LEARN TO PLAY AEROSMITH & RUN DMC – "WALK THIS WAY"

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LODOYOUR
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PER P PEDAL
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THE HUNT FOR THE MOST FAMOUS 20 LESSONS TO HELP YOU MASTER
STOLEN GUITAR OF ALL TIME, THE PLAYING STYLE OF LED ZEP'S
ERIC CLAPTON'S "BEANO" LEGENDARY LEAD RIFFER

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CHRISSIE HYNDE • GRETA VAN FLEET • MOGWAI • SMITH & KOTZEN • TOMAHAWK VOLUME 142
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NOFX • YVETTE YOUNG • THE PRETTY RECKLESS • MELVINS • EVANESCENCE
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CHEAP TRICK • MIDDLE KIDS • CARLA GENEVE • LANDE HEKT
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04 News 46 Subscriptions
06 Fresh Frets 81 Studio Tips: A GoPro
08 Spotlight For Guitarists!?
10 CD Reviews 82 Producer Profile:

CONTENTS
INTERVIEWS
40

FEATURES
Lesson: Aerosmith
& Run DMC 96
Shane Edwards
Hot Gear

13 Cheap Trick 20 The Pretty 27 Miss Grit 49 20 Ways To Play Like Jimmy Page
14 Yvette Young Reckless 28 Chrissie Hynde 56 The Secrets To Jack White’s “Seven Nation Army” Tone
15 Greta Van 21 A Day To 29 Adrian Smith & 57 The Secrets To David Gilmour’s “Comfortably Numb” Tone
Fleet Remember Richie Kotzen 58 The Six-String Origins Of DZ Deathrays
16 NOFX 22 Lande Hekt 30 Middle Kids 60 A Look Back On 75 Years Of Fender
17 Melvins 24 Mogwai 31 Carla Geneve 64 The Strange Case Of The Missing Les Paul
18 Evanescence 25 Tigers Jaw 32 The Rubens 71 DIY: Adding A Killswitch To Your Guitar
19 Epica 26 Tomahawk 34 Foo Fighters 74 Shootout: Loop Pedals
98 Final Note: Phoebe Bridgers’ Smashing SNL Gig
REVIEWS
84 Empress Effects ZOIA / Blackstar Live Logic 91 Fender Play
84 MXR Timmy Overdrive Pedal / Boss Acoustic Singer Live LT Amp 92 EVH Striped Series Frankie
87 Ernie Ball Music Man Jason Richardson 7-String Cutlass 93 Epiphone Prophecy Flying V / Electro-Harmonix 1440
88 Godin Radiator Stereo Looper
89 Vox Valvenergy Pedals 94 Epiphone Joe Bonamassa Black Beauty Les Paul Custom
90 Fender American Professional II Stratocaster + Telecaster Deluxe 95 Eventide PowerMax + PowerMini / Orange Crest Edition
Wireless Headphones
4 | NEWS
SCIENCE SAYS HEAVY METAL LOWERS BLOOD
PRESSURE AND REDUCES ANXIETY
G EMAIL diane.preece@futurenet.com
one are the days when heavy metal was
regarded as tailor-made for the angriest
and most wound-up members of society.
In fact, a new study has revealed that the genre
is actually one of the best for lowering blood
pressure and anxiety levels.
The study – conducted by hair transplant
specialists Vera Clinic – asked 1,540 volunteers
aged between 18 and 65 to complete non-verbal
stress-eliminating reasoning tests, while listening
to a variety of Spotify playlists. The participants
were also fitted with heart rate and blood pressure
monitors in order to study the effect of each
VICKY CORNELL SUES
SOUNDGARDEN (AGAIN)
A
ccording to court documents seen by
Rolling Stone, Soundgarden received
an offer worth $16 million from an
unnamed third party seeking to purchase the
band’s recorded music catalogue. Vicky Cornell –
the widow of Soundgarden’s late frontman Chris
Cornell – says the band offered to purchase her
stake in the band for the “villainously low figure
of less than $300,000”.
Cornell had offered the band $21 million for
their own shares, the lawsuit reveals, however
they turned the offer down. Cornell has requested
the courts determine a price for her assets that –
in addition to the value of Soundgarden’s master
recordings – is based on future merchandise
sales, potential tours with a new singer, possible
hologram performances and “deep-fake renditions
of Chris’ vocals drawn from extant recordings by
artificial intelligence that could mint brand new
Soundgarden hits”.
| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
WORDS: SAM ROCHE
playlist throughout the experiment.
The results revealed that – second only to the
‘80s-pop-themed soundtrack of UK Channel 4
show It’s a Sin, which reduced blood pressure in a
whopping 96 percent of volunteers – heavy metal
was the most successful in reducing stress – with
89 percent of volunteers showing a reduction in
blood pressure, and amongst those an average
heart rate reduction of 18 percent.
of
THE WHITE STRIPES
RELEASE ICONIC 2005
PERFORMANCE IN FULL
T
he White Stripes have shared the full version of
their iconic From The Basement performance
for the very first time. Recorded at Maida
Vale Studios in London in November 2005, the show
saw the band perform hits including “Blue Orchid”,
“Forever For Her (Is Over For Me)” and “As Ugly As
I Seem”, as well as a cover of Captain Beefheart’s
“Party Of Special Things to Do”. Conceptualised
by Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, From The
Basement was a webseries that ran between 2007
and 2009, with The White Stripes and Radiohead’s
Thom Yorke performing during its pilot episode.
This free release (streaming now on the band’s
YouTube channel) comes as Jack White’s latest display
of random generosity. Last year, the frontman bought
a Scottish busker a brand-new $3,000 Fender Custom
Shop Strat, after the performer’s guitar was smashed
on the street.
LEARN TO PLAY AEROSMITH & RUN DMC – "WALK THIS WAY"
GET PY!
LOO YOUR
FIND ECT
#142
PERF PEDAL
LOOP R EPIC
IN OU TOUT
SHOO
D... GHOSTS!?
GEAR, GROOVES, AN
THE LOST LES PAUL PLAY IT LIKE PAGE
THE HUNT FOR THE MOST FAMOUS 20 LESSONS TO HELP YOU MASTER
STOLEN GUITAR OF ALL TIME, THE PLAYING STYLE OF LED ZEP'S
ERIC CLAPTON'S "BEANO" LEGENDARY LEAD RIFFER
STACKS OF FRESH ARTIST INTERVIEWS
CHRISSIE HYNDE • GRETA VAN FLEET • MOGWAI • ADRIAN SMITH & RICHIE KOTZEN
TOMAHAWK • CHEAP TRICK • YVETTE YOUNG • THE PRETTY RECKLESS • MELVINS
NOFX • A DAY TO REMEMBER • THE RUBENS • TIGERS JAW • MISS GRIT
EVANESCENCE • MIDDLE KIDS • CARLA GENEVE • LANDE HEKT
EDITORIAL
EDITOR Matt Doria
ART DIRECTOR Kristian Hagen
CONTRIBUTORS
Alex Lynham • Amit Sharma • Art Thompson
Cheri Amour • Chris Corfield • Chris Gill • Chris Schwarten
Dave Burrluck • Jack Ellis • Jonathan Horsley • Matt Doria
Matt Parker • Marianne Eloise • Paul Riario • Rod Brakes
Sam Roche • Tony Bacon • Trevor Curwen
ADVERTISING
NATIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGER Lewis Preece
EMAIL lewis.preece@futurenet.com
ADVERTISING CO-ORDINATOR Di Preece
SUBSCRIPTIONS
techmags.com.au or call +61 2 8277 6486
PO Box 1077 Mount St, North Sydney NSW 2059
MANAGING DIRECTOR Neville Daniels.
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6 | FRESH FRETS
HARMONY BYRNE Photo: Isaebella
SHE IS an earnest and emotive singer-songwriter from Melbourne, whose
prickly and impassioned, often understated gems of folky indie-rock transport
their listener into a fugue state. Between the beauty of her music and the
wisdom of her songwriting, it’s undoubtable Byrne has a long career of dropping
jaws en masse ahead of her.
SHE SOUNDS LIKE that rare, hypnotic purgatory state between sleep
and wake where one feels more at peace than they do tired – where coherent
thoughts form freely, but with a sense of effervescent whimsy and psychedelic
radiance often gridlocked by consciousness.
YOU’LL DIG HER IF YOU LIKE Tim Buckley, Joni Mitchell, Buffy
Sainte-Marie, and the warm embrace of the Australian countryside, brushing
your hands over clusters of wattle as you soak in the candour of the clean air
and the sounds of wildlife chittering.
YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT Bryne’s heartfelt and heady new EP, The
Songs I Sing When No One Is Listening. A warmer, more bare-faced follow-up to
her 2020 long-player Heavy Doors (which is also bloody fantastic), the five-tracker
burns slowly with a tangible gravity of hard-earned melancholy. Soundscapes
built on deep, resonant acoustic guitars and minimalist atmospherics allow
Byrne’s soft and cerebral musings to feel all the more impactful.
LENS THEORY Photo: Firebug Photography
IT IS the deeply emotive and cinematic solo project of Newcastle’s Lennie
Edgerton. And though Lens Theory is a relatively new outlet for Edgerton’s
bold and bluesy musicality, the singer-songwriter has been doling out the
goods for over 25 years, laying down classic rock-influenced gems as a soloist
and teaming up with such time-tested legends as Marcus Wright (Big Apachee)
and Grant Walmsley (Screaming Jets).
IT SOUNDS LIKE the musical equivalent of a cup of coffee and a cigarette
after a long day on the grind; probably not too good for your health in excessive
doses, but so damn comforting in a time of need.
YOU’LL DIG IT IF YOU LIKE Joe Bonamassa, Bruce Springsteen,
Richie Sambora, and looking wistfully out motel windows at the crack of
dawn, one hand perched on the lower frame as you stare longingly at the
cars driving by, homesick and hoping one day you find the right person to
settle down with, start a family, maybe buy a farm...
YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT the latest single “One Night Stand”, which
serves as our second taste of Lens Theory’s forthcoming new EP The Road. A
slick and sultry ballad driven by sharp keys and grimy electric guitars, the cut is
impossibly engrossing and powerfully dynamic, Edgerton effortlessly keeping
us on the edge of our seats with every palpably impassioned bar he belts out.
| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
BOYSCLUB Photo: Brodie Dwyer
THEY ARE four unapologetically fiery, frantic and ferocious rockers from
Sydney wielding weapons in the form of callously crunchy guitars,
whiplash-inducing basslines and concrete-shattering to wreak havoc on the
music industry’s long-ingrained culture of arrogance and bigotry. The band
formed at the turn of last year’s first COVID outbreak, and the solicitous angst
of the world around them can be felt in their authentically ardent musicality.
THEY SOUND LIKE the rush of euphoria that comes in watching a
neo-Nazi get his shit rocked in public, or the adrenaline of skydiving – knowing
that if things went south you’d cop the goriest death imaginable, but having the
time of your life nevertheless.
YOU’LL DIG THEM IF YOU LIKE L7, Clowns, Nitocris, and wearing
Vans to political protests so you can still make in time to the abandoned
warehouse your best mate’s new hardcore band is christening.
YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT the group’s first sharp and searing release
for 2021, “Best For You” – the thick, grungy riffs of which we first heard in
January and still haven’t been able to shake from our minds. It follows a trilogy
of pit-ready punk anthems the foursome dropped throughout 2020, with each
cut bringing something new – and fittingly venomous, given the customs of
chaos and uncertainty in which they dropped – to the table.
OSCAR THE WILD Photo: Jackson Thornbury
THEY ARE an Adelaidian indie-pop powerhouse dealing in big, jammy
singalong anthems that are impossible to sit still through. Their soundscapes
are dense, dynamic and hugely inventive, and the enigmatic storytelling that
each track is built around makes them one of the most captivating young bands
in Australia. We’d kill to have a full album of their honest and energetic scorchers.
THEY SOUND LIKE the first road trip you take with a new partner, where
every pit stop comes with a new lesson learned and a new memory made. Even
the first listen of their tunes will elicit a sense of nostalgia – they are, after all,
the band that’s been missing from our lives all this time, and we hope they stick
around for a damn long time to come.
YOU’LL DIG THEM IF YOU LIKE Alex Lahey, The Beths, Beach Bunny,
and having intimately deep conversations with people you barely know during
casual air-hockey games at the local arcade.
YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT the four-minute musical rollercoaster ride
that is “My Daisy”, which starts with angelic strums and wistful vocal harmonies
before kicking into a summery, ska-tinged pop romp with punky guitars and a
wickedly catchy hook. Oscar The Wild nail that lucrative sweet-spot between
bubblegum buoyancy and striking honesty, and nowhere is that more prevalent
than on their final single of 2020.

SPUTNIK SWEETHEART
Photo: Claire Louise & Jack Gruber
THEY ARE a trailblazing quartet of cruisy Canberran indie-rockers with as
much a knack for head-noddable hooks as they have for cerebral Floydian guitar
passages that twist and twine throughout a mix with spellbinding aplomb. Less
than two years into their tenure, they’ve carved out a bright and bewitching
sonic identity entirely of their own.
THEY SOUND LIKE coming home from a banging night out at 4am, realising
you have a lecture to hit the next morning, and just not giving a f*** because all
that matters is that you had fun (but lowkey freaking out a little subconsciously).
YOU’LL DIG THEM IF YOU LIKE Wolf Alice, Spacey Jane, The Academy
Is..., and swapping freely between academic journals and comic books. If you pride
yourself on your maturity, but secretly find fart jokes funny, Sputnik Sweetheart
will tick all your boxes; after all, they’re named after a Murakami book and build
a chorus around the phrase “what the f*** is FOMO?” They contain multitudes.
YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT the ponderous and polychromatic “Rolling”,
a track that fittingly saw 2020 out with weighty, emotionally staid lyrics spun
through a web of convoluted, yet beautifully meticulous instrumentation. The
guitars ebb and flow between tight, surfy stumming and howling solos, with the
chemistry between players Zac Bailey and Nette France (the latter also to thank
for the track’s sharp and swanky vocal quips) simply incredible.
WAXFLOWER Photo: Mitch Lowe
THEY ARE a very well-disguised algorithm designed to churn out instantly
addictive nuggets of roaring electric leads, thumping bass and ultra-danceable
rhythm hooks. There’s no way in hell these songs were actually written and
performed by four suburban pop-punk tragics from Brisbane: they’re just too
perfectly punchy, energetic and earwormish.
THEY SOUND LIKE the kind of band that would’ve done gangbusters in
the MySpace scene circa 2006. Nostalgia reigns strongly with these prickly
pop-punk stalwarts, but there’s also plenty of modern-age pop sensibility to their
short-and-sweet blasts of festival-perfect liveliness that make them feel totally
relevant. They’re also a major liability for car speaker systems everywhere.
YOU’LL DIG THEM IF YOU LIKE Slowly Slowly, Kisschasy, Columbus
(who drummer Daniel Seymour also plays in), and impatiently waiting for Jay
Jays skinny jeans to come back in fashion.
YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT the one-two punch of recent singles “Again”
and “Not Alone”, the former shining with ultra-bright strummage and some
heavy-hitting guest vocals from Caitlin Henry (of Eat Your Heart Out fame), and
the latter with a hit of tasty ‘90s crunch and an absolutely ripping guitar solo.
Both cuts are pulled from their forthcoming debut EP, We Might Be Alright (due
mid-April), which is almost certain to make end-of-year lists in abundance.
|7
Photo: Harry Allwood
MADURA GREEN
THEY ARE yet another reason we’re savagely envious of every indie-punk
fan living in Adelaide; if these local legends have a single bad track to their
name, we’re yet to hear it. The dual-guitar setup of Zach Caporale and Jordan
Tito – the latter also on lead vocal duty – blasts through a mix with furious
aplomb, striking a dazzling balance between ice-cold, American Football-esque
fingerpicking and thick, speaker-ratting shred.
THEY SOUND LIKE the perfect thing to play when a fellow pop-punk fiend
passes you the aux cord, but also the perfect thing to bump alone when you just
need to zen out with some good ol’ fashion teen-angst-nostalgia jams.
YOU’LL DIG THEM IF YOU LIKE Tigers Jaw, Title Fight, Sorority Noise,
and telling your mate you’ll be at their place by 9:15, then not even getting
ready until 9:45 because you got carried away reorganising the vinyl collection
you voluntarily live below the poverty line to afford.
YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT last year’s bombshell Spooky Island EP.
The six-tracker spans a harshly short 19 minutes, but crams in a surplus of
kaleidoscopic emo noodling, mammoth pop-punk riffs and scene-stealing
basswork – there’s even a cute little ballad (“Bones”)! Our go-to highlight is
“1800”, though, with a bridge that channels Fever-era Panic! At The Disco and
Blink-ish drum fills that have us champing at the bit to let loose in the pit.
KING STINGRAY Photo: Sam Brumby
THEY ARE a mind-bending musical smoothie of surf, soul, funk and roots on
a base of the inimitable Indigenous rock stylings made iconic by acts like Yothu
Yindi. Founding members Yirrnga Yunupingu (vocals) and Roy Kellaway (guitar)
actually met as toddlers in Yothu Yindi’s touring entourage in the ‘90s, and it’s
clear as day that music runs through their families’ blood.
THEY SOUND LIKE the first sip of a cold beer after a scorching summer’s
day in the Australian outback; bold and refreshing, with stacks of character. And,
much like a good brew, they improve every music festival they’re present at.
YOU’LL DIG THEM IF YOU LIKE Yothu Yindi (of course), Warumpi
Band, The War On Drugs, and feeling the sand slink between your toes as you
scale the beach on a warm Saturday morning, taking in the soothing smell of
salt water and the sweet sounds of waves crashing over chirping seagulls –
then whipping out a surfboard and cutting sick like your life depended on it.
YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT the first two cuts of what we’re certain will
evolve into a truly Herculean discography: “Hey Wanhaka” and “Get Me Out”. Few
bands have managed to carve out such a prodigious identity with the first two
songs they put out, but you’ll only have to jam through them once to find out how
King Stingray pulled it off. Of course, that first jam will undoubtedly turn into a
second, and then a third, and then a fourth, and then... Well, you get the jist.
8 | SPOTLIGHT
Photo: Rift Photography
AXEL CARRINGTON
HAILS FROM PERTH, WA
PLAYS SOLO AND IN NEW TALK
SOUNDS LIKE DESTRUCTIVELY DYNAMIC ALT-ROCK WITH
EQUAL PARTS PASSION AND PUNCH
LATEST DROP TIME & MEMORY (LP OUT APRIL 9TH INDEPENDENTLY)
What’s your current go-to guitar?
My most recent acquisitions have been a mid-’00s Japanese Mustang – bought
off my good friend and fellow Perth musician Tanaya Harper – a Yamaha NTX3.
The Mustang is so light and whimsical, but still has a similar feel to the Jaguars
I adore. The Yami is the ultimate “chill out at home” guitar, and one I look
forward to exploring each and every day that I play it. I just wrote, recorded
and released a solo album under my own name using nothing but this gat!
How did you initially fall in love with the instrument?
My Dad (a.k.a. Big Nev) is a guitarist, as are my two brothers, so I was essentially
predetermined to play it. My first real guitar was one of his former ones, gifted
to me when I was around ten or 11 – it was a black Washburn from the mid-‘80s,
which I still have. It’s in a slightly different form now, but at the time it was so
liberating to have an instrument that had lived through some bizarre country
Victorian gigs, which I could add to the story of.
What inspires you as a player?
My favourite guitarists are John Fahey, the great American-primitivism maestro,
and Sonny Sharrock, the fire and brimstone shronk-jazz lord. They both taught me
that space is everything, that you can make noises on a guitar that the instrument
is not designed for, and that it’s important to always push yourself. I also try to
remember what great artists like Nina Simone, John Coltrane, Gareth Liddiard and
Joanna Newsom do in their work. Be yourself, even when you’re other people.
Are you much of a gear nerd?
I have far too may pedals – which are all weird and wonderful in their own
ways – but the two I really couldn’t live without are the MXR Blue Box and my
old silver screw Boss VB-2. My Blue Box is busted up beyond belief, but is the
cornerstone of my sound in New Talk. The VB-2 is a recent acquisition, which I
turn on during soundcheck and don’t turn off until packing up after the show –
I use it in every project I’m in now, because everything must be wild and wooly.
Do you have any ‘white whales’?
I’d love to go back to the day, about ten years ago, that I played a pre-CBS Purple
Jaguar in a store in Adelaide – only this time armed with ten grand and change.
Otherwise, I’m very much a happenstance kind of gear person and kind of
stumble onto things. I’d love to have an original EHX 16 Second Digital Delay, with
the gargantuan chips in it, to pair with my reissue and really go Frippertronic.
What would your signature model look like?
It would be exactly the same as my (almost completely exploded) ‘07 Japanese
Fender Jaguar, except cleaned of gunk and grime, and not on the verge of
disintegrating every gig. It’s currently held together by pins that my plumber
friend installed after a particularly hairy show in Fremantle. Do the Fender
Custom Shop also do Custom Duct Tape strap locks?
If you could jam with any guitarist, dead or alive...
I would trade it all to be a fly on the wall watching Ronald Jones layer his guitar
parts to The Flaming Lips’ Clouds Taste Metallic record. I would play nothing –
what else can you play to the “Evil Will Prevail” Lindsay Buckingham overdubs?
Nothing – you sit in silence and awe!
| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
Photo: Sam Van Munnen
KAI CULT
HAILS FROM MELBOURNE, VIC
PLAYS SOLO
SOUNDS LIKE FREAKY, FUZZY, PSEUDO-PSYCHY PUNK ROCK
LATEST DROP OK BOOMER (EP OUT NOW INDEPENDENTLY)
What’s your current go-to guitar?
My current go-to guitar is a red Fender Squier Jaguar, modded lovingly by Jon
Shub of Shub Guitars. I am a huge Nirvana and Sonic Youth fan, and I love
making weird noises from behind the bridge. I was on a huge Sonic Youth
YouTube binge one night and I was like, “Damn, I need to get myself an offset
just like Thurston Moore so I can pretend that I went to art school.” I love it
simply because it looks so damn cool, and at times has a mind of its own. It
needs heaps of TLC to be kept in check in live situations, though.
How did you initially fall in love with the instrument?
Honestly, it was a bit of an accident! No one in my family is musically inclined,
and I was never encouraged to play music. I was the weird goth in the back of
class and I hung out with a bunch of metalheads who loved bands like Slipknot,
Megadeth and Tool. They introduced me to the instrument, and soon enough I
was covering “The Heretic Anthem” in my very first high school band. My first
guitar was an Epiphone Les Paul Junior; I got it because it was simple – just
one pickup, light, and most importantly, cheap! Before that I was just learning
metal songs on a crappy classical guitar that I found on the side of the road.
What inspires you as a player?
My top influences would be Chino Moreno and Stephen Carpenter from
Deftones, Kurt Cobain, and Kevin Shields from My Bloody Valentine. To me,
music is all about the hook and having fun, which you can achieve with as little
as two chords. Chino would drone ethereal, dreamy shoegaze chords on his
six-string whilst Stephen would pound away driving riffs over on his eight-string.
Kevin would create howling, piercing soundscapes at unnatural volumes,
shaking buildings and shattering eardrums. I learnt all the main guitar scales
just for fun, but the best part about learning the rules is breaking them!
Are you much of a gear nerd?
Absolutely. I am always on the hunt to streamline and minimalise my process –
“less is more”, as they say. My favourite weapons are anything from Death By
Audio – especially the Fuzz War – and for amps, anything Marshall just rips!
I recently got a Boss Katana, which I highly recommend for its versatility,
cost and weight. You could play some bright and dreamy neo-soul chords,
then contrast it with the phattest stoner and doom riffs, and the amp will still
handle crushing bite of your fuzz of choice.
Do you have any ‘white whales’?
I’d love to get my hands on a baritone guitar – preferably an offset – and a
huge stack of Orange amps like Matt Pike from Sleep and High On Fire.
What would your signature model look like?
It would look like my candy apple red Jazzmaster/Jaguar, but baritone and
equipped with a crisp single-coil, a biting humbucker for contrast, and also a
pickup behind the bridge so I can do weird droning and ambient noises.
If you could jam with any guitarist, dead or alive...
Probably Theresa Wayman from Warpaint, or Omar Rodríguez-López from the
Mars Volta. Both of them just seem like absolute chillers, and I’d love to get
lost in a six-hour psychedelic/experimental jam with them.

Photo: Josh Pulford
JACK GRAY
HAILS FROM SUNSHINE COAST, QLD
PLAYS SOLO
SOUNDS LIKE SWEET AND SUMMERY ACOUSTIC POP
LATEST DROP “SELFISH” (SINGLE OUT NOW VIA WARNER)
What’s your current go-to guitar?
My go-to guitar is a Fender Stratocaster. My uncle gave me his Strat when
I was nine – it was the first electric guitar I ever had. I went through a
few different phases with guitars, like my Jazzmaster and my Gretsch
Electromatic, but I always find myself coming back to the Strat. It’s such a
universal guitar with a beautiful tone, and it feels so good to play.
How did you initially fall in love with the instrument?
My very first guitar was an Ibanez acoustic. It was my dad’s – he brought it
secondhand from a market 30 years ago. When I was six, I found it lying under
his bed and just became obsessed. My dad was in a band, and I looked up to
him – he was the drummer, but I wanted to find my own thing, so the guitar
under the bed did that for me. It’s this faded sunburst colour and has mould
on the body, but it just looks so beautiful. The action is super low so it’s really
nice to play, and easy to learn on. The neck is thin too, so when I was only six
my hand could fit around it. It has so much sentimental value that I wanted to
be able to use it onstage, so I replaced the machine heads, got it set up and
fitted LR Baggs Anthem pickups in it.
What inspires you as a player?
In high school, one of my favourite bands was Busby Marou. Every time they
came through town, I’d go to see them. Then I got the chance to support one
of their shows and hang out with them. Jeremy Marou became a massive
inspiration for my guitar playing at that time, and you can hear it when in my
solos. Then there’s John Mayer – it’s almost like he makes his guitar sing. You can
both hear and feel what he trying to convey by the notes he plays and how he
plays them. And then The 1975 – for them it’s more about the vibe, and less about
showing off how good they are. I take a similar approach in my recorded music,
but then let loose and get a bit self-indulgent in my live shows.
Are you much of a gear nerd?
I’m a massive gear nerd in the studio and with my production – that’s where I
spend most of my time learning and geeking out. But I do love a good pedal.
I just got this new MXR Carbon Copy analog delay that sounds super tasty!
And I love the Fulltone OCD overdrive pedal when I’m rocking out. Amp-wise I
normally just use a Fender Blues Junior or something with a similar tone. But
I grew up with a Line 6 Spider, which was really cool because it had all these
different effects and presets that covered all the bases.  your first one and you have it for a long time, and then you start opening up to
Do you have any ‘white whales’?
I kind of don’t. I feel like I should definitely have one, but haven’t really thought
about it lately. Although I have always wanted a vintage Mustang. I think they
look super cool, and it would be a great addition to the collection.
What would your signature model look like?
Off-white-on-white Fender Stratocaster with an ash body, maple neck, vintage
’50s-style single-coil pickups, a smaller streamlined headstock, with all the
metal in gold. That would do it for me!  I have no idea what we would play together, but just because I was a real
If you could jam with any guitarist, dead or alive...
Jimi Hendrix. One of my favourite songs is “Purple Haze” – I used to cover it
all the time. He’s such a tripper. I’d love to learn how to think outside the box
with my playing like he does so well.
|9
Photo: Isak Jenssen
MARIE ULVEN RINGHEIM
HAILS FROM HORTEN, NORWAY
PLAYS SOLO (AS GIRL IN RED)
SOUNDS LIKE KALEIDOSCOPIC INDIE-POP WITH AN EDGE
LATEST DROP IF I COULD MAKE IT GO QUIET (LP OUT APRIL 30TH
VIA AWAL)
What’s your current go-to guitar?
My current go-to is a Fender Telecaster. I’ve been fangirling over Telecasters
ever since I saw the vocalist of The Wombats with one when I was 15 or 16. He
had a blue one with a bunch of flowers on it. I got my first Telecaster when I
was 18 – I loved it, but now I have a really nice red one that Fender gave to me.
It’s really exciting because I feel like a cool rockstar when I get guitars sent in
the mail! It’s really good to play and just sounds great. I have a Fender amp as
well – it sounds great and I love the tone.
How did you initially fall in love with the instrument?
My first guitar was a nylon-string Morgan that I got for Christmas in 2012. I didn’t
really fall in love with it at first. I remember I put it back in the box and it stayed
there for a while, then I picked it up again and really started getting into it. I still
have that one. I never want to give it away since it’s a catalyst for the person
I am today. I don’t know if that counts as an “axe” because an axe sounds like
some hardcore electric guitar stuff, but that was really my first guitar!
What inspires you as a player?
It’s just seeing artists I’ve looked up to playing cool guitars and thinking, “Wow,
this baby blue Telecaster looks really cool.” I’ve never been like, “Wow, I want to
shred like Eric Clapton” or anything. I don’t really know who my main influences
would be – maybe it would be Taylor Swift. I’m a part of the Taylor Swift guitar
generation, and she was a real inspiration for me starting out.
Are you much of a gear nerd?
Mostly when it comes to production. I do have distortion pedals, reverbs, and shit
like that. Right now I have a Stomp pedal that you program shit onto, because
we’re changing the live setup a bit, and I bought some Helix pedals for my band.
I’m mostly into speakers and monitors and more production shit like plug-ins.
Do you have any ‘white whales’?
Not right now. I feel really content with everything I have. I recently got an
Acoustasonic, which I’d wanted for a while because it’s such a cool studio
instrument to play around with. I feel like I have everything I want right now,
which is weird to say as a guitarist because I think you can never have enough
guitars. My friend (and the guitarist in my band) had like 13 guitars at one
point and was like, “Yeah, I still want more!” It’s kind of an addiction. You get
the possibilities of getting more guitars and then never stop.
What would your signature model look like?
I’ve actually thought I could make a custom guitar with the ‘world in red’
theme. The body would be a world in red planet-shaped body with a maple
neck. I haven’t come that far in the design process for that guitar, but I want to
make something weird!
If you could jam with any guitarist, dead or alive...
Nirvana fan when I was younger and I went to this crazy music museum in
Seattle, I would probably want to hang out with Kurt Cobain and feel his vibe. I
want to look at him and smoke and then play his guitar. I feel like that image
of him smoking and playing guitar is imprinted into my head. Maybe we would
play “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. Let’s say I would sing and he would play guitar.
 THE ANTLERS HAYLEY WILLIAMS
Green To Gold FLOWERS for VASES / descansos
ANTI- ATLANTIC / WARNER
There’s no two ways The surprise sequel
about it: The Antlers’ to Hayley Williams’
comeback effort is synth-inflicted solo
simply delightful. debut, Petals For
Like a warm cup of Armor, puts the
tea and the smell of enigmatic Paramore
fresh earth on a dewy frontwoman in a
autumn’s morning, much gloomier and
the ultra-crisp more introspective
strumming, honeyed atmosphere. The
warbles and hypnotically dreamy vocal runs at slow-burning journey is strikingly analogue, Williams
play are downright idyllic and enthralling. It’s a laying her soul bare over a bed of raw, folky acoustic
DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 markedly more joyful offering from the indie-rocking guitars and warm, empyrean keys. Such visceral
Is 4 Lovers Brooklynites, lacking their once-signature undertone honesty and tangible intimacy makes the record
of existential anxiety. But it suits the record well, a bold and bewitching listen from cover to cover;
EVERYTHING ELEVEN / UNIVERSAL shifting between cruisy, snail-pace balladry and we’ve always known Hayley had a skill for earnest
bright, cantering indie-pop jams. The production is and emotive balladry, but Flowers For Vases ups the
IAbove
n an interview with
NME, Death From
1979 drummer
clean, but not plastic, the performances tight but
not over-wrung; it feels good to listen to – like you’re
ante tenfold with its soft and strained vocal runs and
wintry, understated melodies. It’s a truly enthralling
sitting in on a casual Sunday morning jam session with spread of strum and sonder, on which Williams fully
and vocalist Sebastien
the band, sharing smiles and nodding along as you embraces her Nashville origins and absolutely nails
Grainger described
all lose yourselves in the labrythnine soundscapes. every folky bend and atmospheric warble.
the making of “One +
One” – the lead single CITIZEN HOSPITAL BRACELET
from their equally
gruff and giddy fourth
Life In Your Glass World South Loop Summer
RUN FOR COVER / COOKING VINYL COUNTER INTUITIVE
album, Is 4 Lovers –
as a “karmic sequel” After winding us For an album with
to the band’s early down the rabbithole track names like
hit (and fan favourite) “Romantic Nights”. He explained of heavyhearted “Feral Rat Anthem”
that “it was just Jesse [Keeler, bass and synth] and I post-rock and heady and “Sober Haha Jk
jamming, and my wife was like, ‘This could be dancier – emo on 2017’s As Unless”, the debut
y’know, a little sexier?’ So we conceived a child and then You Please, nothing from the new-wave
I went home and rewrote the drums. It’s a bit of a nod could’ve prepared emo jammers in
to our first record. It’s got the beat-du-jour that we used us for the fearlessly Hospital Bracelet
when we were first coming up.” bold punch and is unpredictably
This intransigent sexiness is undeniable on the pomp of Citizen’s tight, earnest and
glitchy, groovy and gaudy “One + One”. But in a bounty career-defining fourth LP. Life In Your Glass World impassioned. There’s an enticingly grimy, lo-fi
of ways – and cheekily true to its title – Is 4 Lovers sees the Ohio trio acutely energised and amped right bite to the production at large and the strummy,
simply oozes sex appeal. There’s a piquant slick of the hell up, revelling in huge, headbang-inducing riffs overdriven leads that carry the faster and
funk and friskiness discernible at every turn, from
and a rhythm section that’s always nothing short heavier-hitting cuts along; but every performance
the brassy, flirtatious oomph of “Modern Guy” to the
of riveting. Perhaps it’s because they did the whole feels calculated and committed, noodly fingerpicked
warmhearted tenderness of “Love Letter”, to the
steamy, slow-burning back-alley swagger of “No War”. thing in-house (though you’d never tell – this record rhythm lines and emphatically strained vocal runs
So too is LP4 a love letter to the Canadian dance-punk sounds mighty sharp, with mixes always beautifully driving cuts that elicit as much emotion as they do
deviants’ halcyon days – the production is decidedly dense and dynamic), or that every track was built energy. The album ebbs and flows between raw,
messy, the guitars blown out and the drum fills either around beats instead of riffs. It’s an unashamedly battered emo slow-burners and bold, bombastic
razor sharp or dull and muddy. And therein lies its bouncy ride from start to finish, with splashes of punk anthems perfectly tailored for singalongs; if far
charm: it’s intentionally imperfect to elicit the authentic bassy funk and shimmery pop making cuts like “Blue too short, South Loop Summer is an unequivocally
sense of excitement their earlier works revelled in – the Sunday” and “Black And Red” immediate hits. razor-sharp and riveting listen.
visceral, near-superhuman adrenaline one would feel
watching Death From Above 1979 thrash and flurry to ERRA THE WEATHER STATION
their hearts content in a muggy college basement. Self-Titled Ignorance
What makes it all click is that the refined lucidity of UNFD FAT POSSUM / INERTIA
the Deathies’ songwriting, which over the years has When they come late Rich with deft
gifted us tighter leads and more impactful hooks, isn’t in a band’s tenure, and diverse
sacrificed at all on the record. It’s a more simplified self-titled albums instrumentation,
form the duo’s formula, but especially on tracks like tend to reflect radical mazelike production
the electro-flourished “Glass Houses” and propulsive stylistic departures – and breezy, lowkey
two-parter “NYC Power Elite”, that simplicity allows each rock bands going guitar lines that
stylistic peak and valley to really stand out. When they
pop, metal bands really come to life
leap from deep and emotive piano ballad to a brisk and
going rock, etcetera. on repeat listens,
battered hardcore sideswipe on “Glass Houses”, your
attention is immediately locked in. But fans of Alabama the fifth Weather
If you’re not already strapped in on the Death From shredders Erra need Station album is a
Above 1979 bandwagon, don’t bother with this disc – Is not panic, as LP6 is not some legacy-tarring fizzle true tour-de-force of conscionable musicality – it
4 Lovers is certainly Not 4 You. There’s nothing truly but a rich, concentrated distillation of everything comes three years after their self-titled effort, but it’s
revolutionary about the gritty noise-rock shredding or the fivesome excel at: punchy, pummelling riffs the kind of album most bands would spend decades
acerbic dance-punk breakdowns that pillar the half-hour down-tuned and drenched in distortion, bright choral slaving over. The stirring flourishes of strings, flute,
romp. But the duo don’t aim to reinvent the wheel here, leads that roar with luminous aplomb, and crunchy, saxophone, synth and so on add a sense of luminous,
and nor do they need to when it’s clear they’ve poured speaker-testing breakdowns that mosh-fiends will extraterrestrial whimsy to otherwise very pensive
every possible ounce of their passion and fervour into certainly fall head over heels for. Admittedly the and melancholic tunes; not a minute passes by
doing what they do best. The only real downside here is hourlong jaunt tends to overstay its welcome when without at least a flicker of something alluringly
that we’re not likely to see any of these jams come to life taken as one cohesive, cover-to-cover work. But when avant-garde, leading to what we’re confident is
onstage anytime soon. Sigh. you hop in for a track or two at a time, you’re in for The Weather Station’s most charismatic – and
WORDS: MATT DORIA a treat – a thick, fast and brutal-as-f*** treat.. effortlessly most exciting – record to date.

| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
©2020 Fender Musicial Instruments Corporation. FENDER, FENDER in script, STRATOCASTER, and the distinctive headstock commonly found on Fender Guitars and Basses are registered trademarks of FMIC. Yosemite is a trademark of FMIC. All rights reserved.

BLOOD,
SWEAT
AND
TRICKS
COME MAY, TIMELESS ROCKERS CHEAP TRICK WILL BE ONE OF THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL ACTS
TO PLAY AUSTRALIAN STAGES SINCE COVID KILLED THE TOURING SCENE. TO BOOT, THEY’RE
BRINGING WITH ‘EM A BRAND NEW ALBUM – THEIR 20TH!
WORDS BY MATT DORIA. PHOTO BY DAVID MCCLISTER.
I
t’s a lowkey Wednesday morning for Rick Nielsen:
the founding Cheap Trick-ster just wrapped up
some chores, he has the house to himself, and
aside from a few interviews he’ll do over Zoom, his
schedule is kept notably bare. When he jumps on the
line with Australian Guitar, he’s nestling a slick red ’62
Coronet – a Dwight model, though, not your typical
Epiphone. He twiddles around on the fretboard,
sharpening his chops on new material from the band’s
forthcoming 20th studio album, In Another World,
ahead of some monumental live shows Down Under
in May (where Cheap Trick will co-headline Under The
Southern Stars with Stone Temple Pilots and Bush).
Two minutes into our chat, as he strums a riff from
the new album’s Lennon-covering closer “Gimme
Some Truth”, he somehow tears his index finger open.
Blood slinks down his palm, he quips a cold “dang
it!”, and we instantly assume our chat has been cut
short by injury… But then Neilsen just… Keeps playing.
At 72, he couldn’t care less about a little string-split
skin. He keeps noodling away on the “Truth” chorus,
waxing lyrical about his love for Australian crowds
and Coronets. Cheap Trick have never been too heavy
with their shredding, but it’s undeniable that Nielsen
is metal as f***.
Anyway, there’s a lot to cover here: Cheap Trick’s
career-defining 20th album, their long-awaited return
to Australian shores, those one-of-a-kind Dwight
Coronets… Let’s power through the gore and get
chatting, shall we?
How did you want this record to best reflect
what Cheap Trick are and represent as a
band in 2021?
We just had songs, y’know? That’s basically how
we’ve always worked – we just went in with a bunch
of songs. One of the songs I didn’t play on, so when
somebody asked me what the toughest song to
record was, I said, “Well there’s one I can’t even play
yet, so I’ll have to get Robin to teach me!”
How many songs did you have ready to go
when you went into the studio?
Probably close to 20. There’s still stuff lying
around that we didn’t even get to.
So are you already thinking about LP21?
Sure! Why not? We still love to record, so I don’t
see us slowing down any time soon. We’re very
diverse, anyhow – y’know, we’re kind of heavy on
some stuff and real poppy on other stuff. We never
have let anyone typecast us into just one genre.
Did the significance of this being album #20
play into it at all?
Y’know, I didn’t even know what number album it
was! I’d go back and say, “Look, is this the 20th one? I
think it is…” Because we’ve had so many compilations
throughout the years, we’re on this soundtrack and
that playlist… We did three songs this year that
haven’t even been on any records – we did a Harry
Nilsson cover, we did David Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel”, and
we did a Beatles song for Howard Stern.
How important do you find it to keep
working on your technique?
Well y’know, I’ve always considered myself to be
a songwriter, not a guitar player. There’s so many
guys out there who are a million times better than
me, and I play almost exclusively by feel anyway. I
wish I would had practised more when I was new to
the guitar, but I think it’s too late now. So y’know, I
play what I play, and that’s it.
You’re also gearing up to head Down Under
this May. How does it feel knowing you’re
going to be one of the first overseas acts to
play here in almost 18 months?
It’s exciting! I keep getting texts from everyone
in our crew saying, “Rick, are we going this week?
When are we going!?”
The energy at these shows is going to be
insane. Just talking about it now, I’m getting
hyped up!
Australian crowds are always great like that.
We’ve loved Australia since the first time we went
there in 1978. You guys had a couple of number one
hit songs for us, which we didn’t have anywhere
else – that just proves how much you’re smarter
than the rest of the world [laughs].
Do you find the energy of Australian crowds
to be very unique?
Yeah – especially for a country that’s the same size
of the US, y’know? You’ve got a real heavy-duty rock
| 13
history, too, of course with AC/DC and before that
with The Easybeats. All the bands that came out of
there seem to have good singers and good players,
and they’re all just serious work hounds – you deliver
some good competition for the rest of the world!
There were a bunch of Australian acts that did a
compilation of Cheap Trick songs, too – I thought
that was very interesting! It was fun to see how other
artists put their own spin on that material.
So come April, you’re gonna have 20 albums
and 48 years worth of material to draw
from – how the hell do you decide on a setlist?
Well there’s the obvious stuff that we pretty much
have to play: “I Want You To Want Me”, “Surrender”,
“Dream Police”, “If You Want My Love” – those are
four anchors right there. And then we have so much
stuff that it’s like… Send me a list! We’ve done that
before – we did one big show 20 years ago where we
had Joey Ramone and Chris Cornell write our setlist
for us. We always have other bands sit and watch
us from the side of the stage; it’s Taylor Hawkins’
and Billie Joe Armstrong’s birthdays today, and
they’re both guys that come out to watch us play
on a regular basis, so if they’ve got any birthday
requests… Because what do we care what we play?
If somebody really wants to hear a certain song,
we’re more than happy to give it to them.
What can you tell us about the guitar you’re
plucking away on right now?
It’s a 1962 Dwight Coronet. It’s the same as the
Epiphone Coronet, but they made about 150 of these
for this one guitar store in east St. Louis – the owner’s
name was Dwight, obviously, and he sold more
Flying Vs in 1958 than any other dealer in the US. So
they gave him his own boutique model Coronet, and
they even slapped his name on the headstock. It’s
what Steve Marriott used to play. They were practise
guitars – they sold for $147 a piece – and I love them. I
actually have seven of them [laughs].
Seven! Goddamn! What is it about this axe
that you’re so hooked on?
Well for one, they don’t cost a million bucks! And
two, they’re just cool. They’re rare and they’re cool.
Find one for me, and when I come over I’ll buy it
from you!
14 | FEATURE

AND FREE
YVETTE YOUNG, ONE OF THE MOST GIFTED
AND INNOVATIVE GUITARISTS OF THE MODERN

STYLE – AND HOW YOU CAN FIND YOURS.

