Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 142 i Australian Guitar

SCIENCE SAYS HEAVY METAL LOWERS BLOOD PRESSURE AND REDUCES ANXIETY Gone are the days when heavy metal was regarded as tailor-made for the angriest and most wound-up members of society. In fact, a new study has revealed that the genre is actually one of the best for lowering blood pressure and anxiety levels. The study – conducted by hair transplant specialists Vera Clinic – asked 1,540 volunteers aged between 18 and 65 to complete non-verbal stress-eliminating reasoning tests, while listening to a variety of Spotify playlists. The participants were also fitted with heart rate and blood pressure monitors in order to study the effect of each playlist throughout the experiment. The results revealed that – second only to the ‘80s-pop-themed soundtrack of UK Channel 4 show It’s a Sin, which…

ag TOP PICK DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 Is 4 Lovers EVERYTHING ELEVEN / UNIVERSAL In an interview with NME, Death From Above 1979 drummer and vocalist Sebastien Grainger described the making of “One + One” – the lead single from their equally gruff and giddy fourth album, Is 4 Lovers – as a “karmic sequel” to the band’s early hit (and fan favourite) “Romantic Nights”. He explained that “it was just Jesse [Keeler, bass and synth] and I jamming, and my wife was like, ‘This could be dancier – y’know, a little sexier?’ So we conceived a child and then I went home and rewrote the drums. It’s a bit of a nod to our first record. It’s got the beat-du-jour that we used when we were first coming up.”…

If there’s one thing filmmakers like Christopher Nolan understand (because it certainly isn’t storylines that make sense – did y’all see TENET!?), it’s the importance of music to make gripping action scenes and grandiose set pieces feel all the more intense. A good film score can be the difference between a bargain-bin flop and an Oscar-winning classic – especially in the hands of a prodigious composer like Hans Zimmer or John Williams. But what if you flipped the script (pun intended) and approached a non-visual music project with the ethos of cinematic filmmaking? Of course rock operas are nothing new in 2021, but what if you went beyond the typical structure of one, and treated it as though you were scoring a blockbuster epic that didn’t exist? These are the…

For their first record of entirely new material in a full decade, Evanescence have cranked the volume well past 11. As its title implies, The Bitter Truth is an absolutely ferocious dose of the band’s signature goth-rock grandeur. It’s dark, stormy and authentically impassioned, condensing not only ten years of pent-up musical ire, but the genuine frustrations of the fivesome being forced to create it in less-than-ideal conditions – thanks, of course, to 2020’s whole “modern-day plague outbreak” situation. The environment that fostered The Bitter Truth was shrouded in vexation – for starters, border closures meant guitarist Jen Majura was stuck in Germany while the band recorded in the US; meanwhile, constant setbacks to meeting dates and release plans meant the record endured a notably messy writing and recording process.…

Over 18 months since they first announced it, Florida’s premiere pop-moshers A Day To Remember have finally unleashed the beast that is their seventh studio album. When you tack on the fact that it’s their first set of new material since 2016, it’s easy to why fans were so rabidly keen to sink their teeth into You’re Welcome. But without a doubt, the countless delays and five year wait were absolutely justified. Even for a band as stylistically diverse as A Day To Remember, the quintet’s Fueled By Ramen debut is unbelievably varied. One moment you’ll be nodding along to some flavoursome Latin vibes and EDM beats (“Bloodsucker”), and the next you’ll be thrown headfirst into a sprawling chasm of gloriously gory metal guitars (“Last Chance To Dance”). Then, before…

It might’ve taken a hot minute, but the Pennsylvanian pop-punks in Tigers Jaw have finally found their ultimate form. After hashing out their first four (critically adored) albums as a quintet, 2017 came with a soft reboot in Spin, on which duties were shared between guitarist Ben Walsh and keyboardist Bri Collins. For all intents and purposes, the formula worked: the record is palpably dynamic both in performance and production, and it was an unequivocal hit between longtime devouts and casual listeners alike. But for Walsh and Collins, something wasn’t quite right. It didn’t feel real enough. For touring purposes, the pair recruited Teddy Roberts on drums, and Colin Gorman first on rhythm guitar and then on bass. Not only did the four gel amiably as a live unit, but…

