LES PAUL STUDIO PHIL MANZANERA

GIBSON UPGR ADES ITS ENTRY-LEVEL LESTER! THE ROXY MUSIC ICON SHOWS US HIS GUITARS

Issu
ue 519

JANU
UAR
ARY
RY 2025

PLUS
STEVE HILL
ORIANTHI
BILLY MORRISON
50S GRETSCHES
GUILD M-75
ARISTOCRAT
& MORE
BO GI G
SS BSO OD
D N B IN
UA B

PL GI 974 UM
L K IN G AD

FENDER PRS GIBSON THORPYFX EPIPHONE BOSS

US TA ES
D
I

J WJ PATRICK JA MES EGGLE BAD CAT NIK HUBER

POWERS ELECTRIC CR A ZY TUBE CIRCUITS PJD
1 I
R

BARE KNUCKLE J ROCKETT

L -3 5

GORDON SMITH
D
EL 5
AY
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?‚º«Ä£Ǒ`¨˜Ǒ«Ĉ˜Ù˜ÄŽ˜
Back in the 1950s and 1960s, guitar makers took their
lead from the car industry in offering annual model
upgrades, which were all about presenting progressive
new features to the consumer. While cars might have
boasted of new, more powerful engines or smoother
suspension, companies such as Gretsch offered new
features that they thought might help open up creative
horizons. Some, such as complicated muting systems and
stereo outputs, proved evolutionary dead ends, but they were still aimed
at giving players new tones and capabilities to make music with.
As the guitar industry became more preoccupied with its own past,
following the resurgence of Fender in the 1980s (which was achieved
partly through making accurate reissues of Golden Era models), that
sense of guitars needing to offer fresh advances in terms of completely
new features became a little forgotten. I can’t help feeling that’s
starting to change once again, though; certainly in the realm of amps,
digital tech has been transformational in terms of the powerful,
periodically updateable functionality we can build into products.
But even in the world of guitars, it seems like innovation is becoming
less of a taboo – from guitars without direct vintage precedent such as
the Powers Electric A-Type (see Prestige Guitars, page 68) to Fender’s
Acoustasonic range, the industry is beginning to dream again about
what players could do with new designs, where music could go in
these vehicles of sonic inspiration. And that can only be good for the
relevance and visibility of guitars in the world of music, something dear
to all of us. So let’s embrace this new wave of progress.
On a more sombre note, Guitarist was saddened to learn, as we went to
press, of the passing of veteran luthier Bill Puplett. Look out for a full
tribute to him next month. Until then, take care and enjoy the issue.

Jamie Dickson Editor-in-chief

Editor’s Highlights
Phil Manzanera Orianthi Studio Upgrades
One of the most affable men Sparky, hard-hitting The Les Paul Studio is one
in rock, Phil Manzanera is and continuously at the of the most popular and
also the most mercurial of sharp edge of rock, the attainable Les Pauls of all
hit-makers. We meet him Aussie guitarist talks tone, time. We review the latest
and his guitars on p86 inspiration and more p54 updated version on p98

COVER IMAGE: OLLY CURTIS ABOVE: PHIL MANZANERA PHOTO BY ADAM GASSON ORIANTHI PHOTO BY ALEX BROWN GIBSON LES PAUL STUDIO PHOTO BY OLLY CURTIS

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 Future Publishing Limited, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA
Telephone 01225 442244 Email guitarist@futurenet.com Online www.guitarist.co.uk

EDITORIAL
Editor-In-Chief
Jamie Dickson
Art Editor jamie.dickson@futurenet.com
Reviews Editor
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darren.phillips@futurenet.com Deputy Editor dave@daveburrluck.com

David Mead
Managing Editor david.mead@futurenet.com
Senior Music Editor
Lucy Rice Jason Sidwell
lucy.rice@futurenet.com Content Director, Music jason.sidwell@futurenet.com

Scott Rowley
scott.rowley@futurenet.com

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Richard Barrett, Alex Bishop, Trevor Curwen, Andrew Daly, Martin Holmes, Richard Hood, Glenn Kimpton,
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In-House Photography
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 Contents REGULARS
60 030
034
036
Gas Supply
Fretbuzz
@˜÷Ǒ?ëÞ«Ž
038 Tones Behind The Tracks
040 Opinion
048 Substitute
050 Feedback
052 Competition
112 Subscribe
114 Bought & Sold
116 `¨˜Ǒ?˔ǑYØ낔
120 @«ææÿǑ"Ù«ææÿ
124 Vintage Icons
130 @˜þæǑ?ËÄæ¨

FEATURES
COVER FEATURE

054 Orianthi
060 "˜‚ÙǑF¢Ǒ`¨˜Ǒy˜‚Ù
086 Q¨«½Ǒ?‚ÄĄ‚Ęق
094 Historic Hardware:
"뫽”Ǒ?ƳŵųǑ
Ù«Þæˎقæ

@qǑ"
T
008 Cream T Astra Custom ‘Decades’
014 Godin Radium
018 Atkin ëÞæǑ Ë÷½ǑŮŮůŰYǑǽǑŮŮŮůŲ
024 FÙ«£«ÄǑĈ˜ŽæÞǑHalcyon Blue
Overdrive
026 MXR ?űŮŵǑ9‚ÿ˜ÙÞ
028 Gibson BB King ‘Rumble In The
5ëÄ£½˜ǁǑůŷŵŲǑYƳűųų
098 Gibson YƳűűŮǑǽǑ9˜ÞǑQ‚ë½ǑYæ딫Ë
108 Boss YƳűǑ낽Ǒ«£«æ‚½Ǒ˜½‚ÿ

` '@*SeY
FEATURE

126 Blues Headlines with

Richard Barrett

86
VIDEO & AUDIO
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in this issue, type the following link into
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 F I R S T PL AY

CREAM T ASTRA
CUSTOM ‘DECADES’
£2,499

WHAT IS IT? Reimagining of a

modern T-style with dual-control
circuits, pickup swapping and
a passive boost

Breaking
The Mould
The Astra ‘Decades’ aims to stand apart
from the generic T-style. So if you want
more sounds, not to mention pickup
swapping, you just might fall for its charms
Words Dave Burrluck Photography Phil Barker

hen Cream T owner, Tim

W Lobley, told us he was working

on a ‘modern’ T-style guitar
earlier in 2024, we can’t say we were
overexcited. Plenty of makers have done
that and we shudder to think how many
mucked-about-with ‘Telecasters’ there are
out there across the price points. In truth,
Tim was thinking along the same lines:
what could Cream T bring to the ‘posh’
T-style table? It turns out that “quite a lot”
would be the answer.
As you can see, the Astra certainly looks
the part and its outline isn’t just a redraw
around a Fender, with a shorter treble
horn and slightly wider cutaway. We get a
forearm curve and deep ribcage contour,
too, and in terms of specification it follows
the posh S-style Polaris that Cream T
launched at the tail end of 2023. So there’s
the lightweight obeche body capped with
a thin AAA figured maple cap to which a
rather fine roasted and flamed quarter-
sawn maple neck is screwed on. The
modern elements continue with a nicely
contoured round-nosed heel, its inset aged
aluminium neckplate etched with the serial
number and brand logo, not to mention the
absence of a Telecaster-style pickguard

8 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

CREAM T ASTRA CUSTOM ‘DECADES’ FIRST PLAY
FIRST PLAY CREAM T ASTRA CUSTOM ‘DECADES’

1 2

1. Like on the Cream T leaving that maple figuring in a choice of Flick that mini-toggle upwards and the 4. Scanned from a 1957
Polaris, we have this four pretty modern-looking ’burst colours. second circuit is engaged – what most Telecaster, the bridge
modern-style headstock single coil is well voiced.
that houses a set of
As with the Polaris, these colours are only of us know as the modern Tele setup of The Gotoh walled bridge,
Gotoh rear-locking over the maple top, while the rest of the bridge, both and neck pickups, with the meanwhile, features
tuners and well-cut body (including on our Sirius Blue review volume and tone functional in all positions. the very popular ‘In
Tusq nut. Truss rod model) is a gloss opaque black. Similarities In this circuit, a pull switch on the volume Tune’ compensated
adjustment is at the brass saddles
other end of the neck with the Polaris model continue with a splits the neck humbucker.
dot-inlaid rosewood (as here) or maple But there’s more: pull up the tone
2. The neck here is figured compound radius fingerboard, well-fitted control in either circuit and you introduce
roasted maple (again
like on the Polaris )
and polished pretty big frets, and blue
with a deep caramel Luminlay glow-in-the-dark side dots.
colouration. We get That Gotoh bridge plate with its trio of
the same relatively ‘In Tune’ compensated saddles shouts
subtle compound
radius and sensible Telecaster, as do the chromed, knurled
medium jumbo frets, all control knobs. But what on earth is going
impeccably installed on with those two three-way lever switches
3. With this launch-
and that mini-toggle switch?
edition Astra you get Quite uniquely, in our experience, there
a Cream T Cream Of are two different circuits and that centrally
The Crop humbucker, placed mini-toggle switches between them.
plus a non-magnetic
‘Dumbucker’ to (in With that switch in the down position
theory) recreate the feel we have a circuit that’s in the style of the
of a single-pickup guitar original single-pickup Esquire. It only uses
the bridge single coil, and in position 1
only the volume is engaged. In the middle
position, we have the tone control in
circuit, and in position 3 again it’s only the
volume that is in circuit but with a pre-set
treble roll-off originally intended to sound 3
bass-guitar-like.

10 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 CREAM T ASTRA CUSTOM ‘DECADES’ FIRST PLAY

UNDER THE HOOD

With two control circuits, there’s a lot to cram into the Astra’s control cavity!
emoving the backplate, there’s

R certainly plenty crammed into the

Astra’s screened cavity. The basic
volume and tone are both the modern-style
CTS pull-switch pots, which are rated at
250kohms. The standard tone control uses
a .022µF Cream T PIO capacitor, and next
to that control is the black block Black
Ice Boost. The 50s circuit uses a .0047µF
(472J) capacitor from the switch output to
ground to achieve the dark bass-like sound
in the ‘neck’ position. The modern circuit is
There’s just enough
very standard and there’s no treble bleed
room for the quality
capacitor. A four-pole mini-switch is used components in the
to select either circuit. Astra’s control cavity
The active Cream Of The Crop humbucker
has a measured DCR of 6.92k at output
(suggesting it’s slightly underwound to “We already have some scans of older I switched from 43 AWG to 42 AWG plain
play nicely with the single-coil bridge Telecasters, but this is quite special: it’s enamel shortly after the pickup you have
pickup) and uses 42 AWG plain enamel a 1957 Telecaster that has essentially not there. The turn count is the same so the
wire, asymmetric windings, an Alnico IV been played since 1958. It was the purest output hasn’t changed, but I just wanted
magnet and coil-potting only. When the 50s Telecaster we could find, so we used our to bring the treble up a bit more with the
coil-split is engaged, the inner slug coil is scanning technology on that to replicate thicker wire, so we’ve landed at about 6.4k
voiced with a DCR of 3.41k. that specific pickup.” with Alnico V magnets. I’ve also put in a
“The bridge pickup is scanned from a Cream T’s production manager, Richard slight stagger on the D and G strings and
1957 Telecaster,” explains Tim Lobley, and Whitney, adds: “The final Astra pickup does wrapped it in black string to match the
has a DCR of 8.31k measured at output. differ a bit from what’s on your model, as original a bit more.”

the passive Black Ice Boost for some

4 noticeable thickening. The neck pickup
uses the Guitar-X pickup-swapping
mount so any humbucking-sized pickup
can be loaded in instantly. Cream T
has provided its Cream Of The Crop
humbucker here to play with the bridge
single coil, which was scanned from
a 1957 Telecaster, we’re told.

Pull up the tone

control to introduce
the Black Ice Boost
for some noticeable
thickening
Now, going back to that single-pickup
Esquire, some believe the absence of a neck
pickup means there’s less magnetic pull on
the strings and therefore that this is part of
that guitar’s magic. So, after chatting with
Adrian Thorpe of ThorpyFX, Cream T
has also included a ‘Dumbucker’ dummy
neck pickup with no magnet, if you want to
experience the single-pickup Esquire drive
but not have an open hole where the neck
pickup should be.

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FIRST PLAY CREAM T ASTRA CUSTOM ‘DECADES’

5. Yup, two three-way Feel & Sounds 6. Along with the Cream Of the impression of the neck being a little
lever controls – one The Astra is lightweight at just 3.02kg The Crop humbucker we thinner than it actually is. It’s essentially
for each circuit, which also get a non-magnetic
is selected by the
(6.64lb), and its subtly altered shape and ‘Dumbucker’ (which
the same neck you’ll find on the Cream T
central mini-toggle those contours help it feel very comfortable comes in a bespoke Polaris as it’s dimensionally very similar
switch. Pull up the tone and less plank-like than the original Fender. leather holster) for the with a nut width of 42.5mm (with 36mm
control to engage the The neck feel is also in the modern camp, true Esquire-style drive string spacing) and a depth of 21.1mm at
Black Ice Boost and using Circuit 1
the volume to coil-split
a well-shaped “medium C”, says Cream T, the 1st fret and 22.3mm by the 12th. There’s
the humbucker. Not as and we’d agree, although as is quite often zero neck flex, and overall tuning stability
complex as it looks! the case that flatter fingerboard does give is really good, along with a pretty vibrant,
lively acoustic response.
Initially, the control circuits take a bit of
6 thought, though it all becomes intuitive
very quickly. On Circuit 1 in position 1 we
have the brightest voicing of the bridge
single coil, while the added tone control in
position 2 just pulls back those sharp highs
a little, plus you can pull the tone back to
round the highs further. Position 3 brings
in that pre-set treble roll-off, which isn’t
quite as woolly as rolling the tone fully off
and is a pretty usable thick rhythm or quite
fruity lead voice, especially with a little
crunchy gain.
Circuit 2 brings in the neck humbucker,
a pretty classic ‘balanced’ PAF-alike that
splits well enough, although it voices the
slug coil whereas voicing the neck-facing
screw coil might be a little more Tele-like.
The pickup mix, then, doesn’t quite have
the width of a classic Tele, particularly in

12 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 CREAM T ASTRA CUSTOM ‘DECADES’ FIRST PLAY

CREAM T ASTRA
CUSTOM ‘DECADE
DECADES’
PRICE: £2,499 (inc gigbag)
ORIGIN: UK
TYPE: Single-cutaway, solidbody electric
BODY: Obeche with thin AAA maple top
NECK: Quarter-sawn roasted maple,
medium C profile, bolt-on
SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech Tusq/42.5mm
FINGERBOARD: Rosewood, 6mm white dot
inlays (w/ blue Luminlay side dots), 254- 356mm
There’s a hole in my (10-14”) radius
guitar! This is what you
FRETS: 22, medium jumbo
see with the pickup and
the magnetically attached HARDWARE: Gotoh BS-TC1S bridge, Gotoh SG381
backplate both removed MG 07 rear-locking tuners – chrome-plated
STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 55mm
ELECTRICS: Cream T T-style single coil (bridge).
On the one hand While the control cavity is pretty stuffed, Master volume (with coil-spit pull-switch for
you can’t help thinking a treble bleed Circuit 2 neck humbucker) and tone (with pull
it’s a modern clean might be handy to retain some clarity as switch for passive Black Ice Boost), Circuit
you pull back the volume. And in this hum/ selector mini-toggle switch. Circuit 1: bridge
machine, but there single-coil setup, a phase switch can work pickup only, 3-way lever pickup selector. Non-
are plenty of twists well – just ask Andy Summers. Maybe both
of those could be internally switchable,
magnetic ‘Dumbucker’ supplied for neck position.
Circuit 2: Adds Cream T Cream Of The Crop
to create a powerful which could add to the tweakery? humbucker at neck with 3-way lever pickup
Overall, though, this is another superb- selector, coil-split (via pull switch on volume)
rock machine sounding guitar from the Cream T WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.02/6.64
stable. On the one hand it’s a modern OPTIONS: Maple fingerboard; custom-spec
coil-split mode. Position 1 here duplicates clean machine, but there are plenty of via Crème de la Crème option (£POA)
position 2 of Circuit 1: bridge pickup with twists to create a clear and powerful rock RANGE OPTIONS: Polaris has various pickup
both volume and tone in play. machine, especially with some heavier formats from £2,499, as does Aurora Custom
Mike Christian’s Black Ice Boost can be gain. It’s hard to put down. LEFT-HANDERS: Not currently
engaged in any position on either circuit. FINISHES: Sirius Blue (as reviewed), Terra Burst,
When adding it to position 3 of Circuit 1 Verdict Black Hole Burst, Antares Red – gloss body; satin neck
(already a treble roll-off ), things do get a Tele traditionalists probably won’t have
little too thick and indistinct to our ears. got this far and will have scuttled back Cream T Custom Shop
But adding it to the bridge (with or without to Total Blackguard magazine. You can’t 01695 570023
the tone) works extremely well: sonic blame ’em. In this launch ‘Decades’ www.creamtcustomshop.com
cornflour that creates a rich and thicker
sauce. The ‘Dumbucker’ with Circuit 1
is possibly a tweak too far, and while the
version, the Astra is feature-led and by
design not that standard T-style. But not
only is there a superb guitar here with its
9
science might be sound, the sonic effect altered outline and comfort contours, the PROS Another finely made and crisply detailed
is subtle at best and many might prefer a dual circuits, passive boost and neck-only guitar; great neck and playability; good weight;
second humbucker – perhaps the more Guitar-X pickup swapping turn what expansive sounds from the unique control
Tele-like Banger & Mash – to be included could have been another rerun into a setup and passive Black Ice Boost
in the package (not least if it was wired to unique and frankly inspiring instrument.
voice the neck-facing coil when split). A brand to watch and a guitar to try! CONS Not everyone will get the dual-circuit
concept or the ‘Dumbucker’

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 F I R S T PL AY

GODIN RADIUM
£1,299

WHAT IS IT? Canadian-made

HSH set-neck with choice of three
blue-collar matt finishes. A gigging
guitar if ever we saw one!

Rock
Of Ages
Along with making guitars for Alex Lifeson,
Godin’s standard electric range has plenty
to offer. We take this pared-down roots-
rocker for a long overdue spin
Words Dave Burrluck Photography Phil Barker

t’s never been easy to pigeonhole

I Godin, the long-running Canadian

maker, which turns its expansive hands
to everything from affordable steel- and
nylon-string acoustics to £5k-plus signature
electric models. If there is a theme, it’s
practicality: good, solid craft that’s always
very fit for purpose.
This Radium is case in point. It was
actually introduced at the start of 2020,
in Carbon Black and Winchester Brown,
just before Covid caused its havoc, while
the Matte Green version you see here
was announced in 2021. A change in
distribution meant reviews were on hold,
and while we managed to get our hands
on the higher-end Radium-X with its
LR Baggs X-Bridge back in issue 495, this
base model slipped through the net.
“Presenting a new breed of single-cut
guitars, which combines all the best
elements of the Radiator and the Stadium
into one: the Radium!” said Godin at its
launch. It’s a pretty close cousin to that
same-shaped Godin Stadium (T-style
bridge, two single coils, long scale and
six-in-a-line headstock) and the Radiator
(wrapover bridge, two humbuckers, short
scale and three-a-side headstock). This
is a straightforward design centring on

14 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

All mounted on an
elongated T-style control
plate, the circuit is
simple with an angled
five-way pickup selector
switch, volume and tone
(with a pull switch to
split the humbuckers)
 FIRST PLAY GODIN RADIUM

1. The Godin-logo’d a Gibson ‘short’-scale mahogany neck are the controls and output jack. These 2. Following the retro style
humbuckers are made glued into a solid Canadian Laurentian both sit on a lightly aged and similarly of the Godin Radiator,
in Korea by G&B who the headplate is a plastic
supplies plenty of big
basswood body, and is available in a trio of elongated T-style control plate, with the laminate. The nicely cut
brands. The covered demure finishes. The apparent slab-body angled five-way lever pickup selector nut is Tusq, and also
middle single coil elongated T-style design actually has a rear at the front, the output at the base, and from the Graph Tech
(with a DCR of 5.89k) ribcage cutaway and rounding to the back wide-spaced volume and tone controls stable are the Godin-
looks like a Tele-neck logo’d Ratio tuners,
style, although it has of that bass-side horn – but little truck placed in between – the latter with a pull which have quite a fine-
a large (ceramic?) with any other comfort contours. switch to simultaneously split those outer tuning feel, especially
magnet under the coil. The trio of HSH pickups is direct- zebra ’buckers. on the treble side
Meanwhile, this tidy
bridge with wide-
mounted, although the middle Tele-neck- 3. Pulling out the pickups
diameter slotted studs style covered single coil and the bridge Feel & Sounds confirms the origin
uses a Gibson-style humbucker sit quite high out of the body Strapped on or seated, the Radium and each has a ‘Ferrite’
raised intonation ridge, as the bridge is a chunky wrapover type certainly feels familiar and fairly Tele-like. bridge or neck ID
and overall intonation sticker confirming its
adjustment is via those with stepped intonation ridge and overall Overall weight is trim at 3.24kg (7.13lb) ceramic magnetic style.
two protruding bolts intonation adjustment. Also top-mounted and the satin-finish neck feels special: Reflecting what we hear,
a medium-depth C with quite sloping the bridge has a DCR of
approximately 15.26k
A very appealing smooth, shoulders – 21.4mm in depth at the 1st and the neck pickup
fret and 23.5mm by the 12th. The classic measures 8.78k (7.98k
sustaining acoustic response feel is enhanced by well-installed medium- and 4.36k respectively
gauge frets on the 305mm (12-inch) when split)
is married to that classic feel… radiused unbound rosewood fingerboard
It feels like an old friend with a nice classic incurve to the edges.

16 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 GODIN RADIUM FIRST PLAY

2
GODIN RADIUM
PRICE: £1,299 (inc gigbag)
ORIGIN: Canada
TYPE: Double-cutaway, solidbody electric
BODY: Canadian Laurentian basswood
NECK: Mahogany, glued-in
SCALE LENGTH: 629mm (24.75”)
NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech Tusq/43.45mm
FINGERBOARD: Rosewood, white dot inlays,
305mm (12”) radius
FRETS: 22, medium
HARDWARE: Adjustable wraparound bridge,
Graph Tech Ratio tuners (18:1 on bass side,
26:1 on treble side) – nickel/chrome-plated
STRING SPACING/BRIDGE: 52mm
ELECTRICS: Godin Custom zebra humbucker
(bridge and neck), Custom Cajun (covered,
middle), 5-way lever pickup selector switch,
master volume and tone (with pull switch
3 coil-split for both humbuckers)
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.24/7.13
OPTIONS: No
There’s a very appealing smooth, Verdict RANGE OPTIONS: The Radium-X (£2,599) has
sustaining acoustic response that’s If the Radium displays quite a mash-up of a longer 648mm (25.5”) scale length with dual
married to that classic feel, making the style with an almost T-style vibe married Bare Knuckle/Seymour Duncan humbuckers and
Radium feel like an old friend, rather than to its ‘Gibson’ scale-length set neck and LR Baggs X-Bridge vibrato
a new guitar you’re taking on a first date. wrapover bridge, it certainly covers some LEFT-HANDERS: No
Sound-wise, there’s nothing that’s going to ground, sound-wise. There’s the beefy FINISHES: Matte Green (as reviewed), Carbon
upset, either, with a big, thick, overwound rock-aimed ’buckers that split well, and Black, Winchester Brown – matt body finish
voice at the bridge and a more vintage-y with that middle single coil in play it dips and satin neck back
sound at the neck. Thanks to the five-way into a Strat’s sonic palette.
lever switch, we drop into more Strat-like Our sample was ready for action from JHS
voicings in positions 2 and 4 and a slightly the off with a great-feeling neck, good 0113 286 5381
muted centre single coil. With that tone setup and no tuning issues, and it really www.godinguitars.com
control switch pulled up (which voices exemplifies that fit-for-purpose Godin
only the screw coils of the humbuckers),
it’s a very usable hardtail S-style, while
both humbuckers are cleaner and brighter
proposition. Now, it ain’t hip, but it’s pretty
fairly priced for a North American-made
guitar, not least compared to Gibson USA’s
8
– but not overly so. We might be tempted start-up models. It’s an instrument this PROS Very competently made in stripped-down
to add a treble bleed to the volume control writer would happily head off to a gig with, style; excellent neck shape and playability; good
just to maximise the clarity with reduced no hesitation. Godin isn’t every player’s weight; pretty expansive sounds
settings, especially if you use a less gained first choice, but for anyone looking for that
amp voice. But, overall, it does exactly slightly different vibe, you’ll find it here in CONS Bridge and middle pickup sit quite
what it says on the tin. spades with excellent quality to match. high from the body face; that screw-on plastic
headstock might be a retro detail too far

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 F I R S T PL AY

ATKIN DUST BOWL 0012S

£3,499

WHAT IS IT? 12-fret-to-body,

slotted-headstock, all-
mahogany 00 acoustic with
an aged nitro finish, fashioned
after the Depression-era
instruments of the 1930s

ATKIN DUST BOWL 00014

£3,349

WHAT IS IT? Triple-0 all-

mahogany acoustic with
an aged nitro finish, aimed
at recreating the look of
Depression-era instruments

Bowled Over
Alister Atkin’s UK workshop pays
homage to the stripped-back,
no-frills instruments that weree
available in the USA nearly a
century ago when money was tight
but roots music was blooming
Words David Mead Photography Phil Barker

t’s amazing to think that a guitar that

I was born in an era of great financial

hardship and social distress could
be so revered by players almost 100
years later. But such is the case with the
so-called ‘Depression-era’ acoustics:
essentially stripped-down, no-frills
instruments that were aimed at the
musicians of the day, themselves enduring
the full clout of the famous financial
bottoming in the USA during the 1930s.
Recently, we’ve seen Martin answer
the call with its Streetmaster acoustics,
which were reliced to reflect the rough
and tumble of the years, looking like
they’d done their time in the juke joints
and barrel houses of the Deep South. And,

18 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

ATKIN DUST BOWL 0012S & 00014 FIRST PLAY

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FIRST PLAY ATKIN DUST BOWL 0012S & 00014

of course, Martin’s all-mahogany models Those crazy paving

have been more and more visible in its
catalogue in recent years, too. It seems that cracks to beautiful
modern day players have found themselves
attracted to the warmth and rounded dark chocolate
tones that an all-mahogany instrument finish add to the
can deliver. The idea might have been
born out of a threadbare necessity, but it’s story that these
enjoying a richer contemporary life under guitars belong to
the fingers of blues pickers and singer-
songwriters everywhere. a much earlier age
Canterbury-based Atkin Guitars,
under the helm of luthier Alister Atkin, and a 00014 – in front
r of us today and so
has also answered the call to produce a let’s fire up our best acoustic blues licks
range of mahogany instruments under and zoom on in.
the banner ‘Dust Bowl’ and it seems that Just as with house hunting, there’s a 1. It’s mahogany all the
it was customer demand that energised lot to be said with regards to kerb appeal. way for the Dust Bowl
the series in the first place. “We’d made In this instance, that equates to that
h first acoustics – with aged
a few for people when they’d asked,” look upon opening the case. With this nitro finishes that
enhance resonance
Alister tells us, “and I saw it as a bit of an brace of Atkins, there was a sharp intake and add some
opportunity to get into making something of breath as they are both beautiful in their vintage chic, too
really nice and vintage feeling for those simplicity, and the crazed finish on both
2. The stripped-back look
people out there. Weirdly, more people encourages us to think that we’re looking to the tops includes a
out there than you would imagine want at some true vintage pieces. If they sound plain and simple Indian
a guitar like that.” as good as they look, we’re in for a treat… rosewood bridge and a
Alister’s Dust Bowl Series comprises You’ve probably already guessed that mock tortoise pickguard
seven models, including an 0, 00 and the construction details here are pretty 3. Atkin celebrated its 25th
000 in the 14-fret-to-the-body series and straightforward. And, of course, they’re year of production in
the same body sizes in the slotted-head common to both guitars, apart from the 2020 as the label inside
proudly declares, and
12-fretters. Completing the line-up, differences in physical size and neck//
next year will mark the
there’s also a parlour model. We have one body joints. To summarise, then, we have company’s 30th year
from each of the two main series – a 0012 African mahogany bodies and necks with in business

20 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 2

Indian rosewood fingerboards, bridges

and headstock facias. Tuners on both
guitars are by Gotoh. On the 14 these are
open-back with a realistic vintage sheen
to them, and on the 12 they are the three-
a-side ‘classical style’ to complement the
slotted headstock.
One thing that struck us as slightly
unusual is that both guitars have ebony
nuts, instead of the more usual real or
synthetic bone. “That’s what they used
back in the day,” says Alister. “A lot of
those guitars had ebony on them and I
think it works well. It looks really cool.”
From just a casual look at the nuts on both
guitars you would be sure that the material
involved was some sort of synthetic
material. But up close, it’s possible to
see that it is, in fact, wood that has been
polished to a shine – and cut to perfection
at that. We were curious as to the effect
that ebony, as opposed to bone, would have
on tone. “Difficult to know, isn’t it?” Alister
agrees. “I think there may be a slight
difference, and you could conceivably
imagine that there is a slightly more muted
feel. I don’t know, but I think mainly it’s
aesthetic and keeping it vintage style.”
Both the guitars have received a very
dark stain to the mahogany, accentuating 3
the vintage vibe, and, as we’ve said, the

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FIRST PLAY ATKIN DUST BOWL 0012S & 00014

lacquer is nitrocellulose that has been ago on what was essentially a budget instead of the more familiar Sitka spruce:
crazed to give an overall impression that instrument. Was it just that there was “The top would typically be a little bit
these guitars might have a few virtual a lot of mahogany to hand back in the thinner than Sitka, depending on the size
decades under their belts but have been 1930s and that its status and cost has of the instrument,” says Alister. “If you
well cared for in the process. merely evolved and risen over the years? go down to our parlours, we’d be getting
A mahogany top is hardly a Alister: “I’m pretty sure that must have down to 2.2 to 2.5mm thick. But I’ve used
revolutionary idea these days, but it’s been what it was. The supply was good mahogany for many years before this
surprising that a timber that we don’t and it was just the way things used to and, tonally, I’ve found that it ended up
regard as being cheap, in a contemporary sit back then.” And on his impressions sounding pretty similar if you treated it
sense, should be used almost a century as far as using mahogany as a top wood like a Sitka spruce top. There’s a little bit
of variation but not a great deal.”