WORDS BY AMIT SHARMA. PHOTO BY HOWARD CHEN.

T
he last few years have witnessed the rise of
some truly astonishing guitar talents from
around the world – each striving to carve out
their own identity through the instrument, in the
hope of telling stories that have never been told.
Few, however, have felt as exciting as Yvette Young.
The Californian Ibanez endorsee and founding
member of Covet is someone who plays by her
own rules, using alternate tunings, fingerpicking,
two-handed approaches as core fundamentals to bring
out the ethereal and progressive sounds in her mind.
Having started out on classical piano and violin
and later taken heavy influence from the more
ambient soundscapes of shoegaze, she once jokingly
described her genre as “detail rock”, though in all
fairness it’s a term that fits quite spectacularly.
In this conversation, Young looks back on her
journey so far – the main challenges starting out,
the secrets behind her most complex passages, tips
for the pedalboard and what the future may hold for
her own sonic evolution…
by the Japanese band Toe. It was the song “Two fingerpicking and tapping you don’t want to travel
When you were starting to get more creative Moons” that I was trying to learn. I found out they the extra distance, with your picking hand jumping
with your guitar playing, what felt like the were using a different tuning, which to my ears back and forth.
biggest hurdles? sounded like FACGBE... Thank you, ear training! And You need to get used to it being one fluid motion
This is so funny, but I never really felt like I got good yeah, I just did it all by ear. I just sang each note and basing your picking hand around the 12th
on guitar. The way I spend my time is still very much until I found it. So that was my first experience and fret. A lot of my stuff is combining two-handed
based around improving. When I think about the term from then on I started understand the tuning more tapping with fingerpicking and chords. It’s like
‘good guitar’ I end up thinking about total virtuosic and finding my own melodies. combo-moves all the way [laughs]!
shredding. I admire that stuff a lot but I can’t do a lot
of the things all these monster players do. As for the more intricate aspects of your How much do you think about music theory
When I think about getting, it’s more about style, what would you say are the main when composing or improvising?
getting faster at conveying what I hear in my head challenges on the technique side? Although I grew up with theory, I hardly ever
and translating it to the fretboard. For me, that’s I think the most daunting thing is thinking about think about it. I don’t really think about modes or
when I feel like I’m good at guitar... When I can music totally polyphonically, which is when I’m anything because it’s so intuitive. This goes back
translate that vision instantaneously rather than sit doing the more elaborate tapping and fingerstyle to the ear training – it’s all there to help you get
around and dick around for a bunch of time! stuff. There are so many voicings within them. sounds out of your head and into the real world. In
Sometimes when I go from really chugging chords my childhood, I spent a lot of time studying
Is there anything you stumbled on that to hearing that, even I’m wondering how the hell to different types of music and understanding how
helped speed up that process? play it all at once. different notes relate to each other, identifying
Well, it all comes down to experience. I could The answer is always breaking it down into little those intervals and learning the rules of harmony
view that question a bunch of ways. For example, digestible parts. Because people always ask me and dissonance. So it was the ear training
with my tone it came down to playing around with how I write and memorise phrases that are not specifically that benefitted me the most.
lots of gear and getting to know the nuances of only intricate and long but also in compound time Oh, and being exposed to music that was more
different pedals, amps or simulators. So tonally, with meters that aren’t in straight 4/4. That’s a lot freeform in meter rather than 4/4 like a lot of pop
that will come from spending more time with my of stuff to think about while you play! And what music. That’s where it all grew from. If you expose
toys and amp. It’s good to know how each knob works for me is breaking it all down into little yourself to different things, it will naturally come
will affect your tone. pieces, even if it means going note by note and out. Get really good at knowing the intervals in
In terms of melody, translating those melodies then stringing it all together. your head before you’ve even played them. And
from my mind to the instrument – that came from That’s still my process to this day. It’s like I having a long musical memory really helps too,
a lot of ear training. And my classical background just pick up the guitar and immediately play long because I can store those phrases in my head
played a big part there. I also think playing in so phrases. Every part is really thought-out and without having to constantly refresh. If you want
many different tunings, rather than sticking to deliberate. Maybe for other guitarists it’s more to build up the strength of your ear, instead of
standard, made it difficult for me to memorise shapes improvisational or simpler chord structures, but looking up tabs try to do everything by ear! See if
because I’m constantly changing the notes of each with my stuff you can’t do it all at once. It’s one step you can actually hear it.

AND NOW, OUR FEATURE PRESENTATION
IF GRETA VAN FLEET NEVER TOOK OFF, THERE’S A GOOD CHANCE THE KISZKA BROTHERS WOULD’VE
WOUND UP IN FILM. BUT WHY NOT EMBRACE THEIR CINEMATIC SIDE ANYWAY? WHAT IF THEY MADE AN
ALBUM STATELY ENOUGH TO RIVAL EVEN THE MOST ICONIC OF FILM SCORES?
WORDS BY MATT DORIA. PHOTO BY ALYSSE GAFKJEN.
I
f there’s one thing filmmakers like Christopher
Nolan understand (because it certainly isn’t
storylines that make sense – did y’all see TENET!?),
it’s the importance of music to make gripping action
scenes and grandiose set pieces feel all the more
intense. A good film score can be the difference
between a bargain-bin flop and an Oscar-winning
classic – especially in the hands of a prodigious
composer like Hans Zimmer or John Williams.
But what if you flipped the script (pun intended)
and approached a non-visual music project with
the ethos of cinematic filmmaking? Of course
rock operas are nothing new in 2021, but what if
you went beyond the typical structure of one, and
treated it as though you were scoring a blockbuster
epic that didn’t exist?
These are the questions Greta Van Fleet set out
to answer with their bold and bombastic second
album, The Battle At Garden’s Gate. Following 2018’s
critically adored Anthem Of The Peaceful Army, the
hard-rocking heavyweights looked to up the ante
a thousandfold – the riffs are bigger, the hooks are
catchier, and the solos are more ball-strainingly
insane. If they keep progressing at the rate they
are now, we’re scared their next album will end up
banned for causing widespread heart attacks from
its sheer intensity.
As guitarist Jake Kiszka fills us in, The Battle At
Garden’s Gate is the result of years spent honing the
band’s craft, and proof that sometimes getting a
bit ahead of yourself in the conceptual stages of a
project can really pay off.
What did you learn from making Anthem Of
The Peaceful Army that informed how you
wanted to approach this record?
I think there were some characteristics of our
playing and style on that album that we identified
with, and some of those carried over. But ultimately,
once you’ve created and released a record, it lives
in a past space. So as much as some of our earlier
characteristics did inform this record, it also kind
of informed itself to a certain degree. The album
evolved as we wrote it; we had some objectives
that we wanted to try executing on this album,
like the ambition to create something that was
vastly dynamic and very dense. We wanted to
create something orgasmic and cinematic – which
I guess is an ode to a lot of what our childhood was
like. We were raised in a house that wasn’t just
super musically influential, but also literarily and
philosophically. We were inspired by a lot of film
and visual media, and a lot of those elements
went into the creation of this album.
You can tell by the title alone that
when you put this record on, you’re
in for a pretty cinematic journey.
For sure. And as soon as we had
the idea for a rock ’n’ roll album that
had this sort of cinematic aura fixed
around it, I started listening to a lot of
Hans Zimmer. We’d go up into the countryside, or
somewhere like Chattanooga, Tennessee, and we’d
be writing, and in-between sessions I would just be
hanging out and listening to Hans Zimmer scores. So
I’m sure some of that informed part of the writing.
In terms of your technicality – in particular,
your soloing technique – how did you want this
record to reflect your evolution as a player?
I definitely wanted to challenge myself. Blues
would be my dominant influence as a player, and I
suppose our primary influence as a collective. So
I asked myself, “Okay, how do I apply these blues
elements to what we do, and something cinematic,
and something rock ’n’ roll?” It was kind of
challenging, but I guess it’s also kind of symphonic
in that same sense – the guitar is playing a melody,
and you can apply that to music in orchestral sense
as well, because orchestral music is both very
melodic and cinematic. A lot of the melodies I was
writing for the guitar were crafted in the mindset
of wanting them to sound more like a violin, or a
more symphonic instrument. I think that helped me
navigate through some of those challenges.
The guitar and violin are two very different
instruments, but you can approach them both
in very similar ways.
I think so! I’ve always seen the guitar and violin
being two very common sort of instruments – not so
much in a physical sense, but more in a melodic sense.
I remember when the last album came out,
you were all about this beautiful ’61 Les Paul
SG. Is that still your daily driver?
Yeah! I used that mainly on the album. It’s
something I’m very used to. My first guitar was an
SG with P-90s on it – it was actually the same type of
model Pete Townshend would play – so I was drawn
to the ’61 Les Paul because of the similarities to that.
| 15
There was one other really cool guitar that I was
able to use on this album, which was a 1959 ES-335.
It was factory black, and there are only something
like six of those in existence – that we know of, at
least. And that was pretty crazy – I just had a friend
hop in and be like, “Hey, do you want to use this?”
And I was just like, “Dude, are you kidding me!?” I
think Keith Richards has one, Johnny Marr has one,
and John Shanks has one… Yeah, it was a really
cool experience to play something like that.
It’s one of those rock ’n’ roll holy grails!
Yeah, it’s one of those types of guitars you’d only
ever expect to see in a museum, except I got to
actually play one. It was pretty outrageous.
Do you reckon part of that Les Paul’s charm
is that you’ve kept everything stock and let
it live the rock ’n’ roll life that Gibson set it
out for all those decades ago?
I guess it’s like an old car – it still runs the way
it was built to run. There weren’t any corners cut,
and you can hear the life it’s lived in that sense. I
mean, I absolutely brutalise the poor bastard every
once in a while, it’s pretty beat-up, but it sounds
amazing. I suppose the guitar had to take that
journey, though – it had to really live a life to have
the kind of voice it does.
Guitars are made for playing, man.
Exactly! That’s the philosophy I have behind
every guitar I get my hands on. Like what do you
want to do, put it in a case and hang it on the wall?
What’s the point of that!?
So when can we expect to see your name on
a signature model?
I’ve been thinking about it! But I don’t know – I’d
have to conceptualise it first, I guess, so who knows
when that day will come?
16 | FEATURE
REVENGE
OF THE
SICK
PACKED TO THE BRIM WITH SOME OF THEIR DARKEST,
TIGHTEST AND MOST UNEXPECTED MATERIAL YET, NOFX TAKE
AN UNFORGIVINGLY FIERCE LEAP FORWARD WITH ALBUM #14.
WORDS BY MATT DORIA. PHOTO BY JONATHAN WEINER.
T
he past few years have been kind of intense
for NOFX ringleader Fat Mike, between a
relapse in his old drug habits, the tragic
loss of some close friends, struggles with gender
identity, controversy over touchy jokes… Probably
some things we as fans don’t even know about, too.
So it stands to reason that what NOFX followed up
2016’s First Ditch Effort album, the material would be
some of their darkest. And it is: Single Album – the
Californian skate-punk staples’ 14th LP – features
some truly gut-wrenching lyrics, and some musical
nodes that border on metallic in heaviness.
Of course, the album does also feature plenty of
NOFX’s signature piss-taking (in more ways than
one) punk-rock joviality – like on “Linewleum” (not
a typo), which touches on the band’s confusion
towards their own success, and takes aim at all
the stale Fat Wreck copycats that think covering
“Linoleum” will draw Mike’s attention (it will, but
not how you’re probably hoping). It’s also their best
record since 1994’s Punk In Drublic – a huge call, we
know, but one we’re firmly standing by.
As the band enjoy their well-earned return to the
spotlight, Australian Guitar catches up with guitarist
Aaron “El Hefe” Abeyta to chat all about what led
them there.
So as the title of this record hints at, this
was originally going to be a double album,
but that plan obviously ended up changing.
What led to that decision?
I think because we’re also going to record
something else soon. I’m not supposed to say
anything about that, but oh well [laughs]. So we
decided to hold off and keep working on more
material – which is what we’re doing right now. We
didn’t stop making music after we finished the album,
and we’re still working on new songs at the moment.
Do you think this record benefitted from the
fact that it was originally going to be so much
bigger, since you were able to pick the cream
of the crop from that pile of songs?
Definitely. The more songs to choose from, the
merrier, because you get to just choose the best ones
from that pile. And when Mike had written something
like 50 songs before we went in to do this one, it was
very easy to fill a CD with hits.
Between the progressive burn of “The Big
Drag”, the sleazy reggae vibes of “Fish In A
Gun Barrel” and that twangy intro on “Doors
And Fours”, it’s clear there’s still plenty of
room for innovation in NOFX. Are you still
excited to experiment with different styles
and playing techniques, even after so many
years in the band?
Most definitely, yeah! Even with the horns as well,
figuring out new ways to play and going for a more
New Orleans-esque style of trumpet playing – it’s got
that jazzy “wow-wah” kind of sound. It’s always cool
to experiment and try new things.
Speaking of songs like “The Big Drag” and
“Fish In A Gun Barrel”, those are definitely
some of the more serious, real-life-ish NOFX
songs. But then of course you’ve also got ones
like “F*** Euphemism” and “Linewleum”,
which are those classic off-the-wall, total
piss-take jams. How do you hit that balance
between the darker shit and the looser, more
lighthearted punk rock stuff?
I think it’s part of who we are, y’know? We do like
to clown around a lot and poke fun at each other –
and poke fun at the audience. But then there’s also
those deep, serious moments of reflection on what’s
going on in the world and what’s going on in our
personal lives – and we’re older now, so there’s a lot
more sad shit to write about [laughs].
It makes the live show cool as well because
you can bounce between those different
moods and atmospheres.
Oh, for sure! The more variety, the better. Then
things don’t get old, y’know? If you’re constantly
going fast and trying to get mosh pits going for the
whole show, it gets boring real fast. Especially when
the bands that open for you are going fast the whole
time, by the end of the night you’re standing there
like, “Oh man, this is killin’ me!”
You’ve always been pretty synonymous with
the Fender Telecaster. Is that still your go-to
guitar at the moment?
The Telecaster is what I play live, yeah – it’s just
what I’m comfortable with and what I’ve always
played; when I auditioned for NOFX, I was playing
that exact guitar. It’s great because the tone really
cuts through live – but in the studio, I don’t use it at
all. In the studio it’s mostly Les Pauls, sometimes
Fender Jazzmasters and a few other types of guitars.
It depends on the song, and the sound and vibe that
we’re going for. And as far as the amps, the heads
and all of that goes, we always experiment and try
to find the right sound for the right song. So I’m not
always stuck to the Telecaster – that’s my live go-to
for sure, but it doesn’t sit well in the booth.
Do you find that playing the Tele live brings a
different flavour the songs after you record
them on other kit?
No, it still feels the same to me, it’s just a different
guitar in my hand. It’s a different environment, for
sure – but even then, whether it’s a big venue or a
small club, the atmosphere always feels the same;
the energy is the energy, y’know?
So what did your recording setup for this
album look like?
Man, I don’t even remember what we used. We
always have some sort of hot-rodded Marshall in
there. Mesa Boogie Stilettos are always used a
lot, too. I don’t know if you’ve seen photos of us in
the studio – a lot of us post on Instagram – but we
have all these stacks of heads lined up – six, seven,
eight heads – and we have them all going through
a custom-built patching system. The producer will
switch us through every amp, and we’ll try our guitars
out through every single one. We’ll find one that
works and be like, “Ah, I like that one there!” And it’s
usually a combination of a head and a cabinet that’s
in the other room. And then when the album comes
out, people go, “What did you use to record that one
song?” But because we had so much gear and went
through so many different combinations of guitars,
amps and heads, I’m always stumped for an answer.
There were so many things in that room! There was
a Fender Bassman amp, a Silvertone, a Mesa Boogie
Mark V… It really depends on the song, y’know?
Are you much of a pedal nerd?
I do use a few little bits and pieces here and there.
If it’s a reggae song, I will use the MXR EVH Phase
90. Or for an ending of a song or a little piece in the
middle, I’ll use the EVH Flanger – it’s the classic Eddie
Van Halen “choong, choong, choong” tone – you know
the tone on “And the Cradle Will Rock...”? I won’t play
a whole song with that on, but it adds an interesting
little flavour there for a few seconds. I do use a lot of
the Dunlop Crybaby for the solos, too, that’s always a
staple on the board.

PRAYERS FOR PUNKS
PROVING THEMSELVES TO BE THE BAND NOT EVEN GOD
CAN PUT A STOP TO, THE MELVINS RETURN WITH ANOTHER
SLICK AND SPICY STACK OF BELTERS.
WORDS BY MATT DORIA. PHOTO BY MELVINS.
E
very Melvins fan seems to have a different
perspective on how many albums the
longstanding alt-metallers have slapped their
name on. Are we strictly talking studio albums with
ten or more tracks? What about the distinction
between the stock-standard Melvins, Melvins Lite and
Melvins 1983? Do collaborative albums, b-side comps,
bootlegs or EPs count? What about Buzz Osbourne’s
solo work, since there’s often overlap between the
Melvins crew and his own band?
Whatever number you settle on, don’t get too used
to it – the Washington state alt-metallers are as busy
as they’ve ever been, having just dropped their latest
full-length with the Melvins ’83 lineup, Working With
God, with another massive project set to land before
the year’s end. Osbourne is determined to make the
2020s another landmark year for the project he’s
slaved away on since age 19, and though many of his
peers have long since succumbed to creative drought,
industry burnout or arthritis (the lattermost any
guitarist’s worst possible nightmare), Osbourne has
never had so many god-tier ideas.
For now, though, let’s embrace the Melvins’ latest
bright, boomy and surprisingly brutal studio effort,
as Osbourne walks us through the story behind
Working With God.
What’s the creative dynamic like between
you three compared other Melvins lineups?
Well Dale and I live in Los Angeles, and Mike lives
in Washington state. For those that don’t know, that’s
about 1,200 miles north of us; it’d be like we lived in
Adelaide and him in Brisbane, y’know? So it’s not like
we can rehearse all that often. Plus Mike’s a union
machinist, he has kids, a wife and a house, etcetera –
so he can’t be in Melvins mode all the time. Whereas
Dale and I, we’re professional musiciansದwe play all
day, every day – and so when we want to do something
with Mike, Dale and I have to work on stuff without
him, then send him the songs, then fly him down on
a Thursday night after work so he can take Friday off,
go into the studio, record Friday, Saturday and early
Sunday, and then fly home Sunday night. We did that a
couple of times, and then we had the record done.
It’s kind of crazy to think that Working With
God is your 24th (proper) studio album – by
this point, realistically, the creative well
should’ve run dry years ago. What keeps it
full for you?
I just kind of think about what I want to do, and
dream it up from there. I can write songs all the
time – although I haven’t been as prolific as normal
during the pandemic, because I don’t really want to
record a bunch of new songs and then not be able
to do anything with them. But Mike and I have been
friends since high school, and it was obvious when
we started playing together in ’82 or ’83 that if I was
going to do anything with music, I would have to get
out of Washington. But he was not going to move – he
literally lives less than a mile from the house he came
home to after he was born. So he wasn’t destined to
leave the area, and it wasn’t realistic for me to think
that was ever going to happen. But we’ve remained
friends ever since, and it’s nice for us to be able to get
back together and play music every so often. I can’t
think of any other band that would do that.
You’re on the same wavelength, creatively.
That, and the fact we both have really dark senses
of humour – which I think is fairly evident on this
record. It’s evident on all our records, really. Our band
is called Melvins – how tremendously serious can we
be? We take the music very seriously, but we still have
massive admiration for bands like The Fugs. We’re like
The Fugs and Captain Beefheart with heavy metal.
Some of your guitar parts on this record are
absolutely ripping. Were you keen to really
tap into your inner shredlord?
Well I’ve always been able to do that kind of stuff, I
just never practised it that much. I just never saw the
point, y’know? I never really wanted to do that stuff,
even though I can do it. There’s a saying in golf where
they say, “Don’t practise stuff you’re not going to do.”
As much as I appreciate players like Eddie Van Halen,
| 17
that style never really spoke to me in a way that made
me want to do that. I never really cared about that. I
was more kind of bluesy based I guess – I was trying to
be like Billy Gibbons crossed with Andy Gill from Gang
Of Four, mixed in with a bit of Throbbing Gristle.
So what brought the heaviness out of you on
this record?
I don’t know… I write whatever songs come to
mind. If you told me to write a heavy metal song, I’d
go, “Okay!” I can sit down and start riffing away ’til I
figure something out in one way or another; I don’t
have a lot of rules when it comes to playing the guitar.
I can do lots of stuff in odd tunings and try different
things out to inspire myself, but I’ve never been
formally trained. Even though I write almost all the
stuff I play, I don’t know how to read a bar of it.
It’s always better to go with what’s in your
heart, not in a book.
I think so! I have a much more neanderthal
approach to the guitar – the solo on “Hund” is lots
of fast triplets, but that stuff isn’t too hard. The hard
part is the odd timing of the rhythms – that stuff is
harder to figure out than the soloing. But soloing is
something I think is really important, and I have a
strange approach to it – it’s not really jamming, it’s a
lot more meticulous. I’m glad we brought up “Hund”,
because I think that solo is particularly good.
How’d you come up with it?
I just sat there with my guitar and played until I
figured something out that I really liked, and that
worked with the song. That rhythm part under was
particularly interesting to solo over because it’s kind
of herky-jerky, and there’s no rhythm guitar in it. It’s
drums, bass and one guitar. I like to write solos over
parts that don’t have any rhythm guitar, so it stands
out a little better.
Well if you have a great solo, why not give it
the spotlight?
Yeah! I mean sometimes it doesn’t make much of a
difference to the song as a whole, but it’s like, we’ve
written and recorded more than 500 songs – what can
we do to keep it fresh? We record in a million different
ways and try all kinds of things – I rarely use the same
setup live that I do in the studio, for example. I have
a lot of guitars that I use in the studio, which I couldn’t
use live because they’re not set up right. In the studio,
you don’t have to worry about things like pickup
switching and how the equipment will translate
to certain pieces
of gear.
18 | FEATURE
BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY
TO MAKE THEIR BOLDEST ALBUM YET, EVANESCENCE TAPPED INTO A WORLD OF INTERNAL IRE.
WORDS BY MATT DORIA. PHOTO BY P.R. BROWN.
F
or their first record of entirely new material
in a full decade, Evanescence have cranked
the volume well past 11. As its title implies,
The Bitter Truth is an absolutely ferocious dose of
the band’s signature goth-rock grandeur. It’s dark,
stormy and authentically impassioned, condensing
not only ten years of pent-up musical ire, but the
genuine frustrations of the fivesome being forced
to create it in less-than-ideal conditions – thanks,
of course, to 2020’s whole “modern-day plague
outbreak” situation.
The environment that fostered The Bitter Truth
was shrouded in vexation – for starters, border
closures meant guitarist Jen Majura was stuck
in Germany while the band recorded in the US;
meanwhile, constant setbacks to meeting dates and
release plans meant the record endured a notably
messy writing and recording process. But the end
product stands as a testament to Evanescence’s
resilience – between the mind-melting lyrics,
next-level production, and riffs that cut through
the mix like a hot knife through butter, it’s easily
some of the Arkansas crew’s best work yet.
As Majura gears up to finally reunite with her
bandmates, she, alongside co-shredder Troy
McLawhorn, sat down to vibe on the chaos that led
them to The Bitter Truth.
How does it feel now that you’re finally in the
home stretch with The Bitter Truth?
Jen: It feels incredible. The sound of these songs,
and the meaning behind them, really mirrors what
was going on in 2020. When we started writing the
album, we didn’t even know the world ‘pandemic’.
We met up at Nick’s [Raskulinecz, producer] studio
in Nashville last February to record the first four
songs, and when we all went to the airport to fly
home, we were like, “Okay, goodbye, see you next
month!” And then the next month never came.
That was the last time I saw Amy and the guys.
But they were all able to meet up in the States, so
they started writing again and sent me everything
via email, and I would record some DI stuff and
send it over to Nick. It was weird. I just miss Amy
and the guys so much! When you spend so many
years together, and then all of a sudden you’re
disconnected because of something like a pandemic,
it’s like, “…Woah.” So you can really hear the
heaviness of 2020 in the songwriting, y’know? All
the songs are very… They’re real. I think it’s a very
beautiful, very meaningful, very real album.
How did you want The Bitter Truth to build
on what you’d established creatively with the
first four Evanescence albums?
Troy: I was just excited to make another record.
Even though I’d been with the band since 2007, our
third album was the first one that I actually played
on. And when we went in to do that record, we’d
been apart for a really long time, so I still felt like
a new member; I didn’t really have a lot of input on
the songwriting. So now that I’d been in the band
for almost 14 years, I was really excited to do this
album. For starters, it was the first rock album –
like, full-on electric album – that we’ve done since
the self-titled one. But I was also excited because I
felt comfortable enough to bring in ideas and share
in the songwriting.
We were all gelling really closely in the studio,
so there was a lot of excitement in that. I wasn’t
thinking so far ahead as to how we were going to
change our sound, or anything like that. I feel like
a lot of things have already been done – it’s really
hard to be super original these days, as far as riffs
and things like that go. But the tone of the album,
and the lyrical content, and the overall themes… I
just wanted it to be heavy as shit, y’know? I was like,
“Man, I can’t wait to play some really crazy stuff!”
And Amy was totally onboard with that!
We head in a lot of different directions on this
one, I think. I like that. I’ve always been a fan of
bands that aren’t afraid to branch out. I hate when
I see a band keep writing the same songs over and
over again.
A title like The Bitter Truth is a pretty bold
statement in itself. Was it cathartic for you to
pour a lot of the heaviness and angst you
were feeling into this record?
Jen: I think it turned out way heavier than we first
expected. If you listen to the lyrics and you really pay
attention to the core of all the songs, there’s a lot
of pain and a lot of headiness. It’s very reflective of
how we felt in 2020 – we were stuck in something we
didn’t know anything about, and we still don’t know
where the journey is going – and you can hear all of
that in the songs. But for me personally, it’s one of
the most beautiful ways an album can turn out.
It’s not like we’re complaining, going, “Oh my
God, there’s a pandemic, everything is so bad, we’re
all gonna die!” It’s more about the questioning,
the insecurity, the uncertainty… And I don’t think
that’s necessarily down to the fact we’re musicians,
y’know? Everybody is feeling the same way right
now. Nobody knows where this whole pandemic is
going to throw us. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich,
poor, black, white – every human being is in the
same boat, and that is completely what I feel is
reflected in the vibe of this album.
Do you see the guitar as a tool you can use to
convey emotions of its own, independent
from Amy’s lyrics?
Troy: Yeah, definitely. I never start with the
lyrics when I’m writing a song – it always starts
with the guitar, because that’s my main instrument.
I wanted the guitars to be angry and heavy and…
Y’know, big, dumb rock ’n’ roll guitars [laughs]. I
was really excited about shredding on this album!
When we did the touring cycle for Synthesis, it was
a little tough on the band because we weren’t really
playing our instruments. I was playing synthesiser
guitars, and there was no heaviness in it for me in
it. So y’know, I was excited to get back to what I’m
used to doing, which is being in a rock band!
Jen: For me, the guitar is a lot more than a piece
of wood with strings screwed into it – the guitar is a
part of me, and I use it to translate my own feelings
and emotions. And of course Amy is a fantastic lyric
writer; we have this one song, “Better Without You”,
and when I heard her sing that song for the first
time, I just wailed; I cried like a baby, because she
has such a great talent for putting emotions into
words and creating these awesome lyrics that are
so touching, and so emotional.

RISE OF THE ALPHA DOGS
FOR THE DUTCH SYMPHONIC METALLERS IN EPICA, A BIG YEAR BACK ON THE PROWL
MEANS A BIG ALBUM TO KICK IT OFF.
WORDS BY MATT DORIA. PHOTO BY TIM TRONCKOE.
I
n true Epica fashion, album #8 is a stately,
sprawling epic of incalculable proportions.
Omega may run for 70 minutes, but from
the first glassy and ethereal synths of “Alpha –
Anteludium” to the tremendous, towering
crescendo of “Omega – Sovereign of the Sun
Spheres”, the record simply breezes past.
It’s a calculated refinement of the craft Epica
have now spent two decades honing: part
blunt and brutish metal onslaught, and part
Broadway-esque orchestral masterstroke. This
time, however, the two sides aren’t so much
clashing as they are complimentary; as rhythm
guitarist Mark Jansen tells Australian Guitar, the
idea with Omega was to explore the polychromatic
peaks and valleys that two disparate styles of
music can accomplish.
So this is the first record of original Epica
material in five years – did you take a break
from songwriting after The Holographic
Principle, or has this LP been in the works
since then?
No, we took a bit of a break. But in-between
The Holographic Principle and this album, there
was still two EPs and a book, so we were still
hard at work. But we felt like we needed a little
break to recharge the batteries, so we took a
break from doing full albums. And it really was
worth it in the end, because when we started
writing [Omega], we felt like we were full of
new energy and full of inspiration. I think from
now on, that will be a nice way to work – to do
an album, take a little break, and then go back
to work. And now due to the pandemic, we’re
already on another break – so maybe the next
album will come a bit faster!
Did you find that doing those other projects
aided in the creative spark that informed
this record?
Yeah, definitely. I also released an album with
my other band, MaYan [Dhyana], and that really
helped my creativity in Epica. It’s good to get
out of your comfort zone – for me, Epica – and
challenge yourself to work with some other
people. That way when you come back to what you
know, you’re also recharged because of that. I love
that diffraction. As a person, I cannot stand when
things stay the same for too long; things have to
constantly be in motion. That way when I head
back to do a new Epica project, I’m fully into it
Were there any new techniques you were
keen to explore on this record?
Yeah. The new techniques mainly come from
Isaac – he studied music in university, so he’s
very good at the technical aspects and the
theory. Every time he comes up with something
interesting, I try to copy it [laughs]. I learn a lot
just by playing his parts – whenever I have to
study the parts that he wrote for me, it’s like going
one level up. It’s nice that a new guy can not only
add a lot to the table in terms of composition, but
also make me a better guitar player. And on this
record, for the first time actually, we wrote a full
song together. We wrote “Kingdom Of Heaven,
Part 3” together. It’s strange that it took so long,
but I’m glad we finally did it.
I love the way the guitars ebb and flow with
the orchestral elements on this record –
something Epica has really made a name for
itself with over the years. Do you see the
guitar almost like an extension of the string
section, in a sense?
Yeah. When we made The Holographic
Principle, we tried to make both elements equally
heavy, so it sometimes sounds like the guitars
and the orchestra are battling with each other;
they are in competition with each other. But for
[Omega], like you said, it was more about the ebb
and flow – sometimes we’d have the guitars more
prominent and the orchestra sitting a bit more
to the back, and sometimes it would be the other
way around. And this way, I think the guitars
sound a lot more heavy when they’re supposed
to be heavy, and the orchestral parts sound a lot
| 19
more beautiful when they’re supposed to. They’re
not in competition with each other anymore, but
actually make each other stronger. I think this
approach to mixing is more beneficial for the
guitars in the end, too, because they get more
space to stand out.
It toes that line between beauty and
brutality.
Exactly. It was a big decision, but I set very
clearly before we started making this album that
my goal for it was to have a more dynamic mix.
Because it’s a pity that you sometimes lose detail
when you push everything to the limit. The mix on
this album is more transparent – it’s exactly how I
wanted it to be.
What guitars did you have in the fold this
time around?
I always use my Ibanez guitars, and Isaac is
more of a Gibson guy. The amps we use are the
Bogner Uberschalls – they have such a great
sound – and we also make use of Positive Grid
guitar amp simulators. These amp simulators are
so good nowadays that you almost can’t hear the
difference anymore. We still use the real thing in
the studio however, because even if it’s only that
tiny percentage better, you have to go for the best.
But I’m in love with those simulators for when I’m
writing; in the past I didn’t want to have anything
to do with them, but nowadays they’re so good
that I use them exclusively for demos.
Especially when you’re doing stuff at home,
there’s a lot more freedom with simulators.
Exactly. My home studio is getting smaller and
smaller; I’ve been using the same laptop I use for
these interviews to record demos. I have Logic
Pro X installed on this, and then I have a Zoom
G1 processor that I can plug my guitar into and
record my riffs. Even when I’m on a plane and I
have an idea for a guitar riff, I can program in the
MIDI guitars and use the same effects that I use
for my playing.
20 | FEATURE
‘TILL DEATH DO US PART
WE OFTEN HEAR ABOUT HOW MUSIC HAS THE POWER TO SAVE LIVES; FOR THE PRETTY RECKLESS
FRONTWOMAN TAYLOR MOMSEN, IT WAS MAKING MUSIC THAT PULLED HER BACK FROM THE EDGE.
WORDS BY MATT DORIA. PHOTO BY INDIRA CESARINE.
D
espite the LP’s notably bleak title, Death
By Rock And Roll is actually what saved The
Pretty Reckless from an early grave. After
the sudden death of close friend (and timeless
grunge icon) Chris Cornell on May 18th, 2017,
the New York hard-rockers were shaken to the
core. Anyone in their position would be – Cornell
committed suicide mere hours after fronting a gig
with Soundgarden, for which The Pretty Reckless
served as its opening act. They were some of
the last people Cornell spent time with, and the
significance of as much sent the band into a deep
depressive spiral.
In particular, frontwoman Taylor Momsen hit rock
bottom hard and fast. Songwriting was the least of
her concerns – especially when less than a year after
Cornell’s passing, The Pretty Reckless’ longtime
collaborator and go-to producer, Kato Khandwala,
was killed in a motorcycle accident. Drugs and
isolation defined the next couple years of Momsen’s
life, until a random glint of creative motivation
sparked up. Momsen clung onto the morsel for dear
life, pouring her agony out on paper less in the form
of structured, aforethought lyrics, and more in a
desperation-fuelled stream of consciousness. Little
of it made any sense, but in time, Momsen was able
to salvage key lines and thematic nodes with which
to build the framework of an album.
The end result is not only a monolithic rebirth
for The Pretty Reckless, but easily their most
impassioned and intense body of work to date. At
face value, Death By Rock And Roll is an operatic epic
packed with hugely emotive, musically towering
cuts that condense and amplify everything the band
does best. Beyond that, it’s effectively what pulled
Momsen back from the brink of her own demise.
With the record out and generating inhuman levels
of praise, Australian Guitar caught up with Momsen
to dig a little deeper.
Especially given how chaotic the journey up
to this point has been, how do you feel now
that you’ve finally been able to unleash this
beast into the wild?
It’s surreal, honestly. We finished the album a
little over a year ago, but we’ve been sitting on it
due to the world’s circumstances – the fact that it’s
finally out almost doesn’t feel real. It’s crazy, in the
best way possible. I’m so happy to be able to share
it, and people can finally listen to it. I’ve been
| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
holding onto it for dear life for the past year, and
now it’s suddenly out there in the world! It’s like
sending your child off to college and going, “Okay,
do me proud! I hope I raised you well!”
I love how the record ebbs and flows between
these really big, balls-to-the-wall rock ’n’ roll
moments, and some more atmospheric,
sometimes orchestral-based sections. Was
that flow between the highs and lows
something you wanted to really dial in on?
Yeah, for sure. I don’t know exactly how
calculated everything is, but this record came
from a lot of places. We went through a lot of loss
in the past few years, and this record is really
the culmination of all that. I got very down as a
person, I fell into a very dark hole of depression
and substance abuse and everything that comes
along with grief, and I wasn’t sure how I was going
to get out of it.
But to make a very long story short, and as
cliché as it may sound, it was very literally music
that saved my life – writing this album is what
really kind of pulled me back to life. It was very
cathartic, in the way that I almost didn’t have to
think when I was putting pen to paper. I feel like
I didn’t even write this record, the record wrote
itself. It just kind of poured out of me, whether I
wanted it to or not. And that’s a rare occurrence
as a writer. I put everything I had into it, and I’m
extraordinarily proud of it.
And I think we took a lot of… I don’t want to say
risks, but there’s a lot of sonic evolution on this
record, and I really do think we took a big step
forward with it. Dare I say it: this might be the best
album we’ve ever made.
Do you feel like you can hear that catharsis,
and the raw passion you put into this album,
when you listen back on it?
Absolutely! I think it’s undeniable, from the
songwriting alone to the performances on the
record, that we were able to capture a sense of
energy and humanness that you simply can’t fake.
We were capturing a moment in our lives that
couldn’t be duplicated if we’d tried – we were living
it, and that kind of purity – that kind of vulnerability –
is something so rare. So to capture that on tape…
It was certainly challenging at times, but I think it
made for an extraordinarily special record.
Early in the tracklist, there’s an obviously
really important track for the band, and
definitely one that stands out on the record
too: “Only Love Can Save Me Now” with
(Soundgarden’s) Matt Cameron and Kim
Thayil. What can you tell us about how that
song came together?
That song was written from the lowest of lows.
Like I said, I was in a very dark kind of headspace,
and I think that song in particular was born out
of desperation. I’d hit a point where I was so low,
and I was just looking for anything to kind of save
me. Love is such a powerful force in the world –
whether that’s love from other people, or y’know,
our love of music… Whatever you equate love to in
your own life, that’s what it’s about. It was a very
personal song for me to write.
And then when we came to recording, it was
actually one of the last songs we did for the
album. When I finished writing the song, I sent
a demo off to Matt and Kim, who are very dear
friends of mine, and obviously exquisite musicians –
and I knew they would bring this incredible sense
of weight and power to it, which no-one other
than them could.
The whole experience of recording it was just
amazing: we flew to Seattle to record at London
Bridge Studios, which is where Soundgarden
recorded Louder Than Love back in the day, Pearl
Jam made Ten and Alice In Chains made Dirt – the
list of iconic records made there goes on and on.
I’m a very firm believer that places are kind of
like people, they hold memories in the walls, and
so just walking into that studio was incredible. You
could feel the vibe; you could feel the energy of all
the records that had been made there previously.
And to be there with Matt and Kim, y’know,
walking around the studio and having Kim point to
every picture on the wall or every little note that’s
still hanging up there, telling a story about it… It
was just incredible.
And then to hear the song coming to life for
real, in realtime, was just absolutely magical. The
first time Matt hit his snare and with the first note
that Kim strummed out, the song just exploded
out of the speaker. It’s by far one of my favourite
songs on the record. I’m not supposed to say that
because they’re all my favourite, but that song in
particular is very special to me, and making it was
definitely a career highlight.