The trailblazing founder, vocalist and guitarist of the Pretenders, Chrissie Hynde, lives a life less ordinary – and yet even she succumbed to the rhythmless ennui of our pandemic present. Like many of us, she welcomed a puppy into her home and took receipt of a new electric guitar. And to think her 2020 was going to be big. The Pretenders’ new album, Hate For Sale, was scheduled for late spring, the first to be co-written with lead guitarist James Walbourne and feature the current touring lineup. Hynde’s calendar was fully booked out, too, with some 70 cities on the Pretenders’ touring itinerary. Yadda yadda yadda, everything got paused and everyone was cocooned in the prophylactic amber of public health measures. Hate for Sale ultimately got released in the summer…

Initially inspired by the funk sound of The Meters, “Walk This Way” started life as a soundcheck jam before being completed for Aerosmith’s 1975 release Toys In The Attic – later rereleased in a collaboration with hip-hop group Run DMC. The song’s riffs are largely based around single-notes in E (the chorus) and C (the verse), punctuated by occasional A5 power chords. Those riffs are relatively easy to play slowly, but their catchiness relies on a mysterious swagger in the 16th notes – not quite swing, but not quite straight either. You’ll need to be very precise with your picking, and a constant alternate picked approach is probably the best way to keep that 16th note groove in check. You’ll need a distorted tone, too, but be judicious with this…

THE FIRST SPARK Shane Parsons: I was 13 years old, some of my friends at school had started to learn guitar from their older brothers and I was keen to get in on it too. Starting high school and discovering Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine and a slew of punk and rock bands from all over the world all led me to not only want to be a guitarist, but also a songwriter. I think one of the first big moments for me wanting to be in the rock world was the 2001 Livid Festival in Brisbane. Seeing bands like The Hives rip apart the stage (like they are so well known for now) was a completely new thing for me. By this time I was in grade ten, living…

Eric Clapton’s work on the 1966 John Mayall album Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton inspired an entire generation of would-be blues guitarists as he defined the tone and expression that a great guitarist can achieve. And this particular great player found a great instrument to make his music: an original Gibson Les Paul with a sunburst finish. The cover of the record showed Clapton reading the Beano comic, so it became known as the Beano album, and the instrument he used became known as the Beano guitar. Many guitarists love Clapton’s playing on the Beano album. One such musician is Billy Gibbons, who was, at the time of its release, a budding young guitar player in Texas. “The sound was just so fierce and so attractive,” he says, “and the…

We’re at a point in time where becoming a ‘content creator’ is open to everyone: the platforms are there, all you need to do is jump on and you can showcase your playing and opinions with millions of people across the globe. The rise in vlogging is testament to this, with large numbers of people now flocking to see Ola Englund, Davie504 and the like broadcast live from their homes. But if you’re going to get started with your own video channel, you’re going to need a way of filming yourself. As vlogging, streaming and other video-based mediums grow in popularity, so it figures that the brands behind the cameras start to up their game. Where once videography (and photography) was quite a complex endeavour, now that process has been…

RRP: $2,695 Over the last 20 years, the seven-string guitar transitioned from a novelty to a new norm embraced by dozens of the electric guitar world’s most talented and innovative virtuosos. Jason Richardson, formerly of Born of Osiris and Chelsea Grin, and now a solo artist and member of All That Remains, is one of the most impressive seven-string specialists to come along over the last decade, so it makes perfect sense that he caught Ernie Ball Music Man’s attention and was invited to join the company’s esteemed roster of signature model collaborators. Whereas most previous Music Man signature models from the Albert Lee and Steve Morse to the Valentine and St. Vincent featured entirely new designs, the Ernie Ball Music Man Jason Richardson 7-String Cutlass is part of a…

