relatives on one side of body, and wiring scheme. Meanwhile, the unconventional
the aisle and the Stratocaster kin on the other, but then where pickup choices yield far-from-Fender tones that will probably
would you seat the Gibson cousins? delight single-coil fans who find Stratocasters a bit thin and
The 112 model from Hahn Guitars is a Tele/Strat mash- prickly, as well as Stratocaster/Telecaster lovers seeking fresh
up. Except it has P-90s. Plus a gold-foil pickup, because why variations on those iconic sounds.
the hell not? That might sound like a 6-string platypus with The double-cutaway alder body is handsome, with horns
identity issues. But the 112 is a superb instrument whose more rounded and shortened than a Stratocasters. There are
unconventional parts conspire to produce lovely and unique S-style forearm and belly bevels. The solid sea-foam green
tones. (Luthier Chihoe Hahn reportedly developed the model in finish and two-piece, single-ply pickguard have an easy,
tandem with the late Walter Becker.) utilitarian vibe. Meanwhile, the pretty strip of unpainted wood

Two custom P-90-style pickups

Custom gold-
foil pickup

Alder body

Maple neck

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162 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 that rings the bodys perimeter adds to mind are the rubber-magnet pickups yielding a uniquely chiming yet furry
understated bling. from 1960s Teisco guitars. Most of jangle. Theres explosive treble energy:
The 112 uses a 25 1/2"-scale, and todays gold-foil reissues employ similar Notes and chords tend to land with a
a 21-fret rosewood fretboard caps the rubberized magnets. (That includes the tough, authoritative clang. But overall,
bolt-on maple neck. The necks palm- Lollar and Mojotone versions, as well the highs are more diffuse and less icepicky
filling D-shape has vintage-style heft. The Roadhouse pickups used in recent Supro than on a traditional Strat.
headstock has a modified T-style shape, guitars.) Banta opts instead for NOS Players sometime describe P-90s as
with an ornamental bevel that echoes the ceramic magnets, which generate louder, more rough sounding than Fender-style
one on the bodys upper bout. The tuners brighter tones. single-coils, but theres nothing lo-fi about
are Kluson-style Gotohs. The T-style The Hahn/Banta gold-foil doesnt the 112s voice. Note fundamentals have
bridge has three brass saddles, and it have the idiosyncratic acoustic-guitar- etched-in-stone clarity. Theres excellent
permits either top-load or through-body like resonance of a rubber-magnet gold- string-to-string separation. The range of
stringing. (I reviewed and recorded the foil, but its a fine-sounding single-coil tones is absurdly versatile. You can veer
guitar with the strings running through that blends seamlessly with the custom from rock wankage to suave jazz to punky
the body.) P-90s. Also, avoiding rubber magnets chunk with uniformly fine results.
The 112s workmanship is pretty sidesteps a quirk of Teisco-style pickups:
much perfect. The body and headstock Their tones tend to crap out rather than The Verdict
finishes could make a mirror feel clean up when you roll back your guitars Today theres no shortage of Fender-
insecure. The medium-jumbo frets are volume pot. Like the P-90s, Bantas flavored guitars that swap in unexpected
masterfully installed, their ends sensually gold-foil has wide dynamic range and parts, la Mr. Potato Head. But Hahns
rounded. The neck joint could scarcely gratifying touch response. 112 isnt just another Whatevercaster.
be tighter. The guitar arrived perfectly set Its a superbly made instrument with a
up (and perfectly tuned, no less) in the Cunning Coils unique yet versatile voice. Fender fans
included gigbag. Unplugged, the 112 has the airy zing will feel right at home. So will players
of a fine old alder-bodied Fender. Each who dig single-coils but sometimes wince
Foiled Again? pickup sounds lovely on its own and with at those extra-crispy Strat squawks. The
Rob Banta, Hahns in-house winder, its neighbor. (Hmm makes me think $1,950 price is formidable, but fair for a
created the three pickups. Theyre about a neck-plus-bridge wiring mod. handcrafted U.S. solidbody with largely
configured via a 5-way selector switch I bet the P-90s would sound awesome custom hardware. (Two-pickup models
your classic Stratocaster recipe. Despite together.) The tonal relationships between sell for $100 less.) The 112 is an inspiring
their retro appearance, the pickups arent pickups are roughly Strat-like, with fat instrument with a voice of its own.
strictly vintage. The bridge pickup, a neck tones, penetrating bridge tones,
bright yet full-bodied P-90, comes closest and attractively hollow sounds in the
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A
to a traditional design. The neck P-90 combined positions. REVIEW DEMO of this guitar.
looks similar, but uses individual rod But the core timbres arent so
magnets in lieu of the usual bar magnet, Stratocaster-like. Compared to traditional
yielding slightly cleaner and brighter S-style pickups, these carry more low
tones reminiscent of a Jazzmaster pickup. midrange poundage. They distort more
Gold-foil can refer to several vintage readily at lower levels. The quality of Hahn Guitars 112
pickup models and their modern replicas. distortion differs, too. Theres more
$1,950 street
For many, the first gold-foils that spring harmonic breakup of the upper mids, hahnguitars.com

Tones
Bone nut Playability
Build/Design
Value

PROS Superb materials and

workmanship. Fine, fresh-sounding
tones from an unusual pickup array.
Supremely comfortable.

CONS None.
21-fret rosewood fretboard

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 163

REVIEWS

YAMAHA
BBP34
By Steve Cook

F
or decades, Yamaha has had its hands in scores of King BB
different musical products, effectively being able to outfit I can almost hear the Yamaha purists gasp at the thought of a BB
an entire band with everything from guitars and drums redesign, but Id like to think the Yamaha designers didnt enter
to PA gear. And while the venerable company continues with this decision lightly. All products will inevitably evolvesome for
this approach, there seems to be a bit of a modernization of the better, and some falling flat. I look at these renewals as a good
sorts within its product lines. One example is the BB bass. thing, especially if a company can learn from almost 50 years of
The BB has a cult following running across all levels of building basses to roll out a more efficient and better product.
players. It seems that at some point in every players career, he When I opened up the included hardshell case, I let out a
or she owned or at least played a BB. The basses are known for little whoa when I saw a bass that was leaner and meaner, and
a midrange snap that makes them practically jump off records, yet somehow more sophisticated than its predecessor. The first
and theyve served heavyweights from Nathan East to Michael thing that grabbed me were the normal pickups. Yes, Virginia,
Anthonyjust to name a couplefor many years. So, what you mod freaks can now drop standard-sized pickups into the
happens when you start changing what maybe shouldnt be new BBa difficult process in the past because of the Yamahas
fixed? To help answer that question, we took a long look at oversized pickups.
one of the brand-spanking new BB offerings from Yamaha The alder/maple/alder body of our test model was finished
with the BBP34. in a tobacco burst, and the headstock finished in black. The

