Guitar and Bass Vol 24 No 12 September 2013

NEW GIBSON SGJ TESTED!

SEPTEMBER 2013

Chuck Berry www.guitarmagazine.co.uk

The TRUE Godfather of rock’n’roll guitar

TAPE-STYLE ECHO PEDALS!

PLUS!

Vol 24 No 12

Gary Clark Jr Blackstar Harry Manx DiVill by Italia Marcus Bonfanti Tanglewood and more… SEPTEMBER 2013 Vol 24 No 120 £4.25 9

09

9 771755 338229 9 771755 338229

New Yamaha APX electro Guitar neck workshop

Private Collection Junk shop jewels

MOREHORSEPOWER

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GUITAR & BASS MAG May 2013_Layout 1 copy 1 13/05/2013 19:49 Page 1

PROMENADE MUSIC

01524 410 202 www.promenademusic.co.uk

Electric Guitars

Electric Guitars

Acoustic & Electro Acoustics

Bass Guitars

8030 - 1963 Gibson ES175 Jazz Guitar, Sunburst 10067 - Brian May Bass in Cherry with Gig Bag 10066 - Brian May Red Special, Antique Cherry 10055 - Brian May Red Special, Metal May 7028 - Brian May Red Special, Antique Cherry 10065 - Brian May Red Special, Baby Blue 10061 - Brian May Red Special, Black 10063 - Brian May Red Special, Gold 10064 - Brian May Red Special, Green 10059 - Brian May Red Special, Honey Sunburst 10058 - Brian May Red Special, Natural 10057 - Brian May Red Special, Sunburst 10062 - Brian May Red Special, White 10060 - Brian May Red Special, Windermere Blue 10069 - Brian May Rhapsody Electro, Black 10068 - Brian May Rhapsody Electro, Cherry 10071 - Brian May Rhapsody Electro, Red 10070 - Brian May Rhapsody Electro, Sunburst 10231 - Brooks Custom Steve, Lukather Clone 9767 - Cort G260 Electric Guitar 10224 - Cort M600 AVD Antique Violin Dark 10220 - Cort Sunset I in Black 10223 - Cort X6 S-M BK Electric Guitar in Black 7793 - DBZ Barchetta Eminent FR Absinthe 7785 - DBZ Barchetta ST, Aubergine 7789 - DBZ Barchetta ST FR, Cobalt Blue 7814 - DBZ Crucifixion Electric Guitar 7810 - DBZ Dark Angel Electric Guitar 7812 - DBZ Bare Bones Religion Series Devil 7811 - DBZ Bare Bones Religion Series Preacher 7800 - DBZ Bolero AB, Solid Wine Red 7796 - DBZ Bolero FM, Trans Wine 7794 - DBZ Bolero ST, Black 7837 - DBZ Venom, Dark Blue Metallic 9770 - Dean Evo, Pre-Owned 5043 - Duesenberg 49er Cow Limited Edition 5040 - Duesenberg Rocket II in Black & White 10233 - ESP LTD MH50, Black, Pre-Owned 9769 - Encore Electric Guitar, Black 5205 - Epiphone Broadway Jazz Semi, Natural 8220 - Epiphone ES339 Semi Hollowbody, Ebony 9155 - Epiphone ES339, Natural 8528 - Epiphone ES339 Ultra, Vintage Sunburst 5432 - Epiphone G310 SG Shape, White 9631 - Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II, Natural 9695 - Epiphone Les Paul Special II Cherryburst 9905 - Epiphone LP Stan Plustop Pro, Cherry S/B 10351 - Epiphone LP Stand. Plustop Pro, Wine Red 8365 - Epiphone Les Paul Standard in Gold 10352 - Epiphone Les Paul Standard, Ebony 10217 - Epiphone Les Paul Studio, Sunburst, S/H 9604 - Epiphone Les Paul Ultra III Alpine White 8096 - Epiphone Ltd Ed Flying V, Antique White 8165 - Epiphone Ltd Ed 1961 SG, Alpine White 9666 - Epiphone Phrophecy LP Custom Plus GX 8101 - Epiphone by Gibson, Pre-Owned 4231 - Fender Am Special Strat, Candy Apple Red 9074 - Fender American Special Strat, Sunburst 9914 - Fender Am. Special Tele, Vintage Blonde 9348 - Fender American Stan. Hand Stained Strat 10199 - Fender Am Stand. Strat LH, Sburst 9910 - Fender Am Standard Strat, Mystic Blue 8342 - Fender Am Standard Strat, Sienna Sburst 9134 - Fender American Stratocaster Daphne Blue 9023 - Fender American Vintage '70s Strat Reissue, Nat 9287 - Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH, Black 10072 - Fender Classic Player Baja Telecaster, Blonde 9261 - Fender C. Player Jaguar Spec HH, White 9559 - Fender Custom Shop 1960 Relic Strat, GR 7112 - Fender Deluxe Lonestar Strat, Sunburst 10163 - Fender FSR 72 Telecaster Deluxe, Aqua Flake 10198 - Fender FSR Am Stan. Strat, LH, Sunburst 9085 - Fender FSR Strat HSS TBX Amber Burst 10218 - Fender Japanese Strat, CAR, Pre-Owned 4634 - Fender Jim Root Signature Strat, Black 9775 - Fender Johnny Marr Jaguar, Metallic KO 10164 - Fender Kurt Cobain Mustang, Sonic Blue 8113 - Fender Modern Player Available To Order 9945 - Fender Modern Player Strat HSS, O. White 8224 - Fender Modern Player Telecaster, Honey Burst 8286 - Fender Modern Player Tele Thinline Delux 7784 - Fender Mustang Pawn Shop Special, Red 9089 - Fender Pawn Shop 51 Stratocaster, Black 9090 - Fender Pawn Shop 51 Stratocaster, Blonde 10149 - Fender Pink Paisley Telecaster, Used 5287 - Fender Road Worn 50s Strat in Black 8290 - Fender Road Worn 60's Strat, Sunburst 4229 - Fender Road Worn Player Strat, Sunburst 4232 - Fender Road Worn Player Tele, Black 9449 - Fender Select Tele USA Violin Burst 10101 - Fender Standard Strat, CAR, Secondhand 7954 - Fender Standard Strat, Copper Met Burst 4560 - Fender Standard Telecaster, Black 4748 - Fender Standard Tele, Brown Sunburst 10090 - Fender Telebration Mahogany Tele, Sburst 9911 - Fender USA 75 Telebration, Natural 9507 - Fender USA Hardtail Stratocaster 1977 8285 - Fret King Jerry Donahue, Natural 9137 - G&LASAT Classic Bluesboy Semi, Natural 9140 - G&LASAT Classic in Walnut 9136 - G&L Legacy in Black 9135 - G&L S500 in Blueburst 9150 - Gibson ES137 Custom, Triburst 8029 - Gibson ES175 1956 Original 9277 - Gibson ES330 VOS, Vintage Sunburst 10146 - Gibson ES335 Dot Plain Gloss, Sunburst

10273 - Gibson ES339 Antique Sunburst 9840 - Gibson Lee Roy Parnell Goldtop 8376 - Gibson Les Paul Classic 60s Trans Ebony 5317 - Gibson Les Paul Custom in Alpine White 7919 - Gibson Les Paul Custom in Wine Red 10197 - Gibson Les Paul Signature T, Trans Ebony 9444 - Gibson Les Paul Standard 2012 Goldtop 10116 - Gibson Les Paul Std 2013 Prem. Tea Burst 10117 - Gibson Les Paul Std 2013 Premi. Trans Amber 10144 - Gibson LP St Premium Plus, Desert Burst 10322 - Gibson Les Paul Stand., Heritage Cherry 9341 - Gibson Les Paul Studio, Radiant Red 5090 - Gibson Les Paul Studio Lefty, Wine Red 9557 - Gibson Les Paul Studio, Vintage Sunburst 10281 - Gibson Les Paul Trad., Caramel Burst 8202 - Gibson Nighthawk. Pelham Blue 5594 - Gibson SG Special Electric Guitar in White 10350 - Gibson SG Special Faded Cherry 10268 - Gretsch G5422TDCG Hollow Body ,White 9771 - Ibanez S470DXQM 9764 - Italia Electric Guitar, Pre-Owned 9161 - Jackson RR5 Japanese Ivory Pinstripe 4992 - Jackson JS30 Randy Rhoads, Black 4150 - Jackson SL3MG Soloist, Natural 9669 - Jackson Super Light Soloist SLSXMG GMG 0000 - Levin - 7 models in stock now 8051 - Lodestone Electric Artist, Trans Black 8052 - Lodestone Electric Artist in Sunburst 8048 - Lodestone Electric Artist, Trans Honey 8049 - Lodestone Electric Artist, Trans Red 8059 - Lodestone Electric Pro S, Chignal Blue 8065 - Lodestone Electric Pro S, Rodings White 8058 - Lodestone Electric Pro S, Tobacco Sburst 8066 - Lodestone Electric Pro S in Waltham Black 8055 - Lodestone Electric Pro, Chignal Blue 8056 - Lodestone Electric Pro, Rodings White 8053 - Lodestone Electric Pro, Roxwell Red 8057 - Lodestone Electric Pro, St James Silver 8054 - Lodestone Electric Pro, Tobacco Sunburst 8072 - Lodestone Electric Standard S, T. Sburst 8070 - Lodestone Electric Standard Trans Black 8071 - Lodestone Electric Standard S, White 8069 - Lodestone Electric Standard in White 8085 - Lodestone Pulse in Burr Maple Honeyburst 8086 - Lodestone Pulse, Matt Black 8084 - Lodestone Pulse in Metallic Gold 8087 - Lodestone Pulse, Tobacco Sunburst 7091 - MusicMan Luke HSS, Pearl Blue 4720 - MusicMan Silhouette Special, Candy Red 0000 - PRS - 12 Models in stock now 6123 - Patrick Eggle Double Cutaway in Blue 6121 - Patrick Eggle RSG Electric Guitar, Amber 9478 - Peavey AT200 Antares AutoTune Guitar 9450 - Peavey EVH Wolfgang USA-Made Goldtop 9001 - Peavey Rockmaster Captain America 9300 - Peerless Martin Taylor Virtuoso 4268 - Rickenbacker 330 12 String Semi, Jetglo 6951 - Rickenbacker 360 Semi, Fireglo 6952 - Rickenbacker 360 Semi, Jetglo 4270 - Rickenbacker 360 Semi, Mapleglo 10165 - Road Worn Player Tele, Candy Apple Red 8992 - Roland G5 Strat COSM Technology Black 8993 - Roland G5 Strat COSM Technology Sunburst 9857 - Roland G5A Strat Candy Apple Red 8990 - Roland GC1 Black GK-Ready Stratocaster 8991 - Roland GC1 Sunburst GK-Ready Strat 0000 - Squier - 6 models in stock now 0000 - Stagg - 3 models in stock now 9273 - Steinberger Spirit GT Pro 10131 - Traveller Speedster, Blue, Pre-Owned 9079 - Ventures VM100SB Bob Bogle Sig, Sunburst 9078 - Ventures VM65MBL Electric Guitar, Blue 4256 - Vintage AV2, Sunburst 9420 - Vox Apache I 9652 - Warwick Electric Guitar Accessory Pack 6982 - WashburnUSADD70MayaDanDonegan,Grey 4757 - Washburn N1 Vintage Nuno Bettencourt Nat 7074 - Washburn SI61 Obey Scott Ian Sig, Black 6991 - Washburn USA Custom WI556, Metallic Red 6997 - Washburn V200 ProE in Black 7005 - Washburn WI100, Gunmetal Grey 7002 - Washburn WI100, Red 7009 - Washburn WI15 Idol Standard ,Black 8412 - Washburn WI18 Idol Quilted Trans Black 8411 - Washburn WI18 Idol Quilted Trans Red 7356 - Washburn WI420KB Idol, Black 8409 - Washburn WI-440F Idol Elect Flame Honey 8408 - Washburn WI-440F Idol Tobacco Sunburst 8406 - Washburn WI-460E Idol Electric, Black 8405 - Washburn WI-460E Idol Electric in White 6988 - Washburn WI50 in Black 6989 - Washburn WI50 Pro-E, Black 8404 - Washburn WI-63 SF Donegan Sig, Black 6995 - Washburn WV40VASIK Scott Ian Blood Splat 6996 - Washburn WV66ANC, Nick Catanese, Black 6898 - Washburn Wi14 Idol in Metallic Blue 6899 - Washburn Wi14 Idol in Wine Red 8230 - Washburn X10 Bass Guitar, Black 6895 - Washburn X100 in Metallic Grey 6900 - Washburn X200 Pro in Trans Black 6425 - Westcoast ST Junior in Black & Sunburst 6449 - Westcoast ST1 in Ivory, Red & Natural 8416 - Yamaha Pacifica 012 in Red Metallic 8414 - Yamaha Pacifica 012, Dark Blue Metallic 10234 - Yamaha Pacifica 012 in Black 8121 - Yamaha Pacifica 311H, Vintage White 8184 - Yamaha Pacifica 510V , Candy Apple Red 10319 - Yamaha Pacifica 611 VHFM 8124 - Yamaha Pacifica 611 Root Beer

8033 - Breedlove AD25/SM 8035 - Breedlove AJ250/SF Plus Electro Acoustic 10296 - Breedlove Atlas Solo Series C350/CR 10284 - Breedlove Cascade C25/CRE Electro 10285 - Breedlove Cascade OM/CRe S Cutaway 10287 - Breedlove Passport C250/COe Electro 10288 - Breedlove Passport D/MMe Electro 10289 - Breedlove Passport D250SMe Electro 10299 - Breedlove Passport PLUS D/CME Electro 10292 - Breedlove Passport Plus C250/SBe Elect 7979 - Breedlove Passport Plus C250SFE 4282 - Breedlove Passport + D/SFE Elec Sunburst 10301 - Breedlove Passport Plus D250/SB Electro 10300 - Breedlove Passport Plus OM/CMe HH 10294 - Breedlove Retro D/ERe with LR Baggs 10295 - Breedlove Retro OM/ER Orchestra Electro 10298 - Breedlove Revival OM/SMe Top Burst 4283 - Breedlove Solo C35/Sme Electro, Natural 10069 - Brian May Rhapsody Electro, Black 10068 - Brian May Rhapsody Electro, Cherry 10071 - Brian May Rhapsody Electro, Red 10070 - Brian May Rhapsody Electro, Sunburst 10219 - Cort NDX50 Electro Acoustic Guitar, Nat 10221 - Cort SFX-E NS Electro, Natural Satin 10125 - DRL 008 8 String Electro Acoustic Guitar 10124 - DRL CT09 Thinline Electro Acoustic 4769 - EKO Ranger EQ Vintage Series, Black 8905 - Eko Ranger Vintage 12 String w/Fishman 9206 - Epiphone EJ200CE, Natural 5157 - Epiphone EJ200CE Jumbo Vintage SunB. 9542 - Faith FMETB Mercury Electro Parlour 9104 - Faith Saturn Cutaway High Gloss FSCEHG 8300 - Faith FECS Electro Acoustic Guitar 10320 - Fender CD60CE Mahogany 7881 - Fender Kingman SCE, Dreadnought, Nat 6929 - Fender Stratacoustic, Electro, Black 10194 - Fender T-Bucket 300CE, Amber 6930 - Fender Telecoustic, Electro, Black 10243 - Fender Tim Armstrong Deluxe 10106 - Fylde Alchemist Electro Acoustic 7867 - Gibson J200 Standard Electro in Natural 7032 - Gibson J200 Standard Jumbo Guitar 8241 - Gibson J200 Studio, Vintage Sunburst 10150 - Gibson J35 Electro Acoustic Guitar, Nat 10143 - Gibson LG2 American Eagle 10147 - Gibson SJ100 Modern Classic V.Sunburst 8091 - Jimmy Moon 0003CE Electro Acoustic 4555 - Jimmy Moon Bryan Adams Signature 4554 - Jimmy Moon PF0003 Electro, Pau Ferro 6948 - Jimmy Moon RD3, Electro, Natural 9552 - LAG T300AE Electro Acoustic Guitar 7302 - LAG T66ACE Auditorium Cutaway Electro 7972 - LAG T200ACE Auditorium Cutaway Electric 5403 - Levin LD60CE, Dreadnought Electro, Nat 9243 - James Neligan NA72CBB Electro Acoustic 0000 - Levin - 5 models in stock now 8277 - Martin DC15ME Dreadnought Cutaway 6404 - Northwood R70 00 14fret Electro, Natural 4400 - Northwood R80, 000V Electro, Natural 6403 - Northwood R80, 0M Electro, Natural 9841 - Ovation Adamas 1581-7 Electro Acoustic 5093 - Ovation CDX24 Electro Acoustic in Natural 10033 - Ovation Celebrity CC44S AB, Autumn 10031 - Ovation Pro Elite 2078AX 10032 - Ovation Pro Elite TX 1868TX Super 10151 - Ovation Pro Speciality 1773AX-4 Natural, 9299 - Peerless Martin Taylor Maestro 10095 - RainSong BI-JM1000N2 Graphite Guitar 10094 - Rainsong S-DR1000 Graphite Guitar 10038 - Rainsong S-DR1000 Graphite Guitar 9820 - Rainsong CO-DR1000N2 9821 - Rainsong CO-JM1000N2 9819 - Rainsong CO-OM1000N2 9818 - Rainsong CO-WS1000N2 9814 - Rainsong DR1000 Graphite Guitar 10097 - Rainsong H-DR1100N2 10100 - Rainsong H-OM1000N2 10098 - Rainsong H-WS1000N2 9815 - Rainsong JM1000 Graphite Guitar 4812 - RainSong OM1000 10082 - RainSong P12 Parlor 10084 - RainSong P12 Parlor in Blue 10086 - RainSong P12 Parlor in Green 10085 - RainSong P12 Parlor in Pewter 10087 - RainSong P12 Parlor in Red 10088 - RainSong P14 Parlor 10091 - RainSong P14 Parlor in Blue 10092 - RainSong P14 Parlor in Green 10093 - RainSong P14 Parlor in Pewter 10089 - RainSong P14 Parlor in Red 9824 - Rainsong S-DR1000N2 Dreadnought Std 9823 - Rainsong S-OM1000N2 OM Studio Electro 9822 - Rainsong S-WS1000N2 WS Studio Electro 9827 - RainSong SG Shorty Gloss Shorty Series 9828 - RainSong Shorty Fine Texture SFT Model 7974 - Rainsong WS1000 Graphite Guitar 5257 - Satori YD18EQ, Dreadnought Electro, Nat 5256 - Satori YD28EQ, Dreadnought Electro, Nat 5252 - Satori YD28HEQ, Dreadnought Electro, Nat 8234 - Satori YD42EQ Electro Acoustic 5255 - Satori YO28HEQ, OM Electro, Natural 9536 - Sigma 000MC 15E Electro Acoustic Guitar 10303 - Takamine EG340SC, Pre-Owned 0000 - Tanglewood - 17 models in stock now 10118 - Terry Pack PLSR Parlour w/Pre-Amp 9615 - Terry Pack SJRS Small Jumbo LR Baggs M1A 8007 - Vintage Gordon Giltrap Signature 9561 - Vintage VEC1400 Electro Acoustic 9535 - Walden CG570CE Electro Acoustic Guitar 8307 - Westcoast SW201BK -VT Acoustic Guitar 8305 - Westcoast SW201RDS VT Electro Acoustic 8306 - Westcoast SW201VT Acoustic Guitar 6960 - Yamaha CPX500 Electro in Red 9190 - Yamaha CPX700 Electro Dusk Sun Red 8020 - Yamaha CPX700, Tinted Finish 9191 - Yamaha FGX730SC Electro Acoustic, Nat. 9192 - Yamaha FJX730SC Electro Acoustic, Black 6965 - Yamaha FX370C Electro Acoustic in Nat. 8141 - Yamaha SLG110S Silent Steel String

8687 - Breedlove Passport Plus B350/CB4 10297 - Breedlove Solo BJ350/CMe4 Fretless Bass 10067 - Brian May Bass in Cherry with Gig Bag 4910 - Bridge Cetus Electric Double Bass 10108 - Cort A4 4 String Bass Guitar, Natural 10107 - Cort A4 Custom Z 4 String Bass Guitar 10109 - Cort A5 5 String Bass, Open Pore Natural 10105 - Cort A5 OPBC Bass Guitar 10110 - Cort B5 5 String Bass Guitar, OPN 10213 - Cort GB75WBL 5 String Bass, White Blonde 10242 - ESP LTD B204 SM, Natural, Pre-Owned 4882 - Fender USA 62 Vintage Precision Sunburst 10166 - Fender 75 Jazz Bass in Natural 9083 - Fender Am Special Jazz Bass, Sunburst 9353 - Fender Am St Hand Stained Ash Jazz Bass 9231 - Fender Am Standard Jazz Bass, Sunburst 7943 - Fender Am Stan Precision Bass, Sunburst 9727 - Fender FSR Precision, Sea Foam Metallic 8113 - Fender Modern Player Available To Order 9367 - Fender Select Jazz Bass, Amber Burst 9284 - Fender Standard Jazz Bass, Arctic White 8287 - Fender Standard Jazz Bass, Brown S.burst 9909 - Fender Standard P Bass, Lake Placid Blue 10113 - G & L M2000 4 String Bass Guitar, Honeyburst 10112 - G & L M2500 5 String Bass, Honeyburst 9703 - G & L Tribute Series JB2, Natural 9138 - G&L L2000 Tribute Bass, 3-Tone Sunburst 9702 - G&L L2500 5 String Bass, Walnut 9593 - Gibson Firebird Studio Reverse 70s Bass 9575 - Gibson Grabber 3 '70s Tribute Honeyburst 10074 - Gretsch G6073 Electrotone Bass, Burgundy 0000 - Levin - 7 models in stock now 8073 - Lodestone Primal Artist 8075 - Lodestone Primal Instinct J Bass, Green 8079 - Lodestone Primal Instinct P Bass, Green 8080 - Lodestone Primal Instinct Pbass Sunburst 8081 - Lodestone Primal Pro in Chignal Blue 8082 - Lodestone Primal Pro 4, Tobacco Sunburst 8174 - Lodestone Primal Pro 5, Chignal Blue 4179 - Marleaux Consat Custom 5, Satin Black 10279 - Marleaux Consat Sig 4 String Bolt On 5713 - Marleaux M Bass Custom 5, Maple & Walnut 10278 - Marleaux Votan XS Deluxe, Black 10216 - MusicMan Sterling 4, Blue, Pre-Owned 4703 - MusicMan Stingray 2EQ, Blue Pearl 4781 - MusicMan Stingray 3EQ, True Gold 4920 - MusicMan Stingray 5, Black 8997 - Musicman Sterling SB14 Bass, Sunburst 5110 - NS Design NXT Electric Double Bass 9002 - Overwater Aspiration Deluxe Bass, Black 8435 - Overwater Aspiration Std 4, Black Cherry 7849 - Overwater Contemporary Jazz, Trans Blue 9009 - Overwater Contemporary 5-String Bass 9867 - Overwater Inspiration Jazz PJ 4 String 10102 - Overwater J Series Deluxe 4, Natural 7259 - Overwater Perception Std 5, Bubinga 10152 - Overwater Progress Deluxe, Pre-Owned 9418 - Rickenbacker Bass, Jetglo Rick Kemp 5121 - Rockbass Streamer LX5, Black 7204 - Squier Classic Vibe Precision 50s Blonde 9072 - Squier Vintage Modified 70's Jazz, Nat 9517 - Squier Vintage Modified Tele Bass, Black 9704 - Stagg BC300 Lefthanded 4 String, Nat 4417 - Steinberger Spirit XT2 4 String Bass 9428 - Tobias Toby Standard IV Bass Guitar, White 9653 - Warwick Bass Guitar Accessory Gig Pack 6447 - Westcoast BG2, Natural or Trans Red 6446 - Westcoast BG4 Neck Thru Body, Brown 6445 - Westcoast BG5 Fretless, Natural 6448 - Westcoast JB5, Trans Amber 8438 - Westcoast JP1 4 String Bass in Black 8437 - Westcoast JP1 4 String Bass in Trans Red 10120 - Yamaha BB1024X 4 String, Caramel Brown 4649 - Yamaha BB2024X, Vintage White 9350 - Yamaha BB424 Bass Guitar in Black 9351 - Yamaha BB425 5 String Bass Guitar, Black 9352 - Yamaha BB425 5 String Bass, Sunburst 9000 - Yamaha RBX170 10314 - Yamaha RBX170EW Bass 8999 - Yamaha RBX5A2 5 String Bass, Black 6360 - Yamaha SLB200 Silent Double Bass 4331 - Yamaha TRB1004J, Trans Black 10307 - Yamaha TRBX304 Bass 10308 - Yamaha TRBX305 Bass 10310 - Yamaha TRBX505 Bass

Classical Guitars

0000 - Azahar - 6 models in stock now 10290 - Breedlove Passport N250/COe Electro 7365 - Jose Ferrer 3/4 Size Classical Guitar 0000 - Mendieta - 6 models in stock now 9482 - Ovation 1616 Classical Guitar, Pre-Owned 0000- Raimundo - 4 models in stock now 0000 - Ramirez - 10 models in stock now 5828 - Roberto - 3 models in stock now 5481 - Strunal Electro Classical Guitar 9404 - Takamine G344RC Electro, Wine Red 0000 - Tanglewood - 4 models in stock now 8351 - Westcoast - 5 models in stock now 10323 - Yamaha CGX102 Guitar 10321 - Yamaha NTX700 Guitar

For full guitar details, pricing and photos, enter the number next to each guitar model into our SKU search facility on the website.

EDITOR’S LETTER Welcome

Anthem Publishing, Station House, Station Approach, off North Street, Carshalton, SM5 2HW Tel 020 8773 3865 Email [email protected] www.guitarmagazine.co.uk EDITOR John Callaghan (020 3478 7549) [email protected] DEPUTY EDITOR Steve Bailey [email protected] ART EDITOR Rob Bewick [email protected] STAFF WRITER Rik Flynn [email protected] CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Rick Batey [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS Sid Bishop, Martyn Casserly, Alan Clayson, Phil Harris, Michael Heatley, Hayden Hewitt, Matt Lamy, Marcus Leadley, Alun Lower, Gareth Morgan, Lars Mullen, Douglas Noble, Julian Piper, Richard Purvis, Huw Price, Tim Slater, Tim De Whalley, Michael Stephens INSTRUMENT PHOTOGRAPHY Mike Prior, Claire Collins SENIOR SALES EXECUTIVE Gemma Bown (07788 266847) [email protected] AD PRODUCTION Craig Broadbridge [email protected] MANAGING DIRECTOR Jon Bickley [email protected] EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Paul Pettengale [email protected]

Now that’s some Goode livin’… A true rock’n’roll outlaw, Chuck Berry has always been his own man. Our cover story delves deep into the achievements of one of the most innovative rock’n’roll performers we’ve ever had the joy to witness, and credits him with shaping the course of rock. Listen back to some classic Chuck cuts, celebrate their majesty, and it quickly becomes obvious how the man really did lay down the blueprint for much of the music worth listening to for the past few decades. Our reviews section this issue includes newies from Gibson, Yamaha and Sandberg, as well as a tape-style echo unit roundup that could add a new dimension to your playing and sound. Top Topham and Harry Manx are among the wise players brave enough to face the G&B interview inquisition – and both pass with flying colours. Add in some liberal dashes of vintage features and workshops and we hope it’s more than enough to sustain you during these summer months. Enjoy the issue…

ART DIRECTOR Jenny Cook [email protected] ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Simon Lewis [email protected] MARKETING ASSISTANT Anna Wilkie [email protected] Head Office Anthem Publishing Ltd, Suite 6, Piccadilly House, London Road, Bath BA1 6PL Tel +44 (0) 1225 489 984 Fax +44 (0) 1225 489 980 Email [email protected] Subscriptions & Back Issues Guitar & Bass Magazine https://anthem.subscribeonline.co.uk Tel 0844 322 1291 (UK) Tel: Call Toll Free 800 428 3003 (US) Tel +44 (0) 1795 414 781 (Rest of World) Email [email protected] Price (12 issues) £49.80 (UK), £64 (Europe/Republic Of Ireland), $99 (USA), £72 (Rest of World) See page 118 for subscription details Printed by Benham Goodhead Print Tel +44 (0) 1869 363 333 Distributed by Marketforce (UK) Ltd, The Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street London SE1 0SU Tel +44 (0) 203 148 3000 Licensing enquiries Bruce Sawford Tel +44 (0) 1280 860 185 [email protected] All content copyright Anthem Publishing Ltd 2010, all rights reserved. While we make every effort to ensure that the factual content of Guitar & Bass magazine is correct we cannot take any responsiblity nor be held accountable for any factual errors printed. Please make every effort to check quoted prices and product specifications with manufacturers prior to purchase. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or resold without prior consent of Anthem Publishing Ltd. Guitar & Bass Magazine recognises all copyrights contained within the issue. Where possible we acknowledge the copyright holder

BE I R C SUBSODAYyour T e 102 for on ag pti See p t subscri ver grea r and ne offe an issue miss ain! ag

Anthem Publishing is the proud new home of Guitar & Bass. Anthem was established in 2003 and publishes Music Tech Magazine, Music Tech Focus, Guitar Tech and Video Focus. www.anthem-publishing.com

SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 5

SEPTEMBER 2013 Vol 24 No 12

COV

TO ER S

RY

MR ROCK'N’ROLL

18

He had the strut, he had the licks, he had the songs, and he had rebel spirit in abundance; Chuck Berry was the full explosive package

Interviews Gary Clark Jr

26

His unique fuzzed-up blues, rock and soul is earning the Texan some famous fans

Marcus Bonfanti

26

GARY CLARK JR Southern fuzz

32

With a Blues Award under his belt, rising star Bonfanti has turned things up for his latest

Top Topham

36

Topham quit his position as lead man in the Yardbirds and made way for Eric Clapton

Harry Manx

40

Few players have forged their own path like multi-instrumental slide stylist Harry Manx

Workshops Drills For Thrills

105

Warm up your vocal chords and fine-tune your ears for scales and intervals

Neck Workshop

106

The devil’s in the details when it comes to guitar necks. We investigate one of the most vital aspects of the trade

Regulars

© Photo: Judy Totton

READERS LETTERS 8 NEWS 10 ALBUM REVIEWS 16 SUBSCRIPTION OFFER 1O2

6 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

IN THIS ISSUE Contents Cover photo: Chuck Berry courtesy of Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Cover Photo:

46

Gear

GIBSON Stripped-down power

Gibson SGJ

46

DiVill By Italia F100 & M100

50

Blackstar HT Stage 60 & Artisan 15

56

Tape Echo Pedals

62

Yamaha APX500II

72

Tanglewood TWJF & TWJP

76

Kay Pro Electric Bass

80

Gibson’s latest SG offers the same striking look and aggressive rock tone we love but all for a very attractive price indeed

Italia have taken their quirky design aesthetic and applied it to a brand new budget range. We sample two of the four-strong line-up

Two vastly different designs of equal merit from Blackstar: an impressive combo with boutique tone and a powerful all-purpose amp Tape echo was a favourite of both country music and rock’n’roll artists. Huw Price evaluates seven stompbox versions of one of guitar world’s best-loved effects The updated Yamaha APX will provide beginners with their best starting point yet

A fine pair of Tanglewood cedar-tops that offer a mite more than the money suggests Kay’s latest reissue guides us into the realms of the upright bass and more besides

50 DIVILL

BLACKSTAR

56

Sandberg Basic Ken Taylor 20th Anniversary 5-string Bass 84 Sandberg’s latest top-spec creation offers exceptional value for a handcrafted bass

35% OFF when you subscribe PAGE 102

62 TAPE ECHO

YAMAHA

72

Vintage Hooked On Classics

90

Phil Harris pinpoints parts of his collection he’d have loved to see used by some great guitar players who are no longer with us

The Bishop Of Denmark Street 93 When the British sun eventually came out, Denmark St became a Mecca for tourists – and locals – with plenty of money to spend

Private Collection

94

Lars Mullen meets Paul Brett, a man with a love of old blues acoustics and unusual electrics from both sides of the Atlantic

READERS FREE ADS 128 SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE 130 SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 7

Reverberations

Write to Guitar & Bass, Anthem Publishing, Station House, Station Approach, off North Street, Carshalton, SM5 2HW or e-mail us: [email protected] Please note, we reserve the right to edit where we feel it is appropriate, or to print extracts from longer correspondences

STAR GUITAR LETTER THERAPY As a longstanding reader of G&B, having read with interest some of your letters, I thought you might be interested in me. I am 66 years old and have played the guitar since I was 10. I’ve been in various bands along the way, although purely self-taught. For the last 20 years I have suffered from osteoarthritis that has affected various parts of my body. About four months ago, it spread to my fingers and caused me a lot of pain and discomfort. I went to my GP and explained this, and told her that I am a guitar player. The doctor gave told me to persevere with my playing as it is the finest exercise for arthritic fingers. So it now turns out that, as well as the years of pleasure I’ve had, playing guitar is therapeutic. Chris Parker Bradford

G&B Sorry to hear about your health issues, Chris, and hats off for sending us a handwritten letter to let your fellow guitar players know about your doctor’s prescription. Being robbed of the ability to do the things you love doing is a true tragedy, and to find out that actually pursuing your passions is ‘just what the doctor ordered’ must be music to your ears. We suggest you follow your doctor’s advice to the letter, and may many happy hours of playing be good for the fingers, as well as the soul…

Written a Star Letter? Contact Rosetti on 01376 550033 to claim your Fusion gig bag – electric, acoustic or bass available!