RRP: $3,099 (STRAT) RRP: $3,199 (TELE DELUXE) Fender’s American Professional II series are the latest evolution of guitars that have been updated to suit the needs of today’s players. The series comprises two Stratocasters (standard and HSS), the Telecaster and Telecaster Deluxe, the vibrato-equipped Jazzmaster and five basses. For this review, we’re focusing on the Strat and Tele Deluxe models, which were tested with a reissue Fender Deluxe Reverb (with hardwired circuitry by George Alessandro), a Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25 1x10 combo, and a selection of boost and distortion pedals from Xotic, Fulltone and Hermida. AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL II STRATOCASTER Resplendent in its Sienna Sunburst finish and off-white pickguard with matching knobs and pickup covers, this nicely made guitar sports a maple neck that’s carved with what Fender calls a Deep…

One thing that’s crucial to keeping a neat and efficient pedalboard is a pedalboard power supply that can distribute power to all or most of the pedals on the ’board negating – or at least minimising – the need for any bulky adaptors while keeping power cabling tidy. With many guitarists now using high-current digital pedals from the likes of Strymon and so on, power distributors have had to evolve to cater for that need by offering a number of high-current outputs. Eventide pioneered higher-current pedals starting with its ’Factor series and moving on to the likes of the H9, and has consequently offered compatible power solutions. The latest is a new (rev2) version of the PowerMax with a dedicated 24-volt aux power output that can be used via a…

HARMONY BYRNE SHE IS an earnest and emotive singer-songwriter from Melbourne, whose prickly and impassioned, often understated gems of folky indie-rock transport their listener into a fugue state. Between the beauty of her music and the wisdom of her songwriting, it’s undoubtable Byrne has a long career of dropping jaws en masse ahead of her. SHE SOUNDS LIKE that rare, hypnotic purgatory state between sleep and wake where one feels more at peace than they do tired – where coherent thoughts form freely, but with a sense of effervescent whimsy and psychedelic radiance often gridlocked by consciousness. YOU’LL DIG HER IF YOU LIKE Tim Buckley, Joni Mitchell, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and the warm embrace of the Australian countryside, brushing your hands over clusters of wattle as you soak in the candour…

It’s a lowkey Wednesday morning for Rick Nielsen: the founding Cheap Trick-ster just wrapped up some chores, he has the house to himself, and aside from a few interviews he’ll do over Zoom, his schedule is kept notably bare. When he jumps on the line with Australian Guitar, he’s nestling a slick red ’62 Coronet – a Dwight model, though, not your typical Epiphone. He twiddles around on the fretboard, sharpening his chops on new material from the band’s forthcoming 20th studio album, In Another World, ahead of some monumental live shows Down Under in May (where Cheap Trick will co-headline Under The Southern Stars with Stone Temple Pilots and Bush). Two minutes into our chat, as he strums a riff from the new album’s Lennon-covering closer “Gimme Some Truth”,…

The past few years have been kind of intense for NOFX ringleader Fat Mike, between a relapse in his old drug habits, the tragic loss of some close friends, struggles with gender identity, controversy over touchy jokes… Probably some things we as fans don’t even know about, too. So it stands to reason that what NOFX followed up 2016’s First Ditch Effort album, the material would be some of their darkest. And it is: Single Album – the Californian skate-punk staples’ 14th LP – features some truly gut-wrenching lyrics, and some musical nodes that border on metallic in heaviness. Of course, the album does also feature plenty of NOFX’s signature piss-taking (in more ways than one) punk-rock joviality – like on “Linewleum” (not a typo), which touches on the band’s…

In true Epica fashion, album #8 is a stately, sprawling epic of incalculable proportions. Omega may run for 70 minutes, but from the first glassy and ethereal synths of “Alpha – Anteludium” to the tremendous, towering crescendo of “Omega – Sovereign of the Sun Spheres”, the record simply breezes past. It’s a calculated refinement of the craft Epica have now spent two decades honing: part blunt and brutish metal onslaught, and part Broadway-esque orchestral masterstroke. This time, however, the two sides aren’t so much clashing as they are complimentary; as rhythm guitarist Mark Jansen tells Australian Guitar, the idea with Omega was to explore the polychromatic peaks and valleys that two disparate styles of music can accomplish. So this is the first record of original Epica material in five years…

