General Interest
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“We had no idea it was going to perform the way it did – or if it was even going to be shown to anyone”: How Cardboard Sessions’ Dave Lee convinced Billy Gibbons, J Mascis and Keanu Reeves to slam on his Fender-approved cardboard guitars
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“The way it all went down, we were kids”: Geddy Lee on confronting Alex Lifeson about his dismissal from Rush
Geddy Lee has shared how he confronted Alex Lifeson over his dismissal from Rush, years after it took place.
While the band kept a consistent line-up from the mid-1970s through to 2015, when they broke up, they underwent a number of changes during their first few years. Not least in May 1969, when the band consisted of Lee, Lifeson, John Rutsey, and Lindy Young.
“The way it all went down, we were kids,” vocalist and bassist Lee says on NPR’s World Cafe earlier this month. “And so that day, I was informed by our fourth member at the time, who ended up becoming my brother-in-law, eventually, Lindy Young … He told me that the band had broken up.”
The band didn’t break up, however. After Lee was dismissed, Joe Perna took on vocal and bass duties for a couple of months. Meanwhile, Young himself left that June, while guitarist Bob Vopni joined the same month but only lasted in the band for a few weeks.
“I was kind of reeling from that,” Lee says about the band continuing on without him, “But a few months later when John called me and asked me to rejoin the band because their band that they had turned Rush into was a kind of disaster – which I wasn’t unhappy to hear. I felt so vindicated when John called and said, ‘Look, why don’t you come back.’”
And it was an easy decision, with Lee explaining that Lifeson was still his best friend, and he wanted to play with Rush again. But he explains that he “never really put him on the hot seat as to what really occurred.”
That is, until Lee began working on his memoir, My Effin’ Life, which came out last month.
“I asked [Lifeson] to come over to my house because I wanted to interview him for my book,” Lee explains. “And so, we’re having our usual laughs and kidding [with] each other, we have that kind of friendship. So I just put it to him. ‘So Al, when I got kicked out of the band, who really was the motivating factor here? Was it the new manager, Ray? Was it John? And where did you stand on all of this? Did you defend me?’
“He was looking at the ground a little bit”, he continues. “And he was saying, ‘Well, you know me back then, Ged. I was just the guy who sort of went along with things. And John was such a dominant personality,’ which he was.”
“I just think that Al just went with the flow. And he didn’t really have an excuse or a strong reason.”
You can listen to the interview here:
The post “The way it all went down, we were kids”: Geddy Lee on confronting Alex Lifeson about his dismissal from Rush appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“It was down to Slash and C.C. DeVille – I don’t even think they even tried anybody else out. They wanted to go in a glammier direction, and C.C. fit that style”: Matt Smith was Poison’s original guitarist – and helped to choose his successor
Gene Simmons promises Kiss avatars will “get better”
Gene Simmons has said that Kiss’s new virtual avatars will “get better”, revealing that “about $200 million” is being invested in their creation.
- READ MORE: “Paul has never just been a rhythm player”: Gene Simmons says Paul Stanley doesn’t get the “respect and recognition he deserves”
The band wrapped up their End Of The Road farewell tour on December 2 at Madison Square Garden, where they unveiled their new era as a virtual band.
The avatars were reportedly made by George Lucas’ SFX company, Industrial Light & Magic in conjunction with Pophouse Entertainment Group, which was co-founded by ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus and created the holograms for the Swedish band’s popular Voyage show.
Simmons commented on the progress of the avatars while meeting fans at Electric Lady studios in New York City following their final concert, where he revealed that the holograms should represent something of an advancement in technology.
Speaking to one fan, the bassist and co-vocalist said they’re “gonna get better, that animated stuff”, adding: “There’s so much being planned, even beyond my comprehension. But they’re spending, oh, about 200 million [dollars] to take it to the next level.”
Simmons also said he was impressed by the ABBA Voyage show in London. “You can’t tell if they’re there, right there, like that,” Simmons said. However, it has been reported that the Kiss avatars are less likely to appear as realistic as the ABBA ones.
“We’re going to figure it out after the tour,” Pophouse CEO Per Sundin explained (via BBC). “Is it a Kiss concert in the future? Is it a rock opera? Is it a musical? A story, an adventure?”
However, former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley has argued that keeping the band going as digital avatars is “not rock and roll”.
In a recent interview with Rock Antenne, Frehley admitted [via Blabbermouth], “I don’t get this avatar thing that they’re gonna do.”
“I mean, I saw some of it on a video on YouTube last night. It kind of looked like it, you know, was geared towards children. And it’s not rock and roll. I get up on stage without backing tracks, plug my guitar into a Marshall and go. That’s it. It’s always been that way and always will be.”
The post Gene Simmons promises Kiss avatars will “get better” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“Non-musicians, who are the majority of the f**king listening world, are not going to remember guitar solos”: Kirk Hammett says average listeners care about songs and melodies, but not so much guitar solos
There have been some, frankly, massive guitar solos this year. But Kirk Hammett has suggested that – aside from musicians and serious guitar aficionados, nobody really remembers them.