YGD Custom V7
P/J pickups

Alder/maple/alder body

Vintage Plus bridge

6-bolt miter
neck joint

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164 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 reasoning behind the maple-sandwich A BBeast subdued to sharp without getting sizzle-y,
laminate is for increased midrange, which For a small-space test, I plugged the and doesnt get overbearing when dimed.
is the BBs calling card. The brushed- bass into an Eden WTX500 head with a Beyond the great tone, the bass felt like I
nickel hardware adds some satiny class matching 2x10 cab. The BBP34 has a few had owned and played it for years. It was
to the bass. The 34"-scale BBP34 houses directions to go with the P/J set up, so I very comfy and familiar on the big stage.
a Vintage Plus bridge, which angles the started with both pickups dialed all the The BBP34 also shines when serving
strings at 45 degrees, thereby reducing way up and the tone dimed as well. With as a P-style bass with just the neck
string stress and allowing for a better P/J setups, I am typically a one-volume/ pickup engaged. The vintage-type voicing
transfer of vibration to the body. Plus, the one-blend-knob kind of player, so if delivers a tone that will likely make
bass can be strung through the body or youre like me, the controls might take a traditional players take note. Soloing the
topside, which is always a nice option. little getting used to since the pickups are neck pickup projects a rich sound, and
The 5-piece, 6-bolt neck is a maple/ controlled with individual pots. Again, when boosting the tone knob, I got a
mahogany combo and was designed to because the engineers at Yamaha installed nice little slap contour as well.
blend snap and warmth by utilizing that standard-sized pickups, they can be easily
combination of tone woods. The neck swapped out if desired. The Verdict
which measures 1.57" at the nutwill But not so fast. This bass is powerful Though I cant consider this bass a BB
likely appeal to a broad range of players. as is. The sound with all controls maxed in its purest form, that isnt a bad thing.
It feels thinner and more refined and serves up a rich, mid-bark tone that The BBP34 is a different beast than its
streamlined than previous BB models Ive captures the essence of a BB of old. If predecessor. The model has gone from
had my hands on. And happily, the BBs you really dig in, the bass snarls like a functional, likable instrument to a
setup at arrival was just the way I like it: a junkyard dog, and a more delicate streamlined creature that still has as
a silky smooth neck with action thats approach brings out the refinement of much soul as the BBs of old. If I had
both low and fast. the instrument. Who is going to like this to get nitpicky, Id figure out a different
This bass sings volumes when tone? I think many players will, whether design for the pickguard. It sort of just
unplugged. It had the feel of a new-yet- they use a pick or fingers. cuts itself off, but thats an easy fix. The
broken-in instrument and the tone was I also tested the bass for a full show BBP34 is nicely assembled in Yamahas
even from fret one to 21. That broken-in with an Eden WTP900 paired with facility in Japan, arrives set up like a
feel might be thanks in part to Yamahas D410XLT and D212XLT cabinets. After dream, and can give a player a sense of
Initial Response Acceleration, a process various combinations of volume and hanging with an old friend right out of
where the company hits instruments with tone adjustments, I found my favorite the box. Yes, the price is steep, but its
specific sonic frequencies to open them up settings with the neck pickup all the way not too steep for the only bass youll have
sonically. (Although less scientific, acoustic- up, the bridge pickup about halfway, and to buy for the next few years.
guitar players have been placing instruments the tone around 75 percent. For me, it
near their stereo speakers for years to mimic provided a big, P-like rumble with just CLICK HERE TO WATCH A
this process.) However its accomplished, enough J point. The tone knob is quite REVIEW DEMO of this bass.
Yamaha apparently did it well. usable, which takes the sound from

Yamaha BBP34
5-piece maple/ $1,499 street
mahogany neck usa.yamaha.com

Tones
Playability
Build/Design
Value

PROS Well-crafted. Great tone.

Standard-sized pickups!

CONS Its not your dads BB. Not a fan

of the pickguard design.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 165

 REVIEWS

STOMP UNDER FOOT

Alabaster
By Charles Saufley
Boost/cut
control
Fuzz volume control
Tone control

Fuzz/sustain

T
control
hough hes far from the only Big Muff maven on the
planet, Matt Pasquerella and his company, Stomp
Under Foot, have become a sort of trusted corner
shop in the Big Muff community. Eleven of the 15 ped-
als SUF builds are Muff-inspired. And though Pasquerella
maintains a low-key presence, his recreations of Rams Heads,
Civil Wars, and bubble front Russians are toasted among
Big Muff cognoscenti as some of the best boutique clones in
the business.
Ben McLeod, guitarist for Nashville heavies All Them
Witches, is among the players whove embraced Stomp Under
Foots work. And the Alabaster fuzz and boost that he and
Pasquerella concocted to serve as a foundation for the bands
fuzzy, muscular sound is a practical marriage of Muff clone Boost bypass Fuzz bypass
and boost that works well outside of heavy rock styles.
a Stomp Under Foot Green Russian, which is modeled on the
Carved from Stone bubble font Sovtek Big Muff, and Im not sure Ive heard
Every Stomp Under Foot pedal thats crossed our transom in a more accurate sounding clone of that circuit (which is the
the last several years has been impressively well built. Those favoriteand longest serving fuzz in my collection).
standards are very much intact and easy to see at work under There are a few subtle but audible differences between my
the hood of the Alabaster. The through-hole circuit board is own Sovtek and the Alabasterall of which could be more
compact for a two-effect pedal, but the layout is still ordered appealing than the Sovtek to the ears of many users. The Stomp
and even spacious. The four Russian KT3102 transistors Under Foot is generally a bit smoothernodding ever so
(housed in white-dot TO92 cases) that are the heart of most slightly in the direction of Stomp Under Foots also-awesome
Sovtek Muffs are situated at comfortable intervals from each Civil War fuzz. It has a little less of the Sovteks buzz saw
other, lending the reassuring sense that, unlike a lot of boutique attackbut only a little. And the tone control provides more
fuzzes, the Stomp Under Foot is relatively easy to service. than enough top end to make sure that the clearer, smoother
Jacks and switches are all chassis-mounted, leaving the circuit enunciation doesnt mean the Alabaster goes missing in a mix.
board (which is mounted on plastic posts) well insulated from Theres also more than enough top end and buzz to tap into a
the blows of real-world use. Even with such an accommodating Sovtek-style Muff s unheralded ability to summon the acerbic
layout, theres plenty of room for a 9V battery. And while but sonorous biker fuzz tones more associated with Fuzzrites or
the horizontal orientation of the enclosure might freak out BossTones.
pedalboard space control freaks, its nice to have the bypass The impressive range in the tone and gain controls also
switches for the two effects set well apart from each other. For mean that the Alabaster is an awesome chord machine. And
while the Alabaster has a lot of potential beyond heavy rock while you can easily generate hazy, sub-stoner bass chug with
applications, were guessing many customers will be players that the tone knob at full counterclockwise, extra high end adds
approach performance with abandon. air and harmonic detaillending clarity to complex and
dissonant chords that less articulate Muffs turn to sludge. Are
Russian Spoken Fluently there more cutting fuzzes out there for heavy two-guitar bands?
You dont have to spend a lot of time with the Alabaster to hear Sure, but its a safe bet that few will have the balance and color
Pasquerellas research and hyper-attention to Big Muff minutiae of the Alabaster. Id also bet that more than a few producers
pay huge tone dividends. The Alabasters fuzz side is basically and engineerslive and in the studiowill want to fine tune