Few words wield as much diverse excitement and whimsy as ‘tomahawk’ – all at once it refers to one of the coolest types of axe ever crafted, the juiciest cut of bone-in steak you’ll ever sink your teeth into, a wonderful little town in rural Tasmania, and the best avant-garde prog-metal supergroup to ever walk this big blue marble. One of the many deliriously dynamic projects led by experimental rockaholic Mike Patton, the quartet are known for tight, ear-rattling riffs, unashamed genre-pending and a collective identity that never takes itself too seriously, but always knows when to dial in the attitude. Eight brutally long years since their 2013 Oddfellows album, Tomahawk are back and more tempestuous than ever, delivering a cataclysmic cavalcade of powerful beats and masterful production in Tonic…

Especially true in the last two decades, hard-rock supergroups and team-up albums come at a dime a dozen: it’s an easy way to sell one product to multiple fanbases, and brand value alone means quality can be an afterthought. We’re not saying it’s okay, but we get why so many veteran rock dogs – especially those whose primary outlets have either run their course or severely minimised their output – turn to these types of releases. The upside is that when it’s easy to see behind the cheap gloss of most supergroups, it’s also easy to see when one comes about out the collaborators’ legitimate, genuine passion for their art. Such is certainly the case with Smith/Kotzen, the self-titled debut effort from Iron Maiden’s inimitable lead shredder Adrian Smith and…

If there’s one thing The Rubens can do better than virtually every other band in Australia right now, it’s bust out a catchy hook. Thanks in no short part to the anthemic “My Gun”, the Macarthur-native pop-rock powerhouse burst on the circuit in 2012 with their platinum-selling self-titled debut, and quickly countered one-hit-wonder fears with 2015’s gem-studded Hoops – the title track of which scored triple-platinum sales and took out the top spot in Triple J’s Hottest 100. They capped the trilogy in 2018 with the unexpectedly poppy, R&B-flavoured Lo La Ru, at which point The Rubens had accepted their place on the throne of the Aussie alternative scene. 2020 should have seen them make it to arenas with a colossal fourth effort – a self-produced epic stacked with tracks…

The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” is proof that if you write a great riff, the world will beat a path to your door. Simple and infectious, the descending ‘bass’ line (actually recorded and performed on a Kay hollowbody electric guitar through a Whammy pedal set to the octave-down setting) still lives on today, long after the Stripes disbanded, as a supporters’ chant at soccer matches and other sporting events. “Seven Nation Army” was also the biggest hit The White Stripes ever scored, with frontman Jack White earning status as a bonafide modern electric guitar hero for his cool riff, slick slide playing and rough-in-all-the-right-places tone. White’s performance of the song is characterised by three distinct tones that add variety and interest to the otherwise simple song structure. In addition…

The DZ Deathrays – Positive Rising Grant is designed to assist and inspire the next generation of guitarists from regional Australia. The three recipients of the grant will each receive a Fender guitar and amp, plus a year’s worth of fortnightly guitar classes through The Artist Studio. Applicants can enter via dzdeathrays.com – entries are open now and will close on March 31st, 2021. On the launch of the Positive Rising Grant, DZ Deathrays drummer Simon Ridley says, “One of the hardest hurdles starting out in music for me as a teenager was just being able to afford quality equipment that was not only actually enjoyable to play on but also capable of being used for a gig or even just an amp loud enough for playing with a full…