5 Feel & Sounds

The first thing you notice on plucking
this pair from their cases is how light they
both are. And the finish is a beautiful dark
chocolate colour with those crazy paving
cracks to the lacquer that add to the story
that these instruments belong to a much
earlier age. Once again, they share many
characteristics in terms of feel as well as,
somewhat surprisingly, sound – despite
the difference in body sizes. The 0012’s
neck is chubby but not anywhere near
unmanageable, and its light weight and
trim dimensions makes it a very sociable
sofa companion. Then there’s the sound:
plentiful bass, well rounded trebles, bags
of toneful volume… there’s really not much
more you could ask for.
Switching to the 00014 the story is
pretty much the same, only the bass
has more presence and maybe there’s
a tad more volume but not as much as

22 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 ATKIN DUST BOWL 0012S & 00014 FIRST PLAY

ATKIN DUST BOWL ATKIN DUST BOWL

0012S 00014
PRICE: £3,499 (inc case) PRICE: £3,349 (inc case)
ORIGIN: UK ORIGIN: UK
TYPE: Slotted headstock 00 TYPE: 000 acoustic
TOP: Mahogany TOP: Mahogany
BACK/SIDES: Mahogany BACK/SIDES: Mahogany
MAX RIM DEPTH: 105mm MAX RIM DEPTH: 105mm
MAX BODY WIDTH: 362mm MAX BODY WIDTH: 514mm
NECK: Mahogany NECK: Mahogany
SCALE LENGTH: 632mm (24.9”) SCALE LENGTH: 632mm (24.9”)
TUNERS: Gotoh antique three-a-side TUNERS: Gotoh antique open back
classical style NUT/WIDTH: Ebony/45mm
NUT/WIDTH: Ebony/45mm FINGERBOARD: Indian rosewood
FINGERBOARD: Indian rosewood FRETS: 20
you’d think with the bigger body. Both 4. The sound from both FRETS: 20 BRIDGE/SPACING: Indian
guitars took everything we threw at them guitars is big and bold BRIDGE/SPACING: Indian rosewood w/ compensated bone
with lashings of bass
from lazy, bluesy picking to animated response – even the
rosewood w/ compensated bone saddle/58mm
strumming, meaning that these guitars smaller-bodied 0012S saddle/58mm WEIGHT (kg/lb): 1.59/3.52
would suit many different styles of player. has heaps of low-end WEIGHT (kg/lb): 1.55/3.42 OPTIONS: None
We’ve certainly no complaints. OPTIONS: Available with slotted or RANGE OPTIONS: Atkin’s 14 range is
5. Open-back Gotoh tuners
set off the 00014’s standard headstock to order available in 2 other body sizes: 0 and
Verdict headstock nicely – RANGE OPTIONS: The Atkin Dust 00 (both £3,349)
Alister’s reputation as a fine craftsman, note the unusual but Bowl 12 range currently includes 2 LEFT-HANDERS: Yes, no extra cost
effective ebony nut
working together with a hand-picked other body sizes, an 0 and 000 (both FINISH: Aged nitrocellulose
team of luthiers, is well deserved as all £3,499)
of the guitars we’ve seen coming from LEFT-HANDERS: Yes, no extra cost
the workshop (including his electric FINISH: Aged nitrocellulose
models) have left us seriously impressed
in the past. These two instruments are Atkin Guitars
01227 719933
Plentiful bass, well rounded www.atkinguitars.com

trebles, bags of toneful

volume… there’s really not
much more you could ask for
no exception. We’ve said before in these
pages that any review instrument that
we spend far longer with than usual is a
very good sign that we’re dealing with
top of the range guitars that have been
crafted to an exceptional level. It certainly
has been one of those experiences here
10 10
where everything comes together – tone 6. As we’ve come to expect PROS Excellent instrument with a PROS Depth of tone and a great
from Alister and his
and playability – combined with that rich sound and bags of volume, too; playing experience – it looks
team, workmanship
elusive mojo that is the hallmark of a great on both instruments very lap-friendly fabulous, too!
instrument. Seek them out! is absolutely top-class
CONS Nothing to see here CONS Again, nothing to confess

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 F I R S T PL AY

ORIGIN EFFECTS
HALCYON BLUE
OVERDRIVE
£249

WHAT IS IT? Brit-made

2
overdrive pedal that focuses
in on the classic Marshall
Bluesbreaker pedal
3

24 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 ORIGIN EFFECTS HALCYON BLUE OVERDRIVE FIRST PLAY

Break’ Point
Origin Effects expands its range of Halcyon drive pedals
with its take on the Marshall Bluesbreaker
Words Trevor Curwen Photography Phil Barker

rigin Effects has completed a trilogy of what are arguably the three

O ORIGIN EFFECTS
1. The Voice switch offers
two different takes on the most cloned and modified drive pedals. First, we saw the Halcyon
sound: BB is standard HALCYON BLUE
Bluesbreaker voicing; Mod Green Overdrive based on a Tube Screamer, then came the Klon- OVERDRIVE
provides a gainier sound based Halcyon Gold Overdrive, and now here’s the Halcyon Blue Overdrive,
inspired by the early 90s Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal. However, these aren’t PRICE: £249
2. Set the Adapt switch
to off (0) and the pedal
mere clones. In fact, Origin has expanded the tonal options with a toggle- ORIGIN: UK
effectively acts like an switched choice of an authentic original voicing or a modified one, plus a TYPE: Overdrive pedal
original Bluesbreaker. user-variable amount of dry sound as a component of the signal, and the FEATURES: Buffered bypass
It can also give you two company’s Adaptive Circuitry with its neat trick of automatically adjusting CONTROLS: Level, Drive, Dry, Tone,
different strengths of
the Adaptive behaviour voicing in response to pick attack and volume changes. Adapt switch (0/I/II), Voice Switch
(I and II), which alters Setting the pedal to its BB voicing and utilising the Level, Drive and Tone (BB/Mod), Bypass footswitch
tonal content with guitar knobs as found on the original Bluesbreaker yields a range of tones that CONNECTIONS: Standard input,
volume or dynamics
completely matches the original’s, with a nice lift in the midrange, delivering standard output
3. The Dry knob lets you enhanced ‘beyond clean’ boosts right through to a lovely textured drive. POWER: 9V DC adaptor
set your preferred For variation, we have the Dry knob, which is not a control that mixes (not supplied) 200mA
level of dry signal as your dry signal in proportion to the drive; it actually sets the amount of DIMENSIONS: 58 (w) x 124 (d) x
an integral component
of the tone. It’s like a passed-through unaffected dry signal that’s always been a component 64mm (h)
classic Bluesbreaker part of Bluesbreaker circuitry. At its noon position, the knob mimics the
midway, but you can Bluesbreaker entirely, but you can use it to increase the amount of dry signal Origin Effects
turn it anti-clockwise for
a slightly harder-edged
or reduce/remove it from the signal. It’s a subtle control, but it does make www.origineffects.com
tone, or turn clockwise a difference. We particularly like the dynamic feel and the touch of extra
to enhance clarity clarity that comes with a bit more dry sound.
A less subtle deviation from the classic BB sound – although still in the
same ballpark – is the Mod voicing, which offers a different diode clipping
characteristic with more gain and a fatter sound. All of this can be delivered
9
via the Adapt Circuitry, which cleans up your tone by reducing midrange PROS Excellent build quality;
emphasis when playing more softly or with your guitar volume knob turned compact size; accurate BB tone;
down. The tonal differences between the Off setting and the two levels of advanced dynamic response and
Adaptive behaviour are there to be exploited – find which best suits you. clean-up characteristics; two
voicings; adjustable dry sound;
Verdict practical tone control
The Halcyon Blue is a more sophisticated version of a Bluesbreaker pedal.
So if you like that sound but want it delivered with practical variations and CONS Only that it’s at a price point
enhancements in a compact, solidly engineered pedal, then this is for you. that won’t be accessible to all

3
THE RIVALS
If you want to go back to the source, Marshall recently
reissued the Bluesbreaker (£149) in its original form.
It’s less expensive but is a bigger pedal and doesn’t have
the versatility of the Halcyon Blue. There are plenty of
pedals based on a modified Bluesbreaker, and perhaps
the most lauded is the Analog Man King Of Tone (from
$325). If you want to eschew from the six-year waiting list,
however, look to the MXR version, the Duke Of Tone (£169).
Elsewhere, the Keeley Blues Disorder (£199), released in
2024, combines two completely different overdrive and
distortion circuits to create four drives in one box.

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FIRST PLAY MXR M307 LAYERS
F I R S T PL AY

MXR M307 LAYERS

£249
2 WHAT IS IT? A pedal that
can add layers of sustained
sound with effects

26 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 MXR M307 LAYERS FIRST PLAY

Deep Dive
The latest pedal from MXR can enhance your sound with
layered-in ambient sustain for expansive soundscapes
Words Trevor Curwen Photography Olly Curtis

XR’s Layers pedal can freeze and sustain a note or chord, creating

M MXR M307 LAYERS

1. The Sub Oct button
transposes new layers a sustained ‘layer’ that can be used to enhance and bolster notes or
down an octave; previously
created layers will not be act as a pad that you can play over. Pressing the footswitch takes PRICE: £249
affected. You can set this a sample of your playing at that point, which will sustain until you release the ORIGIN: USA
so that the sub-octave footswitch. Alternatively, there’s auto-triggering via playing dynamics, with TYPE: Sustain pedal
effect is only applied to
the lowest frequencies
the Trig knob setting a threshold above which a layer can be triggered. A Mix FEATURES: Buffered bypass, tap
of a layer knob sets the level of the layer in relation to your dry sound, and you also get tempo, dry kill, mono or stereo
knobs to set the Attack (fade-in time) of the layer, and the Decay, which can operation, dry/wet split, sub-octave, FX
2. Limit the sustain effect be turned up full for infinite sustain. CONTROLS: Mix, Trig, Attack,
to a single layer with the
aptly named Single knob. The pedal supports three simultaneous layers that overlap with each Decay, Single button, Sub Oct
By default, there are three other and their status is indicated by three glowing LEDs that fade in and button, Tap/Exp-CTR-Audio switch,
simultaneous layers that out. Each subsequent layer replaces the oldest after the third layer has internal mono/stereo switch,
overlap with each other
indicated by the three
been captured. A press of the Single button, however, keeps things simpler Bypass footswitch
white LEDs by limiting the sustain effect to a single layer – this mode works great in CONNECTIONS: Standard input,
conjunction with the Trig knob to add an underlying or parallel layer of standard output, CTR input
3. The CTR jack can be used interest to each note you pick. POWER: 9V DC adaptor (supplied)
to connect an expression
pedal or external At its most basic, the pedal sustains your straight sound, but you can 300mA
footswitch, or to send a transform the sustained sound with its onboard effects, all accessed as DIMENSIONS: 62 (w) x 110 (d) x
dry output signal when secondary knob functions while pressing and holding the Single or Sub 47mm (h)
using Dry/Wet Split mode
Oct buttons. You can set up delay, modulation (chorus, tremolo or a blend)
4. You can increase and a diffusion amount that adds texture to the layer(s). There’s also the Westside Distribution
sensitivity to note attack possibility of adding a sub-octave to either the whole layer or just to its lowest 0141 248 4812
with the Trig knob. Fully frequencies for more clarity. All of this offers plenty of scope for building www.jimdunlop.com
anti-clockwise, the
function is turned off. ethereal, ambient pads or delivering a creative twist to those single notes.
When on, the LED is red, Besides standard mono you can run the pedal in stereo with three layers
but it turns green when a
layer has been triggered
panned left, centre and right, or you can have a Dry/Wet split. You can also
connect external switches to trigger layers, or an expression pedal to blend
between two setting configurations.
9
PROS Compact size; easy
Verdict operation; onboard effects; sub
Whether you wish to thicken single notes or create drones and ambient octave facility; external control
textures (perhaps with three-note chords that your fingers could never
stretch to), MXR’s claim that Layers will “extend the creative potential CONS Accessing secondary
of your instrument” is absolutely right. functions can be a bit of a faff

4
THE RIVALS

The Gamechanger Audio Plus Pedal (£315) looks more

like a piano’s sustain pedal than a regular stompbox, but it
allows you to sustain selected notes and chords. Electro-
Harmonix has several pedals that can sample and sustain
a portion of your sound: there’s the Freeze Sound Retainer
(£115), Pico Deep Freeze (£179), Superego (£205) and the
Superego+ (£225). Also check out the TC Electronic Infinite
Sample Sustainer (£129). On a slightly different tack,
Walrus Audio has several pedals for creating background
ambiences such as the Slö Multi Texture Reverb (£199)
and the Lore Reverse Soundscape Generator (£299).

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WISHLIST Gibson BB King ‘Rumble In The Jungle’ 1974 ES-355

theWishlist
Dream gear to beg, borrow and steal for...
for

Gibson BB King ‘Rumble In The Jungle’

1974 ES-355 £8,999
Gibson PHONE 00800 44427661 WEB www.gibson.com WORDS Dave Burrluck PHOTOGRAPHY Olly Curtis

hink of the late, great BB King and a picture of As we very carefully pull this model from its

T
1. Dominated by its ‘split
his famous ‘Lucille’-model Gibson with its ES accompanying case, you’d almost believe it was 50 diamond’ headstock
inlay, the tuners are
Artist-type sealed body will likely come to mind, years old with its light ageing. There are plenty of cracks
Kluson ‘Wafflebacks’
although these didn’t actually appear in Standard and to the body lacquer, which has an old-looking amber – referring to their
Custom versions until 1980. Before then, BB had long tint; this turns the edge binding nicotine yellow with striped casings – and
plied his high-profile trade, invariably with a standard the notable exception of the white binding around the have subtly aged gold
plating. You’ll be pleased
ES model and typically the 355. Currently, Gibson tortoiseshell pickguard. There’s also a little patina and to know the guitar is
Custom has a Lucille Legacy and ‘Live at the Regal’ ageing to the gold hardware. mono, despite what the
ES-335 in the catalogue, and now this latest historic These are big guitars, though this one is attractively truss rod cover says, and
homage from 1974 has joined the ranks. manageable, with its relatively slim neck. It’s not over- it also features a large,
somewhat polarising
The ‘Rumble In The Jungle’ pulls in another couple wide in lower positions, but it really fills out to quite a ‘volute’ behind the
of heavyweights, George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, full-shouldered girth by the 12th fret. The light rolling to truss rod access area
unquestionably rockstars of their day, and a mega- the ’board edge binding adds to the feeling of age, too. of the neck
profile boxing match in Kinshasa, Zaire on 30 October Despite the ‘Stereo’ truss rod cover, thankfully the
2. Another identifier of
1974, known as one of the greatest sporting events of output is mono here, and we have the additional five ES-355 style is the block
the 20th century. The fight was scheduled to happen on flavours of the Varitone, which get a little thinner and inlays, which are mother-
25 September at the end of Zaire 74, a three-day music almost phasey-sounding as you play through them. The of-pearl on a bound
festival, but it was delayed due to Foreman injuring pickups seem only lightly potted (you get plenty of pick ebony fingerboard. Under
the aged Walnut finish is
himself in a sparring session. The festival went ahead ‘clonk’ if you hit the covers), but these hybrid T-Types a three-piece mahogany
as planned, featuring BB King, James Brown, Miriam sound extremely sweet and yet have good articulation neck, the profile classed
Makeba, Bill Withers, The Crusaders and more, and and quite widely contrasting voices between the bite as ‘Artist’. Along with the
plain laminated maple
is documented in 2008’s Soul Power, plus BB’s Live at the bridge and the smoother, clear neck voice. You
body construction,
In Africa film. It’s the guitar BB King was playing back might want to play on the cleaner side of the tracks, the centre block is
then that’s replicated here. but try cranking it up a little – it damn near takes off! lightweight solid maple

2 3

28 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

3. The 355 was officially 5. While Gibson’s
released in 1959, with a good-sounding T-Type
handful of models being humbuckers feature
shipped the previous year, on many recent and
and as the decades rolled current ES models,
by there were relatively here the pickups are
few major changes to the advertised as T-Type
top-line model. These Custombuckers, which
‘witch hat’ or ‘sombrero’ use Alnico V magnets
knobs were one, along like the standard
with the Maestro Vibrola, models. “These pickups
added in 1963, which are designed to sound
replaced the earlier like the original T-Tops,
sideways design and also but they have some
the often-used Bigsby B7 ’59-spec parts that
– gold plated, of course! turn the pickup more
into a hybrid. The end
4. Limited to just 100 result is the tone of
pieces worldwide, this a T-Top,” Gibson tells
very 70s-style ES-355 us. At output, ours
replicates one of BB King’s measured 7.37kohms
most famously seen and at the bridge and closer
heard instruments. The to 7k at the neck
Murphy Lab light ageing
captures its time-warp
vibe, and along with its
‘Zaire’ hard case there’s
plenty of case candy –
including a flag! Of course,
its substantial cost means
it won’t be first choice
for your local blues jam,
although the current
Dark Walnut ES-345 will
get you close at a cooler
£3,799, albeit without the 5
Varitone or vibrato

3
 THE
LINEUP

Gas Supply
Our pick of the month’s most delectable
and wallet-bothering new gear

New releases From £279

CONTACT Various WEB See below

Somehow we find ourselves reaching the end of the for winter. From acoustic innovations to birthday
year already. While that can only mean two things for celebrations, the tail end of 2024 also delivers a couple of
gearheads – it’s Gear Of The Year time and the NAMM surprise signature models. And we’re still over a month
Show is just around the corner – we’re already seeing away from the Anaheim gear-fest! So we’ll be back next
a lot of brands already giving us a taste of new releases issue with more wallet-relieving new products. [SW]

BLACKSTAR SERIES ONE FENDER CHRIS SHIFLETT ORIGIN EFFECTS CHARVEL MJ DINKY £2,349
MK II £1,999 TELECASTER DELUXE DELUXE55 £279 Shred fans will be no stranger
It’s hard to believe Blackstar’s £2,599 There’s no shortage of ‘amp-in- to the fact that Charvel guitars
Series One is now in its Foo Fighters guitarist and solo a-box’ pedals on the market, but were made in Japan during the
adolescence, but to celebrate country-Americana artist Chris now Origin Effects – whose amp late 80s. Now, the brand has
the Brit brand has given the Shiflett has once again teamed recreations already include the expanded its MJ line-up with the
range a complete overhaul up with Fender to deliver his RevivalDrive and Magma57 – MJ DK24 HSH 2PT, which has a
with over 30 tweaks across the take on the Telecaster Deluxe. has turned its attention to Tweed mahogany body (optional maple
board. The Series One MK II 100- Dubbed ‘The Cleaver’ thanks with the new Deluxe55. It’s an top) and graphite-reinforced
watt head has a power section to its ability to cut through all-analogue pedal that looks wenge neck, designed for
fitted with 6L6 valves (rather dense mixes, Shifty’s latest to ape the tone and response modern players and maintaining
than EL34s) and now includes is a production version of the of Fender’s 1955 Tweed Deluxe Charvel’s classic charm. It has a
dedicated gain controls for each Masterbuilt P-90-loaded guitar amplifier, from the switchable sculpted heel and is hand-rubbed
of the four channels. There’s a we’ve seen him playing on the preamp voicing (12AY7/12AX7) with an oil finish, with a 304.8mm
second EQ section, allowing for Foos’ world tour. This US-made through to a recreation of to 406.4mm (12 to 16-inch)
independent three-band control version has Fender-designed the Deluxe’s 6V6 power amp compound radius wenge ’board.
for Clean/Crunch and OD1/ Noiseless CS-90 pickups and a section. Origin says that it has The pickups come courtesy of
OD2, as well as full MIDI control. 21-fret rosewood ’board that’s recreated the entire valve amp Seymour Duncan: Full Shred
Blackstar’s ISF (Infinite Shape inlaid with pearloid blocks; signal path “in miniature”, which TB-10 (bridge), Custom Flat
Feature) and DPR (Dynamic the visuals are completed by a can serve as your overdrive Strat SSL-6 (middle) and Alnico II
Power Reduction) controls are matching headstock. It comes source, or, when paired with APH-1N (neck). Available in black
also present. It’s available now, in Dakota Red or Charcoal Frost, an IR loader or cab sim, it (mahogany only), or Caribbean
along with the Series One 412 and will be on shelves by the can even work as a complete Burst and Antique Burst with
Pro B MK II cabinet. time you read this. direct solution. maple top.
www.blackstaramps.com www.fender.com www.origineffects.com www.charvel.com

30 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 The Lineup

ALSO OUT NOW...

PRS 40TH ANNIVERSARY FROM £6,999
PRS is kicking off 2025’s 40th anniversary celebrations
early with the release of some special-edition models
that hark back to the company’s formative years. The
Private Stock 40th Anniversary McCarty Dragon pays
LR Baggs’ new AEG-1 Acoustic homage to the original Dragon from 1992 (the guitar
Electric Guitar comes in a that gave birth to the McCarty model) and costs a tear
choice of three different tops under an eye-watering £20k at £18,995. Back down to
earth and the 40th Anniversary Custom 24 comes in
at £6,999. Limited to 400 pieces, the big news here is
that it features all-new PRS DMO (Dynamic, Musical,
Open) pickups. We also get ‘Old School’ bird inlays, a
headstock-positioned eagle to boot, and it’s available
in Sub Zero Smokeburst and Tiger Eye finishes.
www.prsguitars.com

MARTIN JOHNNY MARR M6 & M7 £5,195

Think ‘seven-string’ and shredders or drop-tuned nu
metal might come to mind. But Johnny Marr is looking
to change that perception with his new signature from
LR BAGGS AEG-1 £2,099 Martin, the M6 (six-string) and M7 (seven-string). The
Guitar companies are seemingly on a mission to make playing an latter is no baritone; it’s equipped with an octave-up
acoustic on stage more convenient. With recent offerings from G string, not the low-tuned B you might expect. Both
Fender and its Acoustasonic, along with the Yamaha TransAcoustic use the Grand Auditorium body size, have mahogany
TAG3, who better to join the party than acoustic-guitar electronics necks, ebony ’boards and Sitka spruce top/rosewood
expert LR Baggs. Its new AEG-1 pairs a thin-bodied, feedback-busting backs and sides. They’re also fitted with an LR Baggs
design with Baggs’ much-loved HiFi Duet sensor and mic system. Anthem system and come with a Martin case.
Baggs says that the AEG-1’s neck support system allows the guitar’s www.martinguitar.com
top and back to be “liberated” when compared with similar thin-
bodied designs, the result being greater sensitivity and dynamics,
while also delivering greater vibration transfer to the guitar’s top.
This is then captured by the HiFi Duet’s dual body sensors, plus the
Silo Mic, which can be blended and balanced to taste via the onboard
preamp. Construction-wise, the AEG-1 features a mahogany neck
and rosewood ’board, and is built around a poplar ply frame with an
Indian rosewood back. There are three available tops: Engelmann
spruce, torrefied Sitka spruce or Sitka spruce finished in sunburst.
www.lrbaggs.com

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 THE
LINEUP

Fretbuzz
A monthly look at must-hear artists from all corners of the guitar world,
from the roots of their sound to the tracks that matter most

Artist: Julian Taylor

Album: Pathways (Howling Turtle, Inc)

oronto based singer-songwriter and guitarist The Players

T Julian Taylor has been making high-quality music

for many years, his sound bringing in R&B, folk,
country and soul influences. But it’s only really been since
When it comes to significant guitarists along the way
who influenced Julian, he looked to both the acoustic and
electric scenes. “Bob Dylan was a huge influence,” he says
2020’s The Ridge, an album that also focused on pan- immediately. “Also Richie Havens’ style on the acoustic;
Canadian roots music in part, that his momentum has when I saw that Woodstock video I was blown away, it
gathered. Since then we’ve had Beyond The Reservoir in was super cool. James Taylor was an influence, too, when
2022 and now Pathways, another excellently crafted set it came to fingerpicking, and Robert Johnson was a big
Julian’s guitar influences
include a mix of James of songs. This attention seems overdue. “My first official one. And then my grandmother bought me an electric
Taylor, Bob Dylan, Richie record came out in 2000,” he tells us. “And before that guitar – and it was blues music I was listening to then,
Havens and bluesman there was an EP in ’97, but I was a kid back then.” guys like Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. But I also
Robert Johnson
discovered open tunings on the electric because of The
www.juliantaylormusic.ca
Making The Move Rolling Stones and Keith Richards, and the slide playing
Julian has been playing music since the age of four of Elmore James. It opened up a whole new palette.”
and comes from a family of storytellers, so it feels apt
that this is the right path for him. But why the guitar? Julian’s Jukebox
“I started playing my cousin’s classical guitar first and It quickly becomes clear that Julian’s musical knowledge
what grabbed me was it’s an instrument I can move is very broad, but then it would need to be since he
around with,” he explains. “The songs were bad back then hosts a three-hour radio show every week, entitled
Julian marries his soulful
– who’s to say they’re good now? – but I liked going to Julian Taylor’s Jukebox. “Yeah, it’s long!” he laughs.
vocals with bluesy folk
guitar, bringing together people’s homes and playing for them. I liked showing off “I spend a lot of time researching music and the reason
a myriad of influences what I’d been learning because I was self-taught.” I got into music in the first place was because I’m a
fan. My favourite thing in the world is to be side- or
backstage watching people I admire on stage because
I’m lucky enough to be put on the bill. So I talk to a lot
of people and I guess I’ve been an encyclopaedia of
music knowledge for the last 30 years.”

Holding Back
Pathways exemplifies Julian’s far-reaching tastes,
covering the sounds of folk, blues, country and rock.
“I wanted to work with Colin Linden, who is a producer
and guitar virtuoso,” Julian tells us. “So I wasn’t in the
driver’s seat this time and I had to let go a bit. It’s a very
sparse record compared with the others; Colin really
wanted to make sure my voice was front and centre.
There are still a lot of instruments on there and it’s the
first time the guitar takes a more instrumental lead role,
which is great. So it’s not as busy and he tried to coach
me to edit myself and take a ‘less is more’ approach.
It was difficult at first, but as time was trucking along
I became used to it and it became a more comfortable
PHOTO BY AL STEWART

space to be in. It was a lovely lesson to learn.” [GK]

Standout track: Weighing Down

For fans of: James Taylor, Bill Callahan, Lenny Kravitz,
John Mayer

34 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 The Lineup

“I spend a lot of time

researching music.
The reason I got into
music in the first place
was because I’m a fan”

THE BARNCASTER
Julian talks us through his
custom pride and joy

Julian has a few guitars that are close

to him, including the American Strat his
grandmother bought for him, plus a Martin
D-28 for live work. But it’s a more unusual
one that he first mentions. “I have a custom
electric guitar called a ‘Barncaster’,” he
tells us. “It looks like a Tele, but it’s not. My
friend Alastair Miller is a luthier down here
[in Toronto] and my friends commissioned
him to make this custom guitar. It’s a one of
a kind: it has a lipstick pickup and a Charlie
Christian pickup, and I love it. And for amps,
most of the time I use Fender; I like the
Twin and Blues Junior. I also like Vox amps
– I have a tiny eight-watt Vox that I run with
the Blues Junior.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF JULIAN TAYLOR
 THE
LINEUP

Albums
The month’s best guitar music – a hand-picked
selection of the finest fretwork on wax

Andy Fairweather Low

The Invisible Bluesman
The Last Music Company (release date: 4 February 2025)

Renowned sideman steps

out of the shadows
After an early career as pop icon in
Amen Corner and years as a sideman to
players such as Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan
and Roger Waters – to mention only the tip of a very
significant iceberg – Andy Fairweather Low returns to
his blues roots with a stunning new album. With a mix
of tracks recorded live and in the studio, and switching
from acoustic guitar to fuzzed out electric, Andy covers
a wealth of traditional blues in his own style, including
PHOTO BY MAX CRACE

The formidable trio

Rollin’ & Tumblin’, originally made famous by Muddy
of Satch, Johnson and
Vai captured on their Waters, When Things Go Wrong, which Andy will have
sold-out 2024 tour played many times alongside Clapton, and Lightnin’s
Boogie by Lightnin’ Hopkins. The album will be available
only on vinyl or as a digital stream, with no scheduled
Joe Satriani, Steve Vai CD release, and Andy will be touring the record in the
UK beginning on 6 February. [DM]
& Eric Johnson Standout track: Life Is Good
G3 Reunion Live For fans of: Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters
earMusic (release date: 31 January 2025)

Three of the best reassemble for twin-CD fretbuster Innes Sibun

The original G3 concerts took place in 1996, when the guitar The Preacher
gymnastics display team of Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Eric Sireena (available now)
Johnson first united under a single flag to deliver some
incendiary fretwork to the assembled populace. In those Vibrantly alive blues with a jazz spirit
days, the instrumental guitar phenomenon was at its height and Vai, Satch Regular readers may remember Innes
and Johnson were the undisputed leaders of the pack. But that was then. as Robert Plant’s former guitarist who
Times might have changed – and today’s music landscape is certainly very has since matured into one of the most
different from what it was back then – but nevertheless when the trio were charismatic and soulful players on the
reunited for an American tour in 2024, the gigs sold out and this twin-CD British blues scene. His latest, The Preacher, marks a
pack records the whole event for posterity. watershed in some ways but perhaps just the fruition of
Steve Vai kicks off the proceedings with a set that includes fan favourites an element of his playing that has been evolving for some
such as Tender Surrender and For The Love Of God but tips a hat towards time: bringing a jazz sensibility to his blues, much as the
more recent material like Teeth Of The Hydra in his own inimitable fashion. revered American bluesman T-Bone Walker did back in
In Vai’s hands, the fretboard becomes a fluid stream of angular ideas taken the 1940s and 50s. We find engrossing evidence of this
to a virtuoso level, and that’s definitely what’s available for his opening set. in his spirited cover of Sunny, which was a staple of Wes
Next is a change of pace in the super-melodic hands of Eric Johnson with Montgomery’s 60s work, to which Sibun brings an early
Land Of 1000 Dances, followed by some characteristic fleet-of-fingers Santana-like quality. On Jump For Joy we’re greeted with
workouts including the wonderful Desert Rose, complete with Eric’s a more Stevie Ray-style approach to a rollicking shuffle,
superb vocals. Last, but definitely not least, Satch takes to the stage with with some lovely cascading licks tumbling over fine organ
a greatest hit set that includes Surfing With The Alien, Satch Boogie and work from Anders Olinder. The album also features taut
Always With Me, Always With You, followed by the full cast in a furious drumming from Clive Deamer (Get The Blessing) and
fret-fest jam. Guitarmageddon! [DM] other veteran players, and – like a great club gig – this LP
takes risks, explores freely and delights the spirit. [JD]
Standout track: Desert Rose
For fans of: Vinnie Moore, Jeff Beck, Andy Timmons Standout track: Freya’s Smile
For fans of: Carlos Santana, Rory Gallagher, BB King

36 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

PHOTO BY SIMON ASCIUTTI

Bryan Adams’ live

epic at the Royal
Albert Hall is a tour
de force in rock-pop

Bryan Adams
Live At The Royal Albert Hall
Bad Records (available now)

Canadian rocker’s three-night RAH

residency faithfully documented
Back in May 2024, Bryan Adams rocked
the room for three nights at London’s
Royal Albert Hall, playing a different
complete album from his catalogue each night. These
included 1984’s Reckless, in honour of the album’s 40th
anniversary, 1996’s 18 Til I Die, and his most recent
release, 2022’s So Happy It Hurts. Everything was
captured on three CDs (or four LPs) in this lush boxset
that comes complete with a 32-page booklet of exclusive
images. Furthermore, the whole event was filmed by
Grammy Award-winning filmmaker Dick Carruthers
and so the three separate gigs are also included here
on Blu-ray. Quite the package, then! Needless to say,
the performances are spotless, with great production
and sound quality throughout. Keith Scott’s guitar
playing is firing on all cylinders, too; Bryan refers to his
long-standing guitar sidekick as the most underrated
player of all time – and we’d agree. [DM]

Standout track: Summer Of ’69

For fans of: Bon Jovi, Foreigner

The Cure
Songs Of A Lost World
Fiction/Polydor (available now)

Post-rock of bleak grandeur and beauty

The Cure’s 14th studio album, Songs Of A
Lost World, may feel like terra incognita to
casual listeners who only know them from
The Lovecats days, as it reveals a band
painting on a much bigger and more sombre canvas,
creating dark textures in sound with subtle skill. Perhaps
that’s excusable as it’s also the band’s first studio release
in 16 years and the first to feature ex-Tin Machine guitarist
Reeves Gabrels who has been a member of the band’s
live line-up for some 12 years. Opener, Alone, has the
bleak grandeur of an eclipse in its sombre synth timbres
and stark drums, while And Nothing Is Forever has a
more hymnal quality, if that hymn were sung in echoing
city streets, rather than a church. Guitars from Gabrels
and frontman Robert Smith provide reverb-rich melodic
hooks on dramatic, sweeping tracks such as A Fragile
Thing. It adds up to a dark diamond of an album. [JD]

Standout track: A Fragile Thing

For fans of: Killing Joke, Sigur Ros, Nine Inch Nails

 ? TǑŰŮŰŲNj"e*`
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 THE
LINEUP

Tones Behind The Tracks

It was a road laden with incidents and tragedy that led one-man band
Steve Hill to record his album at Foo Fighters’ legendary Studio 606

Artist: Steve Hill

Album: Hanging On A String (No Label Records)

W
atching Steve Hill play live really is a wonder unexpectedly. I just pulled the plug on everything.
to behold. Through a contrivance of simple I had to take some time off, you know?
tech, including a drumstick attached to his “Later on, in April 2023, I had just finished a tour
headstock to clout the cymbals of his drum kit, Steve of the west coast of Canada and I stayed over at my
can play drums, bass and guitar simultaneously – the tour manager’s place in Calgary. I was leaving the next
21st century’s answer to the traditional one-man band. morning, so I was sleeping in the basement on a mat
His latest album, Hanging On A String, has just hit the that really was not comfortable, but it saved my life
streets, but the journey to its release was far from because I couldn’t sleep properly. I was dreaming of
Steve Hill’s latest studio straightforward, as he explains. barbecue and when I opened my eyes there was smoke
album, Hanging On A
everywhere. The house was on fire. Long story, but
String, came together
against all odds You had a rough ride between this album we got out of there and I went to take my plane at the
and your last, didn’t you? airport and every time I’m about to leave on a plane,
“Dear Illusion came out in November 2022, and a I take a photo and post on social media. I wrote down,
week after the album was released, I was driving home ‘Woke up in a house on fire…’ and that’s the first line
from a gig and I fell asleep at the wheel five minutes of the title track on the new album.”
before getting to my place. My van was a total wreck,
Steve is a modern-day
one-man band, playing
but I somehow survived with nothing broken. All the How did you end up recording at Foo
drums, bass and guitar gear was fine and for 24 hours I was like the luckiest Fighters’ studio?
simultaneously guy on earth. Then the next day, my father died “It just happened that Brian Loudenslager, who’s the
guy behind Lauten Audio microphones, is a friend
of mine. He’s hired me to do the NAMM Show in the
past. I do it with Darrell Thorp, who’s the engineer
and producer on the album. Darrell would be the star
of the event, I’d be in a box playing, doing my one-man
band thing, surrounded by Lauten Audio microphones.
Since then, Brian would tell me, ‘It’d be great if you’d
come and record in LA,’ but I’m up north, out in the
woods in Canada, so going to record in LA is a great
dream, but it didn’t seem possible. He’d been telling
me that for, like, seven years and I’m like, ‘Sure, Brian,
it’d be great.’ But two weeks after seeing my post
about waking up in a burning house he had booked
the studio, hired Darrell, and paid for the whole thing.
“I had three months to write the album. So, basically,
I do nine to five; I do my gigs on the weekend for three
months, and I’d send the demos to Brian and Darrell.
I was booked on August 26 2023, my buddy Johnny
PHOTO BY MATTIA CORBETTA/ JOHN OLIVER PHOTOGRAPHY

Pilgrim, who lives in LA, picks me up and 20 minutes

later we get hit by a car. I got broken ribs. I tried to
record the album, but every day, a new nerve would
pinch and it was getting impossible, so they decided
to postpone the recording to January.”

