JANUARY 2014
John Frusciante
W W W. G U I TA R P L AY E R . C O M
The (now former) Red Hot Chili Peppers’ guitarist discusses using Stratocasters, synths, and stompboxes to create layers of aural delight on Stadium Arcadium in this November 2006 cover story!
Ralph Towner Larry Coryell Fusion Soloing Lesson Howard Roberts Lesson New Gear! PLUS! 3 Free Song Transcriptions
ll Learn about a aspects of the ustr y d n i t n e m n i a t enter hensive e r p m o C r u o n i ram! g o r p r a e y o w T
AUDIO ENGINEERING MASTERING MUSIC THEORY ELEMENTS OF PRODUCTION LIVE SOUND STAGE LIGHTING HISTORY OF R&R MUSIC BUSINESS
The Lexington School for Recording Arts
ND THE I H E B T U O CHECK CEBOOK A F N O ” S K A SCENES “PE
facebook: LexRecordingSchool www.LexRecordingSchool.com
the world’s most epic guitars
Editor in Chief
Michael Molenda -
[email protected]
Editors
Matt Blackett - mblackett@nbmediacom Barry Cleveland -
[email protected] Art Thompson -
[email protected]
Consulting Editors
Jim Campilongo, Jesse Gress, Henry Kaiser, Michael Ross, Leni Stern, David Torn, Tom Wheeler
Designer
Amy Santana
Production Manager
Beatrice Kim
Publisher
Joe Perry -
[email protected] 212.378.0464
Advertising Director Eastern Region, Midwest & Europe
Jeff Donnenwerth -
[email protected] 770.643.1425
Advertising Director Western Region & Asia
Mari Deetz -
[email protected] 650.238.0344
Advertising Sales Eastern Accounts
Anna Blumenthal -
[email protected] 646.723.5404
Specialty Sales Advertising, West
Michelle Eigen -
[email protected] 650.238.0325
Specialty Sales Advertising, East
Jon Brudner -
[email protected] 917.281.4721 The Newbay Music Group
Vice President, Publishing Director Group Publisher Editorial Director Senior Financial Analyst Production Department Manager Director of Marketing Marketing Project Manager Web Director Motion Graphics Designer IT Tech Office Services Coordinator
Bill Amstutz Bob Ziltz Brad Tolinski Bob Jenkins Beatrice Kim Josh Bernstein Emily O’Neill Dan Angeloro Tim Tsuruda Bill Brooks Mara Hampson
Newbay Media Corporate President & CEO Chief Financial Officer Controller Vice President, Digital Strategy & Operations Vice Presidend, Audience Development Vice President, Content & Marketing IT Director Vice President, Human Resources
Discover the Most Famous, Rare, and Valuable Guitars in the World Jimmy Page’s 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard. Carlos Santana’s PRS Santana II “Supernatural.” Eddie Van Halen’s “Frankenstein.” Discover the world’s most incredible guitars, the stories behind them, and the musicians and collectors who own them. The Collections presents spectacular photography and unprecedented access to the artists who created America’s rock music culture.
Available wherever books are sold.
Steve Palm Paul Mastronardi Jack Liedke Joe Ferrick Denise Robbins Anthony Savona Anthony Verbanic Ray Vollmer
Please direct all advertising and editorial inquiries to: Guitar Player, 1111 Bayhill Drive, Suite 125, San Bruno, CA, 94066 (650) 238-0300; FAX (650) 238-0261;
[email protected] Please direct subscription orders, inquiries, and address changes to: Guitar Player, box 469073, Escondido, CA 92046-9073, or phone (800) 289-9839, or send an email to
[email protected], or click to subscriber services at guitarplayer.com. BACK ISSUES: Back issues of Guitar Player are available for $10 each by calling (800) 289-9839 or by contacting
[email protected]. Guitar Player (ISSN 0017-5463) is published 13 times a year, monthly plus a Holiday issue to follow the December issue, by Newbay Media, LLC, 1111 Bayhill Drive, Suite 125, San Bruno, CA 94066. Guitar Player is a registered trademark of Newbay Media. All material published in Guitar Player is copyrighted © 2013 by Newbay Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction of material appearing in Guitar Player is prohibited without written permission. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, photos, or artwork. All product information is subject to change; publisher assumes no responsibility for such changes. All listed model numbers and product names are manufacturers’ registered trademarks. Periodicals postage paid at San Bruno, CA, and at additional mailing offices. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2.
Follow Guitar Player online at:
PUBLISHED IN THE U.S.A.
GUITAR_guitarplayer_two thirds vert.indd 1
4 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
9/10/13 3:12 PM
WE SPEAK GUITAR ( AND MORE! ) SWEETWATER HAS THE MOST KNOWLEDGEABLE STAFF, TOP BRANDS, AND COMPETITIVE PRICES Private Reserve Mark V Mark5-112Bub
MF Delay MFoogerDelay
Private Stock McCarty Semi-Hollow PS4575
55-POINT EVALUATION PROVIDES MAXIMUM PLAYABILITY
24 MONTHS
Nearly every bass and guitar that we stock receives a detailed 55-point Evaluation before it’s shipped. We make sure it looks and sounds great — and plays as well as it possibly can — right out of the box! Visit Sweetwater.com/55-point for more details.
SPECIAL FINANCING AVAILABLE
On most orders, with no minimum purchase!
