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AMP ROUNDUP & GUIDE G U I TA R P L AY E R .CO M

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OCTOBER 2015

G

B.B. KING

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CELEBRATING THE MAJESTY OF

A N E W B AY M E D I A P U B L I CAT I O N

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VOL. 49, NO. 10, OCTOBER 2015

EDITOR IN CHIEF MANAGING EDITOR SENIOR EDITOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR LOS ANGELES EDITOR

CONSULTING EDITORS

ART DIRECTOR ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR MUSIC COPYIST PRODUCTION MANAGER

Michael Molenda [email protected] Kevin Owens [email protected] Art Thompson [email protected] Matt Blackett [email protected] Jude Gold [email protected] Jim Campilongo, Jesse Gress, Henry Kaiser, Michael Ross, Leni Stern, David Torn Paul Haggard Laura Nardozza Elizabeth Ledgerwood Beatrice Kim

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THE NEWBAY MUSIC GROUP VICE PRESIDENT, PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: Bill Amstutz GROUP PUBLISHER: Bob Ziltz SENIOR FINANCIAL ANALYST: Bob Jenkins PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT MANAGER:

Beatrice Kim

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FOR CUSTOM REPRINTS & E-PRINTS PLEASE CONTACT OUR REPRINTS Coordinator at Wright’s Media : (877) 652-5295 or [email protected] LIST RENTAL: (914) 925-2449 or [email protected] PLEASE DIRECT ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL INQUIRIES TO: GUITAR PLAYER, 1111 BAYHILL DR., SUITE 440, SAN BRUNO, CA 94066; (650) 238-0300; FAX (650) 238-0261; [email protected]. PLEASE DIRECT SUBSCRIPTION ORDERS, INQUIRIES, AND ADDRESS changes to GUITAR PLAYER, BOX 469073, Escondido, CA 92046-9073, or phone (800) 289-9839, or send an email to [email protected], or click to subscriber services at guitarplayer.com. BACK ISSUES: Back Issues are available for $10 each by calling (800) 2899839 or by contacting [email protected]. Guitar Player is a registered trademark of Newbay Media. All material published in Guitar Player is copyrighted © 2015 by Newbay Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction of material appearing in Guitar Player is prohibited without written permission. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, photos, or artwork. All product information is subject to change; publisher assumes no responsibility for such changes. All listed model numbers and product names are manufacturers’ registered trademarks.

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G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5

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Contents OCTOBER 2015 | VOLUME 49, NUMBER 10

GP COMMUNITY 14

We can all use a sense of community. Share your photos, gear and CD/DVD reviews, likes/dislikes, favorite amps and guitars, tone and technique tips, gig stories, and more with the Guitar Player reader community. Come on… join in!

OPENING SHOTS 16

We get up close and personal with the gigs, the gear, the guts, and the glory that make playing guitar the coolest thing in the world.

RIFFS 18

Slide tips from Roy Rogers, Robin Trower finds his voice, Paul Weller talks recording, another excerpt from Jim and Dara Crockett’s GP book, and more!

COVER STORY 48

B.B. King We celebrate the life, times, music, and magic of the King of the Blues. Gone, but never forgotten.

FEATURES 28

Guthrie Govan

36

Jim Campilongo

42

Todd Rundgren

CLASSIC AD 146 Fender Guitars (from the November 1974 issue of GP)

Cover photo: Peter Amft / Atlas Icons

J ON SI EV ERT

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Guitar Player, Box 469073, Escondido, CA 92046. Guitar Player (ISSN 0017-5463) is published monthly with an extra issue in December by Newbay Media, LLC, 1111 Bayhill Drive, Suite 125, San Bruno, CA 94066. Periodicals postage paid at San Bruno, CA, and at additional mailing offices. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2.

12

G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5

FRETS 69

New Acoustic tic Gear Gear from Summer mer NAMM NAMM M

GEAR

74

Review Guild d OM-150 OM-1150 and an nd M-140E M--140E

26

New Gear Gear

Vintage Excerpt cerptt

92

Round Roundup dup Combo Amps Amps from Blackstar, Dr. Z,

78

Magnatone, Peavey, Roland, d Supro, and d Vox. Vox.

