G U I TA R P L AY E R . C O M
PRS GUITARS EIGHT RARE FINDS
4–1990
30
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S YEAR E GON
REMEMBERING
RICK NIELSEN How I Wrote… Cheap Trick’s “Surrender”
The Lost 1988 Interview PLUS TRIBUTES FROM
S T E V E VA I J O E S AT R I A N I ERIC JOHNSON RICHIE KOTZEN KIRK HAMMETT
…and many more
CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA
Why does a drummer have the year’s best guitar album?
PLAYERS
ALEX SKOLNICK JAMES TAYLOR AYRON JONES DAVID TORN
NEW & COOL
Ragged Glory Pre-War Guitars live up to their name, one lovingly aged guitar at a time. B Y
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B E A U J O U R
W H E N T H E FE N D E R Custom Shop unveiled the first two guitars in its Relic series at the 1995 winter NAMM convention, it pioneered an aesthetic that thoroughly permeated the high-end electric guitarbuilding world. Today, you almost have to specify that you would prefer the finish and hardware not to be distressed when you order a boutique axe. Yet, when North Carolina luthiers Wes Lambe and Ben Maschal decided to launch Pre-War Guitars in 2014, nearly 20 years after Fender’s first steps, no one had introduced aging into the acoustic guitar-building space. “We’d never really seen anyone do it,” Maschal says. “So we decided, ‘Let’s do a traditional, vintage-style handmade acoustic guitar with a dovetail neck joint, hot hide glue — all the things that people want — add a few modern features like an adjustable truss rod, and then do a distressed finish.” Using the revered 1930s designs of a certain storied Nazareth, Pennsylvania, guitar manufacturer as the template for most of their models, Lambe and Maschal — who cap Pre-War’s current annual production at 150 instruments — do their best to capture not only the sound but also the original spirit of the instruments to which they pay homage. “I believe wholeheartedly that if you fuss over a guitar too much, it sounds as uptight as you were when you made it,” Maschal offers. “Back in Nazareth in the ’30s, these were instruments made by highly skilled people working fast — German carpenters who were working through the Great Depression and who had to get X number done that week or they were going back to the coal mine.” Lambe spent much of his time before Pre-War crafting elaborate fan-fret guitars; in
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PREVIEW
“MAKE IT NOISY, MAKE IT LOUD, GIVE ME SOME FEEDBACK. BUT STAY FOCUSED ON THE TASK AT HAND, WHICH IS GIVING PEOPLE GOOD MUSIC”
Millennial Marvel
Seattle’s Ayron Jones channels rock, blues and hip-hop into music that spans the eras — from Hendrix to Morello. B Y
J I M
B E A U G E Z
P H O T O G R A P H Y
K A R E N
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“ RO C K A N D RO L L is a creation of Black
connection between rock and hip-hop is a
he turned down a long-term gig with them to
America,” Seattle-based guitarist Ayron Jones
continuous thread. “The Millennial generation,
bet on himself, and in 2017 released the
says. “Even though it may be less talked
we’re such an amalgamation of all these
album Audio Paint Job. “That was a moment
about and may be forgotten by some of the
different songs throughout the decades,” he
in my life in which I had to decide whether I
newer generations, it’s our sound. Not to keep
says. “I think in any genre at this point, when
was going to continue to be the guy that
and hold on to, but it runs through our veins.”
you see a whole new generation taking up
supports the artist on the stage, or be the
music, you’ll notice their sound isn’t just one
artist myself,” he says. “Seeing them
forthcoming debut for Big Machine/John
thing anymore. This isn’t just blues, this isn’t
consumed by their art is what made me focus
Varvatos Records, Jones makes his feelings
just rock, this isn’t just hip-hop. We are the
and realize that’s what needed to happen for
known in no uncertain terms, from the
most diverse generation, and our music
me to get to the next stage in my life.”
marching, Rage Against the Machine–inspired
reflects that.”
On “Take Me Away,” the first taste from his
opening riff to the feedback-laced trem-bar
After making a name for himself in the
Jones recently phoned Guitar Player from Seattle to talk about where he came from and the tools he commands.
dive that launches his band into orbit. No
Pacific Northwest, in 2013 Jones released his
chords or notes are safe from Jones’ ferocious
debut album, Dream, produced by Sir
delivery. “The same place that bred rock and
Mix-a-Lot. He was subsequently invited to
Your sound draws from generations of
roll also gave us blues and jazz and hip-hop,”
Atlanta to work with Deep Cotton, a
Seattle-based music. There are hints of
he says. “There needs to be an awakening
funk-punk duo associated with visionary
Hendrix, Nirvana and grunge, but also
about what this really is.”
singer-songwriter Janelle Monáe and her
players like Tom Morello.