Sweetwater’s new and improved online Guitar Gallery lets you check out our world-class inventory of basses and guitars in beautiful multiple-photo detail. Then, you can pick the exact bass or guitar you want by serial number! Visit Sweetwater.com/guitargallery.
(800) 222-4700 Sweetwater.com
ON SELECT BRANDS, USING YOUR SWEETWATER MUSICIAN’S ALL ACCESS PLATINUM CARD, THROUGH FEBRUARY 28, 2014*
FAST, FREE SHIPPING
GUITAR GALLERY SHOWS YOUR ACTUAL BASS OR GUITAR
2-YEAR WARRANTY**
Total Confidence Coverage™ Warranty
FREE PRO ADVICE
We’re here to help! Call today!
*Subject to credit approval. Minimum monthly payments required. Call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer for details or visit Sweetwater.com/financing. **Please note: Apple products are excluded from this warranty, and other restrictions may apply. Please visit Sweetwater.com/warranty for complete details.
EXPAND YOUR
sonic palette
Bring spectacular sounds to your recordings and compositions with Garritan virtual instruments. These
award-winning libraries make exceptional sound quality affordable. Garritan libraries work as a standalone program or as a plug-in, so they easily integrate with DAWs, sequencers, and notation software.
Visit alfred.com/garritan
SCAN HERE TO LEARN MORE
January 2014 · Volume 4, Number 1
contents
from the vault 8
Classic John Frusciante Interview
The (now former) Red Hot Chili Peppers’ guitarist discusses using Stratocasters, synths, and stompboxes to create layers of aural delight on the hit album Stadium Arcadium in this November 2006 cover story.
22
Ralph Towner
The jazz/classical guitarist best known for his work in the innovative world-fusion group Oregon goes deep on his singular 12-string acoustic and nylon-string guitar work, composition, improvisation, and more in this feature from the December 1975 issue.
Gear 26
New Gear
(from the January 2014 issue of Guitar Player).
oN the NewsstaNd 28
GP January 2014 Table of Contents
lessoNs 30
Howard Roberts Twelve Pentatonic Trials
(from the December 1976 issue of Guitar Player).
32
Larry Coryell Fusion Soloing
(from the June 1986 issue of Guitar Player).
sessioNs 34
The ever-popular TrueFire Lessons
traNscriptioNs
John Frusciante - Page 8
36
“9 Crimes” Damien Rice
40
“Put a Little Love In Your Heart” Various Artists
42
“Chuck E.’s In Love” Rickie Lee Jones GUITAR PLAYER VAULT | January 2014 | 7
classic interview
8 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
november 2006
John Frusciante
Puts His Stamp on Stadium Arcadium Those given To cosmic speculaTion mighT easily conclude ThaT John Frusciante was born to play guitar in the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Having followed the band from its inception, and having mastered all the songs in the Peppers’ repertoire, Frusciante was a de facto understudy for guitarist Hillel Slovak, and the natural choice for Slovak’s successor when he succumbed to heroin addiction in 1988. Following the runaway success of 1991’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Frusciante became disillusioned with the rock star life, leading to a six-year hiatus from the band—but he returned just prior to the new millennium, and his guitar playing and songwriting are currently more inspired and compelling than ever. Frusciante has a voracious musical appetite. One moment he’s spinning vintage vinyl by John Lee Hooker and Cecil Taylor, the next he’s extolling the virtues of Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart, and the next he’s name checking artists as diverse as Funkadelic, Black Sabbath, Brian Eno, John McLaughlin, and Squarepusher—not to mention perennial favorites such as Hendrix, Clapton, and Beck. His living room walls and much of its floor are home to thousands of CDs and LPs. Complementing Frusciante’s passion for music are his love of recording and his fascination with pure sound. “As a person whose job it is to make sounds, it’s important for me not to overlook any of the various properties that sound possesses,” he explains. “Studying modular synthesis has taught me how to approach music in a completely different way, and now I think in terms of giving sound width and dimension, rather than just in terms of what my fingers are doing. You don’t have a chance to think that way when you’re caught up in the actual playing. It’s only in the studio that you can really explore that.” Although showcasing the vocal was producer Rick Rubin and the band’s prime directive when recording and mixing the Chili Peppers’ new double-disc, Stadium Arcadium [Warner Bros.], Frusciante’s sonic watermark is evident throughout. “A big part of my concept for the record was to have the music be constantly revealing itself from the beginning to the end of the song,” he explains. “Some songs build more than others, but they all have various elements that get added as the track goes on.” Here, Frusciante reveals those elements in exhaustive detail.
GUITAR PLAYER VAULT | January 2014 | 9
classic interview november 2006
Frusciante in his home studio. His API 3288 console is in the foreground, and the Doepfer modular synth—used for processing many of the tracks on Stadium Arcadium—is behind him. Two Studer A800 Mk I 2-inch, 24-track machines are located in another room. Telefunken V72 and V78 mic pres were used to record his electric guitar overdubs, and a Universal Audio 610 mic pre was used for acoustics.