OY MCVAE! I have been a subscriber for a year or two now and have to admit that I usually skim through the Private Collection section: I just can’t get up that much interest in the seemingly endless lines of Fenders, Gibsons and Rickenbackers, even if now and again these include the odd ‘interesting’ guitar. Imagine my surprise when I opened the August 2013 issue to find the collection of Simon Jones staring at me. The McVae guitars, the Gus G1 Vibrato, the David Lacugo… in fact, all of them. Surely this is what guitar collecting is about? Even my wife was commenting on these, rather than saying, ‘Yes, it’s a Strat, so what?’ as she normally does. Please tell Simon that I hate him with a passion he can only imagine. The only way he can get back into my good books is for him to send one of the guitars, preferably the ebony McVae, to Ian Hughes c/o G&B. Ian Hughes via email

G&B Glad we managed to finally pique your (and your dearly beloved’s) interest with the 8 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

Plasters and iodine are all well and good but there are times when a guitar can offer all the first aid you need

Private Collections. We’ve published your request to Simon, but – in all honesty – we suspect it will be a fruitless one. Simon came across as an upstanding gent, but to part with a fine instrument might be a step too far! Simon Jones' McVae guitars: what guitar collecting is all about?

VINTAGE PETER GREEN Great article on Greeny in the August issue. The first time I saw Peter Green and this guitar was at The Beachcomber in Nottingham. This was when the soul band era was ebbing and the blues boom was taking hold: sad, in a way, as one could meet girls via soul, while the blues was blokes and bored girlfriends! Anyway, my hero was Jeff Beck, who I had seen with the Yardbirds, and Peter was the new guy in the Bluesbreakers: somehow I had sidestepped Eric Clapton twice. Peter knocked my socks off and I couldn’t wait for the Bluesbreakers to return. So much has been written about Peter’s sound at the time, but on the first Beachcomber gig Peter had a bridge pickup and a hole where the neck pickup was supposed to be. This was particularly memorable, as people didn’t damage their guitars on purpose. In fact, a damaged new guitar was negotiation for a discount so a pro with an ‘imperfect’ guitar was unusual. Peter’s Marshall 4x12" was mic’d up, probably with a Reslo, with a tiny PA that

EMAILS, LETTERS, PHOTOS Reverberations

A LEGEND IS REBORN THE ROTOSOUND RFB1 1960’s FUZZ REISSUE

TESTED

AUGUST 2013

American Tele that I’d wanted for years, but when I finally got it, I hated it! The Baja Classic Player is so different and so good. You guys tested it, I bought it and I love it! John Dunstall via email

Peter Green

& THAT Les Paul! Disco

ver the truth about the blues legend and his myst British ical guitar www.guitarmagazine.co.uk

PLUS!

Fender and PRS tested!

PRS Dave Davies Ibanez Joe Moretti Peavey Ampeg Al Di Meola and more…

Private Collection

Vol 24 No 11

Off the beaten guitar path

AUGUST 2013 Vol 24 No 11

£4.25 08

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9 771755 338229 9 771755 338229

formed a ‘T’ with the usual PA. This was unusual for the time, too. Other memories of that first gig was John Mayall playing his weedy slide through a Burns Orbit amp. No pros used one, at least not those that came to Nottingham at that time. Also, John Mayall had an ashtray on his organ that filled up as the evening went on. At the end of the gig he threw the contents on the floor and put it in his little leads case. Forty odd years ago and I can still remember this gig in that tatty little cellar club, it was that good. If you want Peter Green at his best, build a time machine. Neil Winfield via email

ALL AT ONCE I’m a longstanding reader and subscriber and never written to you till now but had to tell you I have never enjoyed reading your mag so much as this latest edition. Reasons? I’m a huge Peter Green, Gary Moore and Al Di Meola fan. I’m also the proud owner of a Jan Akkerman signature guitar, bought new in ’73 and still going strong. Barry Hochfield via email

G&B What are the chances of that happening? We have no idea, but we’re glad it all hit home with you, Barry.

A TRUE PLAYER It was interesting to read the letter from Neil Tostevin in the August issue, and then your suggestion that we let you know about our recent purchases. Well, it’s all your fault! I read the reviews on all of the Telecasters and just had to try the Baja Classic Player. It was and is awesome. I loved it and bought it. Back in the ’90s I had an

G&B Many thanks for letting us know, John. While we’re delighted to hear you’re made up with your new guitar, the majority of the credit needs to go to you, for seeking out the right guitar for you, and to Fender for making something that ended up hitting the spot. We’re just glad to know we didn’t point you in the wrong direction…

NOT A REAL SPECTACLE? Just a bit of advice: always use your naked eye when adjusting guitar necks. Not so long ago I was setting up a bridge with Allen keys and put on my reading glasses to ‘help’ find the holes. I was horrified at the state of the neck. It was concave. When I looked again without my reading glasses on it was straight. It was the same when I looked at all other guitar necks! Colin Richards Windsor

G&B Blimey! That would send the mind (and the peepers) boggling. Not being qualified opticians we’re not in a position to question your prescription, but it might be worth getting in touch with yours to get to the bottom of the situation. Has anyone else ever experienced this kind of ‘eye-altering’ phenomenon?

Photography: Katarina Benzova

NEW TAY LOR GUITARS

I LOVE IT!

‘

It’s very Tonebender-ish. Reminds me a lot of my MKII but with more hair and beef to it. I have a ton of fuzz pedals (both vintage and new), and the Rotosound has instantly become one of my go-to fuzz’s for sure! RICHARD FORTUS - GUNS N’ ROSES

’

The Framus Jan Akkerman signature model: standing the test of time

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NOVEMBER 2012 Guitar & Bass 9

Woke up this mornin’...

NEWS

Metal Works Blackstar has turned its attention to foot-down power with its new HT Metal range recently unveiled at Summer NAMM. With custom looks and a design that takes its lead from its award-winning HT-1, HT-5 and Venue series amps, this hefty new range accommodates those after a bedroom practise amp as well as those seeking the high wattage needed to incite the moshpit. Six new models include 1W and 5W two-channel versions available as combos and heads with corresponding 1x12" and 4x8" cabs, a 60W 4x12" combo, and a no-holds-barred 100W three-channel stage head and matching 4x12" cab. Each HT Metal is fitted with ISF (Infinite Shape Feature) for fine tuning tone from British heavy metal to scooped gain action. Get behind the grille at www.blackstaramps.com

BRIGHT SPARK

Three Ring Circus Paul Reed Smith announces the launch of his brand new retro-style midrange solidbody ‘Stevensville 2’ series at Summer NAMM

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hose who have always hankered after one of Paul Reed Smith’s beautiful creations but couldn’t quite find the funds will be keen to try out the new S2 series models which recently debuted at Summer NAMM. This line up of US-made guitars has already been road-tested by a diverse range of punk and rock artists from Southern blues/rock man JJ Grey through to indie darlings Surfer Blood, and they seem to have gone down rather well. We’re big fans of the nostalgic look too, and despite their attractive mid-range price tags this elegant trio of new guitars are made in the same Stevensville factory as their high-end flagship brethren, where they have blended new manufacturing techniques with the usual standard of state-of-the-art construction. The vintageinspired S2 Mira (pictured left; £1095) with an all-mahogany body, asymmetrical bevelled top, rosewood fretboard and specially-designed PRS 10 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

pickups promises punchy, organic sounds. The S2 Starla (centre; £1095) offers jangly, trashy tones thanks to some specially-voiced pickups, and it features an all-mahogany singlecut body with tunomatic bridge and Bigsby B50 tailpiece for shimmering goodness. Lastly, the S2 Custom 24 (right; £1375) is based on the classic PRS model but with stripped-down appointments including a bookmatched figured maple top, mahogany back, custom-wound pickups with three-way switch and a PRS whammy bar. PRS S2 locking tuners ensure perfect tuning across the board. The S2 range is available in a variety of opaque finishes (depending on the model) complete with matching headstocks that include antique white, black, McCarty tobacco sunburst, black cherry, blue crab smokeburst, dark cherry burst, gray black sienna, vintage cherry and our favourite hue, seafoam green. Head over to www.prsguitars.com to find out more.

TC Electronic introduce the new Spark Mini Booster this month, a miniaturised take on its original Spark Booster pedal that should suit lead guitarists to a tee. The new ‘PrimeTime’ feature allows players to switch between latching (permanently on/off) or momentary (on while switch is held down), there’s a healthy 20db of boost, and it’s compact enough to take up the minimum of room at your feet. Go to: www. tcelectronic.com

Red Hearing Hughes & Kettner has unleashed the Red Box 5, the latest version of its award-winning DI box with speaker simulation. This stylish unit is great for home recording, live and studio situations with a sound that mimics the sound of a real cab rather than one that’s mic’d up. Controls include the usual Ground/Lift and Pad switches as well as three sliding switches – Loose/Tight, Vintage/ Modern and Small/Large – for further soundsculpting filters and EQ. This lightweight tool is a soundman’s best friend, as it sidesteps the need to spend hours repositioning mics around the stage. Price £89.99; www.hughes-and-kettner.com

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

NEWS IN BRIEF Bare Knuckle Celebration

WILKO JOHNSON SIGNATURE Fender pay tribute to the explosive ex-Dr Feelgood guitarist with a brand new signature Telecaster that’s exclusive to Europe UK proto-punk icon Wilko Johnson, recently diagnosed with terminal cancer, has been honoured with a new signature Fender Telecaster dressed in the unmistakable red and black colour combo that became his trademark. The distinctive new model features a maple neck with Wilko’s preferred C profile, dual vintage-style single coil pickups, 7.25"-radius rosewood fingerboard with 21 vintage-style frets, threeway pickup switching, a vintage-style string-through-body bridge with three chrome-barrel saddles and vintage-style tuners. This unique Telecaster arrives with special goodies, including two photos of the eccentric guitarist and facsimiles of Johnson’s notebook entries featuring Dr Feelgood hits She Does It Right, Back In The Night and Roxette. Detailed rundown at www.fender.com

Boutique pickup manufacturers Bare Knuckle celebrates its 10th anniversary in style with 100 limited edition sets of handmade guitar and bass pickups personally wound by founder Tim Mills. These jubilant humbuckers are based on vintage originals made for one of Mills’ personal guitars, use roughcast Alnico II magnets and are wound with 42 AWG plain enamel wire. All feature custom-etched anniversary covers and arrive with a certificate of authenticity hand-signed and numbered by Mills. All the details at www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk

Vital Lite Roland’s new innovation for Summer NAMM was the CUBE Lite guitar amp, a compact system that combines a guitar amp with an iOS music system. Guitarists can rig the CUBE Lite up to their iOS device and download Roland’s free CUBE JAM iOS app to jam along to backing tracks and lay down song ideas. A 2.1 channel speaker system with a subwoofer provide quality sound and COSM amp models and effects add a decent palette to work with. Colours are black, white or red. See www.roland.co.uk

T-Model Ford Dies

Marshall In Colour Last year Marshall’s 50th anniversary line was expanded to include the Hanwell, an innovation that takes the classic Marshall sound off the stage and into the home. Now this elegant amplifier is available in a limited edition run of colourful alternatives to the original black vinyl in the form of three new shades – cream, British racing green and purple. This desirable new amp is housed in a wooden cabinet and features a grey fretcloth outlined with swish gold piping and a vintage-inspired gold Marshall logo. Tones can be dialled in using the analogue power switch as well as Volume, Bass and Treble controls. Dual long-throw woofers create gut-shaking lows and hi-fi tweeters ensure a defined tone (£650). www.marshalheadphones.com

Mississippi blues legend James Lewis Carter ‘T-Model’ Ford died of respiratory failure at his home in Greenville on 16 July. Ford couldn’t remember his exact birthdate, but claimed to be 93. The self-taught bluesman took up guitar late in life (58) and was known for his raw and humorous approach. His debut LP PeeWee Get My Gun was released in 1997 and he recorded a further six inspired albums. Ford served time for killing a man in self-defence as a young man, was married total six times, and is said to have had 26 children.

Calendar SHOWS, GIGS, FESTIVALS, WORKSHOPS

The Lost Chord

Cambridge Rock Festival

London Acoustic Guitar Show

1-4 AUGUST CRF was shortlisted for Best Small Festival at last year’s Festival Awards, so this is well worth a look. Confirmed artists include the Quireboys, Caravan, the Animals, Pure Floyd, Bonafide, Hazel O’Connor, Pearl Handled Revolver and Magnum WHERE? Haggis Farm Polo Club, Barton TICKETS From £20 (day); £30 (weekend + camping) CONTACT www.cambridgerockfestival.co.uk

7-8 SEPTEMBER Head down to London’s Olympia for what promises to be an acoustic lover’s dream featuring top name exhibitors, masterclasses and live shows from X Factor winner Matt Cardle, Martin Simpson, Antonio Forcione and Ben Montague WHERE? West London TICKETS £30 (weekend); £17/£20 (day) CONTACT www.londonacousticguitarshow.co.uk

Bright and breezy fare this month for those summery chord progressions. John Mayer put it to great use for his breakthrough hit No Such Thing, as did Ryan Adams in alt-pop single This Is It. It’s relatively easy to achieve, though some may find it easier to use the 2nd finger on the B string. The 3rd and 1st fingers are naturally inclined to dampen the A and top E strings too!

Great British R&B Festival 23-26 AUGUST The Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival celebrates its 24th anniversary with a fine line-up of artists including Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings, Joe Louis Walker, Chris Farlowe, Nine Below Zero, Dr Feelgood and Ian Siegal WHERE? Colne, Lancs TICKETS £125 (full festival); £33-37.50 (day tickets) CONTACT www.bluesfestival.co.uk

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Worley’s Guitar Show 14-15 SEPTEMBER This free two-day guitar show is unmissable with a great line-up of exhibitors and brands, demos, on-site guitar set-up workshops, prize draw, one-off show deals and giveaways. Live music features gypsy jazz, blues and pop acts WHERE? Stourport Civic Centre, Worcestershire TICKETS Free CONTACT www.worleysguitarshow.co.uk

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SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 11

Woke up this mornin’...

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

NEWS

WE’VE BEEN AD...

ED SHEERAN SIGNATURE ACOUSTIC Martin Guitars collaborate with award-winning singer/songwriter and pop star Ed Sheeran for the brand new LX1E signature acoustic guitar When Martin announced this new signature model, Sheeran fans managed to crash its website in record time – so it looks like this neat travel guitar may well be one of its most popular models to date. The LX1E (£499) features Sheeran’s personal touches including a headstock with his signature fluorescent orange ‘plus’ sign and ‘est. 1991’, a nod to both his debut album title and his birth date; the ‘plus’ logo is also laser-etched into the solid sapele top. Part of the proceeds from the guitar (including Sheeran’s personal royalties) will be donated to East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices.

The guitar was a big draw at Summer NAMM and will be unleashed towards the end of the year. Detailed specs over at www.martinguitar.com

TALONS OUT They don’t come much more ’80s than Fender’s extravagant run of adverts for their metal-friendly superstrat the Heartfield Talon, endorsed by UFO’s very own Vinnie Moore, pictured here putting the guitar through its paces. Fender wasn’t the obvious brand for shred fans and in order to crack the metal market and weaken Ibanez’s stronghold it chose not to put its decal on the headstock of these Japanese-made rockers, instead adopting the Heartfield moniker. In other ads Fender went all-out by characterising the Talon as a giant chrome phoenix but, despite the angry futuristic robot birds and the the promise that guitarists could ‘buy a path to devastation’, the Talon failed to make its mark and was discontinued in 1993. Still, nice jacket, Vinnie.

Super Bad Those in the market for a versatile new distortion pedal are advised to give the new MXR M75 Super Badass a few hours in the demo booth. Designed by an award-winning team, the M75 is 100 per cent analogue and says it can deliver everything from vintage overdriven bliss to a more modern ‘scooped’ distortion for today’s metal tastes. Effects hounds can fine-tune the crunch via controls including Distortion, Bass, Mid and Treble, while true bypass ensures a crystal-clear signal when the pedal is dormant. For all the intricate details and for two earcrushing demo videos head over to www. jimdunlop.com

12 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

Rotosound’s Magnificent Seven Summer NAMM brought with it a veritable breeding ground of new goodies for guitarists to get excited about, not least the half-dozen colourful new stompboxes that followed last year’s revival of the classic Rotosound RFB1 fuzz. These vibrant new handwired effects units were designed by effects guru John Oram with a brief that insisted they evoke the swinging ’60s in every minute detail from period-correct components to the Austin Powers-inspired get-up. The finished articles include the Wobbler tremolo, with vintage optical attenuator for vintage valve tremolo fun; the King Henry phaser, fitted with a Peak control for a far-reaching palette of options; the Pusher compressor pedal, for both noise-reduction and even strumming; the Crusader chorus, offering smooth and spacious soundscapes; the Aftermath, giving warm analogue delay thanks to its high-tech circuitry; and the Leveller EQ pedal, housing silicon and germanium trannies and delivering a choice of Boom, Funk and Honk settings. The pedals will be out in September. See www.rotosound.com for more

METAL SOUNDS Things are hotting up at the heavier end of things with the release of four new metal-friendly pickups. PRS’s \m/ Metal humbuckers are engraved with the ‘metal horns’ emoticon and use ceramic magnets to ensure clarity and weight (www.prsaccessories. com). Next, the EMG 25th Anniversary Zakk Wylde set comes in a hefty 81/85 combo and is available in Buzzsaw, Bullseye or Vertigo versions with a choice of black chrome or brushed gold (www.emgpickups. com). Seymour Duncan’s Black Winter humbuckers are prepped for headbang-inducing sounds with a special wind for crushing distortion (www. seymourduncan.com) and Lace’s Finger Burner passive humbuckers employ ceramic and barium ferrite magnets for low-end punch and come in a striking burnt chrome finish (www.lacemusic.com).

Fully Automated Valve Testing & Matching

Introducing the VT1000 Another World First from Orange Read More...

TECHNOLOGY

www.orangeamps.com

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HOUSE MUSIC Fargen expanded its boutique offerings at Summer NAMM with the debonair new Townhouse microsized amp. Having scored success with its previous Micro Plex mini, Fargen’s handwired 5W Class A combo should find its way into many a bedroom soon. Features include a two-way Decade switch delivering both ’50s and ’60s tones with vintage tweed and brownface-inspired sounds, vintage ’60s style caps and carbon comp resistors, a USA-built transformer and DC filaments for noiseless playing. One neat little noisebox! The amp is paired with an equally diddy 1x12" speaker cab. For further inspection head over to www.fargenamps.com

BONHAMS STRIKES GOLD Some interesting rock’n’roll rarities featured in a recent sale of entertainment memorabilia at Bonhams auction house in Knightsbridge. Top billing went to Jimmy Page’s Martin D-28 ‘Birthday Special 2007’ acoustic guitar; inlaid with Led Zeppelin Zodiac symbols and complete with a signed letter and a photo, it sold above all estimates at £26,250. The guitar was played by the iconic Led Zeppelin guitarist at Roy Harper’s 70th birthday at the Royal Festival Hall and was donated to the charity auction in aid of Brazil’s Children Trust. David Bowie-related lots included a rare set of handwritten lyrics for

Jean Genie, signed by the star, which fetched a cool £18,750 and a cardinal red Vox 12-string electric used by Bowie during the Ziggy Stardust era (£13,750). One lucky Rolling Stones fan outbid the competition for a lock of Mick Jagger’s hair (£4,000) cut by his then-girlfriend Chrissie Shrimpton. Other popular lots included a canvas painting by Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke (£5,000), a Yamaha piano used during the recording of Radiohead’s experimental albums Kid A and Amnesiac, and a microphone from the subsequent album tours signed by the band (£3,750). See www.bonhams.com for more

New Nighthawk Three new additions to the Gibson stable this month include a five-string bass, a vintage reissue jumbo acoustic and the fine new Nancy Wilson signature Nighthawk pictured right. The Heart guitarist’s new signature model has a beautiful look thanks to its grade AAA figured maple top with high-gloss nitrocellulose fireburst finish with cherry back and neck, a bound rosewood fretboard and a commemorative ‘Fanatic’ trussrod cover that gives it a personal touch. The standard Nighthawk body contours, bridge and through-body stringing remain, while power comes from a mini humbucker at the neck and a slanted Lead humbucker at the bridge with five-way switching for a variety of single coil and humbucking options. Also new from Gibson is the 1934 Original Jumbo, a reissue based on the extremely rare original, and the EB five-string bass with offset double-cutaways, freshly-designed EB pickups, a Babicz Full Contact bridge and a choice of plenty of vintage gloss finishes. Visit www.gibson.com for more details.

14 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

Heavy Set With its award-winning HT pedals as a starting point, Blackstar has fashioned a new set of five boost, overdrive and distortion units. The powerful LT Metal is charged for extreme gain, the LT Drive is an overdrive pedal based on their HT-Drive unit that claims to be ideal for warm lead tones, the two-channel LT Dual delivers options from clean boost through to high gain drive, the LT Boost is eminently tweakable with Bass and Treble ‘cut and boost’ controls, and the LT Dist is a versatile but straightforward option. Three of the five pedals (LT Dist, LT Metal and LT Dual) are equipped with Blackstar’s ISF (Infinite Shape Feature) for further tonal shaping and all the units feature high-integrity buffered bypass, silent switching and are nicely protected by a colourful, durable metal housing. Check out the options at www.blackstaramps.com

POD POWER Line 6’s POD HD500 is the best-selling multi-FX pedal unit on the market and, to increase the stronghold, the company has improved it. The newfangled HD 500X features professional tour-grade footswitches and extra-dynamic DSP, meaning it has more processing clout than all of its predecessors and competitors. With over 100 studio and stompbox effects, the added DSP also allows guitarists to decide which effects they want to use and in which order to place them. There’s a whopping collection of HD amp models at your disposal, from vintage to modern; dual signal paths to blend them together; backlit LED rings on the switches to ensure a smooth performance; a diecast expression pedal; and a sturdy bent-metal

housing to keep things safe and sound. The HD 500X has all the necessary connections for all situations including a stereo effects loop and a USB 2.0 port to control parameters from your computer… and for easy connectivity to any DAW as well. Explore the possibilities at www.line6.com

“These Phosphor Bronze strings have just the right amount of body and twang – which is vital for my sound. I give them a hard life and they still sound great.” - Newton Faulkner

Photo Credit: Jordan McLachlan

Acoustic Phosphor Bronze The tone you love – for longer

Elixir® Strings Acoustic Phosphor Bronze deliver distinctive phosphor bronze warmth and sparkle - together with extended tone life. Elixir Strings is the only coated string brand to protect the entire string, keeping tone-killing gunk out of the gaps between the string windings. Our innovative Anti-Rust Plated Plain Steel Strings prevent corrosion, ensuring longer life for the entire set. Guitarists tell us Elixir Strings retain their tone longer than any other string, uncoated or coated.

www.elixirstrings.co.uk/products Newton Faulkner plays Elixir Strings Acoustic Phosphor Bronze ® with NANOWEB Coating, Medium Gauge .013 - .056 Check out Newton’s new album “Studio Zoo”

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GORE, ELIXIR, NANOWEB, POLYWEB, GREAT TONE • LONG LIFE, “e” icon, and other designs are trademarks of W. L. Gore & Associates. ©2013 W. L. Gore & Associates, (UK) Limited ELX-259-ADV-EN-JUN13

Martin Huch

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23/07/2013 09:51

Woke up this mornin’...

NEWS

Album reviews Tedeschi Trucks Band

Norman Watt-Roy

The Rides CAN’T GET ENOUGH Provogue

FAITH & GRACE Cadiz

Last year’s Revelator was a fixture on our stereo until this latest missive swiftly took its place. This 11-piece troupe stirs up an addictive soup with classic flavours, and with Trucks’ skilled touch and Tedeschi’s all-round talents they simply can’t fail. Part Of Me is a radiant old-school R&B duet, the title track is fierce blues goodness with flabbergasting slide, and the touching Idle Wind and funked-up Misunderstood seal it.

Stephen Stills, Barry Goldberg and Kenny Wayne Shepherd? With a fine pedigree such as this we expect big things, and big things are afoot. There’s a simple, robust thread that holds this US blues-rock set firmly together. Originals blend with covers including the Stooges’ Search And Destroy, Neil Young’s Rockin’ In The Free World and Muddy Waters’ Honey Bee for a cohesive diversity, and Shepherd and Stills’ vocals mix it up further.

Named after cockney slang for bass, Watt-Roy’s first solo LP is a shopfront for his talents that swerves excitedly from animated vitality to graceful jazzy strains. A woozy take on Ian Dury’s Billericay Dickie and a revamp of Wilko Johnson’s Roxette (with Wilko) are inspired, his own Me, My Bass & I is a biographical thrill and a cover of My Foolish Heart, his late wife’s favourite song, is bliss. Robin Hood (good).

Moreland & Arbuckle

Deke Dickerson

Buddy Guy

7 CITIES Telarc

ECHOSONIC ELDORADO Raucous

RHYTHM & BLUES Sony

M&A’s newest undertaking charts the story of Coronado, a Spanish explorer in search of the Cities Of Gold. An odd theme for a rootsy, rocky blues album one would think, but instead it works a charm and propels the LP forward. Opener Quivira is riffed-up garage, The Devil In Me adds twang, Road Blind is an unfettered stomper… but Everybody Wants To Rule The World? For us, that’s a mismatch.

A fantastic title for a pearl of an album with 14 spine-tingling rockabilly treats. Fans of slapback vocals, twanging guitars and general sonic mayhem will love Dickerson’s style. Little Innocent and I’m Getting Your Message, Baby are boppin’ standouts, Sneakin’ All Around is piano-backed fun and Big Guitar is a rock-steady homage to the six-string. Deke takes an authentic Sun Records sound and adds his own peerless flair.

Buddy is joined by an elite headcount including Beth Hart, Kid Rock and Steven Tyler for this double disc, split into ‘Rhythm’ and ‘Blues’. The quality of workmanship throughout vindicates Guy’s legendary status, particularly Best In Town, with some unique unhinged wah-wah guitar; One Day Away, a soft duet with Keith Urban; and fiery thrills on Blues Don’t Care with Gary Clark Jr. A master in action.

Jonny Lang

Hamilton Loomis

Oli Brown

FIGHT FOR MY SOUL Provogue

GIVE IT BACK Ham Bone

SONGS FROM THE ROAD Ruf

The last we heard from Lang was his superb Grammy-winning album Turn Around. Now he breaks a seven-year silence with this powerful and moving follow-up. Equipped with an angelic voice and an equally soulful set of digits, Lang is as proficient in gentle fingerplay (All Of A Sudden) as upbeat, driving soul (River), Prince-like funk (Not Right) and refined balladry (I’ll Always Be). Recommended.

Funked-up blues has never grasped our attention quite like this tight yet breezy, affair. Loomis explores soul, R&B, pop and rock too and in doing so carves out his own joyful niche. Cuts like She’s Had Enough skirts funk, blues and rock for a unique tilt, Partner In Crime is slinky stuff, and ballad A Woman Like You is Rhodes-led silk. Bass god Victor Wooten joins the fray on groovesome opener Stuck In A Rut too. Unquantifiable.

This electrifying live CD/DVD was captured at Brown’s homecoming gig in Norwich last year, and it’s one hell of a workout with cuts from all three of his excellent albums. There’s hot-blooded fretwork from set-starter Speechless through to the raucous Stone Cold that ends the gig, with intermediate highs including the bile of Manic Bloom, Devil In Me’s creeping riff and a brutal cover of the Black Keys’ Next Girl.

MADE UP MIND Sony

SNAP JUDGEMENTS Niko Tsonev BANSHEES AND HARPSICHORDS Stunted Records Industrial distortion, fuzzed-up jazz interludes, oddball solos and lightningquick fingers make Niko one talented enigma

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COVER STORY CHUCK BERRY

SCHOOL

Of Rock

With his performing flair, pioneering guitar style and storytelling savvy, the great Chuck Berry was the epitome of early rock’n’roll. Michael Stephens charts the rise of a legend who was never far from genius or trouble

T

he late John Lennon had a way with a soundbite. He famously declared the Beatles ‘more popular than Jesus’, and also said ‘before Elvis, there was nothing.’ He also noted, ‘if you tried to give rock’n’roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry.’ The Beatle’s epithet for Berry is arguably the most accurate of his three: the music of Charles Edward Anderson ‘Chuck’ Berry is so closely intertwined with rock’n’roll, the two may just as well be interchangeable. Chuck Berry was never as diverse as the Beatles or as multi-faceted as Elvis, of course, but his songs are the simplest encapsulation of the music that changed the world. If aliens ever do visit this third stone from the sun and want rock’n’roll explained, don’t even say anything – just play them Chuck Berry’s Chess 45 Roll Over Beethoven. ET would understand, and will tap that long finger. Like many an artist, Berry is a much more complex character than his rollicking tunes convey. Over his 85 years, he’s become infamous for his temper and his parsimony – Keith Richards says he was ‘disappointed’ when he worked with Chuck, and even ‘bullied’ by him. On top of that, Berry’s numerous brushes with the law suggest, to some, an unsavoury and occasionally dangerous man. In the preface of his astonishingly honest The Autobiography, Berry himself bluntly admits: ‘Every 15 years… it seems I make a big mistake.’ But what cannot be denied is Chuck Berry’s music. Lairy and lyrical, poetic and punchy, Berry’s best songs influenced millions, from songwriters to showmen to

guitarists to fashionistas. Berry has his flaws – and he admits to them – but being dull has never been one of his faults.

Born to rock’n’roll Despite his later lawlessness, Chuck Berry was born into a respectable middle-class family in St Louis, Missouri. His mother and father were both professionals and sang, as was customary, at their local Baptist church. But the Berrys also had a piano in their family home. ‘Long before I learned to walk I was patting my foot to those Baptist beats, rocked by the deacon’s feet, focussed on the tempo of the times,’ Berry wrote. ‘Oh, but the feeling it generated still stirs my memory of back when. Hallelujah!’ Berry says he fixated on the blues and country sounds of local radio at an early age. But then, he’s always claimed to be a ‘seeker’ – he says that by the time he was to seven, he not only knew how to cook but also knew the intricacies of sex. At 12, he had performed at his high school, singing Jay McShann’s big band hit Confessin’ The Blues, backed up by a guitar-playing friend. Chuck soon borrowed a guitar and began to learn to play with the help of Nick Mannaloft’s Guitar Book Of Chords. However, while still a high school student of 17, he served a prison sentence for armed robbery (from 1944 to 1947). In custody, he learned more cooking, boxing and playing music with fellow detainees. Released from jail on his 21st birthday, the wayward son of church deacon Henry Berry was ready to make music his life. On his release, Berry settled into married life and worked at a car assembly plant. By

early 1953 – he was already 26 – guitar playing and performing had become his real love. The showmanship and guitar licks of blues player T-Bone Walker were a big influence; after his car plant day was done, Berry was performing in the evenings with the Johnnie Johnson Trio. Berry’s break was fortunate. Johnson’s regular band-member Alvin Bennett (a saxophonist) suffered a stroke and could not perform for a New Year’s Eve show. Pianist Johnson called Berry as the only musician he knew who, because of his inexperience, would unlikely to be booked on New Year’s Eve. Berry jumped at the offer. Replacing an ailing horn-man, he began his own climb. Berry described the Johnson trio’s music as ‘country-western, which was usually called hillbilly music’. In many ways, Berry’s early career mirrored that of Elvis, playing this uptempo music – early rock’n’roll – that confused and scared some folks. But, unlike Elvis, Chuck Berry was a more of a ‘threat’. Why? His skin colour. He remembered the impact he made: ‘The clubgoers started whispering, “Who is that black hillbilly at the Cosmo [club]? After they laughed at me a few times they began requesting the hillbilly stuff and enjoyed dancing to it.’ Berry himself called the venues he played ‘salt and pepper clubs’ – white and black, together – but this was still then something of a rarity. America was still racially segregated, and Berry was a memorable frontman. Berry was in demand, whether it was down to his talent, showmanship or ‘negro novelty’. He got a contract to front his own shows at St Louis’s Cosmopolitan club with his own ➻ SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 19

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Berry sporting a ’50s Kay Thin Twin guitar, aka the ‘Jimmy Reed model’

CHUCK'S CHAMPIONS The brown-eyed handsome man’s friends and fans speak out… ‘[My mama] said, “You and Elvis are pretty good. But you’re no Chuck Berry’ Jerry Lee Lewis ‘Even on a bad night, Chuck Berry is a lot better than Eric Clapton will ever be’ Angus Young ‘Chuck was my man. He was the one who made me say, I want to play guitar. Jesus Christ! Suddenly, I knew what I wanted to do’ Keith Richards ‘He wrote all of the great songs and all the rock’n’roll beats’ Brian Wilson ‘I knew when I first heard Chuck that he’d been affected by country music. I respected his writing… his records were very, very great’ Carl Perkins ‘There’s only one true king of rock’n’roll. His name is Chuck Berry’ Stevie Wonder ‘Chuck Berry’s On Top is probably my favourite record of all time; it defines rock’n’roll. A lot of people have done Chuck Berry songs, but to get that feel is really hard. It’s the rock’n’roll thing – the push-pull and the rhythm of it’ Joe Perry

20 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

newly-recruited band – though Berry’s backing bands have never been there to do anything but one thing… make Chuck Berry look good. He debuted as a solo act as ‘Chuck Berryn’; adding the ‘n’ to try and not alert his father. Still, his guitar playing, singing and own songs were impressing everyone else who saw him perform, and soon he’d make his major breakthrough beyond St Louis.