After all that, did the recording experience

turn out to be a good one?
“It was awesome. I mean, you can’t rent the place
unless you know the Foo Fighters or the engineers
that work there. I think Darrell’s made all of their

38 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 PHOTO BY JEFF LESCENE
records in the last 10 years and so it was awesome just Cheating death from car I wouldn’t put a drumstick holder on it, you know? I’m
to record on that Neve console from Sound City. That’s crashes to house fires, more comfortable doing all of these experiments on
Steve has lived to tell the
the board of rock ’n’ roll, you know? And recording tales via his new album
Epiphones and Squiers.”
on tape and recording with that team, and using the
Foo Fighters’ gear… I’m using Dave Grohl’s bass drum It sounds like there’s quite a selection of fuzz
and I’m using their amps. Chris Shiflett has this great and drive pedals on the new album, too?
AC30 from the 60s; that’s the main amp on the album. “There’s four pedals that I used. The first one is made
That and a Princeton Reverb – until I blew it up and by Madsen – that’s a guy in the States [Maynard
replaced it with a black-panel Deluxe. He probably Madsen] – it’s called the GE Boost. It’s a treble booster,
doesn’t know…” like a [Dallas] Rangemaster. The second one is made

Do you play all the instruments live in the “I record everything live. I play the instruments at
studio the same as you do on stage?
“Yeah. I record everything live. I play all the instruments
the same time. I had six days to do it in January,
at the same time. I had six days to do it back in January, and I did it in five. We’d do three takes at the most”
and I did it in five. We’d do three takes at the most. So
they’re all first, second or third takes and I’d do two by RicoLabs and it’s called They Call It Fuzz, and
songs a day. I’m really proud of this record.” that’s basically a [Colorsound] Tone Bender that they
modified. Then I’ve got a Klon and then a Warmdrive
Which guitars did you take into the studio by Warm Audio. And that’s all I used: basically, I had
with you? the treble booster, the fuzz and the Klon on at all times
“I had my ’59 Junior TV Model that I’ve been playing on and sometimes the Warm Audio.”
tour for years. I had a sunburst Strat and an Epiphone
Flying V, and somehow I used the Epiphone on half the Are you looking forward to getting out on
record. I had just acquired it, like a month or a month the road and touring the album?
and a half before I went to California. It’s really, really “Oh yeah. I’m packing my stuff today because I’m
lightweight – like, 5.5lb – and as a one-man band that leaving for California. I’ve got some meetings there and
makes a huge difference. I’m always trying to find the we’re shooting a video, and then I’m coming back at the
lightest guitar possible. And it stayed in tune! end of the month. Hopefully I’ll be able to come back to
“The humbucker seemed to fit more with the sound the UK in 2025. It has been way too long!” [DM]
on this album and, although it was not the best guitar of
the bunch, it was the best for the occasion. I’ve bought Steve Hill’s new album, Hanging On A String,
a lot of Chinese guitars in the last couple of years. I was is available now via No Label Records
into Jazzmasters and before that I bought four Squiers
and modified them a lot. I’ve got a ’61 Jazzmaster, but www.stevehillmusic.com

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 NEVILLE’S
ADVOCATE
...

Give Me That Guitar!

Neville Marten recalls a soirée when a loud ‘landed gentry’ type
grabbed a Taylor from Guthrie’s hands and showed him “how to do it…”

Y
ou know the type: large, loud and Claret- Someone had brought along a Taylor acoustic and, after
cheeked, with brightly coloured corduroy it had been passed round to the few that dared to play
trousers, cream shirt (with green-and-red in front of the great man, Guthrie began entertaining us
stripes), khaki check-tweed waistcoat and big brown with Stevie Wonder, Beatles and any pop or rock song
brogues. (Apologies to anyone wearing that exact that anyone called out or fancied singing.
get-up while reading this…) Well, many years ago Jason Right in the middle of our jolly, an adjoining door
Sidwell of this parish, our good friend Damo and I used swung open to where a rather posh wedding reception
to run ‘Guitar Breaks’ teaching weekends. We’d book was happening. The aforementioned corduroy-clad
character burst in, looked around, saw our motley crew
“Dave rushed in, breathless and panicking, and in the corner and barged over. Grabbing the guitar
from Guthrie’s grasp he belted out at full Brian Blessed
said, ‘I have to go back. I’ve left my Telecaster decibel levels, “I play the guitar, let me have a go,” and
leaning up against a petrol pump, miles away…’” proceeded to play and sing, ‘Sweet Caroline… good
times never seemed so good. I feel inclined…’
a nice hotel somewhere in the English countryside, “There you are,” he blurted, “that’s how you do it…”
arrange lunches, evening meals and so on, and would and charged back through the door to rejoin his party.
get 20 or so paying guests who’d come to up their We sat there open-mouthed, but everyone saw the
playing game a bit. Jason was the ‘professor’, Damo funny side and Guthrie continued where he’d left off.
did the organising, and I was the guy in the middle who
helped Jase, added my ha’porth here and there, and Petrol Blues
played rhythm guitar or bass for the class. Another time, Dave Kilminster came down to a hotel
Our ace in the hole was that we also hired one of just outside Bath. He’d had a prior engagement so
Guitar Techniques’ (RIP) top contributors as our star didn’t arrive until 11pm, by which time we were all well
tutor. These included Dave Kilminster, Phil Hilborne, ensconced in the establishment’s watering hole. Dave
Jamie Humphries and Guthrie Govan. On one particular rushed in, breathless and panicking, and said, “I have
Guthrie weekend in Surrey, after the first day’s tuition to go back. I’ve left my Telecaster leaning up against a
(where Mr Govan had enthralled everyone with his petrol pump, miles away.” He couldn’t remember what
eloquence as a player and raconteur), our group was fuel station it was and couldn’t call them to check, so he
sitting in the hotel bar after dinner, relaxing with a drink. simply had to retrace his steps and hope for the best.
It was his lovely black 1972 Tele, and luckily it was still
exactly where he’d left it. Talk about fortunate!
NEV’S GAS OF THE MONTH On that same weekend Dave told us he was awaiting
Cheap & Very Cheerful a call from his manager, as he’d auditioned for a ‘big
name’ artist and was on tenterhooks for a positive
result. He wouldn’t divulge who, but that artist turned
What? PRS SE NF3 out to be Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters. Dave did indeed
Where seen? Peach Guitars Price? £799 secure the gig and has been the bassist, singer and
composer’s guitarist ever since.
Talking of Jason Sidwell, both he and Eddie Allen – Like Guthrie, Dave was a funny, knowledgeable and
who I play with in Marty Wilde’s Wildcats – grabbed inspirational tutor, and the students loved them both.
themselves one of these. They are stunning things But let’s not forget Jason, whose musical expertise is
with three Narrowfield pickups (from where the model vast, and who fielded the most technical questions, and
derives its name), poplar body, bolt-on 635mm (25- wrote scales, modes and chords up on the board for
inch) scale Wide Thin maple neck (with rosewood or people to photograph and take home for later digestion.
maple 254mm/10-inch radius ’board) and, of course, We always tried to give our groups a few ‘lightbulb’
PRS’s renowned vibrato system. As with all SEs, the moments, and many times we received the plaudit,
NF3 punches well above its weight, both build-wise “That was the best weekend of my life.”
and sonically. The slim humbucking pickups are crisply Ian Edwards, ex of ACM in Guildford, now runs his
toned and the instruments play like butter. Jason got own Guitar Breaks weekends, as does Tristan Seume,
the metallic blue one (as here) and Eddie grabbed the and Bridget and Milton Mermikides. Jason does his
metallic orange, both with rosewood ’boards. At this own occasional day courses in Bristol. Catch any of
price, there’s very little out there that comes close. these if you can, as they’re musically edifying, huge fun,
Try one, I think you’ll be shocked at how good it is. plus you get to befriend other like-minded musicians.
See you next time.

40 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 CONFESSIONS OF
A LUTHIER
...

Hands On
This month Alex Bishop ponders whether the robots
will take over, or if they already have…

W
hen I was considering a career as a guitar could be starting to change. A recent reel I published
maker, one of the appealing aspects of my latest guitar being bevelled with a chisel was
was the longevity of it. I could imagine a watched thousands of times but not without viewers
long life ahead of me still carving wood and building chiming in with something along the lines of “But WHY
instruments well into my ‘retirement’. If one manages to didn’t you just use a router??”.
get by in an occupation that has already been rendered I am part of a small lutherie collective that meets up
obsolete by technology, in my mind it’s less likely twice a year or so to support each other and discuss
anything new is going to come along to get in your way. the trials and tribulations of making it as a luthier. We
Of course, the challenge is to make that living in were chatting frivolously over an indulgent burrito
the first place. Why would anyone be interested in a about whether it was possible to make a guitar using
product that took longer to make, if there is a cheaper only a penknife when something struck me about
alternative? Fortunately, guitars benefit from being our varied adoptions of technology. A couple of us
made by hand in a carefully considered fashion. More admitted we would worship a sharpened chisel as the
sonic potential in the wood can be teased out, and the ultimate tool, whereas my talented buddy Ash would
object is imbued with an almost supernatural aura be more likely to offer his prayers to the CNC machine
dominating his machine room. Most computer-led
“What do we make of technology’s slinking machines are being used to speed up a process or
aid jig-making, but Ash’s work is all about pushing the
tentacles creeping their way into handmade boundaries to pull off complex designs that my hand
guitar workshops around the world?” tools wouldn’t even know where to start with.

when its story has been interwoven with the touch Old Meets New
of a human hand. Consider how Jimi Hendrix’s 1968 But it doesn’t end with the raw woodwork, either. I’ve
Fender Stratocaster sold for more than $1 million over written before about my adoration of French polishing,
30 years after his legendary Star-Spangled Banner a process developed centuries ago that uses natural
performance at 1969’s Woodstock. Human hands resins secreted by insects living in trees to finish
put meaning into objects. timber. Some, however, prefer modern finishes that are
What then, do we make of technology’s slinking made up of synthetic polymers that harness industrial
tentacles creeping their way into handmade guitar processes, require complex filtration systems, spray
workshops around the world? With 3D printing and booths and more. When it comes to troubleshooting,
Alex brings in a fine
CNC machinery increasingly accessible to hobbyists the everyday luthier has to brush up on more than just
balance of both tech
and tradition when (let alone full-time luthiers), I think opinions on the their school chemistry lessons to be able to wrap their
creating his guitars almost sacred status of hand tools among craftspeople head around what’s going on there.
When I look at my own lutherie journey, I guess it’s
been a slightly awkward marriage of convenience
between old and new. I’ve used laser cutting to
make templates and computer software to design
my instruments, but I still depend heavily on my
chisels and planes to pull it off. No longer do I hand-
thickness every back and side, and instead prefer to
use a powerful drum sander to get the majority of the
work done – but I do finish the surface by hand with
a sharpened cabinet scraper.
In lutherie there is always the economy of time to
consider, but I’ve realised that when all is said and
done, how I spend mine is most important to me: I will
do things in the way that brings me most joy. What
I love about guitar making is you can approach it in
whatever way works for you. A stunning instrument
PHOTO BY ALEX BISHOP

can be crafted in any number of ways, but – just like

Jimi Hendrix with his Strat – all that matters is that it
is done with passion.
Head to https://bit.ly/git518alex to watch Alex in action
with his hand tools

42 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 RAISING
THE TONE

Double Vision
Jamie Dickson compares Gibson reissues of the hallowed ’59 ’Burst
with boutique rivals and discovers just how different they can be

T
his month former Guitarist editor Neville Intrigued, Nev and I thought we’d take the chance to sit
Marten and I ventured down to World Guitars in down with both the modern, evolved take on the sound of
Stonehouse, Gloucestershire. A haven of high-end 1959 Les Pauls – as interpreted by Nik Huber through his
lutherie, the store is one of the most welcoming places to Orca ’59s – and Gibson’s own high-end reissues, which
try top-drawer PRS, Gibson, Fender and Tom Anderson set the benchmark for complete fidelity to the originals.
electrics, to name but a few premium brands it stocks. We had two examples of each: one ‘merely’ a high-end
Intriguingly, the store also has quite a few Nik Huber standard version of the model in question, and then one
electrics in at any one time, including – at the time of example that was really top of the tree in terms of craft,
writing – three quite different examples of Nik’s stunning materials and cachet.
Orca ’59 model, which takes its inspiration, quelle
surprise, from Gibson’s celebrated 1959-spec Les Paul Killer Wails
Standard. Nik Huber is no slavish copyist, however, but an Here’s what we pulled down off the rack. On the Huber
extremely skilful and distinctive luthier, so the Orca ’59 has side, we grabbed a brand-new Nik Huber Orca ’59 in Nitro
various refinements and finessed details that the original Semi-Gloss Tobacco Sunburst, plus something rather
The VOS ’59 Les Paul never had – while keeping the main ingredients intact. special: a Nik Huber World Guitars 5th Anniversary Orca
Standard and a brand-new
Gibson, for its part, is the only company who can make a ’59 Brazilian Limited, made back in 2014 to eponymously
Huber Orca ’59 were both
unimpeachably great ’59 ’Burst reissue with the right name on the headstock – mark five years in business for World Guitars. Decked
guitars that scream ‘high and that’s obviously a big deal if capturing the spirit of the out with eye-popping amounts of the coveted Brazilian
end’. But, mind-bogglingly, originals is your aim. As you’d expect, the Custom Shop is rosewood – right down to control knobs and switch tips –
they were still the
cheapest of the four we the home of Gibson’s highest-quality reissues, and World and all, of course, fully certificated, this guitar represents
tried out by some margin, Guitars stocks many fine examples of its work, ranging as high a spec in the world of boutique inspired-by-’Burst
showing that cachet, cost from very mildly aged VOS ’Bursts to Collector’s Choice single-cuts as you can really get.
and value are very much
exotica that mimics every scratch and wear mark of a In the Gibson corner, we selected a ’59 Les Paul
relative concepts, even
at the rarified top end of specific, celebrated ’Burst that is known to aficionados Standard VOS (Vintage Original Sheen – Ed) Made 2
the guitar market as a particularly good surviving original example. Measure Hand Selected Top. As our top-tier choice we
picked out what Julian White of World Guitars said was one
of the best-sounding single-cuts in the shop, a Collector’s
Choice #45A 1959 Aged Les Paul ‘Danger ‘Burst’, created
as an exact aged imitation of a specific surviving ’Burst
that rejoices in that unusual moniker.
Which would our favourite be? Would the highest-tier
guitars sound best? And would any of them match our
mental template of what a ’59 Les Paul should really be?
Without further ado, we plugged into a Matchless SC30
head and also a Fender black-panel Deluxe Reverb reissue
combo and began to compare and contrast.
Picking up the poshest of the already impeccably
turned out Hubers, we A/B’d it with the more prestigious
of the two Gibsons, the Collector’s Choice replica of the
improbably named ‘Danger Burst’, which we were told had
its brace of Custombuckers wound hotter than usual to
more closely imitate the specific guitar it is based on.

Sounds & Handling

Our first impressions were as follows. The Huber had
abundant clarity, warmth and suppleness when played
clean. Its expressive Häussel pickups were almost like
playing a guitar with extra-fat, plummy single coils. From
a tactile point of view, its impeccable satin finish and
beautifully refined details – such as the sculpted neck
joint, which permitted easier access to the higher frets
– made it seem effortlessly comfortable to play. Turning
to the ‘Danger Burst’, our impressions were also very
enjoyable but quite different. Here, we found every scratch,

44 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 Opinion

THREE TO GET READY

Lesters For Less

Epiphone 1959 Les Paul Standard £1,199

The quality of Epiphone’s revamped line of Gibson-inspired
guitars has really impressed us, and you won’t go far
wrong with this deft interpretation of the ’Burst. It comes
with Gibson Custombucker humbuckers, a nice figured
veneer on its maple top, a one-piece mahogany neck with
a fulsome ’59 neck profile, plus that authentic Gibson-style
‘open book’ headstock shape.

Epiphone Kirk Hammett ‘Greeny’

nick and ding of the character of a 70-year-old electric The Collector’s Choice 1959 Les Paul Standard £1,499
guitar faithfully replicated, compared with the Huber’s silk- ‘Danger ‘Burst’ carried If you like Epi’s 1959 Standard but crave something just a
authentic replication so far
smooth sophistication. The clean tones were decidedly as to imitate a nitro top- little bit different with Brit blues pedigree, we really liked the
on the woody and vintage side, not as crisply defined or coat blow-over that the Kirk Hammett ‘Greeny’ 1959 Les Paul Standard. Unique to
versatile, debatably, as the Huber 5th Anniversary but original guitar it is based this model are details aping the celebrated original Greeny,
on had at some point
firmly rooted in a past where Peter Green played melodies including mismatched control knobs, Grover tuners and
of haunting beauty on a Lester. special USA-made Gibson Greenybucker pickups, with the
Not for the first time, Nev and I were struck by how neck unit, of course, reverse mounted with reverse polarity
different two guitars made with broadly the same general magnets. It sounds magnificent.
ingredients can be. And that impression only grew
stronger when we added a bit of overdrive to the equation

“Not for the first time, Nev and I were struck by

how different two guitars made with broadly
the same general ingredients can be”
– now the Gibson’s woodier voice turned into beautiful
splinters of jagged, vintage growl. That 60s British blues
scene was just brought vividly and excitingly to life, exactly.
The Huber, meanwhile, was more poised and composed
and long-sustaining, almost Gilmourish. Boy, were these Epiphone Les Paul Classic £589
both great guitars. But we felt they would appeal to quite If you don’t mind not having the Gibson-style headstock and
different players, or maybe the same player in quite See all four of these a few more contemporary touches in the styling, the Epiphone
different moods. stunning guitars in action Les Paul Classic is a very solid bet, streeting for around £500,
in an exclusive video demo
Time to pick up our ‘less expensive’ pair – though, of with PAF-inspired uncovered Alnico Classic Pro humbuckers,
filmed at World Guitars on
course, in this company, that was very much a relative the day by heading over to a very comfortable SlimTaper neck and nice hardware,
term since the ’59 Les Paul Standard VOS Made 2 www.bit.ly/guitaristextra including LockTone ABR bridge and Grover tuners.

5
@e
TyǑŰŮŰųNj"e*`
T*Y`ǑǑǑ 45
 RAISING
THE TONE

Measure Hand Selected Top is currently on sale for just

over £5k. We now pitted that against the brand-new Huber
Orca ’59, which may have lacked the Brazilian rosewood
opulence of the 5th Anniversary model but lacked nothing
in hand-crafted panache.
Plugging these in, we were greeted with some very
interesting results. Firstly, the ‘standard’ Huber ’59, built
far more recently than the 5th Anniversary, seemed to
occupy a Goldilocks-like ‘just right’ mid-point between
the clarity and poise of the Huber 5th Anniversary and
the vintage charm of the ‘Danger Burst’ reissue by Gibson
Custom. It had loads of smooth, bell-like sustain but some
juicy, old-fashioned chewiness, too. The Gibson ’59 Les
Paul Standard VOS, meanwhile, was just a delight. Perhaps
not quite as woody as the ‘Danger Burst’, it just had bags
of characterful edge and snarl. It felt like everything a
really good Les Paul of any era should be: stinging, singing,
ringing. And while, cosmetically, it didn’t have the artful
battle scars of the Collector’s Choice, it felt as comfortable
as a favourite pair of worn-in jeans and played beautifully.
The level of ornamentation touch of extra vintage vibe in the sound of the newer, less
Thoughts & Conclusions and maxed-out specs on
the 5th Anniversary ’59
pricey Orca ’59 was welcome. But here’s that reality check
So what real-world conclusions were we able to draw Orca by Huber puts it way again – our ‘less expensive’ Orca is still £6,495! That’s a
from this rather gentrified dust-up between modern into the realm of modern gulp-inducing amount of dosh for a new electric guitar,
interpretations of the fabled 1959 Les Paul Standard exotica.High-cachet though we have no compunction in adding that the level of
and the faithful reissues? Well, firstly, diminishing details, opulent materials
craft and sonic performance it embodies is exceptional.
and impeccable craft
returns is a real thing. Some five grand or so separates define the upper reaches But we must also say, in enjoying these incredible guitars,
the Gibson ’59 Les Paul Standard VOS we tried, which of the electric guitar that it is not necessary to spend this much to get a nice Les
is already a very high-end guitar, and the Collector’s market. But great sounds Paul under your fingers. Epiphone’s Kirk Hammett ‘Greeny’
can be had at a more
Choice ‘Danger Burst’. For sure, the detailing on the basic level, too
1959 Les Paul Standard sounded and played absolutely
latter is insane and so evocative, as is its incredible great when we reviewed it a while back, for example, and
sound, especially when driven. But the VOS sounded that streets for just over a grand. But if beautiful lutherie,
just fabulous, too. It’s hard to conceive of anyone feeling exquisite details and small but significant incremental
disappointed by its on-paper ‘lower spec’. gains in performance are what you want, guitars at this
level are where you’ll get it – if you can afford it.
“Despite having the same classic sound as The second realisation we had is that, despite having
the same classic sound as a template, the character of the
a template, the character of the Gibsons and Gibsons and the Hubers was distinctively different. The
the Hubers was distinctively different” Gibsons really had that old-guitar vibe and mid-60s Blues
Invasion sound. The Hubers had it, too, but in a subtly
At this end of the market, top money buys forensically more contemporary and finely finessed guise. One might
aged details, incredible craft and high-cachet extras, but say they offered stellar performance with vintage roots. In
you won’t necessarily hear £5k’s worth of difference in the other words, you really would have to try both to see which
sonic performance. I thought the ‘Danger Burst’ sounded suited you best, especially at these prices. As you’d expect
best of the Gibsons, while Nev thought the VOS had the with instruments of this quality, there were no bad choices,
coolest tone. So any tonal differences between them are in only different kinds of great – but those differences could
the realm of subjectivity, not quantifiable ‘better’ or ‘worse’. mean a lot to you as an individual player.
The same is true of the Orcas. Without any kind of Above all, if you were lucky enough to be in the market
disrespect to the frankly stunning 5th Anniversary, Nev for a guitar like one of these, we’d say it’s essential to play
and I probably enjoyed the standard, new Orca ’59 just as all the guitars you like the look of plus a few you maybe
much if not slightly more. We confess we don’t know how weren’t considering. That ‘click’ moment when you
much or little Harry Häussel has evolved the construction really take to a guitar only happens by playing it, not just
of his PAF-like pickups in the years between the 5th admiring its looks or its spec from afar.
Anniversary being built and today, but we really felt the www.worldguitars.co.uk

46 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 AUDIO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra

SUBSTITUTE
...

Altered & Extended Chords

Richard Barrett explains the theory behind these kinds of chords,
and how you’ll actually use them in practice

T
erms such as ‘altered’ and ‘extended’ chords
are relatively simple to explain. Extended
chords add other notes from the scale to
the existing Root-3rd-5th triad (for example, C-E-G),
so if we add a 7th, we’d call this a major 7th chord
(C-E-G-B). We can extend up to a 13th in this way by
progressively adding in the non-chord tones of a scale
– in theory, at least. In practice, Root-3rd-5th-7th-9th-

PHOTO BY DAVID REDFERN/REDFERNS/GETTY IMAGES

11th-13th played simultaneously makes for a dense,
almost dissonant voicing. On guitar we’d struggle
because we only have six strings, plus a limited reach
and number of fingers! So we tend to omit non-
essential notes. The 5th is often the first to go, then
the 11th gets the chop in 13th chords for clarity.
Altered chords contain non-diatonic notes – that
is, notes that have been raised or lowered from their
Jimi Hendrix often used
#9 chords, along with usual place in the scale. The examples below provide
other interesting voicings further explaination!

Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4 Example 5

As a reference point, here is An altered version of the G7 Taking another chord as An altered version of the The E7(#9) is a very well-
a G7 chord. These contain a in Example 1 could be this, a a reference, here’s a C11. C11 in Example 3 could be known chord, but it’s
b 7th, which is referred to as G7( b 5). Let’s talk it through From low to high, we have: this, a C7( b 9). We’ve lost interesting to look at it from
the dominant 7th (and not from low to high: the Root (G) Root (C) - dominant 7th (B b) our 11th (F) by shifting it this perspective. If we take
considered as ‘altered’ in the is at the bottom, followed - 9th (D) - 11th (F). Again, the down to an E at the 5th fret it from low to high, we see:
theoretical sense). From low by the muted fifth string, 5th is omitted, which helps of the second string. This Root (E) - major 3rd (G#) -
to high, we have G-D-F-B-D-G. coincidentally where the with fingering on the guitar, becomes the major 3rd, so dominant 7th (D) - #9th (G).
Two roots (G), one 3rd (B) 5th (D) would also appear. but it’s also common practice there’s no need to name it If you take that G at the top
one dominant 7th (F) and Next, we have the b 7th (F) to stop chords becoming too separately. However, we do down to F#, we’re looking at
two 5ths (D). Try not to let and the major 3rd (B). All harmonically dense and hard have a D b on the third string, a regular E9 chord.
the non-linear nature of the fairly standard apart from the for our brains to decipher! a semitone below the 9th
guitar distract you from music omitted 5th. The b 5th (D b ) is from the previous C11 chord.
theory’s basic principles. where the alteration happens, This is our altered note.
on the second string.

G7 G7(b5) C11 C7(b9) E7(#9)

5-
6- 6-

E A D G B E E A D G B E E A D G B E E A D G B E E A D G B E

48 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 FEEDBACK
...

Feedback
Your letters to the Guitarist editor.
Drop us a line at guitarist@futurenet.com

JUNIOR HIGH course, by high-profile artists such as Billy Joe

Armstrong and Joan Jett proudly taking them to
Thank you for your absolutely outstanding feature the stage – is in itself a wondrous thing.
celebrating 70 years of the Gibson Les Paul Junior. Perhaps most importantly, Barrie Cadogan’s
I have to confess that I have ashamedly dismissed video demo of Rory Gallagher’s gems beautifully
this guitar throughout my 35 years of playing, presented how great these guitars can sound.
largely due to the fact that I had always felt that Safe to say this feature has allowed me to set aside
this particular style of Les Paul simply didn’t look my shallow preconceptions and to give the Junior
very nice. However, your article encouraged me to the respect it deserves.
look beyond the aesthetics and to really appreciate Craig Isherwood
When it comes to the
what this fine instrument has to offer. Additionally,
Gibson Les Paul Junior,
the power of simplicity is what this instrument has done to inspire the next Thanks Craig, we’re delighted we helped you see the
not to be understated generation to learn the guitar – supported, of light with Juniors! Their simplicity is deceptive as Barrie
demonstrated so beautifully, and they really invite us
to embrace great core sounds and focus on expressing
ourselves. As many great players have observed, creativity
STAR LETTER thrives on the right kind of limitations; if we only have one
exquisite tone to work with, that will still be more inspiring
EASTERN PROMISE than 20 mediocre ones.

I would like to suggest an article about the era of really good Japanese knock-offs. DESIGN FOR LIFE
I started out as a guitar player in the late 80s and, like everybody else, I longed for
real USA-made Gibsons and Fenders, although I had already heard rumours about It was great reading the Star Letter from 11-year-old
Japanese Ibanez, Fender, Tokai and Fernandes copies that were at least as good. Declan Wells in last month’s Guitarist and how he has
Over the years I’ve owned a 70s USA-made Les Paul Custom, an SG Standard, such a great passion for guitars. I am an old man of
a 90s USA Fender Stratocaster and a heavily modified 70s Telecaster Deluxe. 77 who started playing at the age of 14 and whose
These guitars weren’t all that good and are gone now. passion for the instrument is still as strong as ever.
I started collecting some Japanese copies that are at least as good as real ones: I first began playing in bands in 1964 when amateur
a really outstanding 1984 Squier JV Stratocaster that I bought cheap in 1991, a beat groups were such a big thing. Back then in
1985 Yamaha Lord Player LP Standard copy that stays in tune far better than my London, and in many other big cities, loads of pubs
old, real 70s LP and plays and sounds at least as nice, and a 1978 Custom Les Paul would have beat groups playing each weekend. The
special with P-90s, set neck and mahogany body. All very well made and sounding money was pretty poor, but playing regularly for two
guitars. Earlier this year I got myself a 90s Japanese Fender Telecaster. These or more hours was a great training ground for would-
copies are getting quite rare now and some have become really expensive, like the be musicians. In the late 60s and into the 70s I turned
Squier JV series Strats and Teles or the Tokai Reborn LP copies. Maybe Guitarist professional and was fortunate to play in bands that
could shed some light on the era of great Japanese copies of the 80s? played support to some big acts of the day.
Peter Urbanus Now, after all these years, I still take my guitar along
to small local folk clubs a couple of times a month
Thanks Peter, you’re in luck – we have a major feature on this subject coming and play. I also play banjo, mandolin and autoharp,
very soon. We find Japanese guitars a fascinating subject, too, not least because and as much as I love these instruments they cannot
the quality-to-price balance of these guitars has always been very attractive. be so readily adaptable to so many different genres
There is also the mystique of the guitars made just for the Japanese market, the of music as the guitar. Playing the guitar is indeed
whole era of the ‘Lawsuit’ guitars, shred’s pointed emergence and much more. a most addictive yet pleasurable way of life.
Dennis Homes

Thanks Dennis, everything you’ve written is really the soul

Each issue, the Star Letter will of what is most enjoyable and life-enhancing about guitar:
win a pair of Vox VGH AC30 ‘making music with our friends’, to paraphrase Willie Nelson.
guitar amplifier headphones! Even regular jam sessions with pals just give full purpose to
www.voxamps.com the guitars we love and, as you say, it is a well of happiness
we can draw upon for life.

Send Your letters to the Guitarist editor. Drop us a line at guitarist@futurenet.com

50 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 You could be prising open a package containing a whole haul of
Gibson goodies if you can answer our cunning question…
f you’ve ever paid a visit to the Gibson Garage

I London, at 61 to 62 Eastcastle St, W1W 8NQ (and

if you haven’t, you really should add it to your
to-do list), you’ll have noticed that not only does it
have walls full of excruciatingly lovely guitars, there is
also a fine range of guitarist-friendly accessories, too.