Why did you call the two discs on Stadium Arcadium Jupiter and Mars? As we wrote more and more songs, we started toying with the idea of doing two separately released albums, but we ended up putting everything that we felt super good about on a double CD. Then it just seemed like a good idea to give each disc a name, so that people would think of the 28 songs as two 14-song albums, each with its own vibe, and not get overwhelmed. As far as Jupiter and Mars, we liked the idea of the planet of creative intelligence, Jupiter, having the force and the drive of Mars, the warrior, which is the planet of manifestation of what you feel is right from inside. Any creative person has to struggle against all the forces in the world, and inside themselves, especially,
that are working against them. You’ve got to be kind of a warrior to be an artist, and to stand up and be the best you can be in the face of criticism and adversity. Where and how was the album recorded? The album was recorded at The Mansion in Laurel Canyon, though a few overdubs were done at the band members’ home studios, and at Rick Rubin’s studio. We recorded to three synchronized 2-inch, 24-track machines, running at 30ips, and mixed to analog tape as well. [Engineer Ryan Hewitt notes that the console was a Neve 8068 with 31102 mic preamps, and that Neve 1057 and 1073 mic preamps were also used for some tracks.] The basic tracks, including most solos, were cut “live” in the studio, with everyone playing together in the same room. For a lot of it we even had our amps
10 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
in the same room with the drums, and we allowed for bleed, as I was really into trying to capture some of the atmosphere of ’60s recordings, and also have that extra push you get when you know you’ve got to nail the take because you’re all in the same room. What’s your philosophy regarding perfection vs. imperfection when recording? There’s a fine line between good imperfections and bad imperfections. You might have played on the wrong fret, or played an open string you didn’t mean to play, and if you’re a really self-critical person, you might immediately want to fix that. But, it’s important to listen to those things a second time, and get other people’s opinions. For example, during the solo on “She’s Only 18,” I was on the wrong fret
prs sE ACOUsTICs [ r i c h r e s o n a n c e , r e s p o n s i v e to n e s - f e w e r c l a m s ]
prs ® sE ACOUsTICs solid spruce top • proprietary hybrid X-bracing solid mahogany back (Standard) or solid rosewood back (Custom) mahogany (Standard) or rosewood (Custom) sides optional electronics package © 2013 PRS Guitars - Photo by Marc Quigley
classic interview november 2006
frusCianTe’s sTaDium Pals G u i T a r s ’55 and ’62 fender stratocasters; ’69 les Paul Custom; martin 0-15. a m P s marshall major and silver Jubilee heads. marshall 4x12 cabinets with stock Celestions. e f f e C T s Boss Ce-1 Chorus ensemble, Ds-1 Distortion, Ds-2 Turbo Distortion; electroHarmonix english muff’n fuzz, Holy Grail reverb, Big muff Pi fuzz, PoG Polyphonic octave Generator, electric mistress flanger; DoD 680 analog Delay; moog mf-105 murf, mf-105B Bass murf, mf-101 low-Pass filter, mf-103 Phaser; ibanez WH-10 Wah; Dunlop DB-02 Dime Custom CryBaby. s T r i n G s D’addario .010-.046.
frusciante relaxing with friends in his living room.
for a second, but I just kept the flow going, and the solo was awesome. Once you stop fighting with mistakes, you actually roll with them, wait for them, and welcome them. They’re one of those things that the spirit of music likes. If there are no mistakes, a record has no vibe. What microphones did you use to record your guitars? I use a Shure SM57 positioned on axis a couple of inches from the cone. On some tracks the engineer, Ryan Hewitt, added a Royer R-121 ribbon mic, positioned about 15 feet away, in order to capture some of the room sound. We used a Telefunken Ela M 250 tube condenser mic on the acoustic guitars. Take us through the album track by track. “ D a n i C a l i f o r n i a ” I used a straight Strat tone on the first section of the first verse, and on the second section the guitar signal is split and panned in stereo, with the original part on the left, and a part processed using my Doepfer modular synth on the right. Basically, the
12 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
signal from the tape is used to trigger an envelope generator (or ADSR), which responds to playing dynamics, and uses that information to dynamically control a low-pass filter. Unlike a typical envelope filter pedal, this setup allows me to create many more sounds than mere wah effects. Then, those two sections are repeated, and as I’m hanging on the sustained chord which transitions into the chorus, a Mellotron string part slowly rises behind the guitar. You can hardly hear the Mellotron, but it’s what makes it feel like something really big is about to happen. On the chorus, I doubled the guitar parts, which were played using a Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion pedal. The second verse begins with a couple of guitars playing in harmony. After they were recorded, I ran them through a Moog MF-105 MuRF (Multiple Resonance Filter Array) pedal six times, and recorded the results on individual tracks. The MuRF is very unpredictable, and sounded different on each pass. I kept going until I got a
november 2006
classic interview
Frusciante’s live pedalboard. the three moogerfooger mF-101 Low-Pass Filters, the mF-105 murF, the mF-105B Bass murF, and a mF-102 ring modulator are arrayed along the upper right. two moog expression Pedals—used for realtime parameter control—are located just below them on the right. a third expression Pedal, an mF-103 12-stage Phaser, and the two cP-251 control Processors are located on the left side of the bottom tier.