Wondaland Arts Society imprint. The
Yeah, especially on “Take Me Away.” We
experience was a whirlwind, Jones says, but
always had that Rage Against the Machine/
For Jones, who has shared stages with B.B. King, Run-DMC and Public Enemy, the
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TRACKS
My Career in Five Songs Preamp abuse, bebop scales and flamenco guitar duos! Alex Skolnick explores key tracks from his multigenre career. B Y
V I N N I E
D
e
M A S I
W H E N ASS ESS I N G AL EX Skolnick’s prodigious body of work as one of the world’s most accomplished and respected guitarists, it almost makes sense to consider retitling this article “My Career in Five Styles,” since his résumé is as expansive as it is impressive. The Berkeley native and former student of Joe Satriani was initially hailed for his decadelong stint as lead guitarist with West Coast thrash-metal pioneers Testament. He also logged time with symphonic metal stalwarts Savatage, funk-fusion bass master Stu taking a hiatus from rock to study jazz at New York City’s prestigious New School. This musical reinvention led to the
EM COULTE R
Hamm and even Ozzy Osbourne before With his ESP Alex Skolnick signature in Silver Sunburst
formation of the Alex Skolnick Trio, a group that blended the ethos of classic hard rock
third record, and I was starting to have
various projects, including recording and
E fatigue. There were a lot of songs and solos
and harmonic complexities of bebop. In 2012,
touring with Testament, which he rejoined in
in the key of E. The lead for this track was
Skolnick took his musical sojourn further by
2005, as well as penning his autobiography,
actually based on a modal exercise I had put
forming Alex Skolnick’s Planetary Coalition, a
Geek to Guitar Hero. We asked him to pick five
together. When I was a teen, I studied with
predominantly acoustic collective of global
highlights from his voluminous and genre-
Joe Satriani and he introduced me to modes,
musicians that explores various world music
defying career.
but some of it was still over my head, and I
styles. The band’s 2014 self-titled release
was continuing to work on mastering them
others — was both a career highlight and a
“PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH” TESTAMENT, PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH (1989)
most unique and visionary artistic statement
“This is the song from our earliest days that I
shredding, so I sped it up a bit and used it as
from a high-profile rock guitarist.
enjoy playing the most. Testament was on its
the basis for the solo. It goes through various
— which included guest shots from flamenco guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, oudist Adnan Jouban and violinist Rachel Golub, among
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Since then, Skolnick has been involved in
and metal with the improvisational freedom
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around that time. [Testament rhythm guitarist] Eric [Peterson] had come up with the main riff, and the tempo and feel seemed to be a close fit for the exercise I was
G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
COLUMN
Padded Sell With their loud clean tones and “Tuck ’n’ Roll” Naugahyde coverings, Kustom’s solid-state amps offered an enticing alternative to tube tone. SO LI D -STAT E GU I TA R AMPS were touted as “the way forward” when they debuted in the 1960s, but the fad soon fizzled. Still, a few brands earned praise and lasting respect on the basis of either their sounds, appealing looks or both. Kustom Electronics is one of the few companies that sat firmly in the “both” category, and their products rocked the backlines of many noteworthy stars in the late ’60s and early ’70s. Today, most guitarists know Kustom’s early creations as the Tuck ’n’ Roll amps, due to the striking upholstery technique borrowed from the automotive industry that was used to apply their padded Naugahyde coverings. Kustom offered those vinyl wraps in a range of colorful metallic-sparkle options, including the Charcoal Sparkle shown on this 1970 Kustom K200B amp. However, several serious players of the day knew Kustom had something to offer on the inside, too. The amps didn’t deliver the massive crunch and screaming lead tones that led so many other guitarists of the time to Marshall and Hiwatt amps, but they sounded bold and punchy, and packed a haunting tremolo effect. Back in the day, Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s John Fogerty, Leon Russell, the Grateful Dead, most of the
> Volume, bass, treble, tremolo speed and intensity, reverb and bright switch > Charcoal Sparkle Naugahyde “Tuck ’n’ Roll” covering > 100 watts RMS, 200 watts “peak music power”
This 1974 Fender Telecaster Custom sports a lovely Walnut finish.
> Matching ported 2x15 speaker cabinet
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IMAG ES BY HE RI TAG E AUCTI ONS HA.CO M
ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS > Two-channels, all solid-state circuitry
Stevie Ray Vaughan performs outside the Houston Astrodome with his Number One guitar, September 2, 1989.
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30 YEARS GONE
SECOND COMING
IN 1 9 8 8, ST EV IE RAY VAUGH A N WAS C L EA N, SO B E R A N D BAC K IN STE P W ITH L I F E A N D M US I C . NO ONE IM AG I N E D H OW L ITTL E TIM E H E H A D L E F T. B Y
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n the summer of 1988, Stevie Ray Vaughan had just completed an intensive tour of Europe when Tom Nolan sat down to talk to him in England for a frank discussion about his roots, overcoming addiction and finding redemption. Nolan was given little time for the interview, but his knowledge of blues showed through. He was surprised to find Stevie so forthright about his music and family life, his substance abuse and his subsequent return to a drug-free life. At the time, the guitarist was preparing to record In Step,
G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
N O L A N T R A C Y
A N N E
H A R T
his fourth studio album with his band, Double Trouble, and a record whose title reflected his newfound sobriety. Said Stevie, “I’m finally in step with life, in step with myself, in step with my music.” Reading Stevie’s words today, and sensing his excitement about his music and life, makes it all the more sad that his life was cut short just two years after this interview and his phenomenal return to form. On the 30th anniversary of his passing, we bring you this rare and revealing interview with the late great Stevie Ray Vaughan.