WORTH
And this issue we’ve got a selection to give away to
one lucky winner, who will receive the following:

£432 IN
Gibson Vintage Original Instrument Cable (20ft)
Handcrafted Wooden Stand
The Montana strap

TOTAL! Coated Phosphor Bronze Acoustic strings

Vintage Reissue Electric guitar strings
Guitar Care Kit
Mobile Tech Tool Kit

All you have to do in order to be in the running for

the big prize is head to the link below and answer our
brain teaser. It’s as simple as that. Good luck!

Who was the inventor of Gibson’s

celebrated humbucking pickup?

A) Hugh Liker
B) Seth Lover
C) Chas Fonder

CLOSING DATE: 3 FEBRUARY 2025

Make sure you enter before the closing date at
http://bit.ly/git519gibson
GOOD LUCK!

Terms and conditions: By taking part you agree to be bound by these terms and
the competition rules at https://www.futureplc.com/competition-rules/. The
opening date for entries is 00:00 (UK Time) on 30 November 2024 and will close at
23:59 (UK Time) on to 3 February 2025. The competition is free to enter and entries
must be submitted via http://bit.ly/git519gibson. Late or incomplete entries will
be disqualified. Entries are limited to one per individual. Open to all UK residents
aged 18 and over, except employees of Future Publishing Limited (“Future”) and
any party involved in the competition. There will be one winner entitled to the
featured items and selected at random. The winner will be randomly drawn from
all valid entries received and shall be notified by Future by email or telephone
within 14 days of the closing date. Upon notification the winner will be required
to supply details of a UK delivery address. If a winner has not responded after two
weeks of being notified that they are a winner, an alternative winner will be drawn.
The prize is non-transferable and non-refundable. There is no cash alternative.

52 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

PHOTO BY ALEX BROWN INTERVIEW
Orianthi
 Orianthii INTERVIEW

Orianthi
The former guitarist for Michael Jackson and Alice Cooper
has survived the trials and tribulations of the pop industry,
emerging with a new energy and sound that honours
her true inspirations and talents

Words Andrew Daly

O
rianthi is busy as hell. She’s riding high by Kevin Shirley, and the second, an Eddie Kramer-
after her last two records – 2020’s O produced jam-meets-psych record with drummer
and 2022’s Rock Candy – showed the Cindy Blackman Santana and bassist Rhonda Smith;
world that she’s not only a great singer the latter album is another animal altogether.
and performer but a rip-roarin’ titan As for how she balances it all, she says: “Gratitude
on guitar, too. It wasn’t always that way, though, not is very important. So many successful people are
that people knew any better. Had the music industry miserable and, honestly, I wasn’t enjoying myself at
had its way, Orianthi – who had a massive pop hit with the beginning. I was very unhappy, alone and upset.
her 2009 single According To You – would have been I was constantly going, ‘I’m not good enough. I need
chewed up and spat out. But that’s not how it went people to help me.’”
down. And the best part is that now it’s Ori’s way or But it’s not like that any more. “Everything we
the highway. need is within ourselves,” she says. “Taking the time
“I’ve been through a lot in this industry,” she tells to find it is part of your journey as a human. I’m very
Guitarist. “I really have [sighs]. I manage myself; I’m into the spiritual realm because everything has an
doing business 24/7. I have an incredible team around energy around it that resonates. And when you hear
me, but, ultimately, I make the final decisions. In the it, that moves you.”
beginning, being signed in such a big situation and Few have been able to wrench themselves from
having a whole circus around me… To be honest, as I’ve the clutches of pop stardom and pivot toward halcyon
gotten older, I’ve realised that life is short, and every guitar infamy, but Orianthi has. And yet she’s chill
day when you wake up do something a little different.” about it, aiming to be a positive force for others, rather
Orianthi has gone from topping the pop charts to than leading with an ego.
integrating herself deeply within the blues, rock and “You can be a [woman] in this industry and be
guitar spaces. From the outside looking in, her rise and successful,” she says. “I learned from guys, but my
subsequent pivot seemed easy – but it wasn’t. “I hate whole thing is it doesn’t matter if you love playing. You
the music business,” she insists. “But I love music. just play, right? If you dedicate your time to what you
God, I love it so much.” love, it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female. That’s
Which is why Ori is recording not one but two really important. It’s about being your own person,
records. The first, a blues-rock-leaning affair produced going with it and being authentic.”

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INTERVIEW Orianthi

1. Orianthi has You’ve dialled in your sound over your last couple of of people. We’ve moulded our own sound with Eddie
recently hit the records. What’s been the key to that? Kramer. It’s an honour to record with him and I’m
studio with two
legendary producers,
“I’m trying to get better. I’ve never stopped learning excited for everyone to hear. We’re nearly done with
Kevin Shirley and and want to be a better guitar player. I also want to be that record – so it’s two.”
Eddie Kramer, for a better singer and songwriter because everyone has
forthcoming – and their own mind, fingerprint and journey. There were How has Eddie impacted you as a guitarist?
contrasting – album
releases in 2025 quite a few records where I was told the parameters, “He’s a legend, incredible, and he definitely has brought
like, ‘This is what you have to do. You have to make a out something that other producers haven’t with
2. The new signature heavy record,’ or ‘You have to make a pop record.’ his energy alone. Eddie focuses on getting the right
Oriverb from
Orange Amps is “I was told what to do, but I wanted to play guitar. microphone placement and works his magic. He’s
a twin-channel, There’s freedom in that. You learn that there’s people always twiddling around with the knobs in the studio
dual-EL34 powered out there that you’ll find who think they own you… but and getting the right compression and settings. It’s very
2x12 valve combo,
with lightweight
the label I’m working with now [Woodward Avenue old-school and interesting. I love watching Eddie in the
neodymium Celestion Records] truly believes in me as an artist.” studio when he’s panning and doing wild shit. We did
Creamback speakers. a 25-minute jam, which will be on the record, and he
It was designed in Are your two latest tracks, First Time Blues and Ghost, had to mix that. He was sweating afterward! We go off
collaboration with
Orange’s Pat Foley indicators of where you’re going? on these tangents. I don’t know… we’re on some weird
“Yes. And soon we’re putting out Some Kind Of Feeling frequency where we cut it and it was just wild. And
[available now], which is quite different. I wrote Eddie, because I’m such a huge Hendrix fan, I respect
Some Kind Of Feeling a while ago on acoustic and it’s him so much. He suggests things like, ‘Why don’t you
got a soul kind of feel. People might think it’s quite a try this amplifier, this setting, this pedal or this guitar?’
departure, but I figured, ‘You know what? I put out I’ll try whatever he calls for, you know? My heart
enough heartbreak songs. Why not put out a happy is open. Being in the studio with Eddie Kramer and
song to manifest some good shit?’ Kevin is an honour.”
“I don’t want to be a person who only writes songs
about a horrible relationship. This is about love, How does working with Kevin Shirley compare?
connection, what music does and what somebody can “He gets such a great sound and incredible guitar
do when they come into your life. It can be love, a friend tones. We’ll do takes until I get it right, and it’s just very
or a person… It’s just about feeling good. Life is all about inspiring. Kevin does things a different way. The way he
connections for me, and this song represents that. mics things up and goes through things with me, like,
I really dig the new vibe… it’s really different.” ‘Yeah, this guitar didn’t work too bad,’ or ‘Maybe we’ll
try this at this part,’ it’s really wonderful. I’m grateful to
It’s part of a larger album you’re working on with have them both on these records coming out next year.”
Kevin Shirley. But you’re also working on another
album with Eddie Kramer. Is there a throughline between the two projects?
“So [I] self-produced First Time Blues and Ghost; the “With Eddie, I kind of got into the psychedelic realm
rest of the album is produced by Kevin Shirley. He’s a of my childhood from when I was 14 or 15, when I
master, he’s freakin’ great. My solo album is coming out, was just sitting in my room, listening to Hendrix
and Kevin and I are producing it. and experimenting. With Eddie, there’s a lot more
“The second record I’m doing is a side project, a searching – and with Kevin, it’s more structured in
supergroup with Cindy Blackman Santana and Rhonda how I approach the solos. Is that intentional? Well, it’s
Smith. It’s a three-piece, like a Band Of Gypsys vibe but structured with both but wildly structured with Eddie.
the tunes are commercial and we hope to reach a lot I want the sounds to be different. I don’t want people

1 2
PHOTO BY SEBASTIAN GARCIA COURTESY OF ORANGE

PHOTO COURTESY OF ORANGE

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 Orianthi
Or INTERVIEW
W

to go, ‘Yeah, this group project sounds the same as her

solo album,’ you know? I don’t want people to say, ‘Oh,
her guitar playing always sounds the same.’ I want to be
inspired differently, so the energy is different.”

There’s been significant progression across your

records. Was there a moment when you felt you’d
finally found yourself as a guitarist?
“We’re constantly evolving as humans. I’m constantly
evolving as a guitar player. I have a fingerprint of the
way I play, which is maybe a mix of Carlos Santana
meets Stevie Ray Vaughan meets Gary Moore and
whatever else. I put all my influences in, but at the end
of the day, I like to experiment. I don’t consider myself
to be just a singer, or just a guitarist, or just this or that,
you know? It’s all of those things. It’s always evolving
and I hope that when I’m much older, I can go, ‘Man,
that record, I’m really proud of that.’”

“Being a pop artist and having people say

you’re not good enough is pretty messed
up… Being authentic is very important”
Are you getting that vibe from the music you’re
making now?
“These next two, honestly, I feel they’re the best
ones I’ve made in my career. It feels like there’s more
3. The new Oriverb freedom and I’m putting less pressure on myself.
looks to the sound of
a rare Dumble amp
I just want to be remembered as an artist who inspired
that Orianthi had the people with every song. And I don’t want to bore
pleasure of playing myself, either, because I get bored easily [laughs],
in the company so it’s an open-minded approach.”
of its creator, plus
iconic Marshall and
Fender-style tones. Are there certain guitars that lead to that
Meanwhile, her PRS open-mindedness?
signature remains
by her side. “The
“Absolutely! I’ve gotten into a habit – or a good habit,
sound of PRS is like depending on how you look at it – of buying vintage
a Ferrari,” she says. guitars. I love my ’63 Strat, which I use a lot. I’ve got
“It’s a smooth guitar a ’61 Tele, which I use a lot, and I have my 1962 ES-335,
and everything just
works. They’re pieces which I just got, and I’ve absolutely fallen in love
of art, too” with that guitar!
PHOTO COURTESY OF ORANGE

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INTERVIEW Orianthi

“I love older guitars because they hold different

energy. They’re all personalities and I like to surround
myself with them. My house is literally crystals, guitars,
amplifiers, Buddhas and cats. It’s very eccentric there
[laughs]. But yeah, vintage guitars can be like spiritual
healers. It’s so interesting.”

What got you into vintage guitars?

“When you hit a chord on one, it’s like a grand piano or
something. I just love recording with them because you
just hit a chord, like with this 1800s parlour guitar I have,
it just sounds different. It’s warmer, though tuning is a
pain in the ass [laughs]. I don’t like taking it on the road.
“I don’t think that [vintage guitars] should be out on
the road. They shouldn’t be workhorses because they’ve
already been workhorses for many, many years since
they’re vintage. So, for me, they’re best used in the
studio. But it’s fun… I work really hard and spend my
money on some guitars that I feel are right.”

PHOTO BY SCOTT DUDELSON/GETTY IMAGES

And the vintage gear is very different from your
signature PRS model.
“PRS has been incredibly supportive since I was young.
I have my signature models, the purple one, my main one,
and now I have a white one, my second main one. I use
those a lot because they have all the elements… the sound
of PRS is like a Ferrari. It’s a very smooth guitar and
everything just works. It’s sort of a combination of Fender 4
and Gibson together, and they’re pieces of art, too.”

“We’re constantly evolving as humans. years. Being a pop artist and having people saying you’re
not good enough is pretty messed up. Half the shit that
I’m constantly evolving as a guitar goes down, supposedly needing a songwriter, being told
you can’t write a hit song or you’re not thin enough… It’s
player… I like to experiment” crazy. You’re never good enough, need media training,
and are told all this crazy shit until you say, ‘What the
Elsewhere, you’ve got a new signature amp with fuck?’ We’re all individuals who should be celebrated
Orange, the Oriverb. in different ways. Now, I’ve learned that being who you
“That amp took a couple of years to make. Pat Foley, are and being authentic is very important.”
one of my very dear friends, and I designed it together.
We went back and forth to dial it in. People think, ‘Oh, You easily could have been swallowed up by the
it’s just another Rockerverb combo, but it’s white.’ But machine, but you weren’t. That’s also something
we’ve changed a lot of things, from the speakers to the to be proud of.
tubes to the reverb and the distortion. You can really “It’s not easy. When you come out as a pop artist
push it like a vintage amp. It will be out soon, and for and you go, ‘I actually grew up listening to Hendrix,
the price [it streets around £2,399], you can’t find such Santana and the blues,’ people say, ‘Wait a second… no,
a rich-sounding and full reverb.” you’re a pop singer.’ They frown upon it – you know,
the blues community, the purists, or whatever they
Did you model the Oriverb after vintage amps? call themselves. It’s like, ‘What’s she doing here?’”
“Absolutely. I had the honour of sitting with Alexander
Dumble long ago when he was alive. I went to his home, Do you feel more accepted now?
plugged into all his amps, and he let me play the first “The last couple of years, with the new sound, I’ve been
amp that he ever made. I never forgot the sound of that more accepted where people say, ‘Okay, cool. She’s
amp. So it’s got a bit of Dumble sound mixed with an old ventured off now.’ As scary as that can be – because
Marshall and a Fender Twin. It’s got a sound that cuts people expect a certain thing and you don’t want to lose
through and has high-end when you bring up the mids the audience. The main thing is to feel good and have
and the treble. But, ultimately, it’s warm-sounding and 4. Orianthi recently a positive message. Life is colourful. I’m self-managed,
well rounded.” added this 1962 so every day I wake up and deal with 101 things. It’s a
ES-335 to her growing lot, but I work hard to pay my spiritual healers to keep
collection of vintage
When you reflect on your journey, from where you guitars – and she’s
myself sane in this business [laughs].”
started to where you are now, what sticks out most? made an exception to
“God… I don’t know. I don’t get proud of anything. Just her rule of keeping her
Orianthi’s Some Kind Of Feeling single is
standing up for myself more, saying, ‘This is how I feel vintage instruments
strictly in the studio available now via Woodward Avenue Records.
as an artist and this is what I want to do.’ You get beaten by taking this ‘new’ For more news and info, head to the website
down when you’re in the pop world. I did that for many addition out on stage www.orianthi.me

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 OF THE

The greatest tones from 12 months of testing

and digesting all that’s great in guitar in 2024
Words Jamie Dickson Photography
g p y Olly
y Curtis

I
t’s been one of those years where you feel a shift in
the tide of guitar culture. And tides don’t generally
change violently but simply flow or ebb until you
turn round and realise a new vista has been revealed
by the change in the waters. Over the past 12 months of
reviewing gear in Guitarist, we’ve seen the past and the
future united with more harmony than before in guitars
such as the Powers Electric A-Type on this very page
but also in deftly designed pedals such as the J Rockett
Airchild that capture the spirit of classic gear in a sharp,
compact and usable form.
As always, our Gear Of The Year contenders have been
drawn from the ranks of guitars, amps and effects that
won either a Guitarist Choice Award or the coveted 10/10
Gold Award. So if you find a piece of gear in the following
pages, you know it’s passed our most rigorous scrutiny
and emerged a worthy winner in the tone stakes. From
affordable entry-level electrics to must-have mods, we
hope our victors in this year’s Guitarist Gear Of The Year
edition will bring new sounds and inspirations to your
own music making. So, without further ado, it’s time
to name the champs...

60
0 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025
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 GEAR
OF THE

YEAR

MAINSTREAM ELECTRICS
A quartet of gig-ready workhorses that won’t break the bank
Words: Dave Burrluck

Vintage REVO Series Trio PJD St John Apprentice

While most brands seem to be introducing individual models York-based maker PJD Guitars has built an enviable reputation
and small collections, Vintage started the year with a whopping for its highly competent yet very affordable Standard range
15 new REVO Series designs. Among the diverse range, all models, which start at £1,200 – far from expensive for a
designed by industry veteran Alan Entwistle (also behind the UK-made instrument. The new 2024-spec Apprentice (available
Rapier brand), is one of the more original T-inspired builds direct from PJD only) uses the same offset obeche body and
we’ve seen. We get a lightweight okoume body and, as the maple bolt-on neck as the Standard version, but just comes
name suggests, three Entwistle J90A single coils with a pair hardtail with a single hand-wound PJD Wadfather humbucker
of three-way lever pickup-selector switches – oh, and an offset and volume control. It’s also available in the single-cut
vibrato! We said: “As a Jazzmaster in Tele dress, it’s light in Carey outline: simply superb craft that includes a Plek setup.
weight, has very evocative sounds and a super-smooth vibrato.” We said: “This isn’t a guitar where you want to sweat the
Boutique in concept, bargain in price. specs and details. It just needs a stage.”
Price: £449 Website: www.vintageguitarsrus.com Price: £899 Website: www.pjdguitars.com

MY YEAR IN GEAR

Unexpected Delay by Jamie Dickson

“This year I finally completed my longstanding
quest to find the perfect delay pedal for my ’board.
I’m a fan of darker-sounding digital and chewy
analogue delays – nothing too pristine for me.
But I also really wanted a delay that could go into momentary
self-oscillation (those crazy cascades of ever-more-intense
repeats) and that had modulation, tap tempo and also let you
set the note value of the delay. Oh, and I also wanted it to be the
same size as a normal compact pedal!
“Well, I’m pleased to say I found a pedal that could do all
that: the Crazy Tube Circuits TI:ME. It sounds and works exactly
Chapman Law Maker Legacy as I wanted – so well, in fact, that it took me ages to realise
they’d omitted a dedicated knob for setting the time value. In
2024 saw a complete rejig of Chapman’s expansive range and a
other words you use the tap
move to the Harmony Musical Instrument factory in India. So
tempo for everything in that
what? Well, it’s all about quality, and this Law Maker Legacy
department. I actually find
(also available as a baritone) features an Indian rosewood
this totally fine. But could you
’board and neck, plus the hardtail T-style also has a Seymour
live with that compromise
Duncan Alternative 8 Trembucker at the bridge and Little ’59
to fit in all the other stuff?
humbucker at the neck. We said: “Sound-wise, it might be voiced
If not, what would you leave
for gain, but the split-coil options on the five-way add some
PHOTO BY PHIL BARKER

off instead? Either way, it’s

cleaner-aimed sounds, and there are plenty of lower-powered
a fab pedal and I expect it to
pickups that can be easily swapped in. A pretty resonant, lively
stay on the ’board for a very
instrument that could be taken in numerous directions.”
long time.”
Price: £1,099 Website: www.chapmanguitars.co.uk

62 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 PRS SE CE 24 Standard Satin
With PRS just shy of its 40th anniversary in 2025, it’s been the with standard SE gigbag. Like the original CE – which dates back
company’s SE line that has grabbed the headlines this year. For over to PRS’s very early years – we get a 24-fret, 635mm (25-inch) scale
two decades now the SEs have been lauded as the ‘affordable’ PRS bolt-on maple neck, here with the Wide Thin profile. Meanwhile,
guitars, but this satin version of the only-just-released gloss SE CE the hardware is the same that’s used on other SEs, and PRS’s USA S2
24 has to be under-priced in anyone’s book. In PRS terminology, and Bolt-On models, and includes the well tried-and-tested all-steel
‘Standard’ refers to an all-mahogany body, and that’s what we have PRS-designed vibrato. It’s a simple drive with dual PRS 85/15 ‘S’
here, originally launched in three colours with three more metallic humbuckers that can be split via the pull-switch tone control.
colours added recently, such as our pictured Ice Blue Metallic. We said: “For any player, at any level, needing to cover a lot of
Crafted by PRS’s manufacturing partner Cor-Tek in Indonesia, sounds, this really takes some beating: the pared-down essence of
our original review sample was gig-ready from the off, complete PRS, if you like, and a guitar we really can’t fault.”
Priice: £499 Webs
bsite
ite:: www.prsguitars.com
 GEAR
OF THE

YEAR

MAINSTREAM ELECTRICS
Classic shapes upgraded for the modern musician
Words: Dave Burrluck

Fender Vintera II ’50s Jazzmaster Yamaha Pacifica Standard Plus PACS+12M

Once upon a time, the Fender offset was a much-derided guitar, Hey, it’s Yamaha, a brand that won’t be hurried and certainly
but you don’t need us to tell you it’s had quite a resurgence in doesn’t introduce anything that isn’t pretty perfect. The
popularity in recent years – and that’s an understatement! long-running Pacifica – one of the world’s best-selling guitars
Refreshed at the end of 2023, the Mexican-made Vintera II line ever – finally got a makeover for this year. But there wasn’t a
focuses on vintage specs, so expect a small-radius ’board and huge new range, just two models: the Professional, made in
small-gauge fretwire. But with its vintage-style 50s single-coil Japan, and this knockout Indonesian version that’s virtually
Jazzmaster pickups, not to mention the original-style dual identical and pretty much £1k less expensive. With plenty
control circuits, this is a blast from the past that looks, plays of Yamaha hi-tech in its design, the body uses the brand’s
and sounds the part without vintage issues or price. We said: Acoustic Design Technology, and there are also the superb-
“There’s a reason why this guitar has eventually become quite sounding Reflectone single coils designed in collaboration with
a classic.” And, for many, that vibrato is still the best! Rupert Neve Designs. Yes, it’s a super-S but definitely one to try.
Price: £1,099 Website: www.fender.com Price: £1,259 Website: http://uk.yamaha.com

I LEARNED FROM THAT

Power Of One by David Mead

“In the past 33 years of writing for guitar mags
I must have interviewed dozens of players from
the 60s and 70s who have all told me that the
idea of having a ‘guitar collection’ as such was an
absurdity back then. Very few players could afford more than,
at best, a main guitar, perhaps a spare and maybe an acoustic,
but that was it. Your guitar was your instrument, and if there
was anything about it you didn’t get on with, you simply sold it
and bought something else.
“I now know many players who have amassed quite an
assemblage of guitars and I wonder whether a lot of the time
Manson Verona Junior it’s difficult to see the wood for the trees. There have been many
days where option anxiety ruled the room and rather than adjust
The Manson brand goes back to the early days of the British
my technique I’ve spent way
guitar industry and is now co-owned by Muse main-man Matt
too long selecting ‘the right
Bellamy. And while the small Ashburton-based team builds
tool for the job’. Perhaps
plenty of other-worldly axes for Matt, this single-pickup
pouring all of our efforts into
Junior (also available in the single-cut MA outline) is aimed
a single instrument and not
at no-nonsense rockers of any level. Aside from a superb
convincing ourselves that
ultra-lightweight build (solid obeche body and bolt-on maple
‘it would sound much better
neck) and pro-level setup and stability, the ‘hot PAF’ Manson
PHOTO BY NEIL GODWIN

on my Les Paul’ would make

Dirty Rascal (with its series/parallel ‘Mojo’ push-push switched
us all more focused and,
volume control) is quite the rock all-rounder. It comes with
dare I say it, better players?
a kill-switch, too, and a Mono gigbag. Stupidly good.
Certainly food for thought.”
Price: £1,399 Website: www.mansonguitarworks.com

64 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 Gibson Les Paul Studio
Along with pulling in a constant stream of limited rockstar models, But this new 2024 model might change that: it’s one of the most fit-
with prices to match, Gibson hasn’t forgotten the practising and for-purpose lower-end ’Pauls, not least that it employs proper cream
working musician. Earlier in the year, the wraps came off the binding to the neck and comes with a pair of covered Burstbucker
new satin-finished Modern Studio, followed by the all-gloss, less Pros (with Gibson’s coil-taps). Our sample was well weighted, too,
expensive Studio that we have on review in this issue (see page 98). thanks primarily to its Ultra Modern weight relief, and perfectly
And before the year is out there will be a third sub-£2k Studio, too! set up with excellent tuning stability.
For many of us, the Studio was always the gateway Les Paul: It’s a lot more guitar for the money than the thinner-bodied, all-
good enough until you could afford the higher levels. Typically mahogany Modern Lite, too, which is only £100 less expensive. The
unbound (both body and neck), the Studio nonetheless always price includes the new Gibson soft-shell case and, seriously, if you
sounded the part and, of course, has become a modder’s favourite. want the real thing without taking out a mortgage, here it is!
Pri
r ce: £1,599 Web
We sit
ite:
e:: www.gibson.com
 GEAR
OF THE

YEAR

MAINSTREAM ELECTRICS
Update your arsenal with one of these show-stopping six-strings
Words: Dave Burrluck

Epiphone Inspired By Gibson PRS S2 Vela Satin

Custom 1963 Firebird V The S2 models were first introduced in 2013, and while they’re
It’s the sort of collaboration that warms the cockles of our (not a little lost between PRS’s Core-level USA builds and the
exactly loaded) hearts. A pukka Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V getting-better-by-the-day Indonesian-made SE models, these
will cost you close to £6k, but this Epiphone version – which guitars are made in PRS’s US factory but use ‘offshore’ parts
comes in either Ember Red or Frost Blue – sails close to that and a simplified production path. For this year, though, PRS has
wind with its very well-detailed build, including that classic swapped out the ‘S’ series pickups for the USA-made versions,
nine-ply mahogany/walnut through neck, banjo-style tuners, and with a DS-01 humbucker at the bridge and Narrowfield at
Maestro Vibrola and Gibson USA Firebird mini-humbuckers. the neck this unique offset design is a knockout. We said: “Any
Forget those cheapo Epis of old; we concluded this is “a fabulous guitar maker anywhere in the world needs to check out the
beast”. Our only dilemma is whether we should go with the craft here. 40 years on, PRS is still setting standards that other
single-pickup Firebird I or this twin-pickup beaut. brands would do well to study very closely.”
Price: £1,699 Website: www.epiphone.com Price: £1,925 Website: www.prsguitars.com

MOD SQUAD

Making Mischief by Dave Burrluck

“What’s the best humbucker of 2024? Now, that
would be a long list. But one of my favourites
comes from Devon-based Manson Guitar Works
and was conceived for its start-up, UK-made
Junior models (see page 64). The company’s in-house-wound
mini-range already includes the well-proven PF-1 Matt Bellamy
Signature and the Benchmark PAF-alike, while the new Dirty
Rascal sits in between, based on the classic PAF design but
‘with an added little bit more of everything’, says Manson. ‘Our
vintage-wiring, cast Alnico V magnets, US high-carbon steel
slugs and screws give this pickup an extra bit of sparkle at
Fender 70th Anniversary American the top-end, spikier mids and meatier lows, meaning its 9.5k
Professional II Stratocaster output retains classiness but with some added fight.’
“But that Junior also comes with
Fair play to Fender. 70 years after the party started, the brand
Manson’s push-push switched Mojo
can still knock it out of the park with guitars like this. Not only
volume control, which – instead
did reviewer Neville Marten fall for its charms, in a special video
of offering a standard coil-split –
comparison it held its own against opponents from the 50s, 60s
allows the pickup to run in standard
and 70s, as well as from Fender’s Custom Shop. Well-chosen
series, and the overlooked parallel
upgrades include the two-post vibrato, position voiced V-Mod
linkage for a cleaner, brighter but
II single coils, the ‘seven sound’ mod, a 241mm (9.5-inch) radius
still hum-cancelling option. It’s a
PHOTO BY OLLY CURTIS

’board with tall narrow frets, and maple body cap. We said: “It’s
great reminder of a very usable
a refinement of Leo’s original proposition in every respect… It
dual-voicing for any four-conductor
sounds incredible, plays beautifully and looks a million dollars.”
humbucker: a Dirty Rascal, indeed!”
Price: £1,989 Website: www.fender.com

66 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 Gordon Smith Grande
It might be Gordon Smith’s 50th Anniversary year, but it’s also (24.625-inch) scale, solid obeche body, mahogany set-neck and
probably been one of the company’s busiest yet with a large-scale 305mm (12-inch) radius ebony fingerboard. Powering comes from a
factory move, not to mention a number of new designs. And while pair of new design in-house Partingtone humbuckers (the original
we’ll get to celebrate that significant anniversary properly next year, GS factory was in Partington, Greater Manchester) that give some
one of our 2024 highlights was this exquisite new Grande. pretty classic sounds, not least with the coil-splits. But it’s far from a
Original design is never an easy thing to pull off, but this latest throwback with subtle modern features such as stainless-steel frets
solidbody achieves the familiar-but-original style that sums up and that body-end spoke-wheel truss rod adjuster – it is 2024, after
Gordon Smith’s recent introductions such as the offset Gatsby. all! We said: “Not only is the Grande a smartly made model, it’s got
There’s a little family resemblance here, but in its Launch Edition a lovely old-world charm about it. Its nicely rootsy jazz/blues voice
specification the Grande is hardtail, with its short 625.5mm works effortlessly for classic rock and beyond.”
Price:
Pri e £1,999 Web
bsit
site:
e: www.gordonsmithguitars.com
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YEAR

PRESTIGE ELECTRICS
This is the view from the top – and these fine examples deserve your attention
Words: Dave Burrluck

PJD Carey Elite Nik Huber Krautster III

Having rejigged its model line-up with the high-quality but Not only is Nik Huber one of the founders of the modern
very affordable Standard range, PJD Guitars opened the doors boutique-level guitar-making world, but his designs have
to its Custom Shop earlier in the year. Here, as founder Leigh been hugely influential to other makers – and the Krautster is
Dovey put it, “we can have some fun”. We guarantee you will, case in point. Originally offered only in a single-cut outline,
too, because this up-spec version of the Carey Standard model the Krautster III puts the ingredients into Huber’s own-
adds a little posh in the form of the strongly figured roasted design Dolphin shape, adding a little Tele-like style. It’s
maple neck and body cap while retaining the vibey light weight perfectly crafted with a flamed maple neck to die for and crisp
of the company’s original models with a chambered ‘old growth’ detailed sounds from the Häussel-made humbuckers. We said:
mahogany body. The York-based brand is now also winding its “A superbly crafted, lightweight solidbody with a beautifully
pickups in-house, which give this Carey a real journeyman, shaped ‘big’ neck, expansive sounds and very well-dialled-in
classic and versatile voice. Don’t miss these! control circuit, and a lived-in feel and appearance.”
Price: £3,199 Website: www.pjdguitars.com Price: £3,940 Website: www.nikhuber-guitars.com

MY YEAR IN GEAR

PRS, Boogie, Taylor by Neville Marten

“For a while I’d been hankering for a PRS and
found a River Blue, Wood Library, Custom 24
with a fabulous top and highly figured maple
neck. It looked incredible. I took it home, used
it on a couple of gigs, but I realised it just wasn’t me. So
I traded it back and I took a Boogie Mark I reissue with Mesa
EV Thiele cabinet in part-ex. But the cab was heavy, so Paul at
Zilla Cabs kindly built it into a Boogie-sized combo cabinet for
me with a lightweight neodymium speaker, and covered it
in vintage cream. Although I’ve yet to use it in anger, it’s
currently my review test amp and I love it.
Patrick James Eggle Rob Harris Signature “Finally, this year Marty
Wilde gifted me a fabulous
A big name in the elite high end of the guitar-making world,
Taylor as my ‘long service
Patrick James Eggle needs little introduction. And although
medal’. He specially ordered
this signature collaboration with Jamiroquai guitarist
it in 1995 after seeing my
Rob Harris took a little while to get to us, it was easily worth
912c with its highly inlaid
the wait. “The perfect all-rounder for any guitarist looking
neck. He loved that, but it
for a mix of killer single-coil and humbucker tones,” we wrote
was way too small for his 6ft
in our review – and those pickups were wound by rising star
4in frame. Inside, it simply
Stuart Robson at Sunbear Pickups here in the UK. We said:
says ‘Jumbo Custom’. It’s
“That it’s built to a standard that few can come close to is
a lovely thing that sounds
the icing on a pretty formidable cake. And for a grand under
beautiful and looks stunning.
a Fender Custom Shop Strat. C’mon!”
Thank you, Marty!”
Price: £3,499 Website: www.eggle.co.uk