Sweet Home Chicago With an old schoolfriend, Berry visited Chicago for a vacation. He lapped up the amateur blues clubs everywhere, but scrimped 50 cents to see Muddy Waters play at a bigger venue. Berry, being persistent, got to meet the blues master after the show. ‘It was the feeling I suppose one would get from having a word with the president or the pope. I quickly told him of my admiration for his compositions and asked who I could see about making a record. Other fans of Muddy were scuffling for a chance just to say hi to him, yet he chose to answer my question.’ Muddy’s answer was: go and see Leonard Chess at Chess Records. Berry stayed in Chicago one extra day than planned, to try and get an audience with Chess, and it became the most pivotal 24 hours of his life. He got to meet Chess the next morning. ‘I had been taping on a $79 quarter-inch

reel-to-reel recorder that I’d purchased in contemplation of such an audition,’ Berry wrote in his autobiography. ‘I told him I was visiting from St Louis, but could return with the tapes (which I hadn’t truly made yet) whenever he could listen to them… He stood all the while with a look of amazement that he later told me was because of the businesslike way I’d talked to him.’ Berry swiftly drove back to St Louis – getting his kicks on Route 66, no doubt – and rehearsed with fervour. With his friends Johnnie Johnson and Ebby Hardy, Berry honed his own proto-songs: ‘Leonard Chess explained to me that it would be better if I had original songs.’ Johnson was happy to become backup to the young man he had hired in desperation only a few years before: ‘I figured we could get better jobs with Chuck running the band. He had a car, and rubber wheels beat rubber heels any day. [Chuck] did so many things for the band... we didn’t have a booking agency, so he got out and hustled up the jobs.’

COVER STORY Berry and company recorded quite a few tracks, but there were two standouts when they returned to Chicago. Ida Red was an old uptempo country tune – a hit for Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys in 1938. Chuck had added new lyrics and renamed it Ida May. He also put forward a slower-burning blues number, Wee Wee Hours, itself a ‘reworking’ of Joe Turner’s Wee Baby Blue. Leonard Chess was intrigued. Berry said the label owner was enthusiastic about the commercial possibilities in a ‘hillbilly song sung by a black man’. Chess wanted a bigger beat for the song, and added a bass and maracas player to the trio at Berry’s debut Chess session. He also felt the titles Ida Red or Ida May were ‘too rural’. According to pianist Johnnie Johnson, Chess spotted a lipstick tray on the studio floor and said, ‘Well, hell, let’s name the damn thing Maybellene’ (the spelling was altered to avoid a suit by the cosmetics company). Perhaps typically, Berry claimed the song’s namechange was his own idea. He also rewrote his lyrics at the direction of Leonard Chess; ‘The kids wanted the big beat, cars, and young love,’ Chess later recalled. ‘It was the trend, and we jumped on it.’ Berry’s first attempt at recording a 45 was draining. Every recording was live, of course, and Berry initially struggled to impress Chess. It took, remembered Berry, ‘35 tries before completing a track that proved satisfactory to Leonard.’ A recording of Wee Wee Hours, plus Thirty Days and You Can’t Catch Me followed. Leonard Chess then treated the young men to ‘hamburgers and pop’ at a local diner before, at 10pm, taking them back to Chess studios. It was good news: Chuck Berry had won a recording contract. Because of a fairly old tune, new lyrics and a title inspired by a chance spotting of a lipstick case, Maybellene made Chuck Berry a rock’n’roll star and it went to #1 on the R&B charts in July 1955. After that, Chuck landed an improved contract with Chess – a guaranteed $40,000 (equivalent to £250,000 in 2013) of work every year for the next three years.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

CHUCK BERRY

The Shakespeare of rock'n'roll Leonard Chess’s decree of ‘big beat, cars, and young love’ was dead on the money. Chuck Berry’s hits kept on coming, and they mostly fitted that lyrical template. In the next two Berry strikes a pose years, Roll Over Beethoven, Too Much Monkey with his treasured Business, Rock And Roll Music, Sweet Little blonde Gibson ES-350 Sixteen and the indelible Johnny B Goode all kept Berry busy, and they also kept Chess’s cash-tills ringing like bells. Berry quickly grew into an enviable performer. Whether it was his guitar-soloing ‘duck walk’, addressing the audience between lyrics, or toting his guitar like it was his snake (you know what we mean), Chuck nailed ‘the business of show’. If Elvis was ‘the pelvis’, Chuck was the cock(erel) – a true show-off, a flash dandy, crowing from the rooftops about ➻

‘He wrote the book. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, even Elvis, they all took a leaf from Chuck Berry’ – Angus Young

SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 21

Y COVER STORR Y CHUCK BER

RECOMMENDED The Ultimate Chuck Berry This three-CD boxset (via the Spectrum Audio label) is the best value beginners can get, with most of the hits, and many alternative takes. Some takes are not the best (Sweet Little Rock And Roller misses a great guitar solo from the single’s take), and there is filler. But from £5.99 online, this packs plenty of rock’n’roll per penny.

Chuck Berry: The Chess Box The best of Berry’s early years for obsessives. You get a 12" box (for stacking your vinyl Chuck LPs), three CDs, and every Chuck single listed in the order they were released, accompanied by a 36-page colour book full of biographical detail. Not cheap – £50 as an import, when we checked – but quality from Chess’s master recordings.

Johnny B Goode… You can download many a Berry track for 79p from iTunes. When Marty McFly regressed to the ’50s in ’80s movie Back To The Future, what did he pick up a guitar to play? Johnny B Goode. It’s 1950s rock’n’roll… in a nutshell.

the lusty joys of rock’n’roll. Singles were Berry’s bread and butter; he was never much of an album artist. As a live draw, cranking the hits, he was phenomenally successful. Perhaps it was Berry’s lyrics? His words have been dissected thousands of times, of course, but Berry had something special: cadence, rhyme and (self?) mythologising all rolled into one. Johnny B Goode is a classic case in point. The starting point was Berry’s appreciation for Johnnie Johnson, his one-time mentor and his pianist. Then, however, Berry the poet stepped it up. Is the lyric about a mythical guitar-man? Or is it Chuck Berry writing what Chuck Berry hoped others believed about Chuck Berry himself? He changed his original line of ‘coloured boy’ to ‘country boy’ at the last minute, wary that he may not have a hit if he mentioned colour when referring to the Louisiana-residing star of the song. Berry has often been called rock’n’roll’s ‘poet laureate’, and it’s understandable why. His words – though simple – not only scan without music, they perfectly embody rock’n’roll’s devil-may-care obsessions: cars, sex, ambition, guitars, dancing, wild youth, high living, jukeboxes and working hard just to play the music... and, eventually, get the girl. John Lennon understood. He remarked: ‘Chuck Berry is one of the all-time great poets, a rock poet, you could call him. He was well advanced of his time, lyric-wise. We all owe him a lot, including [Bob] Dylan. I’ve loved everything he’s ever done.’ 22 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

For AC/DC’s Angus Young – not a man you’d usually associate with appreciation of wordcraft – it’s simple. ‘He basically wrote the book. The Beatles, the Stones, even Elvis Presley, they all took a leaf from Chuck Berry. Of rock’n’roll, he’s probably the Shakespeare.’

Storming the States In late 1957, Berry was booked for DJ Alan Freed’s Biggest Show Of Stars For 1957, a USA tour where he shared bills with the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly and others. Berry fitted well with such exalted company. From ’57 to ’59, he scored over a dozen chart singles – even his B-sides became radio hits. Like Elvis, he was persuaded to appear in movies. The first was Rock Rock Rock (from 1956) where he sang You Can’t Catch Me. He graduated to a speaking part in 1959 movie Go, Johnny, Go! along with DJ Alan Freed, and performed Johnny B Goode, Memphis,

Tennessee and Little Queenie. Yet Berry still felt like an outsider. He was no natural actor; he was a hustler, and aware of his skin colour. Alan Freed championed Berry, but Chuck still felt in awe of the company he was keeping. ‘Back then, it was no way popular for a black person to be invited to an all-white get-together,’ he wrote, ‘so I hung around for the experience and information I could get about the music business.’ Berry did learn something. It was only in the late 1970s that he got back the writing copyright for Maybellene from Leonard Chess… even if Berry had based the song on a ‘standard’. By the end of the 1950s Berry had earned a great deal of money, even if he wasn’t topping the charts every time. He established a racially-integrated St Louis nightclub, Berry’s Club Bandstand. He bought big houses. He lived a high life of which his churchman father was possibly despairing. And then, in archetypal rock’n’roll style, it all went wrong. In December 1959, Berry was arrested under the USA’s Mann Act after an allegation that he had sex with a 14-year-old waitress whom he had transported over state lines to work as a hat check girl at his St Louis club. He was found guilty and, after appealing a sentence of five years, eventually served 18 months in prison [February 1962 to October 1963.] Berry had other notable hits after – No Particular Place To Go is another classic cars/ girls/guitars 45, and Nadine is great – but soon Chuck Berry’s career as a musical trailblazer was over. ➻

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Y COVER STORR Y CHUCK BER

Chuck's children

➻

Even as his own star slowly faded, Berry’s influence continued to burn brightly. His songs were covered by an astonishing array of acts from 1960 onwards: Maybellene (Gerry and the Pacemakers), Johnny B Goode (Elvis, Beach Boys, Hendrix, Beatles), Roll Over Beethoven (Beatles, the Sonics, ELO), Brown-Eyed Handsome Man (Buddy Holly, Paul McCartney, Nina Simone), Run Rudolph Run (Keith Richards, and also The Muppet Show’s Dr Teeth And The Electric Mayhem – though that is hardly essential listening). Berry’s effect on British rock’n’roll was huge. The teenage Mick Jagger bought Chuck’s records by mail-order from the USA: the Stones’ first single was a cover of Come On. The Stones then covered Carol. Fellow Stone Keith Richards was in awe of Berry. In his Life autobiography, Richards writes, ‘I could never overstress how important he was in my development. It still fascinates me how this one guy could come up with so many songs and sling it so gracefully and elegantly.’ The Beatles also owed a huge debt – they played many Berry covers in their Hamburg days. Paul McCartney’s Back In The USSR was a light-hearted riposte to Berry’s Back In The USA. John Lennon was smitten by Berry: Come Together is ‘influenced’ by Berry’s ’56 hit You Can’t Catch Me: the lyric ‘here come old flat-top’ is a straight steal. Berry was an admirer and friend of Lennon, but his publishing company sued. Lennon’s 1975 Rock’n’Roll covers LP included You Can’t Catch Me – a way of paying back the money. No Chuck Berry? No Beatles or Rolling Stones. Chuck Berry remains one of music’s ‘badasses’ – he’s been bad, and he’s been an ass, too. There’s a scene in the movie Hail! Hail! Rock’n’Roll (1987) when Berry chides Keith Richards for getting the guitar intro to

Carol wrong. It’s possibly the only time you will ever see ‘Keef’ look like a scolded schoolboy. He took credit for most of his hits, but did he really write them all? In Life, Keith says that, when he worked with Berry and Johnnie Johnson, ‘everything Chuck wrote was in Eb or C# – piano keys! Not guitar keys.’ Johnson’s piano melodies were possibly the real bedrock of most of Chuck’s hits. However, Berry’s contribution to rock’n’roll is up there with Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and many others. As a guitarist, he nailed a new style. As a vocalist/lyricist, he flowed and told stories. As a showman, Chuck

Berry was one of the best. Bruce Springsteen – maybe the USA’s designated ‘rock’n’roll poet’ of recent years – wrote the foreword to Berry’s autobiography. It starts; ‘I met Chuck Berry once…’ It ends after ‘the Boss’ ends up playing guitar for Chuck, the ‘Godfather’. In closing, Springsteen writes, ‘When I’m 65 or 70, I’ve got to tell my grandkids. Yeah, I met Chuck Berry. As a matter of fact, I backed up Chuck Berry one night. It’s a story you’re always going to tell.’ For all the good times and all the bad times, Chuck Berry remains Mr Rock’n’Roll.

JUST LIKE RINGING A BELL: CHUCK BERRY’S SOUND AND STYLE Chuck Berry recorded his classic Chess sides on a blonde-finish Gibson ES-350 with P90s. At the end of the ’50s, the guitar reappeared with a new set of PAFs, having been sent back to the factory for an upgrade. This was used through the early ’60s, but in 1966 Berry put aside his jazz guitar and moved to a cherry Gibson ES-345. By the ’70s, he was commonly seen with an ES-355. His move from the ES-350 to thinline semi-acoustics did much for their popularity. Berry’s guitar style is a bedrock of rock’n’roll. His licks weren’t without precedent – he took influence from T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters and Charlie Christian, among many others – but he assimilated his forebears’ style into something uniquely his own. The Chuck Berry guitar sound relies a lot on his use of ‘double-stops’ or two-note licks on the top two strings, punctuated by third-string bends – listen to any of Johnny B Goode, Rock And Roll Music or Roll Over Beethoven for typical Chuck-isms. He played with humour, too. On School Days, immediately

24 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

after singing ‘ring, ring, goes the bell’ he stabs out a bell-like guitar lick. Berry also has very large hands, despite his lean build, and this may well have helped him splash those already-talented fingers across the fretboard. Just about every beginner rock’n’roll guitarist learns the intro to Johnny B Goode, and it soon became emblematic. The Beach Boys’ Surfin’ USA could be a Chuck Berry song in all but credit and vocals. AC/DC’s Angus Young’s solos are basically Berry solos played super-fast and super-loud (he also stole Berry’s ‘duckwalk’). Berry was never the smoothest of players, but who really wants that in rock’n’roll? In the 1987 biopic Hail! Hail! Rock’n’Roll, Eric Clapton says, ‘There’s not a lot of other ways to play rock’n’roll other than the way Chuck plays it. He’s really laid the law down.’ Hard-rockin’ Ted Nugent – the self-proclaimed Motor City Madman – perhaps expresses Berry’s influence on six-stringers most succinctly: ‘If you don’t know every Chuck Berry lick, you can’t play rock guitar.’

A late-’50s Gibson ES-350; Berry’s own guitar was blonde and was retrofitted with PAFs

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INTERVIEW GARY CLARK JR

CasinoKing

The intense and soulful fuzzed-out sounds of Gary Clark Jr are fast gaining fervent fans across the world. Steve Bailey meets the man being hailed – with good reason – as the new force of Texas blues

let me play his goldtop… it blew my mind, man! So my first time on stage at Antones was with all those great musicians. From that point they kept inviting us back and we got to open up for people that we had seen like Jimmie Vaughan, Doyle Bramhall and Robert Cray.’ Gary was still only 15 years old at this point, and one of his favourite memories is hooking up with Hubert afterwards to just hang out. ‘We sat at his hotel for a couple of hours talking about what it was like playing with Howlin’ Wolf. To hear those stories from him, to watch him, to trade licks and talk about music with someone that I looked up to so much was a privilege. Clifford Antone would always say “This guy invented rock and roll guitar!”’ Clark quickly made a name for himself locally, and at the age of just 17 he was first awarded the prize of ‘best blues and electric guitarist’ at the Austin Music Awards. Austin’s mayor at the time, Kirk Watson, even made 1 May 2001 ‘Gary Clark Jr Day’, such was the youngster’s impact. It’s been a long road since, with distractions along the way – the main culprit being the lure of Hollywood. Gary’s finest celluloid moment saw him starring in the 2007 film The Honeydripper with Danny Glover, Stacy Keach and Keb’ Mo’. An invitation to play Eric Clapton’s prestigious Crossroads festival in ➻

‘We sat with Hubert Sumlin, hearing his stories about playing with Howlin’ Wolf’

Gear Guitars Casinos – lots of them (25 in total) including the latest buy, a 1966 vintage model. He also uses a Gibson ES-330, a D’Angelico Standard Series (cherry), and a Fender Custom Shop ’60s Stratocaster

Amps Fender Vibro-King, Fender Twin

Effects Ibanez Tube Screamer, AnalogMan ARDX20 delay and Astrotone fuzz, Strymon reverb/ vibrato and a Fulltone Octafuzz

Clark’s extensive collection of Casinos includes a couple of Elitist models – complete with hard cases

Photo: Frank Maddocks

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he list of esteemed figures queuing to endorse the talents of Mr Gary Clark Jr is becoming a long one. The shrewd eye of Eric Clapton spotted him early, the Rolling Stones couldn’t wait to get him along for an onstage blues jam, and the president of the USA himself, Barack Obama, heralded Clark as ‘the future’ after a performance at the White House. Clark’s style is rooted in blues and soul but integrates grungy space rock, modern R&B and roaring, cascading fuzzed-up wig-outs. It’s a heady, ambitious concoction that promises great things. The bold new album Blak & Blu contains nods to heroes like Hendrix and Albert Collins, but this quietlyspoken Texan has been fortunate enough to mix it with guitar greats faceto-face right out of the blocks. Back in his home town of Austin, some 15 years ago, an underage Gary badgered his father to take him down to the legendary Antones night spot, and there a whole new world opened up for him. ‘It took me until I was about 14 or 15 to realise that all this great blues and rock was coming from just up the street,’ Clark laughs. ‘Once I’d figured it out, I was in it! My old man had to drive me down and then hang out with me because I wasn’t old enough to be there.’ The first time he walked into Antones, local luminaries the Mercy Baby Revue, Johnny Moeller and Mike Keller were all ripping the place up. Gary was transfixed. ‘They were all young guys – in their early/ mid 20s – up there, playing just badass blues.’ It was a stirring introduction that drew Clark to return again and again, witnessing legends like Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan, and Doyle Bramhall II. Soon Gary brought his neighbour and schoolfriend Eve Monsees along, and both were inspired to work even harder on their own playing. Before long, proprietor Clifford Antone began to take an interest. One night Gary and Eve were on hand to witness Hubert Sumlin playing an amazing set with a regular who’s-who of blues greats in his band, including Calvin Jones, James Cotton, Mojo Buford and Pinetop Perkins. ‘Clifford said “Well, you want to get up? Either you’re in or you’re not, kid!” So that was the gig that kinda changed it all,’ Gary recalls. ‘They let us get up there to play T-Bone Shuffle. Hubert

SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 27

INTERVIEW

Photo: Frank Maddocks

INTERVIEW

Clark’s first Casino was bought in Austin in 2008 and it soon acquired a Bigsby

Listen up GARY CLARKE JR Blak & Blu (2013) The major label debut record is daring stuff, with psychedelia, blues and garage rock colliding with modern R&B, southern soul and hip hop beats

GARY CLARKE JR Worry No More (2004) Clark’s first three studio albums were released on his own Hotwire Unlimited label, and this was his real debut. Early versions of When My Train Pulls In, Bright Lights and Numb all crop up in the catalogue

2010 brought Clark’s focus squarely back around to his music – although it was very nearly a harrowing experience. ‘I’d never played in front of that many people before, and I’d never played within earshot of all my favourite guitar players either, so I had a lot of stuff going on in my head. It was intense! ‘The main sound in the venue during my set cut off while we were playing Bright Lights and we didn’t realise until afterwards what had happened. I could hear people yelling and giving me the thumbs down. I thought they just were not enjoying what they were hearing, so it was quite devastating… for a moment.’ Things happened very quickly after that fateful set. The Red White And Blues gig at the White House – alongside the likes of BB King, Jeff Beck and Buddy Guy – followed in 2011, and a major record deal saw Clark’s Blak & Blu album come together in 2012, co-produced by the chairman of Warner Bros records himself, Rob Covallo (whose credits include Green Day, Kid Rock and My Chemical Romance). The production team was completed by Mike Elizondo (Eminem, Dr Dre, Snoop Dog) who also played bass. The three assembled at Covallo’s studio in LA with drummer JJ Johnson, and the incendiary blues-driven When My Train Pulls In was immediately committed to tape. ‘That was the first song we played and we just kept everything as it was from the very first take. We all looked at each other and went like... yeah! I think we were all kinda amazed. That started up the momentum. It was like: “Great, let’s just keep doing stuff like that”.’ Basic tracks were all laid down quickly and then added to in breaks between tour commitments.

28 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

Mike Elizondo’s mid-’60s ES-335 was put to good use, but Clark’s main squeeze has long been his cherry Epiphone Casino – and his attachment for that particular model has become something of an obsession. ‘It’s a bit mad at this point,’ he grins sheepishly. ‘I’ve probably got about 20 or 25 now.’ It’s a love affair that began in Musicmakers guitar store back home in Austin in 2008. ‘I just walked in, picked the Casino up off the rack, plugged into a Super Reverb and it was game on from there. I still use it. I threw a Bigsby on, and that’s about all I’ve done to it. I get carried away sometimes and abuse the Bigsby. It does make it go out of tune and outta whack, but it’s fun!’ Clark began on Ibanez guitars – a Blazer and an ARC series model – and moved on to Strats and Teles, but the Casino has become his talisman during his recent rapid rise. Just what is it about those guitars? ‘The Casino changed my approach. I keep feeling inspired every time I pick one up. Hollowbodies just make me play differently. I love the way that Casinos can be sweet and mellow, and then you slip it down to the bridge pickup and they just bite and scream at you. Often I like sitting around and playing unplugged. Basically, it got me closer to the music that I loved when I first started playing guitar, like T-Bone Walker and BB King. I use my Gibson 330 from time to time; it’s a lot lighter and it bites a little bit more, but the tone is not quite as rounded as the Epiphone.’ Clark’s favourite live amp is a Fender Vibro-King but a selection of other Fenders were put to use on the album including a Princeton, a Twin and a Super Reverb. However, it’s pedals that really make his eyes

‘The Epiphone Casino changed my approach. I’m inspired every time I pick one up’

Martin Huch

INTERVIEW

Photos: Mike Prior

Fuzz and wah is where it’s at: Clark has pared down his board to a few choice faves

To celebrate the release of his new album Epiphone gave Gary two black & blueburst Casinos

And another thing... In December 2012 Clark capped his year by guesting with the Rolling Stones in Brooklyn, New York, and found the band’s preferred volume alarming. ‘Those guys play loud, man! I usually I play my Vibro-King on about 4 or 5, and I had it cranked all the way up to full just to hear myself. But to be playing blues with the Rolling Stones? It was like a dream.’

light up. His wah gets a regular workout throughout record; ‘It’s one of those trippy sounds that I never the record got sick of. It’s outta this world,’ Clark says. ‘For me it automatically adds a colour. I had this beautiful white Crybaby, but it disappeared at a gig in Austin. Since then I’ve been using a Real McCoy RMC wah.’ Other pedals include an Ibanez Tube Screamer, a Strymon reverb/vibrato, an AnalogMan ARDX20 delay and Astrotone fuzz, and a Fulltone Octafuzz. ‘I like fuzz pedals and I’ve got a lot. I’ve been fortunate to have people send me a few because they know I love ’em so much. The Astrotone is a great pedal. It’s pretty simple, just a volume, fuzz and a tone. I don’t really use the effect so much, I use it as more of a boost. I have the volume pretty much all the way up and fuzz on like 1 or 2, so it’s not too overpowering – just enough to boost it up and make it a little more fierce.’ Not too many of Gary’s own pedals actually made it onto the record, though Mike Elizondo offered a few new toys for Clark to peruse. ‘By the end of it my rig was a little bit dusty,’ laughs Gary. ‘He had this Morpheus DropTune DT1 pedal. It has eight or nine settings, each one giving you another half-step down, or a full octave, which I used. It’s got a fuzz too, and I used that with Astrotone. It makes things sound really weird. That sound is kinda what the song You Save Me is about. It’s real crunchy – like a baritone guitar. I just loved hearing that through an amp, standing right in front of the speaker, it just shakes your whole being!’

30 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

As we caught up with Gary he was in the middle of his run opening for Eric Clapton at his latest residency at the Albert Hall, Hall and the restraint of the British crowd was taking a little getting used to. ‘The first couple of nights were a little shocking to me because I wasn’t wasn prepared for everyone to be so attentive,’ attentive he admits. ‘Coming from the States with kinda wild audiences, audiences for people to actually sit there and pay attention was quite strange. I can hear my tuning pegs squeaking when I’m tuning my guitar! But it’s been great, we’ve been getting a good reception, reception and it’s a beautiful venue.’ The respectful Clark has been at pains not to be a bother to Clapton and has kept out of Eric’s way, but he did sit in one night at the end of the great man’s set for a rendition of Sunshine Of Your Love and a version of Joe Cocker’s High Time We Went. ‘I got up there with my reverb tank just cranked and he called me “the reverb king”,’ Clark laughs. ‘He was messing with me. I guess he’s not too big a fan of reverb! I noticed he doesn’t step over to his pedalboard too much. I’ve been watching, and with him it’s all about this rolling back the volume on the Strat. It goes clean and beautiful, and then he cranks that thing up and it screams at you! I’ve been taking notes. Man, he played this blues the other night and it blew my mind. He is truly amazing to watch.’ It’s been a fruitful trip all round, as Gary has also added to his Casino collection. ‘I wandered into this shop down on Denmark Street and found myself an all-original ’66 – a beautiful, beautiful guitar. It hasn’t left my side since I’ve been here. It’s cherry, but faded like it’s been in the sun for a while – kinda natural with a red tint. I took it off the shelf and straight to the Royal Albert Hall for the gig, no soundcheck or anything, just tuned it up, adjusted the action a little bit, and there it was. A great find. My old Casino is competing with my new-found love. It’s an ongoing battle for the number one spot at this point.’ A battle, we would suggest, that is well worth following.

‘I like fuzz pedals, and I’ve got a lot. People send them to me because they know I love them’

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INTERVIEW MARCUS BONFANTI

Demolition Man Marcus Bonfanti’s seismic new album Shake The Walls is stirring up the UK blues-rock scene. Rik Flynn meets him to discuss biker brawls, the lure of cheap whisky and finally letting go of his first guitar

I

t takes a certain kind of character with the right kind of steel-capped bravado to give the blues scene a royal kick up the posterior when it needs one. Overblown frettery and a vinyl collection full of delta field recordings just doesn’t cut the Colman’s anymore, and apathetic artists who peddle hackneyed licks over yawn-inducing 12-bars are not helping. Fear not, blues lovers, this donkey hasn’t quite kicked the bucket yet; a bit of nous, a bank full of attitude and a fine head of hair is all it takes to get it up and whinnying once again. Jack White did it, Dan Auerbach did it, Seasick Steve did it, and now we have a new protagonist with a fine punt in that right leg of his. Marcus Bonfanti has turned up the dials for Shake The Walls, his third and rockiest album to date, and it seems more than likely to bring the house down. Add to that his Mediterranean good looks, silky locks and appropriate face furniture, and there’s little left to chance. It’s early days, but sometimes you just know: this is a pivotal moment for the young Londoner. We meet Bonfanti, recently returned from a gruelling but eventful solo tour, at a Kings Cross warehouse, sporting a majestic pair of road-worn cowboy boots. It seems his legion of followers now counts a contingent of hardcore bikers amongst its ranks… ‘We played Europe’s biggest biker festival in Helmsley last year,’ he recalls, ‘and on this tour I kept seeing more and more bikers at gigs. At Glasgow more and more were arriving; big fuckers with mohicans, tattoos on their heads and leather jackets. I literally played the last note and the background music came through the speakers deafeningly loud. When I looked over, there was this three-stone soundman pushed onto the desk and all the faders had gone up because there were three big bikers on top of him, while another three were punching the shite out of him!’ Perhaps it was Cheap Whisky that incited the ruckus. Its Beefheart-esque vocal refrain of ‘cheap whisky made me do it’ growled in a gritty baritone over sleazy, overdriven ’70s chording was itself borne of trouble. ‘I used to sit on my roof at 2am with a couple of beers and a guitar and watch the late night revellers on the high street,’ Bonfanti explains. ‘I remember watching these guys having the time of their lives in the Irish

bar opposite, absolutely smashed, causing all sorts of trouble, and I started playing this really slow sort of drinking song. That’s how it began.’ Bonfanti has recently unwrapped the elusive sound that’s been bouncing around his cranium since his first strum. ‘I’ve always had it in my head, but my songwriting wasn’t there yet, my playing wasn’t there yet and I didn’t have the resources I needed around me,’ he continues. ‘I always knew that at one point it had to get here.’ So has he reached perfection? ‘I’m never 100 per cent happy, but now I’m only 10 per cent critical!’ he jokes. ‘I always wanted to make a proper rock’n’roll record, and to do it you have to have the right songs and a killing rhythm section. I’m really proud of the stuff I’ve done to get me here, but this is my proudest moment.’ The ‘killer rhythm section’ are Scott Wiber and Alex Reeves; add Bonfanti and you get a brutal trio that harness the three-strong set up with the same conviction as Taste, the Jimi Hendrix Experience or SRV and Double Trouble. The recording was analogue, and warts’n’all; they dispensed with click tracks much of the time and imposed a three-take maximum ➻

‘I always wanted to make a proper rock’n’roll record. This is my proudest moment’

Gear Guitars 2005 Fender Telecaster, 1974 Gibson SG, Dean electric resonator, ’50s Hofner Senator, Gibson Hummingbird, ’60s Martin

Amps Fender Blues Junior, Fender Deluxe

Effects Boss TU-2, Boss OD-3, Catalinbread WIIO, Jim Dunlop DallasArbiter Fuzz Face, Danelectro Wasabi, Line 6 DL4, Carl Martin Hydra Boost, MXR Phaser

The varied sound of Bonfanti’s 2005 Tele through a Fender Blues Junior dominates on Shake The Walls

SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 33

INTERVIEW MARCUS BONFANTI

Listen up MARCUS BONFANTI

Shake The Walls (2013)

A heavier edge propels the young Londoner’s sound forward and superb songwriting includes a British Blues Award-winning acoustic treasure

MARCUS BONFANTI

What Good Am I To You? (2010) Bonfanti was granted next-big-thing status with this varied and hair-raising sophomore album

MARCUS BONFANTI

Hard Times (2008)

With influences from Zeppelin to John Lee Hooker, this is a fine debut packed with raw electric blues, fingerstyle and slide

(l-r) Dean Electric Resonator, Bonfanti with his ’74 SG, a 50s’ Hofner Senator and Gibson Hummingbird

for each track. ‘All my favourite records have got howling mistakes,’ Bonfanti laughs. ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You has my favourite one of all time. They go for this heavy chord change and John Paul Jones fumbles a note, but it sounds so good! It’s one of Jimmy Page’s finest moments… they weren’t going to re-do it for a small reharmonisation that doesn’t really matter. You have to sacrifice for the greater good. I’d rather feel all of us growing with the solo, so I didn’t overdub any on my album.’ It was the prime chops on album closer The Bittersweet that earned Marcus ‘Best Original Song’ at the British Blues Awards, but the process of ‘unlearning’, seeking out that long-lost naivety, has borne interesting fruit. ‘I listen to albums that I played on when I was 19 and there’s some really out-there stuff, but I can’t play like that anymore. I almost know too much. When I listen to phenomenal guitarists like Marc Ribot, he can sound like he’s picked up the guitar for the first time. That’s the sound I’ve always strived for… being really innocent on the instrument.’ Another album highlight is the Keef-like strut of My Baby Don’t Dance, a track where Bonfanti was helped along by friend and songwriter Paddy Milner. ‘There was a lot riding on that – it’s always got an incredible audience reaction. My manager famously says that he doesn’t actually like music, but he really liked that one! I saw it as a swaggery rock’n’roll number. We decided in the studio that we needed more fire in our guts, and I think we nailed it. Paddy put some Hammond on at the last minute and that set it all off.’ Cautious not to get stuck in no-man’s land, Bonfanti has soaked up techniques and tricks from his heroes – ranging from Tom Waits to John Lennon, Shuggie Otis and Leadbelly – and from his various session stints with artists including folkie Sandi Thom, soul singer PP Arnold and British songwriter Findlay Brown. He’s also a regular face in the eight-piece house band at Ronnie Scott’s immense Blues Explosion, a gig that serves as an ongoing musical education thanks to guest slots from the likes of Eric Burden, Buddy Whittington and Joe Lewis Walker. Bonfanti clearly can’t get enough of it.