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 167

REVIEWS

arrangements and mixes to accommodate fuzz circuit, however, that harmonic

the Alabasters sonorities rather than profile showcases the fuzz in a most
complain about a lack of high-mid even-handed mannerdelivering all
presence (particularly because, to my ear, the extra body without any discernable
Alabaster has a lot of that). loss of presence. The boost circuit is also
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A
Like most Muffs, the Alabaster doesnt useful in cut mode, working almost as a REVIEW DEMO of this pedal.
exactly excel at responding to guitar volume master volume control so you can set up
attenuation. But its not a poor performer the pedal for quieter passages in songs or
on that count, either. And you can hear arrangements that still call for the scuzzy
the pedals slightly-smoother-than-Sovtek textures the fuzz side generates.
qualities pay off when you turn down, Stomp Under Foot Alabaster
yielding tones that are more harmonically The Verdict $225 street
cohesive than splatty. If youve never owned a Big Muff but stompunderfoot.com
The Alabasters simple boost circuit would like to get acquainted with both
is actually a boost/cut circuit. And the breeds classic brutishness and less Tones
while that concept (at least the cut celebrated pleasures, its impossible to go Ease of Use
part) might be anathema and an affront wrong with the Alabaster. In most respects Build/Design
to deafened stoner rock meatheads, it its a dead-on sonic replica of a bubble font
Value
opens up a lot of tone-shaping options. Sovtek with a smooth side that enhances
When the boost is in true boost mode its airiness and complexity. Better still,
its relatively transparent and loud, and the well-matched and useful boost/cut
PROS Super-authentic Sovtek-era Big
Muff tones. Solid construction. Well-
when used by itself it adds considerable circuit genuinely enhances the pedals matched boost.
body with a slight de-emphasis of top- utility, making it full of sonic surprises
end tones and a little extra focus on the and protean powers that could surprise the CONS None.
midrange. On the receiving end of the most stubborn Muff skeptic.

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 premierguitar.com
170 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 REVIEWS

HUGHES & KETTNER

Era 1
By Adam Perlmutter

H
ughes & Kettner has thrived as an amp builder Tiny Tower of Power
for three decades, making some landmark amps Cosmetically speaking, the Era 1 is also a departure for Hughes
along the way, from the hybrid ATS series to 1995s & Kettner. The companys signature look these days is a clear
13-tube, 6-channel TriAmp Mark 3 to the zenTEra modeling acrylic front panel that glows blue when the amp is fired up.
amp from 2000. But the Era 1 is distinctly less flashy and comes in a modest
While Hughes & Kettner has always delivered the goods wooden enclosure that calls to mind an old home-speaker
for electric players (particularly those geared toward high-gain cabinet. (Its also available in black vinyl.)
shredding), the German company didnt offer much to the Hughes & Kettner definitely kept downsizing trends in mind
acoustic player until the new Era 1, a small but powerful, 250- when designing the Era 1. At about 13" x 11" x 11" and just
watt amp that could be a formidable contender in a tough a hair over 20 pounds, its very compact and portable. With
category where natural sound is everything. the help of acoustic-amp pioneer Michael Eisenmann, one of

Custom 1"
dome tweeter

S/PDIF optical out

DI out

Effects loop

Custom 8" main driver

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 171

REVIEWS

16 built-in effects Aux in

the minds behind AER amps, Hughes or nylon-string guitar. This came The Verdict
& Kettner managed to cram a lot of in handy when I switched from my The Era 1s range of potential applications
useful features into the little Era 1. They Breedlove to a Taylor Academy nylon- and compact size are enough to recommend
also figured out how to genErate a lot string, which sounded a hint more it for any gigging acoustic guitarist. But its
of volume and headroom from the 8" round and dulcet when the button was realistic, full-bodied tone at any volume
speaker and 1" tweeter that make up the engaged to nylon mode. levelto say nothing of its equally impressive
speaker compliment. The Era 1s effects cover a broad swath digital effectsmake it one of the best
of sonic territory. Among the 16 total options out there, regardless of your playing
ber Natural effect presets, there are five different style. If youre inclined to be biased by the
The past few decades have seen major reverb types, four delays, chorus, and heavy rock associations with the brand, youd
leaps forward in acoustic amplification. flangerall of which are controllable be wise to re-think your preconceptions.
You can even find fairly natural sounding with a single effects volume knob.
amps at affordable prices these days. But And though you dont have multiple
as high as the bar is set, I was struck parameter adjustments for each effect,
right away by how lifelike the Era 1 the variation in the presets provides
sounds. At times it sounded so natural more tone options and control than your
that I almost didnt feel like I was using avErage acoustic amp. The long delay, for
an amp at all, but a really loud acoustic example, can be set between 170 and 800
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A
guitar alive with pretty overtones and ms, while the short delay ranges between REVIEW DEMO of this amp.
detail. And I do mean loud: The amp 20 and 170 ms.
is distinctly powerfulwith acres of All of the effects sound terrific. Slow,
headroom to spare. gentle fingerpicking in DADGAD
The top-mounted panel features tuning sounded great with the reverb
controls for three channels. The first church effect engaged, creating a lush Hughes & Kettner Era 1
two have ideal control sets. Each has a wall of sound. The flanger + reverb $1,199 street
high-resolution mic/instrument input, works well for vibey modal solos. And hughes-and-kettner.com
located on the rear panel. And though even purists should find use for the
the EQ controls are simplejust bass, more subtle effects, like reverb room Tones
mid, and treblethey offer more than dark, when the effects volume is set Ease of Use
enough tone-shaping flexibility. The third relatively low. Build/Design
channel has a single volume knob for The outputs provide flexibility to Value
auxiliary in and a mini jack for plugging handle various gigging needs. The
in a playback device. A fourth channel, options include a DI out for the first and PROS Small, powerful, and natural-
also on the rear panel, doubles as an second channels (which can be routed sounding amp with smooth digital effects.
effects loop. before or after the EQ). There are also
The EQ mode button that appears on 1/4" and phone outs, and an optical CONS More control over effects
channel 1 and 2 is a thoughtful feature, S/PDIF Toslink out thats handy for parameters would be nice.
which activates a preset for steel-string digital recording purposes.

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172 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 Locked in.
Introducing DAddario CinchFit,
the first-ever strap saver that
adjusts to fit acoustic end pin
jacks and eliminates the need
to hack your strap. Designed
for acoustic-electric guitars,
CinchFit enhances strap security
with a proprietary jack collar,
cinching rope, and magnets for
perfect alignment. So you can
keep every performance on lock.

daddario.com/cinchfit

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 REVIEWS

JACKSON AUDIO
Prism
By Joe Gore
Three preset
drive levels
2-band active tone controls

T
he first release from Texas-based Jackson Audio marks
an impressive debut. Prism assembles three familiar
overdrive flavors in a single box, but theyre configured
in an innovative and musically useful way, with several
attractive extras.