ANOTHER DAY,
ANOTHER BANGER
WHAT’S THE FIRST GENRE THAT COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU THINK
ABOUT MUSIC? NO MATTER WHAT YOU ANSWER, WE’D BE WILLING
TO BET GOOD MONEY THAT A DAY TO REMEMBER SNEAK A BIT
OF IT IN ON THEIR EXPLOSIVE NEW ALBUM.
O
ver 18 months since they first announced
it, Florida’s premiere pop-moshers A Day To
Remember have finally unleashed the beast
that is their seventh studio album. When you tack on
the fact that it’s their first set of new material since
2016, it’s easy to why fans were so rabidly keen to
sink their teeth into You’re Welcome.
But without a doubt, the countless delays and five
year wait were absolutely justified. Even for a band as
stylistically diverse as A Day To Remember, the quintet’s
Fueled By Ramen debut is unbelievably varied. One
moment you’ll be nodding along to some flavoursome
Latin vibes and EDM beats (“Bloodsucker”), and
the next you’ll be thrown headfirst into a sprawling
chasm of gloriously gory metal guitars (“Last Chance
To Dance”). Then, before you even have a chance to
lower the horns, you’re knee-deep in an indie-pop bop
with a bluesy bridge (“FYM”).
We know what you’re thinking: there’s no way in
hell this all works. After all, you can throw as much
shit at the wall as your arms can handle, but how
much of it will stick? You’re Welcome simply has to be
an overblown mess of discordance and debris… Right?
Yeah, no. Somehow, against all logical odds,
A Day To Remember have managed to brew up
a polychromatic punch of riffs, synths, solos and
snares that flows wonderfully from track to track,
but delivers literally every possible vibe you could
seek out in a rock album. Lead axeman Kevin Skaff
is almost gratingly nonchalant when Australian
Guitar asks him how they did it – just another day in
the lives of alt-rock’s most defiant rule-breakers.
I know the journey leading to this point has
been pretty crazy. What was that whole
process like, working on the record for as
long as you did?
It was a lot of fun. Honestly, the recording process
was shorter than the process we went through to
get the cover art done. Obviously the demoing took
a good while, but we do that constantly – we’re
always working on demos. So from the time we got
in the studio with Colin to the time it was finished
being recording, it was a few months at most.
WORDS BY MATT DORIA.
PHOTO BY JIMMY FONTAINE.
You guys ended up with somewhere between
40 and 50 songs – where was all that raw
inspiration coming from? Were the ideas
just pouring out?
I think it just came down to the fact that
everybody’s in a good place in life right now. Because
a record is really just a snapshot of what you’re going
through at the time of its inception. I’m also going to
give a lot of credit to the people we worked with on
this one; we really opened up our borders and let a
lot of people into the band. We worked with a lot of
people that we had always known about, but were
always stubborn towards as songwriters.
Whenever someone suggested a co-write, we’d
be like, “Nah, f*** that! We’re gonna keep it us
five – that’s it, that’s the f***in’ music!” We were a
lot more open to collaboration this time around.
“Everything We Need” was with Jon Bellion,
“Degenerates” and “Mindreader” were with Mike
Green, there were obviously the songs we did with
Colin, and there’s a song we did with our buddy
Drew, who just did the Wage War album Pressure.
It was just a lot of fun getting to bounce some ideas
through some different perspectives.
Genre-wise, ADTR have always been virtually
impossible to pigeonhole. But on this record,
you’ve taken it to the absolute extreme.
What was it like to experiment with virtually
every genre under the sun?
We just kind of threw out the rulebook for this
record – even if we didn’t even have a rulebook.
We threw out the imaginary rulebook that never
existed [laughs]. It was just that whenever we came
up with something that sounded cool, but maybe
would’ve have worked for us in the past, we’d be
like, “Y’know what? F*** it. I like it, let’s keep it.” So
that’s what we did. It wasn’t like, “Nah, let’s A Day
To Remember-ify it.” If something sounded good, we
didn’t think twice about it.
As a guitarist, were you experimenting with
a lot of new techniques and playing styles?
Yeah! We were writing a song called
| 21
“Bloodsucker”, which started off as a really normal,
boring-ass f***ing rock song, and none of us were
really vibing it. But then our buddy Drew was
like, “Maybe for the bridge, you could try a guitar
solo.” I started doing this little solo that became
the main riff of the whole song; I was like, “It’d be
cool if I played this riff over and over again for the
guitar solo, and we could do a singalong to it,” but
people liked that riff so much that it just kind of
became the song itself. And then it got these Latin
vibes put in because I’d hit this weird G chord from
watching Willie Nelson talk about Django Reinhardt.
It became this weird little Spanish-sounding vibe,
and it was so cool. And we had that same kind of
attitude towards every song.
I love that in some way, Willie Nelson
influenced ADTR. That is goddamn hilarious.
We listen to everything! Subconsciously you’re
always being moulded by what’s going on in your
life, and so I think it all just kind of sneaks in. It
always has for us, but definitely on this one it really
became apparent that we all listen to a tonne of
different shit.
What kind of gear were you vibing in the
studio this time around?
There was a lot of stuff, man! The secret
weapon was an old baritone Jerry Jones. I was
always intrigued by those – I thought they were
Danelectros, but somebody pointed out that they
were actually Jerry Jones guitars. He doesn’t
build them anymore, but our guitar tech Max just
happened to have two of them. We were like, “What
the f***, dude!? How!?” I actually ended up coaxing
him into selling me one [laughs].
We used both of those guitars a lot because
they’re super crisp, and the low-end on that guitar
is so insane that I couldn’t believe it. The guitar is
made out of f***ing plastic, y’know? The only wood
on it is on the fretboard, and it’s got single lipsticks,
but it’s just one of the heaviest, brightest tones ever.
So that’s layered on almost every song.
We were using SGs a lot too, because they cut
through the mix really nicely and they just sound
f***ing awesome. We used a Les Paul through a
Vox and a modded-out Marshall JCM800. We used
a Gretsch on a couple of things, and a Fender
Coronado on “Looks Like Hell” for that spaghetti
western-type vibe. We dimed some old ’64
Princetons and got a lot of cool tones out of
those. We ran a whole mix through two
Pickles – that’s at the end of “Brick
Wall”, the Pickles kind of lit up
and distorted the tone,
which is an old Sylvia
Massey trick.
22 | FEATURE
HELL
HATH
NO
FURY
WITH HER FIRST
FULL-LENGTH SOLO
ALBUM, GOING TO
HELL, MUNCIE GIRLS’
LANDE HEKT IS
EMBRACING IT ALL,
FROM FINGERPICKING
TO THE DIRTY
WORLD OF FOLK.
WORDS BY CHERI AMOUR.
PHOTO BY GINGERDOPE.
I
f you’ve ever listened to Exeter-based indie
trio Muncie Girls, you’ll know that guitarist
and songwriter Lande Hekt has always been
fairly forthright when it comes to her lyricism. But
this full-length solo release isn’t just a confident
cuss towards the patriarchy. Going To Hell is an
important moment of self-reformation, marking
her first release as an outwardly gay person.
Recorded in Australia after a solo tour with
friend Ben David of The Hard Aches, the album
was captured before lockdown kicked in for the UK
during Spring of last year. The acres of eucalyptus
trees with koalas bobbing in their branches
provided Hekt with a safe space to reflect on
coming out and longstanding feelings of isolation,
and fear of being herself.
But Going To Hell isn’t the tentative sound
of someone soul-searching, rather an intimate
interrogation of acceptance and freedom to
embrace it all, from finger-picking to the dirty
world of folk. From her home in Bristol, we caught
up with the musician to talk about country-leaning
lap steel, lo-fi ‘90s sounds, and letting go of other
people’s expectations.
You formed Muncie Girls in your hometown
of Exeter as a teenager and since have
released two critically acclaimed albums.
At what point did the possibility of a solo
record present itself?
Some people start side projects in bands
because they’re the bass player and they’re
not writing songs in that band. Whereas in
Muncie Girls, it never really felt like I wasn’t
getting that side of me. I put out an EP, Gigantic
Disappointment, in 2019 to test the waters and a
few people were like “Yeah, this sort of sounds like
Muncie Girls, only maybe not quite as good?”.But
then as the themes developed for this record, it
made more sense to treat it as a solo record.
While you were flanked by Dean and Luke in
Muncie Girls, Going To Hell came from a far
more introspective process – you played all
the instruments bar the percussion. Did you
change your writing style from creating with
Muncie Girls?
The songs ended up being from a different style
because they were less finished. I went into the
studio without arranging the instrumentation
parts because I was never able to jam with other
musicians. In Muncie Girls, we demoed everything
in the studio and for much longer. Ben and I went
folkier with Going To Hell, which in no way is a
Muncie Girls vibe. Folk was a dirty word in the
band [laughs].
What gear were you and Ben using together
in the studio?
The studio is in Ben’s house, so there’s a small
live room for acoustic guitars or singing. He moved
the sofas out and set the drums up in the living
room, and then we set up microphones in the
bathroom to try and get some roomier sounds. We
recorded all the bass and guitar tracks in the live
room. I used a Fender Twin Reverb for most of it.
There’s a lot of reverb and chorus on this record.
Guitar-wise, I was going to use a few different
guitars – there was a Fender Stratocaster, and I
think we had a Gibson as well. In the end, we just
used Ben’s touring guitar, which is a Philip Kubicki
Custom Wildwood Telecaster. We tried loads of
different guitars and nothing worked. I wanted
to use something Gretsch-like as that’s what I’ll
be using live but, in the end, we went for a Tele
because it just worked.
“Stranded” features some really interesting
instrumentation, like a warbling organ and
country-leaning lap steel slides. Did this feel
like quite a new territory for you?
Yeah, it was fun to experiment and go a bit
off-kilter. As a new project, there’s no pressure
to sound a certain way. When Muncie Girls put
out our second album, the people who had liked
the first album wanted it to sound the same but
different enough for it to not be the first album
again. You can’t suddenly put a saxophone on it.
Whereas it’s fun with my solo project, because no
one had any expectations.
“80 Days Of Rain” has driving guitars
coupled with a strong palm mute verse,
channeling indie giants like Ride. How did
you build up those layers in the studio to
create such a huge sound for one person?
We had a lot of discussions about the mixing.
I was pushing for a more lo-fi ‘90s sound. But
Ben – naturally, as a producer who can mix and
get a big sound – wanted to have a rounder sound
with more depth. We ended up with a compromise
between the two.
With most of the songs on there, we had an
acoustic guitar way up in the mix playing the
same. In the song Whiskey, the intro is played on
acoustic and electric. The Replacements do that a
lot. There’s either acoustic washed out with reverb
and chorus or distortion with a bit of brightness.
There’s a snaking lead line in “December”
that rings out through the chorus. Did you
hear that when you were writing the track, or
was that something that came from working
over the song in the studio?
With “December”, I originally had a completely
different lead line that went along in the verse
when there’s no singing. I laid it down in the demo,
but with all the percussion it sounded muddy and
messy, so that lead line was one that I thought of
in the studio. I wanted that song to sound like The
Sundays, trying to replicate that rhythmic guitar
with straightforward drums.
Winter Coat is a stripped-back and
warm-sounding acoustic number with
intricate finger-picking. Was that a
technique that came natually to you?
That doesn’t come naturally at all to me! When
I play guitar, I love just hammering power chords.
I’m originally a bass player and played bass in
Muncie Girls up until Fixed Ideals. I used to play
with my fingers on the bass and then I switched on
to a plectrum totally against my natural feelings.
So when I started playing more guitar, I found the
whole thing so uncomfortable it made me want to
explore finger-picking more. It hasn’t been until
the last couple of years that I’ve tried to do more
intricate plectrum work.
With the fingerpicking, it’s like, “Ah, this is so
hard!” But learning to play different syncopated
rhythmic patterns and singing at the same time
can be rewarding. Those two rhythms at war with
each other, that’s not an easy thing to do. But then
when you practice and it becomes second nature,
that’s really satisfying.
 At Home. Anywhere.

Jacob Stibbie | Lead Guitar | Abstract Feedback

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24 | FEATURE
ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE
AND WARBLES
(MOSTLY) INSTRUMENTAL ALT-ROCKERS MOGWAI HEAD FOR THE
SKIES ON THEIR MASSIVE (AND MAGNIFICENT) TENTH ALBUM.
WORDS BY MATT DORIA. PHOTO BY ANTONY CROOK.
W
hat did you do to kill the time during
last year’s (seemingly never-ending)
lockdown period? Did you jump on
the breadmaking bandwagon and master the
art of the ultimate sourdough? Did you start
teaching yourself how to use Photoshop so you
could make those second-rate holiday snaps
from 2018 really pop? Or did you finally get
around to flicking your way through the collection
of books you can’t help but keep adding to?
No matter how we all powered through
the rough bit of the pandemic, the important
thing is that we all got through it… And that
we now have some killer new music to sink our
teeth into. Because while most of us used our
lockdown bubbles to focus on new hobbies and
old to-do lists, the rockers of the world bucked
down on their pedalboards, pouring all of their
COVID-fuelled anxiety into scratching up some
sweet, sweet tunes.
Our current favourite product of such is the
new romp from Scottish post-rockers Mogwai,
As The Love Continues. For their momentous
tenth full-length effort, the semi-instrumentalists
journey through a wide-sprawling canvas of their
musical influences throughout the years – from
tepid, slow-burning prog jams to rich, riff-driven
toe-tappers. It plays out like a ‘greatest hits’
compilation of Mogwai tunes that never previously
existed – and because the foursome had plenty
of extra time to chip away at it from home, each
individual soundscape is jaw-droppingly dense
and beautifully calculated.
To find out how this hourlong anthology of
Mogwai’s best talents came to life, Australian
Guitar had a quality yarn with guitarist, bassist
and (occasional) vocalist Stuart Braithwaite.
With last year being Mogwai’s 25th
anniversary, did you head into this record
with much reflection on where you’d started
and where you’d progressed over the past
two-and-a-half decades?
To be honest, 2020 was such a crazy year that
we were just trying to get through it more than
anything else. There was definitely still a sense
that it was a landmark, but everything was so nuts
and so stressful – and making the record on top of
it all… In the end, it ended up being totally fine,
but there were a lot of obstacles to get over. We
were meant to go record this album in America,
but we obviously had to change that plan and
ended up going to England – which was cool; it
ended up being a really nice experience. There
was just a lot of uncertainty – and there still is,
y’know, not knowing when we can play a show or
do anything like that.
What was it like making the record in
England with Dave Fridmann in the role
of e-producer?
It was great, actually! I mean it would have
been great to actually be in the room with him,
but we had him on video call for the whole
process, so he was still very involved. He’s also
got a good relationship with Tony [Doogan] who
engineered the record, so they were making a
lot of decisions together. Tony knew exactly what
Dave meant with every suggestion he made, so
it actually went super smoothly, I can’t complain
about it at all. It was kind of surreal at first, but
we got over that after a day or two.
Do you think that recording process had an
impact on how record sounds, as opposed to
how it might have if you were able to make it
in the States?
I think the songs are better because we had a
few extra months to work on them. We ended up
doing it in the late summer, early autumn – rather
than in May as we’d initially planned. So I think
the songs were in better shape because of that.
Also, in a general sense, being in lockdown was
good for working on music, because you couldn’t
go anywhere or be distracted by anything. That
definitely helped. Shutting all the pubs is a good
way to keep musicians in check [laughs].
What about the creative dynamic between
the four of you in the band? Having to write
separately and throw ideas back and forth,
did you find that things came together with
a different kind of atmosphere than they
normally do?
To be honest, we’ve been doing that for a while
anyway. Barry [Burns; guitar, piano, synthesiser
and vocals] has been living in Berlin for almost
ten years, so it was nothing new. It’s a pretty good
way to work, to be honest! It would’ve been nice
to get together and rehearse as a unit a little
sooner, but I’m sure we would’ve played the same
amount – it just would’ve been a bit more spread
out, rather than doing it all back-to-back… I think
we spent a solid three or four weeks hashing these
songs out as a band before we recorded.
What did your guitarsenal look like for this
particular record?
I used my Fender American Pro Jazzmaster on
almost every song. I got that one a couple of years
ago, and I’m just kind of obsessed with it. And
then maybe on one or two of the heavier songs,
I used an early ‘70s Les Paul from my collection.
I would say it’s something like 90 percent
Jazzmaster, ten percent Les Paul?
What is it about the Jazzmaster that’s
hooked you in so closely?
I don’t know… It’s just got a really nice neck,
and I’m very fond of the tremolo; I’ve never really
been a big tremolo guy, but I’m enjoying it on the
Jazzmaster. It’s just nice to play. And it’s pretty
beefy sounding – it’s got a lot of clarity, but it’s
also got a pretty huge roar in it as well. I still love
my Telecaster, but now that I’m usually the only
person playing the guitar in Mogwai, since the
Jazzmaster is a little bigger sounding, it fills in the
blanks a bit more.
Since you’re the biggest pedal nerd I know, I
have to find out what was on your board.
There was a great reverb delay we got from
an Italian company called AC Noises – I can’t
remember the name of it, but it’s got a mountain
on it ]. I used that a lot.
I used the Red Panda Particle a lot as well – it’s
this pretty f***ing out there, LFO-type thing which
was really cool. And then just a lot of the pedals
I’m always using, like my DV 50 and Big Muff for
fuzz; we got really into this other fuzz, too, the
Gamechanger Plasma, which is really great. We
took suitcases full of pedals into the studio and
just tried them all. Y’know, after a few songs you’ll
start to hear what’s sounding really good. The
difference between a studio and a rehearsal space
is that the amps in a studio are always dimed,
whereas in a rehearsal room if you have the amps
up too loud, you can’t hear the drums; you can
hear certain things a lot better when the amps are
up all the way.

ROARING LOUDER THAN EVER
ON THEIR BIGGEST AND BOLDEST ALBUM YET, THE NEW AND IMPROVED TIGERS JAW DELIVER PIT-PERFECT
ANALOGUE ENERGY, EARWORMISH CHORUSES AND ABSOLUTELY MONSTROUS GUITAR SOLOS.
WORDS BY MATT DORIA. PHOTO BY REBECCA LADER.
I
t might’ve taken a hot minute, but the
Pennsylvanian pop-punks in Tigers Jaw have
finally found their ultimate form. After hashing
out their first four (critically adored) albums as a
quintet, 2017 came with a soft reboot in Spin, on
which duties were shared between guitarist Ben
Walsh and keyboardist Bri Collins. For all intents
and purposes, the formula worked: the record
is palpably dynamic both in performance and
production, and it was an unequivocal hit between
longtime devouts and casual listeners alike. But for
Walsh and Collins, something wasn’t quite right. It
didn’t feel real enough.
For touring purposes, the pair recruited Teddy
Roberts on drums, and Colin Gorman first on rhythm
guitar and then on bass. Not only did the four gel
amiably as a live unit, but they quickly unearthed
an incredibly lucrative creative dynamic. Like Scott
Morrison booking holidays during bushfire season,
new song ideas popped up at ridiculous speeds.
Before long, the new and improved Tigers Jaw had
more than enough material for another punchy and
emotive set of pit-ready bangers.
Embracing the incandescent spirit of Tigers Jaw
live in concert, I Won’t Care How You Remember Me
is as loud as it is luminous; older fans will appreciate
the classic, punky grit of the (mostly) analogue
recording, while newer fans fall head over heels for
the tighter-than-ever hooks and singalong-tailored
choruses. Australian Guitar jumped on the line
with Walsh to dig a little deeper into the backstory
behind this powerful new pop-punk compendium.
So this is the first record you’ve done with
Colin Gorman on bass and rhythm guitars.
Was there anything unique he added to the
creative dynamic?
For the first couple of years Colin played for us,
he was only playing guitar. We were getting ready
to play at a festival in England in 2019, and he just
turned around and said, “I think I want to play bass
in this band instead, is that cool?” And I was like,
“Dude, absolutely!” As long as I’ve known Colin,
he’s first and foremost been a guitar player – if
there’s a guitar around, it’s in his hands and he’s
playing it. So I was kind of surprised by what he
said, but he really rose to the occasion. I think he
saw it as a challenge, like an opportunity to branch
out and think about the music in a different way.
We approached writing and recording as a
four-piece – on the record there’s both sides of
the guitar, but when we were jamming, Colin was
playing bass. So there was a lot more space than
we’d ever had before, and by running through
the songs over and over again, changing little
things and getting to know each other’s musical
personalities, we all figured out together what
our roles were for each song, and we were able to
determine the appropriate amount of space that
we’d each take up in that song. It’s not always a
big, shreddy guitar moment, but when there is one,
it stands out that much more because everybody’s
chiming in at the point that is most impactful.
I remember when Spin came out, you and Bri
were both super adamant that recording as a
two-piece was the best thing you’d done.
What drew you back to the idea of doing a
record as fully fleshed-out unit?
Well y’know, our band has been through quite a
few changes over the years. At the time we were
writing and recording Spin, it sort of felt like a
state of flux for us. It felt like if the record was
going to happen, we had to bring it back to how
the band started, which was two people writing
and recording everything together.
But all that while, even before we started on
the Spin process, we had been touring a whole
bunch with Teddy and Colin. We played a million
shows together and really got to know each
other – in a musical sense and a personal sense.
And y’know, something really cool about this
band is that there’s always been a really great
sense of community around it, which has led us
to a lot of really great, genuine, creative people,
who we tend to see ourselves in. Colin and Teddy
exemplified that in a huge way, so when [Bri and
I] started talking about the next record, it was a
no-brainer to bring them in on it.
This record feels almost surprisingly raw. The
way everything gels together, you’ve got
these really dense and dynamic soundscapes,
but everything sounds defiantly analogue.
Was that a byproduct of the chemistry you
had as a full unit?
I think so. It was really intentional. Spin was just
super dense – if there was a guitar part, it was an
electric guitar lead, another guitar with a Big Muff
on it underneath that, and then a layer of acoustic
| 25
guitar doubled underneath that. That approach
was perfect for that record, but it wouldn’t have
worked at all for this one. We found that if we
gave everything a lot of space, it hits harder; it’s
more impactful, and you can hear the human
element in it.
So for most of the record, even when there’s
a guitar lead, it’s not two panned rhythm tracks
and a guitar lead in the centre, it’s how we would
be perform it live with one guitar holding down
the rhythm and one guitar holding down the lead.
We took a very ‘less is more’ sort of approach.
We had the final mix in mind, too, so we were
thinking a lot about how we wanted everything to
be impactful and give everything plenty of space,
so that wherever one instrument sits in the mix,
it’s not competing with anything else for attention.
You can hear the humanness and you can hear
everybody’s musical personalities represented
equally in the songs.
I love how many guitar solos you’ve crammed
into this record. Were you excited to really
embrace your inner rockstar on this one?
Well on the last record, I had to think in terms of
what the drums are going to do, what the bass was
going to do, what the keys were going to do… But
this time I had my trust set in some of my favourite
musicians in the world, so I didn’t have anything to
worry about aside from my guitars and vocals. So
that allowed me to take a step back from the other
stuff and just make sure I was really putting the
attention where I needed to the most – which was
in writing riffs and writing guitar solos. I didn’t want
it to be super self-indulgent, but y’know, there were
a lot of parts that were really, really fun to write,
and just came from going, “This part is begging for
a guitar solo to just take it over the top.”
Credit where credit is due, though: the song
“Lemon Mouth” started with Bri and Colin. They
live really close to one another, so they were
getting together and working on early melodies
and chord progression ideas. Colin and I have
very different playing styles, and that song came
straight from his wheelhouse. He developed the
early version of that song with Bri, and when it
came time to keep working on it as a band, it just
felt right for he and I to swap out instruments. So
that sort of shreddy, bassy sounding guitar solo:
that’s all Colin.
26 | FEATURE
AN AXE TO GRIND
EVEN IN AN AGE WHERE TRULY ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE, IT’S PRETTY
GODDAMN EXCITING TO SEE TOMAHAWK BACK IN ACTION. LET’S
DIVE DEEP INTO THEIR MONOLITHIC COMEBACK ALBUM, SHALL WE?
WORDS BY MATT DORIA. PHOTO BY ERIC LIVINGSTON.
F
ew words wield as much diverse excitement
and whimsy as ‘tomahawk’ – all at once it
refers to one of the coolest types of axe ever
crafted, the juiciest cut of bone-in steak you’ll ever
sink your teeth into, a wonderful little town in rural
Tasmania, and the best avant-garde prog-metal
supergroup to ever walk this big blue marble. One
of the many deliriously dynamic projects led by
experimental rockaholic Mike Patton, the quartet
are known for tight, ear-rattling riffs, unashamed
genre-pending and a collective identity that never
takes itself too seriously, but always knows when to
dial in the attitude.
Eight brutally long years since their 2013
Oddfellows album, Tomahawk are back and more
tempestuous than ever, delivering a cataclysmic
cavalcade of powerful beats and masterful
production in Tonic Immobility. Trust us when we
say the 12-tracker is well worth the wait, too. But
until all of us can get our grubby little paws on a
copy, we’ll have to settle for the next best thing: a
one-on-one sitdown with axeman Duane Denison
(also of The Jesus Lizard), where we vibe on the
meditative powers of the guitar, Tomahawk’s
eight-year hibernation (and secret reformation in
2017), and how rock music is, by default, a fierce
political statement.
What brought you all back together after
having this project in hibernation for so long?
To be honest, it’s been in the works for a couple
of years now. I started doing demos for this album,
like, four years ago. It did take a while for the stars
to align – y’know, everyone’s got other projects,
families, this and that… But even then, we started
tracking the instruments together about two, three
years ago. So we had a head start – we actually
started well before everything got shut down. By the
time the pandemic hit, we were far enough along
that we just sent the material to Mike and he got
to work in his home studio. He has a room full of
equipment set up, so he was able to work on vocals
and little bits of electronic things here and there. The
pandemic did slow us down a little bit, but obviously
not as much as it did for other bands.
Did having more time to live with and work
on these songs help them evolve in a more
dynamic way?
Yeah, that’s the thing – usually you’re in a rush
to get it all done, you’ve got deadlines and you’re
always looking back and going, “Oh, I wish we’d done
this part instead,” or, “I wish we kept that part in.” So
we had time to listen back and make those decisions
in realtime. Even as it was being recorded, we
would tweak as we went along. But y’know, having
extra time didn’t really affect the arrangements
or anything that much. Usually I write the bulk of
music and Mike adds vocals, lyrics and a few other
things, and then we tweak the arrangements in the
demo stage – so by the time we start tracking, we
know almost exactly what we want to do; we’ve
already done most of the experimenting, and now
we’re not going to waste any time. Because y’know,
time is money in the studio. We always go in there
with the intention to nail it.
In a press release, you call this album “an
escape from the realities of the world”, and
rock music in general “an alternate reality to
everything else”. Can you expand on that a bit?
It can be – music has always been an escape, a
release, a lifeline… It’s whatever you want it to be.
And that doesn’t mean that I’m apolitical – that
doesn’t mean that I’m hiding from the realities of
life. Some people seem to have misinterpreted that,
but no, I’ve been an active participant in American
society for a long time; anyone that knows me or
looks at my social media posts will know where
I stand on things. But I feel like with music – and
especially rock music – I want it to exist in its own
space. You create your own little world, and then
if it’s interesting or exciting or seductive enough,
other people will want to meet you there.
For me, playing guitar is part meditation, but it’s
also part workout – I have exercises that I have to
do in order to maintain my ability to play. It’s part
creative release, too. Part of it is just exercising
your memory, as well as your physical technique.
I work on things that have nothing to do with
Tomahawk – for instance, I’ll work on memorising a
Bach violin piece for the guitar because it’s a good
mental and physical workout.
I actually think there’s a political statement to be
made in the whole concept of a band. When you’ve
got different people working together, and you all
sticking together over the years, that is, to me, a
statement in itself, in the sense that you’re not all
necessarily on the same page, but you’re working
together for the greater good. You don’t have
to love everything about someone to work with
them or get along with them, or to try and achieve
something good with them. I truly believe that.
You can be left-wing, you can be right-wing – not
too right-wing, of course – and you can still work
together and make good things happen. And you
have to, or the planet is f***ed. We hav.e to find
a way to make it work. And that’s what that’s all
about. And I mean, when I go to a concert or when
I listen to an album, I don’t want to be lectured by
anyone. I’m interested in hearing their views, and
I’m always interested in hearing some information
that I’m not familiar with, but the last thing I want is
to be lectured by someone who, as soon as the show
is over, hops into his limousine and goes off back to
his five-star hotel.
I’ve always said that music is the one thing on
Earth that can truly unify any group of people,
regardless of where they sit on a political
scale. To that end, most bands are successful
examples of socialism in action.
Totally. On the one hand, being in a band is a
business – you’re trying to keep your expenses
down and make money, so there’s an element of
capitalism. But in other ways, there are elements
of socialism: you’re generating income, and you’re
sharing it with each other. In The Jesus Lizard,
everything was always equal – it didn’t matter who
wrote what, y’know? I liked that. It didn’t matter
who wrote what or who played what part, we
were all in it together and we were all working for
the common good, so everyone got a piece of the
pie. It’s a microcosm of what I would like to see in
society. But it’s not totally one or the other, is it? I’m
not against someone becoming a millionaire from
their music – just don’t be a prick about it, y’know?

MARGARET SOHN, A.K.A. MISS GRIT, TALKS HER FAVOURITE STOMPBOXES,
RARE FENDER JAGUARS, AND CONQUERING SELF-DOUBT WITH NEW EP IMPOSTOR.
WORDS BY MATT PARKER. PHOTO BY NATASHA WILLSON.
T
he incomparable Miss Grit has just released a
new EP, Impostor. After 2019’s debut EP Talk
Talk earned favourable comparisons to the
likes of Nil¾fer Yanya and St. Vincent, it is – with
knowing irony – the sound of an artist cutting her
own path. Across the six songs it melds airy melody,
ricocheting delays and bitcrushed riffs, all the while
deconstructing the impostor syndrome that dogs
us all as musicians – and has haunted Sohn for fair
chunks of her life.
Sohn, by her own telling, grew up feeling
somewhat out of place. As a Korean-American in the
whitewashed Michigan suburbs, she found a home in
the music her Dad blasted from the basement. Talking
Heads, Led Zeppelin, The Cure all poured into hungry
ears. The guitar soon followed and she started playing
aged six, delving in and out classical guitar lessons,
studying Music Technology at NYU and eventually
evolving the textural, adventurous playing style that
has come to mark out her music as Miss Grit.
We spoke to Sohn about the gear behind her
masterful tones, building pedals and how she’s
finally come to terms with being ‘a real musician’.
You learned to build pedals as part of a
program at school. What did that involve
and what drew you to that?
I just have a love for effects pedals and I’m really
drawn to just experimenting with them. It’s a really
big part of my songwriting process too, just plugging
into effects pedals and making weird sounds. I
studied Music Technology at NYU which is kind of like
an umbrella major and there’s a bunch of different
paths you can take with it. I was really drawn to
guitar effects pedals and I guess that was my second
dream apart from being a musician full-time.
I just really wanted to go to an effects pedal
company and try to work for them. It’s something that
I really love doing and can picture myself doing for a
long time. Unfortunately, it’s a hobby that takes a lot
of time out of you so I haven’t really been as dedicated
to it lately… songwriting and producing has kind of
taken over. It really helped out my technical side.
When you’re producing that type of knowledge can
take you really far and can help you along. Just being
able to work Pro Tools or Ableton is a huge creative
advantage because it really helps your workflow and
creates a lot of different opportunities for you. Just
having the technical knowledge makes the translation
from your ears to on paper a little bit easier.
You were saying before about how a lot of
songs start on the pedals – are you one of
these people who loves to find a texture and
build from there?
I think my songwriting definitely just responds
best to textures and tones so it’s like something that
can really help the process. I think production and
songwriting for me tend to go hand in hand or as
some people may be like, “Production and mixing go
hand in hand.” I think songwriting is something that
I just can’t help but include in the production and
pedal side… I think that’s a big part of my attraction
to some musicians, the types of textures they have.
Obviously St Vincent with her guitar but also LCD
Soundsystem – I’m really obsessed with their synth
tones and I think that that my ear automatically goes
to synths and guitars in music. Usually my music
first comes out like that then later if an acoustic
performance comes up, I have to figure out the
acoustic version of it whereas for some song writers I
feel like it might be the opposite way around.
Tell me about your pedalboard. Do you use
many of your own builds?
Not too many of my own creations have made
it to the level where I can actually use them [live]!
The couple of pedals that I have made don’t have
enclosures or anything so they’re just wires on a
board right now and in the DIY phases.
The pedals I use that are on my board right now
that are my favourites are the Meris Ottobit Jr. and
the Caroline Shigeharu pedal. One of my secret
weapons is the Boss PS-6 Harmonist, I have two
of those on my ‘board. The Merris Ottobit pedal is
definitely my favourite. It has a great bitcrusher
sound and the filter on it is amazing. It also has
a sample rate knob and then the bottom half of
the pedal, it makes glitchy sounds, so there’s a
sequencer or stutter mode. It’s actually great to
use with synths as well.
That’s what I do a lot – I use my pedalboard for
production sounds so I’ll throw my vocals or
synths through it too and that’s something that’s
really fun to do.
What is it that you like about the Caroline
Shigeharu pedal?
I have two different Caroline pedals. The Shigeharu
is like a fuzz pedal and it just has a really great sound
to it. I’ve been using the Death By Audio fuzzes for
a long time but I find that they’re always so hard to
tame, which I kind of love because they’re so crazy.
But when it comes down to playing live, I don’t want to
screw up people’s ears, so I feel like the Caroline fuzz
is much easier to get under control.
| 27
Let’s talk about the Impostor EP. What are
your favourite guitar moments on there?
There’s a song called “Don’t Wander” on the
EP – that was a song that I was really pleased with
and it really heavily features the Meris Ottobit and
it has a bunch of glitchy, bitcrushed tones on it that
I really like. It was just something that came really
organically to me. I got into a good flow for that
song while writing it and it just came really quickly
and easily. They’re definitely the most satisfying
songwriting moments.
I’m also really happy with the song “Impostor”. I
came up with the guitar line first and then built the
song around it. Also just the ending, it goes into this
acoustic section that just felt really nice to round
the EP out with. I think those are kind of some nice
moments for me.
The EP focuses on the idea of impostor
syndrome. Supposedly, one of the best ways
to tackle impostorship is to acknowledge it
as a universal experience, to name it – that
deprives it of its power. Were you aware of
that principle of acknowledging it to dispel it?
I think subconsciously, that was the main goal.
All I could think about was being an impostor and
not being a real musician at the time and it basically
affected every aspect of my life. Writing the EP
about it and just making sure I was slowly becoming
aware of all these different ways that it’s affected
me and it’s just being more aware of it and being
able to put a name to it and identify it is super
helpful in getting over anything, I think.
[Before it was like] this feeling that there’s this
big secret that you’re not in on and everyone else
has it all figured out and they have they key to
success or something.
Not to badmouth my brethren, but most
journalists can’t help but compare artists to
each other – I imagine that wouldn’t help
impostor syndrome. How do you react to
writing about you?
I think, yeah, maybe I can’t escape the St.
Vincent ties – everyone seems to be writing
about that. I think impostor syndrome sneaks in
a little bit there, you know like you always want
to be unique and create something special but I
think everyone just has to remember that every
new thing or new take on anything comes from
inspiration and it comes from what’s happened
before. I think just remembering that is helpful
for me.
28 | FEATURE
T
he trailblazing founder, vocalist and guitarist
of the Pretenders, Chrissie Hynde, lives a life
less ordinary – and yet even she succumbed to
the rhythmless ennui of our pandemic present. Like
many of us, she welcomed a puppy into her home
and took receipt of a new electric guitar.
And to think her 2020 was going to be big. The
Pretenders’ new album, Hate For Sale, was scheduled
for late spring, the first to be co-written with lead
guitarist James Walbourne and feature the current
touring lineup. Hynde’s calendar was fully booked
out, too, with some 70 cities on the Pretenders’
touring itinerary.
Yadda yadda yadda, everything got paused and
everyone was cocooned in the prophylactic amber of
public health measures. Hate for Sale ultimately got
released in the summer – they couldn’t sit on it any
longer – but Hynde’s year was largely spent painting at
her London home, sheltering in place. This was an alien
state to contend with, having moved to London in the
‘70s principally because she wanted to see the world.
The puppy and the electric guitar both play their
part today. Firstly, the guitar is the reason Fender have
patched the call through – a signature model for Hynde
is a big deal – while the puppy’s bladder capacity will
determine how long we have on the phone.
While we can’t bring you the spec on the puppy,
we can say that of all the new year releases, Hynde’s
signature Telecaster is sure to be shortlisted for Best
in Show. It’s a production line replica of her 1965
Iced Metallic Blue Telecaster, the one you will have
undoubtedly seen her with over the decades, her
number one guitar since buying it in NYC circa 1980.
Out of all the guitars you could use, what has
made the Telecaster stick for you?
I tried a few different guitars and I ended up with
that, and just really dug it, so I just stuck with it. It
felt good. I liked the sound.
And they wear in well. They only get more
comfortable over time.
I suppose any guitar does, yeah, and that’s why
people keep going back to the same guitar, because
they like the feel. I have tried some other guitars –
and I get real excited about it. Like, “Right! Let’s pull
that one out!” And then halfway through a song I
will signal to my guitar player, grab my guitar and
just take it off in the middle of the song and get
rid of it… “The neck isn’t right, something’s
wrong, it doesn’t sound right. Sorry!” That
one is just consigned to the lock-up and I
don’t even look at it anymore. I’ve bought
a few guitars and then I have gotten them
onstage and they don’t feel right, and then you
go back to old faithful.
How important is the guitar to your
songwriting process?
Songwriting is a funny thing. I wrote my early
songs on an unamplified electric guitar so that
I didn’t disturb the person in the next room,
and yeah, every time you write a song it is
different. I don’t think of myself as a songwriter.
I don’t think of myself as a guitar player, either.
In fact, if I have to write out on a form what I do
I never quite know what to say. I am in a
band; that is all I can really say about
it. I do what has to be done to stay
in the band.
Do you think that with you
having to hit the strings harder
to make them audible that it
has given you a more
percussive style?
I don’t know what my style is.
I get the job done! When I first
went into the studio to record my
first record, I had to be playing an
unamplified electric guitar when
I sang, just to stay in the pocket.
I couldn’t even sing without playing
the guitar at the same time ‘cos I was so
used to doing it that way. I would have it unamplified –
obviously so it doesn’t go down the vocal mic – but I
would have to be playing along just to stay in time.
The rhythm and the vocals very much went hand in
hand. That was a very long time ago. I can go in now
without the guitar.
But it works. Your rhythm style is
unquestionably yours.
It was probably from playing with myself, not in a
band. Because I did that for a long time. When I first
got in a band, on my first album, somebody said,
“Well, that’s not it. You dropped a beat there.” And I
said, “That’s the only way I know how to do it.” So I
had to find some people who knew how to play it the
way that I heard it. I wouldn’t say I developed it. It is
almost like I had it developed.
Do you think it’s the sort of thing where if you
overthink it, it takes the magic away?
I already am overthinking it! So yeah, I’m not sure.
[Laughs] it is what we do, and I guess the whole point
of playing in a rock band is that you’re not thinking.
You’re just doing something. I can’t speak for anyone
else, though.
And then your sound with the Pretenders is so
lush and rich – there’s a lot going on there…
Ah, well that is down to my guitar players in the
band, and I kind of orchestrate it. I know what I want
it to sound like. The secret to my success is that I
have surrounded myself with people who are better
than me. But I have an ear. I have a good ear, I guess,
to know what everybody else should be doing.
What drew you to punk?
Well punk was more about getting rid of
prog rock. Punk was made by a bunch of kids
who couldn’t really play good. That was when I
thought I was too old to get into a band. When
punk started, I must have been coming up for
about 25, and at that point, traditionally, I was
too old to get in a band. I mean, the Beatles had
broken up by the time they were 29. It was a
different world.
What characterised punk for me was that it
was very much a non-discrimination thing. Having
said that, they were also obsessed with it being
working class, as the English always are. The
class system figured into it but I couldn’t relate to
that. I didn’t know what the class system was. But
certainly, maybe being a couple of years too old,
being a girl, all these things were going to figure
into the punk thing because it wasn’t part of the
punk conversation. That’s when I thought I could
sneak in there.
One thing we have a lot of at the
moment is time. Have you done
any writing?
Yeah, I have. We have about half
an album done, written remotely. I was
going to be in 70 different cities last
year and I wasn’t in any, so obviously
it freed me up to do things I never
had time for. I have listened to [BBC]
Radio Three and heard classical
musicians say the same thing – no
performing is a drag, but people
have gotten on with things they
didn’t have the time for.
That is going to eventually get
frustrating but, remember, it has only
been year. It is not like there has been five years of
this. James and I are going to go in and start trying
to get in a rehearsal room and just play a little bit,
because it is getting frustrating.