68 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 Powers Electric A-Type
When we saw that Taylor Guitars’ master designer Andy Powers was gives an almost acoustic-guitar-like feel, while virtually every piece
moonlighting, we were intrigued. After we’d spent a few weeks with of hardware (tuners excepted) have been crafted in-house. The
the A-Type, we were bowled over. In these days of inspired-by or Camtail vibrato turns a Bigbsy into a smooth-feeling, very in-tune
frankly blatant copies constituting ‘new’ design, the A-Type stands unit, and the PF42 single coils – also inspired by Paul Bigsby – provide
out as a beacon of innovative thought. the well-tuned voicing of an extremely stable instrument.
Inspired by Andy’s SoCal upbringing, the A-Type isn’t just a different We said: “The A-Type is one of the most detailed and considered
shape in some natty car colours. It’s actually a ‘trussed’ hollowbody new-design guitars we’ve had in our hands for a considerable time…
design – using an Urban ash back with braced solid maple top – with First and foremost, [it’s] a superb musical instrument that would sit
some complex geometry, and a glued-in one-piece mahogany neck just as well in a small Latin jazz combo as it clearly does on a much
with Honduran rosewood fingerboard. The light finish to the neck bigger rock-aimed concert stage.”
Price:
c £3,899 Websit
s e: www.powerselectricguitars.com
 GEAR
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YEAR

ACOUSTIC GUITARS
The best acoustic instruments that have tickled our fancy in the past year
Words: David Mead

JWJ ‘The Hog’ Furch Little Jane LJ 10-SM

Shropshire-based luthier Rich Jones, aka JWJ Guitars, sent us We’ve witnessed a considerable amount of innovation in these
into a bit of a spin when we set eyes upon his OM and Parlour pages before now. But Furch’s Little Jane was something above
guitars back in issue 499. And so expectations were high when and beyond practically anything we’d seen before. A travel
we opened The Hog’s case a few months later. We weren’t guitar that breaks down into three separate pieces that comes
disappointed, either, as the workmanship and sheer musicality back in tune when you reassemble it from storage in its custom-
that greeted us were enough to win a Guitarist Gold award. The designed backpack? Surely not. But that was precisely the case
Hog is an all-mahogany stunner that Rich has designated as when we experienced this little wonder. Furthermore, once
being his entry-level model, but at this price and grade of quality assembled, it gave a very good account of itself as a formidable
it offers so much more. Hand-built instruments with this type music tool as well. Pack it away and it’s aircraft overhead-locker
of craft don’t come along every day and so it’s no wonder that friendly, so if you’re off on your travels sometime soon and need
The Hog has become something of a JWJ best-seller. a compact, tone-enriched companion, look no further.
Price: £1,295 Website: www.jwjguitars.co.uk Price: €1,693 Website: www.furchguitars.com

I LEARNED FROM THAT

Ditch The Amp? by Jamie Dickson

“This year an old friend (and sometime Guitarist
contributor) Adam Bradbury kindly asked me
if I wanted to perform my acoustic album,
Withershins, as part of his regular Clerkenwell
ArtsLab event at the Betsey Trotwood venue in London.
However, I’d never performed at the Betsey before and while
I was assured there was ‘a decent house PA’, that broad
description can cover an awful lot of highly variable terrain out
there in venue-land from top-notch sound to barely functioning
trainwreck of a PA emitting crackles and wisps of smoke!
“Therefore I took along a Trace Elliott acoustic amp with a
McNallyy S-32 Boss GT-1000Core providing pre-programmed reverb and
delay and plugged it into the amp’s effects loop. The gig went
Ciaran McNally built his first guitar on his kitchen table at
well, but I did experience a few niggling issues with levels and
the age of 16. Whizz forward a few years and he found himself
clean headroom and, actually, the PA was so good I’d probably
holding the senior craftsman post at Lowden Guitars and
have been better off – and
subsequently that of production manager for Atkin Guitars.
travelled lighter – if I had
Next, he set up a workshop based in Craigavon, Armagh, and
simply enabled the GT-1000’s
started building his own brand of acoustics that aim to recreate
acoustic amp model, plus
that golden era of American instruments, combined with a little
the effects I’d programmed.
bit of Irish magic on the side. And magic there was aplenty in
PHOTO BY NEIL GODWIN

The lesson? Maybe it’s time

the small-bodied S-32, leading us to remark that, despite its
to trust modelling and go
diminutive demeanour, this is a fully fledged pro instrument
amp-free, at least as far as
that would raise a few eyebrows in the noblest of company.
acoustic work is concerned!”
Price: £4,199 Website: www.mcnallyguitars.com

70 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 Epiphone Inspired By Gibson Custom
1942 Banner J-45
Gibson’s J-45 acoustic needs no introduction from us as its status as a fittings fall into line with much the same initiative, including a VOS
reliable workhorse has echoed through all the decades that it has been (Vintage Original Sheen) finish that sets out to emulate a guitar that
in the guitar giant’s catalogue. More recently, sibling manufacturer has seen plenty of yesteryear action.
Epiphone has introduced its own well-received range of tribute A thermally aged spruce top and mahogany for the back and sides
models based on Gibson designs at bargain-basement price points. guarantees that old J-45 magic from a sonic perspective, which all
But this particular guitar goes one echelon higher in that it is adds up to a great-sounding blast from the past at a price that won’t
based on the J-45 from a particular era, is inspired by the custom damage the wallet in the same way that an original vintage – or, for
end of Gibson’s business, and is kitted out with vintage assets that matter, a Gibson Custom Shop model – most certainly would.
accordingly. As an example, the ‘Banner’ in the title refers to the Epiphone’s J-45 sounds every bit as good as it looks, which inspired us
old pre-war logo used by Gibson and many of the fixtures and to say in our original review: “All this for around £1.2k? Astounding.”
Price:
Pri ce: £1,199 Web
Websit
site:
e: www.epiphone.com
 GEAROF THE

YEAR
YEAR IN GUITAR

HIDDEN BENEFITS
Today’s guitars are performing better than ever – not that you’d notice from looking at them
Words: Jamie Dickson

I
t’s often been said that guitarists improvements when you play but not be Liquidmetal bridge pins, and highly
are resistant to change in aware of them with the naked eye. evolved torrification for the soundboard,
guitar design. I think perhaps One has only to look how many high- without offending purists simply by
that’s overstated, as our 40th end acoustic guitar makers now favour hiding it all under a beautiful, classic
Anniversary Reader Survey found some kind of non-traditional neck joint exterior with only the subtlest visual
that, on the whole, Guitarist readers for an example of this. Some of these, cues that the guitar is a next-gen hot-rod.
were fairly open to new advances in such as the CNR System employed by So if you seek enhanced performance
gear, with 38 per cent of respondents Czech guitar maker Furch, are so finely today, you can expect it to be invisible
identifying most with the statement engineered – using high-precision metal to the naked eye but to feel and hear
“I love innovation in guitars, amps and fittings and composite materials – that it when you play. I had a similar
effects,” while the largest group – 51 the once derogatory term ‘bolt-on neck’ experience recently, playing the
per cent – agreed with the statement simply doesn’t do justice to what is simply Bare Knuckle PolyPaf humbucker
“Now and again an innovation grabs a more precise, adjustable and stable way set. The design brief was to take a
my imagination.” Only 11 per cent of to attach a guitar neck to the body than a classic vintage PAF sound but make
respondents said they had little or no traditional glued-in neck joint. From the it more widely usable for a range of
interest in innovation in guitar gear. outside, the guitars look contemporary modern applications from hot blues
So much for the infamous conservatism but still classic; inside, they’re a clean to moderate-gain metal playing. To
of guitarists. The nearest it gets to being break with much of the 19th century achieve this, Tim Mills and producer/
true is when it comes to styling. We roots of modern acoustic making. engineer Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood used
may like to have all the performance Furch has perhaps taken some traditional materials in innovative
advantages of modern guitar making, inspiration from Taylor in that respect. configurations including “a custom
but we don’t necessarily want it to The forward-thinking California wind offset of 42 AWG plain enamel
show on the outside. By and large, we firm was one of the first really major wire, unoriented Alnico V rough-cast
still like the body shape of a guitar acoustic makers to champion a laser- magnets and a unique combination of
to be iconic, any tech to be discreetly precise bolt-on system with its NT high carbon steel slugs under the wound
hidden away, and the finish to be one of Neck, introduced over 20 years ago, strings”. Having played a set at length
a relatively small range of established and in more recent years has dispensed in a PRS Modern Eagle II, I can confirm
colours. Yes, there are always outliers with the previously almost universal their performance is eye-opening. The
and players who like to be flamboyantly X-bracing system developed by Martin classic sounds are there but without
different, but I’d bet the most popular in 1843 in favour of the Andy Powers-
guitar finish in the world is still tobacco designed V-Class bracing (and some
sunburst and, if so, that says it all, really. variations for smaller guitars), which
Guitar designers are wise to this, of Taylor says enhances volume, sustain “By and large, we like the
course, and the days of flagship guitars and even intonation higher up the neck. body shape to be iconic,
sporting ostentatious tech are long gone But even at Martin, where the firm’s
– Gibson’s ill-fated dalliance with robot long heritage underpins its huge cachet any tech to be discreet, and
tuners a decade ago was the final nail as a brand, the design team has been the finish to be a relatively
in that utopian coffin. Guitar makers able to bring in seriously progressive
now tend to hide their innovations elements to its Modern Deluxe range, established colour”
under the surface, so you can feel the such as composite bridge plates,

any wooliness, honk or quack, plus a

more finely graduated response to touch
sensitivity: dig in and you’ll reliably
find pinched harmonics exactly where
you’d want them to leap out; back off
and they behave like almost like fat,
plummy single coils. Overall, they just
feel more poised and more accessibly
expressive than many previous PAF-
style humbuckers we’ve tried.
And that is what progress looks
like in 2024. It looks traditional and
sounds classic yet you can feel and hear
Furch uses composite Bare Knuckle Pickups’ refinements in all the ways a piece of
materials and precision PolyPaf humbuckers –
gear performs. It’s almost the opposite of
engineering in the CNR traditional to look at but
system that secures the thoughtfully evolved in the old cliché – innovation, today, is very
necks of its guitars performance and sounds much velvet beneath the iron glove.

72 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

Furch’s Green Dc-SR SPE
Master’s Choice acoustic.
Outwardly, it looks like
a classic contemporary
cutaway electro, but
Furch acoustically tunes
the tops of all its guitars
using an undisclosed
tech-led process and
makes extensive use
of robotics for the most
precise cutting tasks
 GEAR
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YEAR

AMPLIFIERS
Vibey, accessible boutique valve tone – and its digital equivalent – has never been better
Words: Jamie Dickson

Blackstar HT Club 40 MKIII PRS DGT 15 Head

Blackstar’s Club Series amps have really shown off the company’s David Grissom’s signature model PRS electric has long enjoyed
talent for developing an extremely effective, attainably priced crossover appeal among players who don’t normally lean
amp line and improving it year after year until it punches not towards PRS, just because the Texan player has such a keen ear
just above its weight but shines in any company. The 40-watt for what working guitarists really need – and his new signature
HT Club 40 MKIII’s two channels give four characterful amp continues in the same desirable vein. Driven by a pair of
voicings: crisp contemporary tone and a warmer, Fender-like EL84 power valves, this DGT head’s useful 15-watt output
glassiness on the clean channel, while the dirty channel offers delivers tones inspired by the sweet-spot sounds of vintage,
vintage crunch as one voicing and crucible-hot gain as the mid-gain Plexi and Vox tones – plus maybe a hint of Fullerton
second. Consequently, this combo has an extraordinary range Tweed – at an accessible volume. Throw in three-spring reverb
of nuanced, girthy tones, especially with Blackstar’s unique ISF and an evocative, valve-bias tremolo and it’s a beautifully
tone-sculpting control letting you set the US/UK tonal character. conceived, compact, boutique-vibed package at a fair price.
Price: £899 Website: www.blackstaramps.com Price: £999 Website: www.prsguitars.com

MOD SQUAD

Blue Wonder by Huw Price

“A 1964 Stratocaster arrived at my workshop with
a dodgy Lake Placid Blue refinish. The owner loved
the colour but wanted it refinished it to a higher
standard with relicing. I don’t know what prompted
me, but before breaking out the paint stripper I decided to check
under the overspray. I quickly discovered a very thick layer of
beige undercoat/primer and beneath that was the original finish.
To my absolute amazement, it was actually factory Lake Placid!
“We decided to take a chance, and several weeks of careful
sanding gradually revealed a largely intact factory custom colour
finish. What remained was vanishingly thin and semi-transparent
Jet Black Head in some areas, but the colour
was absolutely glorious with
In his final article for Guitarist, our late, much-missed amp
metallic particles gleaming
reviewer Nick Guppy called this potent head “one of the best-
on the surface. With surface
sounding USA amplifiers currently available”. The reason why
scratches visible and no
can be found in the way Bad Cat has executed this classic-
possibility of polishing them
sounding head, which boasts so-usable core tones but also has
out, we decided to apply flash
hot-rod, high-gain sounds ready to be unlocked. Powered by four
coats to melt the scratches,
EL84 power valves, generating 38 watts RMS, the two-channel
followed by clear coats that
Jet Black has a buffered series effects loop, bias-modulated
I polished out to a high gloss.
PHOTO BY HUW PRICE

tremolo, studio-quality digital reverb, fixed level line out and

I’m not sure I’d put myself
other useful features, but its savage, viscerally exciting Channel 2
through it again, but I was
gain sounds are the jewel in this darkly charismatic crown.
delighted with the outcome.”
Price: £1,999 Website: www.badcatamps.com

74 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 Boss Katana Artist Gen 3
The remarkable success of the Katana range of amps has seen Boss well worth the sub-£700 asking price, by our reckoning. First is an
become, reportedly, the world’s second-largest amp brand. This excellent Custom Waza speaker closely based on a vintage Greenback
year’s Gen 3 saw a root and branch upgrade in the already impressive rated to handle the Artist’s 100-watt output, which can be notched
quality of the signal processing and sound of the Katana range, which down to 50 and 0.5 watts, giving both lower output and different
combines highly finessed digital replication of classic valve amp and playing feel and dynamics in each case. The Artist combo also gets
Boss effects tones with a highly responsive analogue power stage. a tuned cabinet design (also a feature of the cheaper Katana-50 EX),
Some new features are common to the whole Gen 3 range, such an analogue ‘Bloom’ power amp voicing circuit for those expansive,
as the new ‘Pushed’ amp type, which emulates plummy, clean valve wide-open valve amp tones, and the most sophisticated line-out
tone with a bit of ‘hair’ on it. But only the flagship Katana Artist functions, including Boss’s naturalistic Air Feel tech that emulates
Gen 3 model gets all the best features, old and new, which makes it guitar tone captured through high-end stereo-mic setups.
Price: £689 Website: www.boss.info
 GEAR
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YEAR

FLOOR AMPS & MODELLERS

The sounds you want are being delivered in increasing smaller packages
Words: Trevor Curwen

Boss IR-2 Amp & Cabinet Line 6 HX One

A whole rig in a Boss Compact chassis, the IR-2 can supply the A multi-effects pedal in the sense that there are many effects
signature sound of 11 different amp types, each of which has onboard, the HX One features all of Line 6’s Helix effects,
an associated cab IR from Celestion Digital. You can also load over 250 algorithms in all, standard and esoteric. They are,
alternative IRs into the pedal, add ambience with a choice of however, there to be used one at a time in this context, making
reverbs and use a send and return loop to bring other pedals it a practical augmentation pedal that can fill in the blanks
into the signal path after the amp emulation. With its battery on your ’board with the ability to be any effect you need, all
power, the IR-2 is a versatile go-anywhere problem solver for with the help of a ‘Flux’ function for footswitch-triggered,
many scenarios: you can use it for headphone practice, USB expression-pedal-style tasks. If you need, say, a Uni-Vibe, a ring
recording or live work where the two channels (a different amp modulator or a Whammy for use just once in your set, this will
or the same amp with altered settings) toggled between with sort it without the need to add the specific pedals or to go the
the footswitch confer a useful flexibility. large-box multi-effects route.
Price: £179 Website: www.boss.info Price: £209 Website: www.line6.com

MY YEAR IN GEAR

Swap Shop by Dave Burrluck

“To put it bluntly, I’ve spent a lot of my year
listening to pickups from the tsunami of winders
out there. All good, but it also involves a lot of
time fitting and soldering. The thing that’s made
my life easier – and a lot of fun! – is the Guitar-X (previously
Relish) pickup-swapping technology offered originally by
Cream T and now making its way to other brands, not least the
UK-made Newman guitars.
“Apart from being able to instantly A/B any humbucking-
sized pickups, the ability to revoice your guitar in seconds is
a very different way to view an instrument. Combine this with
Neural DSP Nano Cortex some innovative new designs – such as Cream T’s Astra (on
review in this issue, see page 8) and ultra-lightweight Newman
There’s been a buzz about Neural’s Quad Cortex since it was
designs including the honeycomb-chambered Junior, a homage
launched a couple of years ago as competition for the likes of
to the guitars played currently by Billy F Gibbons – and there’s
Kemper, Fractal and Line 6’s offerings in the world of hardware
a strong whiff of futurism here:
amp modelling units. And now we have the Nano Cortex, which
guitars that are pushing the
puts the Cortex mojo into a more affordable, smaller footprint.
envelope in terms of design
Like its bigger sibling, the Nano is all about amp Captures and
and construction along with
there’s space for 256 onboard, all of which can be put into a
huge tonal flexibility. Yes,
signal chain with IRs, modulation, delay and reverb. We said:
we love our vintage pieces.
PHOTO BY OLLY CURTIS

“If you want to integrate top-notch amp sounds, digital

But, c’mon, we ain’t living in
Captures and a whole lot more into a portable, hands-on
the 50s. The revolution’s here,
pedalboard, this is going to top your list.”
and you know it’s right…”
Price: £499 Website: www.neuraldsp.com

76 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 IK Multimedia Tonex One
IK Multimedia describes its Tonex technology as an “ecosystem”. other users. In the pedal’s Dual mode, the footswitch can toggle
At its heart is a software application that uses AI Machine Modeling between two always-on Tone Models, which is most useful if both
to capture the sound of rigs (Tone Models) comprising various are amp-and-cab rig models and the pedal is feeding direct into the
combinations of amps, cabinets and drive pedals. But it finds its form sound system, while Stomp mode has the footswitch working as a
for practical use as either the three-footswitch Tonex Pedal or the normal bypass, so you can use the Tonex One like any standard fuzz/
diminutive Tonex One we have here. distortion/drive pedal on your ’board.
This micro-format pedal stores up to 20 Tone Models that you can Finally, a headphone socket and USB audio interface capability
load via USB. The included Tonex SE software offers instant access add even more functionality to this wallet-friendly workhorse for
to 200 of these, while also giving you access online to ToneNET multiple scenarios – even as backup for your own usual amp-and-cab
where there are unlimited Tone Models created and shared by rig if you’ve used the Tonex software to capture it.
Price: £159 Website:
e: www.ikmultimedia.com
 GEAROF THE

YEAR
YEAR IN GUITAR

COVETING CUSTOMS
How considering a custom build or order can get you want you really, really want
Words: Dave Burrluck

I
don’t know whether it’s just me, hardware with a cut-off bridge, and a Distinctly different, the PJD Carey
but how often have you looked at custom-made control plate with three- Custom was put to immediate use as I
a guitar and thought, “That’s cool, way toggle switch and pickups from was depping for an absent guitarist at a
but can I get one with a vibrato, Wilkinson’s posh R Series. The second sold out ‘showcase’ in a lively Camden
a simple solid colour or a different build was based on PJD’s original club. After some hours of practice and
set of pickups?” only to be met with a single-cut Carey shape, but it aimed to a couple of days in a rehearsal room,
resounding no. We seem to be seeing replicate (or imitate) Andy Summers’ the PJD performed superbly: a ‘Fender’
more guitars yet with fewer options: mucked about with Tele Custom: that looks like a Les Paul Junior and
what the manufacturer thinks we want, solid alder body, T-style bridge plate, sounds huge – with some definite help
not what we actually want. In many PJD’s hand-wound SH pickups, and from that onboard boost. I did the
cases, one of those relatively simple a third control introducing an active whole gig on the bridge pickup and have
differences can mean you’re shown the boost made especially for the guitar by subsequently been exploring its more
‘custom shop’ door and a potential cost Ben Marshall at Mars-Tronic. Andy Summers-style features, especially
that’s rather more than you can afford. There’s always a bit of a leap into the that pickup phase switch. It’s also one
We’ve documented the well-priced dark with any custom build. With the of the most stable guitars I’ve had the
Fender Mod Shop with its easy-to-spec Vintage order, I’d played and tested pleasure of playing and is perfectly set
and access online menu. There’s an plenty of the standard models, and up thanks to PJD’s Plek machine.
order-to-delivery window of about four some ProShop builds, so I was pretty While I’d never suggest taking the
to five months, but the options (though confident the team would deliver. custom route unless you’re pretty
considerable) are based on standard Based on the standard V72 (£489), the familiar with the maker, there’s
formats with no ageing or relicing. substantial makeover was quoted at something special about the whole
While I was eyeing up one of those £1,299 with a gigbag. Equally, as a PJD journey. Both JHS’s ProShop manager,
‘customs’, we were invited to participate player for some years now, I knew the Nathan Sharp, and PJD’s Josh Parkin
in not one but two custom builds – a brand would translate my order into a were constantly in touch during the
few months apart – with John Hornby very workable instrument, even though build process, checking on fine details
Skewes’ Vintage ProShop and York- the price here was quite a leap from and sending images of their progress.
based maker PJD’s recently launched the Standard model (£1,299) at £2,699,
Custom Shop. The former rebuilds including a Hiscox case.
standard Vintage models and includes The completed ProShop build doesn’t
plenty of refinishing and relicing, aim to ape an old Tele, but it does have
“There’s always a bit of a
while the latter is totally open-ended, quite an antique vibe, which began leap into the dark with any
but if you choose to pimp up one of its to earn its stripes as a very old bluesy
Standards the price is pretty attractive. sounding standard-tuned slide guitar
custom build… But I was
Incidentally, both builds centred on after quite a few gigs. On receipt, it was pretty confident the teams
the good ol’ T-style. The ProShop build beautifully set up, and it’s proven very
was spec’d as a semi-hollow with a bass- stable on a gig, light in weight and with would deliver”
side f-hole, lightly reliced finish, aged no sense of ‘it’s so posh I daren’t play it’.

I felt pretty humbled: surely they had

more important clients to build for?
Opting for a custom guitar will cost
you more than an off-the-peg model.
But going down the routes we chose,
both instruments are a fraction of the
cost of the big boys’ Custom Shops –
yes, Fender, Gibson and PRS, we’re
talking about you. Our builds prove
that if you want something a little
different, that’s unique to you, there’s
certainly another way to get there.
And with what most report as a pretty
stagnant new-guitar market, I can’t help
thinking that sensibly priced custom
A vibey, light relic that and indeed standard options might well
sounds as old as it looks.
be the way to engage us end users. Why
Don’t overlook Vintage’s
ProShop if you want custom should we have to put up with what the
without the price tag manufacturer thinks we want when,
clearly, there’s another way?

78 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

It might look like a Les Paul Junior/
Telecaster mash-up, but this PJD Carey
Custom emulates Andy Summers’
fabled Tele with its onboard active
boost, phase switch and top-level
craft. A sonic revelation!
 GEAR
OF THE

YEAR

DRIVE EFFECTS
This year’s winning pedals revisit a broad range of classic vintage gear
Words: Trevor Curwen

Crazy Tube Circuits Hi Power J Rockett Airchild 660

Christos Ntaifotis, CTC’s founder, hit on something when he Maybe not everybody gets it, but a decent compressor in your
started a range of pedals that pair historic amp sound with a signal chain can do plenty to enhance your sound – and the
classic drive pedal. The Hi Power offers sounds from Hiwatt Airchild lands squarely in this category. The pedal is inspired by
amps with a recreation of the Colorsound Power Boost pedal the Fairchild 660 compressor, a behemoth packed full of valves
– a combo strongly associated with David Gilmour around the and transformers that may just be the most highly regarded
time of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. The two components compressor ever made. J Rockett’s offering is said to be a sonic
are independently footswitchable and you can choose from interpretation of it – whether it’s an accurate interpretation
two different versions of the Boost, plus emulations of 50- and is open to question, but judged on its own merits the Airchild
100-watt Hiwatts with Normal and Brilliant channels, or both offers excellent signal conditioning opportunities for guitar via
together. With tones from clean to raucously fuzzy, it delivers a combination of compression, boost and a very musical Tilt EQ,
two classic tonal flavours for your rig that are rare in pedal form. making it a pedal you simply won’t want to turn off.
Price: £235 Website: www.crazytubecircuits.com Price: £239 Website: www.rockettpedals.com

I LEARNED FROM THAT

Pocket Power by Trevor Curwen

“As guitarists, we must all now be aware that
plugging into an amp is not the only way to go.
The writing has been on the wall ever since Line 6
introduced its Pod unit all those years ago with
its selection of modelled amps, cabinets and effects. That early
modelling may have left something to be desired, but technology
moves on and these days – with improved modelling techniques,
amp capture and the use of impulse responses – you now have
the choice of getting the actual sound of a quality rig without
having to hump amp and speaker(s) from A to B.
“But just how portable do
ThorpyFX Electric Lightning we want our gear to be? Well,
if this year’s winners are an
This Chris Buck signature pedal features a valve-based
accurate reflection on this,
overdrive circuit with a three-knob EQ similar to a Marshall
we’re liking it smaller and
tonestack that can be combined with a high-headroom clean
smaller. A compact version of
boost, both independently footswitched. The boost section’s
Neural DSP Cortex technology
Lows knob runs from keeping your bottom-end intact to rolling
makes the cut, but massive
bass off for the leaner and tighter functionality of a treble boost,
respect must go to Boss for
while the Drive section goes from a just-beyond-clean crunch
cramming all that the IR-2
right to full-on heavy raunch but always with crisp string
PHOTO BY PHIL BARKER

does into a compact series

articulation and excellent dynamic response. While none of this
pedal, and to IK Multimedia
comes cheap, this very flexible pedal should deliver all the drive
whose tiny Tonex One puts
sounds you need when plugged into just about any clean amp.
amp capture into your pocket.”
Price: £429 Website: www.thorpyfx.com

80 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 Boss BP-1W Booster/Preamp
For some time guitarists have exploited the sonic characteristics Your boost type is chosen from a three-way toggle switch and
of preamps found in certain vintage effects, in many cases delivered via Level and Gain knobs that let you mix a sufficient amount
with the actual effects bypassed. Two such units are the Boss CE-1 of volume with a dash of grit. The RE and CE settings have their
Chorus Ensemble and Roland’s RE-201 Space Echo, both pioneering own character in the top-end, but both add a little extra midrange
pedals from the mid-1970s that offered a desired enhancement compared with the Natural setting. All three are valid tonal choices,
of tone just by plugging in. All-analogue recreations of those whether you want to kick in the pedal to take your amp up a level or
preamps, along with a natural straight boost, can be found in Boss’s use it always-on to generally enhance the sound of your signal chain.
compact Waza Craft BP-1W boost pedal, a worthy inclusion in With the usual Boss compact robustness and practicality, the BP-1W
the category this year. is a quality tone conditioner to have in front of your amp.
Price: £139 Website:: www.boss.info
 GEAR
OF THE

YEAR

DELAY & MOD EFFECTS

A journey through 50s tremolo and 80s revivals to the latest digital reverb algorithms
Words: Trevor Curwen

Walrus Audio Fundamental Ambient R M309 Joshua Ambient Echo

MXR
The brand’s Fundamental series comprises affordable pedals MXR has packed plenty into its standard small chassis with
that each covers a specific effects type and is designed for ease the Joshua, a digital delay designed to deliver the sort of iconic
of use with a control surface of three centre-detented sliders. soundscapes of vintage rack-style processing. Straightforward
Here, there’s a choice of three atmospheric reverb algorithms to use on the surface, it has extended versatility from easily
– Deep, Lush and Haze – with control over Reverb Mix and accessed secondary parameters, and it features rhythmic delays
Decay, plus a Tone knob that shifts the overall tonality of the with an optional second echo, modulation, octave voicing on the
reverb in a way specific to each algorithm. Through these you repeats, and tap tempo. If you simply want the usual range of
can quickly conjure up a wide range of expansive soundscapes bread ’n’ butter delays, the Joshua can certainly do that. But its
and lingering background pads with long decay times. Walrus’s special sauce lies in its range of multitap patterns that can be
great track record with these sorts of pedals is absolutely in used as prominent U2-style rhythmic tempo-sync’d delays or
evidence here – but with hands-on simplicity at a bargain price. as a diffuse trail of spacey ambience.
Price: £125 Website: www.walrusaudio.com Price £249 Website: www.jimdunlop.com

MOD SQUAD

A Suite Strat Tone by Neville Marten

“Remember I was definitely going to buy a US
Epiphone Casino and give it the Beatles treatment
with Bigsby and nickel pickup covers? Well, it didn’t
happen, but I still have the bits so it could be on
the cards again soon. What I did do, though, prompted by a
recording of a gig where my sunburst Strat sounded thin and
wimpy, was upgrade the pickups.
“Tim Mills from Bare Knuckle Pickups suggested his Triptych
set. I checked out the demo, but the tone was a bit ‘SRV’ and
I was after a ‘Rory plus’ sound. Looking at demos of other BK
Strat pickups I alighted on the Trilogy Suite set, essentially for
TC Electronic 2290 P an Yngwie Malmsteen tone.
Now, my playing is as far
Recent years have seen some classic gear from the 80s
from the furious Swede’s
reimagined as stompboxes, and one of the most anticipated was
as the Wright Brothers
this pedal, a reworking of the 2290 rackmount unit that was a
were from the Falcon 9
staple in studios and used by The Edge, among others. Perhaps
spaceship. But it’s not about
best defined as a time-based effect generator, besides delay the
playing, it’s about sound, and
2290P can deliver chorus, flanger, tremolo, vibrato, panning and
there’s a fat, almost P-90 girth
more, all easily called up from 128 onboard preset slots. Back in
to them that was just what
the day, the 2290 would only have been affordable for a select
I needed. Tim fitted them
few pro players, but in the sub-£300 bracket the 2290P offers
to a pre-wired ’guard and
the opportunity for many more players to get those sounds,
I swapped them over. Job done
all wrapped up in a very practical form factor.
– and easily reversible, too.”
Price: £299 Website: www.tcelectronic.com

82 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 Crazy Tube Circuits White Whale V2
With analogue technology gleaned from decades ago, clearly switch determines whether the tremolo comes before or after the
the “if it ain’t broke…” aphorism applies here. Guitarists loved reverb, providing two different sonic outcomes. The reverb is based
spring reverb in the 1960s when it first appeared in Fender amps around a spring tank assembly featuring three springs and uses
and they love it still, so when you can get the real thing – rather carefully tuned all-analogue tone-shaping to provide short, medium
than a digital reproduction – in a form that will easily slot onto and long reverbs. For tremolo, you get a choice of bias, opto and
a pedalboard, it has to be a winner, especially when it comes with a harmonic types, with harmonic offering Hard and Soft variations.
side order of tremolo. An array of control knobs, including the all-important Dwell for
What you’re getting from V2 of Crazy Tube Circuits’ White Whale the reverb, delivers plenty of variation to add those classic vintage
is a pedal with independently footswitched tremolo and reverb, sounds to any amp that doesn’t have its own onboard reverb and
which can be used individually or in combination. A Pre/Post tremolo – “this is the perfect remedy”, we said.
Price: £299 Website: www.crazytubecircuits.com
 GEAR
OF THE

YEAR

MODDING & UTILITY

Go the extra mile with these tone-enhancing solutions
Words: Dave Burrluck & Trevor Curwen

Black Ice Boost Radioshop Pickups Telecaster Wiring Mod

Think of onboard boosts and EQ, and you’d assume you need A couple of years ago we put together one of Trev Wilkinson’s
a battery to power them, right? Well, not if you’re using old- T-style kits, which has been the host to many mods, hardware
school transformer technology. Like the Focus switch on changes and experiments. It ended up with the original 1950 to
Yamaha’s Revstar II, the Black Ice Boost does just that, and ’52-era circuit (from CharlesGuitars.co.uk), which allows you to
the unobtrusive black box is small enough to fit in a pretty blend the Tele’s two pickups together, a really roosty Keef sound
tight control cavity. It offers two levels of boost (which are but with no tone control to tame that bright-edged Tele tone.
switchable) or you can just run the one whose sound you like the Then we got a call from Radioshop Pickups in Wales who had
best. Does it work? It sure does, with two levels of very usable just released its hand-wired Telecaster Wiring Mod, which, via
thickening. It impressed the boffs at Cream T enough for them a dual concentric tone pot, gives the classic Tele selections, with
to fit the Boost into the latest Astra ‘Decades’ model (on review volume and tone control, plus that pickup blend. On behalf of
in this issue, see page 8). A no-battery zone! blend-lovers out there, thank you! Prayers have been answered.
Price: £89 Website: www.blackiceoverdrive.com Price: £140 Website: www.radioshoppickups.com