Frusciante on taking stadium arcadium Live “When we started rehearsing the songs for live performance it was a real bummer, because everything sounded so empty without the modular synth and other treatments we used on the album. But i found a way to approximate many of the sounds using an array of moogerfooger pedals controlled with a couple of cP-51 control Processors. “i have both the regular and the bass murF pedals on my pedalboard—which not only produce sounds like those on the record, they are also good for adding an element of accident, because you never know what to expect from them. For example, one night, i was playing some open chords with distortion or something, and when i kicked in the murF, it started playing one of the baddest ‘drum’ beats i’ve ever heard. the next night, i tried to do the same thing, but i couldn’t even come close. You’ve just got to let the pedal take you wherever it’s going to take you. “i also have three moogerfooger mF-101 Low-Pass Filter pedals. one of them is set to make a sort of wa-wa-wa-wa, or futuristic Leslie sound, by modulating the filter’s envelope with the LFo in the cP-51. i use that to simulate the modular synth filter sounds on “dani california,” and a few other pieces. another filter pedal is set to produce that super-fast filter “martian” sound that i use on “death of a martian,” and the verses of “tell me Baby.” the third one is used to cover any other sort of envelope filter sound i may want to make. Finally, i have an mF-103 12-stage Phaser for emulating the analogue systems phasing effects, and an mF-102 ring modulator. “What i came to realize, however, is it’s really a matter of shifting the energy, and, some nights, i might just as easily create the same effect by jumping around like a maniac at the point in a song where, on the album, i turned on some treatments. or maybe chad [smith, drummer] will just pump up the drums at those points—as long as there is some sort of movement. the band has got such a new energy since we’ve started getting along better, and we’re just flying on stage now. You can put me up there with no effects and a tiny combo amp and i would still feel great—as long as we have that feeling between us.” GUITAR PLAYER VAULT | January 2014 | 13
classic interview november 2006 take that I really liked, though we actually wound up using all six takes in combination. Otherwise, the processing is the same as on the first verse. For the bridge, the rhythm guitar is processed with the Doepfer’s LFO (LowFrequency Oscillator) controlling its highpass filter, so that the filter opens and closes rhythmically. The drums are also filtered, so that they are small and panned to one side
at the beginning, then gradually get bigger and pan out across the full stereo spectrum, which lets you hear the guitar treatment more clearly. On the third verse I overdubbed an additional rhythm guitar track. Then, on the buildup to the chorus, I added some diminished chords along with several harmony parts. To get the highest harmonies, we slowed the tape down and recorded
14 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
them at a slower speed, so that they would be pitched above the range of the guitar when the tape was sped back up. There are lots of additional harmony guitar parts on the second half of the third chorus, positioned in two groups panned to either side. Also, Eddie Kramer came in and showed our engineer how to do ’60s-style tape phasing, which we used on an early mix, and we wound up splicing a section of that mix into the part transitioning out of the chorus. I played the original solo when we recorded the basic tracks, and then doubled it later, except for the super-fast wah part at the end, which was too difficult to double perfectly, so I put that section through a Delta Labs Effectron II digital delay set to a quick delay with just a touch of slow modulation. “ S n o w ( H e y o H ) ” During the outro section I used an Electro-Harmonix POG, which adds multiple octaves and makes the guitar sound like an organ. Towards the very end of the song I created an articulated arpeggio using three distorted guitar parts, each playing one note of the arpeggio recorded onto a separate track. Normally if you tried to play that sort of line with a distortion pedal, you’d get frequency beating and the notes would be indistinct. But this way each note is clear, while giving the impression of being a single guitar. I also played the same parts on a synthesizer, tucked so low in the mix that you can’t really hear them, but you can hear them, and it sounds really different without them there. “ C H a r l i e ” The lead guitars are on the left with a slap-back delay on the right. “ S t a d i u m a r C a d i u m ” On the solo, we flipped the tape over and ran the sound through a vintage EMT 250 digital reverb, recording the reverb onto a separate track, so that when the tape was flipped back over the reverb would be reversed and begin just ahead of the guitar. Then, we ran the reverb sound through a low-pass filter—which lets you nail any sound down to the tiniest little sliver of a frequency—so that you not only hear the notes coming up ahead of the unprocessed guitar, they are swirling around, and the sound seemingly comes out of nothingness. Also, on the second verse, we slowed down the tape
Many styles One voice Robben Ford is the master of many musical styles. But when it comes to his speakers, there’s only ever been one choice.
Find out more
www.celestion.com
classic interview november 2006 and I picked some triads really fast, then we ran that sound through the EMT 250, which made them sound like futuristic mandolins from outer space. “ H u m p d e B u m p ” There were no overdubs. “ S H e ’ S O n ly 18 ” The delay effect on the verses and solo were inspired by Hendrix’s “If 6 Were 9.” They were processed with the Effectron II, set to a quick
delay with a little bit of modulation to provide movement. The engineer also created a really good backwards reverb for the vocals on the choruses. “ S l O w C H e e t a H ” On the instrumental bridge section, I created swells with the guitar’s volume control, which we ran through the EMT 250 set on its largest and longest setting, creating a sound like stars shooting through space.
FAIR USE IS FAIR PLAY
You may know Harvey Mason Jr. as the award-winning songwriter and producer for superstars like Beyonce, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. But you may not know that Harvey buys all the software he uses to help create his magic. Harvey believes in fair play and works exclusively with legal software. Respect yourself, your craft, and the work of others. Buy the software you use, and buy the music you love.
www.imsta.org International Music Software Trade Association New York • Toronto • Hamburg • Tokyo Tel: 416 789-6849 • Fax: 416 789-1667
16 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
“ tO r t u r e m e ” A few harmony parts were overdubbed.