Xxx x x x xx x x x xx x x x x xx x x x x x xxxxxxxx Xxx x x x xx x xxx xx x x x x xx x x x xx x xxxxxxxx Xxx x x x xx x x x xx x x x x xx x x x xx x xxxxxxxx

‘I’ve had the privilege of playing with some really top people, and I try to have my ears open all of the time. They’ll give you an overview of how they like their music played – something you’ve never thought of before, or a story about how it was recorded. It opens your mind and you can then transfer it to your own stuff. When I was recording I almost felt like I was playing session guitar on my own record.’ Marcus adores all of his guitars, and last time we met he couldn’t bear to let a single one go. ‘I sold my first one in December! It was an Ibanez AS-200, the first pro guitar I ever bought, but it was just before Christmas, I had no money and I really wanted a Les Paul. Luckily the bloke who bought it was a fan. He was chuffed that I’d played a lot of the solos from my first record on it. I took that money down to Denmark Street and ended up buying an old ’74 SG. It was all battered up and just played great. ‘I’ve always been one for having one guitar that I really like and then getting to know it. The electric sounds were done on a Telecaster through a Blues Junior. Between the controls, pickup selection and the amp, I found some really great sounds. The Blues Junior is probably the most versatile amp in the world, the tonal options are fantastic. There’s a lot of my Dean resonator on there as well. That’s one of my favourites and it’s the cheapest guitar I own.’ A distinct guitar set-up helps ensure that Marcus’ style is all his own. ‘I use very heavy strings as that gives loads of attack,’ he explains. ‘The low end sounds really meaty. I like it when it hurts when I bend a string, it makes me feel like I’m playing! Most of my friends hate my guitars because the action is really high… and I always favour a much heavier guitar.’ Heavy strings, heavy guitars and one heavy blues rock album… Shake The Walls may well take Bonfanti swiftly skyward, but one thing’s for sure: he’s made sure that our spines will tingle once more.

‘I like it when it hurts when I bend a string. It makes me feel like I’m playing’

Shuggie in Paris One of Marcus Bonfanti’s biggest influences is the brilliant R&B guitarist, singer and songwriter Shuggie Otis. ‘I opened for him at the Jazz Cafe, which was a big deal for me. We got the chance to hang out and he asked me to go to a Paris show with him to look after his guitars. His manager said that was quite an honour as he doesn’t usually let anyone touch them. After the gig we chatted away and then started playing blues together, which just blew my mind! I was trying not to show him how badly I rip him off; I’ve got a fair few of his licks stored away! He’d made a CD of the tunes he was into when he was younger and we sat up for hours talking about music and playing. I was having a few whiskies but trying to stay on the right level of sobriety so I could remember it all!’

34 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

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Photos: Mike Prior

INTERVIEW TOP TOPHAM

BluesHorizons Top Topham, the Yardbirds’ first lead guitarist, quit just before the group flew into pop’s highest stratosphere. Alan Clayson lends an ear to his story

D

ecisions made in our youth can echo on for the rest of our lives, and rock and roll can have an especially cruel way of highlighting the difference between ‘what is’ and ‘what might have been’. Long ago, in 1963’s rainy autumn, lead guitarist Top Topham was urged by his parents to quit the Yardbirds, the group he’d launched a few months earlier with singing harmonica-blower Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja and, on bass, Paul Samwell-Smith. Decades later – at a time when Eric Clapton, Topham’s Yardbirds replacement, was filling the Albert Hall for his customary few weeks every winter – Topham could be heard for the price of a pint at Bob’s Goodtime Blues sessions every Wednesday at the Station Tavern. Just like Clapton, the Top Topham-Jim McCarty Blues Band played R&B songs from another Station long ago if not far away, from where the capital dissolves into Surrey. The two men’s music, then, was much the same… but few venues could be more different. In 1958, Topham and best mate Chris Dreja met at Surbiton’s Hollyfield Road School (where the older Clapton was also a pupil). A flair for visual art found both in a dedicated academic stream. ‘There was a building away from the main school,’ remembered Dreja, ‘where a handful of us were left completely alone to, theoretically, follow our artistic inclinations. No-one interfered, even when we brought guitars into class.’ Musically, Topham and Dreja zeroed in on the blues – a subject in which Topham’s father had immersed himself. ‘Top’s dad had all these imported records,’ said Dreja. ‘Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Boy Fuller... they kept me awake, just thinking about them – and I went ballistic over the electric sounds of Jimmy Reed.’ ‘Blues absolutely changed my life,’ concurs Top. ‘I was always seeking the ultimate blue note, the ultimate experience from that feel – though I first wanted to be a drummer. Despite the embargo on importing American instruments, my first serious acoustic guitar was a Harmony Sovereign and my first electric was a Stratotone, which I sold to Dave Brock of Hawkwind. A few years after that, I blew my entire college grant on a Gibson ES-335.’

Early in 1963, Chris and Top’s talk of starting a group led to Jim McCarty entering their orbit. ‘He was the link to Paul and Keith,’ recollects Top, ‘and they were half of the Metropolitan Blues Quartet.’ Within a fortnight of their ‘unbelievably good’ first rehearsal, the five made a maiden appearance in the rotting grandeur of Twickenham’s Eel Pie Island dancehall. Soon, now as the Yardbirds, they did more shows in other parochial venues – and also at Studio 51, London’s oldest jazz venue. ‘We became more popular,’ reminisces Top, ‘and took over from the Rolling Stones at what was named the Crawdaddy after it moved from Richmond’s Station Hotel to the Athletic Ground.’ ‘We heard the Stones were leaving,’ added Jim McCarty, ‘so we got Giorgio Gomelsky, who ran the place, to come to a rehearsal in a functions room above a hostelry next to the Station. As he climbed the stairs, he heard one of our “crescendos”, and thought immediately that we’d do.’ The late nights were taking their toll on Jim’s training as a City financier; ‘My mum took some convincing that the Yardbirds were going places,’ he mourned. Top, however, had to jump an ultimately insurmountable hurdle of opposition: ‘I was only 15, and my parents wouldn’t let me continue six nights a week as a Yardbird, even though I was bringing home double what my father was earning. It was a blow, but I was very talented at painting and had already started a full-time course at Epsom Art School.’ So it was that Top Topham, the Stuart Sutcliffe rather than Pete ➻

‘Blues absolutely changed my life. I was always seeking the ultimate blue note’

Gear Guitar Top’s main guitar is a 1966 Fender Telecaster: ‘It had been run over by a taxi. I had it put back together by renowned London luthier Graham Noden with P90s plus Hot Rails in the middle with a five-way switch.’

Amp ‘It’s just the guitar straight through a Fender Super Reverb from the 1970s. I don’t use any pedals.’

Good Times Bad Times After the Yardbirds’ disbanded in 1968, Top Topham was approached to join a new edition of the group: ‘I received three telegrams from Jimmy Page and Peter Grant, the Yardbirds’ last manager, expressing an urgency to get in touch. I called Jimmy, who said he wanted The New Yardbirds to hit America, and asked if I’d be interested. As everybody knows, they were to mutate into Led Zeppelin. Wait for it: I said no. As I was busy with Ascension Heights then, it seemed the right choice.’ Topham had committed himself also to six months on the road accompanying old friend Christine Perfect, striking out on her own in the wake of I’d Rather Go Blind, her Top 20 strike with Chicken Shack. This trek was not a happy experience. ‘It was an awful band,’ sighed Top. ‘Dreadful! It was like how to strangulate the soul out of blues music in one easy lesson.’

SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 37

INTERVIEW TOP TOPHAM

Listen up DUSTER BENNETT

Bright Lights (1969) With Peter Green on bass, Top lent poignant accompaniment during this ‘blues boom’ titan’s concert recorded at Godalming’s Gin Mill Xxx x x x xx x x x xx x x x x xx x x x xx x xxxxxxxx

Xxx x x x xx x x x xx x x x x xx x x x xx x xxxxxxxx

TOP TOPHAM

Ascension Heights (1970) Backed by London session musicians, Top delivers a dozen scintillating (and mostly self-penned) instrumentals, later reissued on 2008’s Complete Blue Horizon Sessions

P90s Top plugs his ’66 Tele – loaded with a and a hotrails pickup – straight into red Super Reverb with no effects requi

Best of the Yardbirds, sat on the sidelines as the other lads became pop stars. He joined a band called The Fox, and their second single Hey Mister Carpenter was backed by Seek And You Find, co-written by Top, who left after the band opened for the Who at London’s Roundhouse in October 1968. More enduring was Top’s association with multiinstrumentalist Duster Bennett, a childhood friend. ‘We had a Chicago-style blues band that played at an art school dance in 1964 with Jimmy Page – yet to join the Yardbirds – on slide guitar.’ Topham and Bennett were both signed to Blue Horizon, brainchild of Mike Vernon, compiler of R&B Monthly, the first ‘fanzine’ of its kind in Britain. Top, however, was unable to capitalise on critical praise for a debut album, Ascension Heights, owing to ill-health. Tiring of showbiz, Topham moved to mid-Wales and became an interior designer and painter: ‘I had many children, and needed to make money. Then, in 1987, work took me to Florida where I read in a US magazine about a Yardbirds World Convention in Oxford.’ Offending none by refusing to autograph, say, a dog-eared Five Live Yardbirds LP, Jim McCarty was at this event too, and subsequent discussions triggered the emergence of The Top Topham-Jim McCarty Blues Band. On eliciting a glowing review from Guardian journalist Mike Oldfield – present during one of their regular Bob’s Goodtime Blues bashes – the group (fronted by singer and guitarist John Idan) remained

a club attraction until 13 July 1990 when Topham announced his departure straight after an engagement at Reading’s After Dark. Since then, Top has returned to North America – where he worked principally with singer-songwriter Bill Morrissey – and has been seen on small British stages, sitting in with such as Berkshire’s Jive Alive during their seasons at Twyford’s Waggon and Horses where his playing staggers the type of person who attends Eric Clapton concerts out of habit. And in March 2013, at a packed auditorium attached to Twickenham Stadium, Topham joined McCarty and Dreja for a friendly, downhome celebration of half-acentury since that first Yardbirds rehearsal. ‘That’s what interested me most about the Yardbirds,’ Top concludes. ‘Later on, they shifted away from it – and, if I’d stayed, I’d have been pushing, like Eric, to keep blues as the band’s focus. I’d probably have left for the same reasons he did.’ As if in acknowledgment, Top is central to Top Topham’s Early Yardbirds, a group consisting otherwise of musicians based in Lancashire, and he’ll still be pitching in on For Your Love, Shapes Of Things and further hits as an official Yardbird early next year in a round-Britain theatre tour. Perhaps, in some parallel universe, Eric Clapton is enduring the sweet torment of celebrity by association while Top Topham is sustained into old age by income and acclaim for his latest big-selling album as much as the repackagings of hits he’d recorded back in the Swinging ’60s.

‘If I’d stayed in the Yardbirds, I’d have been pushing to keep blues as the band’s focus’

And another thing... Christmas Cracker, a self-penned Blue Horizon single by Top Topham, was issued in time for 1969’s December sell-in. Its flip-side, Cracking Up Over Christmas, featured Mike Vernon on lead vocals.

38 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

Hughes & Kettner ad 2013_Layout 1 15/05/2013 16:04 Page 1

Photos: Shimon Karmel

40 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2012

INTERVIEW HARRY MANX

On An Island Using a multitude of fabulous stringed instruments made of wood, metal, old cigar boxes and even sports implements, Harry Manx has carved himself a unique path. Interview by Steve Bailey

O

ut in the Gulf Of Georgia not far from Vancouver dwells Harry Manx; maverick, innovator and one of the finest exponents of Indian slide guitar in the Western world. Harry’s Salt Spring Island abode is also home to his exotic and downright bizarre collection of stringed slide instruments. It’s a suitably idyllic setting for a colourful character. Manx’s blend of Indian, delta and contemporary influences sets him completely apart from other slide stylists, and his latest album Om Suite Ohm mixes these far-flung ingredients with great skill and a seductive sense of earthy spirituality. Intrinsic to Harry’s sound is his mastery of the Mohan Veena, an instrument that sits roughly halfway between a sitar and a big old jazz-style archtop guitar. ‘Somebody told me the other day “You’re in a category of one with that sound” – and I’m glad about it,’ smiles Manx with typically enthusiastic wonderment. ‘There are so many fine players doing so much great music, so if you find your own corner, it’s a blessing.’ Back in the early 1970s you’d have found Manx working as a sound engineer in a Toronto blues club, pushing the faders for greats like Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon. From there he was off to Paris, a stepping-stone for a long period playing slide guitar for small change on streets throughout Europe. His wanderlust took him to India in the early ’80s where he would eventually be introduced to the Mohan Veena and find a musical awakening. ‘I’ve had a relationship with the Mohan Veena now for 20 years, and it’s deep,’ Manx ponders. ‘I’m not even close to knowing it yet. Your average listener might be knocked out by what I do, but for me, having studied Veena with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, I know where I sit in the world of slide. He’s the mountain – and when you hang out with guys like him, you yet get humbled pretty quick.’ Manx had been in India for seven years, studying sitar in Bombay, when word came to

him of an Indian slide guitar innovator based in Rajasthan in the north west of the country. It was the late 1980s by the time he decided to make the journey to seek out Mohan Bhatt. ‘I got to his house in the middle of the night,’ recalls Harry. ‘I played a couple of songs for him on slide guitar, he really liked it and he went and got the veena. It was the first time I’d seen one. He opened the case and strummed all the sympathetic strings, and it was so beautiful I just about died on the spot. I realised in a flash that my whole direction in life had changed. I didn’t leave there for years, because the only thing that mattered to me was learning how to make that sound.’ ‘Veena’ is a general term for any Indian plucked string instrument, and they can take many different forms. Mohan’s father had been a great player and a teacher, and one of his European students had left a Craftsman archtop guitar at the family home. The teenage Vishwa decided to experiment by putting sympathetic strings on the guitar. With the help of a fine Indian luthier the idea evolved, and a new kind of veena was born. Bhatt’s Mohan Veena is generally played lying ➻

‘There are so many fine players that if you find your own corner, it’s a blessing’

Gear Guitars Three Mohan Veenas made in Calcutta, Tim Kill Veena, Wickland Veena resonator, Lowebow and Wickland cigar box guitars, Goldtone and Wickland banjos, Subway Baritone, Asher Ben Harper signature. National and Sunrise pickups

Amps API 500 series Lunchbox preamp, API 512 preamp

Effects Radial Looper

Manx and his 20-string Mohan Veena. Far right: at home with the Wickland resonator Veena

SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 41

Photos: Shimon Karmel

INTERVIEW

The ‘salt of the earth’ Lowebow complete with Springsteen’s scrawl. Above, the Wickland cigar box guitar

flat on the lap, and it has 20 strings in total. At the top, strung on the treble side of the fretboard, are three melody strings for slide playing; below them and to the bass side of the fretboard are five drone strings, and below them all are 12 sympathetic strings that attach to the tuning pegs that run along the top of the fretboard. Vishwa’s use of the Mohan Veena is perfectly captured on his 1993 Grammy-winning album with Ry Cooder, A Meeting By The River. One aspect of Vishwa’s Mohan Veena technique eluded his student – his use of a Honda scooter axle for a slide. Manx did experiment for a while before settling on the Dunlop Lap Dawg slide bar he now uses. ‘I switched for a while to the door bolt from the house I lived in in India,’ he grins. ‘Every day I kept looking at it, thinking that would be a great slide. I had a guy come over and take it off, and I tried it, but it wasn’t right so I put it back. I’ll try anything!’ Vishwa actually gave Manx that first Veena he had showed him, but these days that important instrument Manx manipulates the strings of his Tim Kill custom veena

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is back with the master while Manx has the use of three Veenas made by a Calcutta-based luthier, Bhabasindhu Biswas. Gradually, Manx has solved the problem of amplifying the complex instrument. ‘It was a real challenge to get the sound electronically that I knew was in the instrument. I float a National pickup right in the middle between the lower sympathetics and the upper strings so it picks up on both sides.’ Harry’s most visually striking instrument is perhaps his National steel-style Mohan Veena (see header page), a creation from a fellow Salt Spring Islander, engineerturned-luthier Grant Wickland. ‘He loves the challenge of instrument making. He’s been turning out resonators and cigar box guitars since the ’70s,’ Manx explains. ‘He came over and did measurements on my Veenas and I pointed him in the right direction. Suddenly he came over with one that he’d banged up out of metal! He’s an experimental fellow and I love that about him. He doesn’t play by the rules at all.’ Harry has one more Veena, this one with something of the Weissenborn look about it. It was Australian luthier Tim Kill’s first attempt at this kind of instrument, again with Harry’s advice. ‘He’s really well known among slide players – he builds guitars for Xavier Rudd – and he gave me that one as a gift. He makes Veena-type instruments, and also what he calls Chaturanguis – they’re really amazing. They’re like Veenas except they have six strings on top instead of three. I find I have trouble playing them because there’s too much going on… I can’t control all the overtones.’ Harry has also been playing six-string banjo for 20 years. His current Goldtone Banjitar – festooned with stickers of Hindu gods and tuned to open C, a whole step down from DADFAB – features on the new album on songs such as All Fall Down and Carry My Tears. ‘It’s funny… the traditional kind of banjo doesn’t really attract me, but I love the six-string,’ he muses. ‘I play it on a lot of records. I’ve had the Goldtone a long

➻

40 Guitar &

&

INTERVIEW HARRY MANX

time. I’ve got big fat strings on it – .016" to .056" – so there’s a lot of bass. It actually has more bass than any other instrument I have. You don’t think of the banjo like that, but I use it for playing everything from Jimi Hendrix to Indian kind of stuff. My other banjo is a Grant Wickland banjo. It’s like the Goldtone, but a step up in quality. I play it at home because I love the sound, but for the stage I can’t give it up my old Goldtone.’ Many like their cigar box guitars built on the rudimentary side, but Harry’s main squeeze – made by Johnny Lowe in Memphis – takes the concept to new levels. ‘He calls it the Lowebow. It’s held together by those shitty dollar clamps – it’s real salt of the earth! The neck looks like two broomsticks. I got tired of shooting in the dark trying to find the bloody notes, so I put all those fret markings on with tape. I recorded the Springsteen tune I’m On Fire with it and it didn’t sound half bad.’ Bruce Springsteen came along to a Manx gig in New York – and when asked to sign the Lowebow, he scrawled all over it. Harry also showed the cigar box to Grant Wickland, and he clearly took it as another challenge. ‘I think it was Thursday night and not even two days later, on Saturday morning, he brought over the best cigar box I’ve ever played. It’s made with great precision. His wife told me he’d stayed up all night making it. It’s tuned low to F#; the string length is really long, so it’s pretty slack. If you put too much pressure on the slide you’re out of tune very quickly, but it’s got a huge sound. From the high string I tune root, 5th, root, and then a low root, so three F#s and a C#. The lowest string is the G string from a bass.’ Arguably his most bizarre instrument is, well, what appears to be a hockey stick with strings on it. ‘I really shouldn’t have the ability to indulge myself sometimes,’

grins Manx. ‘In Canada hockey is more popular than anything, so I tried to cash in on some of that. Originally I gave Grant an actual hockey stick and said “Put some strings on this for me,” so he came up with this. I took it out to one show and people laughed so hard I couldn’t get them to take the song seriously!’ Manx doesn’t own a traditional solidbody electric but his white Subway baritone from Berkeley in the San Francisco Bay area comes within the remit. It was built by a man known simply as Fatdawg. ‘Everybody knows Fatdawg! He works out of this little crowded shop that you can hardly get into – it’s full of used instruments and junk. You might see Taj Mahal sitting in the corner… Taj loves the place. Mark Knopfler plays his guitars, Michael Franti used to work there, Charlie Hunter worked in that shop too. It really is a trip. When Danelectro went out of business Fatdawg bought containers of stuff from them – bodies, necks, electronics – and he builds instruments he calls Subway Guitars. You can ask him to build you anything; they’re cheap – $400 or $500 – and sound amazing. Don’t try and email him, though… he doesn’t do internet! He says, “Come over and talk to me if you want something!”’ The only other guitar that resembles a normal electric is an Asher Ben Harper. ‘The Asher is probably the best you can buy, the Rolls Royce of electric slide guitars. I love it. It has just the right tension on the neck and it’s perfectly balanced. It’s really lovely.’ It’s been a busy couple of years for Harry: there’s been the release of his second collaborative album with Kevin Breit, Strictly Whatever, and his latest solo recordings for Om Suite Ohm had to be shoe-horned in during lulls in a busy gigging schedule. Tracks were laid down in Melbourne in Australia with didgeridoo player Ganga Giri and vocalist Gunjaarra Waitairie, who brought a flavour of the outback to Way Out Back. Ex-LA session man, producer and fellow Eastern music devotee Hans Christian added rhythm tracks, cello, bass and strings in Wisconsin, and Harry brought the whole thing together in a studio on Vancouver Island in Canada. Manx actually saw fit to play a standard Telecaster on the record, although it did have the strings raised and a Hot Rails pickup onboard – and, of course, it was borrowed. ‘I’ve never owned an actual electric guitar in my illustrious career, but on Blues Dhamra you can hear me playing the melody on a Tele. It’s at a pretty good volume so that helped to get the sustain, which allows you a lot more possibilities.’ Though a late starter – he didn’t record his first album until he was 46, in 2001 – Harry Manx is fast making up for lost time. The latest is his sixth studio solo effort, and his two collaborative LPs with Kevin Breit bolster the numbers further. ‘It came easily, this album. I didn’t have to struggle, it came like it was the right time. I think it’s probably the best work I’ve done. Maybe it’s because it’s the sum of everything I’ve learned up until this point.’

‘People laughed so hard at the hockey stick, I couldn’t get them to take the song seriously!’

curing ckey stick (obs Left to right: ho ritone), Harry with ba white Subway njo sits far o, Wickland ba Goldtone banj na the dog Bi : ht rig t right. Fron

Listen up HARRY MANX

Om Suite Ohm (2013) The latest album is a gem, summarising everything Harry is about and also adding the sounds of the outback to his inspirational Eastern/ blues hybrid

HARRY MANX & KEVIN BREIT

Strictly Whatever (2011)

The follow-up to 2007’s brilliant In Good We Trust collaboration sees Manx play baritone almost exclusively alongside Hugh Laurie’s current sideman Kevin Breit

HARRY MANX

Isle Of Manx (2010) The title of this ‘best of’ collection could be a reference to Harry’s birthplace, the Isle Of Man, or indeed his current home Salt Spring Island. Either way, a visit to Harry’s mystic shores will be time well spent

SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 43

Music Tech G&B.indd 1

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ELECTRIC GUITAR

£499 REVIEW

GIBSON

FACTFILE GIBSON SGJ

DESCRIPTION: Solidbody guitar. Made in the USA PRICE: £499

SGJ

BUILD: Mahogany body, maple set neck with rosewood fingerboard with 24 medium jumbo frets. Tune-O-Matic bridge and tailpiece, Kluson Deluxe vintage-style tuners ELECTRICS: Twin Modern Classic humbuckers (490T neck, 490R bridge), twin volume and tone controls, three-way selector switch LEFT-HANDERS: Yes FINISH: Chocolate (reviewed), cherry, rubbed vintage burst, trans white

How much? And the real thing? Gibson’s new strippeddown SG offers the promise of genuine rocking thrills for remarkably little outlay. Review by Martyn Casserly

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here are some words that you just don’t expect to see alongside each other. ‘Reality TV’ and ‘quality’ are a few, ‘Edward Snowden’ and ‘fair trial’ are more, but two that nary grace a well-constructed sentence are ‘Gibson’ and ‘cheap’ – unless you also add the words ‘Mel’, ‘takes’, and ‘a shot’ into the mix, maybe with a dash of ‘drunken outburst’ for good measure. So it was with tremulous fingers that we unzipped the padded gigbag and withdrew from its white, soft padded interior the rarest of creations... the SGJ. In these bleak financial days it feels odd to think that it would be Gibson that held out its hands to the struggling artists of the world and said ‘here, impoverished minstrels’ – we’re paraphrasing, obviously – ‘take these wondrous tools of musichood and do glorious battle against community choirs and tightly-choreographed boy bands.’ But that’s exactly what they’ve done... except for all the words. The SGJ is the spiritual successor to the classic Junior models that have graced Gibson catalogues for over half a century. The stripped-back, no-frills approach is evident throughout the design, but the real eye-catcher is the price… less than £499 on the street. In the past we’ve had a few issues with the less-expensive Gibson offerings, many of them suffering from sharp-

Maple neck is stained to match the mahogany body

Black-keyed Kluson machineheads are a quality touch

The SGJ is the spiritual successor to the Junior models that have graced Gibson catalogues for over half a century edged frets or dry boards that made the playing experience less than stellar. Of course these could be addressed by a bit of handiwork or a decent setup, but it shouldn’t take that much effort to turn a pricey guitar into an enjoyably usable instrument. The SGJ is a different beast: it looks fantastic, plays beautifully, and sounds like a Gibson in all departments. So how has the Kalamazoo company managed such a feat? Well, first, it’s eschewed expensive paint jobs,

SCALE LENGTH: 630mm/24.75" NECK WIDTH: Nut 42mm 12th fret 52mm DEPTH OF NECK: First fret 24mm 12th fret 26mm STRING SPACING: Nut 35mm Bridge 50mm ACTION AS SUPPLIED: 12th fret treble 2.0mm 12th fret bass 3.0mm WEIGHT: 3.17kg/7lbs CONTACT: Gibson Europe 0031 347 324010 www.gibson.com

pickguards or trapezoid fret markers, instead covering the mahogany body with choice of stained wood colourings – this one is chocolate – protected by a thin grain-textured nitrocellulose lacquer. Gibson call this a worn-look finish and there’s no doubt that after a few hard gigs there will be some nicks and dents… but that’s personality over resale value. Closer inspection reveals that the body is made up of at least three pieces of mahogany, ➻ SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 47

ELECTRIC GUITAR

REVIEW £499 Like this? Try this... Vintage VS6 Icon Trevor Wilkinson has been working marvels with his low-cost Vintage range for years now and this distressed SG clone is another treasure to add to the collection RRP:£329

PRS Santana SE Carlos himself moved from a Gibson to a PRS and helped launch the brand. The current SE model is a tribute to his decision RRP:£749

TOKAI USG85 One of the original ‘tribute’ manufacturers, Tokai still makes good versions of classic designs, with its SG-inspired USG85 being a class act RRP:£780

probably recycling offcuts from the more expensive models, and we think this is great. Not only does the guitar sound big and hold sustain impressively well, but it also means that the production is environmentally friendly, or at least friendlier, which is important as supplies of many wood types begin to dwindle. The maple neck is carved into a rounded ’50s profile that’s glued into the body at the 19th fret. This means you have unfettered access to the dusty end in classic SG fashion, and can widdle away for hours until the local cats rally together and take you down in a maelstrom of claws and teeth. Before the feline deluge you’ll also appreciate the 24 medium jumbo frets that give the rosewood fingerboard a spacious and comfortable action, perfect for rhythm or lead gymnastics. Visually there’s an air of menace about the SGJ. The darker-toned wood is matched by the two humbuckers that at first glance look like EMGs or some other variant of active pickup thanks to their black plastic covers. In actuality they are a pair of Modern Classic nonactive ’buckers with a 490T at the neck and 490R in the bridge position. These are voiced to perform as slightly hotter PAF-style pickups, which they certainly

A stop tail, a Tune-O-Matic bridge and covered Modern Classic humbuckers

do. The rest of the hardware is standard fare, with a Tune-O-Matic bridge and tailpiece, a three-way switch and twin controls for the pickups. Even the tuners are Kluson-branded vintage-style ones rather than the nameless wonders that can be employed to cut costs.

Sounds With all the rock and roll vibe emanating from the SGJ it’s hugely tempting to slam on the overdrive and break out your best Angus Young chops, but that

The Gibson SGJ is a road warrior built to be used, abused, then used again because you had so much fun last time

Satin-faced headstock, a black Plek-cut corian nut and a real rosewood fingerboard

48 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

would be missing out on a significant part of the guitar’s arsenal. Played clean the SGJ is a sweet, sweet instrument. The neck pickup is warm but retains a definite edge that rewards fingers rather than plectrums for Hendrix-style melodic chordal techniques. Jazz chords get you into Robbie Krieger territory, which isn’t surprising as he was one of the many that fell under the SG’s charm. Of course you can only resist so long before the urge to rock out overcomes you, and as you might expect the SGJ is ready and willing to play. Keeping the overdrive to a reasonable level and sticking on the neck pickup finds long, fuzzy sustaining tones that hark back to Clapton and Santana in their heyday. Switching to the bridge increases the focus and bite, so AC/DC and Stereophonics riffs appear as if by magic from your fingers. Load up the gain to sillyville and the pickups retain good clarity while delivering some crunching power chords and deeply satisfying lead tones. It can get a little

messy down low, but a quick adjustment on the volume control sorts that out without any fuss.

Verdict The SG has always been a favourite of ours thanks to its aggressive tone, drop-dead gorgeous looks, and lightweight frame. The SGJ retains most of those qualities, but adds a sense of modernity that will sit better with today’s players. At the price, we’re not entirely sure how Gibson has managed to make an instrument this good. Sure, a full-blown SG is smarter, sounds more refined, and will sell on for a good deal more, but that requires that you look after your investment. The SGJ is built to be used, abused, then used again because you had so much fun the last time. It’s a road warrior that will age quickly due to the thin finish, and look all the better for it. Actually the only thing that looks or feels cheap are the top hat knobs, which you can change for next to nothing. With Gibson also making an LPJ as part of this 2013 range celebrating the ‘Year of Les Paul’, we’re left wondering whether they’ve made a mistake; when you can get something this good for this little, why would you spend more? The SGJ is probably only going to be around for a limited time, so go out right now and buy one. You’ll have to get in the queue behind us.

FINAL SCORE GIBSON SGJ Build Quality

18 / 20

Playability

18 / 20

Sound

18 / 20

Value for money

19 / 20

Looks

18 /20

TOTAL

91%

ELECTRIC GUITAR

£429 REVIEW

DIVILL BY ITALIA F100 & M100

Italia, purveyor of all that is kitsch and kooky, has spawned a compact range of guitars under a sister brand, all costing just a little less dosh. Review by Richard Purvis

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esigned by a Brit, made in the Far East yet named after a funny little country on the other side of France, Italia guitars have a deserved reputation for nostalgic frolics with an underpinning of modern practicality and solid construction. Now the company has that ultimate badge of big-time respectability: the ‘brand within a brand’. The instruments on test today are two of a new three-guitar range bearing the words ‘DiVill by Italia’ on their headstocks. They look a lot like Italias, really – neither quirkier nor more traditional – and are even built in the same factory, but toning down the kitschy opulence has enabled them to be priced a little bit more affordably. Peculiar name, isn’t it? Its significance may be a secret known only to Trev Wilkinson, the designer behind Fret-King, Vintage and the Wilkinson aftermarket parts empire. Both review guitars are solidbodies with bolt-on necks and some discreet but unmistakable flourishes of Wilkinson design, most notably in the ‘nibbled by a leopard’ scratchplate shapes. They both look pretty cool, but not in a way that’s going to make granny fall off the settee. The headstock shapes nod emphatically in the direction of the parent company, though gig punters won’t actually be able to see the ‘by Italia’ part unless they’re close enough to risk having a few teeth removed

The F100 shares a headstock design with the Italia Modulo and Modena

Two DVS single coils in the middle and neck positions

FACTFILE DIVILL F100

DESCRIPTION: Solidbody electric guitar. Made in Korea PRICE: £429 BUILD: Agathis body, bolt-on maple neck, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard, roller-saddle bridge and vibrato tailpiece ELECTRICS: One humbucker and two single-coil pickups, five-way switch, master volume and tone controls LEFT-HANDERS: No FINISH: Heritage burst (as reviewed), vintage white SCALE LENGTH: 648mm/25.5" NECK WIDTH: Nut 42.5mm 12th fret 51.5mm DEPTH OF NECK: First fret 21mm 12th fret 22.5mm STRING SPACING: Nut 35mm Bridge 51mm ACTION AS SUPPLIED: 12th fret treble 1.5mm 12th fret bass 1.5mm WEIGHT: 3.4kg/7.5lbs CONTACT:JHS 0113 286 5381 www.jhs.co.uk www.italiaguitars.com

Both these DiVills have bolt-on necks and carry discreet but unmistakable flourishes of Trevor Wilkinson design when you turn round to shout at the bassist. The DiVill name itself is quite hard to see anyway on the F100, because it’s been applied in gold on maple without a black border.