MY YEAR IN GEAR

Answering The Cull by David Mead

“I think that the most significant event in terms
of gear this year has not involved buying but
selling – although I am poised to make a rather
important purchase in the near future. But more
of that in a minute… There comes a time in every guitarist’s life
when we have to admit to ourselves that there are instruments
tucked away in a cupboard that ‘might get used at some point’,
which haven’t, in fact, left the confines of their cases for a very
long time. This was me around springtime ’24.
“And so it was that I decided to review my personal
collection and take nine guitars, an amp and several effects
Two Notes C
T Captor X SE pedals to the auction rooms
and wave them a – slightly
One thing that many of the YouTube channels focusing on
emotional – farewell. But there
guitar have in common is the Universal Audio Ox Amp Top Box
is a twist to this sorry tale as
sitting in the background, which may lead some to think that
I have a significant birthday
it’s the only load box with speaker emulation in existence. Not
coming up soon and the funds
so: Two Notes has been in that business for over 15 years now
gathered from the auction
and it celebrated with the Captor X SE, a special edition of its
will be spent on something
reactive load box that takes input from amps up to 100 watts
six-stringed and extra-special.
and connects to your mixer or audio interface via balanced
PHOTO BY PHIL BARKER

Although, I must admit

XLR outputs. Its dynamic IR (DynIR) cabinets and effects,
that option anxiety has taken
all easily edited in the included app, add digital flexibility and
over my life. Good problem
professional-studio sound quality to any valve amp.
to have, but….”
Price: £499 Website: www.two-notes.com

84 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 Bare Knuckle Pickups Nomads Set
There are plenty of parts to upgrade on the good ol’ Telecaster, not more solid high-end response with plenty of weight behind each
to mention circuits, but if those classic single coils aren’t right, then note, [while the neck] features a taller coil than normal and slightly
neither is your Telecaster. In the hands and ears of Bare Knuckle’s narrower-diameter magnetic poles”.
Tim Mills and guitarist Rabea Massaad, this new Nomads offering Like the Triptychs, these subtle blends produce a very well-
– like the Triptychs for S-styles before them – is a signature pickup balanced and behaved pickup set. We said: “Unlike on so many Teles
set you need to hear. Using a similar magnet blend to the Triptychs, we’ve wrestled with over the years, our right hand isn’t constantly
the Nomads feature Alnico III magnets in the bridge coil and Alnico V riding the tone control to pull back the sharp highs, and we’re not
in the neck, and both are wound with 43 AWG plain enamel wire. As wishing for more clarity at the neck. [It’s] a T-style voice for sure, full
Tim explained, the bridge pickup uses “a much thicker 1950-style of rootsy character but without the sharp ’n’ dark bits… Anyone with
steel baseplate that alters the inductance of the coil, delivering a troublesome Tele, whatever style you play in, needs to hear these.”
Price: From £261.60 Website:
e: www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk
INTERVIEW Phil Manzanera

THE

INTERVIEW

PHIL
MANZ ANER A
The Roxy Music guitarist invites us into his London studio to take a
look at the guitars that he cut five decades of hits with. As he releases
a mammoth boxset of his recordings with Eno, Gilmour and other
luminaries, Phil also shares how a globe-trotting childhood led him
to art-rock Shangri-La in 70s London

Words Jamie Dickson Photography Adam Gasson

T
here can be few guitarists who have roamed about 120 quid, but I needed something flash for my
so widely through the landscape of pop Roxy stint. I had a white Strat – they had insisted I have
music as Phil Manzanera. Born in England a white Strat, which is another story because that was
but raised in, variously, Cuba, Venezuela and a guitar I bought off Brian Eno, who bought it off his
Hawaii, his playing has always possessed a deep spirit of milkman for 30 quid! But as a youngster, I had bought
musical adventure. From era-defining avant-garde rock a red Höfner Galaxy when I was 10. So I was used to
with Roxy Music to Latin-infused prog and dalliances having a flash red guitar.
with experimental synth in his early solo career, his “The Höfner Galaxy was from Bell Musical
vagabond muse has never settled down. His gift for Instruments in Surbiton in the UK, where I had been
playing just exactly the right phrase at the right time, sent from South America to a boarding school in South
combined with a leftfield sensibility that always results London. So anyway, I saw this red guitar and I thought,
in work that’s full of surprises, means that over the past ‘Wow, that is different. I’ve never seen anything like
five decades, his music has never lost its vitality. it before.’ And it turned out that the boy’s parents had
As he releases a heavyweight 11-disc retrospective of come over from Kalamazoo and they’d bought it for
his solo albums, we join the ever-affable guitarist in his him – in a custom colour red for his birthday. For some
London studio, where he has brought out one or two old extraordinary reason, he didn’t want it or maybe it was
guitars he thought we might like to see while we chat too unwieldy or he had given up guitar and taken up
about his iconic recordings. cricket or something. I don’t know, but I said, ‘Thank
you very much – I’ll have that!’ It’s become my signature
Your Cardinal Red Firebird VII has been a constant guitar, and I first used it on the third Roxy Music album,
companion over the years – how did you get it and what Stranded, in particular on the track called Amazona.
did you use it for in your solo work and with Roxy Music? “What’s particularly good about this guitar is it’s
“So this is a guitar that I found in the back of the Melody always been great for recording. The tuning aspect is
Maker. They used to have ads for guitars for sale in 1973 not brilliant, but for recording purposes… it just likes
and I rang up, and it wasn’t in a shop or anything, it was going onto analogue tape. And so this was used in quite
a private individual. So I went to this very posh house in a lot of the Roxy songs – I’d use this for something on
Regent’s Park in London, knocked on the door and this every album. I’d also use a ’51 Telecaster and a Gibson
16-year-old American kid held it up, and I said, ‘It’s a red Les Paul. But this one has appeared on every album
guitar – I’ll have it!’ I didn’t even plug it in. I think it was I’ve done, including all my solo albums.

86 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 VIDEO
EXCLUSIVE!
Watch Phil play and discuss
all the guitars in this feature,
in an exclusive Guitarist video
interview filmed at his studio
www.bit.ly/guitaristextra

Phil with the ‘flash’

Cardinal Red Gibson
Firebird VII that has
been his constant
creative companion
from Roxy Music
days onwards
INTERVIEW Phil Manzanera

“Most of the Diamond Head album was done with Reverb that I would use depending on what guitars
this guitar, but I tend to use quite a lot of different I was using. That was the basic amplification.
guitars on the albums for different tracks or different “Then me and Eno worked together a lot on having
bits of music – you use different sounds and you play my guitar signal as a sound source for him to treat
in a different way with each guitar. It creates its own through his EMS VCS3 synthesiser, and we also both
unique sound, and this one sort of plays itself in some had Revox tape recorders that we had modified by a
ways. I came up with the riff that ended up being very good company called Taylor Hutchinson at the
sampled on No Church In The Wild [by Jay-Z and Kanye time – and I only remember that name because the
West] – which was originally a riff on a track from sticker is still on my Revox. It had something called
one of my solo albums called K-Scope – when I was Varipitch and Sel-Sync on it, which you could use
watching the telly and just messing about on this guitar. to speed up and slow down the speed of the motor.
And that’s what I came up with; it’s particularly good Therefore if you were using it as an echo unit, you could
to play that on this guitar. I wouldn’t have come up with speed up the echoes or slow them down and create
that on a Strat or a Telecaster or Les Paul or something. interesting effects.
There’s something quite tight about the width of the “These were the days when there were no pedals
neck up here, and when you play an A chord it’s got and things. There was maybe a fuzz box pedal and
a very nice, tight sort of sound. So yeah, that’s a very maybe an Echoplex or Watkins Copicat echo unit. So
technical aspect of guitar-ing, I suppose. That’s what you had to use what I call the sort of ‘Heath Robinson
makes this one come up with these riffs that sort of method’ of trying to get weird sounds by doing different
1. With both gold appear out of nowhere.” things – pimping machines to do things they’re not
hardware and a meant to do, sticking sticky tape on the capstans of tape
custom colour finish,
this guitar – made What was your backline gear back in the early days machines to create a flutter, a wobbly kind of sound.
circa 1965 – would be of Roxy Music’s success? “But we also had modified DeArmond volume pedals
exceptionally rare and “Well, what was considered the best thing to have to control the slider on the Varipitch on the Revox tape
desirable even without
its Roxy connections
in those days? You either had a Marshall or you had recorder, which I still have. The combination of me
Hiwatt. And I had a Hiwatt 100 top, I think, but it had sending a wobbly sort of signal to Eno, then him treating
2. The well-worn a special switch on the back so you could make it 30 it and putting it out, along with my normal guitar
Firebird logo bears [watts in output] to give it an extra poke [accessible created this unique sound, really. And then when he
witness to over five
decades of use in natural overdrive] and a 4x12 cabinet, which had left the band, I had a special [EMS] VCS 3 guitar synth
Phil’s hands Celestion speakers in it. I also had a Fender Twin made that was controlled by these DeArmond volume

“We [got] weird sounds by doing

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pedals, which we still have and which we’re trying to
get repaired so that it still works.
“It created a unique sound – and the best example
of that is on the track Amazona. You can hear the
combination of the Revox tape recorder with this
special guitar synth that was miles ahead of its time.
We’re talking about 1974 and it sounds like some
strange underwater guitar. To be fair, I don’t think it
1 ever worked properly after that! But it was captured
on that one track. So it is a unique thing.”

How did your solo career get started? Because you

were very much active with Roxy Music when it began.
“For a start, when I call it a solo career, there was really
no intention of going solo. I had the opportunity because
all the other guys in Roxy had done solo albums almost
immediately after we started. I mean, Brian Ferry and
I played on quite a few of them. So I put up my hand
and said, ‘Can I do a solo album?’ They kind of said, ‘Go
away. Yes, you can do one.’ I thought, right, I’m going
to do music I couldn’t do within Roxy and indulge
myself in a kind of music, whether it’s prog rock or Latin
music or just anything I wanted, with my friends who
weren’t necessarily in Roxy. Although I did end up
using everyone in Roxy, except for Brian Ferry because
2 he was a singer, and I obviously didn’t want [my work]
to go anywhere near the unique Roxy sound.

88 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 Phil says that the
Firebird appears on
“I found [the Firebird VII] in the almost all his Roxy
and solo recordings,
back of the ‘Melody Maker’ and and that its vibrato
is an essential part
I think it was about 120 quid” of its unique tone
INTERVIEW Phil Manzanera

“I then embarked on this so-called solo career of just my mum started teaching me guitar in Cuba in 1957. It’s
having fun with my musician friends, making music. been the constant thing that’s gone through the whole
And, really, I’m not a songwriter, although I have written of my life – it, and the guitar, has been my friend. And
about 60 songs with words over the past 50 years. But these guitars [in this feature] have been used and have
really I consider myself a musician who just likes to try been with me on this whole journey. It’s kind of weird,
out lots of different musical genres, and I realised I had but that’s guitarists for you.”
a lot of music in me that wouldn’t just fit into one Roxy
album, so I had to find another outlet. Which, to be Tell us about your modded Tele – it’s been almost a
fair, all the other people in Roxy were doing – and that Fender counterpart to your Firebird in terms of the
continues to this day. Both the Brians are bringing out amount of Roxy tracks you’ve made with it.
music that is their own kind of thing that wouldn’t fit “It says here that the serial number is 1443 – supposedly
necessarily within a band-type format. Andy Mackay it’s a 1951 Telecaster, which would in theory be worth
and Paul Thompson help on all of our stuff. a fortune. In practice, though, I rendered it valueless
“I guess there was a lot of music within all the people because a good friend of mine, Eric Stewart from 10cc
in Roxy that had to find another outlet. Mine became and Lol Creme, in 1975 I think, said, ‘We’ve got this
this sort of solo thing and now I’ve put it all together great guitar guy up in Manchester called Ted Lee. Let
in the 50 Years Of Music boxset and it’s 11 CDs’ worth. him have a go with your Telecaster. He’ll strip it down,
So whether anyone’s got the patience to listen to it all I revarnish it, put a humbucker on it, put Gibson frets on
don’t know [laughs]… but I had to obviously go through it…’ and thus rendering it from a guitar that’s probably
it all to remaster it and get it onto the boxset. It covers worth six figures to probably zero [laughs]. However, it
a wide range and it really does reflect me outside of sounds fantastic and all I was interested in was having
3. The now-familiar
50s-era ‘Spaghetti’ Roxy. I also brought out a book, a memoir, which really a guitar that was great to play.
logo is a clue to this was me trying to make sense of the last 50 years and “Back in the early 70s, nobody was particularly
highly modded Tele’s also beyond that, with my family, my South American interested in the value of a guitar. The value was in the
Golden Era origins
heritage and everything. sound and the playability of it, you know? So this was
4. The visible serial “So this is another way of tidying up those sort of used on pretty much every Roxy album from around
number, stamped on 50 years in a sort of musical form, putting it together 1974, which is when I think I got it. One of the most
the familiar ‘ashtray’ in a boxset so I can say ‘that was then’ – now I can look famous things I played on it was [the intro to] More
bridge, suggests an
early 50s date of forward to new stuff for the future. But it has also made Than This. And I’d forgotten this… but Rhett Davies,
manufacture me realise how important music has been for me since the co-producer on the album, was doing an interview

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˜Ž‚ØǑ樫ÞǑÞËÙæǑË¢ǑÞ˽ËǑ樫ģƿ
the other day and he said that we were trying for ages
to find a riff for the beginning of More Than This.
Apparently, I was tuning up and they said, ‘That’s it!’
I said, ‘What?’ And they said, ‘Just keep playing that
[riff] right through the thing.’ [A simple fingerpicking
pattern played on a powerchord shape, as when
checking how ‘in’ a chord sounds when tuning up – Ed].
And that’s how that ended up being that iconic riff,
3 which is hilarious, really. It just shows you.
“I also played the riff from Over You on this
Telecaster. I’d just got my original Gallery Studios and
I was sitting at this little sort of bench thing behind
the desk. Brian Ferry had come over to the studio and,
Brian’s not famous for playing the guitar, but there
was a bass there and so he picked up the bass and I
started doing that riff – that’s the first thing we did in
the studio. I started playing and he started playing a
bit of bass, and from that we built the song Over You. So
hooray: the first thing we did in that studio and we’ve
got something that could be a single from something as
simple as that… but it’s just beautifully clean.”

Your guitar parts always seem perfect for the song

– they’re never too much or too little. How did you
develop that knack?
4 “I mean, one is always trying to start with something
simple – especially once I joined Roxy. Before that,

90 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

“It’s a 1951 Tele,
which would in
theory be worth a
fortune. In practice,
though, I rendered
it valueless”

It may make vintage

purists wince, but the
mods made to Phil’s
Tele, notably the neck
humbucker, do sound
very nice in the flesh
and he says it has
seen as much studio
use as the Firebird
INTERVIEW Phil Manzanera

I was playing kind of prog rock in 13/8 or something like for the Melody Maker. He had this special column that
that, you know [laughs]. That’s what was interesting you could send tapes in to and so Brian Ferry had sent
about Roxy stuff, and I guess I continued that method in some of the embryonic Roxy demos.
of working into all my solo stuff, which was to create the “As it happened, the band I was in at the time,
musical context first, then – if it was going to be a song Quiet Sun, had also sent in tapes and [coverage on their
– try to work with someone who could create a top line respective demos] came out consecutive weeks. We
and discuss what the lyric might be… looked at the Roxy one, and I thought, ‘This is a lot more
“Or if it’s going to be an instrumental, then the one interesting than our one!’ And then the bass player
thing about instrumentals is that you can give it any in Quiet Sun joined Robert Wyatt’s group [Matching
title you like, and now revisiting all those 100-odd Mole], and so I was without a gig. Someone said, ‘Well,
tracks on the box, I see a lot of them have been named why don’t you try for that band, Roxy?’ I went along
after certain moments in my life, like the track to audition in a little working men’s cottage that Brian
Diamond Head. Diamond Head is the name of the and Andy were sharing in Battersea in London. At the
volcano at the end of Waikiki Beach. When I lived in time, Brian was teaching pottery at a girl’s school in
5. This 2000 Gibson Hawaii and went to school there, every day, I’d get on Hammersmith and Andy was teaching music. They
Custom Shop Les Paul one of those American-type school buses and meet my were a bit older than me, and Eno was there, and I
Custom was made to mother at Waikiki Beach and go surfing, aged about thought, ‘These guys are weird and wonderful and
replicate an original
1957 example that
eight or nine – and there was Diamond Head. So when different. I want to be a part of this.’ So we talked and
Manzanera borrowed it came to having a name for my first solo album, I called I played – and I failed the audition. So I thought, ‘Oh,
from bassist and it Diamond Head. Now, I think there was a heavy metal damn. These guys, I know they’re going to make it;
producer John Porter. band who called themselves that as well, but to me it there’s something unique about them.’
Porter sold it in the
mid-70s, but Phil was Hawaii.” “Then, for one reason or another, it didn’t work out
borrowed the guitar with Dave O’List [Roxy’s original pick for guitarist],
from its new owner How did you first become involved with Roxy Music? so they called me back – supposedly to mix the sound
for a further 20 years!
When it eventually
“Well, I answered an ad in the Melody Maker and it – and I said, ‘Well, I don’t know the first thing about
had to be returned, said something like, ‘guitarist wanted for avant-rock mixing the sound.’ But they said, ‘Don’t worry, Eno
Gibson made Phil this group’. I can’t remember if it said ‘no time wasters’ or will teach you because he’s banned from being on
replacement – the ‘no wine tasters’, which was the normal joke at the time. stage because he makes everyone too nervous – so
iguana inlay was
commissioned later But I had heard the name Roxy Music because Richard he’s in the audience, mixing the sound.’ Well, by ‘the
by Phil himself Williams, who was a great journalist – still is – worked audience’ I mean, we’re talking about pubs that had

ƾ`¨«ÞǑ«ÞǑ‚Ǒ÷‚ÿǑË¢Ǒ櫔ÿ«Ä£ǑëÖǑæ¨ËޘǑ
ųŮǑÿ˜‚ÙÞƝǑÖëææ«Ä£Ǒ«æǑæË£˜æ¨˜ÙǑ«ÄǑ‚Ǒ
ËþޘæǑÞËǑ*ǑŽ‚ÄǑނÿǑǀ樂æǑ÷‚ÞǑ樘ÄǁǑ
ƵǑ‚Ä”Ǒ½Ë˺Ǒ¢ËÙ÷‚Ù”ǑæËǑĘ÷ǑÞæëĈƿ
about 20 or 30 people! And it’s true, he was there
because I saw a gig and everyone was coming up to him
and saying, ‘What does that do? What’s that synth do?’
And all this.
“So I got to this derelict house near where we are
today. It had electricity, and they said, ‘Oh, there’s a
guitar there. Do you want to have a go?’ I half knew this
might happen, so I’d learnt the [Roxy Music] numbers
secretly. They were playing a little bit of a game with
me and so [going along with it] I said, ‘Just show me
once how to play it.’ So they showed me and then it
was, ‘Right, let’s play it.’ And I played it. They did this
about five times and they said, ‘Wow, this guy’s great!’
[Laughs] ‘Would you like to join?’
“I joined, I think two days after my 21st birthday –
and a week later we signed the first record contract.
Four gigs later, we were in the studio recording the first
album. Three months later, it came out on the same
day as Ziggy Stardust, we supported Bowie at a pub in
Croydon the same week, and the album went Top 5.
And here we are, 52 years later. I’m just in the right
place at the right time – touch wood.”

50 Years Of Music is out now on EMI/Virgin Records

and covers Manzanera’s fascinating solo work from
5 1975’s Diamond Head to 2015’s The Sound Of Blue
https://manzanera.com

92 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

Unashamedly modded
before Phil bought
it, this non-reverse
Firebird was used on
his critically lauded
801 project with Brian
Eno, which lasted for
just three live concerts
but now enjoys cult
status among fans
HISTORIC HARDWARE Guild M-75 Aristocrat

GUILD M-75
ARISTOCRAT
This evocative downsized archtop appeared in mid-50s New York and
would go on to delight jazz players and rootsy bluesers alike

Words Bob Wootton Photography Adam Gasson

G
uild Guitars co-founder Among them was an anomalous the Les Paul again) and a very few were
Alfred (real name Avram) newcomer, the M-75 Aristocrat, with introduced in cherry red in 1961, like the
Dronge was born in Poland the catalogue blurb calling it a “midget transparent ’62 pictured over the page
in 1911 and emigrated to the semi-solid”. Like Gretsch’s Duo Jet, it courtesy of a fellow collector. Sides and
US, via a two-year stay in was surely spurred by Gibson’s success back were mahogany, but all have obvious
Paris, in 1916, settling in New York City. with the Les Paul model that launched straight-grained spruce tops, except the
As an accomplished musician, he was first in 1952. Both companies’ responses red, which is over mahogany.
a guitar teacher and club player, before were as compact as the solid, heavy Les
opening a music store in the mid-1930s Paul – but lighter in contrast. The Duo Best Dressed
in Manhattan’s Park Row. After some Jet was chambered, whereas the M-75 The 24 ¾-inch scale length aped Gibson’s
persuasion by friend and ex-Epiphone was hollow, like Gibson’s ES-175 or its and was unusual for Guild, whose
executive George Mann, Dronge and short-lived contemporary the bantam contemporary archtops were 25 ½
Mann founded Guild Guitars Inc in ES-140T. It launched at $210 and was inches. Alongside preternaturally slim
October 1952. It would be neither the first made until early 1963, costing $280 and necks predating Gibson’s from ’60 to ’61,
nor the last time a retailer or repairer saw pretty much tracking the original Les this made for a comfortable, playable
opportunity in manufacture. Paul’s lifespan. No reliable manufacturing instrument. Headstocks carried Guild’s
The workforce assembled in a 1,500-sq ft or shipping numbers exist, but it’s a pretty evolving apex block logo throughout,
factory at 536 Pearl Street, comprising rare bird. Most that do surface, including though a few had the diagonal script logo
craftspeople displaced by leading archtop this writer’s 1958 example pictured here, given to some cheaper models in ’57, when
maker Epiphone, which had moved some show some wear. the decorative ‘Chesterfield’ pearloid inlay
operations to Philadelphia in the wake M-75s were offered mainly in a vintage nicknamed after the cigarette brand also
of union disputes. 18 months after its sunburst, slightly yellower than Gibson’s appears. The logo’s D has been touched-in
formation, in April 1954 the company redder-brown of the time. This became on this example, and the low four-digit
would release its first catalogue and price cherry sunburst in ’59, echoing the Les serial number is stamped into the rear
list, referring to itself as “The Stradivari Paul. Some were made in Natural Blonde of headstock where you’d expect it.
of Guitars” and boasting its first range, from 1959, which darkens with age, and Metalwork is gold-plated throughout,
mostly constisting of the archtops that there’s one rarity with maple sides from including the pickups’ polepiece screws.
were popular at the time. 1957. A handful appeared in gold (imitating The G-logo lyre tailpiece is common to

94 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 ·
In April 1954 Guild would
٘½˜‚Þ˜Ǒ«æÞǑċÙÞæǑŽ‚悽ˣë˜Ǒ
‚Ä”ǑÖÙ«Ž˜Ǒ½«ÞæƝǑ٘¢˜ÙÙ«Ä£ǑæËǑ
«æޘ½¢Ǒ‚ÞǑƾ`¨˜ǑYæق”«ö‚Ù«Ǒ
Ë¢Ǒ"ë«æ‚ÙÞƿǑ
·

This 1958 M-75 Aristocrat

displays Guild’s distinct
50s sunburst and has
numerous unique parts,
with playing wear and
tear common to many
of these instruments
HISTORIC HARDWARE Guild M-75 Aristocrat

1. The Franz pickups look 2. Just as unusual are

(but don’t sound) like the thick, unmarked
P-90s and their covers transparent control
are notoriously variable knobs, which are
in colour. The wooden clouded with age and
bridge with separate reminiscent of those
feet is unusual, too seen on late 40s ES-175s

several Guilds, but the machineheads – · microphonic. The sunburst’s pickup

gold-plated Klusons with ivory plastic covers don’t match, which was not
buttons – are unique to the model and
`¨˜ǑÖ«ŽºëÖÞǑ½Ë˺Ǒ½«º˜Ǒ uncommon in 50s guitars. A case of slack
so almost impossible to replace if, as can "«ÞËÄǑÞ˂֍‚ÙÞƝǑ quality control or those early plastics
happen, one fails, which might explain again? The last models from 1962 to ’63
the old but aftermarket Grovers on the red
ëæǑ樘ÿǑ÷˜Ù˜Ǒ”˜Ǒ sometimes sported DeArmond Dynasonic
one. The gold-plated strap button located ÿǑ@˜÷ǑyËÙºǑÞæ‚æ˜Ǒ single coils like those on earlier Duo Jets.
inconveniently close to the neck heel is Guild was also using these on its Starfire
correct and contrasts with an ivory plastic
Ę«£¨ËëÙÞǑ!Ù‚ÄĄ models by then.
peg at the tail, which becomes metal on
later examples.
· Vintage Appointments
The unmarked control knobs are or neck binding, which was a common Early Aristocrats had an archtop-style
redolent of those seen on early Gibson occurrence among early plastics. wooden bridge with a straight saddle and
ES-175s from 1949 and 1950. By ’59, Guild The pickups – always two on an two separate feet, adjustable for height
introduced its version of reflector knobs M-75 – look like Gibson soapbars, but only. The sunburst’s intonated one is
(some carry a G logo, these don’t) with they were made by nearby New York aftermarket; they were among the several
gold pins functioning like Gibson’s collar- state neighbours Franz and known as changes introduced in 1959 in order to
mounted pointer arrows. ‘Frequency Tested’ pickups. With lower remain competitive.
Pickguards were bevelled three-ply DC resistances of typically around Tops often crack along the spruce’s
plastic with a thick white core. The 5kohms, they’re not as rich or warm as longitudinal grain around the pickup
thinner and rather ornate bellied truss Gibson’s rightly celebrated P-90, which selector switch, and the later red example
rod cover was also three-ply. By ’59, a measure between 7.5k and 9k. History has has a ‘poker chip’ surround protecting
single-ply pickguard with rounded edge judged that they were poorly made and its mahogany top. Output jacks on both
and Guild legend took over, while the truss inconsistent, but they have a distinct tone guitars are original and in good shape,
rod cover became black anodised metal of their own, whether clean or driven. despite being mounted direct into the
with an etched shield motif. In the middle position, both pickups sides, and the accompanying cases
The earliest examples have 10 block- are engaged in series and sound followed Gibson’s trajectory from brown,
inlay neck position markers, the quite reedy, further emphasising the sometimes snakeskin, with maroon lining
upper two disappearing by the end hollowbody’s woody sound. The guitar to yellow-lined black later.
of ’58. Neither of these has seen any has no soundholes but is still susceptible Aristocrat models lend themselves more
crystallisation, shrinkage or lifting of body to feedback, and the pickups are quite to roots than rock, and don’t tend to fetch

96 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 Guild M-75 Aristocrat HISTORIC HARDWARE

3. The ’58 model features serious vintage money, though their prices
7 a touched-in headstock still reflect their scarcity. Good ones are
logo and ‘Chesterfield’
inlay, with unique tuners
hard to come across, but every Guild this
and a shaped laminated writer has played has been well built.
truss rod cover Maybe Guild as a company felt it had to
try harder, or perhaps the builders were
4. This rare model from
1962 is a transparent- just more conscientious. These are no
red-over-mahogany exception, though; being hollow, they’re
example and shows also really light, almost flimsy.
unusually little player
wear. Note the ‘poker
Famous players are few but include
chip’ switch surround John Lee Hooker, John Mayer, St Vincent
and Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys.
5. While the ’62 has The M-75 was reintroduced in 1967 and
the same headstock
features as the ’58 became known as the ‘BluesBird’ in 1968
model, it differs slightly – apparently named by Louis Dronge
with its thin metal (younger brother of Guild founder, Alfred)
truss rod cover
due to its popularity with blues players –
6. This later numbered and it’s this model that has been associated
control knob hides a with West Coast fusion sessioneer
gold-plated marker pin Larry Carlton, though corroborating
that’s set into the body,
just out of view pictures are hard to find. The M-75 would
pave the way for several excellent if still
7. The rear of the ’62’s rather marginal successors, including the
headstock evidences
Nightbird/BluesBird series.
three-piece mahogany/
maple neck construction
and early (but probably With thanks to Hans Moust, author
not factory) gold-plated of The Guild Guitar Book, to UK
Grover tuners
performer, teacher and collector Tim
Pells for additional information, and
his colleague who prefers to remain
anonymous for kind access to the red ’62

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REVIEW GIBSON ES-330 & LES PAUL STUDIO

98 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 «Ĉ˜Ù˜ÄæǑ
YæÙ˺˜Þ
Along with its high-profile limited-
edition releases, Gibson continues to
consider the working musician, as this
pair illustrates: two new additions that
couldn’t be more different!

Words
Neville Marten (ES-330)
& Dave Burrluck (Les Paul Studio)
Photography
Olly Curtis

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REVIEW GIBSON ES-330 & LES PAUL STUDIO

GIBSON ES-330 & LES PAUL STUDIO £3,099 & £1,599

CONTACT Gibson PHONE 00800 44427661 WEB www.gibson.com

rying to keep up with Gibson’s weight, ultra-comfy neck, effortless

What You Need To Know

Two very different guitars!

T avalanche of new releases is
becoming a full-time job: blink
and you might miss something. For
playability and seriously cool vibe.
Checking the guitar over reveals
a beautifully built instrument in the
1 Yes, the always affordable solidbody example, hot on the heels of the Les Paul period-correct shade of see-through
Les Paul Studio is the ‘standard’ Modern Studio released earlier in 2024 cherry red, the thin-skin nitro lacquer
version, which sits alongside the is this new Studio, and we understand expertly applied and buffed to a perfect
more expensive Modern Studio from Gibson that there will be a third gloss. The body’s arched top and back
model that launched earlier this Studio variant released before the end are the result of the maple-poplar-maple
year. The often overlooked ES-330 of the year. laminate being pressed into shape, with
hasn’t been available for some time. After the success of the US-made internal spruce bracing supporting
But now it’s back! Epiphone Casino reissue from 2023, it the top. A one-piece mahogany neck
was almost inevitable that Gibson would is topped off by a block-inlaid dark
What’s the deal with the ES-330? follow up with its own branded version rosewood fingerboard with 22 medium
2 Launched back in 1959, it’s the of essentially the same guitar. It’s great jumbo frets. Gibson sculpts the neck
only all-hollow model in the current to have the ES-330 return at a time when binding to create ‘nibs’ that cover the
ES-300 series line-up. Its neck joins its charms might be better appreciated fret ends; when done well, as here, it’s
the body at the 16th fret, rather than back in those blues-rock salad days. a sophisticated solution to the age-old
than the 19th as with the semi-solid Let’s take a closer look… problem of sharp tips snagging the
335/345/355. It also features fingers or catching strings.
‘dog-ear’ P-90 single-coil pickups ES-330 The black plasticware looks classy,
and was sister model to the Gibson- What compromised the ES-330’s offset as it is by cream binding all round
built Epiphone Casinos beloved of popularity was that – due to it being a save for the headstock. Hardware
The Beatles and Stones. fully hollow construction, with no centre comprises white-button classic Kluson-
block as in the ES-335 – it was a feedback style tuners, nickel-plated tune-o-matic
And the Studio? nightmare through big, loud amplifiers. bridge, diamond embossed trapeze
3 From its launch back in the early And since its neck sat further into the tailpiece, and slightly larger than
80s, the Les Paul Studio was always body than its semi-solid sister models, vintage-style aluminium strap buttons.
intended as the start-up proper top-fret forays were off the agenda. But Electrics-wise, we get a pair of Gibson
Les Paul, and this Burstbucker Pro- with today’s move towards smaller amps, dog-ear P-90 pickups mated to twin
equipped new release is the lowest- in-ear monitors and less of a desire for volume and tone controls with black
cost maple-topped ’Paul in the dusty end widdle-fests, these woes pale top-hat knobs, 500kohms pots and
current USA range. against the instrument’s super-light Orange Drop capacitors.