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54–
1990
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Playing “Rude Mood” at Fitzgerald’s,
YEARSE GON
in Houston, at the album release show for Texas Flood, June 20, 1983. Stevie switched to his Gibson ES-335 after
W
disease of alcoholism is actually hereditary. And growing up in a family that’s actually dysfunctional because of alcoholism is a lot of it. I started drinking when I was about six, and I’m looking forward through the years, the more pressures to taking about 10 days off to go to Spain and the more things that I have become and Italy, and then back to the States. involved with, it ended up where I We’re going to do a few dates in the started using drink and other drugs to States, and then I’ll go ahead and keep me going. pinpoint some of the ideas I already have Part of it had to do with the better that I want to use on the next record. bands that I got into. For some reason, it seemed as if they got higher, and it How long does recording an album take seems like they had been subject to the you nowadays? same kind of myths that I had: that to Well, they’ve all taken different lengths. play that kind of music and be successful The first one took two days. Basically, we at it, or to be creative or hip, you had to had 28 years to get our first record be high. The truth is, that’s bullshit, and together. [laughs] The second one six the real matter is that if you’re good at months, the third six months, and the what you like and you care about what live album [1986’s Live Alive]… Actually, you’re doing, then you’ll be good. I had wanted to bring a crowd to the Now, I finally hit bottom when I studio, but it made more sense to bring collapsed about September 1986, over the studio to the crowd, and because of here in Europe — in that we ended up Germany was where doing a lot of the it really came to a songs off the other “EVERYBODY WAS head. I could no records. However, we TRYING TO FIGURE OUT longer carry on the did three gigs, and schedule that we for some of it Jimmie HOW JIMMIE VAUGHAN had. You see, as long [Vaughan] was with WOULD DO IT. ME TOO” as I kept going, us as well. We had anesthetizing my horns on some, and feelings and doing things that would give we did several things that we had never me enough energy to keep going… Every done before. Then we went back in and time we would come along and make the chose from what were the best best of a bad situation because of performances. overbooking, we would just go [grits But since then, there’s been a lot of teeth], “Okay, we can do it,” and play changes going on — changes in my life right through it. If I’d had the time to as well as other people in the band stop and think about it, I would have — and we’re trying to take things at a seen that was going to lead to nowhere more sensible pace. You know, this real quick. However, the way it looked at record will be the first one I’ve ever done the time to me was that I’d accepted that sober, completely sober, so things are a I was going to have to do this for the rest lot different now, and there’s a lot more of my life. to see and look at and be thankful for. hat are you looking forward to after this current round of tour dates?
Can you tell me how those changes in your life happened?
Yeah, it would help me to talk about it anyway. I’m an alcoholic. I didn’t know that for a long time. I had a suspicion for a few years, but I didn’t realize that that’s really what it was down to. My father was an alcoholic, and what I didn’t know that I do now is that some of the 38
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You mean drinking?
Drinking and other things, mainly cocaine, because that was… I don’t know… Somehow along the line I got the idea that it was safer than other drugs, and that’s a lie. It’s one of the more distorting drugs. It can really lead to problems, as I found out the hard way. At any rate, it came to a head. I
breaking a string on Number One.
collapsed. I got to a point where I was completely wrecked in my thinking, in my heart and physically. Most of my values were gone. Some of them I could still hang on to, however some of them were really distorted, really bad. I finally gave up fighting this whole deal, and then it dawned on me that now I can get some help. I went to Dr. Victor Bloom here in London, and he put me in the hospital to observe my stomach — because I’d torn my stomach up real bad — and to detox. He suggested a chain of treatment centers called Charter, and it was great, because there was someone I could talk to who was willing to just be helpful. The treatment center gave me the tools to live without using these things, and also to have more inspiration, more G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
HOT SHOTS The action-packed photos featured in this article were taken by Tracy Anne Hart, author of the 2020 book Seeing Stevie Ray (Texas A&M University Press). You can purchase Tracy’s archival prints at theheightsgallery.com or on her Instagram profile @theheightsgallery. Mention Guitar Player to receive a discount.
faith in life and in myself. And it gave me the tools to not need to get loaded. I have a choice now. Instead of “I do this because I have to,” I have a choice, which is that I choose to be healthier, and I choose to grow spiritually, and I choose to not use any kind of drugs or alcohol, because I know what kind of thinking goes on in my head when I do. If I was to have a drink, I wouldn’t just have a drink — I would have a lot of drinks, and it might be that I would die, because the disease of alcohol is very progressive. Now I wake up in the morning and it’s neat. We’ve been waiting a long time, and people have been real nice about this whole deal, and real understanding. Okay, what else shall we talk about? [laughs] G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
I’d like to talk about the Texas blues scene and how it developed for you as a youngster. Your brother, Jimmie, was a couple of years older.
