Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 155 i Australian Guitar

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…

Having spent the last forty years as a key creator of the iron-clad metal riffs that put his native Brazil on the global metal map, Sepultura's longtime guitarist Andreas Kisser has one hell of a backstory. After joining the now-legendary group at the age of nineteen, Kisser contributed his mighty axe chops to every Sepultura album apart from their 1986 debut full-length Morbid Visions. The seminal thrash epics Beneath The Remains and Arise were propelled by Kisser's guitar work, who spent seven years studying classical guitar before crossing over to the dark side. In the early-to-mid 90s, Kisser was there to help steer the group through the percussive tribal bounce of Chaos A.D. and Roots before co-founding member Max Cavalera left in 1996. Since 1997, after enlisting new vocalist Derrick…

MÜTLEY CRÜE WOULDN'T IT BE nice if we lived in a world where the original lineups of the bands we love ohso-dearly stuck it out and stayed together for the kids? It's a nice thought, but it's nothing more than a pipe dream. The grizzled reality is we live in a world where some of the most famous acts still take to the stage and have one, or even none, of their original members among their ranks. This demands the question: how much are original lineups worth? While we can hope and pray that if our favorite bands lose a member, it's not anyone “important,” history dictates that even keeping the essential members can be too much to ask. Still, we've also seen that replacing even the most seemingly integral…

BETTER TONE EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT STRINGS The material your strings are made of fundamentally affects your guitar tone. Of course, electric guitars require metal strings in order for the magnetic pickups to work, however, string manufacturers offer a range of alloys, each with different tonal properties. Plain steel and nickel-wound steel are most common for unwound/wound strings respectively. Rotosound's Ultramags are a ‘highly magnetic' string which they say gives more power and sustain. Ernie Ball's Cobalt series ‘maximises output and clarity'. You can judge their claims for yourself, but our experience is that materials do matter! GET PLUCKY! Not all picks are equal, and yes, they certainly can affect your tone. Eric Johnson and John Petrucci have each made use of Dunlop Jazz IIIs, both tweaking the shape of the…

BETTER TONE SINGLE-SHOT STUDIO REVERSE To mimic the '70s-style effect of reversing your guitar sound in the studio, you can use this trick. Set a delay to reverse mode, then turn feedback down to a single repeat and the level up to max (or unity with the dry signal). Live, the gap between playing and repeat shouldn't be an issue. When recording, simply play to a click with the monitoring off, then drag the waveform back to the start of the passage. If you played to the click, it should be in time, apart from the initial offset caused by the buffer size. VERB INTO DRIVE There are few things as rock 'n' roll as running a reverb into a drive, distortion or fuzz. Conventional wisdom says to order these…

BETTER TONE USE YOUR MULTI-EFFECTS' COMPUTER SOFTWARE Many multi-effects units have USB connectivity and come with software for more intensive tweaking, giving increased control over the parameters of each effect and amp model, as well as the signal chain in general. It's potentially the key to unlocking the exact sound you hear in your head. Even if your sonic requirements are relatively simple, the ability to experiment by dragging and dropping virtual effects around the signal chain can be a highly creative and fun process. MAKE SURE YOUR PRESET LEVELS ARE SIMILAR One of the most important things when using a multi-effect unit is having a uniform volume across all your presets. Uneven levels means your parts won't cut through the mix when you switch between presets. A smartphone app…

CLASSIC TRACK Shoot To Thrill features on AC/DC's global smash comeback album, Back In Black. The backbone of the band's sound comes from the dual guitars of sibling pair Angus and Malcolm Young. Their powerhouse rhythm parts are the perfect example of how twin guitar parts should lock and groove, with Angus' solos providing the icing on the cake – hard-hitting blues-influenced licks delivered with killer tone and perfect time. The rhythm parts are based around open-position powerchords. G5 is the same as open G, but the fifth string is nearly always muted. D5 is based on that easy open D shape, but frequently played over a low A. Angus' lead parts are largely pentatonic, but STT's solos are much more than mere one-shape wonders, so be sure to read…

| FEATURE If plucking a ripe plum from a tree had a sound, it would resemble Carol Kaye's signature tone – a tone that made her a ‘firstcall' bassist in the highly competitive studio session world. It wasn't just that, though. Kaye is arguably the first bassist to exploit the instrument in a truly melodic fashion, a nod perhaps to her early days as a jazz guitar prodigy. Her ability to invent memorable and influential bass and guitar parts on the spot in a high-pressure situation took her to – and kept her at – the very top of the studio scene and onto more than 10,000 recordings. Carol Kaye was born into a musical family in Washington state on the Pacific Northwest in 1935, with both parents professional musicians.…