100 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 GIBSON ES-330 & LES PAUL STUDIO REVIEW

1. Our ES-330’s rich cherry 2. The headstock carries

finish is evocative of a set of three-aside
earlier times, while the Kluson style tuners with
guitar’s P-90 pickups white buttons. There’s no
offer everything from central pearl decoration,
an almost acoustic tone but the logo is real shell,
to full on distortion and the nut is GraphTech

1 2

Les Paul Studio mahogany Modern Lite at 3.03kg (6.67lb); join that’s pretty hard to see through the
While we have to keep schtum about that the Modern Studio was a little heavier at translucent cherry red back.
imminent third Studio, we looked at the 3.85kg (8.47lb). Speaking of body thickness, A big change, however, is the classic
Modern Studio back in issue 511 and if you like the Modern Studio at just a shade over fingerboard binding. While the Modern
thought that was a bit too modern for your 57mm (47mm at the rim), this Studio is Studio actually has near-invisible black
tastes with its satin finishes, compound fractionally thinner than the full-fat Les plastic binding around the ebony ’board,
radius ebony fingerboard, contoured Paul, like our reference 2019 Classic, which the cream binding here, along with the
heel and those new-fangled pull-switch measures 61mm overall (50mm at the rim). classic dark rosewood fingerboard and
controls, not only is this new Studio £300 Like the Studio of old, there’s no body- those acrylic trapezoid inlays, not only
less expensive, it comes in a pretty old- edge binding, the plain top is centre-joined imparts a more classic Les Paul look but
school style. It still features Gibson’s Ultra- maple with a pretty subtle ’burst, while the also subtly alters the feel – which we’ll
Modern weight relief and pull-switch mahogany back is two-piece with an offset get to in a moment.

The ES-330 certainly

The ES-330’s neck
deserves another pickup is warm, woody
and musical. When
shot at the spotlight; combined with the
bridge P-90 and using
it’s just such a the controls, it produces
a huge array of tones
usable instrument
volumes (not tones) for the so-called ‘coil-
tap’ option for both humbuckers, which
here are covered Burstbucker Pros. The
Modern Studio employs a covered 490R in
the neck position and a 498T at the bridge.
Pulling the new less-modern Studio
from its very gig-ready soft-shell case, that
weight relief is clearly playing its part: at
3.71kg (8.16lb), it’s the lightest Les Paul
we’ve hand in our hands recently, with
the exception of the thinner-bodied, all-

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3

3. The ES-330 followed The hardware is Gibson USA standard,

Gibson’s standard but the tuners ape old-style Klusons (albeit
control layout of two
volume and tone pots,
with face washers, not bushings), the same
plus a three-way pickup as you’ll find on the Les Paul Standard ’50s.
selector toggle. This The budget doesn’t stretch to a toggle
arrangement offers switch surround, we get a cream plastic
a plethora of tones
plate for the output jack, and the classic
4. Gibson creates fret-end cream pickguard is left sharp-edged and a
‘nibs’ to provide a neat little unfinished, whereas models like that
and pleasing finish.
When done well this aids
Classic have smoother chamfered edges.
snag-free playing. The
rosewood ’board is dark Feel & Sounds
and grainy, with small Strapping on the ES-330 reveals why it
acrylic block markers
was a favourite with rhythm players (along
with its sister, the Epiphone Casino) or
those who majored in riffy, rock ’n’ roll
style soloing. With the neck being three
frets further into the body, open chords
are easy to reach, while barre shapes are
a doddle up to the 12th fret. The guitar’s
ultra-light weight makes it supremely
comfortable, too, especially when worn
a little higher on the strap.
With its rounded ‘C’ profile, the neck is
incredibly comfortable, and the 10-gauge
strings fitted as standard feel slack and
bendy. Where some new guitars are hard
and uninviting to play, this one lets you
right in, to the point where you almost feel
at one with the thing. No, you can’t blaze
pentatonics at the 17th fret, but virtually
anything else you could desire is right here 4
at your fingertips.

102 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 GIBSON ES-330 & LES PAUL STUDIO REVIEW

UNDER THE HOOD

Different pickups – and what
exactly is going on with the
Studio’s coil-taps?
s you’ll know, Gibson has a huge selection of

A humbuckers, and while the unpotted Burstbuckers

are known for their classic original PAF-alike voicings
in three degrees of heat – 1, 2 and the 3 – with slightly offset
coil winds and Alnico 2 magnets, the Burstbucker Pros are wax-
potted, again with slightly offset coil winds and with Alnico V
magnets that provide a bit more bite and oomph, in theory. With
measured DCRs of 8.07kohms (bridge) and 7.68k (neck), they’re
certainly not overwound and will provide a different voice to the
Modern Studio’s hotter 490R/498T pairing.
While the Modern Studio utilises the four pull-switches
for coil-tap, out of phase and direct out, our standard Studio
retains just the coil-taps on the pull-switch volume controls.
As we’ve commented before, ‘coil-tap’ typically refers to a
tap wire that’s taken at, say, 70 per cent of a coil wind to offer a
lower output than the full coil. These coil-taps don’t mess with
the coils, instead passing one coil (the screw coil) through a
.033µF capacitor (with a 333 code) that you can clearly see in
front of each volume control.
It’s effectively like passing that one coil through a rolled-off
tone control, audibly pulling down the resonant peak. It’s a
little different from the circuit in the Les Paul Classic and the
Modern Studio, too, which both use the lighter value .01µF caps 5
for the coil-taps.

Plugging into a Boogie Mark I reissue 5. Our ES-330 features

The Studio’s PCB
combo reveals a versatile set of tones that the diamond embossed
mounting results in
trapeze tailpiece found
very clean and tidy would suit almost any genre of popular on many of Gibson’s ES
electronics music. Jazz, blues, pop or light-to-medium models. A long Bigsby
rock are all dutifully served. Even when vibrato tailpiece was a
played clean, P-90s have a slight rasp that popular replacement
and looks ultra cool
makes for an organic tone that, when
turned right down to 2 or 3, can sound
almost acoustic in nature. And with the
amp set so there’s a healthy dose of drive
on tap, one can go from clean to gnarly
with no more than a twist of a control.

Strapping on the ES-330

reveals why it was a favourite
with rhythm players or riffy,
rock ’n’ roll style soloing
With the neck pickup on about 6 and
some tone rolled off, we go from straight
jazz to vintage blues, with both knobs
cranked a notch or two. And flipping to
the bridge pickup on about 8, with the
tone all but full up, is rock ’n’ roll heaven.
Given that both BB King and Chuck Berry
had ES-330 phases, this should come as
no surprise. Both P-90s on is a fabulous
Each coil-tap uses the
same value capacitor choice, as balancing the controls provides
to ‘filter’ one coil an immense array of sounds. Of course,
such is the model’s and its Epiphone E-230
cousin’s association with 60s British beat

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6

music that all manner of Stones, Beatles Along with the excellent weight, our
and Kinks tones are on tap, too. And when Studio is very well set up with none of
we cranked the Boogie to gigging volume, the tuning issues that have plagued some THE RIVALS
the ES-330 didn’t feed back unless the previous review samples. Typically,
guitar was pushed up close to the speaker. the frets stop at the binding, the ‘ends’ The obvious less-expensive rival to the
It’s quite a piece! formed by the binding, and while, as ES-330 is its Chinese-made cousin, the
Let’s not forget, though, that the new we’ve said before, a slightly bigger and Epiphone Casino (£709). Built to similar
Studio is half the price of the ES-330, higher fretwire wire gauge would be specs, it features a laminated maple
and while there are obvious cost-cutting preferable, it feels just like a good Gibson body, mahogany neck, laurel fingerboard
elements here, side by side with our Les Les Paul should. The similarity with the with parallelogram inlays, dog-ear P-90s,
Paul Classic – which currently costs £800 Classic is shared by the same 60s-style plus Epiphone LockTone bridge and
more – we’re not feeling short-changed. SlimTaper neck, which is pretty much trapeze tailpiece.
Visually, of course, the Studio’s no-body identical (with a nut width just a shade Eastman’s excellent T64/TV-T (£1,899)
binding style won’t satisfy everyone, but over 43mm, and a depth of 20.5mm at features an ivoroid-bound deluxe maple
from the player’s perspective you don’t the 1st fret and 23.2mm by the 12th) and laminate body and maple neck with block-
notice that. You do notice the neck, of a very similar relatively full-shouldered inlaid ebony fingerboard. Hardware is top-
course, and with the binding here it looks shallow ‘C’ profile. notch: Lollar P-90s, CTS and Switchcraft
and feels like a pukka ’Paul, even though No surprises, then, that it sounds like electrics, Gotoh hardware all round, and
there’s a slight ridge where the colour coat a good Les Paul should, too! There’s bone nut. A brilliant mid-priced choice.
has presumably been scraped away during a little more solidarity to the overall Either side of the Les Paul Studio is
the finish process. voices compared with the retrofitted the thinner-bodied all-mahogany Les
Burstbucker 1 and 2 of our Classic – which Paul Modern Lite (£1,499) and the satin-
This new Studio is also has a different nine-hole weight relief finished, upgraded Modern Studio (£1,899)
to the body – and there’s a little more with four pull-switch controls for extra
front-line infantry: clarity compared with the Studio. But it’s sounds. Epiphone offers a huge choice:
not chalk and cheese and, to be honest, try the 1959 Les Paul Standard Aged Dark
a guitar purpose- for general rock use the Studio might Burst (£969) with Gibson USA Burstbucker
designed to compete have the edge for those thicker, creamier 2 and 3 and, one of our favourites, the Kirk
voices. If you’re used to vintage-style Hammett ‘Greeny’ 1959 Les Paul Standard
with the plethora wiring, the modern-wired setup here (£1,499) with its magnetically out of phase
of ‘inspired by’ or is less versatile, without those thinner, Gibson USA Greenybuckers for those key
cleaner voices as you pull back the volume Peter Green sounds.
copycats models and tone: here, it’s simply quieter and

104 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 GIBSON ES-330 & LES PAUL STUDIO REVIEW

a little darker. But for the aim, and price 6. The Studio uses
point, you really shouldn’t feel you’re Gibson USA’s
standard Nashville-
missing anything. style bridge with a
The coil-taps? Well, that’s another thing lightweight aluminium
to either ignore or get used to. No, they stopbar tailpiece
don’t sound like simple coil-splits, but
7. These Vintage Deluxe
pulling up the bridge volume immediately tuners look like old-style
softens the mid-forward honk for much Klusons, but they’re a
more of a single-coil-like voice albeit with more modern design and
the same that you’ll find
a softer high-end but without the volume on plenty of other USA
drop of a typical coil-split. At the neck, the models, not least the Les
coil-tap almost sounds a little too ‘tone Paul Standard ’50s
control rolled off’, but again it pulls back
8. Another difference
that stridency. Listening to the Classic’s from the Modern
coil-taps, well, they sound different, Studio is the pickups,
too – a little honkier. So, while the bridge which are covered
Burstbucker Pros here
coil-tap here is definitely usable, the neck that use Quick Connect
is less obviously so, not least that with the no-solder connectors
volume control pulled back, which loses
a little clarity, as we said.

Verdict
We love it when Gibson gets it right, given
how we’ve had cause to criticise quality
control over the years, and both of these
diverse pieces are very well set up with
no tuning issues. The ES-330 certainly
deserves another shot at the spotlight;
it’s just such a usable instrument. It plays
like butter and is packed with a fabulous
range of recognisable tones. True, flat out
8 through a 100-watt Marshall stack is not
particularly feasible with an all-hollow

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REVIEW GIBSON ES-330 & LES PAUL STUDIO

GIBSON ES-330 GIBSON LES PAUL

STUDIO
PRICE: £3,099 (inc case)
ORIGIN: USA PRICE: £1,599 (inc soft case)
TYPE: Double-cutaway, ORIGIN: USA
hollowbody electric TYPE: Single-cutaway,
BODY: Fully hollow, cream bound solidbody electric
maple/poplar/maple laminate top, BODY: 2-piece mahogany with
back and sides unbound carved maple top and
NECK: Mahogany, ‘rounded C’, Ultra-Modern weight relief
glued-in NECK: 1-piece mahogany, SlimTaper
SCALE LENGTH: 629mm (24.75”) profile, glued-in
NUT/WIDTH: GraphTech/ 43.1mm SCALE LENGTH: 629mm (24.75”)
FINGERBOARD: Bound Indian NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech/43.3mm
rosewood with small acrylic block FINGERBOARD: Cream bound
inlays, 305mm (12”) radius Indian rosewood, acrylic trapezoid
FRETS: 22, medium inlays, 305mm (12”) radius
HARDWARE: Gibson ABR-1 tune-o- FRETS: 22, medium
matic bridge, diamond embossed HARDWARE: Nashville tune-o-
trapeze tailpiece, white-button matic bridge, aluminium stopbar
vintage-style tuners – nickel-plated tailpiece, Vintage Deluxe tuners
STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: w/ keystone buttons – chrome/
51.5mm nickel-plated
ELECTRICS: Gibson ‘dog-ear’ P90 STRING SPACING, BRIDGE:
neck and bridge single coils, 3-way 51.5mm
9 toggle pickup selector, volume and ELECTRICS: Covered Gibson
tone for each pickup Burstbucker Pro humbuckers (neck
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.75/6.05 and bridge), 3-way toggle pickup
9. The control layout is guitar, but open your mind and heart OPTIONS: None selector switch, volume and tone for
standard, but each to this delightful instrument and you’ll RANGE OPTIONS: Gibson each pickup with pull-switches on
volume control has
a pull-switch to voice
discover a faithful musical pal for almost ES-335 (£3,399), centre block volume controls for ‘coil-tap’
Gibson’s unique any occasion. body with 19th-fret neck join, WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.71/8.16
‘coil-taps’ – without But if the ES-330 is more about restoring dot-inlaid rosewood fingerboard, OPTIONS: None
the out-of-phase or a classic into the catalogue, this new twin humbuckers; Gibson ES-345 RANGE OPTIONS: Les Paul Modern
direct-out options
of the Modern Studio Studio is front-line infantry: a guitar (£3,499), as above but with double Lite (£1,499), Les Paul Modern
purpose-designed to compete with the parallelogram markers, gold-plated Studio (£1,899), Les Paul Studio
plethora of other brands’ ‘inspired by’ or parts and multiple body binding Session (£TBA), Les Paul Classic
copycats. Its classic big and thick voicing is LEFT-HANDERS: No (£2,399)
FINISH: Sixties Cherry (as LEFT-HANDERS: Not this model
If the Modern Studio was a bit too reviewed), Tobacco Sunburst, FINISHES: Cherry Sunburst (as
Antique Natural, Ebony (online only) reviewed), Wine Red, Blueberry
modern for your tastes, this new – gloss nitrocellulose Burst, Ebony – gloss nitrocellulose
Studio is £300 less expensive and
comes in a pretty old-school style
archetypal Les Paul in anyone’s book, and
9 9
along with a great weight there’s little to PROS Super build quality and PROS Nicely turned out LP with
complain about. Those coil-taps won’t be attention to detail; ultra-light excellent weight, setup and tuning
to everyone’s taste – to our ears, the bridge weight; extremely comfortable; stability; fingerboard binding;
coil-tap has more legs than the neck – and classic clean and dirty tones pretty classic sounds; we’d head
although we don’t get the refined body straight to a gig with this
binding of the upper-market models, that’s CONS Some may not like its deeply
offset by the lower cost. All in, of the recent inset neck; played very loudly the CONS Visually, we miss the body
lower-end ’Pauls we’ve played, this new guitar will feed back – but that’s binding; the ‘coil-taps’ won’t satisfy
Studio is very hard to argue with. the nature of this particular beast everyone, especially at the neck

106 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

REVIEW BOSS SDE-3 DUAL DIGITAL DELAY

Eighties Icon
Boss creates the opportunity to put some classic 1980s digital
delay sounds onto any pedalboard with its compact
reproduction of the rackmount Roland SDE-3000

Words Trevor Curwen Photography Phil Barker

 BOSS SDE-3 DUAL DIGITAL DELAY REVIEW

BOSS SDE-3 DUAL DIGITAL DELAY £169

CONTACT Roland UK WEB www.boss.info

he trend of putting classic rackmount In Use

What You Need To Know

Another Boss delay pedal…

T digital delay sounds into pedals
continues in Boss’s latest compact
series. We most recently saw TC Electronic
Great functionality is crammed into a
standard compact pedal chassis by Boss’s
use of dual concentric knobs, making
1 There have been a few of them in do it with the 2290 P, but prior to that Boss the SDE-3 a real hands-on pedal with
the past couple of years, but each of had brought out two pedals reviving the all you need for everyday use right there
them absolutely fills its own niche. classic Roland SDE-3000 that launched on the front panel – although you will
in 1983: the SDE-3000D, and a specialised have to consult the manual to set it up for
What makes this one special? Eddie Van Halen version of it in the form of certain modes of operation that require
2 The main thing is that it puts the SDE-3000EVH. The triple-footswitch particular juxtapositions of the knobs
Roland’s digital delay sounds from pedals’ large footprints and price tags while switching power. While the pedal
the 1980s into a compact pedal. north of £300 may have discouraged some is capable of running in mono in/out,
The sought-after sound of the players, so now Boss has given us the mono in/stereo out and stereo in/out
classic SDE-3000 rackmount unit SDE-3, which puts their sounds and much configurations, we started out by using the
was channelled into two recent of the functionality into a compact chassis. pedal in mono and just setting up a range
triple-footswitch SDE-3000 pedals, This pedal can be used in mono with a of standard single delays.
but now you can get it in this smaller massive 1,600ms of delay, or in stereo with
and less expensive pedal. a maximum of 800ms. There’s modulation
with Rate and Depth knobs, plus the usual
This pedal can be
Why is it called a dual delay? delay Time, Feedback and Mix knobs, with used in mono with
3 Because that’s its most notable Hi Cut for the repeats. What really sets this
a massive 1,600ms of
feature: it can give you two delays apart from other compact pedals, though,
in parallel, the second one offset is that it can deliver dual delay via an Offset delay or stereo with a
from the first by an amount that knob that sets the timing of the second
you can set. delay against the first. maximum of 800ms
The actual sound of the repeats here
is clear, but it’s not squeaky clean or
harsh, and there’s a certain warmth and
smoothness that reflects the sound found
in the 16-bit tonality of the original SDE-
3000 rackmount units. If you want to
tweak the sound of the repeats, the Hi Cut
knob controls a low-pass filter to shave
off some high-end and presence. To our
Besides the standard
ears, it doesn’t actually deliver any tonal
bypass function, you can shift in the sound of the first repeat, but
press the pedal switch subsequent repeats can be made to sound
for at least two seconds darker, enabling a long trail of repeats to
to switch to tap tempo
mode, which operates in better blend into your sound.
quarter-note intervals The amount of delay time available
ought to provide everything you’d want

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REVIEW BOSS SDE-3 DUAL DIGITAL DELAY

By juxtaposition of your delay can set up the relationship between 2. You can select from
three different output
the two repeats, perhaps using the two
time and the Offset setting, taps to create a patterned delay. Beyond
modes: a mix of dry and
wet from both outputs;
you can set up the relationship the 100-millisecond mark, there are dry from one and wet
two settings on the Offset dial that from the other; or wet
between the two repeats represent timed delays. Both eighth notes from both outputs with
the direct sound muted
and dotted-eighth notes are available,
1. The dual-concentric to do with straight delays, but the Time perfectly synchronised to the first 3. The Carryover switch
knobs pack all your knob has a lot to cover in its travel, so delay for anyone who wants to get some operates a trails function:
hands-on control into set it to On if you want
the limited space – the
you have to be a bit careful in order to rhythmic delay happening. the repeats to carry
central knobs are for the get the exact sounds you want. This is While the two timed delays exist in on and fade naturally
main delay parameters, especially true in its lower settings, say, marked sections of the Offset dial, the after the effect turns
while the outer rings off; set it to Off and
if you want to dial in short delays for some offset time ramps in a linear fashion
are used for modulation they’ll cut dead with the
Rate, Depth and Hi Cut. pure chorus or flange in conjunction between the eighth note to dotted- footswitching action
Next to the Time control, with the modulation knobs. Besides eighth note settings in the unmarked arc
the Offset knob offsets using the Time knob itself, there are two between the two o’clock and four o’clock
the output B delay time other methods of setting the delay time:
to get different delay
times for the left and via tap tempo or by using MIDI, as the
right channels. When SDE-3 will synchronise to MIDI clock,
it’s set to Off, the left which overrides its Time knob and tap THE RIVALS
and right delays sound
at the same time.
tempo functions.
Turning it up full sets the Of course, it’s the second delay that If Boss’s latest offering appeals to you, but you’d like a bit more control,
amount of offset up to a makes everything more interesting. The check out the SDE-3000D (£329) and the SDE-3000EVH (£399). Both
dotted-eighth note, and first half of the Offset knob’s travels will have triple-footswitch operation so you get a dedicated tap tempo
you can find an eighth
note in the marked
bring in a delay somewhere between 0 switch and separate footswitches for each delay. You can set up exact
segment between noon and 100ms. Very short offset delays are delay times in milliseconds and there are 100 onboard memories.
and two o’clock great for thickening up your sound or Also consider the Strymon Dig V2 (£359), another dual delay
putting a flam on the repeat, but then pedal based on early rackmount digital delay sound, here with three
you get into a whole other level once different digital delay voicings to choose from. It has switched settings
you start to hear the offset distinct from for modulation, plus a dedicated tap tempo footswitch and a useful
the first delay; by juxtaposition of your range of parameters for setting up the delays.
delay time and the Offset setting, you

110 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 BOSS SDE-3 DUAL DIGITAL DELAY REVIEW

BOSS SDE-3 DUAL

DIGITAL DELAY
PRICE: £169
ORIGIN: Malaysia
TYPE: Delay pedal
FEATURES: Buffered bypass
CONTROLS: Level, Feedback,
Time, Hi Cut, Offset, Depth, Rate,
Carryover on/off switch, Bypass
3 footswitch
CONNECTIONS: Standard inputs
(A&B), standard outputs (A&B),
positions for a different range of first and a fairy dusting of chorus to your standard CTL/EXP input, MIDI In
second delay interaction. delays, but as you turn it up you’ll be getting POWER: 9V battery or 9V DC
If you can use the pedal in stereo, you towards more extreme pitch-detuning and adaptor 75 mA
have two options as to how the two delays a host of freakier ‘out there’ psych sounds. DIMENSIONS: 73 (w) x 129 (d) x
work together. The pedal’s default setting, A delay time set low offers access to a great 59mm (h)
as shipped, is for standard stereo, but this range of pure modulation effects.
can be changed to ping-pong with delay For ease of use in a gigging situation,
bouncing repeatedly between the two holding down the footswitch to get into
outputs. Either mode offers a huge opening tap tempo mode won’t suit everyone’s
up of the soundscape, especially if you add way of working, so you can connect up
a bit of modulation to the mix. There’s loads an external footswitch to the CTL/EXP
of scope for dialling in your modulation, socket for tap tempo or, alternatively, use
too, with the easily accessible Depth and it for a ‘hold’ function, which will keep the
Rate knobs, both of which cover a wide repeats going as long as the switch is held
range. The lower reaches of the Depth down. If you connect a dual footswitch
knob can add a bit of tape delay wobble or you can have both functions at once.
There’s also the possibility of plugging in
an expression pedal to adjust one or more
parameters in real time.

Verdict
The SDE-3 is an excellent little pedal for
9
a useful range of delays and is especially PROS Compact size; two parallel
adept at familiar 80s sounds. There’s delay lines; hands-on practicality;
plenty to explore here, but with so much wide-ranging modulation options;
variation available there may be times tap tempo; stereo capability;
when you come up with a great sound MIDI clock synchronisation
and get frustrated that you can’t save it to
a memory – but that’s the SDE-3000D’s CONS Dual-concentric knobs can
thing, not the SDE-3’s. This one is for those be fiddly; setting up some modes
Connect a footswitch for tap tempo or a hold function, who want instant hands-on tweakability requires a bit of faffing with the
or an expression pedal to morph between knob values in a pedalboard-friendly chassis. knobs and turning power on/off

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 BOUGHT

B I L LY M O R R I S O N
The former Cult and Billy Idol guitarist shares his love for Gibson guitars and
Friedman heads, plus why he can’t be bothered to open his pedal tray…

q¨‚æǑ÷‚ÞǑ樘ǑċÙÞæǑޘ٫ËëÞǑ£ë«æ‚ÙǑÿËëǑ
Billy has been a fan
Ë루æǒ÷«æ¨ǑÿËëÙǑË÷ÄǑÃËĘÿƣǑ
of Gibson single-
cuts since his first “With my own money? I think it was a Gibson LS-6,
guitar, an LS-6 which, by the way, you can’t find these days. But it
had a head shaped like a Les Paul; it was a single-cut
and made out of one piece of cheap wood. And it had
a rotary six-position knob that looked like it came off
a Vox AC30. That was my first Gibson, which was all
I cared about.”

q¨‚æǑ÷‚ÞǑ樘Ǒ½‚ÞæǑ£ë«æ‚ÙǑÿËëǑË루æǑ‚Ä”Ǒ÷¨ÿƣǑ
“I haven’t bought a guitar in decades, really! Well, not
really. I have a signature Les Paul and there are perks
that come with that. But I do use Gretsch guitars a lot
and they’ve been very kind to me, too. I’ve gotten a few
Falcons and a Country Gentleman, and I did buy a ’72
Les Paul Deluxe with mini-humbuckers that’s absolutely
original. It’s Wine Red and absolutely beautiful.”

q¨‚æǁÞǑ樘ǑÃËÞæǑ«ÄŽÙ˜”«½˜ǑċĔǑËÙǑ‚Ù£‚«ÄǑ
ÿËëǁö˜Ǒ˜ö˜ÙǑ¨‚”Ǒ÷¨˜ÄǑëÿ«Ä£Ǒ£ë«æ‚ÙÞƣǑ
“You know what? I have a 1980-something black Les
Paul Standard, and I bought that from a pawn shop
for something like 600 bucks. It’s one of those Les Pauls
that… you know how, from guitar to guitar, you can have
them play differently? Well, I just picked this thing up
from off the wall and it plays the same today as it did
when I first got it back in that shop in London.”

“Quality in is quality
out – you start where
your hands and your
instrument are”

q¨‚æǁÞǑ樘ǑÞæÙËÄ£˜ÞæǑŽ‚Þ˜ǑË¢Ǒëÿ˜ÙǁÞǑ٘ÃËÙޘǑ
ÿËëǁö˜Ǒ˜ö˜ÙǑ¨‚”Ǒ‚¢æ˜ÙǑëÿ«Ä£Ǒ£˜‚Ùƣ
“Pretty much everything in my recording studio [laughs].
When you buy it, as soon as you have it, it’s out of date
and the new model is out. But I bought a couple of
heads – and I’m not going to name what they are – that
haven’t even made it out of rehearsal. They’ve been
sitting in my storage locker since the same day I bought
them because I just went back to my Friedman heads.”
PHOTO BY MEDIOS Y MEDIA/GETTY IMAGES

'‚ö˜ǑÿËëǑ˜ö˜ÙǑÞ˽”Ǒ‚Ǒ£ë«æ‚ÙǑ樂æǑÿËëǑÄË÷Ǒ
«Äæ˜Äޘ½ÿǑ٘£Ù˜æǑ½˜ææ«Ä£Ǒ£Ëƣ
“Oh, 100 per cent. I had the most gorgeous Alpine
White Les Paul Custom and it was used in a very high-
profile Super Bowl commercial by a friend. I think it
was for Samsung TVs. After the commercial was filmed,
Samsung contacted me and wanted to buy the guitar
for a museum or something. I didn’t want to sell it, so
I threw out a stupid price and they said, ‘Yes.’ I sold it

114 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 BILLY’S
GO-TO RIG
“I use either my Knaggs Signature Keya-J,
with Fralin noiseless P-90s, or my Gibson Les
Paul Signature with Seymour Duncan JB and ’59
pickups. I have two Friedman BE-100 Deluxe heads and
they run through a Shure wireless [system] into a Radial
four-way selector. Then into the rack switching system is
an RJM switcher, controlled by a Rocktron floor controller,
a Line 6 rackmount modulation, a delay, filter units, a pedal
tray with various overdrives, and an octave. Unfortunately,
I don’t know exactly what’s in that drawer as I never
open it! [Laughs] But I do know that there are
things by MXR, Suhr and Boss in there…
And everything goes into a Two Notes
speaker cab emulator.”