Charlie Daniels on Bl Bluegrass luegra ass (fr (from rom the Spring 2005 5 issue issu ue of Frets) Frets)

101

Guide to Guide to Tube Tub be Amplifiers Amplifiers

LESSONS

110

Music Man JP15 JP15

80

Under Investigation stiga ation

112

DeTemple Spirit Spirit Series S ries ’52 Model Se Mod del

A thorough examination aminattion of a

114

Gibson Gibs b on C Custom ustom S Shop hop True Historic 1959 Les Paul Reissue

116

X tic SL Xo SL Drive Chrome Chrome Limited d Xotic d Voltage Doubler Edition and

118

Accessory File TC Electronic PolyTune Clip Ac Accessory

particular style or pla player. ayer. T This his month: the great at B.B. B.B B. King.. King g..

88

Rhythm Workshop orksh hop gressio ons off B.B. King The Chord Progressions

GET SMART 120 Steve Hunter er on Class Classic sic Ses Sessions ssions s

MORE ONLINE!

121

Expand Expand d your experienc experience e far f bey beyond ond d the pages off Guitar Playerr at

Jason Becker er on Creat Creativity tivity

guitarplayer.com/october2015 guitarplayer.com/october2015

COOL STUFF S TUFF 24/7! 24// 7! ™=ZVgi]ZTwo-Rock amps at guitarplayer.com/video ™8 ™8]ZX`djii]Z\ddY^Zhd[Summer 8]ZX`djii]Z\ddY^Zhd[Summer Y NAMM at guitarplayer.com/gear guitarplayer.com/gear ™Get your bends d in shape h at guitarplayer.com/lessons ™ Get rootsy with Jewel at guitarplayer.com/artists ™Get

JOIN THE GP COMMUNITY! Facebook Get news and post comments at facebo facebook.com/guitarplayermag b ok.com/ k /guitarplayermag GP Forum Debate, GP Debate t , shock, educate, d and d share with fellow re fellow readers aders d at guitarplayer.com T tter Follow daily Twi Twitter daily tweets at twitter.com/ twitter.com/guitarplayernow /guitarplayernow

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 / G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M

13

GP Community N O I Z E F ROM THE ED ITO R technique, tone, musical knowledge,

A friend founded a band, put per-

expended to build a fan base and

and compositional skills are nec-

sonal money into it for all the things

a reputation with venues could go

essary goals if you want some kind

it needed, and watched it grow into

“poof.” If the business holder does

of a career in this crazy profession.

a very decent earner with a substan-

seize the name, the founder could

But seizing business opportunities,

tial audience. But the hard-working

be fired, and would have to start over

protecting your rights, and bringing

founder was one of those musicians

with a new name, a new act, and,

in revenue are also critical to a live-

who “just wanted to focus on music,”

hopefully, an ironclad business plan.

lihood as a professional musician.

so all the business responsibilities

Please don’t let something like

Unless you have magical powers

were handed over to another band

this happen to you. Definitely work

I’VE BEEN DOING THIS MUSIC

that induce people to give you stuff

member. That member ultimately

your technique until it shines brightly,

thing for decades now, so not much

for free, having significant capital

took control of most of the band’s

but also take advantage of all the

surprises me these days, but some

to invest in yourself is usually key

legal and promotional assets—

resources available to learn about

things can still make me sad. For

to moving your career forward—or

trademarking the name, and lock-

the music business. A lot of knowl-

example, my “Uncle Mike” alarm

even keeping it afloat during those

ing the rest of the musicians out of

edge is online for free, or can be yours

goes into worry overdrive when I

times when the success pendulum

the band’s social sites—and when

for the cost of a book. If you respect

meet so-called ambitious musicians

swings against you.

things weren’t to this person’s liking,

your music, protect it.