TWICE THE FRETS,
TWICE THE FURY
WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU PUT TWO OF HARD-ROCK’S BIGGEST
SHREDDERS IN A ROOM AND TELL THEM TO GET THEIR BLUES ON? FOR
ADRIAN SMITH AND RICHIE KOTZEN, AT LEAST, YOU GET ONE
OF 2021’S BIGGEST COLLAB LPS.
WORDS BY MATT DORIA. PHOTO BY JOHN MCMURTRIE.
E
specially true in the last two decades,
hard-rock supergroups and team-up albums
come at a dime a dozen: it’s an easy way to
sell one product to multiple fanbases, and brand
value alone means quality can be an afterthought.
We’re not saying it’s okay, but we get why so
many veteran rock dogs – especially those whose
primary outlets have either run their course or
severely minimised their output – turn to these
types of releases.
The upside is that when it’s easy to see behind
the cheap gloss of most supergroups, it’s also easy
to see when one comes about out the collaborators’
legitimate, genuine passion for their art. Such is
certainly the case with Smith/Kotzen, the self-titled
debut effort from Iron Maiden’s inimitable lead
shredder Adrian Smith and The Winery Dogs’
genre-bending singer-strummer Richie Kotzen
(who’s also played in Poison and Mr Big, amongst
a slew of other projects and solo LPs).
Meddling well-seasoned blues and volcanic metal
vibes, the record works for two equally compelling
reasons: it combines each player’s individual
strengths and creative idiosyncrasies, but it also
takes them both out of their respective comfort
zones, etching out otherwise unrealised potential –
ideas that Smith wouldn’t have had without Kotzen,
and vice versa. Considering both players have had
their hands on fretboards for over 40 years, that
alone is undoubtably impressive.
Before the record lands at the tail end of March,
Australian Guitar got down to wire with both Smith
and Kotzen.
Let’s start at square one: how did this
collaboration come about?
Kotzen: I met Adrian a long time ago. Actually, to
be honest, I met his wife Natalie first. She ended up
introducing me to Adrian and we just hit it off right
away; whenever he and Natalie would come out to
Los Angeles, we’d all get together and catch up.
Adrian’s got a really nice room in his house out
here where he’s got a few guitars, some amps and
a console set up, so we’d lock ourselves in there
and jam for hours. And we’d done this for years.
Usually around Christmas, they’d throw a party
and everybody would come around, and one year,
I believe it was Natalie who said, “Hey, you guys
seem to really play well together, why don’t you
try to write something?” And the rest is history! I
think the first song we actually worked on together
became “Running”.
So how did the project evolve from that first
idea to what we hear now?
Kotzen: Well y’know, we kind of just went for it. I
think the reason the record sounds the way it does
is because of the influences we have – I grew up
listening to a lot of classic R&B music, and Adrian
loves the American blues, and we like a lot of the
same bands – Bad Company, Free, The Who… A lot
of those kinds of groups. And then when we got
together, I think we really complement each other
very nicely. I’ve got this history of doing everything
on my own, singing and guitar playing, while Adrian
is more accustomed to the two-guitar band setup.
So right out the gate, one thing I was really
excited about was Adrian’s sensibility in the studio,
between the production and his approach to the
second guitar. Many times I’d do something and
think, “Okay, we’re done,” and he’d be like, “No no
no, I’ve got an idea!” And he’d come up with some
cool countering guitar line – something I wouldn’t
have thought of. So y’know, I think the style of the
record came about the way it did because of our
instincts and how we naturally play together.
| 29
Did you find that in working together, you
were both encouraged to explore some
different playing techniques, or try any new
things out with the guitar?
Smith: It was certainly a little different to how it
works in Maiden – Maiden is obviously quite metal
and I’m quite ingrained in that way of playing, but I
love bluesy rock as well. I always have – I grew up in
the early ‘70s listening to bands like Free and Deep
Purple, so that sort of bluesy rock is in my blood. I
wanted to explore that a bit. I’d been playing more
blues guitar in the last ten years or so anyway; I’ve
gotten deep into it.
I always thought the blues would be pretty
easy to play, but to actually nail the phrasing on a
guitar – to get all the notes perfectly in the right
place – is a real art. Take someone like Eric Clapton:
although he’s not an Eddie Van Halen-type guitarist,
he’s putting all the notes in all the right places, and
every single note counts. So that’s what I wanted to
try doing a bit more with this project. Richie’s got
a lot of that spirit in his musicianship; when I
discovered his music seven or eight years ago, I
was surprised by how good a singer he was and
how much soul he put into his playing.
How did you utilise effects to capture the
energy you were looking for?
Smith: Well y’know, I didn’t have access to a lot
of my equipment because we recorded abroad;
most of my stuff was locked up in the warehouse
with all the other Maiden gear. So I just had a Les
Paul Standard and my green signature Jackson
guitar, which I’ve been using on the latest Maiden
stuff. And we used one amp, mainly, which was a
Victory amp. It was very straightforward. We got
a good sound and mic’d it up, and away we went.
I didn’t have any of my effects with me either, so
for any effects I wanted, I had to rummage through
Richie’s collection – I’d pick out a chorus and a
wah pedal, and that was about it. It was pretty
stripped-down, really.
Richie, I have to ask about your stunning
cherry red signature Telecaster – is that
what you played on this record?
Kotzen: That, and the Telecaster version of the
same guitar. However towards the end, there was
a song or two where I had to do a solo and Adrian
had his Jackson with the Floyd Rose tremolo set
up, so I thought to myself, “Hm, let me try this.”
It’s funny – a couple of the solos I did on Adrian’s
guitar sound like the old Richie Kotzen, back when
I was 18 and I had the Ibanez with the locking
tremolo; I’d listen back and go, “Ah, that sounds
like me when I was a kid!” So that was kind of
fun – and that would have never happened had I
not thought to grab Adrian’s guitar. Things like
that made it such a fun collaboration. It’s nice to
play with a guy that has good taste and a great
facility, and that you can bounce ideas off. I’d
never really had that type of a partner before.
Do you think a second record could be in the
pipeline one day?
Kotzen: Sure! Why not? As long as we feel
inspired and actually want to do it, let’s do it.
But y’know, it’s funny because everyone else has
asked that too – “Is there going to be another
record? When’s the next one out?” We haven’t
even released the first record yet! Let’s not get
too ahead of ourselves! But if we’re just talking
in the sense of what we’d like to do, then yeah,
of course, I’d love to do more.
30 | FEATURE
BUILDING GREATNESS
ON THEIR AMBITIOUS SECOND ALBUM, VISIONARY
INDIE-ROCKERS MIDDLE KIDS TAKE AN AXE TO THEIR
FORMULA, THEN BUILD A MANSION FROM THE RUBBLE.
WORDS BY MATT DORIA. PHOTO BY DAPHNE NGUYEN.
I
n the storied three years since they dropped their
enigmatic debut album, Lost Friends, the loveable
larrikins in Middle Kids have lived a whole damn
lot of life. They toured the world twice over, racked
up an enviable stack of awards, and popped up on
our TV screens at least a solid dozen or so times. Hell,
frontwoman Hannah Joy and bassist Tim Fitz even
had a kid together! So heading into the fray of their
equally exciting and elusive second album, things
were obviously going to be a little different.
And it shows. Today We’re The Greatest adds to
Middle Kids’ luminescent brand of jammy indie-
rock a splash of piano-driven balladry, some fiery
post-grunge riffs, and even an unpredictable tinge
of avant-garde electronica. It’s a towering triumph
of risks paid off by a band eager to make not just a
name for themselves, but an inventive and inimitable
brand to accompany it.
When she meets up with Australian Guitar to wax
lyrical about the new album, Joy seems polarised at
the state of affairs. Not even taking into account the
multifarious challenges and enormous life events that
surrounded its inception, a record like Today We’re
The Greatest is far from easy to pull off. That she’s
standing on the other side of it – bub in arms and
epic world tour ahead, no less – has her absolutely
gobsmacked. And she hopes that when fans get their
own hands around a copy, they too will be enamoured
by what she and her bandmates achieved.
This is my favourite type of second album,
because it maintains the spirit of your debut,
but also takes so many left turns and exciting
risks. Was that something you were excited to
explore in following up ? Middle Kids as a guitarist?
I think so! Because I’d written a lot of these songs
over the last couple of years, we just wanted the
space to kind of sit in them, to decide where we
felt like they could go. We’d written basically all of
[Lost Friends] on the road, we recorded like bits and
pieces of it at home and then we mixed it mid-tour
in America, so it was very much a product of us
moving around a lot and having a lot of different
influences – even the American rock touring world,
in some ways. But this album was a bit more
reflective – there’s a bit more space, it’s a bit more
dynamic, and we really just wanted to tease out
some of our musicality. Lost Friends is a lot more
action-packed and rock-y; [Today We’re The Greatest]
has moments of that, for sure, but it’s a bit softer
and more delicate in some moments.
Thematically this record feels a little less
ambiguous – there’s a lot of vulnerability
and openness in the lyrics. Did you go into
this record feeling more confident, having
tested the waters on LP1?
Probably. I’m striving to live more vulnerably in
general, and y’know, doing that ends up influencing
how you write and the way you communicate. I
definitely see our music linked to how we’re trying
to live and what we’re doing, and that definitely
comes out in the writing. This record is way more
vulnerable and personal – I used to write a lot
more… Almost like stories, or folklore – a lot more
heady, think-y lyrics – whereas this album comes a
lot more from the heart and the gut. It’s cool, but
it’s also a bit like, “AAAAAAAH!”
How did that translate to your role in
It’s cool because the guitar is a newer
instrument for me. I started on the piano, but
the guitar was like a gateway into being able
to play rock music – which I’ve always loved,
but I never felt like I could get into it because I
played the piano. So the guitar is very special to
me – he’s my little friend that brought me into
the rock world. A lot of the early Middle Kids
stuff was way more guitar-heavy because I was
writing pretty much solely on the guitar. But
there’s a lot more keys-based material on this
record, too, and it’s more instrumentally diverse.
I think it works in the guitar’s favour in the end,
though, because the guitar moments really shine
through a lot more with all the different timbres
and textures going on.
So was there a lot of experimentation
going on? Were you throwing stuff at the
wall and seeing what sticks, or did you
have all the ideas ready to go in your head
before you picked up the guitar?
I think the bones were definitely there, but
it was cool because this was the first time we’d
recorded in a proper studio. Usually we would
just record at home, but we did this album in
a studio in LA; there was the A room and the
B room, and the B room was where Tim would
spend most of his time – it was like his little lair
where he’d go and play around with random
synths and guitars. A lot of the colours on the
album come from that. On a couple of the tracks
like “Questions” and “Cellophane”, there are
these little glitchy, musical little moments, and a
lot of that happened in the B room. So we had all
the song ideas there, but we’d really flesh them
out by trying different things in our little lair.
What can you tell us about the gear you
were all bashing away on?
I used my Cole Clark electric a lot – it kind
of looks like a Strat, and I’ve been playing it
for years. That’s been the bedrock of my
guitar sound since the band started, really.
And then there were a bunch of guitars that
our producer, Lars Stalfors, had laying around.
He had a bunch of Japanese guitars that I
loved – one of them was this really cool Nivico.
I also recently got this new little Gibson
acoustic which is really, really beautiful. It’s
my first real acoustic guitar, and the first
song on [Today We’re The Greatest], “Bad
Neighbours”, was all done on that guitar. It
was really fun to have my faithful old Cole
Clark, then mix it up with some other random
bits and pieces. There was even a six-string
banjo that we were playing, which was really
cool. And then we played a 12-string on a
bunch of songs, like “Stacking Chairs” – that
was a big part of that song’s sound.
What is it about the Cole Clark that really
won your heart?
It’s got quite a rich, warm sound, and I really
love the way it plays. I don’t know if this has
anything to do with anything, but I’m
left-handed, and on the piano the left hand is
always on the bass, so I’ve always just loved the
lower end of the sound spectrum. I love this
guitar because it almost feels a bit baritone-y.
Every time I play it, it just sounds so gorgeous.
I have a few other guitars that I love as well,
but I always come back to the Cole Clark. And
it’s cool because Cole Clark don’t make electric
guitars anymore, so that makes it a little more
special as well.

A LESSON IN
PEDANTICS
CARLA GENEVE WALKS US THROUGH
THE POIGNANTLY HONEST ORIGINS OF
HER SHOW-STOPPING DEBUT ALBUM.
WORDS BY MATT DORIA.
PHOTO BY DUNCAN WRIGHT.
L
ike most kids of the late ‘90s, Carla Geneve
learned the hard way that coming of age
isn’t always as simple or saccharine as John
Hughes told us it’d be. By age 22, the Albany-native
indie-rock stalwart had lived through her fair share
of heartache, adolescent reckoning and undiagnosed
mental illness; but where most of us would slump
in our ways and embrace the mundanity of a 9-to-5
grind, Geneve was determined to blast past the
barriers keeping her from happiness and dive
headfirst into the kaleidoscopic world of rock ’n’ roll.
Cue Geneve’s riveting debut full-length, Learn
To Like It. Equally intimate and intense, the
ten-track tour-de-force takes us on a cathartic,
no-holds-barred rollercoaster ride through all the
ups and downs Geneve endured to make it happen.
She bounds between gritty punk, soulful blues and
heart-wrenching balladry with a flow unrivalled by
her peers, pouring her all into every last second
of the record. It’s a beautifully bold, powerfully
personal introduction to Geneve’s world as an
undoubtable creative prodigy – and as she explains
to Australian Guitar, not a note of it came by force.
How did you want this record to best
introduce people into the musical world of
Carla Geneve, or really personify who you
are as a musician and creative in 2021?
It’s a bit of pressure having to be like, “This is
me! This is what I’m doing!” But it’s kind of exciting.
I wrote most of these songs when I was about 18,
so I didn’t really have any grand plans for them –
but I think it’s a really nice way to start making
music the way I want to make it; it’s really honest
and like transparent songwriting about what I was
going through at the time. I want my music to be
something that goes for my whole life, and it’ll be
different depending on who I am in that point in
my life. I’m different to who I was when I wrote this
album, but I think it’s really important to capture
those couple of years, how I felt and how I wanted
to express myself.
Did you find that documenting your coming-
of-age on this record helped you grow not
just as musician, but as a person altogether?
100 percent, yeah! I’ve always written songs
about my personal life; I write a lot for myself in
journals, too, and I guess my songs are just an
extension of my journals at this point. It definitely
helped me – I think I had a bit of a hard time
expressing myself for a while, so songwriting was
kind of my way of guiding myself through some
things, and talking to the people around me. It’s
kind of funny, not being able to talk to people but
then getting on a stage and telling everyone my
closest secrets.
I love the way the guitars bounce between
different styles depending on the energy of a
track, like how “Brighter Than Blue” uses
twang and bending melodies to portray
emotional strain, and then “Dog Eared” is all
big, ‘90s punk grunt. What’s your philosophy
on using tone to tell a story?
Initially when I started playing guitar, it was
just the songs that I was worrying about; I found
a tone that worked for me, and then just stuck
to it. I mostly just focussed on the playing and
the songwriting to express myself. But yeah,
everything fits with the story – “Dog Eared” is
pretty straight-up just because that’s the way that
song should be. “Brighter Than Blue” I wanted to
sound a bit wonky and a bit imperfect – a bit like
it was about to fall apart, y’know? There’s a lot of
whammy bar on that song.
I was reading earlier about how the idea
for “Dog Eared” stemmed from your career
as a music teacher, and the enthusiasm of
your class. Are you often inspired by the kids
you teach?
Always! I don’t really want to say that it’s easy,
as a professional musician, to get tired of music –
but if you do it every day and you’re around people
who are doing it every day, you start to take it for
granted a little bit. So being around kids that are
just discovering music is so exciting. So many times
I’ve been like, “Now this is an overdrive pedal,”
And they’re like, “Woah, what’s that!?” There’s
nothing quite like the excitement you feel the first
time you get to use a guitar pedal, or play as a
band and make a really loud noise.
The first time someone expresses something
within themselves by doing that – I get to see
that from an outside perspective every day, and I
honestly feel so lucky to have that job because it
makes me remember why I got into music in the
first place. I can go to work in a bad mood, but I
| 31
can’t leave work in a bad mood. It’s just the best!
Have you played the record for your students?
No [laughs]. I’m a bit too shy. But they’ll hear it.
I think they liked “Dog Eared” when it came out, so
I hope they know that they pretty much wrote that
song for me. I hope they like the album!
What guitars are you playing on this record?
Oh God! It was such a long time ago, I can’t
remember [laughs]. I think I mostly just used my
Tele. It’s a custom Deluxe model, it’s Japanese, it’s
got two humbuckers, and I just love it so much.
I used that for the beds on every track, and then
I used a more standard single-coil Tele for all the
overdubs because it cut through the mix a bit more.
There was also an old ‘60s Harmony in the
studio, which I used for a lot of the solos – it has a
lot of those nice warm tones, and it had a whammy
bar that I could make everything sound shit with
[laughs]. I can’t remember much else of the gear
we had – it’s less about the gear than it is the songs
themselves. The guitars aren’t everything to me…
But it is nice to play a nice guitar.
What do you love so much about your custom
Japanese Tele?
Well when I first bought it, there was a box of
viagra in the case; it had definitely seen some shit
in its time. But it goes really well with my Vox – I
use a Vox AC15, and for some reason they just
pair super well and it always seems to work out.
The neck is so bendy – it doesn’t have a whammy
bar, but I get the full effect just from bending
the neck… I’m probably going to snap it in half
onstage one day [laughs]. It’s all beaten up and a
bit shit, and it’s certainly lived a life. For a while
only one pickup worked, but I didn’t really care
because I only use the neck pickup anyway. And I
love it! I don’t know what it is about it, but it just
makes me feel good.
32 | FEATURE
FOURTH TIME’S THE CHARM
TO ENCAPSULATE AN AGE OF UNCERTAINTY AND ANGST, THE RUBENS WENT
BRIGHTER AND BOUNCIER THAN EVER BEFORE. 0202 IS AN AMBITIOUS EPIC FOR THE
SYDNEY POP-ROCKERS, BUT TO PULL IT OFF, THEY HAD TO SCALE THINGS WAY BACK.
WORDS BY MATT DORIA. PHOTO BY CYBELE MALINOWSKI.
I
f there’s one thing The Rubens can do better
than virtually every other band in Australia
right now, it’s bust out a catchy hook. Thanks
in no short part to the anthemic “My Gun”, the
Macarthur-native pop-rock powerhouse burst on the
circuit in 2012 with their platinum-selling self-titled
debut, and quickly countered one-hit-wonder fears
with 2015’s gem-studded Hoops – the title track of
which scored triple-platinum sales and took out
the top spot in Triple J’s Hottest 100. They capped
the trilogy in 2018 with the unexpectedly poppy,
R&B-flavoured Lo La Ru, at which point The Rubens
had accepted their place on the throne of the Aussie
alternative scene.
2020 should have seen them make it to arenas
with a colossal fourth effort – a self-produced epic
stacked with tracks carefully structured to elicit
the loudest singalongs possible. But alas, it wasn’t
meant to be: COVID struck, tours were canned, and
The Rubens’ continued soaring ground to a halt.
What were they to do? Could LP4 be salvaged, or
was it doomed to the cutting room floor?
Miraculously, the band found parallels between
the subject matter they’d already set out to explore
on the record, and the hopelessness felt at large
in their communities. So they repositioned the
record to reflect what they felt in the moment;
dubbed “a forward-thinking album for a backward
year”, 0202 sees The Rubens tackle themes of
confusion, concern and callousness with a decidedly
rosy outlook: there’s a palpable undercurrent of
buoyancy to the LP’s 12 tracks, whether in the form
of warbly, psych-esque keys on on “Live In Life”,
tropical grooves on “Holiday” or the effervescent
canter of a ‘verb-slathered lead on “Back To Back”.
It’s the kind of album we could all use right now –
something upbeat and energetic to pull us from the
melancholic drudge of a wasted year; something
danceable and stage-ready to hype us up for the
eventual return of full-scale live shows. To find out
how The Rubens made the most of dismal scenes
to brew up an enigmatic anthology of upbeat
bangers, Australian Guitar caught up with founding
fret-wizard Izaac Margin.
I realise how cliché this sounds, but it feels
like 0202 is the LP The Rubens have been
inching towards this whole time. Not to say
the first three records aren’t great, but this
is where you’ve really ‘cracked the code’.
We feel exactly the same. It’s been a long time
coming, and yeah, it’s definitely what our first
three records have been leading to. It’s a good mix
of everything we’ve tried to do – there’s a bit of a
pop vibe, and we’ve brought in synths and different
sounds, but there’s a lot of rock spirit in there too.
And it’s still dark, but there’s a bit of light in there as
well. I think Sam and Elliot’s songwriting is just the
best it’s ever been. And the fact that this is the first
album we recorded completely ourselves – our bass
player Will [Zeglis] engineered everything and we all
produced together, and then we sent everything off
to a couple other people to have it mixed after the
fact. We did it all at Will’s studio, and it all felt super
natural. Everything came together exactly how we
wanted it to, which was cool.
Do you feel more connected to the record, or
that it’s more authentic to what The Rubens
are right now, having done it all yourself?
Yeah! It was very relaxing! Most of the songwriting
happened between Sam and Elliot – they’ll scratch
up the early demos themselves, then send them off
to the rest of us to add our own little parts onto,
and then we’ll all come together and bunker down
with them. We’d spend a weekend on each song,
so each one was kind of separated. Sam and Elliot
would send the demos to me first and I’d try to figure
out the basic structure and ideas, and what kind of
guitar sounds I’d want to put on there. And then we’d
all come together at the studio and start off fresh
with the drums, add some keys, write some guitar
and then add some more instrumentation, then Will
would squirrel off for a couple of hours and come
back with his basslines all set, and then we’d have a
song! It was a super natural and organic process.
As a guitarist, did you feel like you had more
freedom to play around with different styles
and techniques?
I think I’ve had that freedom since the last album
we recorded [Lo La Ru] with Wilder Zoby and Little
Shalimar. I think that freedom started there because
we were doing it all in our own little studio – we
weren’t in some expensive New York studio with a
producer standing there over your shoulder, making
you feel uncomfortable. I would write at home; I
would play the demos on a loop for a few hours and
try to come up with something, or I’d just be in the
studio with the guys, trying to improvise something
with them. Even that felt a lot more comfortable
because it was just like hanging out with some
mates, there was no pressure to write a hit on the
spot. So that kind of vibe started with [Lo La Ru],
but now I’m really in my groove, and I think you can
hear that on 0202.
I love the way this record really comes to life
with headphones; at face value it has a really
slick, synth-heavy palate, but when you
really dive into it, you find these very
densely layered soundscapes where the
guitar plays so many different roles in a
song, not just leading the melody. What was
it like using the guitar as a much broader,
more experimental tool on this record?
It was great! It’s what I’ve always really wanted
to do. Honestly, over the last few years, I’ve kind of
gotten over the guitar sounding just like a guitar. I
think that’s probably because we’ve been doing it
for such a long time, and I’ve just always listened
to guitar music, so I’m a little bored with it. I do
still love rock music, but you get a bit bored with
everything sounding the same. Especially because
I’m not as technically great as some other players –
my thing is more just, like, mucking around with
different sounds and trying to make a song sound
as out-there and weird as possible.
How much of it is playing around with pedals,
and how much happens in the digital realm?
I’ve got tonnes of pedals! I’ve got way too many
pedals. It’s funny, though, because I only really
used one or two of them on this record. I used an
Electro-Harmonix POG, and a ZVEX Lo-Fi Junky for
that kind of vibrato-y compression. That’s pretty
much it – maybe a bit of reverb, too. But that’s how I
get my guitar to sound kind of synth-y: I’ll just bring
in the different octaves to make it sound more like
an organ, then f*** it up a little bit with the Lo-Fi
and a chorus pedal, or something like that. My
guitar playing is all about ambience and texture –
it’s trying to create a feeling, rather than needing it
to sound “like a guitar” all the time.
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voxampsaustralia
Black Cherry Red Sunburst
34 | COVER STORY

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 | 35

GOOD GODDAMN,
THEY’VE DONE IT AGAIN:
THE FOO FIGHTERS ARE BACK WITH ANOTHER
SOUL-STIRRING ALBUM OF ROCK ’N’ ROLL GOLD,
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A HOT MINUTE, THEY’VE
THROWN US SOME TRULY UNEXPECTED CURVEBALLS.
LONGTIME AXEMAN CHRIS SHIFLETT WALKS
US THROUGH THE BACKSTORY BEHIND THE MOST
AMBITIOUS FOOS ALBUM YET – ONE INFLUENCED BY
POP MUSIC, WHICH CAME TOGETHER FASTER THAN
ANY OF ITS PREDECESSORS, AND WAS MADE IN A
(SUPPOSEDLY) HAUNTED MANSION...

WORDS BY MATT DORIA.

36 | COVER STORY
A
t over a quarter-century as one of the
world’s most strongly prospering rock
bands, there are very few amongst us who
can’t immediately recognise a Foo Fighters song.
They’ve a tried-and-true, absolutely unf***withable
formula: big, driving drum leads, ultra crispy
guitars and that bright, buttery howl many have
tried their hand at, but only Dave Grohl can
truly pull off. So when the Seattle post-grungers
announced their hotly anticipated tenth album,
Medicine At Midnight, we all had at least a vague
idea of what to expect… Then we actually heard
the lead single.
Like a defiant middle finger aimed at those of us
certain the Foos had settled in their ways,
“Shame Shame” landed with less of an
epic, concrete-shattering rock ’n’ roll thud
and more of a breezy, near-unsettlingly
nonchalant calm. The four-minute jam
creeps along with simmering violins,
understated guitar lines and a simple
kick-clap drum beat that never even
teases at, let alone rolls over into, the
ear-splitting excess Taylor Hawkins so
dearly loves to deliver. It signalled an
ambitious departure for Grohl and co, at
a time when OTT stadium rock would be
easier to sell than ever.
Of course, there’s still a tonne of
that classic Foos ferocity to indulge
in on Medicine At Midnight: there’s an
undercurrent of gritty dive-bar swagger
on “Cloudspotter”; a punky, pit-stirring
spirit on “No Son Of Mine” that has us
desperate for more non-seated live
rock shows; and a slick, summery hook
on “Love Dies Young” that makes it a
perfect closing salvo. Hell, even “Holding
Poison” feels like it would’ve fit in snugly
on 1997’s The Colour And The Shape. But
for every classic Foos staple, there’s an
experimental flair you never could’ve seen
coming – like the glittery, Bowie-esque pop slant
on the title track, or the pseudo-Floydian
melancholy of “Chasing Birds”.
As longtime shredder Chris Shiflett fills us
in, now was undoubtedly the best time for the
Foo Fighters to shake things up. Motivated by a
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then-impending 25th anniversary tour that was
poised to have them celebrate one of the most
enviable careers in rock ’n’ roll history (which
never actually happened, obviously), they set up
shop in an eerie old house in Encino, California
where ideas flowed a freely as the beers. The
band were high on life and felt a renewed sense of
creative energy, leading to the quickest writing and
recording process they’d ever experienced.
Between this being album #10 and the fact it
lands during the band’s 25th anniversary,
Medicine At Midnight is a pretty monumental
release by default. Did that significance ever
pop up during the making of this record?
Well y’know, while we were making the record, we
planning what was supposed to happen in 2020. So
yeah, that was definitely something on everybody’s
mind. I feel like with every record, y’know, Dave’s
always trying to do something different in some
way, or we’ve got a new setup to work with that
influences where we take the songs. We’re never just
coasting along. We’re always trying to do something
in reaction to the record we made before, and they
all kind of go end-to-end like that. But where we are
as a band definitely popped up. We were supposed to
do a big 25th anniversary tour and all of that stuff, so
we were definitely thinking about that along the way.
Where do you think the Foo Fighters are
on the timeline right now? Do you see the
band rocking on for another 25 years and
ten more albums?
If my ears hold up, then sure! We’re pretty loud
onstage, man! In 25 years, we’ll all be on stools,
playing ukuleles and doing ballads – but
we might still be going! Maybe we’ll all
be enclosed in a big plastic box with
headphones and amp simulators.
I’ll take it! For now, though, let’s vibe
on Medicine At Midnight. The record
is certainly… Interesting. And I don’t
mean that in a critical way, but my
first reaction was that it felt like a
very notable step in an unexpected
direction. This far into your career,
do you find it important to keep
shaking things up wherever you can?
Yeah, and I mean even just in the sense
of where we record, how we record, and
all of that stuff – that’s all really important
to us. We’ve bounced around quite a bit
over the last few records, from building our
own little studio here in LA, to recording at
Dave’s house, to recording at EastWest and
bunch of other different locations all over
the US for Sonic Highways, or for this one in
a funky old house out in Encino… You don’t
get bored in this band, that’s for sure.
I was reading in the new Total Guitar
that Medicine At Midnight actually started
off as a more straightforward rock album,
and a bunch of songs were demoed and
scrapped before you settled on this groovier,
more pop-oriented kind of sound.
I do recall that when we first got in there, we
recorded a few things – I don’t remember if they ever

really got finished, but yeah, there were some things
that maybe sounded a little more along the lines
of what you would expect. But I mean, to me, this
record – it’s definitely a bit different stylistically, but
it’s still the Foo Fighters, y’know? There’s still lots
of guitar on it, Dave still belts it out like a monster…
I think it’s more of an evolution than a radical
departure from what fans have come to know as the
Foo Fighters’ sound.
I know that as far as individual influences
go, your heart lies in country, Dave has
grunge in his bones, pretty much all of you
come from punk and hardcore origins…
How do all your influences gel together in
the studio?
That’s a good question, because if you look at
all of our record collections, there’s a pretty broad
range of styles in there. Of course we have plenty
of overlap and a lot of common ground, but then
everybody kind of goes off into their own little
areas. But I don’t really bring country-flavoured
guitar ideas into the Foo Fighters. I just play a lot,
y’know? When the Foos aren’t working, I’m doing
my solo thing, I’m playing in the parents’ band at
my kids’ school, or I’m off doing something or other,
y’know? I’m just always playing. And I’ve noticed, in
recent years, how good that feels when we get back
into doing the Foo Fighters stuff.
Because y’know, we’ll take little breaks here and
there – and in the past, when I wasn’t so busy in
those breaks, I’d get back into the rehearsal studio
and feel a little dusty – I’d feel those cobwebs. But I
never feel that anymore because I’m playing all the
time now. So that’s more how my influence plays
into it; it’s not so much about bringing in some of
the stylistic stuff. Because y’know, the guys in the
“IT’S DEFINITELY A BIT
DIFFERENT STYLISTICALLY,
BUT IT’S STILL THE FOO
FIGHTERS, Y’KNOW? THERE’S
STILL LOTS OF GUITARS ON
IT, DAVE STILL BELTS IT OUT
LIKE A MONSTER...”
Foo Fighters aren’t really country music fans – I
don’t think I could bring in some pedal steel riffs and
start twanging away. I don’t think that would fly with
Dave [laughs]. But yeah, it’s just about keeping your
chops feeling good and your strings warm.
For sure. If you’re working out regularly and
then take a break from it, those first
sessions back at the gym are going to be
brutal. You’ve gotta keep your stretches up.
That’s it. Also, we’ve been a band for a really long
| 37
time. So we really know each other, and we know the
way we all play, and there’s a lot of intuitive stuff that
happens there. I think everyone [in the Foo Fighters]
does it to some extent, but it’s good to go out and
play with other people, y’know? It’s good for your
overall musicianship, and to keep yourself inspired –
and to help you appreciate what you’ve got.
Because y’know, when I go out and do a solo tour,
who I’m doing it with always varies from one town
to the next; I’m always having to learn a whole set
with a bunch of new people, and it’s always in those
moments that I realise just how much work it is to
start something like that from scratch every time – to
try and get to that place where you don’t have to talk
about the menial stuff, y’know? Where you just do it.
The Foos have been at that place for a very long time,
just because we’ve all played together for so long.
On a track like “Shame Shame”, the
guitars feel very understated and sort of
minimalist. When you’re in a band with
three guitarists, is it hard to embrace that
‘less is more’ attitude?
I mean, some songs just call for that, y’know? It’s
always a little hard being like, “How do we play this
live when there’s like one guitar line in the whole
song?” You do have to work those kinds of things
out. Sometimes it’ll be a case where you go, “Okay,
I’m just gonna stand backstage for five minutes and
I’ll come back out at the end.” But those moments
are far and few between. And that’s another one
of those things that, over the years, have become
38 | COVER STORY
very natural to navigate – picking out the parts and
deciding who’s going to play what. And a lot of times,
Dave might play something on the record but not
want to fuss around with the part while he’s singing,
so Pat or I will wind up playing it in the show. A lot of
things move around like that.
What’s the creative dynamic like between
yourself, Pat and Dave? Is there a lot of
collaboration or bouncing back and forth?
We tend to record one song at a time, and that
takes about a week once you get into the groove
of making a record. I know for myself as one of
the guitar players, I’m probably recording on, like,
Wednesday. It usually works out that way because
first we’ll get a drum track, then maybe Dave will put
“YOU COULD MAKE A GREAT
SOUNDING RECORD IN A
BEAUTIFUL STUDIO, BUT
YOU COULD ALSO MAKE A
GREAT SOUNDING RECORD IN
SOME SHITTY, DILAPIDATED
HOUSE IN ENCINO!”
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some guitars down and do a vocal, and by the time
it’s my turn to come in, we’re a few days into it. And
so while the drums are getting recorded and other
people are doing their stuff, I’ll be listening to the
song and sort of working out what I’m going to wind
up playing on it. I’ll usually have something roughed
out by that Wednesday.
But there’s a lot of collaboration going on because
I’ll be in there with Greg Kurstin, who’s produced the
last couple of records with us, and Dave, of course,
and then whoever else happens to be sitting on a
couch in the studio. So you can be sitting there and
working on something, and everyone will chime in
like, “No, do this! Try that! What if we did this?” And
then it just kind of evolves and becomes its own thing.
Is there a pecking order to how each of you
add to the guitar parts on a track?
I mean, I can’t think of a time when Dave didn’t
throw his guitar track down first – it’s just sort of a
reference point, y’know? Pat and I will put stuff on
there, then Dave might go back and add something,
or re-do something, or tweak the mix a bit. By the
time you’ve got the drums, Dave’s guitar, my guitar,
Pat’s guitar, bass guitar, percussion, keyboards… All
of a sudden, you’ve got so much going on in a track,
and you can really get a sense of what needs to be
there and what doesn’t. Something important might
not be poking through anymore, so I’ve gotta go back
and change my tone, or maybe Pat has to come up
with something new. It’s always evolving.
What was that house out in Encino like?
Well, Dave had initially just rented the house out
to make some demos, because he had a bunch of
riffs and loose song ideas. And he just really liked
the way the room sounded, he liked the way the
drums sounded and all that kind of stuff, and so
we wound up just bringing out all the real gear and
setting up shop out there. And it was great! It was
very laidback, y’know? We just kind of hung out
every day. If you weren’t recording, you were sitting
out on the back patio or hanging out in the kitchen,
just living in the atmosphere.
I’m sure you knew this question was coming:
was the place actually haunted?
[Laughs] it probably depends on who you talk
to, y’know? When I’m walking through the dark at
night, even if I’m just putting out my trash cans,
I’m spooked – so I’m prone to say ‘yes’. But this
house… It’s sort of like this old, funky mansion
that’s sitting in disrepair, and it’s in a very nice
neighbourhood so it seems a little out of place.
There’s all these nice houses and beautiful yards
all up and down the street, and then there’s this
old, crappy house sitting there, sliding off the hill,
being reclaimed by the earth.
There’s a rumour buzzing around that you’d
actually captured some paranormal shit on
camera, but you can’t release it due to an
NDA you signed with the homeowners. Is

there any truth to that?
I don’t know about that one, to be honest. We’ll
see! I’m sure if it is, that video will see the light of day
somehow. Keep checking Dave’s Instagram for all the
latest ghost footage!
How important is something like the
acoustics of a room when it comes to the
direction you want to take a song in?
Can something like that influence your
creative mindset?
That’s a really good question, because nowadays…
I’m not going to say it doesn’t matter at all, but so
much gets manipulated after its recorded, whether
that’s in Logic or Pro Tools or whatever Greg’s got
kicking around. I don’t know how much of the room
even winds up in the recording – I guess it does, but
it’s all very processed after the fact. It’s a funny thing
because you could make a great sounding record in
a beautiful studio, but you could also make a great
sounding record in some shitty, dilapidated house in
Encino! I think it has a lot to do with who’s manning the
decks, y’know, and what you’re playing through them.
My understanding is that for the most part,
these songs would go from rough ideas to
demos in no more than 30 minutes. Is that
loose, run-and-gun mentality something you
find crucial in capturing the energy you have
in the Fooies?
I love it. And it’s not how we normally work, so
that was a real breath of fresh air on this record.
Normally, the process is that Dave makes some
demos and we all get together to learn them, we
rehearse them, we make some new demos, and then
we go back and make some more demos, and then
we go back and make even more demos, and then by
the time we get into the studio and make the record,
we’ve demoed all the songs ten times – which, in my
opinion, can get a little stale.
So this time, we skipped that whole process. Dave
made some reference recordings, then we’d just sort
of flesh them out on the spot. And I feel like as the
recording process went on, we wouldn’t even really
flesh them out as much – we just started, y’know? I
think that process of fleshing them out was more how
we worked in the beginning, but then by the end of
it we’d just be like, “Alright, here’s the idea,” Taylor
would put something down on the spot, and the song
would start getting built from there.
So was there much improv going on?
I wouldn’t say that, because it’s not really
improvising – it’s like noodling around until you find
something that works. I mean, I guess there’s a bit of
improvisation to it, but that’s not what I’m doing. I’m
thinking about it way in advance and trying to wrap
my head around what the song is, and what I think
the song needs.
How many revisions will a riff go through
before you find something that clicks?
It really depends on the song. I think “Shame
Shame” was pretty much the same as the demo,
more or less – I don’t think that one changed
radically. But a song like “No Son Of Mine” changed
quite a bit. I think that was one of the songs
where we had recorded a version of it, then it got
tweaked pretty heavily and became something
pretty different.
Well those two tracks are very different in
mood and structure as well. Do you find that
songs come together in different ways
depending on what’s going on in them?
It probably does. “Shame Shame” came together
much quicker because there’s so much less on it.
But there was a lot more that we’d recorded for that
song, which wound up just not being used. There’s
also that process of elimination that can happen.
| 39
What guitars were you jamming out on?
I have a signature model with Fender, and we did
a Masterbuilt version that Greg Fessler built for me.
I had a red one of those up there [in Encino], and
then somewhere in the middle of making the record,
Fender sent me a green one. I think that one’s my
favourite, now. They both have noiseless P-90s in
them, which are great – they really growl, they’ve got
a real specific kind of thing they deal.
Then a couple years ago, I bought an old ’57 Les
Paul, and that definitely got used. Those beautiful
PAFs in it make such a difference. I also used one
or two of my Strats on this record, which is a little
unusual for a Foo Fighters record – we don’t usually
throw down much of the Strat. And then I think I
used a more traditional sort of Tele with a single-
coil pickup. I’m sure I just picked up whatever was
sitting there in the room a couple times, too. You
know how it is: when you’re recording an album,
everybody brings out all their gear, so there’s a lot
to pick and choose from.
You get a really cool dynamic with those
signature Teles, balancing the groove of these
songs with just the right tinge of P-90 bite.
Yeah, it’s nice to have something that sits in a little
bit of a different place, tonally. Pat and Dave are
usually playing through humbuckers. And for years
that’s all I ever played through, too, but it is nice to
have somebody in there playing something that gives
it a little bit of a different colour. There’s something
about those P-90s where even when you grit ‘em up
real good, they still have a lot of clarity. When you
play a full chord, you can still hear every note. That
kind of mushes out with a real hot humbucker.
Then with the PAFs in the Les Paul, how did
you find that added to the flavour profile?
To be honest, I’d be lying if I said I could tell
you what I played on what song – somebody might
have made a note of it somewhere, but I don’t
remember. And I mean, that’s the thing about
recording the way we record: you go in and you’re
noodling around, trying to find your part, and you
do it that one time, and then will months go by
where you’re not playing anything at all. Then you
have to go in and play the song again, and you’re
like, “I don’t even know what the f*** I played!”
So you’ll have to go into the studio and pull up the
track, solo tracks out and go, “Oh! Right! It’s these
two things and they’re kind of overlapping…”
How does that work out in the way of effects?
Were you shooting out many pedals?
I definitely used a lot of Greg Kurstin’s pedals.
We used his Roland Space Echo a lot – I couldn’t
get enough of that thing. I don’t know where all the
pedals came from, but I don’t think many of them
were mine. But I love a good phaser, a flanger, some
tape echo – those are the big three for me. And you
can’t go past the [Jim Dunlop] Fuzz Face!
With some of those more upbeat, dance-y
tones, did you find yourself experimenting
with many unique effects?
That was more in the guitar selection than
effects, I think. One of the things that’s so great
about working with Greg is that you can go to him
with a reference track and be like, “I want to make
my guitar sound like Nick Jones on ‘Know Your
Rights’”, and he’s just like, “Right! Got it! Boom!”
He can work that shit out lickety-split. He’s really
well-versed in all the different ways to get different
effect tones out of his gear – that’s always one of
the biggest highlights of recording with him.
 AEROSMITH &
RUN DMC
“WALK THIS WAY”
I
nitially inspired by the funk sound of The
Meters, “Walk This Way” started life as a
soundcheck jam before being completed for
Aerosmith’s 1975 release Toys In The Attic – later
rereleased in a collaboration with hip-hop group
Run DMC. The song’s riffs are largely based around
single-notes in E (the chorus) and C (the verse),
punctuated by occasional A5 power chords.
Those riffs are relatively easy to play slowly,
but their catchiness relies on a mysterious
swagger in the 16th notes – not quite swing,
but not quite straight either. You’ll need to be
very precise with your picking, and a constant
alternate picked approach is probably the best
way to keep that 16th note groove in check. You’ll
need a distorted tone, too, but be judicious with
this – too much saturation will muddy the sound
and the impact will be lost.