“ S t r i p m y m i n d ” The melodies in the second verse are two guitars playing in harmony, processed through an Analogue Systems Phase Shifter, which unlike a typical phase shifter has a really wide range, as well as a Resonance control. When you run two or more harmony lines through it, and adjust the resonance really slowly by hand, at one frequency it will favor one note and its harmonics, and at another frequency it will favor another, with the whole thing moving in a circular fashion. And, sometimes when three notes are playing together, a fourth “note” is created out of the combined frequencies and harmonics. I did the same thing on “She Looks to Me,” but there it was with chords rather than single notes. On the solo I used Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi fuzz and Holy Grail reverb pedals. Rick Rubin really cranked the first note of the solo to give it a thunderous quality when it comes in. “ e S p e C i a l ly i n m i C H i g a n ” For the harmony guitars that come in halfway through the second chorus, I used an Electro-Harmonix English Muff ’n distortion pedal, which I really love. It has an incredible amount of upper midrange and highs, and it can be obnoxiously bright, so I turned my tone knob all the way down and used the middle pickup to have the deadest and blandest sound possible coming out of the guitar, which produced a sweet, Cream-era Clapton-like sound. It’s one of my favorite tones that I’ve ever gotten. Omar Rodriguez from the Mars Volta played the solo. [Frusciante appears on the new album by the Mars Volta as well.] “ w a r l O C k S ” There’s a cycle of two bars at the top of the second verse where I used a technique inspired by David Byrne and Brian Eno. You put notes in little spaces where you think, rhythmically, that there’s a hole for a note, on four or five separate tracks. And though there is no conscious intent, all the notes taken together create a pattern. Then, I ran those parts through the MuRF, which randomly emphasized certain notes, making them sound as if they are just breathing out, and not being picked. I really love that moment. “ C ’ m O n g i r l” I used basically the same English Muff ’n sound as on “Espe-
The Best... For Less Only Guitarfetish.com offers the most unique brands in the music biz... Sold “Warehouse Direct” at Wholesale Pricing... with the widest variety of cool vintage, modern and cutting edge gear anywhere. Our GFS® Pickups, Xaviere® Guitars, Slickstraps™, Hardware and Accessories are shipped daily to customers all over th world. Our 30,000 sq. ft. of warehouses are packed with the brands that we design and sell, exclusively. We design everything in our Boston headquarters, and skip the middleman to sell direct to you! We’ve been fortunate enough to sell our stuff to some of the most respected guitarists out there, check our website to see the latest guys who turned down paid endorsements to PAY for their GFS® pickups and electronics. New products are arriving DAILY... New takes on the classics as well as totally new stuff that we invented... Great quality at the absolute lowest prices. Isn’t it time you stopped by to look around?
GFS REDactives™ Noiseless Active Pickups...Vintage Tone... Starting at $26.95
XV-890HH
XV-950 Xaviere® Guitars
XV-580SS
Acoustics... Electrics... Semi Hollow... Solidbodies GFS Pickups Factory installed... from $159
Necks and Bodies Solid Woods... Spectacular finishes Starting at $32.95
You can search the web or retail stores across the globe only to discover what tens of thousands of guitar players do every year...Nobody beats Guitarfetish.com GFS® Pickups and Xaviere® Guitars are sold exclusively online by
www.Guitarfetish.com
classic interview november 2006 “When I hear people say that Hendrix had faulty technique, I can’t accept that. His technique was
exactly what it needed to be to create the sound that he generated.”
cially in Michigan,” and the same reverse reverb/filter effect as on “Stadium Arcadium.” The solo at the end was cut live. “ W e t S a n d ” I played through a Leslie in the A section. The engineer also used a technique, having to do with putting the signal slightly out of phase with itself, to make the guitars seem to project out in front of the speakers. At the end of the song there’s an arpeggiated guitar part created by slowing the tape down and playing harmonies a third up, on the treble pickup, which made it sound exactly like a harpsichord. I’m convinced that’s what Hendrix
did on “Burning of the Midnight Lamp.” “ H e y ” No overdubs. I probably had the Holy Grail reverb pedal on throughout the song. “ d e S e c r a t i o n S m i l e ” The harmony guitars are treated with the same phasing effect used on “Strip My Mind.” “ t e l l m e B a B y ” Although there’s only a single rhythm guitar part, the processing varies continually throughout the song, which changes the over-all atmosphere and provides development. For example, on the first verse there’s a superfast, light filter thing going on that makes
18 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
the guitar sound kind of outer-spacey. Later, there’s a slap-back echo, then a reverb where there wasn’t one before, etc. The solo was run through the MuRF. “ H a r d t o c o n c e n t r a t e ” The basic guitar part uses simple volume swells, but there are high harmony parts outside the range of the guitar created by slowing the tape down when recording, and then speeding it back up. I used an Electro -Harmonix Electric Mistress Flanger on the bridge. “ 21 S t c e n t u r y ” The solos were overdubbed, with a main solo and two harmony parts on the outro. “ S H e l o o k S to m e ” The three harmony guitars at the end were done using the English Muff ’n, and then run through the Analogue Systems phaser and mixed to two tracks panned hard right and left. Normally when sounds are moving from speaker to speaker you hear exactly where they are at any given moment, but with this process certain notes come out on the left that might or might not come out on the right. Because the frequency of the phasing is moving so slowly, it creates a calming effect. Also, the two-note phrases on the verses were done by recording each note on its own track, then flipping the tape and adding reversed reverb to just the first note of each phrase. There’s also an
The Future of Tone Next-generation compact pedals, powered by the incredible new Multi-Dimensional Processing ® technology from BOSS .