Refracted Glory
Prism is one pretty pedal. It resides in a folded-metal enclosure
polished to an eye-catching shine. The controls include three
Boss-style knobs, two sturdy mini-toggles, and a clickless
relay-style footswitch. Prism looks sharp on the floor and feels
substantial in your hand. The circuit board features small- Three discreet
overdrive circuits
format surface-mount components, with the jacks mounted on
the board. Theres no battery compartment, so you need a 9V
power supply (not included).
Brace for bling when you switch Prism on: The super-bright,
plus-sized LED changes color according to the large boost
knobs position.

The Thing with Three Heads

Prisms right-hand toggle selects between three independent
boost circuits: transparent (a sparkly clean 18V JFET boost),
amp (a MOSFET overdrive with tube-like characteristics), and
color (a silicon-transistor booster for peaky, resonant distortion
in a Brian May vein).
The three modes share a single post-drive clean boost
circuit, and they are routed through an active 2-band tone
circuit with controls labeled tone and body. In lieu of a
drive control, theres a second 3-position toggle with preset
low, medium, and high drive settings. Nice touch: Even
though the three modes share a single drive toggle, the exact
overdrive settings vary appropriately from mode to mode. At Silent relay switching
the end of the circuit is a signal-fortifying buffer. Note that
you cant stack multiple boost stages. You can only use one at
a time.
terrific. Distorted tones clean up beautifully when you lower
Clean and Mean your guitars volume pot, even at high drive and boost settings.
Transparent mode employs an 18V JFET boost with headroom The first audio clip demos transparent mode, first with the
to spare. True to form, the JFETs contribute glistening highs pedal bypassed, and then at each of the three drive settings.
and low-mid clarity. Low-gain settings add subtle presence and (The boost knob and tone controls are parked at noon in all
body, while high settings can force a clean amp into overdrive, the audio examples.) Its transparent, alright. Clean or distorted,
or an overdriven amp into crisis. The dynamic response is your guitars character emerges unscathed.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 175

 Warm and Woolly theres less distortion, but tones remain
You know all those amp in a box strongly colored, just as the modes name
pedals that mimic Marshall stacks, promises. The three color-mode drive
tweed Fenders, and so on? These usually settings appear in the final audio clip.
employ MOSFETs, which have tube- Meanwhile, the treble and bass EQ CLICK HERE TO WATCH A
like characteristics. When pushed to controls have modest, tastefully selected REVIEW DEMO of this pedal.
distortion, MOSFET overdrive tends to ranges, perfectly voiced to accommodate
compress and distort your signal much guitar-to-guitar variations or to wring
like an analog amp. maximum variety from a single
Prisms MOSFET-based amp instrument. You might conceivably use
mode delivers as much tonal range as every possible EQ setting. Jackson Audio Prism
transparent mode, and the dynamic $259 street
response is equally gratifying. Again, The Verdict jackson.audio
theres ample level to make a clean amp Prism provides three contrasting but
get nasty. You hear the three amp-mode equally useful boost modes. A great- Tones
drive settings in the second audio clip. sounding active EQ stage and well- Ease of Use
chosen drive presets further expand the Build/Design
Rude and Resonant pedals formidable range. A classy build
Value
Color mode lives up to its name. High- and eye-catching appointments sweeten
gain settings possess sharp midrange the deal. Aside from the fact that you
peaks a bit reminiscent of a cocked wah cant use more than one overdrive circuit PROS Three useful overdrive circuits in
one box. Beautiful build. Looks cool.
pedal. These edgy, resonant tones slice simultaneously, playing Prism feels a
like swords. Unlike the other two modes, lot like having three individual drive CONS Only one overdrive circuit can be
you dont get naturalistic cleanup when pedals. Its easy to imagine it serving as a used at once.
you roll back your guitars volume. Yeah, pedalboards sole overdrive tool.

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Guitars
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176 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 177
REVIEWS

ISLAND
Anzol
By Joe Gore

W
ith so many contemporary electric guitar builders This high-performance, handbuilt guitar definitely merits
borrowing ideas from the Brand X axes of the attention from players who might dig funky 60s guitars designs,
1960s, its no longer a shock to see designs that but who cant hang with details like icepick tones, shoddy
originated on bottom-tier budget axes appearing in high- construction, and abysmal intonation. But you dont have to
end custom instruments. The Anzol, from Quebecs Island be obsessed with funky, 50-year-old beaters to dig this guitars
Instruments, is a perfect example. But should you really unique voice.
consider spending $2,200 on a guitar inspired by the old Teisco
EL-120, an instrument you might find on EBay for about one- The Short and Short of It
tenth that price? Anzols most literal nod to the EL-120 is its compact body shape.
Hell yeah! Luthier Nic Delisle borrows ideas from a humble Theres only 11" between the top of the fretboard and the aft strap
source, but updates them in cool and musically useful ways. button (compared to 12 1/2" on a traditional Strat and 13" on a

Mojo T-style bridge pickup

Mojo Foil Sonic neck pickup

Poplar body

Custom aluminum bridge

Permits through-body
or top-load stringing

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178 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
 Les Paul). That means your picking fingers The neck joint is solid, contributing to Tri-Sonic of Brian May fame and a gold-
may fall closer to the neck pickup than the guitars generous sustain and sparkly foil. Id say its a lot closer to the former,
usual. Nonetheless, the guitar instantly presence when strummed unplugged. The thanks to its hot ceramic bar magnet.
felt comfy, even though I dont own any frets are expertly installed and rounded. As far as I can tell, the main gold-foil
standard-tuned guitars with bodies this Inside is a two-way truss rod, accessible at influence is the actual gold foil. It
small. And youll probably appreciate the the neck joint without having to remove certainly has more snap than gold-
missing inch or two if you have to stuff the any parts. foils or traditional Tele neck pickups.
thing into an overhead bin. The nut width is 1 11/16". (I dont (And its probably not a coincidence
The poplar bodys Prussian blue finish know about you, but I need a few that the pickup echoes the oval shape
is light and attractive, with a matte feel minutes of acclimation when switching of the EL-120s single Teisco pickup.)
and wood grain visible through the paint. over from a guitar with the more The pickups blend beautifully, and
Its an appealing industrial look. But once common 1 5/8" nut width. But once I both have superb dynamic response.
you get past the body shape, the Anzol adjust, this string spacing feels great.) Their combined tone has a touch of
and Teisco paths diverge. Like the bridge, the nut and knobs are the attractively hollow and acoustic
aluminum. Its a lovely look against the qualities of certain low-rent 60s
Beyond the Pawnshop dark blue body and toasty-brown neck. instruments, but with greater depth,
Anzols 3-ply pickguard is smaller than Also striking are the open-backed Hipshot detail, and mass.
the pickguard on the EL-120. It curves tuners with their barrel-shaped buttons.
elegantly around the eye-catching custom (These buttons can be swapped out if you The Verdict
bridge: a chunky aluminum oval featuring dont like the look.) Anzol blends a pawnshop vibe
three brass T-style saddles. The bridge with high-performance parts and
permits both through-body and top- The Zings the Thing workmanship. It maintains a bit of
load stringing. (I reviewed and recorded Anzol uses pickups from Mojo, a high- a garage sensibility, but its the kind
the guitar as it arrived, with the strings end British winder. The T-style bridge of garage where you park both your
inserted from behind the bridge, not pickup looks and sounds traditional Ferraris. Its beautifully made, and I
through the body.) save for its non-staggered pole pieces. love its unpretentious good looks. The
Theres nothing low-rent about Anzols Its an excellent choice for this lively price is lofty, but Anzol provides the
gorgeous maple neck, toasted to a nut- and resonant guitar. The highs are bold workmanship, materials, and attention
brown hue and carved from a single and authoritativemore clangy than to detail you expect in an over-two-
piece of quartersawn maple, with pretty twangy. They seldom get shrill. Theres grand guitar. Best of all, its snappy yet
figuration on its rear surface. Its got a always an airy sparkle with a nice sense substantial tones are strong, distinctive,
Stratocaster-like look, but the Anzols of headroom. And while monster chunk and unfailingly musical.
scale is 25"midway between Fender isnt Anzols forte, its easy to dial in fat
and Gibson scalesand theres a subtle lows that belie the guitars modest size.
volute at the headstock. The necks Mojos Foil Sonic is an interesting CLICK HERE TO HEAR this guitar.
chunky D shape has serious heft, while choice for the neck position. Mojo
vintage-sized frets add to the retro feel. describes it as a hybrid of the Burns

