With a strong focus on the Australian music scene, Australian Guitar is a rich source of information on playing techniques, styles, the wide range of instruments available and all the technology that guitarists have to consider in the 21st Century.
NEWS Brian May has joined the chorus of musicians who have raised concerns over generative AI and the future of the music industry, with the Queen guitarist warning that the technology will have transformed society within the year. AI might not have the imagination nor the wherewithal to construct a homemade electric guitar out of a fireplace, as May and his father did with the Red Special, but its capability to replicate the sound of established artists and create new music in that style has the potential to disrupt the music business as we know it. In a recent interview with Guitar Player, May admitted he was “apprehensive” about how the issue of authorship will play out in the era of generative AI. “My major concern with it now is…
Back in June, Fender announced a signature product for My Bloody Valentine's sonic architect, Kevin Shields – and while it wasn't the Jazzmaster we were all quietly hoping for, the Shields Blender was a genuinely exciting release: not only was it Fender's first-ever signature fuzz pedal, it also revived the bonkers '70s classic with a wealth of Shields-approved tweaks. Despite a US $499 price point, the pedal's initial 700 units sold out within days (and to their surprise, early purchasers found themselves with new music from Kevin Shields hidden on a USB stick inside the stompbox). Suffice to say, a lot of players were left wanting. But thankfully, Fender has seen fit to release the Shields Blender as a non-limited, production-line pedal – and with a sizeable discount, to boot.…
Few guitarists are as synonymous with Guild Guitars as Kim Thayil, yet owing to a series of twists of fate, a signature guitar never became a reality for the Soundgarden hero. Now, finally, Guild has announced the Thayil x Guild range of signature S-100 Polara models. Two versions of the S-100 Polara Kim Thayil will be available: a flagship USA Artist Edition and a production-line guitar. The USA model is a limited run of 30 guitars master-built in Guild's California facility. It features a Honduran mahogany body and neck, Guild's '70s era enlarged headstock with slim neck shape (as specified by Thayil), and a bound Indian rosewood fingerboard with mother-ofpearl block inlays, plus Grover Original Rotomatic tuners. This USA incarnation features custom Guild USA HB-1 humbuckers hand-wound by Jason Lollar,…
INTERVIEW In the early ‘70s, before Cold Chisel became Australia's most popular rock band, a muchyounger Ian Moss was described by bandmate Jimmy Barnes as “a boy from the bush who didn't wear shoes…but played fantastic”. Now approaching his 50th year as a successful recording artist, both as a solo talent and with Cold Chisel, ‘Mossy' has received multiple accolades for a musical life of projects and endeavours that keep him traveling across Australia. Before his 1989 ARIA chart-topping solo debut Matchbook in 1989, Moss lent his creative and vocal talents to many popular Chisel songs, including East's ‘Never Before', and Circus Animals' ‘Bow River'. In tour mode, he continues his travels through capital cities while also performing in rural towns similar to those of his formative years. When he's…
INTERVIEW Hannah Cameron has been captivating audiences with her spellbinding voice and powerful guitar playing for nearly ten years. Born in Brisbane, before spending her formative teen years in Melbourne, Cameron made her presence known as a solo performer with the release of her 2015 debut album, Blow My House Down. In 2018 she released her second LP I Lay Where You Lie between touring as an in-demand guitarist for the likes of Missy Higgins, Grand Salvo, and On Diamond. Cameron now has a third LP on the way called Holding Pattern, due on September 22. After becoming a convert to the instrument in 2018, Cameron wrote her new album on a Gretsch baritone guitar: the six-string's longer and deeper-sounding cousin. Cementing Holding Pattern as another album of firsts, the…
INTERVIEW For a trio who formed eight years ago with the humble intention of playing shows for friends in their home city of Melbourne, Cable Ties has gone a remarkably long way. Channeling their ferocity through a hatred of toxic capitalism and social inequality, the statements that arise in many of their tracks have ignited a collective energy from new converts across the globe. Among these new Cable Ties admirers—a group named in reference to their firm-but-flexible tightness—are Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins, and Keith Morris (Black Flag, Circle Jerks), with the latter taking them on a European tour at the start of this year with his latest full-time group OFF! Some of Cable Ties' other achievements include sharing lineups with the likes of Mudhoney, Pavement, and The Chats. Despite these…