Yeah, three and a half years older. He started playing when he was in junior high, when I couldn’t have been more than eight. When he was at school, he had decided to go for football, because that’s what all the girls go after — football players. Then he realized that the football players were a lot bigger than him, and he figured out that he wasn’t Superman when his collarbone got broken. A friend of my father’s brought over a guitar and handed it to him and said, “Hey, play this! It won’t hurt you.” And Jimmie started playing right away. It was amazing to watch him do it. He had
three strings on the guitar, and I went to school and came home and he’d made up three songs. I’m serious! And that’s the way his playing has been all along. With that kind of an influence as your big brother, it’s real easy to get into playing. I saw how much fun he was having with it, and I saw how dedicated he was to it, and it gave me a lot of inspiration. When he would leave, partially because he was big brother and you’re not supposed to touch big brother’s stuff, and partly because he told me not to touch his guitar… ahh, I did! Eventually, he got an electric guitar, and I got the one that he’d had. Then he got another electric guitar, and I got his hand-me-down, and soon after, I was playing gigs around. He started playing, and within a few months he was in a OCTOBER
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PLAYERS Performing at House of Blues Sunset Strip, West Hollywood, August 16, 2012
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PLAYERS
SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE B Y
M A R K
M c S T E A
C HELSE A LAUR EN/ WI RE IMAGE /GE TTY IMAG ES
ON T H E R I T UA L BEG I N S AT SU ND OW N , RO BBY K RIEGE R T U R N S UP TH E H EAT W I T H A B L A ZI N G S ET O F T U N ES .
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PLAYERS
STICKS and
Cindy Blackman Santana performs with John McLaughlin at the 2011 Montreux Jazz Festival.
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TONES
W I TH GUEST SP OTS FROM V E R N O N R E ID, JOHN M cL AUG HLI N, KI R K H A M M ETT A N D CA RLOS SANTA NA , THE N E W A L B U M F RO M DRUM M E R C I NDY B LAC KM A N SA N TA N A H AS ITS FOCUS FIRMLY ON GU I TA R I STS . B Y
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E AG LE ROCK /MON TR EUX SOUN DS
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ISTENERS MIGHT APPROACH Cindy Blackman Santana’s new album, Give the Drummer Some (Copperline Music Group), with the expectation that it’s chock full of drum solos and percussion pieces. And they would be very, very wrong. With the exception of one unaccompanied drum spot (a tour de force called “Mother Earth”), the expansive, 17-track disc is a veritable guitar fan’s dream, with each song serving as a playground for heavyweights such as Vernon Reid, John McLaughlin and Kirk Hammett to stretch out and roam freely. And for good measure, Cindy’s husband, Carlos Santana, is more than aptly represented. The guitar icon lends his signature solos to eight dizzying cuts. “The guitar is one of my favorite instruments, so the album reflects that,” Blackman Santana says. “The music that I’m doing just lends itself to the guitar. I love the way guitar players think. I love playing with them and interacting with them. The album is called Give the Drummer Some, so yeah, I’m having a good time with what they give me. It’s not always about drum solos.”
G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
“THE WAY CARLOS AND VERNON VIBED TOGETHER WAS SO COOL. IT WAS MUTUAL SUPPORT AND CREATIVITY” Blackman Santana freely admits that she isn’t much of a guitarist herself (“I can play barre chords, but I’m no soloist”), but she basks in collaborating with six-string masters. During her career, she’s performed with a diverse array of virtuosos ranging from Larry Coryell to Buckethead. From 1992 to 2007, she served as Lenny Kravitz’s drummer before returning for a 2014–’15 tour, and for the past decade she’s been a mainstay on the drummer’s throne for the band Santana (she and Carlos married in 2010). “Each time I get to play with a guitar player, it’s like we go on a new journey together,” she says. “Whether we’re playing rock or blues or jazz, it’s always inspiring and exciting.”
Give the Drummer Some is a potpourri of styles. “Superbad” (which features a gritty, turbocharged solo by McLaughlin) is an ultra-funky groover, and “You Don’t Wanna Breaka My Heart” (dotted with Carlos’ affecting wah-drenched leads) is a poignant love balled, while “Evolution Revolution” (a pairing of Reid and Hammett at their badass best) is hard-charging metal. There’s fun and frolicking party jams (“She’s Got it Goin’ On,” “Everybody’s Dancin’”), spellbinding art rock (“Social Justice”) and a tribute to Miles Davis (“Miles Away”). One of the album’s highlights is its first single, an extraordinary rockfunk re-inventing of John Lennon’s classic “Imagine.” The stomping track not only serves as a stunning showcase for Blackman Santana’s dulcet vocals — it also affords Carlos the opportunity to detonate an explosion of guitar psychedelia. “Oh, my goodness, he smoked that song!” the drummer raves. “We did something pretty different with the song. We turned it into a real joyous celebration. Carlos fell in love with it the first time I played him the idea of where we were going with it.” OCTOBER
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AFICIONADO
RENAISSANCE MAN AS PRS GUITARS CELEBRATES ITS 35 t h ANNIVERSARY, PAUL REED SMITH REFLECTS ON HIS COMPANY’S MOST FORMATIVE GUITARS AND SHARES TREASURES FROM THE VAULT.