Island Instruments Anzol

Quartersawn roasted
$2,200 street
maple neck and fretboard islant-instruments.com

Tones
Playability
Build/Design
Value

PROS Pawnshop vibe meets high-

performance craft. Strong, unique tones.
1 11/16" aluminum nut Excellent materials and workmanship.

CONS Not cheap.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 179

 Permanently Lubricated TUSQ XL
Precision Engineered Nuts
The look is vintage; the performance is anything but.
(available in blank and pre-slotted)
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 REVIEWS

BOSS
GT-1B
By David Abdo

L
ong ago, when I first started playing in bands, it was a as an audio interface for your preferred DAWand thats still
cool thing if you were rocking out with an effects box not all. In fact, the only component seemingly missing from
or two. And if you had a multi-effects pedal whoa, the GT-1B is a coffee maker, but I refrained from holding that
you were kind of a big deal. The first company to really master against it. The GT-1B is powered by either four AA batteries or
and capitalize on multi mania was Boss, a respected titan in the an AC adaptor (not included).
pedal industry. Over the years, Boss has loaded these do-it-all Operating the 3-pound unit is accomplished through a series
tone command centers with tons of features and sounds, with of controls that allow you to press, stomp, and dial in your
which a player could spend countless hours tweaking to their sound. The trio of knobs located on the upper-middle section
delight. One of the companys most recent multi-function of the device allows you to navigate the various, selectable
toolboxes is the GT-1B, a streamlined unit designed for bassists parameters displayed on the LED screen. For simple navigation,
thats jam-packed with 21st-century features. the easy section on the left side consists of two buttons that
organize the effects based on music genre or effects categories,
The Whole Enchilada such as clean, crunch, or modulate.
Residing inside the relatively small (12" x 6" x 2 1/4") GT-1B More detailed operation can be achieved through the array
are amp-modeling options, compressor/limiters, a bevy of effects of square-shaped buttons located in the middle of the unit,
and patches (both preset and user generated), a tuner, and which are sorted by effect. A quick tap of one of these buttons
looping capabilities. One can send an MP3 device through the engages its functionality, and holding down the selected button
aux in and plug in a pair of headphones for isolated listening displays the controls of the effect, which are presented on the
capabilities. It boasts a wah/expression pedal and also serves screen. Some of the buttons require a bit of exploration, as the

Easy-edit Memory edit button

section

Effect selector switches

Expression/wah treadle

Patch-scrolling Multi-function, assignable

footswitches CTL1 footswitch

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 181

REVIEWS

FX1, FX2, and delay buttons also contain While it took some time to get melodies, or crafting quick compositions.
menus to assign different effects. The familiar with the effects processor, I And kudos to Boss for the smooth action
memory edit button reveals a signal- personally found the layout and interface of the expression/wah pedal, which can
chain-style interface from which you made it surprisingly easy to navigate. You be calibrated through the GT-1Bs menu.
can reposition effects and/or assign the should, of course, read the instructions Add to all this the means to record with
different sections. The menu button for the device, but my initial exploration the device, since it serves as an audio
is similar to the settings portion of a of the GT-1B began by simply hitting interface (which was used for the audio
computers operating system, as it provides buttons and turning knobs. Pedestrian samples you can hear online), and I
options for initial setup and connectivity. as this may sound, anyone who has found the GT-1B to be a pleasing, albeit
The quartet of foot-operable features had to learn a smart phones OS will be sometimes exhausting, playing partner.
including the right-side-located treadle just fine experimenting with the pedal.
that doubles as an expression pedal Once familiarized, I opened up the Tone The Verdict
or wahoffer hands-free operation. Studio and quickly found it to be a more Remember getting that giant box of
Navigating the presets is achieved through pleasing way to manipulate the unit. crayons as a kid? Opening it, checking out
the two footswitches labeled with up or Its easier to explore the preset effects all of the colors, and scribbling on paper
down arrow symbols. (Pressing them as well as change the parameters of the to see how they look? The GT-1B is the
simultaneously engages the tuner.) The sounds. In particular, the liveset feature sonic equivalent of the big Crayola box. It
CTL1 footswitch is the special-teams in the Tone Studios library is great for houses a wide spectrum of effects, and its
feature of the GT-1B. Its an assignable organizing effects for a particular gig or rife with features and flexibility thatwith
switch that can take on different roles: re-organizing the effects for easy access. a bit of explorationcan expand your
engaging effects, tap delay, or providing a The tonal options are quite varied, tonal palate. Bassists who are comfortable
solo boost, just to name three. Stepping from the practical to the peculiar. with technology will enjoy delving into
on the aforementioned switch and the There are numerous onboard fuzz and the deep layers of this new offering from
neighboring up button activates the distortion options, which, depending Boss, especially with the assistance of the
looper, which is then controlled with on the desired timbre, ranged from Tone Studio software. If youre into the
various taps of the CTL1. External switches subtle to snarling. A personal favorite idea of a multi-effects unitspecifically
and footpedals can also be connected with was the drive & fuzz preset, which one with great features, portability, and an
the GT-1B for expanded functionality. will likely please fans of Roger Glover. approachable priceyou might want to
If youre finding all the buttons, dials, The wah sounds were impressive, as they check out the GT-1B.
and switches of the GT-1B difficult to responded to the touch with immediacy
navigate, Boss has created the Boss Tone and characteristic swelling. Boss did a CLICK HERE TO WATCH A
Central website, where you can download nice job with the octave wah effect, REVIEW DEMO of this unit.
the Boss Tone Studio application to your which tracked very well, and the boots
computer, which provides tone shaping funk slap preset got me pretty close to
in a fairly intuitive layout. Through the the implied bassists tone. I really dug the
software, a player can also download sound head hunt synth preset, which emulates
profiles created by various artists and other the bubbling synth sound heard on Boss GT-1B
free content as it becomes available. Herbie Hancocks Chameleon. And it $199 street
was a blast experimenting with the pipe boss.info