F100 This guitar is only £20 cheaper than its closest equivalent in the Italia line, so we’re not expecting it to be a cruddy little plank with all the fun squeezed out. It certainly looks Italian,

with distinct echoes of the Eko 700 and other lost gems of the ’60s. The vibrato tailpiece looks uncannily like a Jazzmaster unit, the bridge humbucker has the 3+3 screw arrangement familiar to all Tele Deluxe owners, and the plastic-covered single-coil pickups could have hopped right off a Mustang. The scale length is Fender’s favoured 25.5" and in fact it’s only the bridge, a tunomatic type with roller saddles to aid tuning stability, that points to ➻

Like this? Try this... ITALIA Modulo Tipo 3 Crazily retro styling, including the world’s coolest scratchplate, on a three-pickup solidbody with a P90 at the bridge RRP: £449

EKO Vintage 700 Revival of a ’60s Italian classic that looks even more wacky than the Modulo; see also the Camaro, sadly not available in the UK RRP: £345

SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 51

ELECTRIC GUITAR

REVIEW £429

A vibrato closely modelled on the Fender Jazzmaster provides subtle wobbles

Mixing singles and humbuckers is always a risky enterprise because the need for tonal compromise means one or the other can easily end up being too bright or too dark, but the F100 walks the line confidently and offers a good range of usable tones. It would be nice to hear the bridge pickup coil-tapped, especially in partnership with the neck unit for some Jazzmaster-esque sweetness, but there’s no such jiggerypokery available in the stripped-down DiVill range. The whammy bar doesn’t do Jazzmaster tricks either, because of that non-rocking bridge, but it can manage gentle Bigsby shimmers and even flatten down by a fourth or so if you really hammer it, and the roller saddles help it return to tune with impressive precision.

M100

The F100’s single coils offer fresh and snappy sounds, while the humbucker is a pretty chunky slab of sonic beef any other obvious influence. Overall, the guitar has been put together with impressive attention to detail and then finished immaculately in a red-to-orange sunburst that Italia calls ‘heritage burst’. The F100 comes equipped with master volume and tone controls plus a blade-style five-way pickup switch. The body is made of two pieces of agathis and the neck is satinfinished maple, with a dark rosewood fretboard and 22 frets. Jam it in as hard as you like, but the vibrato arm will work itself loose eventually; other than that, though, this seems to be an issue-free guitar. It certainly doesn’t feel expensive but it doesn’t feel like a throwaway budget model either, thanks in large part to the neatly-dressed frets.

Sounds The dynamic shape might suggest one of Fender’s offset-waist models, but pickups are king, and in this case – if only because of how many there are and where they’ve been sited along the string length – they’re taking us into Stratocaster territory. The F100 is agreeably light and breezy in feel and acoustic tone, and both single-coils offer fresh and snappy sounds. Digging in brings out a nice natural snarl, and the in-between positions offer plenty of that infamous out-of-phase cluck. Middle and bridge is a touch darker than middle and neck – not surprising as the humbucker on its own is a pretty chunky slab of sonic beef. This is the place to go for solidity and lots of added aggression in the upper mids, but while lead players will quite rightly be rushing to slam that switch to the back position in advance of every trip up the neck, it’s worth pointing out that the single-coils overdrive nicely too.

FINAL SCORE DIVILL F100

The M100 has an agathis body and a bolt-on mahogany neck

52 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

Build Quality

18 / 20

Playability

18 / 20

Sound

17 / 20

Value for money

18 / 20

Looks

18 / 20

TOTAL

89%

Playing ‘spot the influence’ is not so easy with the M100, whose most striking characteristic is a blue sparkle finish that recalls the Bay of Naples shimmering under an August sun… either that, or a gaudy dress on Strictly Come Dancing. It has the same rough outline as the Italia Maranello, but with a proper cutaway on the treble side and without the Hagstrom-style plastic bits. Like the F100 it’s made of agathis with a bolt-on neck, but this model takes a few steps towards the Gibson tradition – most clearly with the twin humbuckers and bridge/tailpiece arrangement, but also with the neck material (mahogany) and the slightly shorter 25" scale. Build quality is sound again, though microscopic inspection reveals some scruffy unsanded timber beneath the lip of the rosewood fretboard. The neck feels maybe a tiny fraction more chubby than that of the other guitar but it’s still eminently graspable and again the fretting is excellent, making it a supremely easy player all round. The Grover-type tuners work smoothly and there’s no sign of badly cut saddles or nut slots. Inexpensive guitars really aren’t what they used to be – and hallelujah to that.

Sounds This one’s not as naturally ringy as the F100, perhaps because of the shorter scale length, but the acoustic tone promises plenty of fullness and warmth. The first strum when plugged into a clean amp quickly confirms that impression – if it were any more full and warm, you’d be able to dunk biscuits in it. The other side of that coin, however, is that there’s not a great deal of

➻

Lose Yourself.

The clearing up after the night before. The emails. The gardening. It can all wait. Life, in fact, can wait. You know how a great acoustic guitar can take you away from it all. Find out more about the SE Angelus and how you could win time in a professional recording studio at www.prsguitarseurope.com.

PRS Guitars Europe +44 1223 874301 [email protected] www.prsguitarseurope.com Twitter @prsguitarseuro Facebook prsguitarseurope

Martin Huch angelus_A4.indd 1

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ELECTRIC GUITAR

REVIEW £399

Two chrome-covered, scratchplate-mounted high-output DVH ’buckers

FACTFILE DIVILL M100

DESCRIPTION: Solidbody electric guitar. Made in Korea PRICE: £399 BUILD: Agathis body, bolt-on mahogany neck, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard, tunomatic bridge and stopbar tailpiece ELECTRICS: Two humbucking pickups, three-way switch, master volume and tone LEFT-HANDERS: No FINISH: Metallic blue (as reviewed), satin black SCALE LENGTH: 636mm/25" NECK WIDTH: Nut 43mm 12th fret 52mm DEPTH OF NECK: First fret 21mm 12th fret 23.5mm STRING SPACING: Nut 35mm Bridge 51mm ACTION AS SUPPLIED: 12th fret treble 1.75mm 12th fret bass 2mm WEIGHT: 3.1kg/6.8lbs

With a Tube Screamer the M100 makes a decent stab at classic crunch, while a Rat reveals its calling as a rock machine

CONTACT:JHS 0113 286 5381 www.jhs.co.uk www.italiaguitars.com

Like this? Try this... Italia Maranello Speedster 2 Korina-bodied punk machine with two humbuckers, a wraparound bridge/tailpiece and strum-faster stripes RRP: £529

CUSTOM 77 Lust For Life Gold-plated hardware adds a whiff of glamour to this French-designed, Korean-made rock axe RRP: €915

top-end zing, and clean sounds on the middle pickup setting are a little lacking in the twinkly character you’d get at similar amp settings using, for example, a standard-spec SG. You could say it’s more like a Les Paul with the maple cap missing. Having said that, single notes can sound very nice indeed, with just enough clarity at the top and a right old thump at the bottom. What the M100 is really begging for is a bit of overdrive – ideally something that will add an element of bark to the upper mids while thinning out the low end. As it happens, that’s exactly why God created the Tube Screamer, and a little green box is just what this guitar needs to fulfil its real potential. Chords can still get swampy if you’re not careful but what we have on our hands

now is a very decent stab at classic humbucker crunch – and that’s equally true in all three pickup positions, from smooth and jazzy at the neck to raw and growly at the bridge. Things get even better when you trade in that Screamer for the full-on fizz of a higher-gain distortion unit such as a Rat. Now the M100’s true calling as a rock machine is revealed: it revels in executing chunky power chords at one end of the neck and authoritative lead runs at the other. For soloing work it doesn’t sound massively different to the other DiVill when you skip from one to the other with both set to the bridge pickup, but the added low-frequency content is still apparent even with gain at levels bordering on the irresponsible.

Verdict

Kidney-buttoned chrome machines take care of tuning

54 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

Well, the first thing to say is that both of these guitars are quite nice. They’re not offering anything wildly individualistic in terms of sound, but each does a conventional job in a nicely unconventional-looking way. If you’re looking for an affordable guitar with two single coils and a humbucker at the bridge, the F100 has to be a viable alternative to the thousands of copycat models out there; and if you’re after a Gibson-type solidbody with the emphasis on low-end thump, and don’t require bright and breezy cleans, then the M100 is an equally serious

contender. The third model in the line, incidentally, is the B100: another offset-waist design, but this time with a P90 at the neck and a Firebird-type mini-humbucker at the bridge – an arrangement that seems to work well enough for Neil Young. That one comes in light blue or metallic orange and is surely worth checking out too.

FINAL SCORE DIVILL M100 Build Quality

18 / 20

Playability

18 / 20

Sound

16 / 20

Value for money

18 / 20

Looks

17 / 20

TOTAL

87%

Martin Huch

GUITAR AMPS

£899 REVIEW

BLACKSTAR

FACTFILE ARTISAN 15

DESCRIPTION: Handwired 15/5W 1x12" combo with Celestion G12M speaker PRICE: £899

Artisan 15 & HT Stage 60

VALVES: One ECC83, one EF86, two EL84s, one EZ81 CONTROLS Volume and Tone for each channel

Valves are the name of the game with both these Blackstar amps, but one is aiming for purity and simplicity while the other is gunning for more power and versatility at a great price. Review by Huw Price

B

lackstar makes an amp to suit just about anybody, and this month we’re taking a close look at two very different models: a 15W handwired 1x12" combo and a much larger and more complex 60W 1x12" combo.

CONTACT: Blackstar 01604 652 844 www.blackstaramps.co.uk

One of the Artisan’s EL84s can be disabled to lower the power from 15W to 5W

Artisan 15 As 15W amps go, this one is pretty large. The finger-jointed birch plywood cabinet houses a single Celestion G12M greenback speaker, but there’s almost enough room inside for two. First impressions are good: you could spend several hours playing spot the joins in the burgundy tolex, as the finish is so good it almost looks shrink-wrapped. Cosmetics are important, of course, but it’s what is on the inside that really counts. This amp is the real deal because it features turret board construction, just like a vintage Hiwatt or Marshall amp. Even the control panel has a classy, bespoke look. There aren’t many controls to worry about, because Blackstar has only allocated a volume and tone knob to each of the two channels. However, the preamp circuits are quite different: Ch1 is built around an ECC83 valve, while Ch2 has an EF86. Both channels feed a pair of EL84 power valves, one of which can be switched out of circuit to drop the output power

The Artisan 15 is certainly loud enough for a pub or club gig, and the tone is equally delicious clean and dirty from 15 to five watts. In other words, this power stage provides push-pull and single-ended options. Most of us will be familiar with ECC83s (aka 12AX7s) in guitar amps, and Ch1 has a lot in common with the original Marshall 18W/WEM Dominator design. Although frequently found in microphones, mic preamps and hi-fi amps, EF86s are somewhat less ➻

FINAL SCORE ARTISAN 15 Build Quality

20/20

Versatility

15 / 20

Sound

19 / 20

Value for money

19 / 20

Vibe

19/ 20

TOTAL

92% SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 57

GUITAR AMP

REVIEW £899

Simple Volume and Tone controls for each channel, plus two inputs – one flat, one with 6dB extra

Like this? Try this... Vox AC15HW1 Handwired 15W combo with 1x12" Celestion G12M, three ECC83/12AX7 preamp tubes, two EL84 power amp tubes, EZ81 rectifier tube, plus High and Low inputs for the Normal and Top Boost channels RRP: £882

Marshall 1974 Marshall’s authentic reissue of it’s 1974 combo from the late ’60s features handwired tagboard construction, two channels, a valve-driven tremolo circuit, three ECC83s, an EZ81 rectifier and a pair of cathode biased EL84s in the power stage RRP: £1350

65 Amps Lil’ Elvis Apparently rooted in some lost designs from the early ’60s ‘best designer’, the Lil’ Elvis has a dual EL84 power section, a 12AX7 front end and a clean output of 12W and 65’s ‘Master Voltage’ power technology that attenuates the output down to 2W. Other features include a passive FX loop, two speaker outs and ‘a unique tremolo’ RRP: £1999

common in guitar amps. In contrast to the ECC83, the EF86 is single pentode rather than a dual triode. The advantages are even higher gain and low noise, but finding EF86s that have low enough microphony to deal with the vibrations found in guitar amps isn’t especially easy (in fact some of the original Mullards are the worst, so NOS enthusiasts beware). Even so, Vox used EF86s in various AC4s, 10s, 15s and even the early AC30s. Modern manufacturers who have rediscovered this valve include Matchless and 65 Amps. Despite having a standby switch, the Artisan 15 also has an EZ81 valve rectifier. Each channel has two inputs offering high and low sensitivity. Both first inputs provide 6dB of extra gain, so this is the one Blackstar recommends for regular guitar connections, while the second input may be preferred for high output pickup systems and effects units. You can also use a patch cable to link the two channels.

Sounds The Artisan 15 is loud for a 15-watter; you could certainly use one for a club or pub gig, and even in 5W mode it’s not exactly a practice amp. Nevertheless,

58 Guitar & Bass SEPTMEBER 2013

The HT Stage 60 is almost the polar opposite of the Artisan 15, with three channels, a full EQ and digital reverb the tone is equally delicious clean and dirty. Ch1 has a throaty midrange with chewy lows and plenty of touch compression. Ch2 is hardly dissimilar – after all, they both drive the same power stage and speaker – but this second channel has more gain and a hint of glassy chime in the treble region. Instead of becoming harsh as you crank the volume controls, the Artisan 15’s midrange gains girth to catch up with the treble frequencies, so you might end up backing the tone control off more at half volume than at full volume. Single-ended mode is a little less bright than push-pull, but the decrease in dynamic response is more noticeable. This isn’t a bad thing because you can switch to 5W for a smoother, more compressed feel. On the 15W setting the Artisan is livelier, more percussive and touch-sensitive. While not especially loud, the clean tones sparkle and chime. The Artisan 15 also has a way of enhancing the subtler characteristics of

a guitar without being bright or clinical. There’s a gradual shift into overdrive that’s very controllable, and it cleans up superbly from the guitar. At full whack, especially with both channels linked, this amp delivers thunderously heavy chords, while single notes bloom into glorious harmonic overtones.

HT Stage 60 The Stage 60 is almost the polar opposite of the Artisan 15. This is a medium-power combo with three channels, a full EQ, digital reverb, a master volume and only one input. Rather than allowing you to sculpt your sound via selecting different pickups, pedals or even choosing different guitars, the Stage 60 provides the tools you need to dial up all manner of tones straight from the control panel. Ch1 is designated for clean tones, and the controls are relatively simple. Volume combines with Bass and Treble, and these controls work in conjunction ➻

www.headstockdistribution.com

GUITAR AMP

REVIEW £749

Three channels means a lot of knobs, but the Stage 60 takes little time to learn to navigate

FACTFILE HT STAGE 60

DESCRIPTION: 60W 2x12” valve combo with Celestion speakers, effects loop, simulated speakers output with cabinet switch PRICE: £749 VALVES: 2 x ECC83s, 2 x EL34s CONTROLS Volume, Bass, Treble & Voice (Ch1), Gain, Volume & Voice (Ch2), Gain, Volume & Voice (Ch3), Bass, Middle, Treble & ISF (Channels 2 & 3), Reverb Level, Resonance, Presence and Volume CONTACT: 01604 652 844 www.blackstaramps.co.uk

Like this? Try this... Fender Hot Rod DeVille III Three 12AX7s and two 6L6s generate 60W for two 12" Celestion G12P-80 speakers. Three channels (normal, drive, more drive), external speaker out and FX loop. With two button footswitch and cover RRP: £808

EVH 5150 III Eddie Van Halen 50W combo with two JJ 6L6s and seven JJ ECC83, two Celestion G12M speakers, three channels, FX loop, reverb, headphone out, two speaker outs with impedance switch (4,8 & 16 Ohms). With footswitch RRP: £1159

Egnater Renegade 212 65W tube combo with a Celestion Elite-100 and a Celestion Vintage 30. Six 12AX7s, two 6L6s and two EL34s. Two channels, an 18W/65W switch, and Tube Mix to blend the 6L6 and EL34 valves. Individual reverb controls, main and secondary Master Volumes, Bias Adjust, balanced XLR cabinet-voiced Line/ Recording Output RRP: £1120

with a Voice switch. ‘Boutique’ voicing focuses on the middle and top end, with the power amplifier damping configured to simulate a traditional Class A tone. ‘Modern’ voicing provides extra bass response with a tighter Class AB style power amp response. Channels 2 and 3 both have independent Gain and Volume controls plus Voice switches. For Channel 2, Voice switches between Classic and Modern; on Channel 3 the Classic setting resembles Ch2’s, but some gain is added. The other voicing adds mid-band gain to give the overdrive sound more ‘body’ and a smoother overdrive characteristic. Channels Two and Three aren’t entirely independent, mind, because they share an EQ section comprising Bass, Middle and Treble. There’s also Blackstar’s patented ISF feature. Put very simply, many modern rock amps are categorised as having ‘British’ or ‘American’ sonic signatures, and the ISF control is designed to shift the response of the tone circuit in order to achieve both from a single amp. The manual suggests using the Bass, Middle and Treble to get your basic sound, then fine-tuning the tone using the ISF control. Counter-clockwise gives you the American side and Clockwise provides British – and since this is a rotary control, you can set ISF anywhere in between. Presence provides even more control over the overall treble response of the A pair of 12" Celestions provide the Stage 60 with some serious welly

Stage 60, and the Resonance control adjusts the bass response. Further features include an effects loop with switchable -10dB and +4dB settings and a simulated speaker output with a Cabinet switch which can mimic the response of 4x12" closed-back or 1x12" open-back cabinets.

Sounds The HT Stage 60 is a very powerful amp, so loud clean tones are well within Ch1’s capabilities. The tone controls provide ample adjustment, but setting Resonance is key to getting the best out of this channel. When set low the transients can be a tad stiff and spiky, but dialling Resonance up softens the attack and provides an easier, more compressed feel. It also fattens the lows, so you may need to roll back the Bass control. All in all, it appears to behave like a negative feedback control. Channel 1 is the best place to look for classic overdrive, which comes on progressively and of course can be kept under control using the main output volume. The voicing switch also has a strong influence on the midrange flavour and clean headroom. Encompassing country, funk, surf, jangle and bluesy overdrive, the clean channel is no mere afterthought. Channel 2 has a very wide gain range with a throaty bark that resembles the rock response of British classics over several decades. Channel 3 ramps

up the aggression, with extra bite in the upper mids and a harder, more contemporary edge. Again the voicing switches are effective, and on Ch3 the midrange can be fattened up with an accompanying gain boost for a fantastic soloing/shredding tone. The main feature that sets Channels 2 and 3 apart from many similar products is the way that focus and note definition is always maintained regardless of the gain level. We didn’t notice any of the odd, beating harmonics that seem to occur with lesser high gain amps. Whether set for blues rock, classic metal or modern crunch, both these channels sound convincing. The ISF feature certainly does its job and it complements rather than conflicts with the regular tone controls.

Verdict The Artisan 15 is a fabulous-sounding amp and it seems designed to bring out the best from a guitar you really like, rather than twisting and turning it into anything you want. Even so, if you accept that there is such a thing as ‘boutique tone’, the Artisan 15 has it in spades. The HT Stage 60 has a copious number of controls but it’s easy to operate and it delivers usable sounds pretty much however you set it, with surely enough volume and tonal range for any gigging guitarist. We’re impressed that any manufacturer can produce amps that represent such wildly different design philosophies with equal aplomb. No wonder that so many top artists are now using them.

FINAL SCORE HT STAGE 60

60 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

Build Quality

17 / 20

Versatility

20/20

Sound

18 / 20

Value for money

19 / 20

Vibe

18/ 20

TOTAL

92%

THIS IS THE SOUND

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PINO PALLADINO The Who – February 6, 2013 Jobing.com Arena, Phoenix, Ariz.

Martin Huch 2013 Fender Amps Palladino UK 210x297mm[3mbld].indd 1

05/06/2013 12:56

Tape-sTyle eCHO sTOMpBOX ROundup Few things sound as fabulous as real old-fashioned tape delays with their gritty lo-fi repeats, pitch fluctuations and unique boost capabilities – but they’re big and can be noisy and fiddly to maintain. Can any modern box sound the same? Huw Price finds out

F

rom the Ray Butts-designed EchoSonic of Scotty Moore fame, to the Echoplexes, Echolettes and WEM Copicats of the ’60s, to Roland Space Echoes and beyond, some of the finest delay sounds in popular music relied upon low-tech tape technology. Tapeaholics, alas, tend to live a life of constant tweaking in their search that sound – but now the tide may finally be turning. Digital audio was once purported to be about clarity and cleanliness, but designers

62 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

seem to have realised that musicians do not assess audio on the basis of dry technical standards of quality. Irony of ironies, the current thrust of DSP technology seems to be directed towards mimicking and recreating analogue quirks with an almost obsessive attention to detail. In fact, they’re getting so good at it that many diehard traditionalists are at last retiring their old tape echoes and going over to the digital side with specialist stompboxes. After all, if you can access

the same tonal qualities and special features like tape warble, multiple heads and lo-fi sonics without needing to de-magnetise heads, clean the tape path or change tape loops, then why not? Best of all, your echo pedal can sit on a board rather than perching precariously on top of your amp, obstructing access to the controls. Web forums buzz with discussions about which pedals do tape delay best, so we thought a roundup article was the best way to find it out for ourselves.

tape-style Echo PEdalS

Carl Martin Delayla at a glance RRP: £279.99 coNTRolS: Echo, Tap, Time, Repeat & Tap (switch) EXTRa FEaTURES: Second ‘playback head’ coNTacT: First Line 01626 853876 www.carlmartin.com

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wo features make the delayla stand out from all the other pedals in this roundup – it has a cable with a three-prong mains plug coming out of the enclosure, and the delay circuitry is apparently analogue rather than digital. don’t be fooled by the ’Tap’ footswitch, though, because it’s not a tap tempo feature; for that, you’ll need to step up to the larger and more expensive delayla Xl. ‘Tap’ actually refers to the delayla’s ‘second tap’ feature that simulates a second playback head. an accompanying Tap control shifts the balance of the echo sound from the first to the second ‘head’. This works in conjunction with the echo level control. The delay time is set using a control knob too, and Repeat sets the number of echoes. The delayla’s dry signal has a very slightly smooth and refined sound quality. Since the circuitry is analogue, ultra-long delay times were never really

on the cards, so this pedal is really about shorter echoes – particularly slapback. It’s nice to hear a bit of grittiness getting into the sound as the echoes die away, and the delayla’s overall vibe is warm and full-bodied. It’s certainly reminiscent of tape echo, but there’s no pitch modulation to seal the deal. on the other hand there are no noise issues, and the delayla’s limitations are in some way its strength because it’s more of a set-and-forget kind of a pedal. The tap function is interesting, adding an extra dose of ambience when required. It also shifts the rhythmic character from straight repeats to a triplet feel that proved to be a lot of fun and inspired us to play in different ways. The onboard transformer and power supply rectification require a lot of components to be squeezed into this pedal so the enclosure is fairly large, and they’ve chosen to go upwards rather than outwards. We think it’s the

right decision because it takes up no more space than usual on a pedalboard and the 6cm height means you can place it in the back row and still have good access to the footswitches.

fiNal score caRl MaRTIN dElaYla Build Quality

18 / 20

Versatility

14 / 20

Sound

17 / 20

Value for money

15 / 20

Looks

16/ 20

ToTal

80%

DaneleCtro reel echo at a glance RRP: £ 169 coNTRolS: Mix, Lo-Fi, Repeats, Tone, Warble & Speed Range EXTRa FEaTURES: Sound On Sound coNTacT: JHS 01132 865 381 www.jhs.co.uk

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ot content with trying to make the Reel Echo sound like a tape delay, the danelectro dudes have tried to make it look like one too. Measuring 24cm by 16cm, this is one for larger pedalboards or sparsely populated smaller ones. The sliding Speed Range control (0ms–1500ms) works just like an Echoplex – the original idea being that varying the distance between the record and playback head was a more effective way to set the delay time than using multiple fixed heads or varying the tape speed. The metal knobs look like tape spool hubs, the switches feel substantial, and the two mini jewel lights look tremendous. Variable treble roll-off comes courtesy of a lo-Fi control, and a Warble switch activates a hint of pitch modulation. There’s a Solid State/ Tube switch that adds some midrange fatness while rolling off a small amount of treble, plus a second footswitch to

activate the Sound on Sound feature. It’s far from intuitive; to get SoS working the Repeat knob must be turned fully up and lo-Fi turned all the way down. hit the Echo switch, record a note or chord, adjust the slider to the desired tempo then hit the SoS button and you can improvise over the top. The Reel Echo has a wide range of features and the sound more than holds its own. The issue is the noise level. It’s adequate if you’re dialling in a hint of slapback, in fact it’s excellent, but longer delay times and higher level settings for the repeats reveal the hiss a lot more. You’ll also notice the noise gradually building in intensity when

using SoS. The noise is lower than most tape echo machines but higher than you might expect these days and perhaps betrays the fact that the Reel Echo is now showing its age. Even so, within its limitations it still does a fantastic job.

fiNal score daNElEcTRo REEl Echo Build Quality

15 / 20

Versatility

16 / 20

Sound

15 / 20

Value for money

16 / 20

Looks

18/ 20

ToTal

80%

SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 63

lE tapE-styLS ECHO PEDA

EmprEss EffEcts tape Delay at a glance RRP: £229 CONTROLS: Mix, D Time/ Ratio, Feedback, Output with switches for Tape Age, Delay Time, Filter & Modulation EXTRA FEATURES: Tap tempo, storable presets, buffered/ true bypass & pitch shifting time changes CONTACT: Tone World 0161 605 0871 www.empresseffects.com

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ith its analogue dry signal path the Empress Tape Delay matches the DeLayla in the straightahead sonics department, but Empress have managed to squeeze around four times the degree of functionality into a box that’s half the size. This is where things get really serious for serious tape echo enthusiasts. Starting with the delay time, it can be set in three ways. With the Delay Time toggle switch set to ‘tap’, the left footswitch acts as a regular tap tempo control. This works in conjunction with the ratio side of the delay time/ratio control. The control can be set so that the resultant delay time is a ratio of 1:1, 2:3, 1:2, 1:3 or 1:4 of the tempo you tap into it – so a 2:1 ratio means that the delay time will be twice as fast as the tempo tapped. The Delay Time toggle switch can also be set to ‘slow’ or ‘fast’, which allows the delay time/ratio control to be used

to set the delay time in the conventional way. The Mix and Feedback controls perform their usual functions, but the output control can also provide plenty of clean boost. The Tape Age switch on the left has three settings – new, vintage and old. ‘New’ provides clean full frequency echoes, while ‘old’ adds wow and flutter. Vintage has more rolled-off highs and extra compression. The three-position Filter switch is labelled ‘hp’, ‘none’ and ‘lp’, and it can attenuate the low or high frequency content of the echoes. Lastly, the degree of modulation can be set to little, lots or none at all, and the tap footswitch and the toggle switches are all dual-function. When the Tape Delay is switched to ‘advanced configuration’ you can create and recall presets, select buffered output or true bypass, and choose smooth or pitch shifting delay time transitions.

Empress says they spent over two years ‘painstakingly recreating some of our favourite analogue tape machines’. It was time well spent; this pedal is a gem. If you’re familiar with the tape echo vibe, you’ll feel right at home.

final score EMPRESS EFFECTS TAPE DELAy Build Quality

18 / 20

Versatility

19 / 20

Sound

19 / 20

Value for money

18 / 20

Vibe

18/ 20

TOTAL

92%

rolanD rE-20

at a glance RRP: £234 CONTROLS: Repeat Rate, Intensity, Echo Volume, Bass, Treble, Reverb Volume, Mode Selector and Input Volume EXTRA FEATURES: Tap tempo, reverb, multiple ‘tape heads’ CONTACT: Roland UK 01792 702701 www.roland.co.uk

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niquely in this review, Roland actually has a manufacturing heritage with genuine tape echo machines – most notably the RE-201 and RE-301. In recent years they have become equally well-known for COSM digital modelling technology, and the new RE-20 is re-imagining of their iconic tape echo in stompbox form. It also looks the part, because Roland has replicated the original green and black colour scheme on a brushed metal plate. It would have been daft to install an old-style Vu meter, but there’s a red peak level indicator set into an authentic metal surround along with an input volume control. The echo controls are Repeat Rate, Intensity and Echo Volume plus Bass and Treble. The pedal even has the rotary mode selector switch with four repeat settings, seven reverb echo settings, and a reverb-only mode. The original version had a generally unloved spring reverb but it’s included here too.

64 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

The housing is Roland’s standard twin-pedal metal enclosure with a black crackle finish. The left switch activates the effect and the right switch is designated for tap tempo and ‘twist’ (echo oscillation). Inputs and outputs can be mono or stereo, and a little switch removes the dry signal from the output. An optional expression pedal can be used to control repeat rate, intensity echo level, and twist. Due to a severe impedance mismatch plugging a guitar directly into an original Space Echo causes a severe loss of treble, so you need a buffered pedal in front. There’s no such problem here. We have an original on hand to compare, and this pedal sounds and feels a lot like its predecessor. However, Roland has been a bit conservative with the input level; we couldn’t get the pedal to overdrive and compress like the original; it certainly can’t be used to drive an amp, and you can’t get those

chewy and fuzzy repeats. Roland did a sterling job with the cleaner side, then, but it’s a shame the RE-20 doesn’t do the boost thing and you can’t get that cool analogue overload. Even so, it’s practical and well thought-out and it will get you most of the way there.

final score ROLAND RE-20 Build Quality

18 / 20

Versatility

19 / 20

Sound

17 / 20

Value for money

17 / 20

Vibe

17/ 20

TOTAL

88%

Guitarist371_Guitar and bass February 2013.qxd 10/07/2013 10:20 Page 1

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le taPe-StyLS ECHO PEDA

Skreddy PedalS echo

at a glance RRP: £199 CONTROLS: Repeats, Mix, Time, Intensity & Rate with trim pots for Warble range & loop level EXTRA FEATURES: Parallel loop CONTACT: Joe’s Pedals 07793 814123 www.skreddypedals.com

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e absolutely love the style of this pedal with its retro green hammertone finish and funky metal knobs. However, a quick peek inside suggests that the box is about twice as tall as it needs to be. We had expected to find a circuit board smothered in epoxy resin to foil the copyists, but all the components were there in plain sight, including a cool little LED/LDR combo used to create the warble effect. This is another echo pedal focused on sonics rather than features. There’s no tap tempo and the main controls are restricted to Repeats, Mix and Time. As you’ve probably guessed, the warble feature mimics wow and flutter through the use of an oscillator. There are controls for Intensity and Rate, and a trim pot on the side sets the range of the warble intensity control. Unusually, the Skreddy is also equipped with an effects loop along with a loop level trim pot. Various effects

can be patched in here to alter the sound of the echoes (Skreddy recommend trying an MXR Phaser). The trim control remains active regardless of whether the loop is being used. This allows you to ‘deintensify’ the Mix control so you can exploit its whole range more easily. The Skreddy’s core tone has a hazy, analogue quality, a bit fuzzy around the edges and undeniably like the sound of a genuine tape echo. Some time does need to be spent finetuning the range trim to get the best out of the warble feature. It can get quite extreme in a fun sort of way, but used subtly its influence on the echoes is lush and pulsating, especially with longer (up to 550ms) delay times. It doesn’t do pristine echo, but controllable feedback is on the menu and there’s plenty of scope to explore psychedelic textures or to lose yourself in rhythmic repeats. There’s no boost or multiple head simulation, but the Skreddy is simple

to operate and performs a range of slapback to cathedral echo effects with an analogue chewiness that few pedal delays can match.

final score SKREDDy ECHO Build Quality

19 / 20

Versatility

15 / 20

Sound

18 / 20

Value for money

18 / 20

Vibe

18/ 20

TOTAL

88%

Strymon el Capistan at a glance RRP: £279.95 CONTROLS:Time/Spring Reverb, Tape Age/Low End Contour, Repeats/Tape Bias, Wow & Flutter/Tape Crinkle, Mix/Boost/Cut EXTRA FEATURES: Tap tempo CONTACT: Music Psych Ltd 0207 6076005 www.strymon.net

T

his pedal, from the company also known as Damage Control, has been garnering some pretty ecstatic reviews, so we had been looking forward to trying it out for a while. It’s simple and straightforward to operate, yet only the Empress competes with the El Capistan’s range of features. The Time, Mix and Repeats knobs are straightforward enough, but you also get tape age and wow & flutter controls. Unlike the switchable Empress equivalents, these are continuously variable. There’s tap tempo, of course, and an ingenious simulation of three virtual multiple heads. These have three settings – single, multi and fixed – that work with a three-way mode switch so you can to use the ‘heads’ individually or in all possible combinations. There are also hidden features that simulate tape crinkle, tape bias, low-end contour, spring reverb and +/- 3dB level adjustment. There’s also

66 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

a sound-on-sound mode with instant tape splice and bulk erase – like a tape-style looper. The single input can be mono or stereo and there are left/right outputs. The dry signal always remains analogue and digital processing works at 24-bit 96KHz. True bypass is standard but if you select ‘tails’ on switch off, a buffered analogue bypass is engaged. This is the echo pedal that can really do it all – it feels almost exactly like playing through a real tape echo. One of the factors behind this may be the way that the pitch fluctuation of wow and flutter doesn’t seem to be linked to the delay time. Like all the others, the echoes increasingly become grittier and darker, but with the El Capistan they also take on a tonal colour that almost screams ‘tape colouration’. However, the thing that really impressed us was the way that the El Capistan emulates the way that random things seem to happen with real tape

echo machines. It’s small details like the way a string squeak or a random thunk ends up mangled and morphed into something completely different due to the nature of the circuit.

final score STRyMON EL CAPISTAN Build Quality

19 / 20

Versatility

20/20

Sound

19 / 20

Value for money

18 / 20

Vibe

18/ 20

TOTAL

94%

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LE TAPE-STYLS ECHO PEDA

T-REX Reptile 2 At a glance RRP: £199 CONTROLS: Echo, Level, Repeat, Time, Tone, Speed, Width & Input Gain EXTRA FEATURES: Tap Tempo and Flutter CONTACT: Westside Distribution 0141 248 4812 www.t-rex-effects.com

D

anish pedal manufacturer T-Rex earned a lot of respect for its Replica delay pedal; and it garnered a stellar review in G&B March 2013. Still, quality comes at a price and many players opted for the cheaper T-Rex Reptile, which shared the same sound but had fewer features. The Reptile 2 is T-Rex’s updated version, now with Tap Tempo. The Reptile always had two footswitches, but now the second footswitch handles tap tempo duties. Previously the ‘Flutter’ controls were Speed and Depth, but now they’re labelled Speed and Width, and a tone control has been added to roll off the high frequency content of the repeats. Other controls comprise Echo, which mixes the dry and echo signals, and Repeat, which sets the number of echoes. Time can be used instead of tap tempo and covers the delay range 101000ms. The Reptile 2 has an input level control located on the side of the box

along with an LED overload indicator and an output level control. The Reptile 2 is very simple to set up and use. With single coils we couldn’t get the overload light to flash at all, and the dry signal path through the pedal is pristine. We had hoped that the output level control would allow us to drive the front end of our test amp a little harder, but that only works when the Echo control is set fairly low. As the Echo knob nears the halfway point the overall output of the Reptile 2 begins to fall. It’s tempting to suggest there’s some sort of phase cancellation going on, but the absence of comb filtering and swooshing suggests otherwise. The Level control, therefore, is a ‘volume compensator’ rather than an actual booster. The Flutter feature is the Reptile 2’s trump card. The effect can be subtle or really swirly and sumptuous in a Gilmour sort of way. It’s not unlike a

vibrato or even a chorus, but without the naff ’80s connotations. The Reptile 2 produces impressive slapback and simple echo effects, but it’s mono – so look elsewhere if you want complex multiple head-type repeats.