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’ V E A LWAYS S E E N the guitar as a tool to make music with, and I was trying to make a tool that worked for everything,” Paul Reed Smith says of the foundational guitars he created decades ago that blazed the trail for PRS Guitars becoming what it is today — a phenomenally successful manufacturer of sleek, beautiful-playing instruments that have consistently delivered exceptional tone and quality. PRS may not have been producing guitars during the birth of rock and roll (or earlier, as some can claim), but in a strange way the company seems almost timeless, as if the entirety of modern guitar history was assimilated into its DNA, spawning concepts that would have been unthinkable, or at least overlooked, prior to its debut in 1985. Only a forward thinker with the inventive smarts, guitar-playing
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experience and sheer knowledge of how to put it all together could have created an entity that holds such relevance in the guitar-playing community. And, somehow, Smith made it happen in a relatively short amount of time. Celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, PRS now boasts an extensive array of products. It spans five guitar lines that comprise the Core, Bolt-On, S2 and SE series, and Private Stock models; SE and Private Stock acoustics; a range of basses (Core, SE and Private Stock); and a complement of tube amplifiers that includes the Archon series, Grissom series, J-Mod, MT-15 and Sonzera series. But it all began with one guitar, the Custom 24, which has remained incredibly popular over the decades and is now offered in seven Custom models in 24- and 22-fret configurations. In developing the Custom 24 (or simply the
Custom, as it was originally called), Smith had what seemed like fairly modest goals, but the realization of those ideals had enormous impact for guitar players at that time. “I was trying to make a really comfortable guitar that somebody would want to own and use,” he says. “The neck shape was between an old Tele and an old Les Paul, and the scale length was in-between the two. By making the guitars work well in terms of finish and neck shape, and by addressing the tremolo, the pickups and controls, the weight, balance and all that stuff — I thought my guitars had a chance. I had so much to offer, and nobody wanted to have anything to do with me. I was screaming, ‘I have something to offer!’” We spoke with Smith about creating his first production solidbody guitar and other models that have been significant to the evolution of PRS Guitars. G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
PAUL R EE D SMITH PHOTO GRAPHED BY HUNTE R S E LMAN
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sounded exactly the same. So we spent a lot of time on it, and I think it’s getting better and better. Every time we make an improvement, we release it, and right now we’re selling just as many McCarty 594s as we are selling Customs. So are you satisfied with your PAF-style humbuckers at this point?
I’m still learning. There are three vintage pickups in the factory that we got, and we’re starting to understand why certain ones of certain years sound different than others. How come if it’s the same design for 15 years that only certain years sound different? It must be a very sensitive equation. So I use those pickups as a way to learn, and if I find something that sounds beautiful, and I think we can add a flavor to the guitars, we do it. For me, designing pickups is more about making artists like Robben Ford, David Grissom, Carlos Santana, Mark Tremonti and John Mayer happy. They’re using these live, and they’re not going to use something they don’t love. What was the reason for introducing the Singlecut?
I wanted to make it so that somebody who is comfortable playing a guitar with four knobs and a toggle switch on the upper bout could do that with one of our guitars. So we came out with the Singlecut, and we changed the positions of the knobs. Things were going along fine, and then we got sued [by Gibson] and we got shut down for a couple of years. Then it was over, and we were back. Essentially, I had decided to get into the minivan business, and the people making minivans said, “You can’t make minivans.” I said, “Yes, we can! It’s okay for us to make double-cutaway guitars and single-cutaway guitars, and regular and single-cutaway acoustics. It’s just guitar making, right?” What did Mark Tremonti do for the Singlecut?
The Singlecut has been a hard sell for us, but the Tremonti models have always done well. People have a way of pigeonholing things. Carlos Santana is playing G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
DRAGO N 1 As a teen, Smith dreamed of a guitar with a dragon inlaid down the neck. Finished in Teal Black, this Prototype Number 1 is the guitar that brought his vision to life.
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HO L LOW B O DY S PRUCE (#7/349 93 )
TONARE GRAND ( #9/0002)
Prototype 7 from 1997. This model started PRS on the path to the Hollowbody and led to the PRS/L.R. Baggs piezo system.
PRS Guitars’ first production acoustic, the Tonare Grand demonstrates how Smith learned from the masters.