How Much Time Do You Have? organ effect and the ethereal textures that
Tones
Reviewing the features of the GT-1B is atmosphere and dreamy created. It
like trying to explain Game of Thrones goes without saying that the presets and Ease of Use
to someone who has never watched an effects of the GT-1B inspired different Build/Design
episode. Theres a lot going on, and a lot and unique approaches to my playing. Value
to share. Fitting all of my impressions The pedal and switches also provided
of the GT-1B would take as much space me with some quite useful tools. Im not PROS Comprehensive unit with a
as a few gear reviews combined, so Ive going to tell you the tuner is as precise multitude of usable tools. Massive tonal
tried to keep it as concise as possible. as my strobe tuner, but it was accurate offerings in a relatively small package.
For this review, I placed the GT-1B and quick. The looper function provides The Tone Studio app makes for easy
tweaking.
between a Serek Midwestern 2 bass 32 seconds of sampling with layering
and a Bergantino B|Amp paired with a capability and was simple and fun to CONS Significant learning curve to
Bergantino HD112 cab, and a MacBook use. I found it to be a valuable tool really maximize its potential. Likely
Pro was used to explore features via the for practicing, whether I was soloing wont satisfy analog disciples.
Boss Tone Studio. over looped chord changes, rehearsing

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182 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 183
 (716) 630-7030 PG_Quarter Page_NEUNABER_INSPIRE_ad_lighter.pdf 2 8/31/17 3:36 PM

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 REVIEWS

WALRUS AUDIO
ARP-87
By Charles Saufley
4-position ratio
subdivisions control
Dampen tone knob

D
elay has evolved so much and become so functionally signal chain. There were,
varied that whole user factions with independent however, times when I
value systems now exist. Theres the slapback set, the longed for slightly more
ambient adventurers, analog adherents that like it dirty, and distinct voices. The digital
digital surgeons that prize pristine clean sounds. With a raft of delay is a fine foundation
modulation textures, filters, and colors ranging from filthy to for exploring the ARP-
squeaky clean, Walrus ARP-87 addresses the needs of many of 87s more texture-oriented
these groups. But it seems especially geared toward a unique controls. Its not a brittle
breed of delay user known as the tap-tempo control freakso digital delay, even at the
much so that the pedal disposes of a time knob entirely and brightest tone settings. In
relies exclusively on a tap tempo switch and a subdivision knob fact, extracting the liveliest
to determine repeat rates. tones and enhancing the
rhythmic complexities
Space Ranger Switches On possible via the subdivision
The ARP-87s 6-knob array isnt crazily unconventional, but it control typically required
may throw trad-minded, 3-knob analog delay fans a curveball or tones on the brighter side
two if they dive right in without referencing the manual. Apart of nooneven with toppy Momentary
from level and repeats, and perhaps the ratio knob, which enables Danelectro, Telecaster, and maximum X switch
selection of subdivisions, the individual controls declare their Jazzmaster pickups driving the works.
intent rather obliquely. They are, however, pretty easy to figure The analog voice, meanwhile, distinctly softens repeats in a
out on the fly. Dampen is a tone control, which is useful for way that makes brighter tone settings very pleasing to the ear
taking the sheen off the digital delay or brightening the analog and easy to nestle into a mix. It also sounds great with small
voice. X increases modulation intensity in slapback, analog, and doses of modulation from the X knob. But as an avowed fan
digital modes, and adjusts filter width in lo-fi mode. Program of bucket brigade delay, I usually found myself wishing for a
enables switching between those four algorithms. The switches little more color and the husky, cracked repeat overtones that
themselves have no detents, which can make adjustments tricky I love so much in Memory Man, DM-2, and Carbon Copy
in the dark. Here again, though, the options are manageable delays. That personal bias aside, its easy to see how the ARP-
enough in number to sort in the heat of performance. 87s analog voice could be the perfect analog delay for digital
Construction is solid. The soft relay switches are responsive, delays fans that want to explore subtler shades of bucket brigade
if quite close together. The circuit board is an orderly affair, patina and chaos.
with pride of place given to the Spin Semiconductor FV-1 Perhaps its my analog proclivities that made the lo-fi voice
that serves as the delay engine. I/O jacks and the external my favorite of the four algorithms. Its a hazy, characterful
tap tempo jack are board mounted, but dont seem especially setting in general that takes well to delay-heavy mix settings,
vulnerable to shock or bumps. And though cool stompbox extended repeats, and long repeat rates, which reveal ghostly
graphics are commonplace these days, commendation is due for details in the echoes. And because there seems to be a subtle
the excellent sci-fi-paperback-style spacecraft graphic and the dose of modulation built into the lo-fi voice, the X control
matte-sparkle grey finish. adjusts a filter that can narrow the frequency range to a profile
reminiscent of an old television set or open up more expansive
X Factors and Mysterious Voices and frequency-rich spectrums. This filtering function also
The ARP-87s four delay algorithms manage to sound both enables you to pair the lo-fi voice effectively with big reverb
distinct and of a piece, meaning switching between them from sounds, which might otherwise become an overwhelming wash
song to song wont require radical tweaks elsewhere in your when paired with the ARP-87.

premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 185

REVIEWS

The slapback setting, too, is a reliable palette. That said, you should try the easy to place this delay in the mix, make
and colorful mode that can be twisted ARP-87 out to make sure that you can the ARP-87 a cool multi-purpose delay
into less familiar shapes with clever use live without the ability to dial in time by any yardstick.
of the subdivisions and modulations. and create effects with quick repeat rate
(Triplet ratios, heavy modulation, and fluctuations and adjustments. Another
CLICK HERE TO HEAR this pedal.
aggressive level and repeat rates create small design curiosity is a default time
clangy, metallic Doctor Who-style echoes setting for each voice that requires
that sound wicked for simple melodies you to reset your tempo each time
and slide solos.) you switch between voices. And if you
If there is one aspect of the ARP-87s foresee switching between voices during
Walrus Audio ARP-87
design that really gives pause, its the a song, you should investigate this design
proximity of the bypass switch and the limitation. $199 street
walrusaudio.com
tap tempo switch, which becomes doubly
critical in the absence of a repeat rate The Verdict
Tones
knob. And though most contemporary In a competitive market for compact
Ease of Use
players are probably comfortable with multi-voiced digital delays, the ARP-87
tap-tempo functionswhich can make delivers unique tones and functional Build/Design
the difference between sloppy and simplicity enough to stand apart from Value
sublime in a tight, rhythmically driven several solid and similar competitors
songthey arent for everyone. (This most notably the TC Flashback and JHS PROS Intuitive controls. Solid
reviewer, for one, prefers dialing in repeat Pink Panther. Analog delay fans looking fundamental tones that nestle nicely in
rates by ear using a knob). The tap tempo for a more flexible digital solution a mix. Cool lo-fi textures.

programmability and modifications you might wish for more colorful analog
CONS Slightly bland analog voice.
can make with the subdivision control simulations. But its cool lo-fi voice, and No repeat rate knob.
certainly add up to a very wide rhythmic an agreeable, flexible nature that makes it

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186 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
STAFF PICKS

Question & Obsession

Single-coils or humbuckers? You dont have to choose just one, but its fun to debate and
theres no accounting for taste. Angel Vivaldi joins us in discussing our pickup preferences.