Talking to Total Guitar in the mag’s end-of-year issue, the Metallica legend, who himself is responsible for some of metal’s most iconic solos (think One, just before the six-minute mark) says, “I hate to say it for all your readers out there, but non-musicians, who are the majority of the fucking listening world, they are not going to remember guitar solos.
“They are gonna helluva remember a great melody, and they’re really gonna remember a great song – especially a song that’s gonna bring them to a different place from where they were five minutes previously.”
He goes on to discuss the importance of prioritising a song itself over its individual parts, explaining that it was something he learned as a teenager.
He’d been playing guitar alongside his old guitar tech (and erstwhile Metallica fill-in guitarist) John Marshall for a matter of months when he told him that they needed to write “tunes” and gave KISS, Aerosmith and Van Halen as examples of bands who wrote all of their own songs. “So John and I started writing music,” he said. “And it was a load of crap, but it was something!”
At the end of last month, Hammett paid tribute to another of his influences, Killing Joke guitarist Kevin “Geordie” Walker, who died at the age of 64.
He said in an Instagram post, “Been playing old songs for old friends all day. Geordie Walker, RIP. He was a huge influence on me, the way he played that Gibson ES 295 … the way he played. My heart goes out to his friends and family, and his music is being played loud as hell. Killing Joke forever!”
The post “Non-musicians, who are the majority of the f**king listening world, are not going to remember guitar solos”: Kirk Hammett says average listeners care about songs and melodies, but not so much guitar solos appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
These are the best new electric guitars of 2023 according to the Guitar.com team
It’s remarkable that we can sit here, 90-odd years after George Beauchamp first designed the ‘frying pan’ and kick-started the whole electrified guitar thing, and find that brands big and small are still doing interesting and innovative things with that same mixture of wood, steel and magnets.
Okay, 2023 might not have seen wild evolutionary leaps that became commonplace in the 1950s and 60s – but that’s rather the point. For an instrument that most people will agree was broadly perfected in the Golden Era, seven decades of refinement and expansion has got us to where we are today.
And while that point might not be as revolutionary as decades past, there’s an argument to be made that electric guitars are more consistent, more varied and more affordable than perhaps at any other point in the history of the instrument – and that’s pretty exciting for players of any stripe.
So let’s dive in and explore the biggest prize of the lot – the best electric guitars of 2023, according to the Guitar.com Editorial team.
The 10 Best Electric Guitars of 2023, at a glance:
- Guild S-100 Polara Kim Thayil
- Fender Vintera II 50s Jazzmaster
- Jackson American Series Virtuoso
- Heritage Custom Core H-150 P90
- Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT with Bigsby
- D’Angelico Excel DC Tour
- PRS SE Silver Sky Maple
- Shergold Telstar
- Fender Steve Lacy ‘People Pleaser’ Stratocaster
- Guild Surfliner Deluxe
Guild S-100 Polara Kim Thayil
Photo by Adam Gasson / Guitar.comA testament to the idea of good things coming to those who wait, a Guild signature model for the S-100’s most famous user has been in the pipeline since the 90s, but for whatever reason it never happened. But the reason the S-100 Polara Kim Thayil is our best electric of 2023 is because it’s so much more than a grunge guitar. Mix up the heft of a Les Paul and the all-access freedom of an SG, give it a good dusting of pawn-shop charm, and price it somewhere between the top end of Epiphone and the low end of Gibson, and you have one damn appealing guitar, one that goes well beyond the needs of just smashing out Soundgarden riffs.
Today’s best deals on the Guild S-100 Polara Kim ThayilFender Vintera II 50s Jazzmaster
Photo by Adam Gasson / Guitar.comThe headline of Fender’s Vintera II range was the addition of rosewood ’boards instead of the pau ferro of the first iteration of the Mexican-made vintage-inspired collection – and for sure it’s a welcome return. What we weren’t expecting, however, was how impressive the 50s Jazzmaster turned out to be – with stunning revoiced pickups, unbelievably impressive playability and a package that has to be one of the best Jazzmasters Fender has produced in recent years full stop.
Today’s best deals on the Fender Vintera II 50s JazzmasterJackson American Series Virtuoso
Photo by Adam Gasson / Guitar.comAnother impressive entry into Jackson’s USA-made production line, the Virtuoso was launched to no small shreddy fanfare and let’s face it – a guitar named the Virtuoso had better not have any impediments to performing the impossible. Impressively, this guitar does an elite job of getting out of the way no matter how ambitious you are – a wonderful platform for the new breed of guitar magicians to hone their craft.
Today’s best deals on the Jackson American Series VirtuosoHeritage Custom Core H-150 P90
Photo by Adam Gasson / Guitar.comWith the company’s legal issues with Gibson resolved, Heritage strode into the latter half of 2023 with some impressive high-end releases, including adding P-90 pickups to its popular Custom Core singlecut, the H-150. As a company borne out of the builders Gibson left behind in Kalamazoo, there’s always going to be a familiarity to the designs at play here, but it doesn’t stop this being a nuanced and exciting guitar that’s familiar and different all at the same time.