who proudly state they don’t care

An ignorance of business real-

new band members were secretly

about business, marketing, or pro-

ities can also derail projects and

rehearsed and poised to become

motion, because they’re all about the

threaten to crush all the forward

“the” band. The founder could do

music and becoming a better player.

movement you’ve struggled so hard

nothing, except consider the pos-

Obviously, striving to improve one’s

to gain. Here’s a recent example:

sibility that the time and struggles

PE ER CO M M ENT P The glaring contrast between the artists borders on humorT ous. While Brent Hinds can hardly show any enthusiasm while o

FACTOID |

Saying “I Love You” in a Song…

being interviewed about what most of us consider a dream b job, Wayne Krantz humbly states his happiness that someone jo

The men in the Beatles’ orbit were no strangers to love

is actually interested in him. Here’s a nugget, kids, strive to be

songs, and, sometimes, they even wrote songs directly

like Lukather-Kime-Krantz, and you will be a better musician li and have a positive impact. Or you can have a piss-poor attia

to their paramours. Here are the musician/song/object of affection for a few of those works of adoration…

that only you think sounds like Angus. I will keep this issue and tude and a tone tha eat it for dinner if Mastodon is on the cover of GP 20 years from now. —JEFF WEIR

George Harrison > “SOMETHING” < Patti Boyd

OOPS!

We inadvertently left Elixir Strings out of our String Guide in the September 2015 issue. So please check out their Acoustic Phosphor Bronze HD ($15.99 street) and Electric Nickel Plated Steel ($10.99

street) strings, both with NANOWEB coatings.

John Lennon > “DEAR YOKO” < Yoko Ono

Tempo Cases’ Gabriel Gunsberg also had some additions to our September 2015 AnyCase GPS device review: The tracking device has a mounting base for easy attachment, a “humidity

Paul McCartney > “MAYBE I’M AMAZED” < Linda Eastman

monitor” decal adds to the device’s camouflage, and Tempo partners with insurance companies that offer discounts for those individuals and

Eric Clapton > “WONDERFUL TONIGHT” < Patti Boyd

businesses that use the device. SOURCE: INFOGRAPHIC GUIDE TO MUSIC, GRAHAM BETTS [OCTOPUS BOOKS]

14

G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5

GOT A QUESTION FOR YOUR COMMUNITY? [email protected]

Interact! GUITAR PLAYER’S FIRST PODCAST

JOIN THE GP COMMUNITY! SOUND OFF! GET EXCLUSIVE NEWS. COMMENT. CRITIQUE. SHARE TIPS AND TECHNIQUES. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR E-NEWSLETTER.

THE R E’S NOW A NEW WAY TO CHECK

FACEBOOK.COM/GUITARPLAYERMAG TWITTER.COM/GUITARPLAYERNOW GUITARPLAYER.COM

in with the Guitar Player universe. We recently launched our first podcast entitled No Guitar Is Safe, which is hosted by GP’s Los Angeles editor Jude Gold. The basic premise is that Jude will sit down with noteworthy artists—one guitar to another—and do some talking and some playing. Listeners will be treated to interesting guitar and performance facts, as well as a lot of licks,

MICHAEL MOLENDA, Editor In Chief [email protected]

riffs, melody lines, and solos right from the player’s fingers. No Guitar Is Safe is available from the iTunes Store, or you can click to it via links at guitarplayer.com. Don’t miss exciting episodes with guitar stars such as Joe Satriani, Brad Gillis, and others—subscribe now!

FACEBOOK COURT OF OPINION

ART THOMPSON, Senior Editor [email protected]

Best guitar for playing old-school blues? Ian T Pavelko

The Strat has stood the test of time for 60 years.

Jim Lanzrath

The guitar doesn’t make the blues.

Mark Homola

Telecaster— as with the old electric masters.

Ray Yarbrough

Flying V, because… Albert King.

Denise Barrett

Jeremiah Blue Ingram

ES-335— if you can afford one these days.