AEROSMITH & RUN DMC “WALK THIS WAY”

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Lead guitarist Joe Perry’s solo is brimful of attitude: check out Bar #47, where we see bluesy minor and major thirds (E b and E notes) alongside major sixth A notes bringing
Photo: Getty

a funky Dorian mode flavour to proceedings. Bars #59 to #62 are in the same vein, as Perry uses these occasional outside notes to build on a minor pentatonic base.

| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
 | 41

AEROSMITH & RUN DMC “WALK THIS WAY”

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42 | LESSON AEROSMITH & RUN DMC / WALK THIS WAY

AEROSMITH & RUN DMC “WALK THIS WAY”

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| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
 | 43

AEROSMITH & RUN DMC “WALK THIS WAY”

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# Cœ7 œ n œ b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ b œ œ n œœ œ œ
œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ œ
j
bœ

3 PB 7

BU BD slow
10 8 5 5 BU BD
9 8 8 7 5 7 5 7 5 7 7 (8) ( 7) 5 5
10 10 7 8 8 5 7 7 (8) ( 8 )( 7 ) 5

47
44 | LESSON AEROSMITH & RUN DMC / WALK THIS WAY

AEROSMITH & RUN DMC “WALK THIS WAY”

# œ nœ bœ nœ bœ œ
œ bœ œ b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ
j
œ
j

œ œ 3
œ
3 3

BU BD BU 8
8 5 5
5 8 5 8 5 5 8 8 8 7 5 7 7 (8) (7) 5 7( 8 ) 5
7 8 8 8
3 3
5
49

E5
j ~~~~~~~ j ~~~~~~~
Ó Œ œ
j œ œ ‰ Œ ‰ œj # œJ œj œ Ó Œ œ
j œ œ ‰ Œ ‰ œj # œJ œj œ
~~~~~
~~ ~~~~~
~~
BU BD BU BD BU BU BD BU BD BU
2 (4) (2) 4 ( 6 ) ( 4 )( 7 ) 2 (4 ) (2) 4 ( 6 ) ( 4 )( 7 )

51

~~~~~~~~
~~ #œ œ~~
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~
~~ #œ œ ~~
~~~~~~
œ
j œ œ œ
j
œ
j
œ
j œ œ œ
j
œ
j

Œ J ‰ Œ ‰ J Œ J ‰ Œ ‰ J

BU ~~~~~~~~
~~ BU BD BU ~~~~~~
~~ BU ~~~~~~~~
~~ BU BD BU ~~~~~~
~~
T 0 (1
10 12 ) 12 (14) ( 12 )(1
15 ) 0 (1
10 12 ) 12 (14) ( 12 )(1 )

55

œ œ œ j œ œ œ b œ œj œ j œ œ nœ bœ œ. #œ
A
œœ
œ œ
œ œ œ
j
œ œ œ œœ œ
≈ ≈
PB 14
BU BD BU BU BD
12 BD BU BD
15 12 5 (17)
15 (1
15 ) 12 11 155 (17) 5 (17)
15 (15) 12 14
(15) (1
14 ) 12 14 (1
15 ) (14) 12 14
A 14 14

59

E5
n œ œ #œ j œ. œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œj b œ n œ œj b œ œ n œ # œœ
A
œœ
œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ
nœ #œ œ œ
3

12 16 12 12 BU BU BD
12 5 17
15 15 12 15 14 12 12 14
12 14 12 13 14 (15) 14 (15) (14) 12 14 12 14
A 14 14 14

61

| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
 | 45

AEROSMITH & RUN DMC “WALK THIS WAY”

E5
√
A

œ~~~~~~~~~~~ œ œ œ œ œ œ b œ n œ œ œ œj œ
1/4

# œ œ
j œ œ œ œ
j œ œ œ
œ œ
~~~~~~~~~
~~
1/4 PB 17
BU BU BD BU BD
BU (1
12 12 17 17 18 ) (19) (17) 15 15 (17) [17] (1
15 )
T 17 20 (22) 20 (22) 20 15 (17)
17 19
B
63

œ œ œ jbœ
E5 A7
# œj # œ œ œ n œ œj n œ œ œ œ œ œ j œ œ œ
œ nœ bœ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
nœ

12 BU BD BD BD BU BD
T 7 13
15 12
14 (15)
(1
14 ) 12 14 (1
16 ) (14) 12 12 12 (14) [14 ] (12)
14 14 12
B 14 13 12 11 12 11
12
12
12
11 12 11
12
65

E5 A5

#
3 3

& œ
j œ. œ n œ œ ≈ œ ≈ œj œ œ œ œ œ œ ≈ œj œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ≈ œj œ œ œ œœ œœ
œ œ
BU BD BU BD BU BD BU BD
T 2 (4 ) (2 ) 0 2 2 (4 ) [4] (2) 0 2 (4) [4] (2) 0 0 2 2 (4) ( 2) 0 2
2 2 2 2 2 2
0
67

E5 A5

# œ œ œj œ œ
œ œ œ œœœ ≈ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ
1/4

œ
j j
œœœ œ œ œœ
R œœ œ
1/4
BU BU BU BD
0 0 0
T 3 0 3 ( 5) 0 3 0 0 3 ( 5) 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 3 (5) ( 3) 0
2 0 2
2
0
69

E5 A5 E5

# jœ
3
~~~~~~~~
≈ œ Œ Ó
1/4

œœœ j
œœœ ≈ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œœ
œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ
œ œ œ
~~~~~~
~~
BUBD BU BD
T 2 (4) (2) 0 2( 4 ) (2) 0 2
A 2 2 2 0 2 0
1/4
2 0 2 2
B 2 1 0
3 0
0
0
71
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 LEARN TO PLAY AEROSMITH & RUN DMC – "WALK THIS WAY"

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PLAY IT LIKE PAGE
20 LESSONS TO HELP YOU MASTER
STOLEN GUITAR OF ALL TIME, THE PLAYING STYLE OF LED ZEP'S

access to different play modes. ERIC CLAPTON'S "BEANO" LEGENDARY LEAD RIFFER

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 | 49

ˣˡ
WAYS TO
PLAY LIKE
PAGE:
RIFFING
MASTER THE ART OF THE RIFF,
AS INSPIRED BY THE MASTER
OF ALL RIFFS!

B
rian May recently referred to Jimmy Page
as “a master of invention”, and we’d have
to agree – especially on the subject of
riffing. Few, if any, can claim to have laid down
quite so many cracking riffs as Page. “Whole Lotta
Love”, “Heartbreaker”, “Kashmir” – we could go
on! So, what’s the secret? Well, it’s not so much
a secret – just a little required knowledge. From
the pentatonic scale to some signature chord
shapes, we’ll look at the techniques behind the Led
Zeppelin icon’s style.

JIMMY PAGE START WITH PENTATONICS

q = 80
N.C. C 5 N.C. A 5 1/4 1/4 N.C.

≈ .. ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈ ..
≈ ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈
# # # n # n # # # n #
. .
. 3
7
3
5
5
3 3
7
3
2
2
0
1/4 2
2
0
1/4 2
2
0
.
0 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 0 2 3 4 0 0 3 4 5 0 0 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 0 2 3 4 0 0 3 3 0 3 4

Many of Jimmy’s riffs are based in the minor pentatonic scale (“Black Dog”, “Heartbreaker”, “Moby Dick”) and include octave jumps (“Immigrant Song”, “The Wanton
Song”). Here we see these two techniques in A minor combined with chromatic passing notes to tie them together.

Classic Tones
PHYSICAL GRAFFITI-ERA PHASER/OVERDRIVE

A
core Les Paul sound with a touch of swirly phaser – just check out “The Rover” and you’ll get
the idea. Jimmy was known to use MXR Phase 90 pedals during his time in The Firm. Paired
with a Les Paul and a crunchy Marshall amp, it’s an easy tone to dial in.

RIG: AMP SETTINGS CHANNEL: OVERDRIVE

Gibson
Les Paul Standard 5 5
7 3
Marshall 8
JMP Super Lead
MXR Script Phase 90 GAIN BASS MID TREBLE REVERB
50 | LESSON JIMMY PAGE

Classic Tones RIG: AMP SETTINGS CHANNEL: CLEAN

LED ZEPPELIN I-ERA FUZZ TONES Fender ‘Dragon’ 6 6
Telecaster 3

T
he essential ingredients for a fuzz tone circa
2 8
Led Zeppelin I are a single-coil equipped guitar
(preferably a Telecaster), a fuzz pedal and Sola Sound Tone
Bender Professional
fairly clean sounding valve amp. The fuzz will push Mk II fuzz GAIN BASS MID TREBLE REVERB
the highs hard, so wind the treble back on the amp if
you need to.

JIMMY PAGE TAKE INFLUENCE FROM EARLY ROCK ’N’ ROLL JIMMY PAGE PALM-MUTE THE BASS STRINGS

q =160 q =75
A5 A6 A5 A7 A5 G#7 A7 G#7 A7 A5 A7 G/D D/F #
Play 4 times Play 4 times

. n n# n # .. .. n .≈œ ..
œ .
‰ n n . œœ .. .
œ n # .
n
PM PM PM PM

. . . 3 3 .
2
0
. 2 4 2
0 0 0
5
0 3
2
4 0
5
4
6
5
0
5
4
6
5 2
0 0
. . 70 5 0 0 50 4 0 0 40 2 0 0 20 0 4
7 [7] 5 54
0 0 0
0
0
2
4 .
0 2 3

Page’s Chuck Berry influence can be heard from “Rock And Roll” to Boogie “With This style of riff as heard in “What Is And What Should Never Be” influenced
Stu”. Here the classic boogie riff is given a Page-style chordal twist. countless acts from AC/DC to the Foo Fighters – simply keep the fifth
string muted and the fourth-string notes clean.

JIMMY PAGE UNSETTLE THE GROOVE

q = 67
#
N.C. 1/4 D7 9
1/4 1/4

.. # n # #
#
n ..

.5 1/4 1/4 1/4

6 .
. 6 7
0 5 3 0 0
5 6 7
0 5 3 0 0
5 6 7
0 5 3 0 0
5
4
5
.

Jimmy employed rhythmic displacement in “Black Dog” and “Kashmir”. “What’s rhythmic displacement,” you ask? Well, if your riff is, say, two and a half beats long (as ours
is here), it won’t sync with the downbeat on every repeat. Our riff starts on Beat #1 of Bar #1 then repeats halfway through Beat #3.

Classic Tones RIG:

“DOWN BY THE SEASIDE” Fender Telecaster
STYLE TREMOLO/DELAY
Vox AC30

I
t’s a deeper cut in the
Zeppelin back catalogue, Compressor
but “Down By The Seaside”
needs all your tonal knowhow Tape delay
to dial it in. It’s a deep (eighth note repeats)
tremolo effect running
through a clean channel.
Compression and delay help and speed both set
those chords to sustain. at 8)

AMP SETTINGS CHANNEL: OVERDRIVE

5
3 7 3
8

GAIN BASS MID TREBLE REVERB

| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
 | 51

ˣˡ
WAYS TO
PLAY LIKE
PAGE:
ALTERED TUNINGS
WANT TO BREAK FREE FROM THE LIMITATIONS OF
STANDARD TUNING? START HERE...

C
hanging the tuning on your guitar is
like learning another language. And
it’s a language Jimmy Page speaks
fluently, having explored several altered
tunings with Zeppelin. “Moby Dick” is a good
place to start – played in drop D (DGDGBE),
it’s the easiest non-standard tuning of ’em
all. But Jimmy used others too, and though
he’s famed for using DADGAD (notably on
“Kashmir” and “Black Mountain Side”),
we should draw your attention to open C6
(CACGCE) and open A (E A E A C# E), too.

ALTERED TUNINGS: OPEN G (DGDGBD)

q =110 # # #
G G 7 11 G G 6 11 G D/G G G 7 11 G Bb A G Bb5 C5 G5 G

#
‰ œœ #n ‰ œœ #n ‰ œœ # b n n ..
œ œ œ n
œ œ œ b
D
B
0
0 . 0
0
0
6
0
6
0
6
0
6
0
0
0
0
0
14
0
14
0
14
0
12
0
12
0
12
0
7
0
7
0
7
0
0
0
0
0
6
0
6
0
6
0
6
0
0
0
0
0
0 3 2 0
0
0 .
G
D
G
4
0
0
. 4
0
0
6
0
0
6
0
0
6
0
0
6
0
0
4
0
0
4
0
0
0
14
0
0
14
0
0
14
0
0
12
0
0
12
0
0
12
0
0
7
0
0
7
0
0
7
0
4
0
0
4
0
0
6
0
0
6
0
0
6
0
0
6
0
0
4
0
0
4
0
0
4
0
0
3
3
2 0
2 0
3
3
3
5
5
5
0
0
0
4
0
0
.
D
1

Used famously in “That’s The Way” and “Black Country Woman”, open G is but one of many tunings in the Page playbook. Our example shows some typical Jimmy-style
two-note shapes with open strings droning in the background creating, rich and dense harmonies.

Classic Tones RIG:

“TOES DOWN” WAH Fender Telecaster
SOLO TONE
Sola Sound Tone

E
ssentially the same as Bender Professional
our Zeppelin I-era Mk II fuzz
sound, but with the
benefit of a cranked wah Supro Coronado
pedal adding another level of 1690T
drive. Page’s model was a
UK-built ‘grey’ Vox wah, with Fully-cocked Vox
a distinctive sound. wah pedal

AMP SETTINGS CHANNEL: OVERDRIVE

2
5
7 3
8
Photos: Getty Images x2

GAIN BASS MID TREBLE REVERB

52 | LESSON JIMMY PAGE

ALTERED TUNINGS: DADGAD

q = 83
b
D5 Dmaj 7 D 7sus 4 D7 Dm 6 Dm Dsus 2 D

œ nœ ˙˙ ..
.. œœ n n bœ ˙˙ .. ..
œ œ ˙.
œ œ
let ring throughout
D
A . 7
0
7
0
7 7
0 0
7
0
7
0
5
0
5
0
4
0
4
0
4
0
4
0
3
0
3
0
3
0
3
0
3
0 0
0
0
0
0
0
0 .
G
D
A
. 7
0
0
7
0
0
7 7
0 0
7
0
6
0
5
0
0
5
0
0
5
0
0
5
0
0
5
0
5
0
3
0
0
3
0
0
3
0
3
0
3
0
10
0
9
0
7
11
0
9
11
0
9
.
D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Jimmy’s extensive use of DADGAD tuning was inspired by two of his favourite guitarists, Bert Jansch and Davey Graham – check out “Black Mountain Side” and “Kashmir”
for Page’s most notable examples. Once again, notice how simple shapes and open strings combine here in our example.

ALTERED TUNINGS: OPEN C6 (CACGCE)

q = 86
C Gadd 11/A Csus 2 C G/A D 7/C Cm/E b D7 C

.. # ..
b
let ring throughout
E
C . 7 7 5 5 4 4 2 2
3 2
0
0
0
3 0
0 .
G
C
A
. 5 7
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0 2
0
0
0 0
0 5
0 0
2
0 0
0
0 0
0
0 .
C 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
1 m p i p m p m p i p m p m p i p m p m p i p m p m p i p m p m p i p m p m p i p m p m p i p m p
p p p p p p p p

Though there are several potential tunings that can make up a C6 chord, this is Page’s preferred one, as used in “Bron-Yr-Aur” and “Friends”. Our passage also uses a
variation on the Travis picking method from DADGBD-tuned “Going To California”, so you’re getting a whole lotta Page here!

ALTERED TUNINGS: OPEN A (E A E A C# E)

q =120
A5 C5 B5 A5 D5 C5 B5 A5 C5 B5 A5
~~~~~~~~
A
# ~~~~~~ œ~~~~~~~~~~~
Play 4 times

.. nn ..
n
w/slide ~~~~~~~~
let ring
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~
E
C# . 12 .
A
E
A
. 0
0
0
3
3
3
2
2
2
0
0
0
5
5
5
3
3
3
2
2
2
0
0
0
3
3
3
2
2
2
0
0
0
12
12
.
E

Here we’re looking at open A tuning, as used by Jimmy in the slide-guitar classic In “My Time Of Dying” (and by Jack White many years later on “Seven Nation Army”). Place
your slide on either your third or fourth finger and keep any fingers behind the slide resting on the strings to prevent excess noise.

Classic Tones RIG: AMP SETTINGS CHANNEL: OVERDRIVE

IN THE EVENING Gibson Les Paul 4
Standard 7 7 3

S
ome late-Zeppelin material and lots of
Jimmy’s work with The Firm featured 2
Marshall JMP Super
chorus- and delay-soaked guitars – a sign of Lead
the times as the ‘80s arrived. Still, the core Les GAIN BASS MID TREBLE REVERB
Paul / Marshall rig remains the same and will get Chorus pedal
you the basic tone to build on.
slow regeneration)

eighth repeats / 30
percent feedback)

| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
 | 53

ˣˡ
WAYS TO
PLAY LIKE
PAGE:
SOLOING
NO PAGE TUTORIAL IS COMPLETE
WITHOUT A LOOK AT THE
SOLOING STYLE FROM ONE
OF THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME.

B
lues and traditional rock ’n’ roll are at the core of
Page’s soloing style, especially in the early days on
Led Zeppelin’s debut – so there are some pentatonic
basics to cover. “Heartbreaker”’s breakdown solo, for example,
gives you an idea of Page’s unending creativity though, as
he explored fret-hand legato and some wacky string bends.
There’s a lot to get your teeth into here, so make sure to take it
slowly and break each of our licks down phrase by phrase.

JIMMY PAGE RAPID-FIRE LEGATO LEAD

q =150
Am

.. .. .. ..
3 3 3 3 3 3

.5 8 5 5 8 5 5 8 5 5 8 5 . .5 8 5
8
5 8 5 8 5
8
5 8
.
. 7 7 7 7
. . .

These fast, blues-based legato licks are heard throughout Jimmy’s solo work – and he’d often improvise around ideas like these. Aim to execute those rapid-fire
hammer-ons and pull-offs cleanly. This might mean slowing right down to develop your technique.

JIMMY PAGE REPEATING PHRASES JIMMY PAGE UP-PICKING

q = 90
q =150
√
Em

w~~~~~~~~ w~~~~
Am

.. ..
3 3 3 œ
œ

3 3 3
3
~~~~~~~~
3 6 6 6 6

~~~~
. .
5 5 15 12 15 12 15 12 15 12 15 12 15 12 15 12 15 12
5 5 8 5 8 8 8 10
12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 15 17

. .
5 5 7 5 7 7
5 5 7 5 7 7
7 5 7 7

≤ ≥≤ ≥
Photos: Getty Images

These triplet pentatonic sequence ideas are commonplace in Jimmy’s lead As heard in songs such as “Stairway To Heaven” and “Dazed And Confused”, Jimmy
playing. Apply the pattern to the pentatonic scales you already know. picks this kind of lick by starting on an upstroke to keep him in prime position.
54 | LESSON JIMMY PAGE

ˣˡ
WAYS TO
PLAY LIKE
PAGE
JIMMY PAGE ROCK ’N’ ROLL INFLUENCE

q = 90 1/4
1/4
Em

w~~~~~~~~~~~
œ
œ œ œ œ œ

12 BU 12 BU 12 BU 12
BU
12 15
BU
(17)
1/4

15
1/4

12
hold bend

12
RP
~~~~~~~~~~~
BU 12 12 12 12 15 (17) 12 15 12 BU 15 BD
14 (16) 14 (16 ) 14 (16) 14 (16) 14 (16 ) (16) (14)12 12 11
14 14

Jimmy’s Chuck Berry influence shows itself in these typical repeating string bends. The held bend in the second bar however is more of a country-blues innovation that
can be heard in the solo on “Stairway To Heaven”. It’s a great alternative idea when playing standard minor pentatonic licks.

JIMMY PAGE MORE RHYTHMIC DISPLACEMENT

q =160

œ œ œ œ œ œ cont. sim.

BU 12 BU 12 BU 12 BU 12 BU 12 BU
12 15 12 12 15 12 12 15 12 12 15 12 12 15 12
14 (16 ) 14 (16 ) 14 (16 ) 14 (16 ) 14 (16 ) 14 (16 )

This is a classic Page-style ‘milk the lick’ idea that can be transposed and played over any blues track – just rinse and repeat! Notice the rhythmic displacement at play
here: the lick is one and a half beats long, so it doesn’t simply repeat on the beat every time.

JIMMY PAGE WIDE STRING BENDS

q =147
E5 D5 E5 D5 E5
√
œ
œ b ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~ œ
œ
.. # # œ. œ œ .. # œ œ .. œ .. ..
‰ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ ..
BU BD ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~ BU
19 (22)
. [22] (19) 19 18 17
20 17 17 20 17 17 15 14 12 10
19 (22)
.
. 18 18 17 (19)
BU
16 (18)
BU
14 (16 )
BU
12 (14 )
BU .

Jimmy is fond of huge three- or four-semitone bends within the blues scale. You can hear them in songs such as “You Shook Me” and “Whole Lotta Love” – and here in our
example, which kicks off with a big bend.

JIMMY PAGE BLUES ROOTS

q. = 54
A7
. D9 n A7
nœ
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. # œ~~~~
. n œ # n nœ ˙~~~~~~
.
Œ. Œ.

