July 2024

Guitarist

The Guitar Player's Bible

Guitarist2 min read
Music And Silence
Future Publishing Limited, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA Telephone 01225 442244 Email [email protected] Online www.guitarist.co.uk This month everyone at Guitarist was saddened by three losses close to our hearts. Firstly, we learned th
Guitarist1 min read
Editor’s Highlights
The ebullient Dutch guitarist behind the soulful retro-rock of DeWolff shows us his go-to Firebirds and a ’board brimming with fuzz pedals p68 A latter-day exponent of the so-called ‘hill country blues’ of Mississippi, Cedric joins us to talk about h
Guitarist1 min read
Guitarist
Future Publishing Limited, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UATelephone 01225 442244 Email [email protected] Online www.guitarist.co.uk EDITORIAL ART EDITOR Darren Phillips [email protected] EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jamie Dickson jamie.d
Guitarist5 min read
The Colour & The Shape
Since Dave Grohl made his post-Nirvana debut with Foo Fighters in 1995, there have been multiple eras of his favoured onstage guitars, with the common thread being that they’re more often than not an iteration of the classic Gibson dual-humbucker for
Guitarist5 min read
None More Black
Bad Cat Amplification is celebrating 25 years of manufacturing this year – no mean feat in the turbulent world of boutique amp production. Bad Cat was founded at the turn of the millennium to fill the gap left by the demise of Matchless and, in the e
Guitarist4 min read
Green Machine
Ancoats’ guitars are made by David Roberts in a converted shipping container in Pollard Yard, Manchester. “It was an old parking lot or something, but it now has around 130 shipping containers – just a lined empty container with patio doors on the fr
Guitarist3 min read
Easy Ambience
We took a look at the Walrus Audio Fundamental series last year when the company released eight pedals simultaneously, all designed for affordability and ease of use and each covering a specific effects type: Drive, Distortion, Fuzz, Tremolo, Chorus,
Guitarist3 min read
Three’s A Charm
Jack White has got involved in pedal design before via his Third Man Hardware brand, having previously worked with CopperSound and MXR among others, but this time he’s teamed up with budget Chinese company Donner. Enamoured of its Alpha range, Jack f
Guitarist3 min read
Gas Supply
CONTACT Various WEB See below This month’s new gear releases reveal the continuation of a few emerging trends in different areas, from rockers turning to the full heft of a semi-hollow (see also the Epiphone Dave Grohl DG-335 and EVH SA-126 models),
Guitarist1 min read
Also Released
If there’s one thing we know about Slash, it’s that he’s partial to a Les Paul. Here, the top-hatted snake charmer has teamed up with Gibson for the latest guitar in his signature collection, a Les Paul Standard replication of the guitar he refers to
Guitarist3 min read
Fretbuzz
Soloing masterclasses: Pickup Music Australian-born and Los Angeles-based Sophie Giuliani is a 23-year-old session guitarist of high order, having played with Olivia Rodrigo, Empress Of and Mayer Hawthorne among others, and she recently took to the C
Guitarist4 min read
Albums
BMG (release date: 31 May) 9/10 Sublime songcraft from Sheffield’s laureate of the lonesome Inspired by a random remark he heard a visitor to his home city of Sheffield make, In This City They Call You Love is one of Richard Hawley’s finest albums
Guitarist5 min read
Tones Behind The Tracks
Album: Hill Country Love (Provogue/Mascot) To those familiar with Mississippi’s distinct strain of hill country blues, Burnside is a name that carries weight. The big bang that started it all was the late RL, whose hypnotic grooves were the stuff of
Guitarist3 min read
Boogie Wonderland
As you will know if you follow my scribblings in this tome, for the past five years or so I’ve been using digital systems for my main gig – first a Line 6 Helix and lately a Blackstar Amped 2. I do love them and the many benefits they offer, especial
Guitarist3 min read
Lucky Break
If guitars could talk, I’m certain the instrument laying across my bench would recount innumerable tales of late night rock ’n’ roll excess and half-remembered gigs. One can imagine the countless ballads accompanied in smoke-filled folk clubs, or hea
Guitarist5 min read
Staple Diet
Many years ago, in one of the first issues of Guitarist magazine I ever read, there was a report from a vintage guitar show. Among the pics of Paisley Telecasters and ’Bursts was a shot of a black Les Paul Custom fitted with what, to my inexperienced
Guitarist2 min read
Tritone Substitution
AUDIO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra The term tritone refers to an interval that spans three whole tones. For example, this could be: C to D, D to E then E to F#. However, another way of looking at it could be as an augmented 4th (C to F#) or a diminis
Guitarist8 min read
Feedback
After 20-odd years of playing guitar, this year has provided the biggest surprise in that I have finally found a Strat I get on with. I was a late starter at 45 and, as a humbucker fan, my little collection is almost all humbucker-equipped, although
Guitarist3 min read
NICK GUPPY December 1958 to April 2024
Nick contributed his detailed, authoritative amp reviews in almost every issue of Guitarist for well over two decades. He came onto our radar after writing a letter to then Guitarist editor, Neville Marten, wondering if we needed someone to write abo