G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
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FRETS
AMERICAN SONGSMITH
James Taylor tells stories of his past hits and explains how he and John Pizzarelli re-imagined popular jazz chestnuts for American Standard. B Y
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one of the most influential acoustic guitar players of all time, period. The iconic tunesmith is the first to admit that his “primitive” fingerstyle may not be fancy, but as he explains in the following interview, he invented his own approach, and it has certainly worked for him. Taylor has sold more than 100 million albums — pause to let that sink in for a moment — and yet, 2015’s Before This World was his first to reach Number One. His easygoing style practically defined the sound of the sensitive singer-songwriter in the ’70s, but his music has always had a timeless quality. Classic compositions like “Fire and Rain” and “Country Road,” and signature covers such as Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend” will undoubtedly live in the troubadour lexicon far into the future. As true fans will know, Taylor was the first non-British artist signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records, in 1968, and he recorded the first versions of “Something in the Way She Moves” and “Carolina in My Mind” for his self-titled debut over scattered downtime sessions while the Fab Four were creating the White Album. For his latest release, American Standard (Fantasy), Taylor reached way back into the family record collection to revive pop and jazz standards from the pre-rock era. Taylor re-imagines music
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S E S S I O N S
from a more sophisticated time with the help of master jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli, and their guitar duo is the foundation upon which American Standard is built. Special guests include uprightbass guru Victor Krauss and fiddle extraordinaire Stuart Duncan, whose playful licks sound absolutely lovely on “My Blue Heaven,” as well as Dobro king Jerry Douglas, whose expressive phrasing lifts ”God Bless the Child” to the heavens. Meeting the challenge of playing such time-honored tunes has put the 72-year-old Taylor at the top of his guitar game. “I’ve been playing a lot these past couple of years to get this material ready to record with John, and also in preparation for a tour with Jackson Browne, with the strongest advanced sales I’ve had since the ’70s,” he declares. “Plus, I’ve been teaching my son Henry aspects of my style while sequestered with the family in Rhode Island. He’s got my vocabulary down, and my chops are up.”
T
he May 1984 Guitar Player cover story said you played a Gibson J-50 until your early 20s. Was that the guitar used on your debut?
Yes. I bought it in 1964, and I brought it to England in 1968. I recorded my first few albums with that guitar, not including the sort of legal bootleg James
“I DIDN’ T GET MY FINGERING FROM ANYONE. I CREATED MY OWN CHORD CONSTRUCTIONS”
Taylor and the Original Flying Machine, from 1967, which is a rip-off resulting from a desperate business deal that came back to haunt me. I don’t count that one, and besides it was before I went acoustic. I was playing a Fender electric. The guitar for the first three albums was the J-50, and then Mark Whitebook made me a beautifully executed acoustic patterned on a Martin dreadnought. I used that guitar for a number of albums until I lost it in a divorce. After that I played a Takamine for a year or two, and then I used a guitar from the custom shop at Yamaha for a couple of years. I eventually did a benefit in Minneapolis to help return wolves to Yellowstone National Park that was put together by Jim Brandenburg [the environmentalist whose G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
Taylor with his Olson SJ acoustic
wolf photo graces Taylor’s 1988 album, Never Die Young], and when I arrived at the hotel, the Olson guitar that I play to this day was in my room. James Olson had gotten it in there, and as soon as I played that, I never looked back. Your guitar style is well realized on your debut album, but it’s a bit overshadowed on “Something in the Way She Moves” by a 35-second harpsichord intro, while “Carolina in My Mind” features full-on ’60s psychedelic pop production. What’s it like for you to hear those versions?
It’s painful. I was just finding my way as a recording artist, and so was [manager/ producer] Peter Asher. It was a bit cobbled together. We were recording at Trident G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
Studios, because the Beatles were recording the White Album there. Peter had made a deal with them to tag along and record when they weren’t. Trident was the only studio in England using an eight-track machine at the time. Abbey Road had one, but they were still testing it. The only session I remember the Beatles recording at Abbey Road during that time period was for “Revolution.” John [Lennon] wanted to recut it, and I was invited to come and sit in the room while they recorded that day. I’m not sure which version was actually released. Can you share the stories about those two songs and how they wound up re-recorded on Greatest Hits in 1976?
I would play guitar constantly and come
up with musical phrases, and those ideas would be accompanied by a germ of a lyric. With all of that in my head, and a melody that fit the changes, I would wander the streets or sit in my flat thinking about the rest of the lyrics and where to go for a bridge. But the song would start with some musical wheels or passages, like etudes. The melody attaches itself to that and the lyric, and then the rest develops from there. That was the case with both of those songs. I wrote “Something in the Way She Moves” on Martha’s Vineyard. It starts on an open A fingering with a capo at the third fret, so it’s actually a C chord, which then moves to a G minor 9. That’s the signature introduction, which we actually used again for the introduction OCTOBER
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67
GEAR
Taylor
Editors’ Pick
AD27
T EST E D BY A RT T H OM PSO N NA M E D FOR T H E Southern California
U.S.-made guitar. In fact, the guitars in the
guitar shop where Taylor Guitars was founded
series are the lowest-priced American-made
back in 1974, the American Dream series was
guitars Taylor has ever offered, and it’s no
created to provide an affordable solid-wood
coincidence that they have been introduced
instrument that springs from the Grand
at a time when the pandemic has made it
Pacific round-shouldered dreadnought
more difficult than ever for people to
platform that Andy Powers designed in 2016.
purchase new guitars.