Watch John 5 Play The TE-2!
www.BossUS.com
classic interview november 2006 “In high school, I often used to stay up and practice all night until I had to go to school the next day.” organ-like sound on the second chorus that’s done with the POG. “ R e a d y m a d e ” The harmony guitar parts were overdubbed, with layered feedback at some points. I also treated Chad’s drums with a comb filter during the bridge, and placed reverb on certain snare hits, which made them sound like gunshots. “ I f ” Flea’s bass line was sufficient and really didn’t need a guitar, so I just added a simple slide part. “ m a k e y o u f e e l B e t t e R ” The overdubs on the final verse and chorus
were played on a Les Paul, with the original panned left and a slightly out-of-time echo on the right. This was one of the last overdubs on the record, but I felt that it took the ending up to another level. “a n I m a l B a R ” The main part is done with volume-knob swells, a wah, and a chorus pedal—but I used the wah pedal exactly the opposite of how it’s normally used. I raise the volume while the wah is in the full treble position, and then close the wah to its full bass position. Then I lower the volume and repeat the move on the next chord. It’s unusual for a guitarist to use a wah that way, but it is the way a synthesist would think. The chorus effect is maxed at some points, as is the Holy Grail, which is set to the Spring sound. The solo is processed with the stereo phasing effect from the Analogue Systems Phaser. “ S o m u c h I ” The harmony guitars were overdubbed. “ S to R m I n a t e a c u p ” We used the same envelope-filtering effect as on “Dani California” for the rhythm parts. “ W e B e l I e v e ” We used the Doepfer’s LFO controlling its filter on the main guitar part, and there are also some harmony feedback tracks run through the MuRF on the opening to the second verse. I doubled Flea’s bass line at the end with a Les Paul. The solo at the end was done using the English Muff ’n, and treated afterwards with a DOD Analog Delay, the feedback
knob of which I turned manually to get a controlled echo feedback thing. “ t u R n I t a g a I n ” I recorded a lot of guitar tracks towards the end and mixed them all myself. I just creatively organized them in my brain and mixed them, having one guitar come in here and another guitar come in over there. “ d e a t h o f a m a R t I a n ” We were rehearsing at the studio for about a week before we actually started recording, but they were just letting tape roll, and we wound up using a few of those takes, including this one, and they have a more relaxed feeling to them than the other songs. The main guitar part was played through a Leslie, and the “Martian” sounds were made with a filter that was modulated super-fast. There are three lead guitars on the outro, but they are mixed very quietly. On early Funkadelic albums, George Clinton would mess around with the volume of things, and not just have the parts fit into a perfectly balanced unity the way most producers do. On one track there would be really loud lead guitars, and on another super-loud bass, or quiet lead vocals, etc. The band and our producer were not into that as a general direction for the album, but this is one of the few spots where I’m doing that sort of thing. Of course, they sent the mix back, saying, “The guitars are too soft”—but that’s what I was going for!g
CLASSIC INTERVIEW Dig this collection of frusciante solos from 2002-2007.
20 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
from the November 2006 issue of Guitar Player magazine
e Books e r i e s
GETTHEI N DEPTH HI STORYOFTHE ELECTRI CGUI TAR FROM THETRUSTED EDI TORSOF
PURCHASENOW ATYOURPREFERREDONLI NERETAI LER
classic interview
22 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
december 1975
GUITAR PLAYER VAULT | January 2014 | 23
classic interview december 1975
CLASSIC INTERVIEW from the December 1975 issue of Guitar Player magazine
watch towner play “green and golden”
24 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
new gear VVt Amp lifi e rs niG hT owl
Goodies 15 watts. Built-in Bright switch. Volume, Tone, and Tremolo Speed and Depth controls. Comes with a Celestion Ten-30 ceramic speaker but can be fitted with an Eminence 1058 Alnico. Price $1,299 retail More Info vvtamps.com
mi Au di o
Cross ov E r D rivE Goodies Seamless transition from boost to overdrive to distortion to fuzz with a sweep of the Gain knob. Detail knob provides the body of the overdrive tone with lower settings perfect for bright amplifiers. The Balance control allows for the adjustment of top-end harmonics for either a smooth, round lead sound, or a tone that will cut through a mix. Price $199 street More Info miaudio.com
G retsc h
G 5 622T- CB E lECTromaTiC CE nTE r- B loCk Goodies Interior solid-spruce center block delivers greater control over feedback. Five-ply maple body construction with a bound arched top and back. Bound maple neck. Rosewood fretboard. Dual-coil Super HiLo’Tron pickups. Anchored Adjusto-Matic bridge and flat-handle Bigsby-licensed B70 vibrato. Price $1,375 retail More Info gretschguitars.com
26 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
Pu resAle m Gu itArs Tom CaT
Goodies Mahogany body. Mahogany neck. Rosewood fretboard. 24.75" scale length. Tune-o-matic bridge. Kent Armstrong P-90 pickups. Finish options: Traditional Burst, Banana Puddin’ Cream, and Rosewood Veneer. Price $735 retail direct More Info puresalemguitars.com
e l ec t ro-h Arm onix
sl a mmi P i TC h-s h if Te r / harmo ny P eda l Goodies Max Bend control functions as an 11-position switch, allowing the player to set the maximum bend/interval to Detune for a lush chorus effect, as well as Half Step, Major 2nd, Major 3rd, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th, Major 6th, Minor 7th, 1 Octave, 2 Octaves and 3 Octaves. Controls also include a thumb wheel for Dry Volume.