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DICKEY BETTS December 1943 to April 2024
“I’ve definitely lived a dangerous life,” Dickey Betts once admitted, and you only had to see him to know it. A stern gunslinger with a cowboy hat, handlebar moustache and ’57 Goldtop, Betts’ outlaw stage presence in The Allman Brothers Band often bl
Guitarist8 min read
George Vjestica
George Vjestica is part of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, having first lent his licks to 2013’s Push The Sky Away before coming on full-time for Skeleton Tree (2016). Considering Cave’s restless creative muse and Vjestica’s following a player like Mick H
Guitarist9 min read
Lenny Kravitz
With his well-loved ’53 Les Paul Goldtop slung over his shoulder and a pair of designer shades resting in place, Lenny Kravitz is the epitome of cool. Of course, having a cache of iconic songs at his disposal doesn’t hurt his reputation, either. You’
Guitarist7 min read
The Bernie Marsden Collection
If you’re a fan of the late Bernie Marsden, then Gardiner Houlgate Auction Rooms in Corsham, Wiltshire is the place to be on 11 June. With over 250 lots comprising everything from high-end electrics and amps to pickups, prints, posters and other asso
Guitarist7 min read
Pablo Van De Poel
DeWolff are a three-piece band comprising brothers Pablo (guitar and vocals) and Luka van de Poel (drums) with keyboard player Robin Piso. The band takes its inspiration from the tie-dye days of the late 60s, and they pull it off, too. The sheer enth
Guitarist10 min read
Second String
CONTACT PRS Europe PHONE 01223 874301 WEB www.prsguitars.com 1 These look cheap for USA-made PRS guitars. We’re not sure ‘cheap’ is the right word, but, yes, the S2 line is around half the price of the top-level Core line models, although they’re st
Guitarist2 min read
Quality Time
The Semi-Hollow Satin variant of our reviewed Vela will no doubt be another lightweight guitar. Aside from the different body construction, though, everything else is the same, including the bridge and pickups. If satin’s not your bag, there are five
Guitarist4 min read
Horses For Courses
What’s cooler than a regular Tele? A Telecaster with a 70s-style full-face scratchplate. In fact, this poplar-body/maple-neck reimagined Esquire tells the tale of Leo’s blueprint model, had it been designed 20-odd years later. As such, it’s got a Wid
Guitarist5 min read
Low Side Of The High Road
Once upon a time, it was obvious where a company’s budget brand ended and its prestige brand began. Squier was to Fender what Epiphone was to Gibson – a respectable alternative for those who couldn’t afford, or chose not to buy, the full-fat version.
Guitarist10 min read
True Inspiration
CONTACT Epiphone PHONE 00800 444 27661 WEB www.epiphone.com 1 Can Epiphone really justify the current price hike we’re seeing? That’s certainly the subject of many a heated debate. But judging by what we see here, we’d have to say that these acousti
Guitarist5 min read
In The Loop
CONTACT Sheeran Loopers WEB www.sheeranloopers.com 1 Sheeran? I’ve heard that name somewhere before… We dare say you have! Ed Sheeran has got together with HeadRush to create a couple of loopers to his own specifications and under his name. 2 Did y
Guitarist8 min read
Basic Instincts
Headless guitars have risen phoenix-like from the ashes in recent years. They came to prominence in the 1980s when the heavy through-neck slabs of cocobolo and brass that characterised guitar design in the late 70s fell from favour, and the whiff of
Guitarist4 min read
Jennifer Batten
What was the first serious guitar you bought with your own money? “That was a Sunburst Les Paul. I got a loan from my dad and paid it back for many years. I believe the inspiration was photos of Duane Allman.” What was the last guitar you bought a
Guitarist7 min read
Parallel Lines
Back in the good ol’ days of the late 70s and early 80s, us keen modders were beginning to get the aftermarket parts our guitar-fantasies needed, not least pickups. Up to that point, unless you wanted to modify a humbucker yourself, you were stuck wi
Guitarist6 min read
1957 Stratocaster Restoration (Part 1)
I never imagined that I would own a 1950s Stratocaster. The closest I’d come was when my guitar-playing school teacher tipped me off about a 50s Strat for sale at Livewire Music in Cardiff. Having looked it over, I decided the scruffy black refinish
Guitarist3 min read
Loud Speaker
We’ve covered quite a lot over the past few years here, but to break things down, if you’re looking to sculpt your sound using cabs and speakers there are a few key points to consider. First, you’re going to want to figure out if it’s open- or closed
Guitarist3 min read
Electric 12-Strings
“The Fender Electric XII was by far the most recorded electric 12-string guitar. Everybody from Jimmy Page to Glen Campbell, Joe Perry, Joe Walsh, Pete Townshend, Bob Dylan and Tim Buckley played them. In fact, pretty much every 1960s or 70s record w
Guitarist4 min read
Blues Headlines
VIDEO & AUDIO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra Tutor Richard Barrett | Gear used Lewis Guitar Works Pequeno Bastardo & Marshall JTM45 MkII Reissue Difficulty | 20 mins per example IT’S WELL KNOWN that Jimi earned his living and learned his trade as a sid

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