FINAL SCORE T-REX REPTILE 2 Build Quality

18 / 20

Versatility

16 / 20

Sound

16 / 20

Value for money

16 / 20

Vibe

17/ 20

TOTAL

83%

The verdict

W

hen bucket brigade devices and early digital delays swept all before them during the 1980s, the tape echo era seemed to be over. New technology promised less noise, cleaner sounds, higher fidelity, smaller size and far longer delay times. So why did so many guitarists persist with tape echo? It seems the quirks and idiosyncrasies that were regarded as technical shortcomings by non-guitar players were the very things that we liked about them. The lower fidelity of the repeats ensures that you can distinguish between the dry sound and the effect, which helps to retain clarity and definition. The inconsistent speed of the tape loop causes pitch fluctuations that sound like natural chorus – and few guitarists would object to ever-increasing grittiness and distortion as the echoes trail away. So which of these pedals has that tape-style lo-fi grittiness in the repeats? All of them, to a greater or lesser extent – and only the DeLayla fails to provide a wow and flutter function. What about multi-head features? Original tape echo devices allowed you to use multiple playback heads simultaneously to create complex echo patterns with cavernous ambience… then you could turn up the feedback control and send the unit into feedback meltdown for dub

68 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

or psychedelia. In this group only the Strymon, Roland and DeLayla have this multi-head feature. Then there’s the matter of boost. Valves or fatsounding FETs were the devices that drove many of the old devices, allowing output levels to be cranked to push valve amps into distortion and colour the sound with the echo unit’s circuitry. It’s a procedure not dissimilar to the way many of us use clean boost pedals today. Only the Empress is capable of giving your signal a decent clean boost, although the Strymon does have +/-3dB adjustment. Brian Setzer is one of the best well-known Roland tape echo enthusiasts and the boost he gets from his is every bit as important as the echo if you’re trying to nail that Stray Cats tone. So it’s surprising, and perhaps disappointing, that Roland chose to play it so safe with the RE-20. However, if you run the RE-20 in conjunction with a booster or subtle overdrive, we found that the results were fantastic. (Many rockabilly players of the Gretsch persuasion swear by the Nocturne Brain because it’s actually a Roland preamp in a pedal.) If you’re less interested in tap tempo and multiple replay head simulations, the Skreddy Echo nails the feel and sound of playing through a genuine standalone tape echo unit. The Danelectro Reel Echo impresses for the same

reasons, but it may be just a bit too noisy. The Carl Martin DeLayla and T-Rex Reptile 2 both have their charms, and the sonic quality is excellent. As much as we liked the DeLayla’s ‘second head’, the Reptile 2’s Flutter feature made it that bit more tape-like. For the widest range of tape echo features and comprehensive controllability, nothing beats the utterly remarkable Strymon El Capistan, though the Empress Tape Delay and Roland RE-20 come fairly close. Ultimately all these pedals perform impressive tape echo impersonations – and when deciding which is best for you it’s worth considering the features you need and which ones you can live without.

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ELECTRO-ACOUSTIC GUITAR

£329 REVIEW

YAMAHA

FACTFILE

Yamaha APX500II DESCRIPTION: Cutaway electro-acoustic guitar. Made in Indonesia PRICE: £329; hard case £109

APX500II

BUILD: Laminated spruce top with unscalloped x-bracing, laminated nato/ meranti back and sides. Nato neck with 22-fret rosewood fingerboard. Rosewood bridge, plastic nut and saddle, sealed Grover-style tuners, neck heel strap button OPTIONS: APX500FM with flame maple top (£379) ELECTRICS Yamaha System 65 preamp with Vol, Bass, Mid (with Mid slider), Treble. Onboard tuner LEFT-HANDERS: Only on the APX700IIL (£594) FINISH: All-gloss body, satin neck finish

The ever-evolving APX line now has a handsome and improved entry-level model with a pickup and preamp that promise to be better than ever before. Review by Rick Batey

W

ith a quarter of a century of service under its belt, the Yamaha APX must now be one of the mostgigged guitar designs on the planet. The current line-up is based around four main models, the APX1200, the APX 1000, the APX700 and, sitting proudly in the ‘most affordable’ slot, this APX500II (its sister model, the APX500FM, has a flamed maple top). This latest version has undergone a number of tweaks including a new preamp, a new pickup, a trussrod redesign and a slight change in trim. Affordable it may be, but this alllaminated guitar makes a great first impression. Take that finish on the spruce top, what Yamaha calls ‘old violin sunburst’; it’s beautifully done, and wouldn’t look amiss on a high-end ES-335 (if sunburst isn’t your thing then you’ve got five others to pick from including natural, metallic red, black, vintage white and oriental blue burst). The back and sides – made of a veneer of nato over meranti – have been stained a very dark brown, with hardly any grain visible, and the body finish is gloss all over (the headstock is also gloss, and faced in black, which is a recent change). Cream plastic binding surrounds the top, back, and fingerboard; the headstock is unbound.

Preamp offers a three-band EQ, a Mid slider and a tuner

Satin-finished neck and chrome enclosed tuners

With a sunburst that wouldn’t look amiss on a high-end ES-335, the all-laminated APX500II makes a great first impression The familiar raised plastic soundhole ring is still in place, and it’s decorated by four stylish pearloid inlays that give a very swooshy look. The bridge is rosewood to match the fingerboard, designed with a slightly curving front edge, and it holds a plastic saddle with basic compensation and six black plastic bridgepins with white dots.

The neck is now built so that trussrod adjustment takes place through the soundhole. The neck is nato, darkstained to match the back and sides, with a slightly rough-feeling ‘natural’ satin finish. For us, the neck profile is one of the best things about the APX500II; slim and rounded, it’s ➻ electric-comfortable. Playability

SCALE LENGTH: 634mm/25" NECK WIDTH: Nut 43mm 12th fret 51mm DEPTH OF NECK: First fret 21mm 10th fret 24mm STRING SPACING: Nut 36mm Bridge 50mm ACTION AS SUPPLIED: 12th fret treble 2.0mm 12th fret bass 3.0mm MAX RIM DEPTH: 90mm MAX BODY WIDTH: 385mm WEIGHT: 1.81kg/4lb CONTACT: Yamaha Europe 0844 811 1116 uk.yamaha.com

SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 73

ELECTRO-ACOUSTIC GUITAR

REVIEW £329

Like this? Try this... Ibanez AEG15II-LG A slimline cutaway mini-jumbo with cedar top, mahogany back/sides and a Fishman Sonocore pickup with Ibanez AEQ-SP1 preamp with tuner RRP: £236

Crafter GAE6 A useful cutaway stage guitar with solid sitka top, laminated mahogany body and the CR-Pro preamp RRP: £369

Gretsch G5013CE Rancher Junior For something a little – or a lot – different, this all-laminated cutaway electro has a triangular soundhole like some Gretsch flattops of the ’50s RRP: £298

is very good, and much helped by the medium 634mm/25" scale length, and the action at the nut is really good for a guitar in this price range. There’s no need for any work at all, really, and the chunky Grover-alike chrome machineheads do an excellent job. There’s also a second strap button located on the tip of the heel – a position which tends to tip the guitar slightly, and being super-light the APX also dives a little, but a little forearm pressure keeps everything in place. There are two main criticisms. Firstly, though the string spacing at the nut is 36mm with an overall nut width of 43mm, which is fine, string spacing at the bridge is a mere 50mm. That’s extremely narrow even by Yamaha’s usual close-spaced standards, so this guitar would be a challenging fingerpicker for those with the most spindly of digits (for strumming, on the other hand, it’s fine). Also, although the action is nicely playable, the neck angle is on the low side, so if you wanted to get a near-electric action – something

Yamaha’s latest undersaddle pickup uses six individual piezo elements

you might well want to do on a guitar of this type – then you would end up with mighty little saddle left, and that might be a concern long-term. The pickup and preamp has always been a big APX selling point and this model now comes with six piezo

You could take the Yamaha APX500 straight onstage and get a workable sound without any worries at all elements instead of a continuous strip, while the quick-change spring-loaded battery drawer on the upper treble side now takes not a 9v but two 1.5v AA’s, so you could use rechargeables. The output jack is integral with the endpin. The System 65 preamp comes with a redesigned control panel with a volume rotary and three tiny centre-detented rotaries for Bass, Mid and Treble, plus a slider to control the range of the Mid pot. There’s also an effective pushbutton tuner, with dimming ‘sharp’ and ‘flat’ arrows leading you to an ‘in tune’ green dot. Oddly, when plugged in, the tuner does not mute the output, which is a little hard to understand.

Sounds

Bound fingerboard and a stylish raised soundhole surround

74 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

Taking the APX500II’s electro side first, the System 65 delivers really excellent string balance and sweetly-graduated controls. There’s a perfect amount of gain on tap and well-chosen control over the mids, without any horridsounding extremes in terms of treble or bass. It doesn’t sound very piezo-y or elasticky at all, just smooth and rich, with pleasingly full trebles. You could take this guitar straight onstage the day you bought it and get a workable sound without any worries at all.

With its 87mm/3.5" deep body and laminated spruce top the APX500 is never going to win a campfire guitar/ banjo throwdown in the pure volume stakes, but we like the way it delivers. It’s very scooped, with a hint of travel-guitar boxiness, and it’s also pretty forward-sounding on the plain strings, but there’s a sweet warmth and elasticity to the overall attack – an almost jazzy tonality – that lends itself well to single-string work as well as comped chords. Strumming sounds predictably bright, but controlled.

Verdict The APX500II is such a well-balanced package. It’s a bit like turning up at a car hire place and being given the keys to a Ford Focus; it’ll handle well, go well, nothing will annoy you, and you’ll have a fine holiday. The Yamaha’s neck is a real sweetie and the body and ergonomics are comfy, the pickup sounds very good and is exceptionally even in response, while the controls are well-attenuated for the real world. As ever with the APX line this guitar hangs its hat slightly on the ‘electric’ end of the acoustic-electric spectrum, but the unplugged sound – though scooped and none too loud – is pretty pleasing. Just make sure you can cope with the close string spacing at the bridge, and then go ahead and buy with confidence.

FINAL SCORE YAMAHA APX500II Build Quality

16 / 20

Playability

17 / 20

Sound

17 / 20

Value for money

17 / 20

Looks

18 / 20

TOTAL

85%

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ELECTRO-ACOUSTIC

£379.95 REVIEW

TANGLEWOOD

FACTFILE

Tanglewood TWJF E DESCRIPTION: 000-style acoustic. Made in China PRICE: £379.95

TWJF E & TWJP

BUILD: Solid cedar top, laminated amara and spalted mango back/sides, mahogany binding, nato neck with 20-fret bound sonokeling fingerboard. PPS nut and saddle, open-geared machines, two strap buttons OPTIONS: TWJP with no pickup, £299.95 LEFT-HANDERS: No FINISH: Gloss natural body, gloss neck

We love cedar tops – and now Tanglewood has a pair of guitars with just that, plus some spectacular pieces of tree for backs and sides, and all at a very good price. Review by Rick Batey

T

he new Java series from UKbased company Tanglewood comprises a set of four guitars – well, two really, but with an electro option on each – with some tempting timber. Solid cedar, known for its easy-speaking tone, is used for the tops – that makes a pleasant change from sitka spruce. The backs and sides are laminated with rosewood on the inside, but it’s what’s on the outside that stands out: dark, stripey, almost ebony-like amara wood for the sides and the outer sections of the backs, and spalted mango for the backs’ central sections – a golden, flamey, almost koa-like timber with characterful dark disease lines. It’s one heck of a look, giving much of the aura of a super-high-end instrument.

TWJF E The TWJF E is an 000-sized guitar with a full 650mm/25.5" scale length. It’s your classic, slim, comfortable 000, then, and our first impressions are that it’s very neat, very glossy all over, and slightly heavy. The warm-hued cedar top is extremely even-grained and set off by mahogany edge binding (coachlined on both top and sides with a black/white line) with a dead simple soundhole rosette. Around the back, the mango is delineated

SCALE LENGTH: 650mm/25.55" NECK WIDTH: Nut 43mm 12th fret 54mm DEPTH OF NECK: First fret 20.8mm Tenth fret 24mm STRING SPACING: Nut 35mm Bridge 54.8mm ACTION AS SUPPLIED: 12th fret treble 2.0mm 12th fret bass 2.5mm MAX RIM DEPTH: 106mm MAX BODY WIDTH 402mm WEIGHT: 1.95kg/4.3lb The long-scale TWJF has a solid headstock

Slotted headstock for the shorter-scale TWJP

The tempting timbers of the four Java models from Tanglewood give much of the aura of a super-high-end instrument from the amara with more coachlined mahogany. The bridge – Tanglewood’s familiar slightly ‘winged’ design – is sonokeling rosewood, with cream bridge pins and a compensated nut made of PPS plastic… most likely much the same material as Tusq. Truss rod access is through the soundhole. The neck is nato, with a stacked heel, mahogany binding and a ➻

FINAL SCORE TANGLEWOOD TWJF E Build Quality

16 / 20

Playability

17 / 20

Sound

17/ 20

Value for money

17 / 20

Looks

18 / 20

TOTAL

85%

CONTACT: Tanglewood 01937 841122 tanglewoodguitars.co.uk

Like this? Try this... Vintage V200NC Bossa Nova Solid cedar-topped 12-fretter: very folky and very ’60s, and a bargain RRP: £219

Tanglewood Evolution TFA CSN Same basic design, same solid cedar top, but minus the TWFA E’s posh woods and pickup, saving you £150 RRP: £229.95

SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 77

ACOUSTIC GUITAR

REVIEW £299.95 FACTFILE

Tanglewood TWJF E DESCRIPTION: 12-fret parlour-style acoustic. Made in China PRICE: £299.95 BUILD: Solid cedar top, laminated amara and spalted mango back and sides, mahogany binding, nato neck with 20-fret mahogany-bound sonokeling fingerboard. PPS nut and saddle, open-geared machines, two strap buttons OPTIONS: TWJP E with Fishman Sonitone and soundhole volume and tone controls, £379.95 LEFT-HANDERS: No FINISH: Gloss natural body, gloss neck SCALE LENGTH: 626mm/24.75” NECK WIDTH: Nut 43mm 12th fret 55mm DEPTH OF NECK: First fret 22mm Ninth fret 25.4mm STRING SPACING: Nut 35mm Bridge 54mm ACTION AS SUPPLIED: 12th fret treble 2.0mm 12th fret bass 2.5mm MAX RIM DEPTH: 107mm MAX BODY WIDTH 334mm WEIGHT: 1.63kg/3.6lb CONTACT: Tanglewood 01937 841122 tanglewoodguitars.co.uk

Like this? Try this... Faith Naked Series Mercury Parlour designed by Patrick James Eggle, with scant trim but all solid woods RRP: £389

Takamine GMINI NS Solid cedar and laminated mahogany parlour with short scale neck. Cute RRP: £259

sonokeling fingerboard. It’s decorated with a pearl peghead logo and 12th fret emblem, an amara headstock facing and a mango heelcap. There’s a 43mm-wide PPS nut, 20 neatlyinstalled narrow-gauge frets, and a set of chrome Waverley-alike open-back tuners (the B tuner is noticeably notchy). The set-up is nice, from nut to neck relief, and though the neck set doesn’t give a massive amount of saddle it’s certainly adequate.

The Javas’ big selling point is back and sides of laminated amara and spalted mango

Sounds The TWJF sounds very nice. It’s bright yet smooth, together and controlled, with a firm but not boomy bottom end and bouncy mids, while the smooth tuning and excellent intonation make it a pleasure to play everywhere on the neck. Cedar has a reputation as an open-sounding topwood from the getgo and this one is quite lively, but with a real richness underneath it all. Being the ‘E’ model this guitar has a Fishman Sonitone system with soundholemounted Vol and Tone controls. String balance is very even, and the tone control is handy for rolling off piezo-y highs. Aside from the inconvenience of having a battery bag taped to the bass-side rim quite a long way inside, the electro side hard to fault.

The differences? Size, obviously: at 334mm or a shade over 13” across the lower bout and with a 12th fret neck to body join, it’s a real sofa picker. It’s also a whole lot lighter, though our non-electro review model accounts for a few ounces of that. The headstock – which is noticeably deep – is slotted this time, while the scale length is shorter at 626mm, or round about 24.75". Nut and bridge dimensions are

The Javas aren’t all big hat, no cattle. Build quality is fine and the cedar tops give satisfaction right out of the box TWJP In terms of timber and general build the parlour-sized TWJP is exactly the same as the 000; finished in gloss all over, with a pseudo three-piece back of amara and spalted mango, amarafaced rims, an impressively closegrained cedar top, a nato neck with a sonokeling fingerboard, mahogany binding… and the same bridge and open tuners and, inside, the same spruce X-bracing.

The ‘E’ versions add a Fishman Sonicore system with volume and tone thumbwheels

78 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

the same, the neck profile a touch deeper and clubbier, and this guitar does feel a touch less spacious to move around. Also, the more acute breakangle over the nut makes the tuning a touch more sticky than on the TWJF. Fretting, action and intonation is just as good as on the sister model.

Sounds Summoning richness from a small guitar is no easy feat. There’s no way you’ll get a guitar that sounds like a Collings Baby or a Santa Cruz Firefly without spending that kind of money and our first impression was that the TWJP rises to the challenge with a bit less aplomb than its 000-sized sister. Initially it was zingy, loud and eager but with a boxiness, a bluesy edge slightly at odds with the sumptuouslooking woods. After an hour or so of playing it did begin to open up, with good sustain and more warmth coming through. You can’t beat physics, but it’s a likeable little guitar.

Verdict ‘How much did THAT cost?’ is a question you’ll definitely hear when playing one of these exotic-looking Tanglewood Javas. But they’re not all big hat, no cattle. Build quality is fine, solid cedar tops give you playing satisfaction right out of the box, and the 000 especially is, we reckon, a very nice guitar by any standards.

FINAL SCORE TANGLEWOOD TWJP Build Quality

16 / 20

Playability

16 / 20

Sound

15 / 20

Value for money

18 / 20

Looks

18 / 20

TOTAL

83%

THE HARDEST WORKING GUITAR SIMON NEIL AND HIS PRO SERIES P7DC See the entire line of Takamine guitars at takamineguitars.eu www.facebook.com/takamineguitarseurope Photo: David Wolff-Patrick ©2013 KMC Music, Inc. TAKAMINE™ is a trademark of KMC Music, Inc. All rights reserved.

2013_Takamine_Ad_Simon Neil UK 210x297mm[3mbld].indd 1

13/05/2013 16:15

BASS GUITAR

£1099 REVIEW

KAY

FACTFILE

KAY VINTAGE REISSUE PRO ELECTRIC BASS

Vintage Reissue Pro Electric Bass

DESCRIPTION: Semi-hollowbody bass. Made in China PRICE: £1099

If you’re looking for pure plunk and thud and a look that’ll suit howling blues or hip alt-country, then read on. Review by Gareth Morgan

R

emember those mail-order shopping catalogues of the ’70s and ’80s? The name ‘Kay’ – at that time a name strictly reserved for not-great copy instruments – had certain connotations that hardly inspired an expectation of quality, nor a sense of a solid and serious historical lineage. But if we look further back, we find that the company was founded in 1928 by Henry Kay Kuhrmeyer in Chicago, USA, and began trading as Kay Musical Instruments in 1931. Up until 1955 KMI produced a dizzying array of acoustic guitars, lap steels, hollowbody and solidbody electrics and basses, plus legions of instruments sold as ownbrand models by other Chicago-based makers and even department stores. Kuhrmeyer retired in 1955, but Kay continued to churn out vast quantities of instruments before being broken up at auction in 1969. There’s been a recent upsurge in interest in Kays of the ’50s and ’60s, especially since luthier Roger Fritz – a long-time Kay fan and previously a producer of quality replicas using his own company, Fritz Brothers Guitars – hopped on board in 2007. Fritz got involved with Kay’s Vintage Reissue models, and this month we’re taking a look at the Vintage Reissue Pro Electric Bass Guitar, originally called the K162… an instrument that was highly regarded by blues bassists from the Chicago area in the ’50s and ’60s. Visually, the Chinese-made Kay

Laminated maple body and a glued-in maple neck

Ornate headstock echoes the tacky charm of the original

The original Kay K162 bass was highly regarded by blues players from the Chicago area in the ’50s and ’60s makes a clear statement: this is a bass designed for roots music, whether traditional folk or country or blues. It ideally suits many of these genres or associated sub-genres because it is designed to approximate an upright. It’s a visual feast, with the high-gloss polyester honey sunburst finish accentuating the tiger striping of the two-piece flame maple top. Flame maple is also the wood of choice for the sides and the two-piece back, with multi-ply cream and black binding along both edges. The top boasts a higgledy-

piggledy tortoiseshell scratchplate that seems to have been casually dumped randomly in vaguely the right position. Overall this Kay is odd, quirky, even awkward – but also extremely cool. Though there’s no f-hole, this is a semi-hollowbody with two chambers on either side of a central block that runs to somewhere between pickup and bridge, leaving room for a third, smaller chamber underneath the tailpiece. The Kay is 70mm deep – a Fender Jazz is 44mm – and this takes a little time to get used to, especially as you get ➻

BUILD: Flame maple top, back and sides with ‘feedback resistant’ bracing and multi-ply black and white celluloid binding. Set Canadian maple neck with 20 small nickel frets, rosewood fingerboard. Wilkinson Vintage Style tuners with clover leaf buttons and rosewood bridge and chrome trapeze tailpiece. Chrome hardware ELECTRICS: Passive with one blade single-coil pickup, one volume, one tone LEFT-HANDERS:No FINISH: Honey sunburst, blonde (both £1099), black (£949) SCALE LENGTH: 787mm/31" NECK WIDTH: Nut 37.5mm 12th fret 45mm DEPTH OF NECK: First fret 22mm 12th fret 23mm STRING SPACING: Nut 10.5mm Bridge 15mm ACTION AS SUPPLIED: 12th fret treble 2.5mm 12th fret bass 3mm WEIGHT: 3.35kg/7.41lbs CONTACT: Cranes Music 029 2039 8215 www.cranesmusicstore.com

SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 81

BASS GUITAR

REVIEW £1099 Like this? Try this... Epiphone Jack Casady Bass Wide, gold, and handsome: a rich-sounding big bodied semi-acoustic that looks great on stage RRP: £899

Hagström Viking The Swedish take on the Guild Starfire Bass, you might say; can have balance problems but adaptable thanks to a six-position rotary and humbucking or single coil modes RRP: £566

Hofner Contemporary Series 500/5 President Bass Big, sunburst and utterly nostalgic, with a short 30" scale and similar close string-spacing at the bridge. Rootsy and retro RRP: £659

neither forearm nor ribcage chamfer provision. If you could look into the chambers, you’d find what Kay describe as their ‘unique feedback-resistant bracing’, a build detail that bodes well for its tone. At the neck end there are two shallow cutaways bordered by a pair of rounded horns. The neck is secured using the set-in method, being glued into a central block via a mortise-and-tenon or dovetail joint – as it should be for a bass with upright bass pretensions. It’s made from a single piece of Canadian maple, and the heel is capped with a squashed semicircular cream celluloid cap to match the binding. In terms of profile, it’s an altogether thinner and more comfortable neck than you’d expect – certainly more friendly than some Kay neck profiles of the ’50s. Aided by the narrower width and the reduced 31"/787mm scale length, it’s actually pretty fast and lots of fun to flail around on, although it may feel cramped to those more used to the regulation 34" scale. Another thing that feels cramped – if authentically so – is the string spacing at the bridge… just 15mm, whereas a Fender Precision would measure somewhere in the region of 19mm. It feels like a throwback to the plectrum bass style common in years gone by.

Simple trapeze tailpiece and a saddle system that will be familiar to Hofner players

The headstock is big and brash, a widening oblong that, the company says, displays a ‘3-D raised “Kel-von-ator” style emblem’. Kay has fitted a set of four chrome Wilkinson Vintage Style tuners with clover leaf buttons. The bridge is an old-school two-piece unit made of rosewood with fretwire saddles and two adjustment thumbwheels, while the string ends hook into a chrome trapeze tailpiece, so set-up may be a little tricky and might well require the trained eye of your local luthier. There’s just one pickup – and it’s

The Kay’s acoustic-biased tone lacks the feel of a large mass of air being shifted but it’s got plenty of warm, natural lows passive, of course. It’s a blade-polepiece single coil that echoes the one found on the original (and the sister Kay Thin Twin guitar). The controls are simple: one Volume and one Tone.

Sounds

Basic Volume and Tone knobs and a side-mounted jack

82 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

The original K162 always had the reputation of being quite uprightsounding for an electric bass, and when it comes to the PEB reissue Kay has gone the right route from the start by fitting flatwound strings to simulate the correct feel under the fingers, though the frets interrupt the legato flow. Plugged in, there’s undeniably an acoustically-biased tone on display, and while it lacks the feeling of a large mass of air being shifted, it offers a decent thud on the lower strings plus plenty of warm, natural lows. There’s no real growl, probably partly due to the flatwounds, so by contemporary standards the definition is a little unfocused. The bottom E sounds a

trifle too forward, but apart from that response across the neck is even and plenty fat for practicality, especially if your technique is on the healthy side of decent. The midrange actually sounds a bit like an old Precision; no cursed trendy nasal honk, but a bit hollow and mellow without great punch and impact (but we’ll take smooth and squashy over honky and nasal any day of any week of any year, thank you very much). The trebles are also very natural-sounding, with just a slight sheen and a bit of spikiness from the frets themselves. From about 6 downwards the handily-numbered tone control reduces what little bite the PEB has; full cut is all woolly and sub-aquatic. You could easily employ some level of tonal reduction from the amp or preamp to approximate an upright-style EQ, and in terms of space-filling rumble the PEB is a purveyor of much happiness.

Verdict Does the Kay PEB sound exactly like an upright bass? No, but it’s a viable and definitely acoustically-biased option when that particular feel is required. It’s also very comfortable to play thanks to the thin neck and short scale. The PEB is a splendid ‘character’ bass – a little bit expensive in relation to competition, perhaps, but all the same, it’s a unique flavour to have at your disposal.

FINAL SCORE KAY VINTAGE PRO ELECTRIC BASS Build Quality

18 / 20

Playability

19 / 20

Sound

16 / 20

Value for money

15 / 20

Looks

17 /20

TOTAL

85%

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BASS GUITAR

£1530 REVIEW

SANDBERG

FACTFILE

SANDBERG BASIC KEN TAYLOR 20TH ANNIVERSARY

Basic Ken Taylor 20th Anniversary 5-string Bass

DESCRIPTION: Solidbody bass. Handbuilt in Germany PRICE: £1530 BUILD: Alder body, bolt-on Canadian hardrock maple neck with 22 frets on a maple fingerboard. Sandberg closed gear tuners and Sandberg High Mass bridge. Chrome hardware ELECTRICS: Active with two Powerhumbuckers, Volume (pull for passive mode), Balance, Bass, Middle and Treble controls, splitter switch for single-coil mode LEFT-HANDERS: No FINISHES: Gloss Black only RANGE OPTIONS: Four-string (£1471), Standard KT 4-string (£1315), Standard KT 5-string (£1430)

Available in shiny black only, this limited-run active five-stringer celebrates 20 years of a successful collaboration between an artist and the German company. Review by Gareth Morgan

I

n 1986 Sandberg began making basses that answered the demand for popular construction techniques and tonal preferences of the time. These through-neck basses looked as if they had been pieced together like some bizarre jigsaw puzzle from multi-laminates of exotic woods. This novel approach was complimented with classy natural finishes, soupedup electrics and high-output pickups delivering a hi-fi sound. By the early ’90s this had begun to change, and Sandberg decided to forge a mainstream, almost traditional, path. It was around this time that Ken Taylor appeared on the scene. Born in London of Jamaican extraction, Taylor needed a reliable workhorse bass, and Sandberg supremo Holger Stonjek came up with a concept to make his dream come true – a design that he describes as a mix between a Music Man and a Precision. After months of testing different pickup positions via a prototype with pickups fitted onto a rail that Taylor nudged back and forth until he found his sweet spots, the Basic Ken Taylor model was born. Taylor has gone on to use the bass on hundreds of sessions for artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen, the Scorpions and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. So, 20 years on, Taylor and Sandberg present a fitting tribute to the original flagship, the Basic Ken Taylor 20th Anniversary 5-string bass. The echo of

Maple neck clamped to the alder body by six recessed bolts

Smooth tuners carry Sandberg’s four-dot logo

The Sandberg BKT’s main innovation is one pickup in the MM position and the other where a Precision pickup would be Music Man and Fender is indeed there in the BKT’s sculpted alder body, although the waist section is pure Sandberg, and upper-fret access is far better than you’d get on a Precision. This anniversary model – which is limited to one year’s production – comes in only one finish, an expertly-applied high gloss black (although given the custom nature of the Sandberg operation, if you asked really nicely we’d be very surprised if the request for some other colour or finish was turned down). The

SCALE LENGTH: 864mm/34" NECK WIDTH: Nut 45mm 12th fret 63mm DEPTH OF NECK: First fret 20.5mm 12th fret 23.5mm STRING SPACING: Nut 9.5mm Bridge 19mm ACTION AS SUPPLIED: 12th fret treble 1.5mm 12th fret bass 2.5mm WEIGHT: 4.25kg/9.37lbs CONTACT: Synergy 0121 270 6485 synergydistribution.co.uk

20th Anniversary version differs from the standard BKT in form (Sandberg describe it as being ‘back in its original shape’, although you’ll struggle to spot any real difference), in the fitting of a three-ply pearloid scratchplate plus the gleaming chrome control plate. Nice. Secured by the contemporary favourite six-bolts-and-no-neckplate arrangement, the maple neck is the usual Sandberg offering – thin, ultra-comfortable and super-fast, ➻ demanding to be played and SEPTEMBER 2012 Guitar & Bass 85

BASS GUITAR

REVIEW £1530 Like this? Try this... Ibanez Grooveline G105 This bass is another successful marriage of modern materials, electronics and design and, most importantly, it also sounds really good RRP: £2289

Music Man Stingray 5 Classic The source when it comes to active five-stringers: does what you expect a Music Man to do, but with the addition of a tight-sounding B-string RRP: £2255

liable to throw a bit of a strop if you don’t oblige. There’s a strengthening bulge beneath the synthetic selflubricating nut and this leads us to a back-angled slab headstock with a form reminiscent of the old Aria SB1000. As ever Sandberg provides all the hardware, here in standard chrome, including a beautifully-designed bridge and five Closed Gear tuners with downsized T-shaped buttons. The maple fingerboard carries a zero fret, designed to give the open strings similar characteristics to the fretted notes – or at least to minimise the difference between them. Otherwise there are 22 medium jumbo nickel frets expertly seated in their maple bed, and while the face is unmarked, there’s a set of small black dots along the top edge. As with any Sandberg BKT, the 20th Anniversary has active electronics, with a pair of Sandberg Powerhumbuckers feeding into a Sandberg preamp. The the rear pickup is in the Music Man position while the second is sited roughly where you’ll find the split humbucker on a P Bass. This is what Taylor spent hours in rehearsal studios searching for; it’s the main innovation on the BKT, and the major contributor to its ‘very variable and extremely versatile sound’. If you fancy some passive action, simply pull on the Volume knob, and there’s a Balance control and three-band EQ to get your

High-mass Sandberg bridge has slotted string retention for easy changes

teeth into. A little chrome switch allows you to toggle between humbucking and single-coil mode, a feature that ups the potential versatility.