PHOTO BY JANE STUART @ JANESTUARTPHOTOS

to them and I wish I hadn’t, though it was a lot of money anything else. But I only want the most expensive version Billy’s mahogany-bodied
for that particular guitar. But I regret it; I wish I still had – obviously because I’m an idiot – so I need the custom- Knaggs Keya-J-M
signature is loaded with
that guitar.” built one [laughs]. Paul Stanley, if you’re reading this, you
Fralin noiseless P-90 and
know where I live and who you can contact!” adds some bling with
q¨‚æǁÞǑÿËëÙǑ˜ÞæǑëÿ«Ä£Ǒæ«ÖǑ¢ËÙǑ‚ÄÿËĘǑ gold-plated hardware
½Ë˺«Ä£ǒ¢ËÙǑ樘«ÙǑë½æ«Ã‚æ˜Ǒ£ë«æ‚ÙƣǑ *¢Ǒ¢Ëَ˜”ǑæËǑº˜Ǒ‚ǑŽ¨Ë«Ž˜ƝǑ÷Ë뽔ǑÿËëǑق樘ÙǑ
“Don’t listen to anyone else. When you go out to buy your ëÿǑ‚Ǒ٘‚½½ÿǑ£Ë˔Ǒ£ë«æ‚ÙǑ‚Ä”Ǒ‚ǑŽ¨˜‚ÖǑ‚ÃÖƝǑËÙǑ
ultimate guitar, don’t be swayed by what anyone else ‚ǒŽ¨˜‚ÖǑ£ë«æ‚ÙǑ‚Ä”Ǒ‚ǑæËÖƳÄË推Ǒ‚ÃÖƣ
plays or likes. You will know your ultimate guitar when “I think I would go with the expensive guitar and the
you put your hands on it and you play it. Go by how it cheap amp. I say that mainly because I believe that
sounds and feels; you will know. Don’t let your friend who quality in is quality out. So you start where your hands
is standing next to you put their hands on it and play it and your instrument are.”
or tell you, ‘Nah, man, you should try and buy this one.’
No, you get the one that feels right in your hands.” *¢ǑÿËëǑŽË뽔ǑËĽÿǑëޘǑ¨ëÍ뎺˜ÙÞǑËÙǑÞ«Ä£½˜Ǒ
ŽË«½ÞǑ¢ËÙǑ樘Ǒ٘ÞæǑË¢ǑÿËëÙǑŽ‚Ù˜˜ÙƝǑ÷¨«Ž¨Ǒ÷Ë뽔Ǒ
q¨˜ÄǑ÷‚ÞǑ樘Ǒ½‚ÞæǑæ«Ã˜ǑÿËëǑÞæËÖ֘”Ǒ‚Ä”Ǒ «æǒ˜Ǒ‚Ä”Ǒ÷¨ÿƣ
½Ë˺˜”Ǒ«ÄǑ‚Ǒ£ë«æ‚ÙǑÞ¨ËÖǑ÷«Ä”Ë÷ǑËÙǑÙË÷ޘ”Ǒ “I don’t really like single coils and I don’t really use them,
ËĽ«Ä˜Ǒ‚Ä”Ǒ÷¨‚æǑ÷˜Ù˜ǑÿËëǑ½Ë˺«Ä£Ǒ‚æƣǑ though if it were P-90s it would be a different question!
“I’ve always gone into guitar shops, but if I’m on tour Because now they have the noiseless P-90s and I like
and walk past one, I’m just looking at what they’ve got. I those, so I would struggle with that choice. But between
can tell you that these days, going into a guitar store has humbuckers and single coils, there’s no choice for me –
become rarer for me because most of us shop online. it’s always humbuckers.” [AD]
But recently I was on Reverb looking at a Paul Stanley
Ibanez Iceman. Paul is a friend of mine, and I don’t own Billy Morrison’s latest solo album, The Morrison
one. Of course, I don’t want to ask Paul, but I would love Project, is available now on independent release
a Cracked Mirror [PS1-CM] one; that’s a pretty cool one.
Those guitars have such a beautiful shape, they’re unlike https://billymorrison.com

5
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 FINE TUNING
Judging by some of our more recent review submissions, it’s fair to say final QC on new
instruments is rather variable. Dave Burrluck wonders if we all need to learn to do a little DIY?

ou’d hope that when you buy

Y your shiny new axe, it would be

perfectly ready to go, especially
since guitars aren’t getting any cheaper
Tuning stability
problems on new
guitars rarely
come from the
as we’ve all no doubt noticed. Over the tuners themselves,
past year, however, it’s fair to say rather although many
like to upgrade
too many new instruments aren’t quite to locking types
finished when they turn up at Guitarist
HQ. Is that acceptable today? Do guitar
companies think we should either spend
our own time finishing off their guitars or
pay a professional? Is the QC of new guitars
going down the pan?
It’s impossible to generalise, but a
personal bugbear for me is tuning. Can
I get the guitar in tune in the first place,
and will it stay and play in tune? Now, I’m
not expecting to do a quick tune to pitch
and then to go off and play an hour’s set
without the guitar drifting. Of course 1
it will. Many of us will have our own
preferences for string height and gauge,
our own way of attaching strings and Evaluation string. The nut therefore has to be very
stretching them. But when you’ve gone to As ever, it’s essential to carefully check well cut and lubricated, otherwise stable
that trouble and the damn thing struggles over any new or new-to-you guitar before tuning will be next to impossible. A neck
to get in tune, let alone stay that way, well, you consider any fixes, not least if tuning with next to zero flex will hold its tuning
you’ve got trouble. seems to be a problem. Start with the neck much better from the off, so long as there
You’d think price would be the obvious itself. An easy way to test a neck’s stiffness are no other issues.
stumbling block, but as we’ve detailed is simply to check whether it moves when It’s fairly obvious for a less seasoned
many times there’s no reason a lower-end you push or pull on the neck in playing player to point the finger at the tuners.
guitar can’t play like a high-end guitar, position. Of course, this slight flexing is These devices are supposed to tune
though it depends on quite a few factors. a technique used by many players to add the guitar, aren’t they? They must be
Has it been made correctly in the first subtle vibrato. If there’s too much flex, the problem! But it’s rare that even a
place with properly selected and dried however, you’ve got plenty of potential lower-end guitar will have dysfunctional
wood? Not always. And that’s not issues, as with a floating vibrato, where as machineheads. They might feel a little stiff
something we, the end user, can see. But you raise the pitch of one string, the others or sloppy, but so long as you’ve attached
it can certainly contribute to keeping a will go very slightly flat. In extreme cases, your strings correctly – and stretched
new guitar in tune. Or not… this will happen as you simply bend one them when new – it’s rare that they’re
the culprits if you’ve got tuning stability
issues, even though that doesn’t stop
2 3 many people from spending more money
on ‘upgrading’ the tuners [pic 1].
As we’ve often stated, the top nut is
typically the real fly in the tuning and
tuning-stability ointment. If the string
grooves are too tight, they’ll snag the
string so a low-fret bend might stay slightly
raised, instead of returning to correct
pitch. Basic stuff. Three-a-side back-
angled headstocks are especially prone
to these problems as the D and G strings
in particular splay out from the nut to
the tuners, as well as angling down to the
PHOTOS BY DAVE BURRLUCK

On three-a-side headstocks the strings splay tuners. Fender’s six-in-a-line headstocks

out from the nut to the tuners. This means that
have pretty straight string pull, but – as
the D and G string slots especially have to be Another reason to love Mr Fender: the straight
cut very carefully, otherwise they’ll snag the string-pull over the nut means you’ll have fewer with any nut – if those string grooves
strings and you’ll be out of tune problems, not least with a vibrato are too tight, you’ll still have a problem
[pics 2 & 3].

116 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

While we’ve had to work
on plenty of review
guitars, one brand that
stands out is PRS. From
its start-up SE models
upwards, these models
play and stay in tune and
are consistently fit for
purpose. This reference
SE Silver Sky is in daily
use and, aside from
string changes and the
occasional polish, we
haven’t touched it
TheMOD SQUAD

4. You can check for 5. Like a nut’s string

straight string-pull grooves, those at the
4 over the nut by fretting bridge need to be
each string at the 3rd smooth and properly
fret. Look closely and cut. It’s particularly
there should be only important if your guitar
the slightest gap from has a vibrato as well
the top of the fret to the
underside of the string. 6. There are plenty of
If the nut slots are too tricks to get a Strat-style
high, then as you fret vibrato to play in tune.
at the 1st fret you’ll be PRS’s SE Silver Sky
sharp. But remember, comes with the vibrato
only check this when ‘decked’ flat to the body,
the neck is properly set as shown here, and there
with just a little relief are no tuning problems

Go back a decade or so and it was pretty “It’s rare that Buzz, Rattle & Hum
common to receive new review guitars Now, even if these elements prove
where the nut was simply left too high, the tuners are the problem-free, a neck needs to be straight
which not only affected the playing feel (with or without a slight concave ‘bow’,
in lower positions but could also make a culprits if you’ve called relief) and the frets level. If there’s
simple open E to 1st-fret F, for example, got tuning stability too much relief in the neck when you
not be in tune as the string will go sharp make those adjustments to the height
as you push it down. The thinking was issues, though that of the string grooves in the nut and then
that the end user might want a different doesn’t stop people straighten it, you might well find those
setup or string gauge, and the shop’s nut grooves are too low and you’re now
tech would make the necessary tweaks ‘upgrading’ them” getting string buzz on your open strings.
before you bought it. With the advent The only fix here is a new nut or a Super
of online commerce, most (but not all) [pics 5 & 6]. Add in a vibrato to the equation Glue drop-fill. So, yes, there is a process to
manufacturers pay much more attention and you have another potential problem. follow in any instrument setup, old or new.
to this, but, to be honest, I’ve lost count of There’s the fulcrum to consider, the break Buzz, fret ‘rattle’, whatever you want
the number of guitars I’ve had on review, point on the saddle: is the string catching to call it, isn’t always easy to pin down,
certainly in the sub-£1k price bracket, on the exit point from the block to the especially since some of us have heavier
that have needed a little TLC in the nut saddle? And going back to the headstock, picking hands than others. But these
department. Either way, that top nut is don’t forget that string trees can snag technique-related issues – often ‘fixed’
probably the most common problem with those top strings, too [pic 7]. by simply raising the string height and/or
any lower-end mass-produced guitar. Bearing all this in mind, you’d be going up a gauge of string – can mask the
Just saying [pic 4]. right to expect more potential tuning real culprits such as those low nut slots
At the other end of the string is the problems with a Stratocaster or a Bigsby- or, obviously, a high fret that hasn’t been
bridge saddle. Like the nut, if the saddle loaded Gretsch than you would with a seated properly or has become unseated.
snags the string you can have problems Les Paul Junior. Sometimes that annoying buzz you hear

118 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 TheMOD SQUAD

While one or two string trees

might be necessary on a
Fender-style headstock to
increase the back angle and
pull the top strings down, you
need to check that they’re
not snagging the strings

might not even be a fret/neck issue; it “I’ve lost count of the heights and radius, reset the vibrato,
could be anything from a vibrating spring reset string heights, recut the top E
on a humbucker mounting ring to a loose- number of guitars, and B string nut grooves to remove the
fitting truss rod that’s not under tension. sitar-like response, and drop-filled the
So while playability/tuning issues are certainly in the sub- low E nut slot as it had been cut too low.
the primary issues, that’s not to say there £1k price bracket, Personally, I’d have restrung the guitar
won’t be problems with the hand-wiring with a heavier string gauge, too, as it was
that’s in the vast majority of lower-end that have needed still quite ‘snappy’ sounding, but that’s a
guitars: switches wired the wrong way a little TLC in the personal preference.
around, tone controls that don’t work and, Now, if you’d received that guitar from
on occasion, loose pots or jack sockets, or nut department” an online retailer, you’d be sending it
a dry joint on an earth wire. I like to check back, wouldn’t you? In-store, well, the
the electrics and the pickups. I’ve certainly be sent out to me to see what the problem overworked tech would be tasked to do
had guitars advertising ‘pickup A’ when was. Fair play to our reviewers because what I had to do. The thing is, aside from a
the actual pickups are something different. ‘rattle and buzz’ was an understatement. drop of Super Glue, nut powder and a thin
The guitar I was shipped was unplayable. piece of veneer for that shim, the guitar
Case In Point Now, I didn’t ask if either of the reviewers hasn’t changed and yet it’s gone from
A recent new launch from a major had had a go at fixing anything, but it ‘unplayable’ to ‘perfectly good’.
manufacturer involved three new models appeared that, at best, the guitar had A sign of the times? I’m not sure.
being shipped to HQ, review stock for missed out on a final QC check when it’d Making a guitar is one thing, and that
ourselves, Total Guitar and our online landed in Europe, and at worst no-one at should include final tweaking and setup,
teams to review. All good – although a the factory had bothered to finish the job shouldn’t it? I don’t think it’s the job for the
couple of reviewers complained about or even basically set up the guitar. end user, or the reviewer, to have to finish
rattles and string buzz. It wasn’t my Anyway, to sort it out I reset the neck it off. Let us know your experiences at the
review, but I asked for one of the guitars to relief, added a neck shim, reset saddle usual address.

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 Huw Price’s

Without modulation, we wouldn’t have vibrato, chorus, flanging or phasing

Modulation
I
n our recent Nitty Gritty feature on
tremolo (issue 515), we described how The Vibratone was Fender’s
a valve can be configured to create a answer to the heavyweight
Leslie rotating speaker
low-frequency oscillator (LFO) that can
modulate amplitude. You can’t actually hear
the oscillator itself, merely the effect it has,
and that effect isn’t restricted to tremolo.
In addition to amplitude, an LFO can be
used to modulate pitch, frequency response,
phase and delay – and that leads us onto
vibrato, chorus, flangers and phasers.

Doppler Vibes
Many of us will have experienced the
acoustic phenomenon of the pitch of a
police car siren appearing to increase
in pitch as it approaches and decrease
as it moves away. It’s called the Doppler
effect, and if the volume and pitch remain
constant you’re probably in trouble.
Engineers have developed clever ways
to replicate natural acoustic phenomena
such as reverb and echo, so it’s hardly
surprising that they did the same for the
Doppler effect. During the late 1930s a
radio repair engineer called David Leslie
bought a Hammond organ, but he found
himself disappointed with the sound. He
designed a speaker cabinet that utilised
spinning horn speakers for the upper

The Uni-Vibe was an

excellent alternative
to a Leslie and
became a mainstay
for Jimi Hendrix
frequencies and a rotating baffle for a Cream, Hendrix’s Little Wing solo and to a Leslie. It soon became a mainstay
fixed low-frequency driver. Hammond several of David Gilmour’s guitar tracks for Jimi Hendrix and is most closely
wasn’t interested in the speaker cabinet, on Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. associated with Robin Trower. Featuring
so David Leslie started his own company The main drawback of Leslie cabinets, a chorus/vibrato switch on the front,
and his rotating speakers quickly became however, is that they’re so heavy you it provided a four-stage phasing with
synonymous with Hammond organs. need road crew to move them. Various photo resistors and could be operated
The onboard valve amplifiers of Leslie companies subsequently developed their with a foot controller.
cabinets would overdrive very nicely, so own rotating speaker cabinets with more Modern stompbox Leslie simulators
it was probably inevitable that guitarists guitar-friendly dimensions and easier are plentiful, so check out the DLS
eventually discovered them. More closely portability. The Vaughan brothers both RotoSPIN, Strymon Lex, Boss RT-20
resembling a phone box than a stompbox, used the Fender Vibratone and David and Hammond Leslie G. The now
the Leslie nevertheless provided Gilmour favoured the Yamaha RA-200. discontinued valve-driven Hughes &
guitarists with the first opportunity to Even so, the advent of solid-state Kettner Rotosphere was always highly
experience the intoxicating mélange of electronics was ushering in the era of the regarded, and pre-loved examples are
pitch modulation, tremolo and phasing that effects pedal, and the Shine-ei Uni-Vibe easy to find. Also, many DAWs provide
they create. You can hear this on Badge by proved to be an excellent alternative rotary speaker plug-ins.

120 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 NittyGritty

1. Boss’s RT-20 is one of a 2. In 1976 the Boss CE-1

host of modern pedal- arrived as the world’s
based Leslie simulators first chorus pedal

Vibrato 1
The Doppler effect occurs because the
time interval between each wave peak
gets shorter as the sound approaches, and
longer as it moves away. Clearly, Leslies
work by replicating the physical conditions
mechanically because the rotating speakers
direct the sound towards the listener and
away. Time delay and therefore phase
shifting contribute to the Doppler effect.
As discussed in our tremolo feature, most
amp tremolos use a phase shift oscillator
circuit with a three-stage capacitor/
resistor (CR) network. The time taken for
each capacitor to charge and discharge
causes a tiny delay, and by manipulating
the delay time engineers can control phase 2
shift. This means that Doppler-style effects
can also be created electronically.
One approach is to create two copies of
the guitar signal with a 90-degree phase
shift between them. These signals are
mixed together and the summing amplifier
is modulated to move from one side to the
other. As it moves, the summed output
is effectively modulating the delay and it
creates a pitch-shifting effect. It’s more
of a pitch wobble than the whooshing
phasey sound of a Leslie, but it has a sonic
character of its own.

Vibrato circuits are

more complex to
build than tremolos
and so they were a
luxury on amplifiers
As early as the 1940s, an engineer called electronic vibrato effects and the acoustic expensive components so they were
John Hannert developed a vibrato for Doppler effect are the same. a luxury on amplifiers. Maganatone
Hammond, and Wurlitzer’s Model 44 By 1956 Gibson had a standalone vibrato switched from varistors to light-dependent
Organ had a vibrato effect in 1953. The effect unit called the GA-V 1, but the most resistors, and transistors had replaced
schematic for Wurlitzer’s vibrato was famous amp vibrato first featured on valves by the late 1960s. By then it was
published by Richard H Dorf in the April Magnatone’s 200 Series amps in 1957. The possible to build vibrato effects into
1954 edition of Radio And Television circuit employed silicon carbide voltage- stompbox enclosures.
News, and is thought to have ‘inspired’ the dependent resistors (varistors) to alter pitch. The Bigfoot Magnavibe and Malekko
vibrato design Dick Denny would later use Varistor resistance would vary depending Omicron are both designed to produce
in the Vox AC30. on the voltage across them, and higher vintage Magnatone-style vibrato, and the
Dorf wrote: “A phase change can be voltage lowered resistance. The effect Boss VB-2 compact pedal has a strong
detected as a frequency change as long as more closely resembles a pitch-shifting following. In addition to Speed and
the phase is continuing to change.” This tremolo than a Leslie, and it was famously Intensity controls, a modern vibrato pedal
is crucial because it states that, although used by Duane Eddy and Lonnie Mack. may have a Rise Time control to set how
we perceive a change in pitch, the actual Vibrato circuits are more complex to quickly the effect kicks in, and expression
pitch doesn’t change. In that regard, build than tremolos and require more pedal compatibility.

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NittyGritty
y

Chorus Flanging Phasing

Some chorus effects feature vibrato/ Flanging can be traced back to a trick Flanging and phasing are similar in
chorus switching, and even if they don’t performed by studio engineers. Les Paul principle, but phasing is simultaneously
it’s often possible to dial in a vibrato using was doing it in 1952 using acetate disks cruder and more complex. So-called ‘all
a chorus pedal because the two effects and later engineers used tape. Famous pass filters’ are used to create notches
are so closely related. Once again, we can examples of tape flanging can be heard or troughs in the frequency response
trace things back to Hammond organs on The Beatles’ Revolver, Itchycoo Park by by isolating specific frequencies
– and the work of John Hannet. In the the Small Faces and Life In The Fast Lane then flipping their polarity before
1940s he developed a chorus effect, and by the Eagles. recombining them with the dry
Hammond organs were equipped with With two reel-to-reel machines playing signal. In short, this is induced phase
a switch labelled Tremolo and Chorale. the same material in sync, one machine cancellation at specific frequencies,
The trick is to combine the dry signal with is slowed and sped up by applying gentle rather than delay-induced phase shift.
the vibrato effect. hand pressure to the supply and take-up The more filter stages a phaser has
The Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble was spools respectively. The idea is to move across the frequency range, the greater
the first commercially available chorus the playback forwards and backwards in the intensity and smoothness of the
pedal when it was released in 1976. Boss time by a tiny amount. effect. But fixed notch filters alone will
began offering it in stompbox form when Modulating the delay time is key because only result in rudimentary comb filtering.
the onboard chorus effect in the Roland if the delay time remains fixed, all you get Like flangers, phasing is characterised
JC-120 amplifier became so popular. The is comb filtering. This can be represented by that swooshy sweep, but to achieve
same technology was also built into a as a series of peaks and troughs on a graph that the notch filter frequencies are
rackmount enclosure called the Roland that resemble the teeth of a comb. To modulated, rather than delay.
Dimension D and became a mainstay of achieve the flanger swoosh, the delay time
the 1980s studio scene. The pedal’s Depth has to modulate so those troughs sweep The more filter
and Rate controls were self-explanatory across the frequency range, and some
for anybody familiar with tremolo and flangers have delay feedback controls stages a phaser has
vibrato, and the Chorus/Intensity control to intensify the effect.
combined the wet and dry signals. It also Again, this is a fairly simple effect to across the frequency
had a second footswitch that toggled create electronically and MXR was the range, the greater
between chorus and vibrato, and the biggest player in the early days of studio
CE-1 added richness and complexity. flanging. Another early classic was the the intensity and
The pedal itself was fairly sizable and Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress, smoothness of
required mains power, so it wasn’t long which included a ‘filter matrix’ setting
before Boss introduced the CE-2 in the that deactivates the delay modulation. the effect
rectangular small-box battery-powered There’s a fun flanging trick that works
form that has characterised Boss pedals particularly well when adding reverb to A capacitor and resistor are combined
ever since. The vibrato option was acoustic guitars and clean electric guitars to create the filter, and the centre
dropped, possibly because it appeared during mixing, and it’s very easy to do with frequency can be moved by modulating
too dated, and pretty soon every pedal a DAW using native plug-ins. Try routing the resistor value. The various ways to
manufacturer had a chorus in its product the reverb send through a subtle flanger do this include applying a low-frequency
line. 1980s guitar music would have effect and see what happens. The key is to oscillator signal to light-dependent
sounded very different without them. keep the flanger itself out of the stereo bus. resistors (Mu-Tron Bi-Phase and Uni-
Vibe), J-FETs (MXR Phase 45, 90 and
100), and operational transconductance
4 amplifiers’ (EHX Small Stone).

The Bucket Brigade

A final mention should be made of the
microchips known as bucket brigade
devices (BBDs) that made all these
modulation effects small and cheap
enough to build into pedals. Numerous
capacitors could be accommodated on a
single chip and they could be configured
like the capacitor chain of the low-
frequency oscillator we discussed in
our tremolo feature.
BBDs such as the Phillips TDA1022
could hold several hundred capacitor
stages on a single chip. With each
3 stage charging and discharging, the
greater number of capacitors created
the potential for delay times that could
3. EHX’s Electric Mistress 4. Today’s MXR Script greatly exceed minor phase shifts.
debuted in 1976 and Phase 90 integrates
remains in Neo and vintage phasing with Mods for rockers, indeed.
Stereo formats modern convenience www.huwpriceguitar.com

122 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 David Davidson’s

Introduced to compete with Gibson, these Gretsch solidbodies weren’t really solid at all

Gretsch 6130 & 6121

he Gretsch 6130 Round-Up Paul. Gretsch was trying to produce “The 6121 has a much brighter colour
“T premiered in 1953, but customers
didn’t start seeing it until 1954. The
something to compete with Gibson’s Les
Paul model but at a price point about $100
and it’s what we call ‘Gretsch Orange’
today. All the Western motifs are gone
Western motif inlay at the 1st fret didn’t lower. Round-Ups are a lot lighter than a and the steer-head inlay in the headstock
appear until 1955, which is the year this Les Paul because they’re chambered, but changed to a horseshoe inlay. Gretsch also
one was made. The knotty pine top wasn’t they did that to save money, not to make modified the shape of the truss rod cover.
something that could be ordered and the guitars light. Gretsch pricing included 6121s have humpback inlays starting at
some of the guitars just came that way the case, whereas Gibson charged the 1st fret and Filter’Trons replaced the
while others didn’t, with no explanation additionally for their cases. DeArmond Dynasonic pickups in 1958;
from Gretsch. The pine was usually very “Believe it or not, the Round-Up guitars my old friend Brian Setzer prefers the
thin, and if these guitars aren’t packed remained in the catalogue until 1960. They Filter’Trons.
well and there’s an accident, the control weren’t actually pictured after 1955, but “This example has a factory-equipped
knobs can push right through the top. Gretsch did state they were still available. Bigsby, and in the early days the Bigsbys
“They had every bell and whistle that However, I don’t know of anyone who Gretsch fitted weren’t gold-plated or
Gretsch could offer you besides the has ever seen one made later than 1956. anodised, even if all the other hardware
bejewelled knobs, which were reserved In effect, the 6121 was a replacement for was gold-plated. The fretboard material
for the Falcon and Penguin. But it has the Round-Up and both models tend to was no longer beautiful Brazilian
the Western motif inlays, gold hardware produce a very specific sound. Some avid rosewood, and you tend to start seeing
and the belt buckle tailpiece with the Gretsch players that I know claim to hear a Indian rosewood at this time. It’s a much
lasso scene. difference between Round-Ups and 6121s lighter colour compared with the deeper
“They were originally priced at around with DeArmonds. To my ears, they sound and richer brown of the earlier ones.
$300, which was more than a $182 pretty much identical, despite the 6121 “The earlier Melita bridges were
Stratocaster but less than a Goldtop Les having a thicker mahogany top. replaced by the Space Control bridge,

The 6130 Round-Up’s ‘Western motifs’

included a belt buckle tailpiece, steer
heads, a studded leather belt around
the body and a branded ‘G’ logo

Although similar in structure and

sound, the 6121 was considerably
less kitsch and featured a Bigsby and
Space Control bridge combination

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 VintageIcons

which worked really well with Bigsbys

because they rolled as the strings moved.
It was pretty ingenious for the time
considering it was just a piece of threaded
rod. An aluminium nut also replaced the
Round-Up’s bone nut. The pickguard
shape was changed and the steer-head
motif became a Chet Atkins signpost
logo. Chet had become the ambassador
for Gretsch and every model became a
Chet Atkins something or other.
“I don’t aggressively seek out Gretsch
guitars for my store and I wouldn’t
travel to a trade show just to buy one,
but sometimes they come to me. The
only exceptions would be Falcons and
Penguins because they are what they
are and many people feel they need to be
a staple of their collections. Despite not
being a huge Gretsch player myself, they
are kind of neat and different. If you’re
a collector, something like a 6130 would
look good, too.

“The knotty pine top

wasn’t something that
could be ordered and
some of the guitars
just came that way”
“In truth, the build quality of vintage
Gretsches can be hit and miss. I
remember being told by a former Gretsch
employee that they would go out and
have five-Martini lunches and then try
to put guitars together in the afternoon.
Another time, many years ago, I had a
1957 6120 hanging on the wall and an
older gentleman came into the store
and told me, ‘I made that guitar.’ I didn’t
believe him, but he insisted: ‘If you take
the pickup out you’ll find my initials
FGJ written inside.’ I eventually took
the guitar down, looked under the neck
PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAIGE DAVIDSON / WELL STRUNG GUITARS

pickup and there they were. I hadn’t

realised the gentleman was actually
Fred Gretsch Jr. Far from being a crazy
old man, he was the man himself and
I felt like such a fool.” [HP]

Vintage guitar veteran David Davidson owns

Well Strung Guitars in Farmingdale, New York
www.wellstrungguitars.com / info@
wellstrungguitars.com / 001 (516) 221-0563

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 Techniques

Blues Headlines
Richard Barrett is on a mission to make you a better blues
player – with full audio examples and backing tracks

Rhythm & Swing

Tutor Richard Barrett | Gear used Lewis Pequeno Bastardo & Vox AC15 C1
Difficulty | 10 mins per example

WHETHER YOU’RE A PRO musician or

John Mayer masterfully play with bands in your spare time, chances
combines rhythm and are you’ll spend the majority of your time
lead in his playing
fulfilling rhythm guitar duties. You’re
certainly not alone in this – many great
soloists are also fantastic rhythm players,
covering both rhythm and lead parts and
frequently blurring the lines between the
two. Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan
are great examples of this blending of
styles, with the solo/examples here
(broadly speaking) inspired by the latter.
We’re working in a ‘trio’ format, with just
bass and drums for support, so we need
to cover harmonic, melodic and rhythmic
areas far more comprehensively than we
would in a conventional lead/rhythm or
guitar/keyboards line-up. Linking chords
with pentatonic embellishments via an
awareness of the CAGED patterns really
helps when exploring these ideas.
I’ve opted for a fairly low-gain sound,
which allows the notes of any chords to
come through clearly. Even so, I’ve taken
care to mute unwanted strings, as shown
with the open fourth string in Example 1.
I’ve also kept the options as open as
possible by keeping the bass moving to
support the guitar, and avoided – or at
least avoided lingering on – major or minor
3rds, so you can switch between the two
or be ambiguous about it, which is such
a hallmark of this style.
In the context of a song, details such as
this are often more rigid, but it’s nice to
have the freedom to treat this as more of a
‘freestyle jam’ – a safe place to take risks
as a learning experience. You’ll see that
I’ve taken groups of chords/inversions and
superimposed them over what the bass
often implies as a single chord. There are
also a few (hopefully) useful pentatonic
phrasing ideas. Hope you enjoy this and
see you next time!
PHOTO BY JOBY SESSIONS

Richard Barrett’s album, Colours,

(complete with backing tracks),
is available now from iTunes
and Amazon

126 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

 Techniques

Example 1
AFTER A CHEEKY SLIDE down the sixth string to set the mood, this example features several useful chord shapes
based around E major. Note the open fourth string is muted; it does feature in the very first hit of bar 1, but from then
on I’m using my fretting hand fingers to stop it ringing as this would negatively affect the clarity. For ease of reading,
I haven’t marked these muted hits on the transcription: if the tab doesn’t say it, don’t play it!

©»©©© E7 3
#### 4 ¿ ¿
Swung 3

œ œ œ œ n œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œœ
& 4 ¿œ nn œœ # œ n œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ nœ œ œ nœ œ œ œ
œ œ œ
E X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
G X 0 1 0 2 0 4 0 6 0 7 0 6 0 4 0 2 0
D 0
A 0 2 4 5 7 9 7 5 4
E 17 0
1




etc

3 1/4

#### œ œ œ n œ œ œ œj œ n œ œ
3 1/4
j 3 3 3
œ œ
3
& nœ #œ œ nœ œ
œ nœ œ bœ œ œ œ nœ œ
3 3 œ œ
1/4
1/4
E 0 0 0
B 0 3 0
G 0 1 2 4 4 2 0 2 0
D 2 2 0
A 2 2 1 0 1 0 0
E 3 0 3
4

Example 2
MOVING ON TO AN IMPLIED A CHORD, this example follows a similar template to Example 1. There are a few
useful and interesting chord ideas leading to a couple of pentatonic licks at the end. Also like Example 1, there’s
a strong swing feel, using upstrokes on the muted or open strings to give the illusion of another rhythm guitarist
playing at the same time. It pays to experiment with ideas such as this because there are many more possibilities
to be explored, not just what’s written here.

A7

œ œ œ
3
#### 4 œ n œ ¿ œ œ œ
3
œ
n œœ œœ ¿¿ œœ œ œœ œ n œ # œ œ n œœ n œœ # œ œ
œ œ œ n œœœ œœœ œ œœ œœœ
n
3
œœ j
3 3

& 4 n n œœ œœ n œ n œœ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ b œ
œ œ œ œ œœ nœ œ
E 5 5
B 7 8 X 8 0 7 0 5 0 7 3 3 5 3 2
G 7 7 X 7 0 7 0 5 6 0 7 0 5 6 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 2
D 7 9 X 9 0 7 0 5 0 7 0 5 2 5 4 2 4 2 2 4 2
A 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 1
E 0 3
1

5
@e
TyǑŰŮŰųNj"e*`
T*Y`ǑǑǑ 127
Techniques

Example 3
AS IN EXAMPLE 1, I’m muting unwanted strings to keep things clear – in this case, the fourth string in those
B7 and C7 chords. From bar 3, I’m experimenting with different inversions and adding some pentatonic
embellishments, which fall under the fingers quite easily with these shapes. This is quite a simple principle, but
it is key when coming up with these kinds of guitar parts. As with the other examples, I’ve played a more bluesy
pentatonic lick to link with the next idea.

#### 4
B7
œ
C7
~~~
B7 C B
3
j œ
3

œ œ œ n œ b œ n œ œ œ œ œ n œœ œ œ j œ œ œœ œœ œœ n n œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ b œ œ œ œ
3

& 4
œ œ œ J n œ n œ n œ œ œ œ œ. œ œœ œ œœ . .
Let ring

E 2
~~~ 0
B 0 0 0 0 0
G 2 0 3 0 3 2 2 0 2 2 4 4 4 5 5 0 4 3 2 0
D 1 1 0 0 4 6 4 4 4 5 5 4 2
A 2 3 3 2 2 2 2 4 6 4 6
E
1

Example 4
THERE’S A MORE ‘SOLO GUITAR’ APPROACH to this final example, something I felt free to do having established
a good strong harmonic basis with the earlier chords. I’m mixing open and fretted strings, and being deliberately
dissonant at times. After playing around with a shape 1 open-position E minor pentatonic, we move to a ringing
open-position B7, before finishing with a classic ‘when-I woke-up-this-morning’ style blues riff!

E A B7 A5 E5

#### 4 œœ n œj œœ œœ œœ~~œœœ œ œ œœj œ œ œœj œ n œ œ œ œ œœ œœ œ œ œœ œœ œ

3 3
Ó.
3
& 4 œn œ œ b œ œ œ œ œ œœ
œ 3 œ œ n œ œœ
~~ Let ring

E 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
B 0 3 5 5 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
G 2 4 4 2 0 2 2 2 2
D 2 0 1 1 2
A 0 1 2 0 2
E 0 0 0 3 0
1

Hear It Here
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN JOHN MAYER TRIO JIMI HENDRIX
AND DOUBLE TROUBLE TRY! LIVE IN CONCERT BAND OF GYPSYS
TEXAS FLOOD
This 2005 live recording covers Carrying on with the ‘live trio’
Recorded back in late 1982 a few different styles – but, theme, this album is also a
but not released until the most importantly, amply definitive example. Jimi covers
following year, this is essentially demonstrates John Mayer’s both rhythm and lead playing,
a live album, recorded ‘off ability to seamlessly combine rhythm and using a selection of interesting chord
the studio floor‘ in just a few days. Listen lead (and vocals!) in one go. Make sure voicings, rhythms and sometimes just
to Pride And Joy and you’ll hear this was you check out Who Did You Think I Was, playing riffs in unison with the bass. Check
a big influence on this issue’s examples. Gravity and Out Of My Mind for further out Who Knows, Message To Love and We
Elsewhere, check out Rude Mood as well as examples, although it’s well worth a listen Gotta Live Together to hear lots of examples
Mary Had A Little Lamb for further examples to all the other tracks here, too. Live trio- and a few underlying principles such as
of the way Stevie would fill out the sound based albums are a great hunting ground combining CAGED chords and pentatonic
by combining bluesy licks with chords and for ideas to fill out the sound and keep shapes to blur the line between rhythm and
rhythmic playing. things interesting. lead guitar.

128 GUITARIST JANUARY 2025

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