Anytime we chat with an artist that’s worked with Shane Edwards, it’s virtually guaranteed they’ll gush about his beatmaking black arts like a tween girl gushes over her favourite boyband – entirely unprompted, too. Edwards started producing out of necessity, unable to afford any external help to lay down his own band’s material. But the Sydney-native stalwart soon discovered a love for the art that spread far beyond his own musicality. Today, he’s one of the most sought-after names in heavy music, thanks in no short part his unapologetically unique approach to the recording process – which has led to such instant classics as Hellions’ Opera Oblivia, Trophy Eyes’ Chemical Miracle, Saviour’s Let Me Leave… The list goes on. Hell, he’s even linked up with musical titans like Hans Zimmer,…

PRICE: $15.39/MONTH It may be due to the fact that people are spending more time at home these days, but online guitar lessons have never been more popular. And while this isn’t a new concept, it’s an industry that has been rapidly developing over the last five years and many of us are only just catching on. Fender Play is something of a newcomer to this industry, but since their launch in 2017 they’ve become one of the most recognisable online guitar learning services out there. While this iconic brand may have had a leg up in that department, Fender Play is a service really befitting of its name. First time users will log on and be asked what instrument they would like to learn (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass…

RRP: $2,099 The distance between Gibson’s entry-level US build and a top-of-the-range, Chinese-built Epiphone is closing all the time. Take the Epiphone 1959 Les Paul Standard, a quite stunning collaboration with the Gibson Custom Shop that is arguable better dressed than a Les Paul Tribute. Or take this Prophecy Flying V, which takes the high-road when it comes to spec. Here we’ve got a mahogany body with a AAA flame maple veneer – like the ’59 LP – though it is also available in Aged Satin Black. The Prophecy V has a set, mahogany neck, carved into Gibson’s Asymmetrical Slim Taper profile. Originally the asymmetrical carve was an accident, with variances on hand-carved necks meaning some had an ever-so-slightly fatter profile on the bottom-strings’ side and a thinner profile down…

On the night of February 6th, 2021, a clip of a young rockstar smashing their guitar on live TV went viral for all the wrong reasons. It wasn’t old footage of Kurt Cobain or Pete Townshend or Jimi Hendrix, but a young woman called Phoebe Bridgers, who a lot of commenters had not heard of but were furious with for being so insolent. 26-year-old Bridgers, who recently released her critically acclaimed second album Punisher, closed out her first Saturday Night Live performance by giving a monitor speaker a beating with her guitar. Now, obviously, this act of violence was premeditated. Sparks flew from the floor monitor that conspiracists were quick to recognise as “fake”, but still, some kind-hearted commenters were deeply concerned about the equipment and the sound guy’s feelings.…

AXEL CARRINGTON HAILS FROM PERTH, WA PLAYS SOLO AND IN NEW TALK SOUNDS LIKE DESTRUCTIVELY DYNAMIC ALT-ROCK WITH EQUAL PARTS PASSION AND PUNCH LATEST DROP TIME & MEMORY (LP OUT APRIL 9TH INDEPENDENTLY) What’s your current go-to guitar? My most recent acquisitions have been a mid-’00s Japanese Mustang – bought off my good friend and fellow Perth musician Tanaya Harper – a Yamaha NTX3. The Mustang is so light and whimsical, but still has a similar feel to the Jaguars I adore. The Yami is the ultimate “chill out at home” guitar, and one I look forward to exploring each and every day that I play it. I just wrote, recorded and released a solo album under my own name using nothing but this gat! How did you initially fall…

Every Melvins fan seems to have a different perspective on how many albums the longstanding alt-metallers have slapped their name on. Are we strictly talking studio albums with ten or more tracks? What about the distinction between the stock-standard Melvins, Melvins Lite and Melvins 1983? Do collaborative albums, b-side comps, bootlegs or EPs count? What about Buzz Osbourne’s solo work, since there’s often overlap between the Melvins crew and his own band? Whatever number you settle on, don’t get too used to it – the Washington state alt-metallers are as busy as they’ve ever been, having just dropped their latest full-length with the Melvins ’83 lineup, Working With God, with another massive project set to land before the year’s end. Osbourne is determined to make the 2020s another landmark year…