A P-90 pickup and a low-wattage tube amp.

MATT BLACKETT, Associate Editor [email protected]

KEVIN OWENS, Managing Editor [email protected]

Mike Johnson

Andy Lewis

Wayne Poole

Graham Whiteing

Terron Hartley

Kris Judd

Crappy pawnshop acoustic.

National Resonator.

A Silvertone with lipsticks for slide.

Secondhand guitar played loud and hard.

It’s the magician, not the wand.

The one Eric Clapton is holding.

PAUL HAGGARD, Art Director [email protected]

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 / G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M

15

MARK L EI ALO HA / ATLAS I CONS

Opening Shots

Semi-Hollowbodies at the Hollywood Bowl B.B. King and SRV trade licks in 1986.

16

G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 / G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M

17

BOB HAK IN S

R O Y R O G E R S I S A S L I D E G U R U W H O WA S

included in GP’s hotly debated February 2007 cover story “101 Forgotten Greats & Unsung Heroes.” John Lee Hooker gave Rogers his first big break in 1982. Recently, Rogers and Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek enjoyed a fruitful collaboration from 2008 until Manzarek’s passing in 2013. Rogers’ first solo band CD in five years—Into the Wild Blue [Blind Pig]—is chock full of fabulous bottleneck blues. Wanna play like Roy? Here’s what to do, and what not to do. — J I M M Y L E S L I E

u ultimately be positioned directly over the fret of th desired note. Frankly, being a little flat can the oc occasionally sound cool and “blue,” but sharp is never ne good. That’s even more important when playing in fast licks or riffs, like I often do. I achieve tension sio on “Last Go-Round” by playing slightly flat or not no landing on pitch until the very last moment on a ’58 ’5 Les Paul Jr. The playing is manic by design. The Th instrumental tune “Dackin’” is another good example, but in a different, funky context. exa

DON’ T LOOK— LISTE N AND FE E L DO DON ’ T B E P I TC HY Proper pitch is crucial. It’s the first and foremost technical aspect of good slide playing because there are so many ways to approach a note with that little thing on your finger, as opposed to simply pressing down on the string between two frets. Whether you’re sliding up or down to a note or going at it directly, the slide should

18

G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5

Think of a fretless instrument, say, a violin or a cello or a fretless bass. It’s really not about vision—it’s about feel. The same is true playing slide guitar. You develop a feel, you develop your ear, and then you trust your hand. A doublebass player knows his positions, but he’s not necessarily looking at the neck—he’s feeling his way, and that’s what you want to do. Of course, a beginner will initially

rely more on eyesight as he or she learns how to position the slide directly over the fret.

DON’ T IGNORE ACOUSTIC— EMB RAC E I T You can tell when a player is uncomfortable, and that’s especially easy to hear on an acoustic because you can’t hide behind amplification. I started out on a $25 Stella, and my fingers hurt. My teacher would tell me that if I could play a song on that guitar, I could play it on any guitar. That may sound trite, but it’s true. If you can play something on acoustic, you can definitely play it on electric once you’re used to the extra sustain, but the reverse is not necessarily true—and that goes for slide or non-slide playing. The acoustic guitar is a different animal. You have to play differently on it, and it will give you different textures. Acoustic and electric has always been a combo plate for me. I get my signature round, acoustic-based sound on a 1970 Martin 0-16 New Yorker with a DeArmond pickup. I run it through a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIB and a Motion Sound rotary speaker. You can hear it on the lead to “High Steppin’.”

TH IN IS NOT I N

GET YOU R ACTION AS HIG H AS YOU CA N Slide playing requires higher action to get the full ring of the string. If the action is too low, you’ll not only fret out, but there won’t be enough of the string’s surface area hitting the slide to for the pickup’s magnet to pick it up. My action is set as a compromise. It has to be because I jump back and forth between slide and non-slide playing all the time. I’ve given up the facility of fast action on the neck for better slide tone, and now I’m used to playing with higher action. You either deal with that compromise or have a designated guitar for slide. Otherwise, you’re not going to get the tone, and tone is everything.

