GEAR REVIEWS | INTERVIEWS | GUITAR LESSONS | TIPS & ADVICE

THE GUITAR MAGAZINE ISSUE 386

www.guitarist.co.uk | £5.75 | October 2014

M A C H I N E
Under the hood of
BRIAN MAY’S
+RED SPECIAL
Internals revealed • 8-page gallery
Tech secrets • New biography

PLAYERS

Chuck
Berry
Steve
Morse
John
Mayall
OCTOBER 2014

REVIEWS
Korg Nuvibe
Supro Coronado
& Dual-Tone amps
PRINTED IN THE UK

PRS S2 Semi-Hollows
Collings SoCo LC semis
£5.75

Boss GT-001 & much more!

 By Royal
Future Publishing Limited
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Email guitarist@futurenet.com Web www.guitarist.co.uk
Appointment
Editorial
Editor Jamie Dickson jamie.dickson@futurenet.com
Content editor Chris Vinnicombe chris.vinnicombe@futurenet.com
Gear reviews editor Dave Burrluck dave@daveburrluck.com Brian May has inspired an
Deputy gear reviews editor Michael Brown michael.brown@futurenet.com
Managing editor Josh Gardner josh.gardner@futurenet.com awful lot of players, but
Production editor Gary Walker gary.walker@futurenet.com
Art editor Rob Antonello rob.antonello@futurenet.com nobody plays quite like him.
Senior music editor Jason Sidwell jason.sidwell@futurenet.com
Music engraver Chris Francis To a generation of
AV content produced by Martin Holmes
dumbstruck guitarists, the
Contributors
Owen Bailey, Simon Bradley, Darran Charles, Adrian Clark, Trevor Curwen, Matt Frost, Nick Guppy, liquid howl of his solo on
Denny Ilett, Eleanor Jane, Jim Kimberley, Neville Marten, Isobel Morris, Mick Taylor, Henry Yates

In-House Photography
Bohemian Rhapsody sounded
Joseph Branston, Dave Caudrey, Adam Gasson, Neil Godwin, Will Ireland, Simon Lees,
James Looker, Joby Sessions, Philip Sowels, Jesse Wild
like Mozart conquering the
Advertising
galaxy. Clapton and Hendrix
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Advertising sales director Clare Coleman-Straw clare.coleman-straw@futurenet.com
walked in the footsteps of blues giants such as
Advertising sales manager Richard Hemmings richard.hemmings@futurenet.com
Account sales managers James L’Esteve james.lesteve@futurenet.com
BB King, but May’s sound was truly without
Alison Watson alison.watson@futurenet.com
Advertising sales executives Simon Rawle simon.rawle@futurenet.com
precedent in rock ’n’ roll. Its nearest living
Marketing relative? Arguably opera at its most flamboyant.
Group marketing manager Laura Driffield laura.driffield@futurenet.com
Marketing executive Richard Stephens richard.stephens@futurenet.com So it’s fitting that Brian, in a relaxing break from
Circulation astrophysics, built his own guitar – the famed
Head of trade marketing James Whitaker james.whitaker@futurenet.com
Trade marketing manager Dan Foley dan.foley@futurenet.com Red Special. On paper it sounds like a luthier’s
Print & Production
Production manager Mark Constance mark.constance@futurenet.com
nightmare, with blockboard and bits of fireplace
Production controller Frances Twentyman frances.twentyman@futurenet.com
Ad production coordinator Rebecca Lewis rebecca.lewis@futurenet.com
standing in stead of Brazilian rosewood and
Licensing
figured maple. And yet that tone... well,
Licensing and syndication director Regina Erak regina.erak@futurenet.com
Phone + 44 (0)1225 442244 Fax + 44 (0)1225 732275
dynamite-with-a-laser-beam just about covers it.
Future Publishing Limited Since then, the Red Special has appeared on
Managing director, Future UK Nial Ferguson nial.ferguson@futurenet.com
Head of Music Rob Last rob.last@futurenet.com nearly all of Queen’s landmark tracks and it’s still
Group art editor Rodney Dive rodney.dive@futurenet.com
Creative director Robin Abbott robin.abbott@futurenet.com Brian’s main squeeze. So when veteran Guitarist
Editorial director Jim Douglas jim.douglas@futurenet.com
Chief executive Zillah Byng-Maddick zillah.byngmaddick@futurenet.com scribe and lifelong Queen fan Simon Bradley was
Next issue on sale… 17 October 2014
invited to write the official biography of the
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In this issue, Simon explains how exploring
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October 2014 Guitarist 3

Contents The Guitar Magazine ISSUE 386 OCTOBER 2014

20

86
34

70
People & Playing
John Mayall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Brad Paisley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Steve Morse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
50
Queen
Howard Alden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Machine
Jim Campilongo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
It’s one of the most iconic
Chuck Berry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78 and unique guitars in
Danny Bryant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 rock, but what makes the
Blues Headlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 Red Special so, er, special?
Guitarist alumnus Simon