Despite the LP’s notably bleak title, Death By Rock And Roll is actually what saved The Pretty Reckless from an early grave. After the sudden death of close friend (and timeless grunge icon) Chris Cornell on May 18th, 2017, the New York hard-rockers were shaken to the core. Anyone in their position would be – Cornell committed suicide mere hours after fronting a gig with Soundgarden, for which The Pretty Reckless served as its opening act. They were some of the last people Cornell spent time with, and the significance of as much sent the band into a deep depressive spiral. In particular, frontwoman Taylor Momsen hit rock bottom hard and fast. Songwriting was the least of her concerns – especially when less than a year after Cornell’s passing, The…

What did you do to kill the time during last year’s (seemingly never-ending) lockdown period? Did you jump on the breadmaking bandwagon and master the art of the ultimate sourdough? Did you start teaching yourself how to use Photoshop so you could make those second-rate holiday snaps from 2018 really pop? Or did you finally get around to flicking your way through the collection of books you can’t help but keep adding to? No matter how we all powered through the rough bit of the pandemic, the important thing is that we all got through it… And that we now have some killer new music to sink our teeth into. Because while most of us used our lockdown bubbles to focus on new hobbies and old to-do lists, the rockers…

The incomparable Miss Grit has just released a new EP, Impostor. After 2019’s debut EP Talk Talk earned favourable comparisons to the likes of Nilufer Yanya and St. Vincent, it is – with knowing irony – the sound of an artist cutting her own path. Across the six songs it melds airy melody, ricocheting delays and bitcrushed riffs, all the while deconstructing the impostor syndrome that dogs us all as musicians – and has haunted Sohn for fair chunks of her life. Sohn, by her own telling, grew up feeling somewhat out of place. As a Korean-American in the whitewashed Michigan suburbs, she found a home in the music her Dad blasted from the basement. Talking Heads, Led Zeppelin, The Cure all poured into hungry ears. The guitar soon followed…

In the storied three years since they dropped their enigmatic debut album, Lost Friends, the loveable larrikins in Middle Kids have lived a whole damn lot of life. They toured the world twice over, racked up an enviable stack of awards, and popped up on our TV screens at least a solid dozen or so times. Hell, frontwoman Hannah Joy and bassist Tim Fitz even had a kid together! So heading into the fray of their equally exciting and elusive second album, things were obviously going to be a little different. And it shows. Today We’re The Greatest adds to Middle Kids’ luminescent brand of jammy indierock a splash of piano-driven balladry, some fiery post-grunge riffs, and even an unpredictable tinge of avant-garde electronica. It’s a towering triumph of risks…

At over a quarter-century as one of the world’s most strongly prospering rock bands, there are very few amongst us who can’t immediately recognise a Foo Fighters song. They’ve a tried-and-true, absolutely unf***withable formula: big, driving drum leads, ultra crispy guitars and that bright, buttery howl many have tried their hand at, but only Dave Grohl can truly pull off. So when the Seattle post-grungers announced their hotly anticipated tenth album, Medicine At Midnight, we all had at least a vague idea of what to expect… Then we actually heard the lead single. Like a defiant middle finger aimed at those of us certain the Foos had settled in their ways, “Shame Shame” landed with less of an epic, concrete-shattering rock ’n’ roll thud and more of a breezy, near-unsettlingly…

One of the standout tracks from Pink Floyd’s ambitious concept album The Wall, “Comfortably Numb” has an enduring status as a timeless classic, thanks to David Gilmour’s dazzling, emotional guitar work, which has consistently earned top honours in “best guitar solo” polls over the last few decades. Gilmour’s performance on the song’s two solos are master classes in phrasing and tone, showing how something that seems simple on the surface can actually be quite sophisticated and complex when one analyses the finer essential details. While the solos are the main focal guitar parts of the song (and hence this article as well), acoustic and pedal steel guitar tracks also contribute notable roles. Gilmour played a ZB SS10 10-string pedal steel processed with a long, repeating delay and reverb for the…