SLIDE AND RHYTHM PLAYING ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE L ots of rock bands have two guitar

players—one playing rhythm, and one playing strictly lead with a slide. But it doesn’t have to be one way or the other. The slide isn’t reserved for lead playing. I keep it on my finger all the time, and it’s actually an integral part of my rhythm structure. “Love Is History” is a good example, even though the piano is featured. I played my Martin in open E, capoed up to F—Shubb capos never fail me. I like to cover a lot of different ground rhythmically, and I cut the rhythm tracks first on this record. Some people think blues has to be a traditional 12-bar shuffle, but that’s just not so.

GROOVE BEFORE CUTTING LO OS E You don’t have anything if you don’t have a groove. I used to have students who would go nuts playing slide riffs with no rhythm. I’d ask them to play a slow, Jimmy Reed kind of blues groove, and then throw a few licks in amongst the rhythm figure. Some simply couldn’t do it. If you can’t do that with a simple I-IV-V progression, then there’s no way your slide licks will amount to more than wanking. You need a groove first, and only then might you have something to say within that framework. g

Rogers (left) and Ray Manzarek.

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 / G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M

19

BOB HAKI NS

Thin slides and strings lead to thin tones. Thick slides and thick strings yield thick tones. I use a Jim Dunlop 212 Pyrex slide and a Texas Blues Tube electropolished metal slide. I like the 212 because of its thickness and length. I like a relatively short slide because I have small hands, and I can keep a good grip on the slide if my pinky finger extends beyond it. If not, I couldn’t control the slide, and I might lose it. I put the slide on my pinky so I can fret chords with the other three fingers, but whichever finger you decide to use, get a slide that fits. You don’t need a long slide because you’re generally going to use it on the top four strings anyway. I’ll use a metal slide if I want a little more grit and bite. I used it on “Dark Angels” and on “Into the Wild Blue.” Electropolished metal is important to me because its smoothness approaches glass. Your string set has to start with at least a .012 or .013 in order to get a good slide tone. I use D’Addario’s EJ21 Jazz Light set,

but with a .013 on top instead of a .012, so the gauges are .013, .016, .022w—or .024w on a heavier guitar—.032, .042, and .052. On the bottom neck of my Sean Chappell doubleneck guitar, I use the EJ22 Jazz Medium set gauged .013, .017, .026w, .036, .046, .056. That’s pretty heavy. I always use a wound third for more tone. I use Martin Silk & Steel strings for my New Yorker.

Riffs

BY MICHA E L MOL EN DA

back on these notes”?

“MY PRODUCER, LIVINGSTONE BROWN,

No. There’s nothing musically conscious in terms of putting emphasis on certain notes.

always tells me that albums never get finished, they just escape,” says Robin Trower, who managed to let Something’s About to Change [Manhaton/V12] dash out the studio door earlier this year. The 70-year-old guitarist drew heavily on his R&B roots for the project, played all the bass parts, and, for the first time ever, he wrote every song for his own voice. What’s the difference between writing for yourself as the singer, and composing songs when you know you’re going to hand it off to somebody else to sing?

So you don’t overthink it?

Not the initial idea. In a way, it’s much like I play guitar—which is, “Right. Let’s go for it and see what happens.” My guitar playing is seldom worked out—it’s responding to the music in the moment—and I’m always aiming for something genuine. Now, I’m not that technically adept as a singer, so the off-the-cuff stuff can be difficult, but I do establish the right feel for the vocal very early on. Feel is the most important thing to me. Do you have a basic approach to composition?

I work quite hard to get the keys right for me, because I don’t have any range at all in my voice. If I’m writing for another vocalist, the key is less of a worry. There’s also the personal angle when you’re writing songs knowing that you’re going to sing them. I can be more open to writing about my personal life.

I play guitar every day, so ideas just come, and if I get something I think I’ll enjoy playing lead over, then I continue working on it until I get a song. The next things are the vocal melody and the lyrics. The sound of the words is extremely important.