Sounds So does the BKT 20th Anniversary sound, well, like a Music Man? No, it doesn’t; even with Treble on maximum, no matter what mode you choose, you get plenty of cut and bite but no fizzing, crystalline highs. In humbucking mode there’s a controlled feel to the BKT’s tone and it speaks beautifully cleanly and evenly across the neck; lower strings growl with enough width and belligerence for fun and the midrange is even, with a clarity-enhancing hint of

The BKT is a well-balanced, versatile instrument – and you get a high-quality handmade bass for just over £1500

Neat and tidy headstock: note the presence of a zero fret

86 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

high-mid zing. You’ll get benefit from digging in a little – just a tad more force produces a noticeably throatier growl. Flick the switch upwards to singlecoil mode and you’ll notice a sizeable discrepancy in output – too much to really be able to use this feature as a mid-song tone changer. There’s less bottom, more nasal zing and generally less oomph. Dialling in Bass creates a warm, silky sound that’s rather spoiled when the spiky G string gets involved. The Middle knob’s focus is towards the lower end of the midrange spectrum, so adding some of this induces more of a discernible shape with less of the slightly excessive adenoidal edge. Add a little treble for a rock/pop tone with pleasing presence and attitude. Given the basic nature of the pickups, humbucking mode is the BKT’s natural home. Adding bass EQ widens the sound into a more diverse stylistic area – it’s

still a poppy tone but the added fatness will please the rock’n’roll inclined, and upping Middle focuses this into a ballsier, harder-hitting sound without the high mids becoming more prevalent. Use the Treble control sparingly, unless you want a clangy tone awash with fret and finger noise. By the way, the B-string is well-focused and highly practical on any of these settings. So, plenty of good stuff, but you’ve also got the individual pickup options. The front pickup ranges from a dark, fat, growling humbucker sound to a less weighty variation that retains earthiness but is cleaner and more full-range in single-coil mode. It’s the same with the burpy bridge humbucker – more substance and impact in neck mode, more gurgly high-mids, less volume and less width from the bridge.

Verdict We’ve always been fans of Sandberg at G&B. They don’t make ornaments, they make proper bass guitars, and the BKT is a well-balanced, versatile instrument with plenty of easily accessible tonal variations – definitely one of the better modern interpretations on Leo Fender’s virtually perfect body design. But, in some ways most importantly, with the BKT you’re getting a high-quality, well spec’d, handmade bass for a smidgeon over £1500 that, in anyone’s language (and of course in relative terms) is pretty good news.

FINAL SCORE KEN TAYLOR ANNIVERSARY 5-STRING Build Quality

19 / 20

Playability

19 / 20

Sound

16 / 20

Value for money

17 / 20

Vibe

16/ 20

TOTAL

87%

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o D E K  HOO CLASSICS N

MATCHES MADE IN HEAVEN If the Beatles had a decent PA, would they have stopped touring? If Jimi had access to a modelling amp, would he have used it? Phil Harris takes a flyer and puts guitars in the hands of players who would have used them well

A

ll the thinking about the perfect marriage between person and guitar when putting together last month’s column on Peter Green and his legendary Gibson Les Paul Standard set my mind turning (no, it hasn’t come to a complete halt just yet, and for that I’m grateful). Now, both with my hire company and as a guitar consultant, I’ve played the role of matchmaker between player and gear many, many times over the years. However, there’s always a bit of sigh when I come across something that I know would be absolutely perfect for a particular guitar player, only to realise a nano-second later that they are sadly no longer with us. Now, I know there’s always been a debate as to what extent a guitar player’s sound (particularly one of the legends) is down to their skill and/or the equipment they use. I can see both sides of the argument, but sometimes history decides to time it so that all the right parts are in place. Take Jimi Hendrix, for example, coming to England in 1966 – the same year the first Marshall 100W

stack hit the shops. I’m sure that Hendrix would have made his mark on music regardless of what Jim Marshall had been up to, but the history of guitar playing would have been quite different, wouldn’t it? A lot of the time, the gear a guitar player uses affects their mental state as much as anything else. When I was auditioning for various bands as a young guitarist, my treasured Les Paul felt to me like a charismatic shield that gave me confidence to express myself. Years later, I acquired a

this to my friend, who was a music fan but not a musician, he bluntly replied: ‘What are you talking about? You just sound like you always do.’ And I’m pretty sure that, if Stevie Ray Vaughan was still alive and could play a thousand different types of Stratocaster, you’d still be able to tell in the first couple of bars that it was him. Despite this, if you’ve ever experienced the true joy of finding what you believe is the right guitar, amp or pedal, there’s no scientist on earth who could prove to you that there

‘There’s always been a debate as to what extent a player’s sound is down to skill, or equipment’ wooden-bodied, single-pickup Steinberger from Status Quo’s Rick Parfitt. It wasn’t the kind of guitar I would normally play, but I’ve always been a big Leslie West fan. When a mate came round the house, I plugged the guitar in and played some bits and pieces, thinking the guitar was really changing both my playing and my sound. When I mentioned

isn’t something special and magical about the whole thing. I know plenty of guitar players of all levels who act like they were born with a certain instrument in their hands and might well be buried with it, but sometimes it’s good to experiment. Here are a few things from my collection that I would have loved some of the greats to have used…

1968 SHIN-EI UNI-VIBE Although Paul Kossoff used an actual Leslie on some tracks, I think he would have got more response from this Leslie simulator. The Shin-Ei has more variations and room to experiment, and I’m sure Kossoff would have made a lot of rockin’ hay from the extra options on offer to him

90 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

HOOKED ON CLASSICS

1955 GIBSON LES PAUL JUNIOR Mick Ronson had such a stinging attack, and most of the time his sound came from the bridge pickup, so a great Junior like this would have really worked for him. It would have to be a single cutaway, though; I’m sure Mick would have thought a double cutaway was a child’s toy

1963 GIBSON ES-335 Aged 13, I had the privilege of hearing Hendrix play a right-handed 335 through a Twin Reverb in Selmers in Charing Cross Road. He sounded amazing. While I know you can’t bring people back, I truly believe that if he hadn’t passed away it would have been great to see him start playing a 335 on stage and on record

1963 FENDER STRAT The recently-departed Alvin Lee had a Fender pickup in his 335, and he had about the least ‘335-sounding’ 335 you could imagine. I’d have loved to seen him work his magic on an actual vintage Strat. He had such a commanding presence as a player and as a performer that only a fiesta red Strat would have done

1962 HOFNER COLORAMA If I could go back in time to the early days of Pink Floyd, I would bring this Hofner Colorama with me and put it in Syd Barrett’s hands. It’s a guitar that begs you to think and play differently – and Syd would be just the man!

SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 91

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of

THE BISHOP OF DENMARK STREET

the BISHOP 

 R E ET DENMARK ST

HERE COMES SUMMER! As the heat descended on Denmark Street the thoughts of the music trade turned to ice cream, portable fans and above all, flocks of visitors from abroad – the financial lifeblood of Tin Pan Alley. Sid Bishop recalls the guitar tourists of the 1970s

W

hoopee, summer had finally arrived to cheer up our damp and shivering population, and everyone in the retail trade was rubbing their hands in glee. The instrument dealers in Denmark Street were certainly no exception, and one word was buzzing on all our lips… ‘Tourists!’ No one working in Denmark Street could fail to notice the stream of foreign visitors who habitually spent serious money buying equipment every summer. I once sat down and tried to calculate the amount of our seasonal trade that was accounted for by foreign visitors, and I came up with an extraordinary figure of 85 per cent during the peak months of July and August; only the Christmas season came anywhere close in terms of shifting stock and earning money. Guitars seemed to be their number one target, as I’m guessing that amplifiers, being bulky and heavy, would certainly attract significant excess baggage charges, as would drums and most keyboards. Back in the ’70s and ’80s the overwhelming majority of these customers came from Eastern Europe or Russia, as good quality instruments were virtually impossible to obtain in their own countries at the time. We had some regular visitors from as far afield as Japan, some of whom we got to know quite well owing to their regular annual jaunts. We also had a significant number of French or Spanish buyers, and many from the Scandinavian Rickenbackers were particularly soughtafter by Greek visitors

countries. Greeks, too; for some reason they would usually go nuts for Rickenbackers. I have little idea what the situation is in the street these days concerning foreign guitar buyers, although I would think that many might now be Chinese or Korean, and quite a large number from African countries too, but this will depend on the sterling exchange rate. I recall with some amusement that most conversations would start with ‘Hello, have you Stratocaster Fender?’, often accompanied with a dreadful sketch on a piece of crumpled paper that looked as if it had been drawn by a nine-year-old.

fingers at the nearest of his flunkies, who opened a briefcase. The case contained not sandwiches but thick piles of sterling, a couple of stacks of US dollars, and wads of various other currencies. Rarely have I seen so much cash in one go. The flunky peeled off the required amount, barely depleting the contents of the case, handed it to me, and off they all went, back to the Middle East with the Les Paul… a gift for a very fortunate young relation, or so I was told. This was not a unique occurrence. Nigerian kings were also a good source of income – and there seemed to be quite a few of them!

The case contained piles of sterling, stacks of US dollars, and wads of other currencies. Rarely have I seen so much cash in one go If their grasp of English was totally nonexistent, we just had to decipher the crumpled paper. Somewhat bizarrely, money was very often carried in knotted socks, presumably as a security measure; very effective, I should think. On many occasions I had noxious, mouldering banknotes counted into my hand – presumably these had been hoarded for many years in expectation of a future visit to England. At the other end of the scale I can recall a visit from an Arabian gentleman, swathed in white robes, accompanied by his entourage, who asked me what the most expensive guitar in the shop was. I offered him a certain limited run Gibson Les Paul that we happened to have at the time. He said ‘Okay’, and snapped his

It wasn’t all foreigners, of course. With the UK festival season well underway, higherprofile pro bands would be gathering themselves together for another tour. We supplied a lot of equipment directly to outdoor festival organisers, both PA and backline, though as time passed it became more usual for them to rent what they needed for the duration of the event. The bands themselves usually liked to appear on stage with something new, and would top up their collections in readiness for the flurry of summer gigs. Without getting into a name-dropping exercise, we always were very happy to get the likes of Mott The Hoople, Free, Skid Row, Yes, Widowmaker and Jeff Beck come through the door, as we were confident that they would never fail to buy a guitar, or two… not to mention piles of leads, effects pedals and sundry other goodies – and of course strings by the boxload. But in the fullness of time another summer would fade into memory, and we would start getting stocked up ready for Christmas. SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 93

Echoes of THE PAST Paul Brett may love his archaic acoustic blues guitars – his Stellas, Regals, Oahus and Weymanns – but he’s also got another side that displays an equal fascination with the lesser-known electric brands of America and Europe. Lars Mullen listens in

S

ome guitar companies – the most famous ones – are so welldocumented these days that with the purchase of a couple of books you can attain a level of knowhow that would have been near-impossible to achieve 30 years ago. When it comes to more obscure brands, though, enthusiasts all over the world are still poring over rare catalogues and comparing notes to build up an accurate picture of what really happened. One of those enthusiasts is Paul Brett, whose interests 94 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

cover a range of instruments from exceedingly rare flat-tops of the early 20th century, to more modern handmade guitars to the unusual electrics you see in the photo above. It’s a knowledge he’s put to use compiling several books and videos, and he’s also an acoustic guitar designer for a popular company. ‘Over the decades I’ve built up what I suppose you’d call a working man’s knowledge of acoustic guitars, and I’ve drawn on that for my latest designs,’ said Paul. ‘We use quality tonewoods, and of course those contribute to

the tone and volume, but it’s what comes out of the soundhole that matters. It’s one of the fascinating things about some older acoustic and semi-acoustic guitars – some of the ones most responsible for the music we now adore, the ones we regard as very collectable, were actually almost slung together – often with whatever wood was available. ‘The bulk of my collection has always been acoustics and electro-acoustics, but the ones I’ll be showing you today are guitars I’ve had for a very long time, stuff that I’ve stacked

PRIVATE COLLECTION A single-pickup Harmony H45 Stratotone-Mars and an H49 StratotoneJupiter Deluxe

‘These Harmonys have something that can’t be replicated. Copies don’t sound or feel the same’ away over the years just in case they ever had some historical value at some point in the future. Most of them were picked up during the ’60s and ’70s from corner junk shops in London, the kind of places that just don’t exist anymore. I paid a tenner for some of these guitars – and at the time I thought I was paying far too much!’ First into the limelight from Paul’s collection is a pair of Harmonys. ‘The sunburst one with the single pickup is a Harmony H45 Stratotone-Mars,’ details Paul, ‘while the natural-finish one is a top-of-therange Jupiter with a pair of DeArmond gold foil pickups. Both these guitars date from the late ’50s, and they’re prime examples of the sound of that era. These guitars have got something I just don’t think can be accurately replicated. There are some very nice reissues available, and they play pretty well, but it’s what’s underneath that counts. They just don’t sound or feel the same as the originals. The whole building process, the technicians, the technology, the woods, even the electronics from that age were so different.

‘Silvertones also fall into the “early workingman’s guitar” category. These were available from the Montgomery Ward and Sears and Roebuck mail-order catalogues in the early ’60s, and they’ve have rocketed in price over the last few years. These two black Silvertones are in really good condition and they both play and sound exceptional – the acoustic chambered bodies really add to the raunchy sound. The one on the left is a high-spec Jupiter in black sparkle with a pair of DeArmond silver foil pickups, and it’s really powerful and sweet-sounding. The black Stratotone on the right has a really raucous sound… superb for rhythm. ‘Someone who didn’t have a clue about guitars recently asked me why these old and basic-looking guitars are now becoming more collectable. Well, the answer is that they were pretty good in the first place! They were also really original in design, and they played an early role in the careers of many legendary acts from American blues players to British ➻

A Silvertone Jupiter and a Silvertone Stratotone

SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 95

PRIVATE COLLECTION

‘Kay guitars sold in huge quantities. Some say they singlehandedly created the vast American guitar market’

Companies were even set up to advise young bankers on investing their bonuses on valuable guitars instead of watches and posh cars, but it was a sure-fire bet that as soon as there was a dip in the market, they were likely A stunning Kay Upbeat lose a lot of money. Interestingly, all with the full ‘Kelvinator’ through the troughs and peaks of the headstock (detail right) recession, the acoustic market has always remained pretty stable, unlike electrics. I think that’s possibly because acoustics appeal to an older generation who artists. Once, almost every up and coming want to own and play a specific guitar, so player was learning on these simple budget they’re doing it for the right reasons. models of the ’50s and ’60s, and to me they ‘But going back to budget electrics of the make such a refreshing change to all the ’50s and ’60s – the “brand X” guitars like endless copies out there today. Kays, Harmonys, Silvertones and others – I ‘The collector’s market has been through think they offer an alternative approach to some real ups and downs. We’ve had serious the boutique movement of today. There are collectors paying up to a million dollars for a many luthiers who make exquisite acoustics ’50s Les Paul played by a legendary guitarist and semi-acoustic guitars, and I know and a lot of people paying almost that sort of money for other highly collectable guitars, but not really knowing what they were doing. A Kay Style Leader and a Kay 136 (with headstock detail, left)

96 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

several bedroom players who own them, but they’re often far too scared to take them to a gig – and imagine the ‘bad karma’ involved if anyone else touches them, or the worry that the slightest ding will devalue it! You should surely buy a guitar to play it, even if it cost five grand. Having spent all that money, though, you’ve got to wait a very long time to see if it’s going to go up in value, and nobody knows what’s going to happen 40 or 50 years down the line. But with Harmonys and the like, some collectors simply want them in the condition of the present day – pretty scruffy, and not buffed back to the original shine. ‘Kay is another brand that sold in huge quantities to teenagers around the world during the ’50s and ’60s… so much so that it’s often said that Kay was arguably accountable for single-handedly creating the vast American guitar market. The six-string Thin Twin electric guitar in particular was an instant hit with blues players in the Chicago area; it became known as the Jimmy Reed or Howlin’ Wolf model, and to this day it remains a favourite with many guitarists, session players and collectors. ‘This big archtop semi-acoustic Kay Upbeat is a rare transitional model, made around 1958. It has a black finish, the full “Kelvinator” headstock, a white sparkle pickguard and white pickup covers and surrounds – a combination of features that didn’t run for more than a couple months, as Kay switched from white to black for their

PRIVATE COLLECTION

headstocks, pickguards and pickups. The Upbeat has a well-rounded mellow jazz tone with lots of clarity thanks to the Gibson-made “Kleenex tissue box” pickups. Some say that these pickups morphed into early Gibson P90s. I was lucky with this one – it was literally an “under the bed” find. ‘The single-cutaway guitar with the two copper-coloured anodised scratchplates is a Kay Style Leader, and it’s in great condition for a guitar built over half a century ago. There are several versions, but this is the twin-pickup model. The scratchplates seem so retro today, but at the time they was a radical step forward in design. It’s a good player, and the pickups can drive any amp, vintage or modern – it’s an ageless guitar for the serious blues player. Lonnie Johnson, one of my favourite blues artists, could make his Style Leader sound so sweet. ‘The little guitar finished in various shades of spring green is a mid-’50s Kay 136. It only has one pickup slap in the middle of the body – but what a killer sound! You can play jazz, blues, rock or slide on this guitar; it sounds as clear as a bell through an amp’s clean channel, but it howls like a good ’un through the dirty side. Mind you, I think even lovers of really thick necks might find this one a bit of challenge to play.’ Let’s move across the Atlantic from Chicago, Illinois to Germany, and begin with a ’60s Hofner Committee. ‘I actually swapped a Kay Thin Twin for the Committee, as at A 1962 Magnatone MkIV and a ’56 Magnatone MkIII

Left, Paul’s acoustic Hofner Committee; right, an East German Goldklang

‘Most Hofners have a metallic midrange bark, but this Committee is warm and mellow – you can play sultry blues on it’ the time they were both about the same in value,’ Paul recalls. ‘I had quite a few Kays so I thought this would be a nice addition to my hoard of Hofners. I was attracted by the excellent condition and the unusual distance between the zero fret and the nut. Hofners, of course, were basically designed for ’50s jazz bands. Most of mine have that typical metallic midrange bark, but this one is warm and mellow – you can even play sultry blues on it.’ Still with big-bodied archtops, Paul unveils a very unusual Goldklang. ‘This is one of my favourite-looking guitars, similar in basic design to the Hofner, and made by Heinz Seifert in the ’50s for Goldklang in East Germany. It’s got a capped headstock, full block fretboard position markers, and a wonderful

“piano-key” design scratchplate that follows the outline of the f-hole. The pickup was added later at some stage; I’ve no idea what it is, but it sounds fabulous through an amp. Goldklang started up in the 1920s making mandolins, and they never made many guitars. It’s a fine example of Eastern bloc luthiery – on the other side of the wall it was all Hofner and Hopf.’ The two little blonde guitars pictured left are something very special. ‘Sometimes simplicity is the best, and these two very rare Magnatone instruments really take some beating,’ Paul enthuses. ‘In their day Magnatone produced some of the finest USA-built valve amps, and those amps are now very collectable. ‘The main guys behind the guitar designs were Paul Barth, who made a major contribution to early guitar design by working for all the big names including Rickenbacker, Gibson and Fender, and Paul Bigsby, who designed the vibrato unit and also had input into some of the guitars. Bigsby himself designed the ➻ SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 97

PRIVATE COLLECTION Left, a Teisco Del Rey MJ-2L; right, an Alamo Fiesta

Gibson Sonex 180 Deluxe and a three-quarter size Melody Maker

’56 Magnatone MkIII with a through-neck on the right. I just love this guitar to bits. Played acoustically, you can feel the chambered body resonating; drive it through any big valve amp and it sounds phenomenal, with a sound that seems to combine the tonal characteristics of a Strat, Tele and a Les Paul. ‘The one on the left is a MkVI with a bolton neck in a see-through cream finish. This one was designed by Paul Barth, and once more it just includes the barest essentials for a well-made budget guitar. You could walk on stage with a Magnatone guitar or similar, plug A Fender Custom Shop doubleneck Jazz Bass/Stratocaster

‘The Japanese made some great guitars. I love the innovative designs and quirky switches’ into a basic amp, and without thousands of pounds worth of effects still get that early raucous blues sound, because these are the original guitars that were used. It’s the rarity and condition of these two that make them very collectable, and both come complete with the original cases.’ After all these thrilling obscurities, a pair of Gibsons almost comes as a shock to the senses. ‘Well, I thought I would throw in a few!’ Paul laughs. ‘The Gibson Sonex 180 Deluxe is very underrated and undervalued guitar, in my opinion. It was launched in the ’80s as an “affordable” Gibson with a bolt-on neck and a pair of Sonex humbuckers. If you want a cheap Gibson that does the same job as a Les Paul, this is the one. ‘On the right is a short-scale 1959 sunburst Gibson Melody Maker, which is actually my favourite electric guitar. Once again, it was built way back for the entry-level market. The way the wood

98 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

has matured over the last 50-plus years has no doubt got a lot to do with the endless sustain, which is evident even when played acoustically. I love this guitar… it’s just so handy to have lying around.’ Let’s zoom back to the wacky side with a pair of Far Eastern guitars from the ’60s. ‘The Japanese built so many great guitars in the ’60s and ’70s, and I love the innovative designs and the quirky onboard switches and effects,’ Paul enthuses. ‘The one on the left is a ’60s sunburst Teisco Del Rey MJ-2L – pretty typical of the era, and superb for slide work in a Hound Dog Taylor or Ry Cooder style. I love the way the large pickup rocker switches are labelled “Mic 1” and “2 on/off”! ‘This Alamo Fiesta is another collectable USA-built budget guitar. Fitted with a pair of single coil pickups, this one was regarded as the “luxury” model, but it was still fairly basic. A lot of these guitars are pretty similar in construction, but they all have individual sound characteristics and original ➻

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PRIVATE COLLECTION Trini Lopez meets Coronado: a Harmony H72V

designs. This one is quite bright and snappy thanks to the bolt-on neck and lightweight construction. I have the original case too, complete with the guarantee card.’ We couldn’t resist asking Paul if he would like to show us a solidbodied rarity from later years, and we are astonished when he produces a custom-made two-in-one Fender. ‘I have quite a few “out of character” guitars,’ says Paul, ‘and this mid-’80s doubleneck Fender is definitely unusual! It gives you the choice of a four-string Jazz Bass and a sixstring Stratocaster. ‘This is a true hybrid Fender – not a production line model, but a very special Custom Shop order. The extra mass of the body certainly enhances the tone and sustain, but the trade-off, of course, is the weight. It would take a real man to stand up and play this one all night. I’ve used it for a lot of recording and on my YouTube videos, where I demonstrate a lot of these guitars… luckily, I was sitting down each time!’ Our penultimate guitar from Paul’s electric collection takes us back to that guitar-making giant, Harmony. ‘It’s interesting seeing just how much certain brands influenced each other,’ Paul points out. ‘This big Harmony H72V semi-acoustic has some of the essence of Gretsch and Gibson, but with a bolton neck and a single-sided Fender-style 100 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

headstock. It’s got the typical gold foil DeArmond humbuckers and an original factory-fitted Bigsby vibrato. In terms of the sound, I think this guitar would have been best suited to a really good dance band rhythm player. ‘Lastly, I thought we’d come back home to an iconic British guitar maker, Jim Burns. This Burns GB65 was his first attempt at building an electroacoustic, and it was a model he was very proud of. It’s a big flat-topped semihollow, and they’re regarded by the Burns Museum as the rarest and most unusual Jim Burns guitar of them all. Very few were made during 1965, and it was the first model that Baldwin discontinued when they took over the company. ‘The body is mahogany, with a sycamore top; the neck is maple, and the fingerboard is Brazilian rosewood. The two soundholes

were actually called the “Controlled Resonance Design”, and the Rez-o-Matic pickups give a clear, bright sound, great for jazz or country picking. I think this guitar could have been really popular as it came out at the right time – in the middle of the British beat boom, a time when a lot of players, like the Beatles, were using acoustic guitars with magnetic pickups. ‘Jim Burns was incredibly innovative with his designs, but it was always a hand-tomouth operation. It’s a shame that he didn’t have proper financial backing at the time. Recently the British prime minister said the music industry in Britain is one of our major exports – yet what do they invest in the skills of UK guitar makers? Nothing… unlike the USA, which backs their own with millions of dollars. Why don’t we have training schools for guitar luthiery in this country?’ So how would Paul sum up his eclectic selection of lesser-known electrics? ‘Well, to me, they’re “time-line” guitars, instruments which countless players used to craft their own unique playing styles and sounds,’ he points out. ‘I’ve had all the Les Pauls and Strats, but instead of those I’ve hung on to the ones that I felt were valid to me, rather than the brands that were on everyone’s lips. Sure, Gibson and Fender made their mark, but in my opinion only really from the mid-’60s onward, thanks to players like Hank Marvin, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. I feel the guitars in my collection are some of the true front-line workers, and they reveal a world of guitar-playing history.’ For more information on Paul Brett’s guitars see www.paulbrettguitarist.co.uk

‘I’ve had all the Les Pauls and Strats, but I’ve hung onto the ones I felt were valid to me’ Paul with the rare and short-lived Burns GB65

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TECHNiqUES

WoRkshop

Drills For

ThRills

Easy On The Ear A useful pack drill to assist you in honing that oft-neglected skill – ear training

E

ar training means you can learn songs and respond to bandmates quicker. These three drills – all scales in the key of C – are singing exercises that will help you recognise scales and intervals between two notes. Bars 1 and 2 of each one show the notes first ascending then descending one octave. The pattern in bars 3 and 4 is the same each time, and the first note of each exercise’s third bar is the first note of the scale. The ‘etc’ means you

should continue this pattern up to the octave, then all the way down the scale again. At first, play these on guitar to get used to the sound of each scale or mode. Next, sing along to the guitar (don’t worry about your singing abilities – just try to hold a clear, constant pitch). Then play just the first note of bar 1 on the guitar and sing to the end of bar 2, checking against the guitar at the end to make sure you haven’t strayed off pitch. It’s similar for the pattern in bars 3 and 4;

1 THE MAJOR C SCAlE ●

play the first note each time to avoid straying off key. After doing the exercises, you will have sung all 12 intervals in an octave. As you tackle each scale/mode it’s important to memorise the formula of each scale and the interval name so you can learn to sing (and hear) specific intervals. Do these exercises daily, if possible – it can take weeks to get to grips with them. As you’re working with just the first four frets, the fingering should correspond with the number of the fret.

4/4 TiME

The formula for the major scale is: root/first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and octave/eighth. Strictly speaking, the names for the intervals from the root note to each note of the major scale in turn are major second, major third, perfect fourth, perfect fifth, major sixth, major seventh and perfect octave. The fourth, fifth and octave are known as ‘perfect’ intervals because of their unique and very harmonious sound.

2 ●

THE C BlUES SCAlE

4/4 TiME

The formula for a scale is worked out by comparing each note with the equivalent letter name note in the major scale. Hence, the second note in the C phrygian mode is Eb, whereas the C major scale contains an E note. Since in the key of C an E note is described as the major third, Eb is the flattened or minor third. So, the formula for the C blues scale is root/first, flattened/minor third, perfect fourth, flattened/diminished fifth perfect fifth, flattened or minor seventh, perfect octave. Notice the blues scale does not contain the second or sixth degrees of the scale – so no D nor A notes of any kind here.

3 ●

THE C PHRYGiAN MODE

4/4 TiME

The reason the phrygian mode is used here is that it includes the remaining two intervals not yet encountered in the previous two scales – the flattened or minor second Db and the flattened or minor sixth Ab. The formula for the phrygian mode is: root/first, flattened or minor second, flattened or minor third, perfect fourth, perfect fifth, flattened or minor sixth, flattened or minor seventh, and eighth or perfect octave.

SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 105

Guitar

Workshop

O Necks

In Line

Profiles, scale lengths, fingerboard cambers, lacquer choices – all part of the myriad subtleties that dictate how a guitar neck feels to the player. We put the microscope on the finer details of neck design

106 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

ne of the most important aspects of any guitar, not surprisingly, is how easy the instrument is to play – and it’s universally agreed that this is mainly determined by the shape and feel of the neck and fingerboard. The rest of the instrument – pickups, bridge and body timber – though important, can only perform at their best once the neck is playable. In a nutshell, everything starts at the neck.

Neck and neck Styles of neck construction can vary considerably between guitar makers. Most necks are built from a combination of two types of hardwood: one for the bulk or back of the neck, the other for the playing surface that holds the frets, aka the fingerboard (Fender’s one-piece maple neck with integral fretboard is an obvious exception). The rear section of a neck is shaped from a hardwood blank with long, straight grain to ensure that the neck can be slim but still able to withstand the pull of the strings. Some luthiers use a single piece of maple or mahogany; others laminate three or more pieces together longitudinally with the grain direction of the outer pieces opposing in order to balance stress and reduce the chances of future twisting. Laminating the timber this way is cost-effective and structurally sensible: the laminate is very strong and stable. This consideration ensures maximum strength, especially where the headstock joins the top of the neck, the thinnest and weakest point (particularly if the headstock is back-angled, Gibson-style). While Fender and Gibson have habitually plumped for one-piece necks and headstocks (on the Strat, Tele and Les Paul), numerous makers today – especially those using pointed, dropped headstocks – splice the headstock to the neck. Done properly, this can save timber, but such a joint is only as strong as the glue and the ‘flushness’ of the two surfaces. Fingerboards are usually rosewood or ebony, two extremely hard timbers that do not require a lacquer finish to protect them from the environment and you, the player. Both timbers are also suited to accept decorative inlays. Maple is used successfully for fingerboards, though being a naturally ‘white’ timber it requires a finish to protect it from dirt. This has caused some controversy, not least due to Fender’s ultra-thick ’70s finish that gave maple fingerboards a bad reputation for being ‘sticky’ and ‘slow’, especially when the player’s hands began to sweat. Modem, thinner satin finishes and higher frets tend to equalise the feel of a maple fingerboard, but where the finish is applied

GUITAR

WORKSHOP NECK SHAPES

‘V’ shape

‘D’ shape

The shape of the rear section of the neck dictates how it feels in the palm of your hand, and what’s comfortable is obviously very personal over the frets – as on ’70s Fenders – a re-fret can become a bit of a nightmare. Usually the only solution is to remove both the frets and the fingerboard finish, which then has to be reapplied, adding to the repair cost. Ideally, the combined shape of both the fingerboard and the rear section of the neck should complement one another, helping to make complex fingerings more comfortable. There are many factors at play here: the neck’s width and depth, the shape of the back of the neck, the fingerboard radius, the frets, the guitar’s scale length and, of course, the action. That’s why, at G&B, we list these specs in reviews so give you the best chance of deciding whether a guitar might suit you.