Rock, pop, metal, blues – even hip-hop and dance; no matter the genre, Fender guitars have been a staple of music history’s landmark moments since the mid-‘40s. The company, born from a simple love of guitars from behind a radio and TV repair shop, started out dealing in handmade lap-steels. Before long, Clarence “Leo” Fender had a million-dollar empire on his hands, developing electric and acoustic models that not only defined the meteoric rise of rock ’n’ roll in the ‘50s, but have long since remained the go-to brand for beginners, hobbyists, full-time road dogs and legendary virtuosos alike. 2021 marks the Big F’s monumental 75th anniversary – and the celebrations don’t just involve reminiscing on fond memories. The company continues to innovate well into the 21st century, whether via…

Whether you’re after a looper pedal to finally get underway with your ambient prog project, or giving your band a boost by layering electric guitar and acoustic guitar parts live, having a loop pedal in pride of place on your pedalboard will open you up radically different creative approaches that may become your signature with enough practice. Here we’ve rounded up the best looper pedals available today, to help you understand what looping is, and where to start. Some artists use loopers to trigger pre-recorded samples, rather than loop their riffs on-the-fly (like Ed Sheeran), and many looper pedals now support importing and exporting sound clips, or even an external memory card. If you’re unsure where to start with looping, things don’t need to be particularly complex to begin with.…

RRP: $795 We’re all suckers for good old-fashioned vintage gear, but we are also huge fans of technology. Be it the simplest analogue application or cutting-edge digital modelling, if it sounds right and feels right, the chances are it is. And with Empress Effects’ Zoia creating such a buzz in the stompbox world recently, we couldn’t wait to dive in and find out why people have been raving about this quirky little box with what seems like far too many buttons. Although it may appear unfamiliar or slightly confusing at first, that grid of 40 buttons is precisely what makes working with the Zoia such a breeze. Think of them as spaces. Press an unoccupied one to choose a module from the screen menu using the rotary knob (not forgetting…

RRP: $715 Never before have I seen so many buskers burst into view than this past year. Social distancing and a lack of indoor venues have forced many a talented musician to literally take it to the streets, or perform at outdoor dining places. If that’s your new normal, then portability and power should be your best friends when it comes to amplifying yourself. The good news is the Boss Acoustic Singer Live LT meets the criteria for both, as well as being the most streamlined and affordable professional acoustic amplifier in Boss’s Acoustic Singer series. With all the basic essentials and more, the Acoustic Singer Live LT will have you up and running in minutes. The Boss Acoustic Singer Live LT is rated at 60 watts and arrives in…

RRP: $3,499 The shock heard around the guitar world came on October 6, 2020, when Wolfgang Van Halen heartbreakingly announced on Twitter, “I can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning…” For many, it’s hard to imagine a musical landscape without the likes of legendary musician and pioneering guitarist Eddie Van Halen. There are not enough words on this page to encapsulate how Van Halen categorically pushed the limits of electric guitar-based rock with his uniquely fiery approach, let alone his incessant resourcefulness in tinkering with his guitars and amps to suit his trailblazing style of playing. Almost everything Eddie creatively unveiled led to vast imitations and innovations among a guitar community that…

YAMAHA SA2200 RRP: $3,499 • au.yamaha.com With the semi-hollow SA2200, Yamaha has refined the thinline semi-acoustic to perfection. A solid block of wood runs through the otherwise hollow body for enhanced sustain and feedback resistance, giving the instrument a remarkable ability to reproduce everything from mellow jazz tones to the aggressive snap and growl of a solidbody. ERNIE BALL VOLT RRP: $215 • cmcmusic.com.au The Ernie Ball Volt gives the power to the pedal! With its multiple isolated, high current DC power outputs, the Volt supplies clean, regulated power to almost any digital or analogue effects pedal. The compact and rugged housing can fit almost anywhere on even the most dense pedalboard. If you need low noise and reliable power for any gig, the Ernie Ball Volt is perfect for…