BU BD ~~~~ 10 9 10 9 10 12
~~~~ 15 15 15
BU ~~~~~~~
13 (17 ) (13) 10 10 10 10 10 10 13 13 13 17 17 17 15 13 (14)
11 11 11 14 14 14 12 14 12 14
14

As a young man, Jimmy listened to blues legends such as BB King, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Freddie King and more – and you’ll hear their influences throughout his playing.
This lick alone covers much of Jimmy’s phrasing ideas on early Led Zeppelin songs like “I Can’t Quit You Baby”.

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56 | FEATURE
GET YOUR ARMY IN SHAPE LEARN THE SECRETS BEHIND JACK WHITE’S ONE-OF-A-KIND TONE ON
THE WHITE STRIPES’ 2003 CLASSIC “SEVEN NATION ARMY”.
T
he White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” is proof
that if you write a great riff, the world will beat
a path to your door. Simple and infectious,
the descending ‘bass’ line (actually recorded and
performed on a Kay hollowbody electric guitar
through a Whammy pedal set to the octave-down
setting) still lives on today, long after the Stripes
THE ORIGINAL ARSENAL
GUTAR: Early-’60s Kay K6533 archtop
hollowbody with single Kay “cheese grater”
single-coil pickup (neck pickup only).
AMP: Mid-’60s Sears Silvertone 1485
(Channel: 2, Volume: 6, Bass: 5, Treble: 7;
Reverb and Tremolo off).
CABINET: Sears Silvertone 1485 six-by-ten
with Jensen C10Q ceramic speaker.
| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
WORDS BY CHRIS GILL.
disbanded, as a supporters’ chant at soccer matches
and other sporting events.
“Seven Nation Army” was also the biggest hit
The White Stripes ever scored, with frontman Jack
White earning status as a bonafide modern electric
guitar hero for his cool riff, slick slide playing and
rough-in-all-the-right-places tone.
EFFECTS: Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi
(Volume: 6, Tone: 7, Sustain: 9); DigiTech
Whammy 4 (Whammy 1-octave down setting).
STRINGS/TUNING: String gauge and brand
unspecified (use at least a set of .010–.046
strings); Open A (E A E A C# E).
PICK/SLIDE: Dunlop Heavy 1.0mm Tortex;
chrome-plated steel slide.
White’s performance of the song is characterised
by three distinct tones that add variety and interest
to the otherwise simple song structure. In addition
to the ‘bass’ line, White plays the same riff with his
Kay hollowbody using a slide to play jangly, mildly
overdriven chords, and he performs a raucous
overdubbed slide solo with ripping distortion courtesy
of an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi fuzz pedal.
Aspiring slide players, take note: using a distortion
or fuzz pedal can give single-note slide lines added
body, sustain and cut that boosts the guitar tone to
the front of the mix. White says that he uses whatever
strings his guitar techs put on his instruments and has
no idea what gauge or brand they are. For the best
tone, use the heaviest gauge you can tolerate.
TONE TIP: Turn up the Pro Junior’s volume
control until the tone just starts to break up.
This provides tone that’s clean enough for a
convincing bass line with the octave-down effect
and jangly enough for the main rhythm guitar
part. Kick on the Big Muff for the slide solo only.
 | 57

THE KEYS
TO COMFORT

HERE’S HOW PROG LEGEND

DAVID GILMOUR ACHIEVED HIS SOUND
ON ONE OF PINK FLOYD’S MOST
ENDURING HITS, “COMFORTABLY NUMB”.
WORDS BY CHRIS GILL.

O
ne of the standout tracks from Pink
Floyd’s ambitious concept album The
Wall, “Comfortably Numb” has an
enduring status as a timeless classic, thanks
to David Gilmour’s dazzling, emotional guitar
work, which has consistently earned top honours
in “best guitar solo” polls over the last few
decades. Gilmour’s performance on the song’s
two solos are master classes in phrasing and
tone, showing how something that seems simple
on the surface can actually be quite sophisticated
and complex when one analyses the finer
essential details.
While the solos are the main focal guitar
parts of the song (and hence this article as
well), acoustic and pedal steel guitar tracks also
contribute notable roles. Gilmour played a ZB
SS10 10-string pedal steel processed with a long,
repeating delay and reverb for the intro and first
verse, and an Ovation Custom Legend 1619-4
with modified “Nashville” tuning (with a high
E replacing the low E and octave-up A, D and G
strings replacing the regular A, D and G) provides
the acoustic guitar rhythm track on the choruses
and remaining verses after the first.
For the solos, Gilmour played his iconic
black 1969 Fender Strat into an amp setup that
was essentially a smaller version of his stage
performance rig, consisting of a 100-watt Hiwatt
half stack and a Yamaha RA-200 revolving speaker
system, with the Hiwatt and Yamaha run in
parallel. The Strat and Hiwatt head had custom
modifications that shape much of the distinctive
tonal character of both solos.
The Strat’s DiMarzio FS-1 bridge pickup provided
hotter output than stock Strat pickups, and a
separate toggle switch that engages the neck
pickup allowed Gilmour to use the bridge and
neck pickup together for the first solo for added
body and sustain. Gilmour’s Hiwatts also have
custom linked inputs that combine the Normal and
Brilliant channels in parallel, similar to jumping
the channel inputs on a four-input model or using
a Y-cable. The Yamaha rotating speaker cabinet
provides subtle modulation and also adds body
to the throaty midrange tones produced by the
Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi fuzz pedal.
The key to Gilmour’s smooth, singing sustain is
to provide a strong signal up front (courtesy of the
hot FS-1 pickup and MXR Dyna Comp compressor)
while also stacking gain via the Big Muff and
Hiwatt, each set to moderate volume levels that
combine into something bigger than the sum of
their individual parts. Automatic double tracking,
distant room miking and a subtle hint of long delay
added during mixing polish the final performance
with ethereal ambience.

THE ORIGINAL ARSENAL

GUITAR: 1969 Fender Stratocaster (alder body) with
late-’70s Charvel birdseye maple neck, DiMarzio
FS-1 single-coil pickup (bridge), two 1971 Fender
Stratocaster single-coil pickups (middle and neck)
and custom neck pickup engage switch (bridge and
neck pickup setting on the first solo, and bridge
pickup only on the second solo and outro). Volume:
10. Middle Pickup Tone: 10. Neck Tone: 10.
AMP: circa 1973-74 custom Hiwatt DR103 100-watt
head modified with linked channel input (Linked
input, Normal Volume: 7, Brilliant Volume:
4.5, Bass: 6, Treble: 5, Middle: 4, Presence: 6,
Master Volume: 5) with WEM Super Starfinder
200 four-by-12 cabinet with Fane Crescendo 12A
speakers, Alembic F-2B preamp (Input 1, Bright:
On, Volume: 3, Bass: 4, Middle: 4, Treble: 5) with
Yamaha RA-200 revolving speaker cabinet
(internal preamp/amp bypassed).
EFFECTS: MXR Dyna Comp (Output: 7, Sensitivity:
4), circa 1974 Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi
(Volume: 4, Tone: 6, Sustain: 6).
STRINGS/TUNING: Gibson Sonomatic .010, .012,
.016, .025, .034, .044/Standard.
PICK: Herco Flex 75 heavy nylon.
58 | FEATURE

A POSITIVE INFLUENCE
WITH THEIR RIFF-HEAVY NEW ALBUM POSITIVE RISING: PART 2 ON THE HORIZON, DZ DEATHRAYS’
TWO GUITARISTS LOOK BACK ON THEIR FIRST DAYS BEHIND THE FRETBOARD – AND GIVE THREE
BUDDING PLAYERS THE CHANCE TO MAKE THEIR OWN SHREDDIEST DREAMS COME TRUE.

THE FIRST SPARK
Shane Parsons: I was 13 years old, some of
my friends at school had started to learn guitar
from their older brothers and I was keen to get
in on it too. Starting high school and discovering
Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine and a slew
of punk and rock bands from all over the world
all led me to not only want to be a guitarist, but
also a songwriter.
I think one of the first big moments for me
wanting to be in the rock world was the 2001 Livid
Festival in Brisbane. Seeing bands like The Hives
rip apart the stage (like they are so well known for
now) was a completely new thing for me. By this
time I was in grade ten, living in Bundaberg where
touring bands would hardly ever come through.
You would occasionally get a band come to town
and play the high schools or PCYC – I remember
Sick Puppies playing a show at our high school and
I couldnಬt believe how good it sounded.
We were completely starved for live music, so
we played our own shows at school socials and
house parties, and when we were allowed to, we
would travel down to Brisbane and the Gold Coast
to become sweaty little moshers at the Big Day
Out and Livid.
Lachlan Ewbank: My brother and his mates
used to jam at my house all the time, so that
would be the first big moment of exposure.They
also introduced me to bands like Nirvana, Faith No
More, Mark Of Cain… The list goes on.
I remember going to the Big Day Out and seeing
Regurgitator and Magic Dirt. That’s when I knew
that I wanted to start my own band. I would jam
with my brother and we eventually went on to
start a band. I started out playing drums, but my
brother wasn’t too keen on singing and playing
guitar so I had to step up and do that job while he
sat back on the drums.
THE FIRST AXE
Shane: My first guitar was an Odessa acoustic,

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 | 59

which my dad bought me for Christmas at the

end of 1999. I remember visiting him on the Gold
Coast during the school holidays. He had a carpet
business at the time and I would travel around
with him, but instead of going into the houses
where he was working, I would sit out in the car
for hours and just play the guitar. Before I learnt
a song, I wrote a song. It was three single notes
played terribly, but I still remember the feeling I
got when I had created something. It gave me the
drive to keep learning and trying to write songs.
Lachlan: My dad bought me my first guitar
when I was in high school. It was a black Squier
Stratocaster. He was a big supporter of my
music. I remember him buying drumsticks for our
drummer, and he would even drive me into the
city on school nights when we had gigs because I
was underage. He would have to wait around until
after the gig, then drive all the way home and be
up for work early the next day. Bless.
The first guitar I bought with my own money
was a Fender Jaguar HH Special. Not really
knowing much about
guitars, I remember
falling in love with the
shape and look of it. I
still have that guitar to
this day and recently
got it set up and
modified, so it’s been
given a second life.

THE FIRST LESSON
Shane: I never had
any lessons – maybe
I should have, but I
think this allowed me
to find my own style.
The only people who
really taught me were
my mates, who were
also learning, and way
more proficient in technique than I was. I really
focused on learning chords and finding ways to
augment them. Without any musical knowledge
or the ability to read sheet music, I think I was
just winging it. Whatever sounded good was
enough for me.
Lachlan: I’ve never had a guitar lesson in my
life, and it probably shows. Early on I learned how
to play some chords from the internet, but that
was it. I’m still not sure what most of them are. I
feel like it helps me be more creative, as I don’t
fall into certain rules or scales in my playing – I
sounds good to me.
THE FIRST SONG
Shane: The first
song I learned was
the same as so many
others out there:
“Come As You Are”
by Nirvana – followed
closely by “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. When it
came time to learn chords, I remember finally
getting the full progression of “Hotel California”,
which was not only tough to do because of the
barre chords, but also because it’s quite a long
progression to remember.
Lachlan: I started playing a lot of guitar in
drop D, so there were a few Tool riffs I learned. I
also remember doing an acoustic medley of Devin
Townsend songs in year nine. The teacher said my
guitar was out of tune when he graded me – I think
I got a C. I donಬt think I really know how to play a
song from start to finish apart from our own.
THE FIRST IDEA
Shane: Iಬm sure thereಬs a cassette tape full of
emo love songs somewhere, and I hope it never
sees the light of day. I used to have a stereo which
you could record to tape on, so I would record
my own songs from the first year I learned how
to play. The learning happened alongside the
creating, and I feel like Iಬm still the same now –
constantly learning and creating at the same time.
The next step was learning how to play in a
band with other people also figuring it all out
as they went, including tracking demos using
one cheap dynamic mic hanging from a ceiling
fan to record a four-piece band. You’ve gotta
start somewhere!
Lachlan: The first original material I wrote
would have been real grunge. When I started
out, I wrote more rhythmic, syncopated kind of
riffs. They were also real easy to play and
thrash around onstage to. 

DZ DEATHRAYS
POSITIVE RISING GRANT
The DZ Deathrays - Positive Rising Grant is
designed to assist and inspire the next generation
of guitarists from regional Australia. The three
recipients of the grant will each receive a Fender
guitar and amp, plus a yearಬs worth of fortnightly
guitar classes through The Artist Studio. Applicants
can enter via dzdeathrays.com – entries are open
now and will close on March 31st, 2021.
On the launch of the Positive Rising Grant, DZ
Deathrays drummer Simon Ridley says, “One
of the hardest hurdles starting out in music for
me as a teenager was just being able to afford
quality equipment that was not only actually
enjoyable to play on but also capable of being
used for a gig or even just an amp loud enough
for playing with a full band.
“Also, growing up in a regional town, the quality
and range of instruments available at the time
was really limited. To be able to help people
overcome that initial barrier and give someone
the ability to jump straight into it is something I’m
very grateful to be a part of.”
60 | FEATURE

75 YEARS OF FENDER
IN 2021, THE BIG F CELEBRATES ITS BIGGEST MILESTONE YET – 75 YEARS AS THE WORLD’S LEADING
CHAMPIONS OF ALL THINGS SIX-STRINGS (AND INSTRUMENTS OF OTHER CONFIGURATIONS, OF COURSE).
TO CELEBRATE, THE FENDER TEAM WALK US THROUGH JUST A HANDFUL OF THEIR MOST NOTABLE
MEMORIES, AND LOOK AHEAD TO A BRIGHT FUTURE WHERE MANY MORE WILL BE MADE.
INTRO BY MATT DORIA. TIMELINE AND IMAGES COURTESY OF FENDER.

R
ock, pop, metal, blues – even hip-hop and
dance; no matter the genre, Fender guitars
have been a staple of music history’s
landmark moments since the mid-‘40s.
The company, born from a simple love of guitars
from behind a radio and TV repair shop, started
out dealing in handmade lap-steels. Before long,
Clarence “Leo” Fender had a million-dollar empire on
his hands, developing electric and acoustic models
that not only defined the meteoric rise of rock ’n’ roll
in the ‘50s, but have long since remained the go-to
brand for beginners, hobbyists, full-time road dogs
and legendary virtuosos alike.
2021 marks the Big F’s monumental 75th
anniversary – and the celebrations don’t just involve
reminiscing on fond memories. The company
continues to innovate well into the 21st century,
whether via ambitious new guitar types like the
hybrid Acoustasonic, a fast-expanding pedal range
that rivals even the best brands who solely do
effects, or signature models with the world’s biggest
and best string-splitting icons (and up-and-coming
guitar heroes we’re certain to see rule stadiums in
the near future).
The time-tested Fender Custom Shop also reigns
supreme, allowing players of all inklings to make
their wildest dreams a playable reality. And outside
the realm of hardware, Fender lead the scene in
making the guitar more accessible with Fender
Play, an online service offering countless lessons to
potential players of all skillsets and styles.
While we patiently await Fender’s next big
game-changing innovation (which, if the rumours
ring true, seems poised to come sooner than you
might expect), let’s take a look back on some of the
company’s biggest milestones thus far…

| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
 | 61

75 YEARS OF FENDER
1946: Founder the dual-pickup, along with the first
Clarence “Leo” three-quarter size Fender Acoustics.
Fender opens a Duo-Sonic, and
humble instrument the single-pickup, 1964: The Mustang
manufacturing factory three-quarter size guitar is introduced,
in Fullerton, California. Musicmaster guitar. bringing a vibrato-
equipped guitar to the
1950: Fender 1957: The Bassman student market..
launches the now- amplifier design
iconic Esquire as evolves with advanced 1965: CBS acquires
the world’s first tone control, increased Fender. Bob Dylan goes
fully solid-bodied power and an array of electric at the Newport
Spanish-style electric. four speakers. Folk Festival, taking
the stage with his
1951: The Telecaster 1958: Fender Fender Stratocaster.
is introduced as the introduces a new type 1969: George
first commercially of electric guitar in Harrison plays his
mass-produced the, Jazzmaster aimed iconic Rosewood
solid-bodied at bringing more jazz Telecaster during The
Spanish-style guitar. players to solidbodies. Beatles’ famed rooftop
Fender invents the Unexpectedly, it takes concert in London,
Precision Bass guitar, hold in the all-new England; Jimi Hendrix
the first commercially So-Cal genre, “surf”. plays a gut-wrenching
mass-produced solid- rendition of “The Star
bodied electric bass 1960: Fender Spangled Banner”
guitar. launches the Jazz at Woodstock; Led
Bass, which to this Zeppelin 1 is released
1952: The day remains Fender’s with guitar parts
groundbreaking top-selling electric played almost entirely
Bassman amplifier was bass. on Jimmy Page’s
unveiled, an amplifier famed, “Painted”
dedicated to electric 1962: Fender Telecaster.
bass players. releases The Jaguar,
offering several new 1970: The 1970s Fender ‘52 Tele
1954: The features built around gave birth to the
Stratocaster is the classic Jazzmaster disco era with guitar
invented based body, but had smaller players, like Chic’s
on feedback from pickups, different Nile Rodgers, using the New York City played Fender guitars. and performance for
professional musicians, switching, and more his Fender “Hitmaker” punk rock scene. 50,000 fans.
such as Bill Carson and chrome. Stratocaster as his It became home to 1982: Joe Strummer
Jimmy Bryant as well guitar of choice on a American punk and plays his bashed-up 1985: After
as Fender employee 1963: A new breed string of hits. new wave bands like black Telecaster (later twenty years of CBS
Freddie Tavares. of “clean” tone Fender the Ramones, Talking reissued by Fender) ownership, William
amplifiers is released – 1973: The CBGB Heads, The Misfits during The Clash’s “Bill” Schultz, Fender’s
1955: Two student the ’63 Twin Reverb and music venue opens, and the Patti Smith iconic Live At Shea then-president under
models are introduced: the Deluxe Reverb – marking heyday of Group – many of which Stadium recording CBS since 1981, buys
62 | FEATURE

levels and multiple the years to come. itself in the guitar effects
input signal mixing in market with a full line
a lightweight, easily 2016: Fender opened of innovative pedals.
portable package. its Hollywood office. Rising star H.E.R. makes
The Fender Mod Shop her Grammy debut,
2001: The Cyber-Twin is established, allowing playing an iconic acrylic
amplifier is introduced. customers worldwise to Stratocaster on stage.
It’s an analog/digital customise their
wonder filled with own guitars and 2020: Fender
pre-programmed amp basses online. offers free Fender
models and effects. Play to nearly one
2017: Fender Digital million new players
2005: Fender releases Fender Play, a during the pandemic.
reintroduces the complete digital learning Fender introduces the
California Series – app for guitar, bass American Acoustasonic
acoustic guitars with and ukulele. Flagship Stratocaster, American
classic Fender electric American Professional Professional II Series,
guitar appointments. guitars are introduced as well as signature
along with Fender’s first- models with top artists
2008: Jay-Z headlines ever Bluetooth-capable like Billie Eilish, Shawn
Glastonbury Festival, portable speakers. Mendes, and H.E.R. – the
opening his performance Fender Custom Shop first black woman to
playing “Wonderwall” on celebrates its 30th receive her own model.
a Fender Stratocaster. anniversary.
2021: Fender
2011: Fender initiates 2018: Fender also celebrates its 75th
an unprecedented releases the American anniversary with
partnership with Original Series, the commemorative
Panasonic to create Player Series and electrics. Artist
Fender Premium Audio signature ukuleles with signature guitars for
systems. The first Grace VanderWaal, Chrissie Hynde, Ben
system launches in the the brand’s youngest Gibbard, Mike McCready,
2011 Volkswagen Beetle. signature artist. Dhani Harrison, Jason
the Fender name, corporate headquarters recorded on a Fender Isbell and more. Fender
trademarks, and some from Southern California Telecaster. 2015: Fender Digital 2019: Fender releases launches the Mustang
inventory from CBS for to Scottsdale, Arizona. was born and would American Ultra Micro, a complete
$12.5 million. The Corona Meanwhile, Nirvana’s 1997: Fender unveils later introduce a suite and the American personal guitar
factory opens. “Smells Like Teen the Passport P250 a digital products and Acoustasonic Telecaster, amplifier featuring a
Spirit” changes the PA system, the first applications – such as a revolutionary hybrid wide selection of tones
1987: The Fender musical landscape with audio system to offer Fender Tune, Fender acoustic electric guitar. from the wildly popular
Custom Shop is the iconic music video professional power Tone and Fender Play, in The brand reasserts Mustang series amps.
established. Dan Smith featuring singer Kurt
designs the American Cobain thrashing a
Standard Series and Fender Mustang.
Fender opens its
manufacturing facility in 1993: Radiohead
Ensenada, Mexico. releases its iconic
anthem “Creep”, with
1991: Fender moves its central guitar parts

| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
64 | FEATURE
IN THE SUMMER OF 1966, AS BLUESBREAKERS
WITH ERIC CLAPTON HIT THE RECORD
SHOPS AND THE GUITARIST HIMSELF BEGAN
REHEARSALS WITH HIS NEW BAND CREAM,
CLAPTON’S BELOVED SUNBURST LES PAUL WAS
STOLEN FROM A CHURCH HALL PRACTICE
WORDS BY TONY BACON.
| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
ROOM. GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN,
THE GUITAR LEFT BEHIND A MYSTERY THAT
HAS NEVER BEEN SOLVED. HERE, WE
TRACE THE LIFETIME OF THIS LEGENDARY
’BURST AND PONDER THE CHANCES OF IT
EVER BEING DISCOVERED.

E
ric Clapton’s work on the 1966
John Mayall album Blues Breakers
With Eric Clapton inspired an entire
generation of would-be blues
guitarists as he defined the tone and
expression that a great guitarist can
achieve. And this particular great
player found a great instrument to make his music:
an original Gibson Les Paul with a sunburst finish.
The cover of the record showed Clapton reading
the Beano comic, so it became known as the Beano
album, and the instrument he used became known
as the Beano guitar.
Many guitarists love Clapton’s playing on the
Beano album. One such musician is Billy Gibbons,
who was, at the time of its release, a budding young
guitar player in Texas. “The sound was just so fierce
and so attractive,” he says, “and the appeal drew
everyone’s curiosity to attempt to suss out where
this sound was coming from. The photograph of Eric
on the back cover was a clue. We said, ‘Ah, look in
the background. There’s a Marshall, but it’s not very
big. And ah, look at that! They don’t make those any
more – but it’s one of those Les Pauls!’”
The actual guitar Clapton used has since taken
on an almost mythical quality, not least because it
was stolen not long afterward and has never been
seen since. It was the short-lived variant known
today as the ’Burst, for its sunburst finish, produced
by Gibson from 1958 until discontinued in 1960 and
replaced by the new double-cutaway SG design. By
the mid ’60s, the original single-cut Les Pauls were
being called the “old model.”
The theft of the Beano ’Burst helped it pass
into legend. And as with many legends, the stories
surrounding it have been swollen with hearsay
and half-truths ever since. Peter Green estimated
the potential value of the lost Beano while talking
to Neville Marten for Guitarist magazine in 1999.
“Eric’s Les Paul would go for 50 million [pounds]
now,” he said with admirable exaggeration. “It was
a special one.”
STEPPIN’ OUT
Eric Clapton was 20 years old when he joined
John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers in April 1965. At first he
played a Telecaster, but soon he wanted something
different. One of his favourite guitarists was Freddie
King, who was pictured on the 1962 album Let’s
“THE SOUND WAS
JUST SO FIERCE AND
SO ATTRACTIVE, AND
THE APPEAL DREW
EVERYONE’S CURIOSITY
TO ATTEMPT TO SUSS
OUT WHERE THE SOUND
WAS COMING FROM”
Hide Away And Dance Away, playing an old Goldtop
Les Paul. The picture on the jacket’s front showed a
guitar that looked more brown than gold – more like
a sunburst finish than a gold one, perhaps. Clapton
must have made a mental note.
Christopher Hjort, who researched and wrote
about this period of the guitarist’s career for his
2007 book, Strange Brew, pinpointed the time
during 1965 when Clapton bought the Beano
’Burst. “The chronology starts with the last-known
photograph of Eric with the Telecaster he used until
| 65
then, a fan snapshot on Sunday May 30th,” Hjort
tells us, “when the Mayall band visited Kirklevington
Country Club in Yorkshire. Five days later, on
Friday June 4th, a local newspaper photographed
Eric at the Ricky Tick club in the Plaza Ballroom in
Guildford, Surrey, playing his newly acquired Les
Paul. This pins down the acquisition to some point in
the week between that Sunday and the Friday.”
Clapton enjoyed visiting central London’s guitar
shops, like so many other musicians. That’s where
the best guitars were. A few years later, John Ford at
Beat Instrumental magazine asked him about “those
Les Pauls our top guitarists rave about.” Clapton
replied, “I bought my first one at Lew Davis’s shop
in Charing Cross Road. It’s Selmer’s now. He had a
couple imported from the States, and I managed to
get hold of one.”
Two brothers, Ben and Lew Davis, ran two
shops: Selmer at 114-116 Charing Cross Road and
Lew Davis at 134. Clapton’s mention of Selmer in
that 1968 interview relates to the closure of the
Lew Davis shop in summer ’67. When he said “it’s
Selmer’s now,” he probably meant that by the time
of his Beat interview, only Selmer was left of the
two shops.
Ray Smith was at Lew Davis in the ’60s – he’d
bought a Gibson ES-335 from the shop before he
started working there in 1961 – and he recalls
selling a Les Paul to Clapton. “We all thought he
was great, but he was just one of the guys who
came in the shop regularly,” Smith says. “Lew
Davis was a small shop, and Selmer had the fancy
stuff. As you went into Lew Davis, on the right was
the counter all the way along, with guitars hanging
on the wall. Ahead was the manager’s desk, a
couple of guitars behind him, and then a staircase
down to where we put the part-exchanges. But the
good guitars were upstairs.”
66 | FEATURE

in London published a brochure in 1959/1960

that included a ’Burst among U.K.-shot pictures
of the newly available Gibson models. But that
price of 105 guineas in 1965 for what we think was
Clapton’s ’Burst points to a used guitar. Stanley
Lewis’s price for a new one in ’59 or ’60 was e120,
and Selmer’s ’61 list price for a new SG Standard
was e147, so Clapton’s 110 quid in ’65 looks like the
price of a premium used guitar.
Clapton, meanwhile, wouldn’t have bothered
about how new his guitar was. He didn’t do very
much to it apart from play it as much as possible,
though it did have a couple of changes, which
were made either by him or (more probably) a
repairer. First, the original Kluson tuners were
removed and a set of Grovers added. Second,
toward the end of 1965, the metal covers of the
pickups were removed, revealing the bobbins
below: double-white at the neck, double-black
at the bridge. “You’ve probably heard about me
taking the covers off my pickups,” Clapton told
Beat Instrumental in the early months of ’66.
“This is something I would definitely recommend
for any guitarist. The improvement, sound-wise,
is unbelievable.”

HAVE YOU HEARD

Many who heard Clapton play the Beano
’Burst live with Mayall’s Bluesbreakers during

At the time Eric bought the Beano guitar in

1965, both shops advertised regularly in Melody
Maker magazine, and the stock was considered
interchangeable. Smith says, “Sometimes we’d say
to Selmer, ‘Oh, you’ve got a Gibson so-and-so down
there, and we’ve just had a sale for it.’ So we’d go
down there and bring it to Lew Davis.”
Lew Davis didn’t advertise any Gibson Les Pauls
during this period, but Selmer did. In an ad in early
June, this entry stands out: “Les Paul Standard,
early model, with case, 105 gns.” In other words, not
the new SG style but an “early model” 1958 to 1960
’Burst. It’s very possible this was the guitar Eric
bought from Ray Smith at Lew Davis.
Sometimes, goods were priced in guineas (“gns”),
usually to make them sound posh, and a guinea
was equivalent to one pound and one shilling. That
means the Beano Les Paul set Eric back e110.25. At
the time, the average weekly wage in Britain was
around e12, and Clapton probably made about e20
a week with the Bluesbreakers. A brand-new Gibson
SG Standard or Fender Stratocaster would have set
you back a little over e170.
Clapton fondly described the Beano guitar in a
later interview as the best Les Paul he ever had. He
told Dan Forte at Guitar Player in 1985 that it was
“just a regular sunburst Les Paul” with humbucking
pickups, that he bought it in London, and that it was
“almost brand-new.” Maybe he meant Beano was a
used guitar: not new, but in almost-new condition.
Or maybe he meant it was a new guitar: “almost
new” because it had been in stock a while.
Restrictions on imports of American guitars were
lifted during the second half of 1959, and by the
start of 1960, Selmer had the Gibson agency, selling
new Gibson guitars in its stores and distributing
them to others. That would have included a few of
the last Les Paul ’Bursts: the Stanley Lewis store
 | 67

1965 and ’66 heard a guitarist near the top of his Bigsby-equipped Les Paul, which he used for Clapton’, grafted on where its original had been.
game. “On his best nights,” Neil Slaven wrote in Cream’s debut at a festival in Windsor on July 31st Clapton got a third ’Burst while with Cream, a
the Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton sleeve notes, and a try-out in Manchester the night before. At the ’58 model that he used occasionally onstage during
“Eric can make time stand still.” Today, we only Marquee in London on August 16th, Clapton played the band’s farewell tour in October and November
have the few recordings he made with the guitar, a cherry double-cut Les Paul Special borrowed from 1968. But this, too, did not last long, going to Paul
including several singles: Mayall’s “I’m Your Witch Denny Alexander, who played in the support group, Kossoff in a trade when Free supported Clapton’s
Doctor/Telephone Blues,” produced by Jimmy the Clayton Squares. new band, Blind Faith, the following summer. The
Page, Champion Jack Dupree’s “Third Degree” and guitar, sometimes referred to as the Darkburst, is
Mayall’s “Bernard Jenkins.” But the main prize is now owned by a collector in New York. Clapton later
that Beano album, recorded at Decca’s studio in “I THINK THE PROPER became a big fan of Stratocasters, although today
northwest London between the 27th and 31st of THING TO DO, IF IT DID he does own at least one ’Burst, a 1960 model.
March 1966, right around Clapton’s 21st birthday.
The record still has the ability to tingle the spine, SURFACE, AND ERIC WOULD HIDEAWAY
not least for Clapton’s combination of controlled VERIFY IT – AND IF HE For any guitar-hound keen to sniff out the great
distortion and feedback, his vibrato style and WASN’T INTERESTED IN lost Beano, one large problem looms. There is
his melodic sense, all wrapped up in an enviable precious little evidence to prove that a particular
tone and natural sustain. “Have You Heard,” “Key IT HIMSELF – IS THAT PART guitar you have in front of you is the Beano ’Burst.
to Love” and “Steppin’ Out” are high spots, and OF ITS SALE WOULD GO No official paperwork or human memory survives to
the cover of Freddie King’s “Hideaway” is a great TO HIS [CROSSROADS reveal its serial number. We’re not even sure what
moment for a guitar inspired by the album that year it was made. ’Burst nuts will tell you that the
includes Freddie’s original of that tune. “I was CENTRE] CHARITY” colours of the Beano’s pickup bobbins – double-white
very pleased with my sound while I was with John at the neck and double-black at the bridge – narrow
[Mayall],” Clapton said a few years later. “Those it to a ’59 or a ’60. There is talk of a slim neck, with
Gibsons have the perfect blues sound.” Eventually, probably in late August 1966, Clapton little evidence, though some have taken this to
bought a ’Burst from future Police guitarist Andy narrow it further to a late ’59 or early ’60.
DOUBLE-CROSSING TIME Summers, which he used for most of Cream’s first What about photographs? These days, we’re
By the time the Mayall Beano album was album, Fresh Cream, as well as the single A-side “I used to multiple photos and videos of every single
released in the summer of 1966, the restless Feel Free.” That guitar suffered a headstock break moment of this or that musician. Back in the
Clapton was already rehearsing with his next band, in early 1967, probably in March. Clapton rejected ’60s, it was very different. And anyway, during
which included bassist Jack Bruce and drummer the unsympathetically repaired guitar and moved the period when Eric had the Beano guitar, he
Ginger Baker. The album reached a respectable to an SG Standard. Today, musician and dealer Drew enjoyed limited and relatively local renown. It
Number Six on the U.K. charts, but soon died away, Berlin owns the Fresh Cream ’Burst, complete with was only subsequently, with Cream and beyond,
its reputation growing only in later years. the Gibson-mandolin-style headstock, inscribed ‘Eric that his fame grew enormously. The upshot is
Cream, on the other hand, became superstars
very quickly, though they could hardly have
foreseen the scope and impact of that stardom in
July, when they began rehearsals at a church hall
in Brondesbury, northwest London. They quickly
realised they had something special, but Clapton
was hit by disaster. His beloved Les Paul was
stolen during those rehearsals before he’d even
had a chance to play it in public or in the studio
with his new band.
News of the theft came in an interview with
Richard Green for Record Mirror, published early
that August. “Someone stole it at the rehearsal
room,” a dejected Clapton explained. “I wouldn’t
have sold it. It was worth about e400 to me.
It was the only one I had and the one I always
played. I’m borrowing guitars now. I’d like to get
another Les Paul; there are only about six or seven
in the country.”
The Mirror journalist asked Eric for a description
of the guitar to include in the piece “in the hope that
someone sees it being used or hanging in a shop
window.” He wrote, “It’s a Les Paul Standard, five
or six years old, small and solid. It has one cutaway
and is a red-gold color, with Grover machine heads.
The back is very scratched and there are several
cigarette burns on the front. The strap is a big, black
leather belt with the names Buddy Guy, Big Maceo
and Otis Rush carved on the inside.”
That wasn’t the end of the sorry tale. Among
Cream’s first gigs in the weeks following the
rehearsals was one on August 2nd at Klooks Kleek,
a club a few doors away from the Decca studio.
“Someone stole the case at Klooks Kleek,” Clapton
recalled. “That takes a lot of doing, to walk out of
Klooks Kleek with my guitar case. Whoever took the
guitar must have come back for the case.”

IT AIN’T RIGHT
Following the theft of the Beano ’Burst,
Clapton borrowed a few guitars as he searched
for a replacement. There was Keith Richards’
68 | FEATURE
only 20 or so photos survive of the Beano ’Burst.
They can be seen among a swath of pictures at
Michael Chaiken’s archival resource for Clapton’s
so-called “god years” (1963 to ’72) on Instagram
(username @clapton_was_god). Most, inevitably,
are low-quality fan snapshots.
When you want to match a photograph of a
particular ’Burst with a guitar that claims to be
that instrument, there are two main indicators.
First is the figure in the wood, the specific pattern
in a ’Burst’s maple top. It can be something of a
fingerprint when it comes to identification. Second
is the pattern in the various mother-of-pearl
fingerboard markers. These are unique, so they, too,
can indicate that the guitar in a photograph is the
one we’re seeing today.
Subsidiary identification can come from unique
marks and dings on the guitar, though these can
be relatively easy to fake and so should not be
considered alone. And even with the generally
reliable patterns in figure and markers, there are
factors that can play tricks with what you think
you’re seeing, such as the way light falls, the angle
the guitar is held at and “confirmation bias” – the
inclination to interpret information in a way that
fits whatever you want to believe.
The best of the surviving photos are the
professional black-and-white shots from a Beano
recording session by David Wedgbury of the Decca
publicity art department, some of which were used
on the back of the original album cover (and for
subsequent reissues).
However, Wedgbury’s two best frames showing
close-ups of the guitar are frustrating for
identification purposes. There is little or no figure
visible, implying that Beano had a relatively plain
maple top. That’s not unusual: Some ’Bursts have
vibrant figure, others have none, and some sit
somewhere in the middle. The shots do reveal some
detail in a few of the fingerboard markers for the
upper frets, and there seem to be spots and marks
on the body front, though it’s not clear if these are
on the guitar or the negatives.
WHAT’D I SAY
Inevitably, rumours have circulated about where
the Beano ’Burst might be – mostly since the rise
of the internet and its suitability for spreading
speculation as if it were fact. But there are no
facts about the whereabouts of this guitar. And,
naturally, that circles back to create yet more
half-truths and conjecture.
A recent skirmish with the legend came in 2016
when Joe Bonamassa told Guitarist magazine that
he knew Beano was in a collection on the East
Coast of America. “That’s all I can tell you – and
that’s all I will say,” he told editor-in-chief Jamie
Dickson. “It still exists and I haven’t seen it, but I
have it on good authority from people who have.”
However, he quickly retracted these comments
when they originally appeared on Music Radar.
Bonamassa posted at lespaulforum.com, “Just
so we are clear, it was a last-minute interview and
I regret getting caught off guard… Given a second
shot, I would of [sic] passed on the question.” We
did ask Bonamassa for a comment for this feature,
but he declined, saying he had nothing to add or
speculate about the Beano guitar.

Even if the guitar were to turn up today and
somehow was authenticated, there is another
issue. In the States, there exists a statute of
limitations that might prevent any legal action so
long after the theft. In Britain, however, matters
are more complicated.
Let’s say you are the original thief and you still
have the guitar. If the police could prove you stole
it, you could be prosecuted for the theft. It’s trickier,
however, once the guitar is sold. A spokesman at
New Scotland Yard told us there were so-called
“I THINK THAT BEANO
HAS PROBABLY MORE
MYSTIQUE THAN ANY
OTHER ‘BURST... IT
WOULD PROBABLY
PULL MILLIONS AND
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS”
“open markets” in London at the time of the Beano
theft. Sales there had to be made between dusk and
dawn to allow the rightful owner to claim back their
goods before sunrise. After sun-up, the sale could
take place – and some big civil cases concerning
transactions at these places resulted in the buyer
keeping the goods.
If the stolen guitar was sold elsewhere and the
buyer did not pay a reasonable market price for
it, the courts in any civil action could rule that the
buyer must have known something was suspect and
that the item was, therefore, not theirs. This could
result in it being returned to the original owner,
where possible. If, however, the buyer bought the
item in good faith and paid a reasonable market
value – even if it was from someone who did not do
so – then the courts might rule that the rights in the
item are with that buyer.
KEY TO LOVE
There are still undiscovered ’Bursts to be found,
and Beano could be among them. Gibson logs show
434 Les Pauls shipped for 1958, 643 for 1959 and
635 for 1960, totalling 1,712. Crudely removing
some from ’58 (which includes the last of the
Goldtops) and from ’60 (which has a small number
of the first of the SG-style models) provides a rough
total of 1,406 ’Bursts made.
Julio Sanchez runs burstserial.com, which
gathers public information and contributions from
collectors to create a database of ’Burst material,
serial numbers and pictures. At the time of this
writing, Sanchez had 829 ’Bursts logged by serial
number. Considering the 436 1959 examples
reported to him as a percentage of the known
shipping for that year, and applying it to his data
for the other two years, his estimate – “using our
own experience on what’s been logged by the
community in the last 20 years” – is that 1,146
’Bursts were made by Gibson.
With those two estimates in mind, it’s clear that
many potential ’Bursts are still out there that might
just be the long-lost Beano guitar, even if some
owners are secretive. “More and more,” Sanchez
reports, “I get messages from owners willing to let
me know about their ‘new’ ’Burst – but frequently
they are not ready to share it with the bigger
audience and make it public. I would say we see no
more than six to 12 ‘new’ ones per year.”
RAMBLIN’ ON MY MIND
How much would the Beano ’Burst be worth if
it ever resurfaced? This is another of the great
imponderables surrounding the instrument.
Author Vic DaPra got his first ’Burst in 1972, and
he’s published five Burst Believers books that
profile Les Paul owners and their axes. “I think
Beano has probably more mystique than any
other ’Burst,” he says. “When it was stolen, it
was no Holy Grail guitar – nothing special, just
a used guitar back then. Now, it would probably
pull millions and millions of dollars. I’ve heard of
crazy offers on Duane Allman’s ’Burst and Mike
Bloomfield’s ’Burst, but I think the Beano would
| 69
command the ultimate big-dollar price.”
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has a
remarkable guitar collection that includes several
high-end instruments previously owned by
well-known players, such as David Gilmour, whose
Black Strat Irsay secured at a Christie’s sale in 2019
for $3,975,000. Would he be interested in the Beano
’Burst if it ever showed up? “Sure,” he tells us.
“It’s Eric, and it’s rare.” And how much might it be
worth? “I don’t know what its value would be,” he
says, “and I would prefer not to speculate.”
Drew Berlin of Drew Berlin’s Vintage Guitars
specialises in ’Bursts. He played his first one in
1969, trying out Jeff Beck’s when his band opened
for the Jeff Beck Group. He believes the Beano
’Burst would be worth “somewhere between five
and 10 million [dollars]. I think, though, it would
need Eric himself personally to sign off on it. I
think the proper thing to do, if it did surface, and
if Eric would verify it – and if he wasn’t interested
in it himself – is that part of its sale would go to
his [Crossroads Centre] charity. That way he’d still
have an involvement, and it would do good for him
and his cause.”
Berlin says the value in the Beano ’Burst would
revolve around its iconic status in the history of
guitar music. “So many people, myself included,
were influenced by the sound of that John Mayall
Blues Breakers record. Even now, young guitarists
coming up hear that record and they’re inspired to
play guitar and to try to get that sound. I think the
reason Beano is so sought after and still discussed
today is because it marked a turning point in time,
in music, that really changed things.”
Back in 1985, Clapton tried to explain to Dan
Forte at Guitar Player what the old Beano guitar had
been like. “The best Les Paul I ever had was stolen
during rehearsals for Cream’s first gig,” he said. “It
was… Just magnificent. I never really found one as
good as that. I do miss that one.”
70 | DIY

MEET YOUR EXPERT

Jack Ellis runs Jack’s Instrument

Services from his workshop in
Manchester. In his career, he

SKILL
has worked on thousands of
instruments, from simple fixes and
upgrades to complete rebuilds.

LEVEL
INTERMEDIATE

remem
ber
Think a
b
like you out where yo
r u
to go – killswitch bu ’d
it need tton

ADDING A KILLSWITCH
to use a st
nd the o be easy
reach i wires must
t, too.

TO YOUR GUITAR
WHAT YOU NEED: UPGRADE TIME: HERE’S HOW TO PUT A SUPER FUN
• SPST momentary KILLSWITCH BUTTON INTO YOUR GUITAR.
push-to-make switch button
• Safety goggles WORDS BY JACK ELLIS.
• Correct size HSS drill bit
or cone step

K
• Centre punch
• Pin hammer illswitches are great fun. They’re a great it to be easy to activate and not tough like
• Masking tape way to incorporate some hard-hitting the button on an elevator! We’ll be using a
• PH1 screwdriver rhythmic gated sounds into your momentary push-to-make button to do the
• Soldering iron
playing technique, especially if the switch is switching for us so you can just slap the
• 60/40 solder
• Spare cable somewhere easy to grab! The sound often used button down.
• Pen by Buckethead or Tom Morello creates a silence Where to put it though? Most push buttons
when the switch is depressed; release and your require a drill-hole and a nut to fasten on the
SHARP SHINE guitar sound comes back, simple. The way you reverse of the switch, so as long as you have
use it is where the genius can strike! room, scratchplates, control plates or Les
You can get some extra bling There’s lots of buttons and switches online Paul pickup selector holes make great
from your bone saddle by
polishing up to a super-fine so the choice is yours, but you must keep in candidates. You can use this simple circuit
2,000 grit to get it gleaming! mind the mechanical resistance – you’ll want and method on any guitar!

| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar

1 We’ll be popping the killswitch button on our Fender Jaguar’s control plate.
Due to the Jag’s design, this means we only have to take off the chrome
control plate down the bottom. Let’s get rid of the knobs so they don’t get
scratched! Some knobs will pull off, but our ones here needed a tiny grub
screw-loosening first.
3 Under here, the Jaguar will normally have a tone pot and a volume pot
next to the output jack (we have a custom circuit in this guitar, that’s why
it looks different). Support the components from behind as you loosen them –
turning the nuts on the top will likely just spin the components round inside
instead of removing them.
5 Let’s modify the control plate. First up, cover it in masking tape. This will
allow us to mark it easily but also protects the face from scratches. Poke a
hole in the old pot holes so we know where they are. Tip: The lid on our
ubiquitous Papermate ballpoint pen was perfect for the job. Remember, only the
best tool will get the job done right!
| 71
2 To gain access to the electronics cavity we’ll rather obviously need to take
off the chrome plate. Use a PH1 screwdriver to remove the small screws
holding it on. Take care not to lose the screws.
4 With the plate loose, let’s get the guitar out the way. Tape up the guts so
they don’t fall out or get tangled in anything else. The guitar is going out of
harm’s way while we make a mess of the control plate. We’ve replaced the nuts,
washers and star washers on each pot so we know where it all came from.
6 Let’s choose the location for the new killswitch button. We used a vernier
calliper to measure and mark where half-way was (it would have looked
bad not totally in the middle) and drew a big X. Consider the size of the knobs
that will be replaced and make sure you have easy enough access to tap that
awesome killswitch.
72 | DIY
7 As we’re drilling metal, extra precaution is required. Drill bits like to
wander off when they don’t have a soft material to get stuck in to, so let’s
help ourselves. A centre punch is the tool for the job, hammer that onto exactly
the spot you marked to create a dimple for the drill bit to sit in.
9 Gorgeous. Dispose of all that swarf, it’s paint job killer. Drop in your new
killswitch and have a look at the terminals. Our switch here is actually a
PTM/PTB switch – that’s ‘push to make/break’. Our circuit requires a push to
make a connection, so chop off the undesired terminal – many killswitch buttons
have just two terminals.
11 Reattach everything back onto the control plate and tighten up,
remembering to support the components inside so the wires don’t twist.
Let’s make that drawing a reality. Using just the right amount of cable, graft on
the extra wires to the connection at the jack socket without disturbing what was
| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
8 Goggles on, lets make some swarf (the name for waste metal
shavings)! A cone step drill bit is perfect for the job. As you touch the
next step, it automatically countersinks the hole you just made to take off
the sharp burr edge. We use a pillar drill and a piece of scrap timber to
chomp into our control plate.
10 This is the simple circuit that needs installing. We have the jack socket on
the right with a wire from the hot (tip) and a wire from the ground (sleeve)
going to the push button terminals. Add this onto whatever guitar circuit you
have going. It doesn’t matter which wire goes to which terminal on the switch.
12 Once you have those wires in place, tin the terminals on the new switch
button and attach onto there too. Tip: Tinning the new terminals really
helps make the connection! Plug it in and give it a test. What’s happening is, as
you press the button, your signal is sent to ‘ground’, which results in silence!
 • SUPERB ACOUSTIC TONES
• VOCAL MIC PREAMP

A DESKTOP AMP FOR ACOUSTIC PLAYERS • HI-FI STEREO SOUND

The Yamaha THR30IIA Wireless amplifier lets you experience the sound
of your acoustic-electric guitar as if it was being produced in a studio—
and vocals too, using the XLR microphone input. Offering a choice of
three authentic-sounding microphone models, a setting for nylon-string
guitars, and a neutral flat setting, this 30-watt stereo desktop amplifier
with hi-fi speakers enables you to sound your best, whether practicing,
playing along with your favourite tracks, recording, or sharing your
performance online using the USB interface and bundled software.
Onboard effects, Bluetooth support, a built-in Line 6 wireless receiver,
and a rechargeable battery complete this compact package.

yamahamusicau
74 | LOOP PEDALS
THROUGH THE LOOP FROM CHANNELING ED SHEERAN TO BOOSTING LIVE PERFORMANCES, THESE ARE
THE BEST LOOPER PEDALS FROM TC ELECTRONICS, BOSS AND MORE.
W
hether you’re after a
looper pedal to finally
get underway with your
ambient prog project, or giving your
band a boost by layering electric
guitar and acoustic guitar parts
live, having a loop pedal in pride of
place on your pedalboard will open
you up radically different creative
approaches that may become your
signature with enough practice. Here
we’ve rounded up the best looper
pedals available today, to help you
understand what looping is, and
where to start.
Some artists use loopers to
trigger pre-recorded samples, rather
than loop their riffs on-the-fly (like
Ed Sheeran), and many looper
pedals now support importing and
exporting sound clips, or even an
external memory card.
If you’re unsure where to start
with looping, things don’t need to be
particularly complex to begin with.
If you only have, say, one or two
sound effects or overdubs per song,
WORDS BY ALEX LYNHAM.
a simple looper pedal could replace
a drum trigger pad or even a laptop
in your live rig. A looper pedal is also
more portable – particularly if you
have an ever-growing pedalboard –
and far cheaper to replace if it gets
damaged or stolen.
WHAT IS THE BEST LOOPER
PEDAL RIGHT NOW?
For the most basic but effective
live option among the best looper
pedals here, it’s hard to get past
the TC Electronic Ditto Looper X2.
With essentially only two controls
(start and stop), it’s difficult to mess
up loops live, unless your timing
is really off. With a little practice
before you take things public, the
Ditto Looper X2 is as powerful
as anything else, and the lack of
quantisation is actually a bonus
if you’re playing in different time
signatures or using polyrhythms.
If you have money to burn and the
smaller units featured in this best
looper pedals guide aren’t cutting
it for you in terms of features or
the number of loops possible, the
Boomerang III Phrase Sampler is our
top recommendation. Simply put,
you’ll find this unit at the feet of many
touring artists who use loops.
A new entry is the Boss RC-10R
Rhythm Loop Station. This looper/
drum machine hybrid features a load
of on-board beats and loops to really
inspire your creativity.
CHOOSING THE BEST LOOPER
PEDAL FOR YOU
At the simple end of selection
of the best looper pedals, there
are units that record a phrase and
immediately start playing it back,
with few-to-no controls on the front
panel except perhaps a mix control.
At their most complicated, loopers
act as digital workstations that allow
multiple channels of synchronised
audio, quantising and different time
signatures, as well as foot-controls
dedicated to each loop.
For our money, the single most
significant feature of the best
looper pedals is a dedicated start/
stop button for loops. Most loopers
above the basic entry-level models
will have this, but at the cost of a
larger pedal. If you’re using it live,
such a feature is basically essential.
If it’s intended only for practice or
songwriting use, you can get away
with a streamlined unit.