Single-coils vs. humbuckers?

Go!

Angel Vivaldi Taylor Boylan

Guest Picker Reader of the Month

A: No surprise ... humbuckers! A: Like bread and butter. I

Not to say single-coils dont love em both for different
have their place (even in reasons, together or separate.
heavy music), but I adore the Both work well clean and
warmth and thickness of a distorted. Both sound good
med/med-high humbucker. in the neck or the bridge.
My biggest pet peeve is Hum-cancelling single-coils
uncontrolled feedback, hum, are cool, too. I need to try out
or noise when using high- some P-90s next.
gain amps, so humbuckers
are the way to go. Current obsession:
Getting the most out of my
Current obsession: entry-level instruments.
Tori Amos new record, Ive upgraded my cheap
Native Invader, has Starcaster Strat into a super
been getting a lot of my strat. I replaced the stock

Far left: Photo by Heiner Bach Above: Photo by Donald Hall

attention. Every time tuners with Sperzel locking
she releases an album I tuners. I upgraded the
always find myself delving saddles to Tusq String Savers.
into her entire catalog. I wired the pickups so I can
Shes a powerhouse of a use all of them at once and I
songwriter/storyteller. can choose between single-
coil and humbucking sounds.
Musical alchemy.

188 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017

 John Bohlinger Andy Ellis Jason Shadrick
Nashville Correspondent Senior Editor Associate Editor

A: When I moved to Nashville, A: Unpotted PAF-style A: As much as Ive tried, I

there was a border guard humbuckers driving a cant escape my single-coil
who made sure you had cranked, low-gain amp roots. Dont get me wrongI
a Telecaster in your trunk thats my favorite sound. can dig some low-powered
before theyd let you in. Roll the guitar volume back PAF tones, but the only time I
Nowadays, those snarly to keep things clean and really feel like I sound like me
single-coils have all but articulate, then open it wide is when theres just a bit of
disappeared from twang-free for juicy, singing solos, la that hum in the air.
country radio. I arrived late to Mick Taylor. I like humbuckers
the party, but have converted. that respond almost like Current obsession:
Current favorite: microphones: If I yell into my Since the unexpected passing
DiMarzio PAF Masters. pickups and hear my voice of Tom Petty, Ive wrangled
through the amp, Im happy. my band into working up
Current obsession: more of his tunes into our
Club dates. Nothing better Current obsession: set. Hats off to Jason Isbell,
for your playing than four Adapting blues harp licks who waved the TP flag every
hours in a sticky-floored club to my fretless Godin A11 night of his Ryman residency.
playing a bunch of songs you Glissentar, which is amazingly
dont really know, throwing well-suited to the task. Right
taste out the window, and now, Im mining 1965s
soloing too much. The Paul Butterfield Blues
Band for inspiration.

premierguitar.com DECEMBER 2017 189

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190 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
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194 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
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DIY Effects For Guitarists

2017 BYOC, Inc. Photo by:Sloane Koller

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196 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
No one s harder on gear than FISHBONE!
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 We share your passion...
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198 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
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204 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
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206 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
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premierguitar.com PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017 207

ESOTERICA ELECTRICA

Evolutionary Control
BY JOL DANTZIG

T
Out of the here are few things more exciting comping to soloing and back needed to
way or close than a live concert. The house be done quickly, so the proximity of the
at hand? The
Rickenbacker
lights go down, the walk-in music guitars controls was definitely a positive
360 layout fades, and cheers go up as the first chord factor. That said, the tone control was
adds a small spills out of the speakers. As the music placed further away from the picking
blend knob reaches a crescendo, you know its time for hand, as it was probably deemed less
to an already
the guitar solo. The guitarist bends down important for on-the-fly adjustment.
crowded control
neighborhood. to adjust the repeat on the delay and then By 1940, artists were using both
modulates the mix knob on the flanger. volume and tone swells in jazz and
An ocean of cell phones thrust skyward country. This is accomplished by moving
to immortalize the epic moment as our the controls while playing. The opening interrupter switch on both the SG and
hero stabs the pedalboard relentlessly to strains of Hank Williams 1949 classic the Les Paul, despite the differences in
mythic effect. This is the transcendent Im So Lonesome I Could Cry features toggle placement. The staccato sound
moment that spawns an endless stream Jerry Byrds mournful steel guitar, and his heard at the end of the solo on the
of Instagram hashtags. And he didnt even tone control swells create a sobbing sound Pretenders Tattooed Love Boys is a
touch the guitars controls. Awesome! as a preamble to the lyric. Tiny Grimes direct descendent of Townshends trick,
As a guitar player, builder, and 1952 recording of Rockin the Blues and it was performed with aplomb by the
designer, I have spent a bit of time Away showcases a well-developed use of late James Honeyman-Scott on his Les
studying and experimenting with control the volume control as a musical effect. Paul. Meanwhile, his Hamer Sunburst
locations. I wanted to position things Its one of the first times the technique had the switch behind the bridge, but
where they might be most useful. Id appeared prominently on a record, and Honeyman-Scott carried on regardless.
always found it curious why some was the template for subsequent guitarists (This effect, accomplished by quickly
instruments had knobs and switches like Roy Buchanan, Jeff Beck, and moving the selector, requires that one
arranged in what seemed likeat least to Edward Van Halen. In all these scenarios, pickup is turned off.) More recently,
merandom places, while others were control proximity is key. The technique guitarists like Buckethead and John 5
brilliantly logical. became popular to the point where the have fitted a separate momentary switch
At the beginning of the electrified volume pedal was invented to free up to silence the guitar.
era of the guitar, a volume control was guitarists hands. Over the decades, weve seen the
about all that was offered. The 1934 Interestingly, although Fender catered back-to-basics, single-volume-only
Vivi-Tone, one of the earliest known to the Western swing players early in shred guitars of the 80s, the confusing
electrics, actually didnt have any controls. its history, the companys first Spanish- multiple tone-selectors found on Gretsch
It was just assumed that the amplifiers style electricthe 1950 Broadcaster/ guitars of the 60s, and the over-the-top
volume control would suffice. George Telecasterplaced the pickup selector switch fest of the B.C. Rich. The 1970s
Beauchamps 1931 Frying Pan lap- closest to the guitarists hand, while spawned onboard effects, and there have
steel guitar had a volume control, and the tone control was furthest away. been guitar/organ hybrids that bristle
its tiny body forced the knob to be very Some players reversed the Teles control with controls like the cockpit of a B-52.
close to the picking hand. (Its not clear plate to put the volume control where Since the debut of the electric guitar, the
if that location was considered a plus or it was more easily reached. The 1954 onboard controls have been used and
a compromise.) As the amplified guitar Stratocaster design placed the volume abused to great effect no matter what the
became more commonplace, so did control extremely close to the bridge, configuration. Is one layout better than
onboard volume controls. which facilitated the volume swells used the rest? In the age of the pedalboard, does
A glance at the Gibson ES-150 from by country music, but frustrated some anyone even care? Like everything else
1938 shows a tone knob had been added players who found it got in the way of guitar, its just a matter of preference.
as well. This guitar is closely identified their strumming. Whats a designer to do?
with jazz-guitar pioneer Charlie Christian, Gibson also experimented with JOL DANTZIG is a noted
designer, builder, and player who
one of the first players to provide single- control placement, but its my guess co-founded Hamer Guitars, one of
note solo lines within the big-band that most of their decisions were based the first boutique guitar brands,
in 1973. Today, as the director
context. And as such, he probably found primarily on manufacturing efficiencies. of Dantzig Guitar Design, he
that the onboard controls came in handy. Players like Pete Townshend pioneered continues to help define the art of
custom guitar. To learn more, visit
Moving from background-rhythm the use of the pickup selector as an guitardesigner.com.