Neck shapes To simplify matters, it could be said that there are three basic styles of neck shape: the C, the D, and the V shape. The C shape describes most Gibson-type guitar necks, a smooth oval in section. The D describes many Fender-style profiles with fatter, squarer ‘shoulders’ (the sides of the neck). The V shape has shoulders

that are often quite steep, and although usually attributed to Martin, the style was also adopted by Fender at times in the ’50s and has been frequently reapplied to reissues and signature models. Of course, these categories are broad and the variations manifold, but this should help you to understand the most commonly-used terminology. In essence, the shape of the rear section of the neck dictates how the neck feels in the palm of your hand. What’s comfortable is obviously very personal: some players like the big, deep D-shaped necks of old ’50s Les Pauls, others will rave about the super-thin C ‘Wizard’ shapes of contemporary lbanez necks. Scale length is important here too, as it directly relates to the distance between the frets. Players with big hands may feel happier playing on the longer 25.5" Fender scale than the shorter Gibson 24.75" scale. More and more companies, such as PRS, are using a halfway 25" scale length. The best of both worlds? Maybe. Apart from the physical size of your hand, the way you fret will affect how the neck

FIG 1 16" 12"

10"

71/4" Fingerboard radii

‘C’ shape feels. If you grab the neck with your thumb around the bass strings, a bigger D shape may be preferable; if you fret in the classical ‘thumb behind’ position then a thinner neck, often with a flatter back, might suit you best. If you’re trying instruments in a shop, the sales assistant should be able to help you pick C and D shaped necks to compare, and a well-stocked store should be able to produce a V neck too, like the one Fender’s Eric Clapton Strat. Ask to try instruments with different scale lengths so that you can gain some idea of the neck shape and string length combination that suits your hands best. Of course, you may find a great neck on a not-so-great sounding guitar, or vice versa… that’s life. If you’re rich, your answer may lie in a custom-built guitar: the rest of us will likely have to get used to a dodgy neck on a great-sounding guitar. After all, if your sound is poor, who’s going to notice those solos? On the subject of tone, the materials used for the neck and fingerboard also contribute greatly to the sound of the instrument, although – surprise, surprise – opinions on the effect run in all directions. Whatever anyone tells you, the tone of a guitar is the sum of its parts and your hands, and just because you have a rosewood fingerboard it won’t make a guitar ‘warmer’ than another instrument with a ‘brighter’ maple fingerboard. Even highly experienced guitar makers hesitate to be drawn into any precise judgements on the sound of wood. Let your ears and hands make the decision. You may simply like the look of a nice piece of rosewood; it’s a valuable resource, so enjoy it.

The camber never lies The cross-sectional shape of the fingerboard – aka the ‘radius’ or ‘camber’ – is very relevant to a guitar’s playability. Consider, for instance, the plight of players of vintage-spec Strats or Teles who find it difficult to make first, second and third string high-fret bends ring clean and true. Beyond the 10th fret, bending more than a semitone – especially with a low action – can cause the strings to choke out on the upper frets, the sound becoming throttled and buzzy as they approach or pass the centre of the fingerboard. ➻

SEPTEMBER 2013 Guitar & Bass 107

GUITAR

WORKSHOP Most guitars have a ‘regular’ radius that is the same at the nut as at the highest fret. Older vintage and many reissue Fenders have a relatively small radius of 7.25" inch. Such necks feel great to play on; barre chords feel good and first position riffing is easy. However, the small radius causes upper fret choking. Loads of players learn to live with it, while others can’t abide it. Curing the choking on a 7.25" radius fingerboard involves a cunning re-radiusing of the frets so that the perceived radius increases as you travel up the board. Though this appears to ‘flatten out’ the board, it is actually only the frets which take on the new shape; honed this way, the strings are less likely to collide with them and choke out. The trick is turned by subtle re-cambering of the frets with carborundum or a grindstone so that the top (or crown) becomes gradually lower on the higher frets, the radius at the last fret being anywhere between 12" and 14". This modification works very well but requires extra dressing and reshaping of the low-tomiddle sections of the higher frets, which is difficult and expensive. The size or gauge of the frets also has a large bearing on the potential success of the job. Many repairers see this repair as a compromise, since the height of the frets is progressively reduced; you may ‘cure’ the choking but you now have lower frets, and string bends are likely to be harder to execute. However, on valuable instruments it may be the only option. The ultimate repair is to change the fingerboard radius itself, work which involves removing the frets then ‘shooting the board’ with a plane to flatten the radius. Once the neck has been re-fretted, the new frets retain a regular height from one end of the neck to the other (bear in mind that on Fenders with veneer fingerboards, like L-series Strats,

FIG 2 On the left, a ‘constant radius’ fingerboard with a surface like a tube

A normal fingerboard has the radius of a regular tube, while a compound radius shapes the board so that it takes on the contour of a cone there’s often not enough fingerboard material to reshape). If any refinishing is involved, as there will be if your fingerboard is maple, the repair is going to be costly, though it’s justifiable since the guitar will play and feel much better. Fender has taken notice of this and have, for example, altered the fingerboard radius on the American Standard Series, swapping the vintage 7.25" for a gentler 9.5". Incidentally, this specific choking problem never afflicted Gibson guitars as their radius was, and still is, typically 12", their fretboards being much flatter in comparison. PRS

Rosewood allows easy refrets or even board re-radiusing

On maple fingerboards any re-radiusing means a refinish

Gibsons with their flatter-camber boards choke out far less

108 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

On the right, a cone-shaped compound radius fingerboard, growing flatter towards the upper frets

generally employ a halfway radius of 10" to match their halfway scale length. Fig 1 shows the four common radiuses: 7.25", 10", 12" and 16". Notice how curvy the Fender 7.25" seems next to Gibson’s 12".

Compound cambers Re-working the neck is one solution for your favourite guitar, but a much more elegant way out is to swap the neck for one built deliberately with a ‘compound’ radiused fingerboard and to stash the old neck out of harm’s way, original and untouched. This swap could also involve fitting the new neck with a set of locking machineheads and a graphite nut, a good move for both fixedbridge and tremolo-bridge guitars. The compound radius idea is far from new – it crops up on certain classical instruments – but Warmoth in the USA were one of the first to offer a compound radius on a retro-fit neck to suit, for example, a Stratocaster. The Warmoth compound radius shapes the fingerboard so that it takes on the contour of a section of a cone – unlike a normally radiused fingerboard which takes on the contour of a tube (see Fig 2, above). A typical Warmoth ‘compound neck’ will start with a radius of 10" at the nut and end with a radius of 16" at the last fret. Many other companies employ compound radii, from Jackson to UK makers Overwater. Still, as we stated earlier, neck shapes and fingerboard cambers are only part of the playability story. Before you start thinking of refrets, new necks or whatever, get your guitar professionally set up – you’ll be surprised what a difference it makes.

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Introducing 8 classic Guild guitar styles from the 50’s & 60’s that have helped shape popular music. From the big jazz sound of the Manhattans, through the blues and lo-fi cool of the Starfire and on to the pure rock of the Polara there really is a model for every taste!

We always have a great selection of Fano guitars, and we’re adding two more to our collection. Brand new for 2013 the Fano GF4 & GF6, both should be here soon.

Boutique Amps Amazing selection of Collings Acoustic and Electric guitars in stock at our Stevenage store. Also due soon :Collings I35LC in faded cherry, walnut, & tobacco sunburst, or with P90’s in Red. SoCo 16 LC in tobacco sunburst, faded cherry, & tobacco sunburst with P90’s I35 Deluxe tigers eye sunburst, Eastside. 100’s of secondhand guitars, amps & pedals in stock, see www.coda-music.com for an up to date list. We buy secondhand guitars - bring yours in for a quote & try something new at the same time

CUSTOM SHOP

Two more amp lines added to our collection. Fargen Amps, founded by Ben Fargen, has become one of the top engineers of amplification & tone in the guitar business. Fargen Amps now ships boutique guitar amplifiers to dealers and distributors across the globe, and into the hands of discerning players everywhere. Full range available on our website and in store. We’ve also just placed our first order for Bad Cat Amps. Bad Cat takes a ‘no compromise’ approach when designing & producing tube amps. Bad Cat Amplifiers are designed and built entirely in Southern California. We also carry a huge selection of other boutique amp lines including Swart, Carr, Redplate, Two Rock & Tone King. Check out our website for full details.

Two-Rock ampli ers are incredible sounding, hand built boutique guitar amps, made in Rohnert Park, California. Two Rock Bi Onyx Head, Two Rock Studio Pro Plus Heads & Combos, Two Rock Sensor Heads & Combos. Huge selection in stock, from £999.

Marshall Slash Signature SL5C Combo now in stock. £589

If it is exceptional tone and superb build quality that you look for in an amp then you have to consider Tone King. The amps are built in California at the Two-Rock shop. We also have the new Tone King Anniversary Handwired Imperial Combo & Tone King Sky King Combo on order – due in any day. We’ve been Fender Custom Shop dealers for most of our 25 years, during which time we’ve grown to be Europe’s biggest Custom Shop dealer. Over the years we’ve helped many customers attain their fantasy guitars. We always keep over 100 Fender Custom Shop guitars in stock at our Stevenage branch so visit our website or call into Stevenage to see them.

Lowden guitars are made under direct supervision by George Lowden in his hometown in Downpatrick, N Ireland. The integrity and passion – recently described as “Olympic guitar making” - which goes into each and every Lowden guitar, has never been stronger. Coda Music in Stevenage has a great selection of Lowden guitars always in stock. Come into the shop or see them on our website.

51a High Street, Stevenage, Herts, SG1 3AH t : 01438 350 815 e : [email protected] 7 Guildford Street, Luton, Beds, LU1 2NQ t : 01582 725 625 e : [email protected]

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OLD AND VINTAGE GUITARS & EQUIPMENT BOUGHT, SOLD AND TRADED IF CAPTURED, PLEASE DELIVER TO: OLD HAT GUITARS

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Martin Huch

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Martin Huch

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2011 Mint Condition Ellipse Aura Pickup Hard Case

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FROM £49

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Custom 22 Semi Hollow Limited Edition - smoked amber ...... £2,199 Hollowbody Standard - black ............................................. £1,299 Stripped 58 Limited Edition - Faded McCarty Sunburst ......... £2,299 DGT Standard Mahogany Limited Edition + birds - natural ... £1,599 DGT Standard Mahogany Limited Edition - vintage cherry ..... £1,699 NF3 Vintage Cherry - maple fingerboard ................................ £999 Stripped '58' Singlecut - Teal Black ................................... £1,499 Stripped '58' Singlecut - faded gray black .......................... £1,699 Modern Eagle Quattro - stop tail - gold top ......................... £2,799 Modern Eagle 11 - charcoal ............................................... £2,899

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Classic - tobacco burst ...................................... £2,099 Hollow T Classic - natural .................................. £1,999 Hollow Classic - 3 colour burst ........................... £1,899 Classic - mellow Yellow ..................................... £1,899 Classic - trans blonde ....................................... £1,899 Hollow Drop Top - natural blue .......................... £1,999 Classic - 3 colour burst ...................................... £1,699 Hollow Drop Top Classic Maui Kazowie ................. £2,399 Short Drop Top T - deep tobacco fade ................. £2,995 Bulldog - honeyburst - 2010 ............................... £2,449

NEW & USED GUITARS

Collings 290 TV Yellow ............................................................ £2,599 Collings 290DCS - faded crimson ............................................. £2,885 Collings City Limits Deluxe - amber sunburst ............................. £4,245 Collings City Limits Deluxe amber sunburst ............................... £4,380 Collings i35 Deluxe - dark cherry sunburst ................................ £5,134 Collings i35LC - vintage natural - 2011 - MINT !!!!!! ................... £2,999 Duesenberg Double Cat - black + case - 2011 - mint !!!! ............ £1,099 Duesenberg Fullerton TV Double Cutaway + case - TV Yellow ...... £1,399 Eatwood Airline/Supro Twintone - 2011 ....................................... £315 Epiphone Olympic circa 1963 ...................................................... £999 Fano Limited Run Alt de Facto RB6 - faded cherry ...................... £1,699 Fender Custom Shop 1960 Heavy Relic Strat - black................... £2,490 Fender Custom Shop 1961 Relic Tele Custom - faded sunburst ... £2,290 Fender Custom Shop Closet Classic Tele Pro - Nocaster Blonde .... £1,899 Fender Custom Shop 50's Duo Tone Relic Tele - honey blonde ..... £2,190 Fender Custom Shop '56' Relic Strat - fiesta red ........................ £2,299 Fender Custom Shop 60's Relic Strat - 3 tone sunburst ............... £2,195 Fender Eric Johnson Strat - 2 tone sunburst - 2007 .................... £1,375 Fender Master Built '57' Relic Strat - dakota red - Jason Smith .... £3,449 Fender Splattercaster Limited Edition - 2003 ................................ £490 Fender USA Tele-bration Old Pine 52 - white wash ..................... £1,159 G&L ASAT Classic - sunburst ...................................................... £839 G&L S500 Silver Metallic - circa 2001 .......................................... £799 Gibson Custom Shop ES345 Reissue - faded cherry - 2009......... £2,249 Gibson ES135 Natural - 2001 .................................................. £1,299 Gibson Gary Moore BFG Les Paul - lemon burst - 2009 .................. £829 Gibson Historic 1959 ES335 faded cherry - Nashville 2005 ......... £2,890 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe - red sparkle - circa 1974 ...................... £1,875 James Trussart Steelcaster Two Tone Green - holey gator ........... £2,999 McNaught Vintage Double Cut 'Burst' - 2004 ............................. £2,899 Musicman Axis Super Sport + Piezo - sapphire black .................. £2,190 Musicman Axis Super Sport + trem - natural ............................. £1,875 Patrick Eggle Berlin Pro - bahamian blue - 1992 ............................ £990 PRS 513 Brazilian Rosewood - tortoiseshell - 2007 ..................... £3,499 PRS Custom 24 10 Top + birds - McCarty sunburst - 2008 .......... £1,690 PRS Custom 24 artist pack 25th Anniversary - emerald green ..... £2,499 PRS McCarty - McCarty Sunburst 1998 ..................................... £1,375 PRS Santana 11 - vintage natural - 2005 .................................. £3,999 PRS SC245 57/08 Limited Edition McCarty Burst - 2008 ............. £2,445 PRS SC245 Singlecut - black - 2008 ......................................... £1,490 PRS SC245 Whale Blue + bird inlays - 2007 .............................. £1,599 PRS Singlecut Artist Pack - 2006 - Tortoisehell........................... £2,290 Tyler Mongoose Retro - tobacco sunburst - 2007........................ £1,699 Tyler Studio Elite Retro - charcoal frost metallic - 2006 ............... £1,845 More tasty guitars in stock - visit www.guitars4you.co.uk

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If you want the best sounding EL34, then here’s what Tim Slater, the Deputy Editor of Guitar Buyer said of the EL34 Retro-Cryo. “In a word – WOW! The difference between the cryo and non-cryo Retro is the difference between night and day. Clean tones sound tight and funky, and the overdrive channel instantly sounds muscular and punchy with bags of sustain and a lovely liquid high end.” An exceptional valve that will give your Marshall that classic British tone at the special offer price of only £24 each. Read the full Cryo review on our website www.watfordvalves.com

These Philips 6L6WGB have had rave reviews from both sides of the Atlantic. They are built to a higher spec than any other 6L6 and are noted for their rich sustain, tight punchy bass and superb midrange twang, which no other 6L6 can equal. These are Guaranteed to upgrade your Fender or Boogie, so take advantage of our special offer on these now extremely rare tested and matched military grade American Philips 6L6WGB/5881 at only £32 each

ORIGINAL USA MADE CRYO VALVES

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The Cryo treatment when applied to some of the best made and best sounding NOS valve provides a sonic performance that is not matched by modern valves. These valves we ship to professional studios and musicians worldwide where the best sound quality is the main requirement. These have all been through vigorous test procedures and offer the best of the best. ECC81-CV4024 Mullard £26.40 EF86-Philips £43.20 ECC82-6189 Philips £25.00 6L6WGB-5881 Philips £42.00 ECC83-5751 Philips £33.60 6V6GT-G.E £54.00 ECC83-12AX7 G.E £72.00 6V6GT-Philips £36.00 EL34-Tesla £72.00 6111WA-Philips £36.00

These valves are made with the highest quality materials and the tightest quality control as specified by the US Government. They are also the best sounding valves which outperform and out last their modern counter parts. They also help your amp reach it true potential which is why NOS valves are the most sought after by studios and professional musicians. ECC81-12AT7 £12.00 5Y3WGTA £24.00 ECC82-5814A £19.20 6L6WGB-5881 £36.00 ECC83-5751 £30.00 6L6GC-7581A £66.00 ECC83-12AX7 £48.00 6V6GT £30.00 EL84-6BQ5 £48.00 7027A £48.00

HARMA RETRO - CRYO SUPERIOR GRADE

HARMA SUPERIOR GRADE - raising the standard

The Harma Retro Cryo range recreates the classic sounds and designs of the most famous new old stock valves for a new generation of musician. So if you want an EL34 to crunch like an old Mullard or a 6L6GC to sing like a Sylvania. Then the Harma Cryo Retro range is the one for you. All preamp valves are drive tested. All output valves are high plate volt drive tested under full working conditions for maximum reliability. Used by the industry’s biggest names including Brian May, Thunder, Iron Maiden and the We Will Rock You shows worldwide. ECC83-Retro Cryo £21.60 KT66- Retro Cryo £48.00 EL34-Retro Cryo £23.76 5U4GB- Retro Cryo £24.00 EL84-Retro Cryo £23.76 6550A-Retro Cryo £33.60 EZ81-Retro Cryo £24.00 6L6GC-Retro Cryo £23.76 GZ34- Retro Cryo £26.40 6550A-Retro Cryo £33.60

Our own brand, the best selected and tested valves in the industry. All preamp valves are drive tested. All output valves are high plate volt tested under full working conditions for maximum reliability. Used by the industry’s biggest names including Brian May, Thunder, Iron Maiden and the We Will Rock You shows worldwide. ECC81-STR ECC83 STR ECC83-7025-STR EL34-STR EL34-Retro EL84/E84L standard

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Groove tubes are one of the most respected valve brands in the World. Combine this with Watford Valves’ special test facilities and you get distortion rated output valves which are burst tested and dual matched on current and gain and pre amp valves which are selected for low microphonics and drive tested for premium performance. These valves are called Super Premium as you get the best GT available.

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These specially selected JJ ECC83-S Cryo preamp kits combined with selected and matched JJ output valves will provide an outstanding upgrade to your amp. The Cryo treatment gives deeper, more controlled bass, cleaner treble and smoother distortion. All preamp kits come in standard or high gain versions and include a balanced valve for the phase inverter position. All output valves are dual matched on current and output gain. Cryo Preamp kits Cryo Output valves 3 valve £48.96 EL34 JJ Cryo £22.20 4 valve £65.28 EL84 JJ Cryo £18.00 5 valve £81.60 6L6GC JJ Cryo £24.00 6 valve £97.92 6V6GT JJ Cryo £22.20

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READERS’ FREE ADVERTISEMENTS FOR SALE Marshall G100RCD 100W amp & 4x12 cab", £300. Fender ’50s Classic Player Strat, gig bag, home use only, £425. NJD quartet stage lights, extra leads, no stands, flight case, £300. Tel: 07778 577256, Middlesex Fender Pawnshop Mustang Special, r/wood, Lake Placid blue, Gibson ’57 PAF p/ups, great sound, 2011, mint, £400. Original pickups available (£30). Tel: Nick 01702 433914 or email: dennisnixon1@ googlemail.com, Essex PRS Bernie Marsden, mint condition, £425. Blackstar Limited Edition 1W combo in white, mint, £175. Collection only. Tel: 01206 820242, Essex Ernie Ball USA Silhouette, honeyburst, three DiMarzio HSH, 1996 model, good condition and comes with EB case, £750 plus postage. Photo poss. Tel: George 07745 908037 Gibson 1991 Reverse Firebird V, sunburst, absolutely unmarked mint condition with papers, £1100 ono. 2005 Les Paul Custom, black, very heavy & loud, superb, £1700. Tel: 07786 474157, Midlands PRS Hollowbody II, double 10 Top, teal, super guitar, cased, £2200. Gibson Les Paul Ltd Edition, pacific reef, vgc, ebony fingerboard, cased, £1100. Tel: 07816 317889, Kent Fender Telecaster Custom Shop Ltd Edition ‘62 relic. Bound edge, three-tone faded sunburst, blond tolex case with cert and candy, £2050. Tel: Drew 07958 552138 or email: [email protected], Lancs 1967 Vintage Gretsch 6120 Nashville (serial number 47153). Original example, painted-on f-hole, thinline, double cutaway Electrotone body guitar, Filter’Tron pickups, complete with original padded back and original Gretsch plush-lined

hard shell case, £3000. The guitar is in nicely play-worn condition but has been very well cared for. Tel: 07734 362724 or email: mikehague62@hotmail. com, Sheffield Epiphone Les Paul Standard 1959 reissue, home use only, hard case, ltd edition no.1108 of 1959, £320. Tel: Mike 07939 208427, Guildford Fender USA Stratocaster, 1996, sunburst, rosewood fingerboard, original case, home use only, near mint condition, £750 ono. Tel: 07970 928788 or e-mail: brianlewis [email protected] 1991 Charvel Charvette HSS, locking tremelo, royal blue finish, body is sound, paintwork almost 100% whole, buckle scratched on back, hence £165. Email: waynederek slater@ yahoo.co.uk Fender Vibro-King, 1997, 60W all-valve amp with 3x10" Alnico blue speakers. Modified with a Master Volume. Vgc, buyer collects, reluctant sale, £995, no offers. Tel: Kev 01536 203200 Northants Fender Black Paisley Telecaster from the limited edition factory special run series, as new and mint condition, £400. Tel: Ron 01384873390, West Midlands Epiphone Sheraton left-handed guitar, three-tone sunburst, two years old, home use only, excellent condition, includes hard case, buyer to collect, £280. Tel: 07542 913192, Sheffield Gibson Les Paul Traditional, wine red, AA top, immaculate condition, never seen a screwdriver, hang tags and usual Gibson hard case, £1050. Tel: 07868 263587, Wilts Trace Elliot 1210 Combo, 12 band preamp, 500W power stage, 2x10", specially designed Celestion speakers, with foot controller. Very little use,

excellent condition, £650. Tel: 07974 410929, Nr Cardiff Gibson Les Paul Studio circa 1984, Polaris white, DiMarzios, £590. 1976 LP Special single-cut ‘Ltd Edition’, £1900. USA Fender Jazz Bass, 1998 with Gator case, £750. Tel: 0777 327 6815 Boss BD-2 Blues Driver pedal, condition as new, almost unused, home use only, comes with box and manuals. £55. Tel: 07946601292 or email: [email protected] Mesa/Boogie Nomad 45 combo, three channels, solo boost, footswitch and slip cover. Excellent condition, £795 ono. Tel: Alex 07593 667326 or email: ae0020897@blueyonder. co.uk, South Tyneside Fender 1961 limited release LPB heavy relic Strat, Abigail Ybarra pickups, hard case, £1875. Mesa/Boogie MkV combo, as new, £1875. Tel: Simon 07881 525777, West Sussex Gibson Custom Les Paul 1960 ‘R0’ VOS, light at 8.3 lbs, sunburst flame top, OHSC, COA certificate and tags, just had pro set up, stunning condition, £3250. Tel: 07966 348996 1966 Fender Precision bass guitar (sunburst), rosewood fingerboard, one owner from new, original condition. No alterations, includes solid case. £4000 ono. Tel: 0121 770 1175 or email: janeybabe1967@ hotmail.co.uk Engl Thunder 50W all-valve combo including cover and foot switch, as new, £450 ono. Crate 80W combo, £100. £500 for both. Tel: Paul, 07905 233788, London Gibson LP faded doublecut, 2003/4, cherry, P90s, case, Gibson gig bag, home use only, excellent condition, pro set-up, £650 ono. Tel: 07970 928788 or e-mail: brianlewisinnis@ googlemail.com

Ashdown bass stack ABM300 amp, 325W, 1x15” (300W) 4x8” (600W) cabinets. Made in UK, one owner, vgc, £450. Tel: 01702 582014, Essex Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb, 40W, vibrato and reverb, classic blackface cosmetics, with footswitch and cover, vgc, £800. Tel: 07973 293083, North Devon Mesa/Boogie Transatlantic TA15 head. 2 channels, 5 modes, 5/15/25 watts. As new condition, with carry bag, footswitch, manual, £650. Tel: Steve 07933 799017 or email: smallpot@ virginmedia.com, Beds Levin Goliath, 1963 LM-26, few dings otherwise excellent, £700. Tel: Gary 020 8207 5015 or email: [email protected] for jpegs Rickenbacker 4003 bass, near mint condition, 2012, one owner, lovely ruby red with white binding, stunning, includes Rickenbacker case, bargain at £1350. Tel: 01702 582014, Essex Fender Custom Shop Strat 63 NOS reissue in rare Seminole Red, Abi Ybarra pickups, mint condition, including case, C.O.A. and all candy, £1595. Tel: Bob 01223 515478, Cambs Gibson Les Paul Studio, wine red, gold hardware, hard case, mint condition, £650. Tel: 01352 732451, Flintshire Mesa/Boogie Stiletto 100W head, great condition, great sounds and very loud, £925. Tel: Steve 07803 116060, Beds. Will consider swap for Marshall valve amp 1930s twin neck lap steel, aluminium and Bakelite, hand-painted finish, £600. 1940s Selmer lap steel plus matching Truvoice amp in case (amp requires rebuild,), plus original accessories, £400. Tel: Gary 020 8207 5015 or email: [email protected]

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fender Strat Standard Series 1984 sunburst, two knobs, No. E323870, made in USA, Freeflyte trem, manual, tag, case. £1200 ono. Tel: 01298 74208 (after 6pm), Buxton area DeArmond Jet Star Bass, vgc, soft case, £285. Yamaha Pacifica, as new, £150. Swift heavy metal guitar, black, vgc, £120. Tel: 07791 139579, Beds Gibson ES-175, natural finish, 2001 model, stunning flame, mint, £2150. Gibson Chet Atkins Country Gent, wine red, 1997 model, mint, £1750. Offers or part exchange W.H.Y. Tel: Alex 020 8908 4278, Harrow Epiphone Rivera, 2002, cherry, two mini humbuckers, all original, comes with OHSC, never gigged, mint, £350 ono. Tel: Duncan 07510 767122 Guitar & Bass magazines 1997 to 2012, 180 in total, all like new, £3 each. Buyer collects or give me an offer for the lot. Tel: 01634 817724, Kent fender Princeton 65 DSP amplifier, several years old but virtually mint, ungigged, as has stood in cupboard under wraps. Cost approx £200, will accept £120. Tel: 07973 776234, E. Mids Trace Elliott 130W SM7 1x15” bass combo, 1995, British built, immaculate, £225. Tel: Pete 01442 863869, Herts Epiphone Les Paul Standard, midnight blue, tiger stripe, never gigged, Korean, vgc, serial no: U03121938, gig bag, seven years old, £375 ono. Tel: 01298 74208 after 6pm, Buxton

Dean V79 Flying V, BraziliaBurst, zebra humbuckers, Grovers, bound neck/body, abalone dots, V-plate, case, unplayed, £270. SKB Flying V flightcase, new, £70. Tel: Paul 07963 129773, South East London fender Deluxe Series Ltd Edition vintage Strat with gold hardware, t/shell plate and R/N, S-1 switching system, tweed case, mint condition, as new. Tel: 01986 782383, Norfolk Yamaha TRB5 5-string active bass, natural cherry, gold hardware, beautiful condition, hard case, £390 ono. Email [email protected] for pix/spec. Tel: 01202 530865, Poole, Dorset Gibson SG Standard, 2005, cherry red, Gibson hard case, unmarked, superb guitar, genuine reason for sale, £700 ovno. Tel: 07948 705520 or email paulharrison1008@ yahoo.com, Cannock, Staffs Orange Tiny Terror combo, 12" Celestion, all valve 15/7 watts, fantastic amp, bedroom use only, as new, £250 ono, ill health forces sale. Tel: Micky 020 7511 8528 or 07826 414727, London JV Strat (1984), £750. JV Jazz Bass, £750. Vox SE Tonelab, £300. Roland V5880 WKSTN, £300. Alesis monitors, cheap, £150. Alesis drum machine, £100. Tel: 07727 2466231, London

WANTED Gibson Howard Roberts oval hole guitar. Top cash for right guitar. Tel George, 01566 775617, Cornwall fender Tweed ’50s Champ or Princeton or Deluxe amp. Must be original. Tel: 0151 638 9567, Cheshire area Lyricist seeks musicians/ collaborators. Blues, melodic rock, pop, indie etc. Text H Jay on 075802 84602, Essex Noel Gallagher Union Jack Epi, cash waiting for right guitar. Tel: Steve, 07803 116060, Beds Washburn Nuno Bettencourt N6 in cream with gold

scratchplate. Tel: Jamie 07837 715474 or email [email protected] Guitarist wanted for established NW-based Yes tribute. Next gigs scheduled for this autumn. Tel: 0161 928 9175 Hutchins Retro Star guitar, white or blue, can collect. Tel: 01789 299663, Warwickshire Epiphone Explorer Korina, condition unimportant. Cash waiting. Tel: Robin, 07958 103673, Surrey Mesa/Boogie Express 5:25 or 5:50 1x12" combo or Egnater Rebel 30. Must be in vgc. Cash waiting. Preferably London area. Tel: Mick 020 8530 1208

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Rothwell Tornado overdrive, UK made, as new, £75. Tel: Stu 0114 255 6185, Sheffield

WEM Dominator Mk11 combo with 1x12", vgc, £500. Pair WEM Club 2x12" speakers, each 12 ohms, £165. Orange rig, early ’70s with 120W 4x12" cabinet, £850. Tel: 0777 327 6815, Westmorland

Gibson J-45 acoustic in vintage sunburst, two years old, very little use, vgc, playability and sound. Inc original Gibson hard case, £1300. Call Joe on 07850 14505 or email jd. [email protected]

fender Thinline Telecaster 72 reissue, MIM, 2005, natural ash, M/Neck, two humbuckers, unmarked, beautiful, super player, low action, easy bends no chokes, gig bag, £425. Tel: 01623 462795, Notts

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Soundtrack of my life

Aynsley Lister From classic ’70s rock to prog to hardcore electric blues, the British guitarist selects the cherished vinyl that steered him into a career in music

A

lways one of the most dependable purveyors of sweet, soulful blues on these shores, Aynsley Lister has just delivered his best record to date. His 10th album Home arrives on his own Straight Talkin’ Records, and it’s a move that seems to have let him shake off a few shackles and unleash a loose, meditative and confident new muse. Lister was first signed up by Ruff Records in 1998 and critics raced to dub him the new Clapton. These days he still draws inspiration from the worn red 1989 Japanese Strat that he’s owned since he was 12 years old growing up in Nottingham, but now there’s Les Pauls and an ES-345 in his armoury too. The signs now point to a golden period for Aynsley – and if he has his way, Talkin’ Straight will one day harbour a host of budding new talent.

Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac

Freddie King

LIVE IN BOSTON

RUMOURS

TAKIN’ CARE OF BUSINESS

I heard this early incarnation of the band very This got my attention later on and was probably early on – I used to play along to it on my dad’s one of my first inspirations to start writing. It’s record player. Peter Green’s note choice and tone not a particularly ‘guitary’ album… it was the is just sublime… he material that struck a knew just what to play chord. It made me and when, and never realise you could have overdid it. Then you great songs but still have Danny Kirwan, find a place for some with the most raunchy lead guitar ridiculous vibrato and too. Go Your Own Way attack ever. Awesome. is brilliant!

Proper old-school stuff, these early recordings just sound so real. You can tell the whole band played live together; it’s vibey, it’s got passion and Freddie’s playing is just super-cool. Not flashy, not technical – just cool. I love the sting in his tone. He’s the kind of guy that could make one note mean everything!

Roger Waters

John Mayall With Eric Clapton

Jethro Tull

THE PROS AND CONS OF HITCH HIKING

BLUESBREAKERS

ORIGINAL MASTERS

I remember my dad playing this in the car on cassette. In Waters’ style the lyrical dialogue always made me smile, but it was Eric Clapton’s guitar that made this album for me. I can imagine him sat in the studio, listening to the track and just laying it down in one take with a fag wedged into the headstock!

Of course it’s another album with Eric Clapton on I always preferred the electric side of Tull: it, but his playing at this point was really quite Minstrel In The Gallery is my all-time favourite of different to the way he ended up once he’d moved theirs. From about two minutes in the band go from a Les Paul to a into this proggy-style Stratocaster. It’s got an riff that twists and urgency to it and again turns with all these it’s one of those weird chords and recordings that you can timings. It makes me tell they didn’t spend want to plug a Les Paul ages on. It’s real into a Marshall and be seat-of-the-pants stuff. Martin Barre!

John Mayer

Creed

Free

CONTINUUM

WEATHERED

LIVE!

On any album there are always songs you jump to, I love driving with this on really loud! I first heard and on this there’s about five that I can listen to My Sacrifice on a random playlist at a gig in over and over again. He got it absolutely spot on in Germany and instantly went to ask the engineer every way on tracks who it was. I loved the such as Slow Dancing melody of the chorus and Belief. He knows – it’s proper anthemic how to write songs with stuff. I had to get more depth and mood and so I bought this album how to incorporate and a few others, but ultra-tasteful guitar this one has my parts to augment them. favourite tracks on.

130 Guitar & Bass SEPTEMBER 2013

A lesson in how what is essentially a three-piece band can work so well. The interaction between the bass and guitar… like on Mr Big, when Andy Fraser goes for it and Kossoff is just nailing the guitar! I love AC/ DC’s If You Want Blood You’ve Got It for similar reasons. Almost every song is in the key of A… but it works!

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Crafted to be enjoyed

Martin Huch

Orchestra Body with gig bag • Solid Engelmann Spruce Top • Maple Back and Sides Deluxe Chrome Tuners • Abalone Soundhole Inlay & Position Marks • Gloss Finish LR-T NX (LCD Tuner + Notch Filter) PreAmp with L.R. Baggs Element Pickup • £449 RRP