BAc k BeAt Bo o ks
Price $191 retail
The Ja zz GuiTa r ha nd book
More Info ehx.com
Goodies A complete course in all styles of jazz. More than 100 exercises and musical examples in notation and tab. All the essential scales and chords. The fundamentals of modern jazz harmony and improvisation. A 96-track CD of exercises, scales, chords, and backing tracks. Price $29 retail More Info backbeatbooks.com
F uchs Aud io
Jazz C lass i C i i Goodies Preamp features two selected 12AX7 tubes. Volume, High, Mid, and Low controls. 3-knob reverb featuring Level, Decay, and Reverb Tone controls. Custom designed Class-D switch mode power amp using a conventional transformer supply. Power module conservatively delivers 75 watts into 8Ω, 150 watts into 4Ω, and can operate down to 2Ω safely. Price $2,200 retail More Info fuchsaudio.com
GUITAR PLAYER VAULT | January 2014 | 27
current issue R ffs
Here’s what’s in the January 2014 issue of Guitar Player, on Newsstands Now!
i
RIFFS Bill Lawrence remembered, Climax Blues Band’s Pete Haycock eulogized, Steve Hunter on Lou Reed, John Scofield decodes Uberjam, Alex Machacek and Gary Husband deftly defy convention, and more!
Robb Lawrence on the Genius of BiLL LawRence Wo rld- renoW n e d guitar ist an d
designer Bill Lawrence passed away on November 2, in California. He was a popular post-war jazz musician, a true revolutionary, and his pioneering work helped shape the modern guitar as we know it today. I first met Bill in 1972, while he was working for Gibson in Kalamazoo, Michigan, developing pickups and designs that resulted in the L6S and S-1 guitars, the Ripper Bass, and the Super Humbucker. Bill had no problem sharing his ideas or talking about new products—which was
22
delightful—and Carlos Santana’s use of the L6S convinced me that Bill was on target. Much later on, his Los Angeles shop on Sunset Blvd. was near my gallery at SIR, and Bill graciously shared some Broadcaster-inspired Strat and Tele pickups. He lovingly described them as having “juicy” tones. Bill’s furtive mind continued to propound brilliance every time we connected. Bill was born as Willi Lorenz Stich near Cologne, Germany on March 24, 1931, to a musical family. He began his music training at age eight on violin, and listening to
January 2014 · Volume 48, Number 1
Barney Kessel, Les Paul, and Oscar Moore on the radio shaped his early awareness of the guitar. By 1952, Bill had developed such a unique style as a guitarist—and had became so well-known as “Billy Lorento”— that the German instrument maker Framus rewarded him with his own signaturemodel jazz guitar. In 1966, Bill met the luthier Dan Armstrong in New York, and they collaborated with Bill’s removable pickups for Ampeg’s plexiglass guitar line. Bill started his company—Lawrence Sound Research—in
G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / J A n U A R Y 2 0 1 4
gpr0114_riffs_ln3.indd 22
11/21/13 9:44 AM
COVER STORY Carlos Santana, Randall Smith, and the Mark I “Budokan” Amplifier When Carlos first plugged into a Mesa/Boogie, guitar tone as we know it was changed forever. Here is the story of that magical amp and the new Boogie King Snake that it inspired.
ARTISTS
Features
Scott Holiday · Luther Dickinson · Tomatito · Adam Miller
LESSONS Under Investigation A thorough examination of a particular style or player. This month: Steve Cropper. Twisted Blues A look at Oz Noy’s 12-bar approach. 54
G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 4
gpr0114_art_miller_ko2.indd 54
11/15/13 11:38 AM
Rhythm Workshop Bending in rhythm.
Gear
Fretboard Recipes Sharp Keys vs. Flat Keys.
1965 Tele-Star 4T
GEAR
W haC k Job
by Te r ry Ca r l e To n
New Gear
The Tele-STar brand iS SomeThing of an enigma. WaS iT a nameplate used by Kawai or Teisco, or was it an independent Japanese guitar manufacturer? Tele-Star guitars came into the U.S. in the mid 1960s through a wholesaler out of New York, and many think these instruments were made by Kawai. But as Kawai and Teisco were merging just then, this guitar could be one of their ugly “Dr. Moreau” offspring. Nobody knows for sure, because during the guitar boom of the ’60s—when so many makers fought it out to reach the massive number of young people who were suddenly hungry to start bands—it was often difficult to
Roundup! Takamine P1D, P3MC, P4DC, P6JC, and P7DC
track who was making what for whom.
Weirdo Fac to r A lot of my favorite ’60s guitars from Goya, Teisco, Kent, EKO, Hagstrom, and other manufacturers had four pickups, but it’s a rather weird setup for today’s players. Then, there are the 4T’s organ-style toggle buttons (the on/off switches for each pickup), a boost switch that goes from R (rhythm) to S (solo), and that unique and lovely greenburst finish. And get a load of that huge headstock—it’s almost as long
Roundup! BBE Windowpane, El Rey Fuzz, Hallmark Nu-Fuzz, Maxon Fuzz Element series, Skreddy Fuzz, and TSVG Dying Batt fuzz pedals
as the plywood body. Fascinating stuff for us “guit-archaeologists.”