You’re a very melodic guitar player. Do you find that your approach to vocals is heavy on phrasing—like, “I’m going to jump on this note, but I’m going to lay

When you’re initially writing, are you singing things like, “Hey, the table is brown”— just anything to get the words out?

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G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5

Yeah. It’s pretty much just sounds— making sounds to go along with the notes, as it were. Later, I may go out walking with the melody in my head, hoping that real words with the right sounds will pop into my head. Sometimes, I think about lyrics for three days almost non-stop [laughs]. How do you know when you’ve got a winner?

The entire song has to have potency, and I have to respond emotionally to it. If it’s not soulful, I drop it. A bit off topic, but I’ve always loved your thick, silky, and organic sustain, and I’ve often wondered how loud you record in the studio to get that tone?

I run the amps almost to the maximum level they can handle. They’re not full up, but they’re running at the point where the amp just can’t give anymore—usually around three quarters—and I’m standing right next to it. I think it’s important that the speakers and the guitar are in cahoots, as it were. That’s why my hearing is going. But this is the only way I know to get that kind of sustain. I find the tone sounds forced if you’re doing it through pedals or or whatever. g

N EIL CALAN D RA

Robin Trower on Finding his Voice

Paul Weller Goes Raw pick up a Danelectro, a Vox Teardrop, or a Hofner semi-hollowbody because I wasn’t familiar with it, and that put me in a different place, which is always nice. I’d say, “Let’s try that one—I want to know what it sounds like.” The guitars tones really catch your ear…

More than anything, I’ve gotten interested in hearing the guitars raw. The guitar sounds on old rock and roll and R&B records are usually the pure sound from the amp, and, learning that lesson, I tried to find that rough and real sound. I like a riff being broken up, or cracking, or whatever it may be—a bit of sh*t on the track. I spent time on the sounds, but not hours. If something didn’t work after a couple of takes, we’d stop and go on to something else. I get bored easily, so I’m always like, “Come on, let’s move it along.”

JU LIAN BROAD

Your rhythm parts are right in the pocket. How did you develop your sense of time?

BY M ICHA E L MOL E NDA PA U L W E L L E R T Y P I C A L LY AV O I D S

American guitar-gear-magazine interviews, so it was a thrill to get the Jam and Style Council star on the “blower” (telephone) to discuss his latest solo album, Saturns Pattern [Warner Bros.]. Constructed from rough backing tracks by Amorphous Androgynous—an off shoot of the musicians behind Future Sound of London—the new album is packed with wicked, twisted, and fierce guitars—all locked to propulsive, R&B-kissed grooves. These are exquisitely crafted songs. Did you go into the studio with a strict concept?

Nothing was planned at all. My only brief to everyone was that I wanted bigsounding drums and grooves. That was as clear as it got. I’d give vague or abstract

instructions, and it was up to Stan Kybert, my co-producer to make sense of everything [laughs]. The album was like a blank canvas, and we built up the picture as we went along. How did you work with the backing tracks contributed by Amorphous Androgynous?

The songs were a mish-mash between their guitarist and me. It’s always conflict or collaboration, right? [Laughs.] I’d jam over the tracks, playing the first thing that came into my head. Sometimes, those first ideas are the best, and I usually wouldn’t do more than two or three takes. Then, we’d sift through my ideas and their ideas, and choose the best ones. What guitars did you bring to the sessions?

My mainstays are a ’56 Gibson SG and my Epiphone Casino. But, sometimes, I’d

When I was a kid, I listened to black American music. I would try to copy a lot of those amazing soul and R&B tunes, and I would get them hopelessly, horribly wrong. When I got older, I could listen more critically, and I realized what those guys were doing—how they’d set those grooves up with all these subtleties and nuances. I could hear the little syncopations, the bass playing a bit behind the beat, the drums laying back, and then everyone playing together for the accents. What’s your approach to guitar solos these days?