premierguitar.com
208 PREMIERGUITAR DECEMBER 2017
LAST CALL

The Tone Quest Never Ends

BY JOHN BOHLINGER

M
John Bohlingers y favorite amps place in my tube factories are in Russia, the Slovak did some more
much-loved 64 heart has more to do with Republic, and China. Although these web research and
Vibroverb got the
Back to the Future
nostalgia than tone. My factories make tubes that meet the narrowed it down
treatment, thanks parents bought me a 1964 Vibroverb requirements for guitar amplifiers and to the original
to new tubes when I was 15, for $125, from Hansen audio equipment, the resulting sound JBL D130F speaker.
and a speaker Music in Billings, Montana. Its tolex was quality is often less than it should be. It has an aluminum dust
replacement.
scarred with cigarettes burns, and it had Thats why tube weirdos hunt down cap, notorious for a painful treble spike.
a permanent smell of burning wires. I new old-stock (NOS) tubes. Although (As mentioned, Vibroverb No. 1 had a
bonded with this amp over longs hours tubes produced today and vintage tubes Jensen C15N that was as warm as wool
sitting cross-legged on the floor of my are built virtually the same, conductive socks.) With crap tubes, I couldnt hear
childhood room, lights off, staring at the materials in the old tubes were usually how bad that speaker sounded. It was
glowing tubes in back while I learned higher quality. like rebuilding your cars engine, taking
how to play. But heres the glitch: Regardless of it for a test drive, and learning that the
The first time I understood what testing, theres no way to know how transmission was shot. Vintage purists
tone meant, I was playing that amp. I much burn-time NOS tubes have left in will call this heresy, but I bought a new,
had just graduated high school and had them. You can pay a premium for a tube doped-up Weber Blue Dog and swapped
hooked up with a band playing four that dies on day one. Buying a tube thats it for the JBL. Problem solved, tone quest
sets per night, five nights per week. been sitting around for half-a-century is complete for now.
One night the bands other guitar player a gamble. But, as you probably suspect, the
handed me a left-handed cigarette on Wathen Audiophile developed a tone quest never ends. Even if youre
the break. When I came back inside, cryogenic process they say changes the a minimalist guitarist with just one
I turned all knobs right and became material quality and metal grain structure amp, one guitar, one cable, and no
a proton vibrating on the edge of the of tubes on a molecular level. Wathen pedals, there remains countless variables
voice coil of that Jensen C15N speaker. says that process reduces or eliminates constantly changing your tone. With
When I hit a low E, I connected to every voids and imperfections in the material, time, pickups lose their magnetic charge,
molecule in the universe and suddenly and stabilizes welded and soldered areas. tubes burn, caps and resistors deteriorate,
understood the divine power of superior [Editors note: The impact of cryogenics on speakers stretch, wood dries, attrition
tone. I spent most of the night just guitars, amps, and parts is hotly debated. rubs off the finish, and strings start dying
hitting that low E and letting it ring. Not For another opinion on cryogenics and gear, the moment theyre stretched onto your
a great performance, but a memorable read our columnist Heiko Hoepfingers April guitar. Some of these changes improve
experience, all thanks to that amp (and 2016 Bass Bench: Myths and Facts of sound; others suck the life right out of
perhaps, the devils lettuce). Cryogenic Treatment.] it. Tone is a moving target that requires
Eventually the amp grew old, cranky, It sounded a bit farfetched, so I nearly constant maintenance.
and unreliable. In a move of shuddering googled cryogenics and learned that Before the overhaul, Vibroverb No.
stupidity, I traded it for a Peavey bass racecar builders cryogenically treat engine 2 had already cost me three times more
head for my then-wife. I kicked myself parts to make the metal stronger to last than I had ever spent on any amp, so
for 25 years, then spent way too much longer and perform better. Also, cutting- I was reluctant to throw good money
money buying another 1964 Vibroverb. edge knife makers strengthen their steel after what was gone. But Im glad I did,
Vibroverb No. 2 sounded like, well with cryogenics, and, since World War because pre-upgrade, I had five amps that
number two. It didnt take pedals well II, the U.S. military has required the could kick the Vibroverbs old, sagging
and lacked definition. I wanted to love manufacturers of various defense-related ass. Now this amp sounds like God on a
it, but every time I turned it on I felt products to cryogenically quench steels as good day, transporting me back to 1983,
secretly disappointed. By chance, I met a way of insuring stronger metal with a when my tone quest began.
Don Thomas of Wathen Audiophile. lower failure rate. Convinced cryogenics
Don suggested that my amps lack of was not snake oil, I laid out my dough JOHN BOHLINGER is a Nashville-
based multi-instrumentalist best
luster might be fixed with better tubes. for Wathens CryoTone tubes. known for leading the band on
Back when I owned my first Heres where it gets weird. After I NBCs Nashville Star and serving
Photo by Amy Kirk

as music director for the CMT

Vibroverb, tubes were plentiful and, in retubed my amp, it ran quieter and had Awards and specials on PBS
general, made from better materials. more volume, but the amp sounded and GAC. When not filming Rig
Rundowns and gear reviews for PG,
Today, three of the worlds largest harsh, like an icepick to the eardrum. I John plays pedal steel for Lee Brice.

Premier Guitar ISSN 1945-077x (print) and ISSN 1945-0788 (online) is published monthly by Gearhead Communications, LLC. Principal office: 3 Research Center, Marion, IA 52302. Periodicals postage
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