REVIEW The Music Man people are at it again, offering a classic instrument that leans heavily on their tried-and-true heritage, but with a modern attitude. The Ray34 is based on the renowned Music Man StingRay. Well, actually, it is a StingRay. Released in the mid ‘70s, the original StingRay Bass was an immediate hit because it had the low-end thump of Leo's mighty P Bass, plus the upper-mid articulation that players and producers were after for the emerging funk and fusion styles. For rock, funk and fusion, the StingRay had a richer bass that the P Bass and rounder midrange and treble than either the J Bass or the Rickenbacker 4001. Just as the Fender's P Bass was a game changer upon its release in 1951, and again in 1957…

REVIEW Eddie Van Halen wasn't just one of the greatest guitarists of all time; his quest for the perfect tone drove him to become an expert tweaker of amps, pedals and guitars, all of which were brought together under the EVH brand, currently curated by Fender. EVH's popular and affordable Iconic series of 5150 amplifiers evolved from the mighty 5150 III head, a go-to powerhouse of tones used by many top metal and rock professionals, and the range has recently been expanded to include this new 1×10 combo. Designed with assistance from amp guru James Brown, the Iconic 1×10 is a smartly-presented combo available in black or ivory vinyl, with a brushed aluminum control panel that's easy to read in low light. It's a two-channel design with separate gain and…

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…

Amp channel An amplifier increases a guitar's electrical signal in order to reproduce the sound through a connected speaker. Many amplifiers are equipped with separate audio signal paths (aka channels), usually voiced differently to produce a clean sound on one and a more distorted sound on the other. British amp sound A catch-all term referring originally to the tones of British amp brands from the 1960s and '70s such as Marshall and Vox. The former is renowned for the overdriven, saturated tones of the JTM and JCM series. Vox's AC30 is noted for a cleaner, chimier sound as heard on music by The Beatles and The Shadows. Delay An effect that plays back an audio signal after a period of time. Typically the pause ranges from a few milliseconds to…

BETTER TONE FX TONE GUIDE TUBE AMP SATURATION USING A BOOST This is the oldest tone trick in the book. Tube amps sound best when they're being pushed. Using a gain pedal in front of an amp results in additional breakup and compression. This works best with smaller tube amps, as they run out of headroom quicker, and trip into power tube saturation. For higher-wattage amps, add some preamp gain at the amp, too. DON'T USE TOO MUCH GAIN Most of the time, distortion and overdrive pedals don't sound great when maxed out. Start at a low setting, and gradually raise the gain until you're happy with the sound. Even for metal, most bands are using less gain than you think. As discussed above, into a tube amp, the level control…

BETTER TONE CAN YOU REACH THE PEDALS YOU USE MOST? It's all very well having the coolest pitch shifter, pad generator or cloud reverb on the market, but if you can't hit it cleanly when you need it, it's not much use. Pitch shifters, like wah or volume pedals, are usually used dynamically, or triggered using a momentary function. Make sure they're positioned on your 'board in an easy-to-reach place, so you can write riffs and parts around them with confidence. PLAY SINGLE NOTES WITH ANALOGUE PITCH EFFECTS If you're having trouble with note definition, tracking or heavy artefacts in your sound, then try playing single notes rather than chords. Older generations of digital pitch shifters and analogue octave units are often monophonic (they only process single notes). For some,…

Let's be clear! There's no such thing as an ‘acoustic guitar chord'. If a guitar has a standard fretboard, then, acoustic or electric, all chord shapes are fair game. However, some chords do sound great when played on acoustic – and we're looking at some of our favourites here. We're looking at a particular category of guitar chords: open-string shapes. These are chords that include open strings, but aren't necessarily played in the open position. The lush, ringing open strings give a richness to these shapes that really fire up any acoustic arrangement, solo or in a band. Right, let's get strumming! 01 THE BIRD IS THE WORD Played famously by Paul McCartney on The Fab Four's Blackbird, this sweet shape can easily be moved around the fretboard – the…