The Grand Pacific is a very different type of
Joining the recent AD17 and AD17e models,
Taylor, with a warmer and more “blended”
which feature backs and sides of solid
sound that Powers says was inspired by the
ovankol (a relative of rosewood) and Sitka
guitar tones heard on classic bluegrass and
spruce tops, the new AD27 tilts the recipe
country recordings from the ’50s and ’60s.
toward a warmer sound and deeper lows via
Essentially, it’s the sound of a steel-string
a body made of solid sapele (a tonewood
flattop that has been miked, compressed,
similar to mahogany) and a mahogany top.
EQ’d, recorded, mastered and pressed to
This lightweight guitar is fitted with a
vinyl. That’s thinking outside the box!
mahogany neck and is topped with a
The American Dream series follows this
25.5-inch scale eucalyptus
same philosophy, while delivering a high level
fingerboard carrying 20
of performance courtesy of V-Class bracing,
smoothly finished frets and a
all at a price that’s very affordable for a
perfectly shaped black Tusc
S P E C I F I C AT I O N S
nut. To keep costs down, the ornamentation is fairly spartan
AD27
and consists of a black-maple-
CONTACT taylorguitars.com
black rosette, a tortoise
PRICE $1,399 street
pickguard, black plastic truss-rod cover and heel cap,
NUT WIDTH 1.75” black Tusc
and Italian acrylic position dots
NECK Tropical mahogany
and headstock inlay. Tuning
FRETBOARD Eucalyptus, 25.5” scale
chores are handled by
FRETS 20 medium
Taylor-branded nickel
TUNERS Taylor nickel
die-cast machines, and
BODY Solid sapele sides and back, mahogany
the ebony bridge has a
top. 20” long, 16” wide 4 5/8” deep. V-Class
Micarta saddle and
bracing
black pins.
BRIDGE Ebony with Micarta saddle
The guitar wears a
EXTRAS Taylor AeroCase included
thin (2.0 mil) matte
FACTORY STRINGS D’Addario coated phosphor
finish that allows you
bronze
to really feel the
WEIGHT 4.14 lbs (as tested)
graining of the woods,
BUILT USA
which all look very attractive under the
82
KUDOS Rich, sweet tone. Clear powerful bass
reddish-brown hues of the
CONCERNS None
Urban Sienna stain. Suffice to say,
OCTOBER
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G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
GEAR
Fender
JIM ROOT JAZZMASTER V4 T EST E D BY M AT T BL AC K E TT E VE N T H OUG H I T took me a minute to
(although the block inlays are a nod to
recognize the genius of Slipknot, I’m a fan of
post-1965 models). There really isn’t much
both their music and production values. Think
else from the Jazzmasters of yore. You get
about it: If you gig in a mask, it not only
locking tuners, 22 jumbo frets, EMG
doesn’t matter how old you are or what you
humbuckers, and a hardtail, string-through-
look like, but you can send a substitute to
body tailpiece where the whammy system
cover for you, and no one will be the wiser.
once resided. The white body pairs nicely with
Seriously, though, Slipknot guitarist Jim
the ebony fretboard for a classy, updated
Root is a tremendous player, and his signature
look, and there are luminescent position
models from Fender are always cool, none
markers in the slick white binding so you’ll
more so than the Jazzmaster V4 on review
know where you’re at on a dark stage or in a
here. I demoed it through a 1x12 Victoria
dark home studio. The no-nonsense control
combo as well as with a Kemper Profiler
layout consists of a single volume knob and a
driving a Celestion Greenback-loaded 2x12.
three-way blade switch.
Because my first good guitar was a 1966
Acoustically, the JR is a very resonant
Fender Jag, I’ve always had a soft spot for
instrument. I can feel chords all the way
offset body styles. This guitar is pretty much
through the maple neck and hefty mahogany
just a Jazzmaster in name and body shape
body. I dialed up a heavy rock tone and instantly fell in love with the Jim Root
S P E C I F I C AT I O N S
Signature Daemonum EMG humbuckers. They’re clear, detailed and not compressed,
Jim Root Jazzmaster V4
as well as very sensitive to picking dynamics
CONTACT fender.com
and volume knob changes. I’m guessing most
PRICE $1,399 street
players would be using them for high-gain tones, but the fact is they sound great
NUT WIDTH 1.685”
clean as well. Using the Victoria combo, I
NECK Maple
was able to get cool sparkly sounds by
FRETBOARD Ebony, 25.5” scale with 12” radius
picking softly on arpeggiated chords
and luminescent side dots
and awesome Pete Townshend bark
FRETS 22 jumbo
on big strums. Back on a heavily
TUNERS Deluxe staggered die-cast sealed
distorted Kemper profile, I found
locking
low-string chugs were viciously precise,
BODY Mahogany
and I truly dug the creamy sustain I got
BRIDGE 6-saddle string-through body hardtail
on the neck pickup.