I like playing lead, because I find it quite like singing, but I don’t think I’m a great lead player. I’ve never studied technique— I don’t even know any f**king scales, man. I think I’m a pretty good guitarist, though. I’ve got a sound. There are thousands of guitarists who are very clever, playing loads of notes wiggly diddly. My older son is really into that, but it doesn’t move me. My soul is more affected by someone like Hubert Sumlin. Hearing him play three or four notes sends me off in another universe. That’s what I’m looking for. His sound is somewhere else—it’s so warm, and there are long notes here and there that are just fantastic. He’s definitely someone to check out if you don’t know him. g

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 / G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M

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Riffs

Win Ernie Ball’s Bonamassa Experience!

AS LOYA L GU I TA R P L AY E R R E A D E RS

know, Joe Bonamassa has been sharing his vintage-axe explorations with all of us through his regular “Joe Bonamassa’s Guitar Safaris” column. But now—thanks to Ernie Ball—some lucky guitarists can win a chance to spend a day with Bonamassa and his legendary guitar collection in Los Angeles! You’ll be able to talk guitar with the collector and blues-rock master, and actually hang out with eight of his treasured instruments: 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard “Snakebite,” 1960 Gibson ES-335 TD “Dot Neck,” 1964 Gibson Firebird V, 1962 Gibson SG Special “Polaris White” (profiled in his June 2015 GP column), 1951 Gibson ES-5N, 1969 Gibson ES-355TD “Walnut,” 1955 Fender Stratocaster “Hardtail,” and 1951 Fender Telecaster “Terry Reid” (profiled in his September 2015 column).

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The global Ernie Ball Presents: The Bonamassa Experience will also serve up prizes of Music Man and Sterling by Music Man guitars, Ernie Ball strings, signature Bonamassa pedals from Dunlop, and Guitar Center Gear Cards (domestic U.S. only). Here’s how to grab a shot at all of these goodies: Unique codes and “Instant Win” custom Bonamassa picks will be hidden in select packs of Ernie Ball guitar and bass strings. Buy your strings, and check for the code or the Instant Win pick. If you find a code, enter it at ernieball.com/ bonamassa for the chance at the grandprize trip to meet Joe and his guitars. Instant Winners will get their prizes on the spot, based on which product is detailed on the pick. The contest is hosted in the United States (exclusively through Guitar Center)

G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5

August 1-September 30. (Other markets, such as Canada, Great Britain, France, and Germany, will host the contest from October 1-November 30.) “My relationship with Ernie Ball started simply because they make the best strings around, but grew into a true partnership over the years,” says Bonamassa. “Ernie Ball has welcomed me into their family — a remarkably talented roster of artists — and continuously works to provide creative opportunities for me and other guitarists across the globe to further our craft and share our music with the world.” Please check guitarplayer.com and ernieball.com for more details, as well as links to videos of Bonamassa detailing each of the eight classic guitars you may see in Los Angeles. Good luck! g

Riffs GP BOOK

BLAST FROM GP’S PAST

Here’s an insight from the pages of Jim and Dara Crockett’s new book, Guitar Player: The Inside Story of the First Two Decades of the Most Successful Guitar Magazine Ever [Backbeat/ Hal Leonard]—a collection of oral histories from the editors, photographers, artists, and advertisers who were in the magazine’s orbit during that era. “As a young reader of Guitar Player at age 23, I felt there should be a place in the magazine for unknown guitarists to be featured, so I wrote a letter to GP, and it was printed in the Letters section. Later, Jas Obrecht [GP staffer] sent me a note that said if I found anyone noteworthy, he’d appreciate hearing about them. In 1981, Jas invited me to a party/jam at the magazine where I met [GP editor in chief] Tom Wheeler, and I pitched him on my idea. He asked me to write a sample column, and the rest, as they say, is history. Through my Spotlight column artists such as Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert, Jason Becker, Richie Kotzen, Vinnie Moore, and others received their first pieces of mainstream international press.” — M I K E

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