Extra features like quantisation
can be incredibly useful, but we’ve
found that these often require
changes in your live set-up. For
example, your drummer playing to
a click. When using quantised loops,
you can sometimes find yourself
avoiding ‘organic’ compositional
tricks, like changing time signatures
or the song tempo. Sometimes, less
really is more.
Finally, as you’re likely to be
stacking recorded loops, the quality
of the analogue/digital/analogue (or
A/D/A conversion) will matter. As with
recording into a DAW, 24 bit is a good
benchmark to opt for.

TO BUY RIGHT NOW
TC ELECTRONIC
DITTO X2
The best looper pedal for those
who believe less is more.
RRP: $235
Bypass: True
Footswitches: Two
Dedicated stop control? Yes
A/D/A conversion: 24 bit
PROS:
• Simple to use
• Easy to switch tempos mid-song
CONS:
• No quantisation
• Can get muddy when overdubbing
The TC Electronic Ditto X2 is still
incredibly popular as an entry-level
looper pedal, and the truism with
groceries applies to TC’s looper line:
if you go one above the cheapest, you
get the best value. So it goes with
the Ditto X2. Incredibly simple on the
front panel, there’s a single control
for the loop volume, then it’s one tap
to record, one to play, and there’s a
dedicated stop button. There are two
effect modes too, which offer reversed
playback and half-time playback of
your loops, stereo I/O, and the ability
to load and save loops via USB. Simple,
but highly effective and lots of fun to
use, which is why it’s our current top
pick for best looper pedals.
BOSS RC-10R
RHYTHM LOOP
STATION
Is this looper pedal the
ultimate creative platform?
RRP: $579
Bypass: Buffered
Footswitches: Two
Dedicated stop control? No, but
includes an external footswitch jack, so
you could add one
A/D/A conversion: 32 bit
PROS:
• Easy to operate
• Instantly switch between two song
sections
• Visual loop indicators
CONS:
• No battery power
• No headphone output
The latest in Boss’s Loop Station
collection earns the ‘R’ suffix due
to its built-in rhythm generator,
making it almost like a looper/drum
machine hybrid. Onboard you’ll find
280 preset rhythms covering a host
of musical genres and each includes
two unique sections (Pattern 1 and
Pattern 2) with transition fills and an
intro and ending. There’s also storage
for 50 imported user rhythms.
In terms of looping functionality,
there’s a stereo looper with two
independent tracks, six hours of
recording time and 99 onboard
memories for storing your own
phrases. This is an inspirational pedal
for songwriting and practice, and it’s
a capable live tool, too, particularly if
you’re a solo act looking to produce a
bigger sound onstage.
| 75
BOOMERANG III
PHRASE SAMPLER
The best looper pedal if you
want a tried-and-tested pro
option.
RRP: $550
Bypass: Buffered
Footswitches: Five
Dedicated stop control? Assignable
A/D/A conversion: 24 bit
PROS:
• Intuitive as a live tool
• Customisation options
• Huge feature set
CONS:
• No SD card loading or saving
The Boomerang III may be the size
of a bridge console on the starship
Enterprise, and it may not have
modern affordances like loop saving
and loading via either SD card or
USB – and there’s no quantisation,
although it can be sync’d to a midi
clock –but there’s got to be a reason
so many pros use it, right?
The simple answer is that it’s
stacked with features for live-only
use. This best looper pedal contender
isn’t aimed at being a compositional
tool, or playing back pre-canned
backing tracks. It’s there to support
players making loop-based music on
the fly. As a result, there’s features
you can find on other units (think one
shots and stutter effects) but also
unique ones. These include a reverse
mode that enables you to sample
yourself to create reversed solos, like
the oddball Digitech Space Station.
Loops can also be copied, shuffled,
erased and re-routed on the fly,
with serial modes that enable you
to transition between loops to
effectively keep the flow of a song
going from section to section.
Depending on the sample rate and
whether you choose mono or stereo,
there’s up to 35 minutes of recording
time available on the Boomerang III,
and two assignable footswitches. With
the Sidecar Controller (an optional
extra), you can expand this further.
76 | LOOP PEDALS
BOSS RC-30 LOOP
STATION
Two-loop live looping
with effects.
RRP: $199
Bypass: Buffered
Footswitches: Two
Dedicated stop control? Yes
A/D/A conversion: 16 bit
PROS:
• Bonus effects
• Stereo synced loops
• Versatile
CONS:
• Footswitch operation isn’t intuitive
At the core of the Boss RC-30 are
two synchronised loops. There’s a
streamlined interface with a couple
of sliders for volume and then two
footswitches. The footswitches are
pulling double-duty: where the
left-hand one stops its loop with a
double-tap, the right stops all loops
with a double-tap. Whether it’s on
these smaller units or the larger
RC-50/300 sized ones, which offer
quantisation, we’ve never been a fan
of that pattern, preferring instead to
bank through loops with a button if
it means we can have dedicated start
and stop footswitches.
Although they’re not something
we’ve ever found a use for, there are
backing tracks in a variety of styles
that can be triggered. More useful are
the effects – especially as this is a Boss
unit – with a step phaser, delay, sweep
filter, lo-fi setting and pitch bend all
ready to be applied to your loops.
The RC-30 also makes our list of best
looper pedals because it can save and
load audio via USB, with the ability to
load and play back WAV files. However,
this is where things dip into less-than-
ideal territory. For live playing, most
audiences won’t notice the difference
between 16 and 24 bit, but if you’ve
got tracks from a recording you want
to load on, chances are they’ll be 24
bit. Hardly the end of the world, but
certainly a bit of extra effort.
PIGTRONIX
INFINITY
The modern looping
mothership.
RRP: $749
Bypass: Buffered
Footswitches: Three
Dedicated stop control? Stop all
A/D/A conversion: 24 bit
PROS:
• USB loading and saving
• Large feature set
• Comparatively compact form factor
CONS:
• Only two loops
Though two loops might not sound
like much at this price, you can add
up to 256 overdubs per loop, and the
two loops can be sync’d as well. That
synchronisation is not only the basic
kind; that is to say, the two loops
playing for the same length of time,
but also making one multiples of the
other. In addition to parallel operation,
the loops can be set to series: the
one starting after the other for more
streamlined transitions between
sections in a song.
The Pigtronix Infinity Looper isn’t
quantised, so you have to be precise
in laying down your initial loop. That
said, if you’re playing over backing
tracks you can synchronise the loop
with the backing track via MIDI. You
can even use it for two guitarists, or
a guitar and a synth if you’re pulling
double duty. Do this by separating the
stereo inputs and outputs, accessible
via a dedicated split mode.
The Infinity Looper features in our
best looper pedals guide because it
has some useful bells and whistles
too, with a reverse function, variable
speed and stutter modes. If you hook
up an expression pedal, you can also
control the loop ageing with that.
LINE 6 DL4
Meet the looper pedal
that started it all.
RRP: $619.99
Bypass: Buffered
Footswitches: Four
Dedicated stop control? Yes
DIGITECH JAM-
A/D/A conversion: 24 bit
MAN EXPRESS XT PROS:
The best looper pedal if you • Can be used as a normal delay
want something simple and • Range of modes like one-shots
affordable.
CONS:
RRP: $249 • Reliability issues
Bypass: Buffered • Sampler sums loops to mono
Footswitches: One
Dedicated stop control? No Ground zero for guitar looping, its
powerful, expressive looper earned
A/D/A conversion: 24 bit
the Line 6 DL4 legendary status as one
of the most important guitar effects
PROS: ever made. However, its large size and
• Easy to use tendency to die have seen its popularity
• Budget-friendly wane as smaller, more reliable multi-
• Can run multiple units together delays have come on to the market. As
a looper, it can very much hold its
CONS: own, with features like one-shot loops,
• Single-button operation speeding up and re-triggering that
many other loopers still don’t have.
Given its price, the Digitech Jamman That said, depending on where you
Express XT has a lot to recommend are in the world, it may be surprisingly
it. Taking on the lessons of its bigger expensive for a unit released in the
brothers in the Jamman range, the year 2000, and there is a reason that
Express has ten minutes of space for many of the pros who used it as a
loops and stereo I/O. Crucially, it has a looper traveled with a couple of spares.
feature called JamSync, via which you
can chain together multiples of these
small pedals to expand your loops.
Like all single-button loopers,
there’s always the downside of
getting the unit to stop cleanly.
Recording is a breeze, with the
same ‘tap once to record, once to
end the loop and start playback’
as most other loopers, but the
double-tap-to-stop has always been
the sort of thing that’s easy to mess
up live. However, if you’re a bedroom
player or you’re more co-ordinated
than us, the above might not be an
issue. If so, the Jamman Express XT
is one of the best looper pedals for
offering excellent value for money.

ELECTRO-
HARMONIX
720 STEREO
The best looper pedal with a
foolproof footswitch layout.
RRP: $439.95
Bypass: Buffered
Footswitches: Two
Dedicated stop control? Yes
A/D/A conversion: 24 bit
PROS:
• Capable looper with effects
• Expandable via footswitch
CONS:
• No quantisation
The Electro-Harmonix 720 is named
for the 720 seconds (12 minutes) of
loops that it can store across ten
dedicated loops. Although scrolling
between these on the fly live is
definitely in the ‘flying by the seat of
your pants’ camp, you can attach an
external three-button footswitch to
access the undo/redo functionality and
the bank up/down controls.
In our opinion, it’s better to have
the banking controlled by the knob,
leaving the two footswitches free
to act as dedicated start and stop
controls. Like the TC Electronic Ditto
Looper X2, the Electro-Harmonix
720 Stereo Looper Pedal offers some
effects as well, with reverse and
half-time modes. It also has a loop
fadeout mode that will gradually fade
a repeating loop out.
DIGITECH TRIO+
The best looper pedal for a
‘band in a box’ approach.
RRP: $669
Bypass: Buffered
Footswitches: Two
Dedicated stop control? No
A/D/A conversion: 24 bit
PROS:
• Unique feature set
• SD card saving and loading
CONS:
• Complex if you just want a looper
• Tracking not always perfect
Although the looper on the DigiTech
Trio+ is pretty basic as a standalone
looper, if you’re a bedroom player
working on songs, or you’re looking to
thrash out ideas before hitting band
practice, the Trio+ might be better
for your needs than even the most
advanced looper pedal. Why? Well,
pedals like the RC-30 offer backing
tracks, but the power of the Trio+ is
its ability to play in a loop and then
instantly generate a bass and drum
backing track that can be modified
to fit a number of styles. The pedal
also supports up to five passages
that enable you to move through the
component parts of a song.
The original Trio was strictly for
non-live use, but, so long as your
parts are simple enough and you’ve
got access to a PA to run it into, the
Trio+ might just keep up live. Though
for our money, it’s still better seen
as a compositional aid rather than a
reason to never help your drummer
pack down his stands again.
BOSS RC-1 LOOP
STATION
The new generation of one-
button looper.
RRP: $199
Bypass: Buffered
Footswitches: One
Dedicated stop control? No
A/D/A conversion: 16 bit
PROS:
• Great UI
• Easy-read display
CONS:
• Single-button operation
Previous versions of the smallest
looper in the Boss range have felt
difficult to use live, but despite the
RC-1’s single-button operation, the
huge glowing ring to denote the loop
length and playback position somehow
turns this around. The Boss RC-1 Loop
Station is intuitive to use and the
display is very clear as to where you
are in your loop or capture, meaning
that we made fewer mistakes.
It’s not mentioned in their top-line
specs, but like the RC-30 the RC-1 is
16 bit, which shouldn’t be an issue
for live use. It doesn’t have any save
and recall functionality, but the loop
you’ve recorded is preserved when
the unit is powered off. That helps
you to avoid any frustrating mistakes
if you’re using this looper as a
composition tool.
| 77
HEADRUSH
LOOPERBOARD
A brilliant or flawed flagship
looper, depending on how
you’d use it.
RRP: $1,879
Bypass: Buffered
Footswitches: 12
Dedicated stop control? Yes
A/D/A conversion: 24 bit
PROS:
• Most advanced floor looper around
• Granular quantisation options
CONS:
• A bit of a learning curve
• Reassigning footswitches not
possible yet
The HeadRush pedalboard amp
modeller and multi-effects unit
sounds fantastic, but despite having
a large touch-screen, it’s less intuitive
to use than other units, such as the
Line 6 Helix. To some extent, the
same is true of the HeadRush Looper.
In terms of features, it has everything
you could ever need: reverse and
transposing options, a slew of I/O
ports on the back, up to four-track
recording, and loading/saving via
both USB and SD card.
However, at the time of writing,
the footswitches aren’t reassignable
beyond their ‘hold’ function, and the
‘stop all’ switch is on the second row,
as are the ‘stop’ switches for the four
main loops. Anyone with experience
of live-looping will tell you that
you’re usually juggling loops, and the
footswitches need to be as close to
your feet as possible.
Being able to stop and start a loop
by either rapidly hitting the ‘stop’ on
one and ‘start’ on another with one
foot, or rocking with both your feet
to instantaneously switch loops is a
staple of live-looping performance,
if you’re not playing to pre-canned
loops that you could sequence. As a
result, guitarists looking to record and
overdub multiple instruments and
don’t need to tap-dance will likely get
on with the HeadRush, while those
doing on-the-fly looping might find it
leads to mistakes when playing live.
Contact
Phone + 61 3 9773 8583
Email info@jvbstrings.com
 CAPTURE THE SOUND

THE
G E N R E - B E N D I N G
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OF SHANE

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THE NEW
VLOGGING
HERO
SHOOTING GUITAR VIDEOS, FILMING
LIVE SHOWS AND STREAMING DON’T
NEED TO BE DIFFICULT. HERE’S WHY
YOU SHOULD MAKE THE NEW GOPRO
HERO9 YOUR GO-TO CAMERA.
W
e’re at a point in time where becoming
a ‘content creator’ is open to everyone:
the platforms are there, all you need to
do is jump on and you can showcase your playing
and opinions with millions of people across the
globe. The rise in vlogging is testament to this, with
large numbers of people now flocking to see Ola
Englund, Davie504 and the like broadcast live from
their homes. But if you’re going to get started with
your own video channel, you’re going to need a way
of filming yourself.
As vlogging, streaming and other video-based
mediums grow in popularity, so it figures that
the brands behind the cameras start to up their
game. Where once videography (and photography)
was quite a complex endeavour, now that process
has been totally democratised. Anybody with a
half-decent smartphone can produce content that
would have looked cinema-grade just a couple of
decades ago.
One of the first brands to carve a niche in this
field was GoPro, whose tiny, feature-packed action
cameras created an almost entirely new sub-industry.
But, where these small, versatile cams were once
the preserve of the extreme sports crowd, their
feature-set has grown to make them an increasingly
wise choice for all kinds of content creation. GoPro
cameras are small enough not to be intrusive, they
produce wonderfully high-resolution images and
videos, and they are so, so simple to operate.
The GoPro Hero9 is the new kid on the block, and
packs in a number of specific features which make it
the ideal vlogging camera for guitarists. Sure, there
are cameras out there with more functionality, and
more advanced setups will favour the versatility of a
DSLR, but for sheer point-and-shoot simplicity – with
great results – we’re happy to recommend the GoPro
Hero9. Allow us to explain why.
1. HIGHER RESOLUTION
If you’ve used GoPro cameras before you’ll be
familiar with the fact they produce incredibly
sharp, vibrant images, especially from such a tiny
sensor. The new Hero9 delivers another bump in
resolution from its predecessors, with an incredible
5K now available. You’d be forgiven for asking
why you’d ever want 5K resolution, when all but
the most expensive TVs and monitors max out at
4K. Well, for a start you’re future-proofing your
investment, plus having that extra resolution is a
godsend when it comes to editing.
With a higher pixel count to work with, you can
crop and resize your footage yet still retain a super
WORDS BY
CHRIS CORFIELD.
high level of detail from your shots. Of course, you
can opt for 4K all the way down to 1080p if preferred,
which will result in smaller video files.
2. BETTER BATTERY LIFE
A common criticism of GoPro cameras, and all
video cameras, is battery life. Or a lack thereof. And,
while you can always just buy extra batteries, it would
be nicer if the ones you already had worked that
little bit longer. With the Hero9, GoPro has improved
operating efficiency enough to give a decent
boost to battery life, meaning you can now record
continuously for over two hours before you’ll need
to replace your power source. This is all the more
impressive when you factor in the new front-facing
screen. Which leads us nicely onto…
3. FRONT-FACING SCREEN
For vloggers or streamers using their phones to
record, there is a common dilemma. Do you rely on
your front-facing camera, so you can make use of
the phone’s screen to ensure your frame is lined up
correctly, or do you make use of the better cameras
on the phone’s rear but lose that ability to see
yourself while you record/stream? The GoPro Hero9
overcomes this with the addition of a front-facing
screen, albeit at a reduced size to the main rear
screen. Perfect for ensuring your focus and framing
are all as you want them to be.
4. CREATIVE SHOTS
As with any GoPro – or indeed, any action camera
– some of the benefits come through the extra
creativity on offer through such a small camera.
GoPro has always offered extra creative options in its
devices, whether that’s through different lens effects
(including the ubiquitous fish-eye) or through things
like time-lapse, or slow-motion recording. The Hero9
really delivers on this front, offering up to eight-times
slow motion at 240 frames per second. For guitarists,
this is super-useful when filming tricky shred solo
tutorials, as it allows you to really zone-in on specific
runs to help your students/viewers. And being such
a small size means it can be mounted practically
anywhere, including your guitar’s headstock...
5. STREAMING CAPABILITIES
Streamers are in luck with the Hero9 too. While
there were workarounds to let you use your GoPro
live on platforms like Twitch and YouTube, the Hero9
has this functionality built into it natively. When you
factor in the camera’s multiple mounting methods,
this opens up the potential for some unique angles
| 81
or framing options, all of which can be streamed in
1080p directly to your chosen platform.
6. MODS!
If there’s one thing GoPro cameras aren’t short of,
it’s accessories. Sadly, this didn’t extend natively to
interchangeable lenses, with the company figuring
if people want that sort of functionality, they’ll use
a DSLR. That stance has softened with the Hero9
however, with a removable glass lens protector
paving the way for the Max Lens Mod, which extends
the field of view to 155 degrees; perfect for filming
live shows and rehearsal sessions. There’s also
official mods for lighting, microphones and more,
making it a neat little modular system.
7. IMPROVED STABILISATION
GoPro cameras are renowned for their built-in
stabilisation, which is understandable when you
consider GoPro’s original target market of mountain
bikers, skydivers and suchlike. Yet the technology
behind it has been continually refined, and users
have found it helps even for basic handheld
shots. The classic ‘GoPro on your headstock’ shot
will benefit massively from this, allowing you to
concentrate on your playing without fear of the
resulting footage giving your audience a headache.
8. PRICE
For around $600 new, the GoPro Hero9 delivers
exceptional value. When you factor in the various
recording features, the increased resolution and
battery life, and the sheer simplicity of using it,
there is an argument that the Hero9 is perhaps
the perfect vlogging and streaming camera. What
many vloggers will do is rely on a ‘main’ DSLR for
the majority of their to-camera pieces, yet having a
GoPro in your arsenal too offers up a whole range
of creative options. And, at this price, it’s hard to
argue with that.
9. HINDSIGHT
The final feature we’re drawing your attention to
is called HindSight. As musicians, we’ve perhaps all
been in a recording situation where we lay down the
perfect take only to find we’d forgotten to hit record.
Nightmare, right? HindSight offers a backup by
recording a 30 second buffer before you even press
record, so you get that extra safety net of knowing
the camera is watching even before you are ready.
Okay, so that sounds a bit creepy, but we can see it
being genuinely useful for guitar vloggers who are
recording themselves.
82 | PRODUCER PROFILE

RECORDING TECHNIQUES
WITH SHANE EDWARDS
IF THERE’S ONE PRODUCER EVERY SHREDLORD IN AUSTRALIA WOULD KILL TO WORK WITH,
IT’S SHANE EDWARDS. THE ARIA-NOMINATED STUDIO WIZARD IS BEST KNOWN FOR REVOLUTIONISING
THE LOCAL PUNK SCENE WITH GENRE-BENDING GIANTS LIKE TROPHY EYES AND HELLIONS – BUT IT’S
NOT JUST BREAKDOWNS AND BASSLINES THIS BANGKOK-BASED LEGEND CAN MASTER.

WORDS BY MATT DORIA.

A
nytime we chat with an
artist that’s worked with
Shane Edwards, it’s virtually
guaranteed they’ll gush about his
beatmaking black arts like a tween
girl gushes over her favourite
boyband – entirely unprompted, too.
Edwards started producing out
of necessity, unable to afford any
external help to lay down his own
band’s material. But the Sydney-
native stalwart soon discovered
a love for the art that spread far
beyond his own musicality. Today,
he’s one of the most sought-after
names in heavy music, thanks in
no short part his unapologetically
unique approach to the recording
process – which has led to such
instant classics as Hellions’ Opera
Oblivia, Trophy Eyes’ Chemical
Miracle, Saviour’s Let Me Leave… The
list goes on. Hell, he’s even linked up
with musical titans like Hans Zimmer,
and put his own twist on a rendition
of the Thai national anthem.
With stacks of new projects in
the pipeline (including the tensely
awaited fourth Trophy Eyes record),
Edwards has many a late night
behind the console to look forward
to. He’s currently making the magic
happen in Bangkok’s Studio28,
where he recently set up shop after a
storied six-year tenure holding down
the fort at Karma Sound. In a bid to
uncover some of the secrets behind
his in-studio sorcery, Australian
Guitar caught up with Edwards on
a short break from recording with
the Thai royal family – y’know, just a
casual day on the grind…
Do you find that having a
background as a musician helps
you get the most out of the
artists you work with?
Oh, 100 percent. I started out as
a guitar player – I obviously still am,
of course – and the feeling you get
when you play a guitar is completely
unique. So getting to translate that
onto the record, really understanding
what the person is playing and all
the details they’re trying to nail… It
really helps to know your way around
the instrument. I play as many
instruments as I can to get a feel for
them, so that I can record them as
best as I can.
Are you the type of producer
to become the unofficial extra
member in a session?
Yeah, absolutely! Whenever I do
a production job, I become like a
silent bonus member. Because I’ve
got to care about the project as much
as they care about it – sometimes I
care a little bit more than the band!
I always base myself off the mantra
that I like to amplify the band, not
change the band. I like to bring them
out of their shells, not to get them to
shift or change or anything like that.
One thing I’ve gathered from
interviewing some of the artists
you’ve worked with is that you’re
really good at pushing an idea to
the extreme, and really trying

| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar

everything that’s possible to get
the best version of it on tape.
How do you typically approach
a concept that requires a lot of
experimentation?
I like to break rules. For the Agnes
Manners record [Fantasia Famish],
we wanted something unique with
the guitar sound, so we went to
this old store and bought a cassette
player with a jack input, plugged the
guitar into that, bounced it off the
tape and ran it into a cab – and it was
the coolest sound I’d ever heard. I
just like to try crazy things and break
all the rules of recording.
So you start every session in the
software as a blank canvas – you
don’t have any go-to presets or
chains that you key in when you’re
recording. Why do you find it so
important to start from scratch
every time?
For me, every song is like a
fingerprint – no two are the same.
And although it does take a little
longer, starting from scratch every
time always yields the best results.
Sometimes if, for instance, there was
bass tone or something that sounded
cool in an earlier project, I might open
up an old session and see what I did,
bring that in and tweak it. But that very
rarely happens; I usually just attack
everything as a brand new thing.
Especially when you’re working
with a band like Hellions, or on the
past two Trophy Eyes records for
example, you’ve got these tracks
where there’s so much going on –
strings and horns and synths and
all this other stuff – and then a
full band of heavy punk musicians
playing on top of all that. How
do you go about creating such
dense and dynamic soundscapes
without the mix sounding muddy
or overblown?
It’s very tricky. I used to mix in the
box, and I found it pretty difficult
then. But I mix on a console now,
and that does half of the work for me
with the separations and stuff like
that. Other people can do it really
well in the box, and I wish I could do
it like them, but yeah, I’m a bit of an
analogue-hybrid guy. I’ve got two
Solid State Logic X-Desks and an API,
all my tools… Yeah, it’s very difficult
[laughs]. But usually in the analogue
world, I can get that separation as
close to perfect as possible.
Do you find that recording
analogue helps in capturing the
raw energy of a band?
Yeah. For me, the analogue
gear gives me not just the right
separation between layers, but the
right saturation as well. I’ve spent a
long time collecting specific pieces
of gear to get it all done – I love
the API sound, for example, that’s
become a big part of my work. I got
this console at the start of 2016,
so Opera Oblivia [by Hellions] and
Chemical Miracle [by Trophy Eyes]
were the first two records I got to do
with it. I just felt at one with it. So
I’ve built my rig around that – I’ve
added some clean SSL summing
and a whole bunch of line amps,
compressors… Y’know, slowly just
growing and growing the arsenal.
Do you have any other secret
weapons?
I cannot live without the Eventide
H3000. It’s on every record I ever do,
it’s the vocals on everything. People
say, “Why don’t you just use plug-ins?
Reverbs sound like reverbs!” And it’s
like, “Yeah, but the Eventide speaks
to me!” It’s so bright and transparent
and shiny, and it just brings vocals
to life. So I use that with everybody,
and I typically use about eight to ten,
sometimes twelve different patches
out of it, and I print it in one at a
time. And then I’ll mix it once it’s
printed back into the system.
It really is a labour of love!
Yeah, man! Every one of my
recordings, if you open up the mix
sessions, you’ll see that the vocals
are always all done with hardware –
| 83
I don’t use any plug-ins after it’s
been printed through the hardware.
And all the effects are printed on
hardware as well.
What’s the most intense record
you’ve done?
Rue [by Hellions] was pretty big.
The biggest session I ever did was
mixing the Thai national anthem –
that was something like 430 tracks
of layered orchestral instruments. It
was a big, big, big session. But other
sessions are big in the sense that
there’s more to do.
I would say that Opera Oblivia is
my favourite record of all time,
because we did that in 21 days from
conception to mastering. We were
hyper-focused, but with an open mind.
Again we had a totally blank canvas,
and we just ran for the hills – and it
just came out like that! It was one mix
with no tweaks or adjustments.
It was really funny because I had
Trophy Eyes booked in the day after
we finished Opera Oblivia, but they
arrived a week early, so we were all
hanging out together while Hellions
finished up their sessions. We finished
the final listening session at three in
the morning one night, and then we
started Trophy Eyes’ record at ten in
the morning, seven hours later – so
I had to delete everything about the
Hellions session from my mind.
84 | REVIEWS
RRP: $795
EMPRESS EFFECTS ZOIA
THIS INNOVATIVE MODULE-BASED PEDAL COULD
CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK ABOUT EFFECTS.
REVIEW BY ROD BRAKES.
W
e’re all suckers for good old-fashioned vintage gear, but we are also
huge fans of technology. Be it the simplest analogue application
or cutting-edge digital modelling, if it sounds right and feels right,
the chances are it is. And with Empress Effects’ Zoia creating such a buzz in the
stompbox world recently, we couldn’t wait to dive in and find out why people have
been raving about this quirky little box with what seems like far too many buttons.
Although it may appear unfamiliar or slightly confusing at first, that grid of 40
buttons is precisely what makes working with the Zoia such a breeze. Think of them
as spaces. Press an unoccupied one to choose a module from the screen menu using
the rotary knob (not forgetting to pick a suitable colour, of course!) and a number of
buttons light up in a row depending on how many parameters and inputs/outputs
the module has. To link different modules together simply press two buttons
simultaneously, like the output of reverb to the input of tremolo, and to tweak their
parameters just hit a relevant button and use the rotary knob to adjust. Easy!
“But what is this ‘module’ nonsense?” we hear you cry. The Zoia is a modular
synthesiser in pedal form, but that doesn’t mean it’s off the radar as far as us
guitarists are concerned. Indeed, quite the opposite: the very same principles
have long been used to design guitar pedals. What makes the Zoia unique,
however, is that with a little imagination you can easily customise your own
effects. And without needing a studio full of synth modules, or a soldering
iron for that matter, in order to do so. Furthermore, with 64 patches available
to save your work and instantly recall it on the fly using the Scroll and Select
footswitches, or via MIDI, you can create a virtual pedalboard full of possibilities.
If you have no experience hooking up synth modules and would like to start
using the Zoia straight out of the box then fear not. Empress has included a
bunch of ready-made guitarist-friendly effects modules to choose from. The
Canadian company has been hard at work updating the firmware with new and
exciting modules since the Zoia’s release, often based on recommendations from
an ever-growing community of users.
VERDICT PROS
Getting the best out of Empress’s Zoia will require Build your own custom effects.
a little knowledge of how effects work and what Logical and intuitive operation.
various synthesiser terms mean, but with just a
Outstanding sound quality.
modicum of learning and imagination the Zoia can
take your musical vision to another creative level. Also functions as its own instrument.
BLACKSTAR LIVE LOGIC
A COMPACT MIDI CONTROLLER FOR ABLETON
THAT’S DESIGNED ESPECIALLY FOR GUITARISTS.
REVIEW BY ALEX LYNHAM. RRP: $339
F
or a compact MIDI controller, the Blackstar is hard to beat at this price point.
It’s a flexible and well-thought out piece of kit that even has decent software –
normally where equipment manufacturers trip up. It’s built like a tank, and
ships with Ableton Live 10 Lite, since it’s an Ableton-approved device. And after
some fiddling with the editor, getting it to control Ableton is straightforward.
Moreover, for heavy pedal users, the footswitch MIDI controller is a natural fit.
Perhaps an engineer or producer would find it less intuitive, but for a guitarist
it makes sense. Of course, it can be used as a general-purpose controller to
manage any MIDI-enabled devices or even amps, live or at home. But although its
capabilities as a live looper controller are touted by Blackstar, it’s not an area we
VERDICT PROS
Compact and super-rugged, the Blackstar Live Very tough build.
Logic is a an intuitively designed MIDI controller Can be used as a general-purpose
to help guitar players navigate Ableton or bring
MIDI controller.
any MIDI-enabled device into play.
Ships with Ableton Live 10 Lite.
| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
At the time of writing, the Zoia boasts 20 effects modules including an EQ,
overdrive/distortion, fuzz, compressor, noise gate, phaser, flanger, chorus,
vibrato, tremolo, envelope filter, ring modulator and cab simulator, along with
two delays and five reverbs partly derived from Empress’s popular Reverb pedal.
Although the above effects merely scratch the surface of the Zoia’s
capabilities, they alone would be enough to elicit a rave review. Take the OD &
Distortion module, for example: it may not replace your favourite dirt pedal(s) –
and it’s worth bearing in mind here that you can easily set up an effects loop
to patch external devices in – but the overdrive is clear, open and surprisingly
natural-sounding enough to give the best of them a run for their money.
Sporting a range of options including Plexi, Germ, Classic, Pushed and Edgy,
along with adjustable input and output gain, the OD & Distortion module covers
an impressive range of sonic ground. Further tone-shaping is available courtesy
of the Tone Control EQ module, while the Cabinet Sim module rounds things off
nicely with seven wide-ranging options.
Although the Zoia can do tons of classic guitar tones, it excels at large,
complex sounds and unique custom-detailed effects of an experimental nature,
where creating the same kind of thing would be difficult, if not impossible, using
regular pedals. For example, you might envisage a tremolo that speeds up and
slows down depending on your picking strength. No problem: just pop down the
Envelope Follower module to analyse your incoming guitar signal then attach it
to the LFO controlling the volume of a VCA audio module – and job done!
CONS CONTACT
Requires learning. Pedal Empire
No stereo headphone socket
Ph: (07) 3892 3292
Web: pedalempire.com.au
can comment on. Ableton tends to fill the DAW niche for us rather than as a
live scratch-pad. Once we’ve got a track down, we bounce out a backing track
version as a WAV rather than leaving things too much to chance.
One of the Live Logic’s less obvious features is the ability to accept
two expression pedal inputs. This allows for continuous control over midi
parameters. It requires a little bit of setting up to get the real value from,
but having real-time control over a VST parameter at your feet is definitely
underrated. All in all, there are no downsides other than the number of
footswitches, should you need more. It’s affordable, robust and – for
something this powerful – surprisingly straightforward.
CONS CONTACT
For guitarists? CMI Music & Audio
Ph: (03) 9315 2244
Web: cmi.com.au
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Distributed by

www.jands.com.au
RP5G4 RP7G4 RP8G4 RP103G4
5” Powered 7” Powered 8” Powered 8” Powered
Studio Monitor Studio Monitor Studio Monitor Studio Monitor
86 | REVIEWS
MXR TIMMY OVERDRIVE PEDAL
MXR BUDDIES UP WITH PAUL COCHRANE FOR A REISSUE OF HIS
MUCH PRIZED TRANSPARENT DRIVE PEDAL. REVIEW BY PAUL RIARIO.
I
f you’ve never heard of Paul Cochrane or
his cult Tim and Timmy drive pedals, it’s not
necessarily surprising. Paul Cochrane has no
website and a minimal presence on social media.
Obtaining obtaining one of his Timmy overdrive
pedals is a bit of a challenge, with Cochrane
building them one at a time.
But habitual denizens of guitar forums will tell
you that the Timmy pedal is a perennial on lists
of best overdrive pedals – including ours – and
it’s because it is a super-transparent, amp-like
overdrive that’s been constant demand for
armchair tone chasers. And also a pedalboard
essential for the likes of Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford
and LA studio hound Lyle Workman.
Now that Cochrane has partnered with MXR to
bring his legendary pedal to more guitarists, you
no longer have to wait to get one. Better still, the
MXR Timmy Overdrive is housed in a much-in-vogue
mini enclosure.
There are four knobs for Volume, Bass, Gain
and Treble, plus a three-way Clip switch. The Bass
VERDICT
Timmy is finally swimming in the mainstream and
it remains one of the most transparent, responsive
overdrive pedals you will find, with three clipping
modes for added range.
BOSS ACOUSTIC SINGER LIVE LT AMP
WITH ITS TWO-CHANNEL DESIGN, ONBOARD EFFECTS AND
POWERFUL DESIGN, THIS ACOUSTIC AMP COULD ADD SOME
MAGIC TO YOUR NEXT SHOW. REVIEW BY PAUL RIARIO.
N
ever before have I seen so many buskers
burst into view than this past year. Social
distancing and a lack of indoor venues have
forced many a talented musician to literally take it to
the streets, or perform at outdoor dining places. If
that’s your new normal, then portability and power
should be your best friends when it comes to
amplifying yourself.
The good news is the Boss Acoustic Singer Live LT
meets the criteria for both, as well as being the most
streamlined and affordable professional acoustic
amplifier in Boss’s Acoustic Singer series. With all the
basic essentials and more, the Acoustic Singer Live
LT will have you up and running in minutes.
The Boss Acoustic Singer Live LT is rated at 60
watts and arrives in a compact tilt-back cabinet
built for clarity and punch. The amp’s highlight is its
powerful bi-amp design, which means the custom
6.5–inch woofer and dome tweeter are driven by two
independent power amps for a far more optimised
sound and efficient full-range response.
The guitar and mic channels come with discrete
analog input circuitry and independent three-
VERDICT
An all-in-one amp solution for singer-songwriters that
makes a neat recording tool, the Live LT will cover
you for open-mic night and beyond.
| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
and Treble controls are configured as
cut-only, which won’t be to everyone’s
liking but is faithful to the original
designs. But it is clever. The Treble knob
cuts high end from the post-overdrive
signal while the Bass knob cuts the
lows from the pre-overdrive, thus
allowing for more precise fine-tuning of
those two frequencies and allowing you
to match the EQ coming from the amp.
You have clipping modes to choose
from, one asymmetrical and two
symmetrical, and each offer varying
degrees of saturation, low and high
headroom, dynamics and compression.
Cochrane and MXR chose the LF353
op-amp chip, known for its increased output, gain
and high fidelity, to maintain the Timmy’s sonic
integrity in a miniature pedal format.
Gear-forum players will undoubtedly compare
the MXR Timmy to the original. Surely all will
agree that the MXR Timmy Overdrive delivers
PROS CONS
Three different clipping modes. Bass and treble are configured cut-only.
Highly versatile when it comes to shaping tone.
band EQs, an Acoustic Resonance switch on the
guitar channel (for three types of acoustic tone
sculpting), an Enhance effect on the mic channel (for
fuller, well-defined vocal tones), phase switch and
anti-feedback notch filter. Onboard effects include
delay/chorus on guitar channel, delay/echo on mic
channel and independent reverb on both channels.
The loaded rear panel features an Aux input with
level control for backing music, XLR DI jack and
phones/recording output, USB audio interface for
computer recording/playback and two input jacks
to control guitar and mic effects (using optional
footswitches).
I auditioned the Acoustic Singer Live LT at an
intimate outdoor gig and found myself pleasantly
surprised at how capable the amp handled the
alfresco setting. Setup was easy, and using my Taylor
12-string and Martin OM-28 I was able to quickly
dial in a robust acoustic sound. I found the green
setting on the Acoustic Resonance switch to have the
smoothest voicing.
The chorus and delay have Boss’s top-notch
quality tones and add great dimension if needed,
PROS CONS
Bi-amp design makes for very impressive None.
performance.
Tilt-back cabinet.
RRP: $299
transparency with a capital T. Clicking the
pedal on and off, the MXR Timmy sounds
as seamless as switching from clean to
a mild gain channel from a tube amp. It
it adds a gradual gain-bump to the point
of light compression and a very pleasing
natural breakup.
The MXR Timmy has more dynamic
presence than your regular overdrive.
There is a clear top-end chime and
warmth in the midrange. It is a more
musical-sounding overdrive that blends
in beautifully with amplifier crunch –
perfect for when you need even more
harmonic complexity.
I found the middle position on the switch to be the
best sounding of the three clipping stages. It had the
most breath and body, and touch-responsiveness,
whether you set the Timmy for overdrive or simply
as a clean boost.
CONTACT
Australasian Music Supplies
Ph: (03) 9549 1500
Web: austmusic.com.au
RRP: $715
but injecting reverb for colourful ambience is what
I prefer. Activating the Enhance function provides a
wonderful silky sheen for vocals, and adding a splash
of reverb gave it real depth. I had quite a few people
compliment on the range and natural sound that the
Acoustic Singer LT delivered.
One last thing to spotlight is the very handy
USB out, where I could connect my computer
(or compatible smart device) to real-time record
my performance. Having that connectivity really
elevates the Acoustic Singer LT from just a mere
acoustic amp.
CONTACT
Roland Australia
Ph: (02) 9982 8266
Web: roland.com/au
ERNIE BALL MUSIC MAN JASON RRP: $2,695
RICHARDSON 7-STRING CUTLASS
FOR THOSE SEEKING A SERIOUS SEVEN-STRING INSTRUMENT THAT OFFERS A VARIETY OF IMPRESSIVE HEAVY
TONES AND EXCEPTIONALLY COMFORTABLE PLAYABILITY, THIS IS A GREAT CHOICE. REVIEW BY CHRIS GILL.

O
ver the last 20 years, the seven-string guitar
transitioned from a novelty to a new norm
embraced by dozens of the electric guitar
world’s most talented and innovative virtuosos.
Jason Richardson, formerly of Born of Osiris and while the sculpted, rounded
Chelsea Grin, and now a solo artist and member neck joint, and the neck’s
of All That Remains, is one of the most impressive
seven-string specialists to come along over the last special wax finish further
decade, so it makes perfect sense that he caught enhance playing comfort.
Ernie Ball Music Man’s attention and was invited to Another unique feature is
join the company’s esteemed roster of signature
model collaborators.
Whereas most previous Music Man signature
models from the Albert Lee and Steve Morse to the are wired to a three-position
Valentine and St. Vincent featured entirely new pickup selector switch that Despite having slightly
designs, the Ernie Ball Music Man Jason Richardson provides neck humbucking,
7-String Cutlass is part of a new approach for Music bridge humbucking and a standard six-string
Man artist guitars where up-and-coming players both in a single-coil/ solidbody, the Jason
are putting their own touches on existing models parallel configuration. Richardson 7-String
(like the Hunter Hayes Cutlass and Dustin Kensrue The neck and bridge Cutlass is impressively
StingRay). This means the Jason Richardson humbuckers can be coil light and its body
7-String Cutlass isn’t simply a Cutlass model with tapped via the push/push contours provide similar
a seventh string added on, but rather a notably master tone control knob,
modified design with several unique features built to while the master volume
Richardson’s specifications. knob’s push/push function
For discriminating seven-string players, the Jason
Richardson 7-String Cutlass promises to join Music Circuit that provides up to 20 decibels of boost. the fretting hand with a feel similar to a six-string
Man’s John Petrucci models as one of the industry’s The graphite acrylic resin-coated body cavity neck as well, making this model an ideal choice for
best seven-string guitars built today. and aluminium control cover provide exceptional, six-string players who want to make the transition
Whereas the standard Cutlass model features noise-free shielding. Hardware includes Schaller to a seven-string without having to adapt their
an alder body, the Jason Richardson 7-String M6-IND locking tuning machines, a custom playing style too much.
Cutlass immediately catches the eye with its seven-string Music Man floating tremolo with Like all Music Man guitars, the construction
stunningly figured buckeye burl top laminated to black-plated steel saddles and knurled metal quality and attention to detail is impeccable. The
the lightweight alder body. Other unique details control knobs. Jason Richardson 7-String Cutlass joins Music Man’s
include a deeper extended cutaway and distinctively Compared to the Music Man Petrucci seven-string various seven-string John Petrucci models as some
contoured lower horn that provides better, models’ sleek supercar-style aesthetics and of the best seven-string guitars available today, so if
unrestricted access to the uppermost frets without performance, the Jason Richardson 7-String Cutlass you’re serious about playing seven-string guitar and
shifting the fretting hand positioning. is a little more like a modernised muscle car, with want to cut to the chase by immediately selecting an
The neck is made from figured roasted maple a louder, brasher and more aggressive stance. The instrument with outstanding tone and playability it’s
and features an ebony fingerboard, 25.5-inch scale pickups provide massive brute-force crunch through a highly worthy choice.

VERDICT PROS CONS CONTACT

For seven-string guitarists seeking a serious Figured buckeye burl top looks stunning and None. CMC Music
instrument that offers a variety of impressive heavy enhances the percussive attack and definition of
tones and exceptionally comfortable playability, the alder body. Ph: (02) 9905 2511
the Ernie Ball Music Man Jason Richardson 7-String Master volume knob’s push/push function Web: cmcmusic.com.au
Cutlass is a great choice. engages an active preamp that provides up to 20
decibels of boost.
88 | REVIEWS
GODIN RADIATOR
FANCY SOME BOUTIQUE STYLE WITHOUT THE WALLET-BUSTING
PRICE TAG? WELL, GODIN’S NEW RADIATOR IS EXACTLY THAT:
A CANADIAN-MADE GUITAR THAT MIGHT WELL BE ONE OF THE
BARGAINS OF THE YEAR. REVIEW BY DAVE BURRLUCK.
G
odin’s original Radiator launched back
in 1999 as a very retro-styled entry-level
model – the antithesis of the more
complex dual- and three-voice (including synth
access) electrics that the Canadian company
was becoming known for. It used the elongated
single-cut SD shape, pretty similar to today’s
LGXT, with a bolt-on 24-fret maple neck, while the
fairly heavily chambered body was covered with
pearloid, including a full-face scratchplate, creating
that retro vibe and probably inspired by certain
Magnatone electrics from the ‘50s. Along with a
string-through bridge with six L-shaped saddles,
it featured a pair of retro-y Rickenbacker-style
single coils with dual volumes and a master tone
all mounted on its plastic front. That original model
also came in a range of natty colours, too.
Today’s version certainly has some of that
DNA, although the body shape follows the more
contemporary single-cut outline used on Godin’s
Summit Classic SG. The colours are also more muted
like our matt Trans Cream with its tortie face; the
Matte Black version comes with a black fascia, while
Bourbon Burst features a whiter pearloid facing.
Incidentally, the colour-matched pearloid is also
overlaid on the very classic-style and back-angled
three-a-side headstock here.
Like the original, the 45-millimetre thick silver
leaf maple body is chambered, but here it’s more
heavily done, though that aspect of the design is
not mentioned in any Godin marketing. It means the
guitar drops comfortably below the 3.6-kilogram
mark, but certainly doesn’t feel feather-light. In fact,
it’s got a good business-like and purposeful feel to it,
less gimmicky perhaps than that original design.
Now, you could bash it up a bit and load it up with
boutique parts, and a design like this could easily
set you back $3,000. But Godin has long loaded in
the quality while keeping costs pared down, thanks
to their immense production experience. We’ve
mentioned the matt body finish, which is obviously
quicker to apply than a high gloss. The neck appears
brown-stained and is a little more silky satin in
feel, but we’d guess that’s pretty fast to apply, too.
There’s a little rear edge chamfering on the back,
but otherwise we just get an edge radius to the slab
body. The heel is left square and Gibson-esque, and
the neck appears to be a three-piece construction
with its headstock spliced on and a heel stack.
Godin doesn’t go deep on pickup specs. These
are clearly covered and classic looking with
individual volume and tones, a shoulder-placed
toggle and output jack below the lowest controls.
It means, of course, that all the wiring and pickups
can be mounted to the face-plate, although with 13
VERDICT
The 2020 version of the Radiator seems mostly
rock-aimed. You could easily mod the guitar to
increase its versatility, and on a quality platform such
as this any work would be money well spent. It’s a
gutsy-sounding Les Paul Special-style piece with great
weight and a big sound. It’s crisply made and actually
feels more like an old guitar. Plays like butter, too.
| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
RRP: $1,895
screws to attach it to the guitar (there’s a hidden
screw under the bridge) you won’t want to be
removing and replacing it too often. Don’t worry,
though – we’ve done it for you (see Under The
Hood, opposite).
And while the Summit Classic SG sported a
rather nice Graph Tech ResoMax Sonic 1 one-piece
“wraparound” bridge, the wrapover here is more
generic in style, a heavier cast bridge with raised
ridges to act as intonated ‘saddles’. Overall,
intonation is via the two protruding steel bolts that
connect directly to the steel posts adding to the
rather Melody Maker-like vibe.
The craft is excellent, particularly for the price.
The neck really does feel like it should be on a much
higher priced guitar. It features a Gibson-like scale
length and similar 12-inch radius, and the medium
gauge fretwire is beautifully installed and highly
polished. The fingerboard edges are lightly rolled,
too, and the Graph Tech Tusq nut is perfectly cut.
In terms of profile it’s a pretty regular medium
C style: 21.5mm at the first fret and 24mm at the
12th, almost Fender-y in lower positions with a little
more bulk by the heel. Aside from needing a slight
tweak of the truss rod, the setup is low and slinky as
supplied with a string height of 1.3mm on the high E
and 1.5mm on the bass.
The very retro Godin logo’d tuners are a little
special as well, with a very smooth feel and
higher-than-usual gear ratios (18:1 on the bass side
and 26:1 on the treble), which makes them very
fine tuning, especially on the treble side. Once we’d
stretched the strings, we barely touched them: this
is one very stable guitar.
The bridge, though, is a little rudimentary. modded back in New York city in the early ‘70s.
Intonation was slightly sharp overall during our There’s nothing wrong with that, nor the sounds
test, but that can be easily dialled in with those we’re hearing with a nicely gained Marshall-y amp
outer pair of Allen key bolts. If you live in the voice where the bridge has that sort of overwound
upper-fret positions, certainly chordally, it simply grind about it that would grace most classic rock to
might not be ‘in’ enough, but we suspect this guitar early metal styles perfectly. The neck is no slouch
has more of a rock ’n’ roll aim. with a tube-y voice that, in the environment, has
Although we have four controls they’re not laid just enough clarity for those vocal lead lines. On a
out like our benchmark Gibsons; the outer treble cleaner Fender-y channel, it ain’t a Tele that’s for
pickup volume and tone are lower than the closer sure, although the mix does add a little more
neck pickup pair. It’s hard, then, to do the classic chime and some dirty funk, especially if you
move where you can pull up or down both volume knock the neck volume back a little.
or tone controls simultaneously with a swipe of It’s a thicker, tougher sound than you might
your right hand. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it is a expect, and you can’t help thinking that some
slightly different drive and you’ll need a cable with coil-splits and/or a simple treble bleed circuit
a right-angled jack for the face-mounted output would add some versatility to what is a very
socket, of course. good-playing guitar. If the original Radiator was
Despite hanging on (or should that be clinging more indie, this one is more alt-rock, armed
on?) to its retro past, this Radiator is revoiced with some pretty serious clout. Above all, it’s the
with much more rock intention. It’s kind of like a playability that punches way above its weight.
pawnshop relic from the ‘50s that Larry DiMarzio Godin really knows how to make a good guitar.
PROS CONS CONTACT
Simple but classy build. Might be a little dark sounding for some. Dynamic Music
Great neck and playability.
Ph: (02) 9939 1299
Rock-ready voicing and subtle retro vibe. Web: dynamicmusic.com.au

VOX VALVENERGY PEDALS
A TRIO OF VALVE-POWERED DRIVE PEDALS THAT USE A NUTUBE
FOR AN OLD SOUND. REVIEW BY TREVOR CURWEN.