Regulars Bradley quite literally

wrote the book on Brian
May’s self-made guitar,
Welcome From The Editor . . . . . . . 3 and with his help we peer
Front End. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 under the hood of this
Readers’ Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 legendary axe to find out
New Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 what makes it tick…
Subscribe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Longterm Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Gear Q&A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY JESSE WILD

Readers’ Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

6 Guitarist October 2014

 VIDEOS

New gear this month

Fender Modern Player Short Scale
Stratocaster & Telecaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 http://bit.ly/
Avian Skylark & Songbird guitarist386
Manson
Demi Cutaways. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Supro Coronado & Dual-Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Collings SoCo 15 LC & 16 LC Deluxe . . . 38
Small Gigging Amp Round-up . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
PRS S2 Semi-hollows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Boss GT-001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Korg Nuvibe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
T-Rex Vulture, Creamer, Karma
Boost, NeoComp, Quint Machine &
Replay Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 How to watch
Positive Grid Final Touch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Empress Compressor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 From now on, you’ll be able to
stream all of the accompanying
Morley M2VO & M2WV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
video content from a YouTube
Eventide MixingLink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 playlist, accessible via the short
Freshman SONGTRAVTSB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 web link below. Simply type it into
Bigfoot Engineering Trouble Boost . . . . 132 your PC, tablet or mobile device’s
web browser and watch it all from
there. In the case of audio-only
files, we will publish a separate
download link on the page.
And fear not, all back-issue Vault
content remains available online
at vault.guitarist.co.uk.
STEP 1
Go to: http://bit.ly/guitarist386

STEP 2
Play and enjoy. Simple!

102 116

Follow the link

above to get your
112 08 video content

October 2014 Guitarist 7

 FIRST PLAY

FENDER MODERN PLAYER

SHORT SCALE TELECASTER
£394

WHAT IS IT? Chinese-made short

scale version of the solidbody that
started it all for Fender

FENDER MODERN PLAYER

SHORT SCALE STRATOCASTER
£394

WHAT IS IT? A scaled-down Strat

with a difference, thanks in part to a
Guild bridge humbucker

SIZE
MATTERS
Fender’s chefs have added a pair
of intriguing new starters to the
menu. Will the smaller
proportions of these Modern
Players satisfy, or do they leave us
hungry for a full-scale portion?
WORDS CHRIS VINNICOMBE
PHOTOGRAPHY JAMES LOOKER

S
hort scale Fenders are nothing new –
just ask the users of shortscale.org,
a whole wiki devoted to their charms.
Indeed, the Mustang, Jaguar, Duo-
Sonic, Musicmaster, and even the
Bronco, have been used to create their fair
share of great music over the years. Yet here at
the tail end of 2014, with miniaturisation
abundant in the workshops of amplifier and
effects pedal engineers the world over, we find
The Big F taking two of the pillars of the
electric guitar church and downsizing them.

8 Guitarist October 2014

VIDEO DEMO
Fender Modern Player Short Scale Telecaster & Stratocaster FIRST PLAY
http://bit.ly/
guitarist386

October 2014 Guitarist 9

FIRST PLAY Fender Modern Player Short Scale Telecaster & Stratocas
Stratocaster
ster
ste
ster

1 Juicy
Juicy R&B tones lurk
in the Telecaster’s
middle position,
thanks to the
combination of Fender
and Guild pickups
2 In both cases, the
truss rod adjustment
takes place at the
headstock end
3 It may be well over 60
years old, but the
combination of
‘ashtray’ bridge and
brass saddles still
does the business

From more than six feet up in the air, it’s

difficult for this writer’s brain to relate to a
scenario in which a regular Stratocaster or
Tele seems just too large and unwieldy. Yet for
a player for whom the standard Gibson scale
length of 624mm (24.6”) is ‘home’, Fender’s
648mm (25.5’) can feel, initially at least, quite
different – not least the added string tension.
So, the extra elasticity of a shorter scale
length combined with traditional Fender
appointments has its appeal. That said, a
cursory glance at these two Chinese-made
Modern Player instruments reveals much
that’s not so traditional.
The classic Telecaster outline is
approximately 320mm at the widest point
across the body, and 399mm straight down the
centre from the edge of the neck join to the
base of the strap pin. The Modern Player Short
Scale Telecaster — along with reducing the
scale length to 610mm (24-inch) — shaves
those dimensions down to 304mm and 379mm
respectively. It doesn’t sound like much –
indeed it’s only about a five per cent reduction
in size in each direction on either guitar – but it
makes for a much more compact look and feel
overall. Predictably, perhaps, the Telecaster is
the more successful design revision of the duo
in aesthetic terms; the simpler instrument
appears less cluttered and cramped, whereas

10 Guitarist October 2014