When most guitarists talk about acoustic steel string guitars, a few American brands like Martin, Taylor and Gibson usually dominate the discussion. However, for many decades Yamaha has remained the world's best-selling acoustic guitar brand, quietly but prominently leading the market thanks to the incredible value and quality that Yamaha instruments offer beginning-tointermediate guitarists. It's like Yamaha acoustics are so ubiquitous, players simply take their presence for granted. With the recent introduction of their FG9 model steel string flattops, Yamaha has made a bold statement by offering guitars that deserve serious consideration by guitarists seeking an uncompromising, professional quality acoustic. Meticulously designed by Yamaha's most experienced and skilled custom shop luthiers, using a combination of scientific analysis and handcrafted attention to detail, the FG9 represents Yamaha's decades of insight as…

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,…

IF YOU VENTURED over to Nita Strauss' Twitter account, below the image of the leather-clad gunslinger hoisting a radioactive green Ibanez JIVA over her shoulders, you'd find a Tweet that's been pinned in place since July 23, 2018. For five years, said pinned Tweet has been the very definition of the intrepid six-stringer, seemingly guiding her every musical move. But at the time, it was merely an answer to a simple question: “How did you get your start in the hired scene as a guitarist?” “I played guitar for anyone who would have me,” Strauss wrote in her 2018 Tweet. “Rock, pop, funk, metal, covers, originals… sometimes two shows a night with different bands. Went on tour for next to nothing. Built a reputation for being on time, professional and…

Today, it's harder than ever to describe the sonic characteristics of pickup types – there are so many configurations, both stock and after-market, that blur the lines of each core design. For every classic single coil there's a stacked noiseless unit; for every vintagevoiced humbucker there's a high-output facemelter for metal. However, there are a few key categories of pickup to know about. A little knowledge of each one's origins and uses will help you identify your own tonal requirements should you wish to swap out your axe's pups. SINGLE COILS Early designs appeared in Rickenbacker lap steels, Gibson and Gretsch semis, and then later in Fender's Telecaster predecessor, the Esquire, but perhaps the archetypal single-coil pickup is that found in the Fender Stratocaster. The Strat's later five-way (originally three-way)…

USE STEREO CHORUS Stereo chorus is a great way of thickening up guitar parts, and will work even when at subtle settings. Set the rate at the lowest possible setting and then experiment with the depth or wet-dry control. Depending on the type of chorus, it can be very subtle, giving almost the feel of a double-tracked guitar. TRY A COCKED WAH Cocked wah is one of the most fun effects to use, though it's easier in the studio than live. Even the most basic settings – fully open, and fully closed – can be very impactful for breakdowns and pre-choruses. For more complex riffs you can go full Mark Knopfler and find a place to ‘park' the pedal for a Money For Nothing kind of sound. EXPERIMENT WITH THE…

Stick with lower wattages in small spaces It's all too easy to get carried away with volume when buying a new valve amp. More power equals more tone, right? Well, no. That only really comes into effect when you're driving the valves hard at higher volumes on arena or festival stages. If you're playing small gigs and using your amp at rehearsal studios or home, a 20-watt combo will probably suit you better than a 100-watt behemoth you can't quite push to its full potential. If your high-wattage amp has a low-power mode or built-in power soak, try seeing how the tones compare, or consider using an external attenuator. “We've found great satisfaction with the Blackstar Artisan when recording in the studio,” ZZ Top legend Billy Gibbons said in 2016.…

| REVIEW Continuing a long run of pickup-pimped Telecasters, this 2023 release sees our favourite bolt-on in new dress and with a pair of Gold Foil pickups, which, says Fender, “combines the enduring charm of mid-century mail-order guitars with the style and playability of an authentic Fender”. Technically, there's no such thing as a singlerecipe ‘gold foil' pickup; the style is inspired by various pawnshop-prize brands such as Teisco, Guyatone, Harmony and Kay. The pickup itself – anything with a bit of gold metallic ‘foil' on the front with a partial metal cover – came in a variety of usually single-coil styles, some using rubberised ‘fridge' magnets. But, hey, they're trendy and have been for some years with many pickup makers offering their own versions, from Jason Lollar's boutique style…