P layability & Sou n d The 4T’s clean tone is nondescript, but add some overdrive, and you can get a pretty convincing ’70s-era Keith Richards vibe. The guitar sounds slightly better than it plays, but, sadly, it plays lousy. (Even Tele-Star’s better guitars—known as “Sparkles”—never had a hope of being much more than beginner models.) The 20-fret, mahogany steel-reinforced neck starts out bulky—almost like a classical guitar— and then gradually squares off as if it were trying to become a lap-steel, making it rather unfriendly in the upper range. The tremolo is remarkably smooth, but due to a non-adjustable saddle, as well as friction points caused by the “towel rack” string retainer on the headstock and the plastic nut, the guitar doesn’t stay in tune.
Red Rocket Commander Custom
Value Most European and Japanese guitars with four pickups are worth more than their two- or three-pickup counterparts, and the 4T’s market value is somewhere between $250 and $500. Now, you might think it would be crazy to spend good money on a guitar that plays like crap. But while you’d never want to gig with the 4T, I’ve found it’s actually a cool little number to pull out in a studio situation when you want a trashy, garage-rock sound. For short overdub parts, I can wrangle the intonation enough to make everything work.
Hughes & Kettner GrandMeister 36
Why i t rul eS You don’t always rate a guitar for how it sounds or how it plays, right? And, in the case of the Tele-Star 4T, the best thing it does is hang in my studio and look gnarly, green, and gorgeous! g
136
G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / j A n U A R Y 2 0 1 4
gpr0114_Gear_whack_ph3.indd 136
11/19/13 11:23 AM
Studio Tools Zoom H6 Handy Recorder Stompbox Fever EarthQuaker Devices The Depths
g u i tA r P l Ay e r .co M
Studio Tools JBL LSR308 Powered Studio Monitors More Gear! 23 reviews! Plus! Fuzz Pedal RounduP • 5 Takamine acousTics
Whack Job 1965 Tele-Star 4T
®
Fable Fighters What’s the Big Deal About Germanium Transistors?
caRloS
ChATTER
Santana & RanDall SMith anD the
Craig Anderton on Technology
“Magic” Boogie that changeD guitaR tone foReveR JANUARY 2014
$6.50
A N e w B Ay M e d i A P u B l i cAt i o N
gpr0114_cover3_ph1.indd 1
Gary Brawer on Maintenance iSte
eS!
u D B l ateSt
Rival SonS • lutheR DickinSon S t w ’S G D o Y ’ ppereCoDe toMatito • John ScofielD o Z n eve CrLoiCkS D lou ReeD ReMeMBeReD St p lus
re
Scott Mathews on Recording Carl Verheyen on Performing
11/19/13 8:58 AM
28 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
WINE CLUB AWARD WINNING CALIFORNIA WINE INSPIRED BY LEGENDARY ARTISTS AND THEIR CLASSIC ALBUMS.
JOIN TODAY. Includes one free 12 issue Guitar Player subscription and each quarter you will receive three award winning bottles for only $39.95 (plus S&H).
BONUS One preview issue of Guitar Aficionado with your introductory membership!
Call 1-888-987- 4987 or visit GuitarAficionadoWineClub.com Guitar Aficionado Wine Club is owned and operated by Wines That Rock™
lessons
30 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
december 1976 See robertS play “Star eyeS” live in the 1980S.
GUITAR PLAYER VAULT | January 2014 | 31
lessons
32 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
june 1986
Watch coryell perform “meeting of the spirits With john mclaughlin and paco de lucia
GUITAR PLAYER VAULT | January 2014 | 33
sessions
34 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
truefire
GUITAR PLAYER VAULT | January 2014 | 35
transcriptions
36 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
Used by Permission of ALFRED MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., INC.
damien rice
Used by Permission of ALFRED MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., INC.
GUITAR PLAYER VAULT | January 2014 | 37
transcriptions damien rice
38 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
Used by Permission of ALFRED MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., INC.
BRING YOUR FAVORITE ROCK
GUITAR METHOD TO LIFE Interact with Alfred’s Basic Rock Guitar Method 1 This 3-Part Multi-touch Method Features: • Interactive diagrams • Full-screen video demonstrations • Ability to take notes, highlight text, and create flash cards • Images with multiple angles of fingerings • Authentic-sounding backing tracks and full performances • Interactive quizzes and reviews • And much more! *iPad is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. iBookstore is a service mark of Apple Inc.
alfred.com/basicrockgpv
transcriptions
40 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
Used by Permission of ALFRED MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., INC.
various artists
Used by Permission of ALFRED MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., INC.
GUITAR PLAYER VAULT | January 2014 | 41
transcriptions
42 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
Used by Permission of ALFRED MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., INC.
rickie lee jones
Used by Permission of ALFRED MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., INC.
GUITAR PLAYER VAULT | January 2014 | 43
transcriptions rickie lee jones
44 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
Used by Permission of ALFRED MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., INC.
rickie lee jones
Used by Permission of ALFRED MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., INC.
transcriptions
GUITAR PLAYER VAULT | January 2014 | 45
transcriptions rickie lee jones
46 | January 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT
Used by Permission of ALFRED MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., INC.
Photography by Neil Zlozower / atlasicons.com
OWN THE FUTURE
#OwnTheFuture
“FINALE OFFERS AN EVOLUTION IN THE APPROACH TO COMPOSITION.”
Grammy® Award-winning guitarist, composer and producer Steve Vai chooses Finale
FINALE 2014 To notate music is to look forward – to the performance, and beyond. With faster workflow, notation enhancements, backward and forward compatibility, and improvements to its core, Finale 2014 is your path to tomorrow. Look forward: Create your musical legacy.
SCAN HERE TO
LEARN MORE
Visit alfred.com/finale