T
he Valvenerergy pedals, each based around
a Nutube miniature vacuum tube in its all-
analogue signal path, are designed to emulate
the response and harmonic distortion of a valve
amp. Four popular amp types are represented, in
order of increasing gain: Silk Drive, Mystic Edge,
Copperhead Drive and Cutting Edge. Each pedal has
an oscilloscope-like OLED display that shows the
resulting waveform as you play and all have basically
the same front-panel configuration, apart from the
Cutting Edge (not featured here), which is based on a
US high-gain amp suitable for metal tones and has a
Tight knob in place of the Bright switch.
The pedals have a choice of three output modes:
they can be used in standard pedal mode in front
of your amp, as a line-level preamp or, with the
built-in cab sim engaged, direct into an audio
interface or PA. If you use two or more pedals
together, a Channel Link feature lets you turn one
pedal on while bypassing the others, rather like
amp channel switching.
The only one of the pedals that can be quite
specific about its inspiration is the Mystic Edge,
based on an AC30. It’s nicely responsive to playing
dynamics and, with a combination of grit and
chime, some familiar Vox tones are here to be
VERDICT
The Silk Drive is a versatile pedal with a range of
uses, not least an alternative clean voice. As MIAB
pedals go, the Copperhead Drive goes that extra
mile in terms of practicality. And the Mystic Edge is
effectively an AC30-in-a-box pedal from Vox itself.
What’s not to like?
explored. The midrange character seems to be
about right, so there’s no point messing with it,
and where the other pedals have a Middle knob,
here you get Tone Cut, as found in the original
amp, adding an extra layer of tonal subtlety in
calming down aspects of the top-end.
The gain range takes the pedal from clean to a
fully cranked amp, offering plenty of punchy drive
along the way, and while the analogue cabinet
simulator offers a decent impression of the original’s
two-by-12 open-backed cab, there’s always the
option to use the pedal in preamp mode and add an
impulse response further down the line if you want
different speaker simulation choices.
The Silk Drive, based on an American clean
amp, represents the amp with the lowest gain in
this series. The drive in the pedal doesn’t really
become apparent until past midway on the Gain
knob, which allows it to be a useful clean boost and
tone conditioning pedal. There’s a certain scooped
character in the midrange and (of course) a silky
top-end, especially with the Bright switch engaged –
a definite enhancement to your sound that you may
wish to leave permanently on. With further travel
on the Gain knob things quite quickly get decidedly
raunchy past three o’clock, but before you get there,
PROS CONS
Excellent value for money. None.
Top-notch build quality.
Bold and dynamic effects.
The Mystic Edge squeezes almost everything
great about an AC30 into a pedal.
| 89
RRP: $329.99
there are some very attractive edge-of-break-up
tones on tap.
Interestingly, the amount of clean headroom
enables you to use the pedal into a distorted amp as
a switchable clean channel. With cab sim engaged,
this is a great choice for recording a range of clean
tones, ably tweaked with the EQ knobs.
It’s probably no coincidence that the
Copperhead Drive, which Vox says is based around
a British stack, has the same finish as a classic
Marshall front panel. This is the pedal for vintage
(and more modern) rock sounds and comes with
fulsome low-end and midrange. A full range of
overdriven tones are covered here with plenty
of dynamic crunch and grind leading the way
to saturated lead tones, made all the better by
engaging the Bright switch for some extra sizzle in
the top-end to bring out the harmonics.
For this whole series of pedals the oscilloscope-like
OLED display window is cute, but it isn’t exactly
necessary as long as your ears are still working.
However, the three output modes offer real
versatility for live use and recording – the cab sim
here will put some 4x12 heft straight into your DAW,
while in standard mode this pedal will give your
clean amp an M-flavoured makeover.
CONTACT
Yamaha Australia
Ph: (03) 9693 5111
Web: au.yamaha.com
90 | REVIEWS
FENDER
AMERICAN
PROFESSIONAL II
STRATOCASTER +
TELECASTER DELUXE
THE BIG F AMP SOME CLASSIC SHAPES UP WITH
MODERN TONES AND ENHANCED PLAYABILITY.
REVIEW BY ART THOMPSON.
F
ender’s American Professional II series are
the latest evolution of guitars that have been
updated to suit the needs of today’s players.
The series comprises two Stratocasters (standard
and HSS), the Telecaster and Telecaster Deluxe, the
vibrato-equipped Jazzmaster and five basses. For
this review, we’re focusing on the Strat and Tele
Deluxe models, which were tested with a reissue
Fender Deluxe Reverb (with hardwired circuitry by
George Alessandro), a Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25
1x10 combo, and a selection of boost and distortion
pedals from Xotic, Fulltone and Hermida.
AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL II
STRATOCASTER
Resplendent in its Sienna Sunburst finish and
off-white pickguard with matching knobs and
pickup covers, this nicely made guitar sports a
maple neck that’s carved with what Fender calls a
Deep C profile. It’s more rounded on the back and
designed to be even more comfortable than the
previous “American” neck.
The new silky smooth Super-Natural finish adds
to the terrific playing feel of this neck, and sitting
atop it is a 25.5-inch scale maple fingerboard that
has a 9.5-inch radius, rolled edges, a nicely worked
bone nut and 22 polished Narrow Tall frets. Another
update is a contoured heel that makes it easier
than ever to reach the high positions, and a spot-on
factory setup brings it all together for an excellent
playing experience. The action is nice and low, string
buzz is practically nonexistent, and the intonation is
well dialled-in and musically tuneful in all registers.
Fender die-cast tuners help keep the pitch stable
when using the vibrato, itself an upgraded two-point
unit that features vintage-style bent-steel saddles,
a cold-rolled-steel inertia block and a push-in
bar. Set to float with three springs attached, it’s
buttery smooth and returns to pitch reliably. Played
acoustically, this lightweight guitar sounds resonant
and has quite good sustain considering that the
bridge isn’t locked down.
Designed by Fender’s Tim Shaw, the V-Mod II
pickups reportedly yield more clarity and definition
than the prior V-Mod units, while retaining
vintage-style single-coil chime and sparkle. They
feed a master volume and two tone controls: one
for the neck and middle pickups, and the other for
the bridge. The latter tone knob is also a push-push
pot that adds the neck pickup to the fourth (middle/
VERDICT
Here we’ve got a great-sounding Strat with
updated neck, hardware and pickups, and a sweet
playing Tele with lots of tonal range thanks to the
independent controls and coil-splitting functions.
| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
bridge) position, and fifth (bridge) position.
Adding these robust-sounding combinations is a
smart way to increase the flexibility of a guitar that
already delivers exactly what’s needed from a Strat:
Deep, clear neck-pickup tones; a fat middle-pickup
sound with a touch of twanginess; a bright, ballsy
bridge tone; and two distinct flavours of clucky
chime in positions two and four. The well-voiced tone
controls enable even darker textures to sound clear
and non-muddy when turned down, and the volume
control doesn’t shave off the highs when rolled down.
All considered, the American Professional II
Stratocaster is a well-sorted guitar that successfully
delivers Fullerton-era vibe with modern playability
and tone. It’s a guitar that’s well worth trying out if
you simply want a great-performing Strat, with the
option of an HSS version available, if you desire a
bridge humbucker.
AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL II
TELECASTER DELUXE
Originally introduced in 1973, this twisted Tele
packed two Seth Lover–designed “Wide Range”
humbucking pickups and a Gibson-style setup of
dual volume and tone controls and a three-way
toggle. Fast forward to late 2020 and Fender
introduces its latest rendition of this classic in the
guise of the American Professional II Telecaster
Deluxe. Our review model is finished in Mercury,
with a rosewood fretboard, and is available in a
variety of color and fretboard options.
The neck on this model has the same specs as
the American Professional II Stratocaster (25.5-inch
scale, 9.5-inch radius and 22 Narrow Tall frets), albeit
the Tele Deluxe has the traditional wide, ’70-style
headstock. Otherwise, the playability is similarly
excellent and is enhanced by the contoured heel and
Super-Natural finish.
One of the most significant features of the
American Professional II Telecaster Deluxe is its
Top-Load/String-Through Cut Tele bridge, which has
three compensated brass saddles. This design allows
the strings to be loaded from the back in standard
fashion, or from the top through holes drilled in the
shortened (or cut) base plate.
Top-loading the strings reduces string tension,
which Fender says makes this guitar more
accommodating for rock playing. It might affect the
sustain a bit, too, since the strings aren’t coupled
as tightly to the body, but some may prefer the
PROS CONS
The Tele’s bridge pickup delivers tight, badass tones. None.
Die-cast tuners help keep the pitch stable when using the vibrato.
V-Mod II pickups yield more clarity and definition.
slightly looser playing feel that top-loading the
strings provides. Either way, one of the coolest
things about this bridge is how comfortable it is.
You can lay your hand on it and not feel any sharp
edges or exposed screw heads.
The pickups are another area Fender sought
to improve, and the new V-Mod II Double-Tap
Humbucking pickups are a completely new design.
The Double-Tap switching is more convenient than
having to grab the knobs and pull them upward for
coil-splitting, but the end result is the same: The
output is reduced somewhat, and the tone becomes
thinner and more single-coil-like. This enables a lot
of cool sounds when using, say, the middle switch
position and running one pickup in split mode and
other in full humbucking.
And, of course, being able to independently adjust
the volume and tone of each pickup is a real benefit
of the Gibson-style four-knob setup. Fender points
out that when the push-push knob is depressed, the
humbucking pickup is indeed split into a single-coil,
but is untapped to a higher output. The result is a
single-coil that retains all its character and tone, and
balances well with the other pickup. Also, while the
push-push pot is how the Double-Tap functionality
is activated on the American Professional II
guitars, this function can also be activated using
S-1 switching — as on the American Ultra — and
push-pull switching, as on the American Performer.
As for the V-Mod II Double-Tap humbuckers
themselves, they have good balance top to bottom,
and they certainly deliver on the old “Wide Range”
promise, providing girthy lows, harmonically rich
mids and plenty of high-end shimmer.
Whatever Fender has done to tailor the pickups
for their respective positions seems to work, because
the fat-sounding bridge pickup delivers tight, badass
tones driving a gained-up amp or pedal, while the
neck pickup is articulate, well-defined and cool for
everything from funky clean playing to burnished
jazz work. Its PAF-like output is great for blues when
pushing an overdriven amp, and in split-mode it can
even do a reasonable impersonation of an SRV-style
Strat tone when boosted with a cranked-up OD pedal
that’s set relatively clean.
It all underscores the versatility of this model.
Fender’s efforts to optimise its classics for modern
players is fully realised by the American Professional
II Telecaster Deluxe, which proves that an old dog
can definitely learn some new tricks.
CONTACT
Fender
Ph: (02) 8198 1300
Web: fender.com
 | 91

FENDER PLAY PRICE: $15.39/MONTH

FENDER DELIVERS AN ONLINE INSTRUMENT
LEARNING PROGRAM FOR BEGINNERS THAT
LIVES UP TO ITS NAME.

REVIEW BY CHRIS SCHWARTEN.

I
t may be due to the fact that people are spending more time at home these
days, but online guitar lessons have never been more popular. And while this
isn’t a new concept, it’s an industry that has been rapidly developing over the
last five years and many of us are only just catching on. Fender Play is something
of a newcomer to this industry, but since their launch in 2017 they’ve become
one of the most recognisable online guitar learning services out there. While this
iconic brand may have had a leg up in that department, Fender Play is a service
really befitting of its name.
First time users will log on and be asked what instrument they would like
to learn (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, ukulele) followed by the
genre they want to play in. If selecting guitar, you will have a choice of five
genres – rock, pop, blues, country and folk. Once you make your selections, you
immediately go onto a path which is made up of five levels. Each level contains
numerous courses made up of bite-sized (three to five minutes, on average) video
lessons and play along tablature which cover the theory and practical elements
you will use to learn well-known songs as the course progresses.
One of the key reasons online guitar lessons have become a go to option for
many is that technology now allows users to easily access high quality audio and
video at home – gone are the days of playing along to power tabs that sound like
old school polyphonic ringtones. Fender has done a great job on the production
here; making use of multiple camera angles that show what the tutor is doing
with their hands in such detail that it probably surpasses the experience of
learning in person. Coupling that with the aforementioned high resolution audio
and video and you have yourself an uber-realistic learning experience you can One area of criticism here is that while users will have almost immediate
access in your own time. opportunities to apply the skills they are learning to play popular songs, some
This is also an important point. As it’s a self-paced learning system, some of the material chosen for the lessons, especially in the first couple of levels,
people may struggle to motivate themselves to show up. However, the content are simplified beyond recognition. I think perhaps Fender may have tried too
here is digestible enough that you really just need to put in ten minutes a day hard to engage users with familiar sounds and real-world examples and it falls
to get something out of it. At the same time, it moves fast enough to keep a bit short of the mark. Songs like “Little Red Rooster” are too complex to be
users engaged and they will likely want to spend a lot more time there once replicated with simple one-measure downstrokes and this might leave some
they log on. users feeling like they still have a mountain to climb rather than highlighting
It has to be stated that Fender Play, both the app and the desktop version, their progress to date.
is a very user friendly platform. It is well laid out and everything you need is Essentially, Fender Play is for anybody who is looking to learn the
essentially accessed via the sidebar, including your progress and the song library, fundamentals of guitar, bass, or ukulele. In this realm it does its job superbly.
which can be accessed outside your course and includes everything from Taylor The lessons are very well paced, concise, and comprehensive. Everybody learns
Swift to Pantera. in a different way and Fender Play has effectively balanced the theory with the
practical. As someone who had a few guitar teachers growing up, achieving that
is no mean feat. These lessons are designed to be easily digestible as well, so
users shouldn’t feel as though they are getting too bogged down in either side of
the learning process.
The biggest criticism that can be levelled at Fender Play is that while it’s a
great tool for teaching the fundamentals, there isn’t a lot on offer here for the
advanced player. Having said that, if you’re anything like me and have a few blind
spots in your playing this can be a great way to cover those off. For example,
I’ve used Fender Play over the last couple of weeks to improve my finger picking
and have found it to be a really efficient way to develop a new technique. At the
same time, coming to the end of my course I’m left looking for a bit more. Future
updates to Fender Play should focus on material for players with a higher skill
set to make it a much more all-encompassing educational tool.
Overall, as a tool to help people learn the fundamentals of an instrument,
Fender Play does an exceptional job. The lessons are concise, comprehensive and
fun. Thinking back to my early guitar education, I would have really benefited
from having this option, especially in the early stages. And while it could benefit
some advanced players who want to cover off gaps in their knowledge,
ultimately it’s targeted at beginners – and it excels in this area.

VERDICT PROS CONS CONTACT

An excellent product for anybody looking to start Very user friendly – both desktop and app versions. Lacking advanced material. Fender
their journey with the guitar, bass, or ukulele though Comprehensive at levels covered. Some early song
advanced players will probably have limited need for Ph: (02) 8198 1300
Well-paced lesson plans. choices aren’t suited to
the program in its current form. oversimplification. Web: fender.com
High quality audio and video, including multi-cam.
Eclectic song library.
92 | REVIEWS
T
he shock heard around the guitar world came
on October 6, 2020, when Wolfgang Van Halen
heartbreakingly announced on Twitter, “I
can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father,
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and
arduous battle with cancer this morning…”
For many, it’s hard to imagine a musical
landscape without the likes of legendary musician
and pioneering guitarist Eddie Van Halen. There
are not enough words on this page to encapsulate
how Van Halen categorically pushed the limits of
electric guitar-based rock with his uniquely fiery
approach, let alone his incessant resourcefulness
in tinkering with his guitars and amps to suit his
trailblazing style of playing. Almost everything
Eddie creatively unveiled led to vast imitations and
innovations among a guitar community that tried
to capture the very essence of his distinctive tone,
style and flair for design.
It’s safe to say “Frankenstein,” his most
recognisable and iconic guitar, is the progenitor of
the Superstrat (or “Frankenstrat”) and essentially,
a parts guitar slapped together for less than
$150 at the time he built it. Maybe it was the
ennui of late-’70s music and the glut of lacklustre
instruments that inspired Van Halen to create this
perfect beast, propelling him to emerge as the
G.O.A.T., but no other guitar clearly evokes the
player more than “Frankenstein.”
It is inherently unmistakable and original, like the
man himself. Here for review, and introduced at the
2020 Winter NAMM Show, is the EVH Striped Series
Frankie, which is markedly different from the other
EVH Striped Series guitars, and a closer likeness
to EVH’s “Frankenstein.” It’s not an exact replica
or a tribute (because the Frankie is a production
model built by a specialised team), but you – like
me – will still be completely floored by its staggering
VERDICT
The EVH Striped Series Frankie is the closest
interpretation of Eddie’s iconic guitar in a production
model, but more importantly, you won’t find a better
instrument that hits the trifecta in EVH looks, feel,
and massive tone.
| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
attention to detail, worn-in feel, fast playability and
out-of-the-box EVH tone.
From afar, the EVH Striped Series Frankie
certainly makes you do a double take. It looks
like Eddie’s hallowed six-string – until you notice
the shiny EVH-branded Floyd Rose double locking
tremolo with EVH D-Tuna (for drop-D tuning), EVH-
branded headstock and the lack of reflectors on the
back, among other minor details.
But more noteworthy, the spirit and feel of Eddie’s
original guitar is astonishingly captured in this relic’d
model. For instance, you can feel the tape lines
from its lacquer top coat that’s been barely buffed
between paint coats. The black stripes underneath
the red paint further reveal Eddie’s intention of
changing its stripes (pun intended) from the original
black and white guitar seen on the cover of Van
Halen’s eponymous album.
Other features that contribute to its visual
charm and sonic firepower are a basswood body
coupled with a bolt-on quarter-sawn maple neck,
graphite-reinforced truss rod with thumbwheel
adjustment at neck joint, oiled finish neck with
Eddie’s modified “C” neck carve, 12- to 16-inch
compound radius on its maple fingerboard with 22
jumbo frets, 25.5–inch scale length, white skirted
Strat-style single volume control knob (labeled
“Tone”), custom-partial black pickguard, aged
hardware, EVH neck plate, EVH-branded Gotoh
tuners and, most importantly, a direct-mount EVH
Wolfgang humbucker with Alnico 2 magnets that
measures approximately 14.6k ohm resistance.
I’d also be remiss not to point out Eddie’s
mischievous “Easter egg” inclusion of a dummy
Strat neck pickup and dummy five-way blade switch
exposed in the routed middle position (just like
on “Frankenstein” and incidentally, the pickup is
functional – but it’s a DIY job).
PROS CONS
Very authentic finish and wiring. You’d rather build your own?
Oil-finished neck offers unparalleled comfort.
The Alnico 2 EVH Wolfgang humbucker is a
screamer.
Good value.
He might not have been the first, but no one before
Eddie monopolised the fretboard better in ringing
out harmonics and tapping, diving a tremolo and
playing as fast and as furiously as he did. So I’ll just
flat out tell you: no other guitar I’ve come across
can exploit and enhance those techniques more
fluently than the EVH Frankie. For starters, the
oiled finish neck is spectacular, and you may never
return to a glossy or satin-finished neck after playing
the Frankie. Its natural wood-feel encourages
endless wanderlust as you glide across the neck
and fretboard, and the comfortably slim neck carve
emboldens wide interval finger stretches (in order to
nail the Ice Cream Man solo).
The solitary EVH Wolfgang pickup is also voiced
perfectly. Using a friend’s ’78 Marshall JMP cranked,
with the tone (volume) rolled down, the Frankie
coaxes the snappy cleans of a Tele – with piano-like
ring and woody midrange knock – and turning it up
unleashes the most cutting musical midrange, where
the guitar sounds massive. Whether you play with
tilted overdrive or roaring distortion, the Frankie
possesses a raw, unfiltered sound that delivers
all you put into it with palpable definition. Any
fleet-fingered pyro-techniques will make harmonics
and notes pop loudly like fireworks.
Of course, I can’t stop shredding Van Halen songs
on this guitar (and I’m sure that’ll be the case for
most who play it), but that aside, the EVH Striped
Series Frankie is so blisteringly responsive, I just
can’t put it down. With guitars having sleeker lines,
hotter pickups and various locking tremolo systems,
the Frankie is a beautifully stark, stripped-down
reminder of where it all started.
Eddie once stated “I hate store-bought, off-the-rack
guitars. They don’t do what I want them to do, which
is kick ass and scream.” Well, Eddie, I think you
accomplished the impossible with the Frankie.
CONTACT
Fender
Ph: (02) 8198 1300
Web: fender.com

ELECTRO-HARMONIX 1440 STEREO LOOPER
TWICE THE MEMORY OF THE 720 AND EVEN MORE FEATURES.
F
ollowing on in the tradition of naming its
loopers after the number of seconds of
looping time they provide,
Electro-Harmonix’s latest offers 1440
seconds (24 minutes) of uncompressed
24-bit/44.1kHz stereo audio with an
unlimited number of overdubs.
This pedal has the ability to store 20
different loops and can connect via USB
to a computer running the associated
free EHX 1440 Loop Manager app for
download and upload of loop audio
flies. It can also be synchronised to the
external MIDI Clock.
Operation of the looper is pretty straightforward:
once you’ve selected a loop number with the Mode
knob you use the Loop footswitch to carry out
VERDICT
A compact and reasonably priced looper with
exceptional sound quality, the 1440 can serve as
a practice, writing or performance tool, and has a
number of cool features to expand upon the basic
T
he distance between Gibson’s entry-level US
build and a top-of-the-range, Chinese-built
Epiphone is closing all the time. Take the
Epiphone 1959 Les Paul Standard, a quite stunning
collaboration with the Gibson Custom Shop that is
arguable better dressed than a Les Paul Tribute.
Or take this Prophecy Flying V, which takes the
high-road when it comes to spec. Here we’ve got a
mahogany body with a AAA flame maple veneer –
like the ’59 LP – though it is also available in Aged
Satin Black. The Prophecy V has a set, mahogany
neck, carved into Gibson’s Asymmetrical Slim
Taper profile.
Originally the asymmetrical carve was an
accident, with variances on hand-carved necks
meaning some had an ever-so-slightly fatter profile
on the bottom-strings’ side and a thinner profile
down under the top strings. But then it became a
VERDICT
Attention to detail allied to ambition – it’s a lot of
spec for the money – and a very playable neck
profile makes the Epiphone Prophecy V one of the
best guitars for metal on the market today. Just so
long as you don’t want to play it seated.
REVIEW BY TREVOR CURWEN.
recording, overdubbing and playback. A two-second
press will do the job if you need to undo or redo
a layer, while a double tap will stop
playback.
The second footswitch, which is always
available to erase loops when held down,
offers a number of user-set functions.
While its default use is to stop playback,
it can also be set up to retrigger loops
from the start or to bring in either of two
effects that are otherwise operated by
front-panel buttons: a reverse function
that will play the loop backwards, and an
octave function that drops a loop down
to half-speed and an octave lower.
The other way to change the speed/pitch of a loop
is with the Tempo knob, which operates either side
PROS
Compact size.
feature, offering the best of both worlds, speed
and comfort.
The multi-play cream and black binding, MOP
block with abalone triangle inlay, and the diamond
inlay on the headstock lend the Prophecy V a Custom
Shop vibe, its satin finish making it one tactile
instrument. The hardware is quality, too. There’s
a LockTone tune-o-matic and stop-bar tailpiece,
locking Grover tuners; both finished in brushed
nickel, matching the volume and tone controls. The
Graph Tech NuBone nut is perfectly cut.
Now, if you’re thinking that this spec is pretty
darn pro, then the two Fluence Custom Voiced
humbuckers should confirm your suspicions.
Very much the 21st-century pickup, the active
Fluence ’buckers are multi-voiced and powered by
9V battery that’s hidden in a compartment on the
rear of the instrument.
PROS CONS
The asymmetric neck profile balances speed with comfort. The V shape can be impractical.
Premium pickups and hardware. A premium passive humbucker
Top value. option would be incredible.
Flawless finish and quality build.
| 93
RRP: $599
of the 120bpm default looper operation in a range
from 60bpm up to 240bpm. Should you want more
foot control, the EHX Triple Foot Controller (sold
separately) can be used both for selecting loops and
undo/redo.
Sound quality is pristine, and you can choose
how to build layers as an Overdub knob sets how
quiet the previously recorded layer gets with each
loop cycle, if you don’t want to keep the layers at a
constant volume.
With loads of memory and cool creative effects,
this pedal is a solid choice if you need a compact
looper either as a performance tool for live looping
(or running onstage backing tracks), a practice aid or
as a creative sketchpad where loop transfer means
that any song ideas or elements you come up with
can be easily transferred to a DAW.
RRP: $2,099
Engage the push-pull on the volume control to
toggle between a high-output modern humbucker
and a classic Burstbucker/PAF-style voicing,
while a push-pull on the tone control activates a
single-coil mode. If you’ve tuned in for the high-gain
humbucker, you’ll be pleased to know that it lends
itself to some ripping metal tones.
Indeed, the Fluence skews modern. Those
weaned on Sabbath and Priest might prefer the
more open PAF tones, which go very nicely with
some JCM800 crunch or fuzz box and clean up
nicely, while the single-coil mode is a good option.
What more could you need?
Remember, however, that the Flying V design is
exceptionally balanced on the strap but is awkward
when played seated. Just don’t jam your elbow into
it like Dave Davies would have – this one’s more
“War Ensemble” than “Waterloo Sunset”...
CONTACT
Australis Music Group
Ph: (02) 9698 4444
Web: australismusic.com.au
94 | REVIEWS
EPIPHONE JOE
BONAMASSA BLACK
BEAUTY LES PAUL CUSTOM
THIS THREE-PICKUP CUSTOM MIGHT JUST BE ONE OF THE COOLEST
LES PAULS EVER. REVIEW BY DAVE BURRLUCK.
E
piphone’s latest Joe Bonamassa tie-up,
based on his three-pickup Les Paul Custom
circa 1958, certainly comes across as a very
complete package. It has vintage credentials, a great
backstory, comes with a very tidy case and, oh, looks
great! But it’s far from style over substance and is
another reminder of the ever-increasing quality of
the Asian-built guitar.
The original Custom recipe is replicated
here. This guitar is all mahogany with an ebony
fingerboard. While it’s actually slightly lighter than
Joe’s original, it’s chunky and weighty; there’s no
weight relief and it’s well in line with numerous
modern single-cuts we’ve tested.
Of course, we’re not talking nitro finish, but
the standard poly is perfect. It’s beautifully
contrasted by the amber-tinted binding to the
top and back of the body with multi-ply inner
purfling, and single-ply binding to the fingerboard
and headstock, which, incidentally, is pitched at a
slighter angle than the classic 17 degrees.
The new-regime, more Gibson-style headstock
outline is pretty cool in our book, too, as are the
very tidy pearloid block inlays. We haven’t played a
note and we’re falling for this one already…
While the tune-o-matic and stud tailpiece appear
pretty generic-looking, they employ Epiphone’s
LockTone system, which means both parts clip
to their posts and won’t fall off during a string
change. Whether or not they improve sustain, as
claimed, might be difficult to determine, but as
we’ll find out this is a guitar that certainly doesn’t
lack in that department.
The unusual and very retro tuners, which have
appeared on previous Epiphone Masterbilt models,
might seem an odd choice here, but the originals
were actually stock on Bonamassa’s ’58 Gibson. They
have domed backs and pretty chunky buttons, but
are smooth enough in use, and do contribute to a
very stable guitar, tuning wise.
The Graph Tech NuBone nut is extremely well
cut, too, and if we’re honest we’ve had more tuning
issues with some contemporary Gibsons. A trio of
gold-covered ProBuckers (2s in the neck and middle,
and a 3 at the bridge) contribute to the opulent
gold/black theme. The PAF-style ProBuckers
appeared around 2013 and have had consistently
good feedback, but another twist here is the control
circuit components, which are more like you’d find
on a Gibson USA production Les Paul.
If you like your necks big with a rounded profile,
you’ll be right at home here. This beast has a
depth of 23.1mm at the 1st fret – which, to put into
perspective, is the depth at the 12th fret of the
VERDICT
Joe Bonamassa’s Epiphone Black Beauty is more
than just a looker, with its three-pickup format
offering a huge range of tones – it has a feel
that is authentic in terms of period and worthy of
the name on the headstock.
| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
RRP: TBC
Fender American Pro IIs on review elsewhere in
this issue.
That full, rounded feel in the lower positions just
gets bigger, touching 26mm as the 12th fret area
flows into the neck heel. The fret gauge is pretty
regular medium jumbo (approximately 2.69mm wide
by 1.1mm high), and the frets themselves sit tidily
over the edge binding, although they could do with
just a little more smoothing if we’re being picky, as
there’s a slightly scratchy feel on bends.
As supplied, setup is pretty mainstream, but is
1.5mm on the treble side at the 12th fret and edging
2mm on the bass side. It’s a muscular-feeling,
weighty guitar, but even before you plug in there’s a
really inviting smooth yet vibrant response.
Firstly, this is a different-sounding Les Paul thanks
to that middle pickup. You can’t voice it on its own,
just in tandem with the bridge pickup when the
toggle selector switch is in middle position. The
downside is that the classic bridge and neck mix
position of a two-pickup Les Paul – where you can
subtly shape so many benchmark sounds – isn’t here.
Instead, what we have is a frankly more Fender-y
mix, if a little thicker, with an almost cocked-wah-like
honk that, along with the bridge pickup, gives
a relatively bright voicing to what many would
consider a ‘dark’-sounding Les Paul.
It’s actually quite a good balance of depth,
clarity and power, perfect for classic blues and
rock styles without sounding overly thick or one
dimensional. And that’s just the bridge pickup.
That said, the volume does soften the attack as
it’s reduced perhaps a little too much, and we’d be
tempted to consider a treble bleed, certainly for
those more diverse function-style gigs.
The neck pickup alone might be the sole reason to
buy this affordable ’Paul. It’s a big voice, but there
is clarity. Pull the volume and tone back and clean
up your amp and there’s plummy jazz; pull the tone Many of us can be sniffy about low-cost lookalikes,
back up and it’s a slightly rounded voice that loves but this one was a genuine surprise. Aside from the
a little more crunch; then wind it back up to full for fact it’s one of the coolest-looking Les Pauls ever,
your moodier blues and rock leads. As is, the third with its period-style neck and good weight it not only
pickup doesn’t bring anything more to the table than feels substantial but sounds it, too.
a dual-pickup version, but there is quite a particular It’s about that illusive character, reflected by
character to the voicing here. the modded mixed position voice, which fixes the
With a cranked Marshall, this lowly Custom holds original style and provides a different voice that is
its own when compared to a Gibson Les Paul Classic bookended by very credible bridge and neck sounds
with Burstbuckers I and II, and our modded and that really punch above the price point.
stripped Tokai with Cream T Bangers – less scooped Yes, it slots in at the top of the Epiphone range
with less high-end sizzle with the controls maxed in price, but, like we say, it’s a good package that
out. What we’re hearing is a slightly smoother and stands out in a crowded market. Time to re-evaluate
rounded nose to the note attack and a little more Epiphone? On this evidence, most definitely. And
midrange push. Now, whether you put that down to with Mr Bonamassa’s guitar collection ever-growing,
the construction, pickups – whatever – it’s a viable we can only wonder what’s next.
PROS CONS CONTACT
Very tidy build. More expensive than the standard twin-pickup Australis Music Group
Vintage-specific neck. model, but we don’t feel short-changed.
Ph: (02) 9698 4444
Fulsome PAF-alike sounds and unique Web: australismusic.com.au
mixed-position voice.

EVENTIDE POWER-
MAX + POWERMINI
A HIGH-CURRENT PEDALBOARD
POWER SOLUTION YOU CAN EXPAND.
REVIEW BY TREVOR CURWEN.
O
ne thing that’s crucial to keeping a neat and
efficient pedalboard is a pedalboard power
supply that can distribute power to all or
most of the pedals on the ’board negating –
or at least minimising – the need for any bulky
adaptors while keeping power cabling tidy. With many
guitarists now using high-current digital pedals from
the likes of Strymon and so on, power distributors
have had to evolve to cater for that need by offering a
number of high-current outputs.
Eventide pioneered higher-current pedals starting
with its ’Factor series and moving on to the likes of the
H9, and has consequently offered compatible power
solutions. The latest is a new (rev2) version of the
PowerMax with a dedicated 24-volt aux power output
that can be used via a single cable to power the
VERDICT
An expandable and well-designed high-current power
solution, the PowerMax is an excellent option for
your ever-growing pedalboard needs.
ORANGE CREST EDITION
WIRELESS HEADPHONES
THE PERFECT STOCKING FILLER FOR THE AMP WORSHIPPER
IN YOUR LIFE? OR SIMPLY A VERY IMPRESSIVE SET OF
MODERN CANS... REVIEW BY PAUL RIARIO.
M
aybe I didn’t get the memo, but when
did Orange Amps – pardon me, I meant,
Orange – quietly become a lifestyle
brand? I know this legendary amplifier company
has been around since the ‘60s, and continues to
make the most recognised and revered amps for
musicians, but one look at their global website
reveals some other youthfully hip products like a
skateboard, an embossed leather belt and… you
guessed it: headphones. But more specifically, the
Orange Crest Edition Wireless Headphones.
The Crest Edition Wireless Headphones feature
Bluetooth connectivity, headphone touchpad
controls for navigating music (volume up/down,
previous/next track and touch play/pause), a built-in
microphone for phone/video calls, multi-function
button (answer/hang up, redial/reject call, device
search and on/off), support for Apple Siri and Google
Assistant, multipoint pairing that automatically
toggles between paired devices without re-pairing
(i.e. switching from laptop to smartphone when
VERDICT
The Crest Edition headphones are a very successful
foray into the audio market from a guitar amplifier
titan – they’re comfortable, sound great, and come
with all the contemporary features you’d expect
from a wireless set.
| 95
PowerMini expander, adding four more high-current the same time!
power outlets to the PowerMax’s seven. All of the PowerMax outputs are isolated and
Created in collaboration with Danish specialist everything works as it should with no noise issues.
power-supply manufacturer Cioks – and closely Seven outlets may be enough for most compact
related to its DC7 – the 25mm (one-inch) thick pedalboards, but if you need more then connecting
PowerMax is nicely compact for pedalboard a PowerMini expander is a doddle with its included
placement. It features three nine-volt outlets plus four 60cm cable. The PowerMini is also available with its
outputs switchable between nine, 12, 15 and 18 volts own low-profile inline external AC power adaptor, if
DC, which are ideal for pedals working on a specific you want a standalone unit with four outlets.
voltage other than nine volts, or for nine-volt pedals Ready to use with a wide variety of DC pedals,
that can run at higher voltages for more headroom. Eventide’s PowerMax or PowerMini may cover your
Every output can put out up to 660mA of current present needs but they are also part of a power
at nine volts, so there’s more than enough for system that can expand as your pedalboard creeps
Strymon pedals and Boss 200 and 500 series units, across the floor.
as well as Eventide’s own. There’s also a USB
output so you can keep your phone charged at RRP: $368 (POWERMAX) / $276 (POWERMINI)
PROS CONS CONTACT
Compact size. Eventide branding creates a price disparity Audio Chocolate
Seven high-current outlets. with the equivalent Cioks version.
Ph: (03) 9813 5877
Choice of voltages.
Expandable system.
RRP: TBC
receiving calls) and up to 27 hours of battery life.
Want to use it old-school? No problem; the Crest
Edition comes with a braided 3.5 mm mini-jack for
a wired-in connection. Also included is a USB to
mini-USB cable to charge the headphones. And let’s
definitively state that its matte black and orange
color scheme, ear cups with Orange’s branded
logo and etched figures of Pan and Britannia (from
Orange’s crest) on the lower side of the headband,
all make for a pretty rad fashion statement. The
Crest Edition headphones come neatly folded in a
padded clamshell carry case and fit securely and
comfortably on your head. The soft earpads also
provide a gentle seal that firmly isolates noise. What’s noteworthy is Orange’s years of in-house
Needless to say, after quickly pairing them to audio expertise and design resulted in the Crest
my smartphone and laptop, it’s immediately clear Edition, so above all, you’re getting premium
these headphones possess exceptional audio headphones with a superb frequency spectrum for
quality that exhibits a robust low end, taut mids everyday use, let alone maximum comfort without
and crisp highs. It’s perfectly attenuated, and fatigue when you need to listen to tracks for a
I never had the urge to adjust the EQ from my prolonged amount of time. And that literally is music
devices; however, I did find the touchpad a little to my ears.
PROS CONS CONTACT
Excellent frequency response. Touchpad a bit fiddly. Australis Music Group
Comfortable.
Ph: (02) 9698 4444
Decent value. Web: australismusic.com.au
96 | HOT GEAR

HOT
TC ELECTRONIC
BRAINWAVES
PITCH SHIFTER
RRP: $199 •
australismusic.com.au

Packing untold expression

by way of a four-mode pitch
engine and whammy-style
Mash switch, the TC
Electronic Brainwaves
stereo pitch shifter/
harmoniser pedal is your
ticket to Hendrician octave
effects, Scholzian harmon
leads, and Morello-ish pitch bends — all in a
single-pedal format. From detuned stereo doublin
to multi-octave landscapes, the Brainwaves
simplifies any number of single-guitar stage needs

YAMAHA SA2200
RRP: $3,499 • au.yamaha.com

perfection
n.
ain and
feedback resistance, giving the instrument a remarkable ability to reproduce everything from KYSE
ER NEON COLLECTION CAPOS
mellow jazz tones to the aggressive snap and growl of a solidbody. 44.95 • cmcmusic.com.au

Kyser’s Neon Collection continues to celebrate the

quality, reliability and handcrafting processes for
which Kyser Quick-Change capos are recognised.
Along with the recognisable Kyser handle and
signature one-handed functionality, each capo
features blackout aesthetic appointments, including
a standard-tension black spring, protective black
ERNIE BALL VOLT boot and black Kyser stamp.
RRP: $215 •
cmcmusic.com.au

FISHMAN LOUDBOX
The Ernie Ball Volt gives
the power to the pedal!
With its multiple isolated,
MINI CHARGE
RRP: $1,099 • dynamicmusic.com.au
high current DC power
outputs, the Volt supplies The Loudbox Mini Charge is a portable,
clean, regulated power battery-powered amplifier designed to faithfully
to almost any digital or reproduce the sound of acoustic instruments
analogue effects pedal. and a diverse assortment of vocal or recorded
The compact and rugged accompaniments. A powerful, rechargeable battery,
housing can fit almost combined with unique power management circuitry,
anywhere on even the is specifically designed to maximise output levels
most dense pedalboard. and playing time. With the addition of Bluetooth
If you need low noise and wireless connectivity, you can now easily and neatly
reliable power for any add backing tracks or other accompaniment to your
gig, the Ernie Ball Volt is performances, jams, or wherever your Loudbox Mini
perfect for your rig! Charge takes you and your music.

| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar

KRAMER SNAKE SABO
BARETTA OUTFIT GREEN
RRP: $2,299 • australismusic.com.au
Kramer presents the premier signature model
from Skid Row’s Snake Sabo. Inspired by his
favourite road guitar, the Snake Sabo Baretta
features a replica graphic commissioned by Sabo
and created by legendary Kramer artist Dennis
Kline. The Snake Sabo Baretta features a new
Kramer 85-T Double Black open-coil humbucker
that was designed by Gibson USA luthier Jim
DeCola, a K-Speed SlimTaper neck with jumbo
frets, a Floyd Rose 1000 bridge system, an EVH
D-Tuna Drop D tuning system, and a Floyd Rose
LRT-L40 trem stop.
ZOOM A1 FOUR
ACOUSTIC MULTI-
EFFECTS PROCESSOR
RRP: $279 • dynamicmusic.com.au
The Zoom A1 FOUR is preloaded
with over 80 effects, including
more than 35 new groundbreaking
effects designed and engineered
for acoustic instruments. Add
a multitude of warm and rich
tones to your guitar. From live
“unplugged” performance sounds
to the finger-playing style of
country and blues, there’s so much
to choose from. Gorgeous effects
and acoustic guitar modelling will
take your instrument to places it’s
never been before.
FENDER CHRISSIE
HYNDE TELECASTER
RRP: $2,699 • fender.com
Telecaster in hand, Chrissie Hynde formed The Pretenders in 1979
and quickly established the band as a rock ’n’ roll powerhouse.
Chrissie’s churning Tele rhythms have been the heartbeat of the
band’s rugged sound from the very beginning. The Chrissie Hynde
Telecaster features an alder body finished in a Faded Ice Blue Metallic
road-worn lacquer, a custom mid-‘60s “C”-shaped maple neck with a
7.25-inch radius fingerboard, vintage-output Chrissie Hynde Tele pickups,
and a chrome mirror pickguard – all matching the unmistakable look and
feel of Hynde’s treasured ’65 model.
FENDER ‘68 CUSTOM
VIBRO CHAMP REVERB
RRP: $1,449 • fender.com
The ’68 Customs have become an extremely popular amp series
for guitarists who love classic Fender sounds along with tuneful
modifications that resonate with today’s players. At just five
watts, the original Vibro Champ was famous for classic Fender
tremolo, tube sparkle and killer grind at a reasonable level. The
’68 Custom Vibro Champ Reverb improves on this classic amp
by adding a hall reverb and using a larger ten-inch speaker
for increased low end. These additions make this little wonder
perfect for rehearsal, home recording and even small gigs.
| 97
FENDER
MUSTANG
MICRO
RRP: $219 •
fender.com
The Mustang
Micro is a
complete
personal guitar
amplifier
featuring a
wide selection of tones from the
wildly popular Mustang series
amps. It’s ideal for any player from
beginner to pro, making it quick
and easy to get great tones when
jamming at home or on the go.
The Mustang Micro’s eighth-inch
stereo headphone out allows the
flexibility to use your favourite
wired headphones or earbuds and
silently play with a responsive
touch and feel without annoying
latency. Want to jam along with
tunes from your music library or
favourite streaming service? The
Mustang Micro supports Bluetooth
audio streaming from your mobile
device, tablet or computer, and
features automatic Audio/Visual
sync, making it a great tool for
practicing and learning songs.
DEVICES ASTRAL
DESTINY PEDAL
RRP: $399.99 • au.yamaha.com
The Astral Destiny is a compact
and powerful modulated octave
reverb pedal that features eight
reverb modes with eight editable
presets, assignable expression
control, tails for natural reverb
decay when the effect is bypassed
and a super cool stretch feature
that doubles the length of the
reverb while adding an adjustable
pitch bending effect.
98 | FINAL NOTE
O
n the night of February 6th, 2021, a clip
of a young rockstar smashing their guitar
on live TV went viral for all the wrong
reasons. It wasn’t old footage of Kurt Cobain or
Pete Townshend or Jimi Hendrix, but a young
woman called Phoebe Bridgers, who a lot of
commenters had not heard of but were furious
with for being so insolent.
26-year-old Bridgers, who recently released her
critically acclaimed second album Punisher, closed
out her first Saturday Night Live performance
by giving a monitor speaker a beating with her
guitar. Now, obviously, this act of violence was
premeditated. Sparks flew from the floor monitor
that conspiracists were quick to recognise as
“fake”, but still, some kind-hearted commenters
were deeply concerned about the equipment and
the sound guy’s feelings.
There are a few things going on here. Firstly,
the performance was great. Bridgers rules. She’s
incredibly talented and she’s come a long way very
quickly, which explains why so few SNL viewers have
heard of her yet. The song she was performing, “I
Know The End”, is a sprawling, dystopian track that
ends with screaming, destruction and chaos even on
the record. The guitar-smash, honestly, was pretty
measured comparatively.
The furore kicked off when a Twitter user going
by the name of BrooklynDad_Defiant! tweeted:
“Why did this woman, Phoebe Bridgers, destroy
her guitar on SNL? I mean, I didn’t care much for
the song either, but that seemed extra.”
Extra, honestly, is what most people are going for
when they perform on TV in head-to-toe pearl-draped
Gucci flanked by musicians in skeleton onesies.
Every aspect of Bridgers’ appearance was extra.
A lot of the replies rightly mocked the Defiant
Brooklyn Dad for being so uptight, but many of
them were just as appalled at this Young Lady’s
Bad Behaviour. There were some disappointed
Susans who wanted to send Ms. Bridgers to bed
without any supper, but there were also a lot of
people who, for the most part, don’t take issue
| www.guitarworld.com/australianguitar
SMASHING
THE
STIGMA
SMASHING GUITARS IS NOTHING
NEW, SO WHY ARE PEOPLE SO
RATTLED BY PHOEBE BRIDGERS’
with guitar-smashing as a general rule.
As some people pointed out, Bright Eyes, who
regularly work with Bridgers (in fact, Nate Walcott
plays the horns in “I Know The End”, and was
onstage with Bridgers on Saturday) once pulled the
same stunt on The Late Late Show, finishing out
“Road To Joy” by stamping on an innocent guitar.
One hero, Danny, made a valid point in saying:
“Hot damn, I’m 71 and not only know who she is
but love her music. Only time I smashed my guitar
was when I was so f***ed up I tripped and fell on
it. But I’m a guy so it’s ok.”
He’s not wrong: whether you’re quick to
admit it or not, while some commenters invoke
wastefulness as the reason why they’re so angry
about Bridgers, what they’re thinly veiling is the
fact that they’re just pissed off because she’s a
woman. Not only that, but she’s a young one who’s
only been around for a few years.
Maybe there’s some misinformed idea that the
Clashes and the Hendrixes and the Townshends
of this world have earned their right to smash
guitars, whereas Phoebe Bridgers, who they
have not heard of, has not. To that, I would say
that there isn’t actually some kind of Rock Points
Accrued system whereby a musician must reach a
certain level before destroying their instruments.
What’s most wild, maybe, about this whole
exchange, is that Bridgers didn’t actually destroy
her guitar at all – but she did try. The guitar, a
Danelectro Dano ‘56 baritone, emerged pretty
unscathed, and she checked with the manufacturer
for permission first: “I told Danelectro I was going
to do it and they wished me luck and told me
they’re hard to break,” she tweeted.
Which is another issue rock fans had with her
performance: that it was premeditated. Of course,
most performances on late night talk shows
are premeditated! Quite a lot of work goes into
planning them, actually, unless someone goes
really rogue like Sinead O’Connor tearing up that
photo of the pope on SNL.
It’s worth remembering too that most of your
SNL PERFORMANCE?
WORDS BY MARIANNE ELOISE.
heroes did things that were less than spontaneous
in the name of rock and roll – even Pete Townshend
used to glue his guitars back together so he could
smash them over and over without wasting them.
He also once joined up with Annie Leibovitz and
Rolling Stone to teach the youth step-by-step how
to properly smash their instruments. Some of the
greatest acts of rock chaos were pre-planned, which
doesn’t actually take away from the theatrics – and
honestly, as long as it’s pissing someone off, you’re
doing something right.
The outrage comes from a few different places,
not all of it gendered. Some comes from people
who are just getting older and wouldn’t love if a
hip young male artist did the same thing without
earning his Rock Points, either. It happens –
instead of acknowledging that something isn’t
for them or trying to understand why fans love
it, some choose instead to assume an entire
generation is wrong.
However, the interrogation of Bridgers’
authenticity really comes from a place of basic
misogyny. It’s the same impulse that made so many
people leap on TikTok star Zaria for wearing a
Metallica T-shirt recently. Fortunately, Zaria could
hold her own, and immediately proved herself by
shredding eye-watering renditions of Metallica songs.
Phoebe Bridgers is not losing one single night of
sleep over the opinions of Susans on Twitter or Rock
Dads angry about either her SNL performance or the
perceived inauthenticity of it. Far from apologising,
she posted a photo of the moment in question on
Instagram with the caption, “got some really great
feedback from my performance! Next time I’ll just
burn it and it will be more expensive,” because, well,
when you’re a female musician, sometimes you’ve
just gotta have a sense of humour.
And when you’re a female musician with two
critically acclaimed records under your belt, the
respect of your heroes, four Grammy nominations
and countless magazine covers... how many f***s
can you possibly give? There is nothing less rock
and roll than giving too many f***s, after all.
G300 Pro
The G300 Pro is the
new flagship model of
the iconic G Series, a
h
modern enhancements
that represents the bestt
to
perb
satility
.
op-
swood
”)
maple
with
ays,
nd
®
aired
with our 5-way pickup
selector for excellent
versatility in tone making.
And for the first time ever
for the G Series, the G300
Pro comes with full 24 frets,
making it a truly modern
guitar for the players
enjoying soloing in the
higher fret positions.

y Dynamic Music www.dy

ww.dynamicmusic.com.au
 Hand Made Effects Pedals | Akron, Ohio
9001

Astral Destiny
An Octal Octave Reverberation Odyssey
The Astral Destiny is a compact and powerful modulated octave reverb pedal that features 8 reverb modes with 8
editable presets, assignable expression control, tails for natural reverb decay when the effect is bypassed and a
super cool stretch feature that doubles the length of the reverb while adding an adjustable pitch bending effect.

Available Now
Yamaha Music Australia proudly distributes EarthQuaker Devices

earthquakerdevices.com
9000