PICKUPS Two EMG Jim Root Signature
84
Root has spoken about his “anti-metal,
Daemonum Open-coil Active Humbuckers
punk-rock” mentality, which has led him to
CONTROLS Master volume, 3-way blade
somewhat unusual choices for the signature
switch
models that he plays his über-heavy music
FACTORY STRINGS Fender USA 250L Nickel
on. A plain white Jazzmaster is certainly not
band. You can obviously play surf music on a
Plated Steel, .009–.042
the obvious choice for Slipknot-style music,
Jazzmaster, although the lack of a whammy
WEIGHT 9.0 lbs.
and that’s actually a very cool thing. If you
bar makes that a little bit more of a stretch.
BUILT Mexico
choose it for playing metal, Root fans will
Any straight-ahead rock would be an
instantly recognize and appreciate it. But if
absolute breeze with these great-sounding
KUDOS Great look. Awesome pickups.
you use it for any other style, it’ll fit right in.
pickups and easy-playing neck, though. This
Surprisingly versatile
The tuxedo-like elegance of it would be
is just a kick-ass guitar in the most unlikely
CONCERNS None
at home with a wedding or show
package.
OCTOBER
20 20
G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M
LEGACIES
How I Wrote…
“Surrender” Rick Nielsen’s “rock nursery rhyme” made Cheap Trick famous. B Y
J O E
B O S S O
A LTH OUG H “ SU R R EN DER ” WAS featured on Cheap Trick’s third album, 1978’s Heaven Tonight, the song actually dates back to the band’s pre-record deal club days. As guitarist Rick Nielsen points out, “We almost D IC K BARN AT T/RED FERN S /GET T Y IM AGES
recorded it for our debut album, but we did something like 26 songs for that one, so ‘Surrender’ never made it. Nor did it make our second album, In Color. It wasn’t until the third album that we gave it a go.” Released as a single, the studio version of “Surrender” stalled at number 62 on the Billboard charts. The track didn’t take on its status as a rock anthem until 1979, when the band delivered its bravura live performance of
Nielsen playing his custom 1979 Greco RN V-Head guitar with bow-tie fret markers, at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, in 1979
the song on their breakthrough album, Cheap Trick at Budokan. “The studio version is good,
I just thought the song was sounding linear, so
the phone in an airport. There’s that old line
but I’m partial to the live version,” Nielsen
what’s a good way around that? Change the
— ‘We’ll fix it in the mix’ — and with this one it
says. “There are no gimmicks: It’s guitars,
key! It ups the excitement factor. Think about
was like, ‘Uh-oh… ’ There’s some keyboards on
bass, drums and vocals. And how good is
the Who’s ‘My Generation.’ Same thing.”
the song, and I thought they were way too loud. Eventually it got sorted out.”
that? I think it’s really good!” “F I X I T I N THE MIX” A H IG H SC H O OL N U RSE RY R HY ME
“We had played ‘Surrender’ a bunch of times
IT NEVER GETS OLD
“I wrote it at home late one night. I was
live, so we knew it was a good song and went
“It was a turntable hit, but radio wasn’t really
playing an unplugged electric guitar, and I had
over well. [Producer] Tom Werman might
playing it. But when we performed it live,
a rhythm thing going on. Then I started
have had a few
singing to myself: ‘Mother told me, yes, she
suggestions in the
told me, I’d meet girls like you.’ It kind of
studio, but I don’t
sounded like a nursery rhyme to me, only it
think they were major.
was a rock nursery rhyme for somebody in
We just went in and
high school wearing a leather jacket.
played it a couple
9000
“I wrote down lyrics as I went. It was all
98
of times.
everybody thought it was this big chart hit.
“I PLAYED A LES PAUL THROUGH AN ORANGE AMP. I HAD THE FIRST ORANGE AMP EVER BUILT ”
So when it finally came out on Budokan, it was like, There you go! That’s how we sound. “We spent a lot of
kind of stream of consciousness, but a lot of it
“There are two
was true. ‘Mommy’s all right, daddy’s all right,
tracks of me on guitar
they’re just a little bit weird.’ Whose parents
and one of Robin [Zander]. I played a Les Paul
bands like Kiss, Queen and the Kinks. We
aren’t weird? My parents were weird. And that
through an Orange amp. I had the first Orange
were known, but we weren’t a household
part about the Women’s Army Corps — the
amp ever built — it had two 12s in it. The thing
name. The live version of ‘Surrender’ changed
WACs — that was because my aunt was in
had a lot of punch. Robin played his blonde
things for us. Now we weren’t just an opening
the WACs. I had to clean those lyrics up a bit.
Rickenbacker, like the one John Lennon used.
band; we were played on the radio all the
“The song changes keys throughout. It
We got some good guitar tracks on that song.
time. It was tremendously exciting. I still love
starts out in B-flat major and then it goes to
“Because of time constraints, I wasn’t
B major, and for the last verse we move to C.
around for the mixing. I actually heard it over
OCTOBER
20 20
years opening for
to play the song live. People laugh, they cheer, they sing along. I never get tired of that.”
G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M