Today’s best deals on the Heritage Custom Core H-150 P90Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT with Bigsby
Photo by Adam Gasson / Guitar.comIf you’ve ever thought that a Gretsch isn’t for you, the Double Jet might be the guitar to change your mind – it’s not laboured with the legacy of some of Gretsch’s more famous models, but still has plenty of cool alternative cachet. And with sparkling Filter’Tron tones and looks that feel more edgy than the traditional Gretsch fare, this G5232T is a fantastic guitar that’s waiting for someone to make it a star.
Today’s best deals on the Gretsch G5232T Electromatic Double Jet FT with BigsbyD’Angelico Excel DC Tour
Photo by Adam Gasson / Guitar.comD’Angelico has earned itself plenty of fans for its ornate art deco takes on classic semi-hollow instruments over the last few years, but the Excel Tour Collection take that recipe and strips it back so it’s ready for the road, or as the brand itself puts it, this is a “minimalistic powerhouse designed with the travelling player in mind”. The DC is far more than just a road-warrior though – with genuine versatility that means it’s capable of delving into rock and jazz territories with ease, this is one of the best bang for buck semis out there.
Today’s best deals on the D’Angelico Excel DC TourPRS SE Silver Sky Maple
Photo by Adam Gasson / Guitar.comPRS has been been a key force driving the rapid improvement in import guitars since it began producing guitars in Korea over 20 years ago, and the SE version of John Mayer’s Silver Sky has continued to challenge the rest of the industry about how good a guitar in the sub-$1,000 price bracket can be. The latest iteration adds a little more attack and spank to proceedings, while also offering a fuller and thicker profile for fans of vintage Strat – the best value S-type on the market? Don’t tell Fender we said so…
Today’s best deals on the PRS SE Silver Sky MapleShergold Telstar
Image: ShergoldOriginal electric guitar designs are few and far between in 2023, certainly at the lowest end of the market, and look, nobody’s pretending that the Telstar is wholly original in its thinking – but it’s not a slavish copy either. With elements of Telecaster, Firebird and Gretsch all coming together to make a proper affordable Cabronita alternative, this is a seriously impressive machine for very little money.
Fender Steve Lacy ‘People Pleaser’ Stratocaster
Photo by Adam Gasson / Guitar.comFender has had a strong year of signature models that have pushed the envelope, from Tom DeLonge to Bruno Mars, but Steve Lacy’s People Pleaser is the one that stands out from the crowd. With its unique ‘Chaos Burst’ finish, it certainly stands out from the crowd visually, but it’s what’s inside that really interests – how many Fender-made Strats have a built-in fuzz circuit? This one does, and it’s outrageous amounts of fun.
Today’s best deals on the Fender Steve Lacy ‘People Pleaser’ StratocasterGuild Surfliner Deluxe
Photo by Adam Gasson / Guitar.comGuild’s first foray into a new electric guitar design in four decades was suitably well-received when it debuted in 2022 with just one caveat – can you really call something a Surfliner and not have a whammy bar? Fear not, 2023’s Deluxe answered the question and more – with stunning metallic finishes, block inlays, simplified controls, and of course a floating vibrato of Guild’s own design. .
Today’s best deals on the Guild Surfliner DeluxeThe post These are the best new electric guitars of 2023 according to the Guitar.com team appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Christmas Wish Time
The Beatles on Ed Sullivan 1964 |
1960 Wish Book |
1960's Harmony Guitar catalog |
Wow that Harmony flat top was made of seasoned wood! So it had to be great! (I had no clue at the time what seasoned wood was.)
1963-64 Fender Catalog |
Later on, I was able to send away to different companies for their guitar catalogs. I wish I had kept them all.
So let’s go back to those days and review some of those guitars, and amplifiers available years ago. And check out the prices too!
Silvertone guitars sold by Sears |
Sears Silvertone guitars and amplifiers |
Silvertone Danelectro Guitar/amp in case |
It is a fact that the Danelectro Company sold most of their guitars and amplifiers through mail order retail companies such as Sears, Montgomery Wards, and others.
Sears Danelectro bass |
This Silvertone, model 57 1444L bass guitar caught the attention of my best friend, and he purchased it for $99.00 in 1965.
I recently saw this same bass at a local music store with the price tag of $800.00.
Danelectro Silvertone Bass amplifier |
About six month later my friend had saved up enough money to purchase the matching Danelectro-made Silvertone model 1483 bass amp. This amp pumped 23 watts into a single 12" Jensen speaker.
Silvertone Twin Twelve amplifier |
Silvertones were considerably less expensive than a comparable Fender amplifier. The Danelectro speaker cabinets were made with a compartment in the bottom to store the amplifier unit or head for transportation.
Silvertone model 1472 |
The Montgomery Ward Company used the brand name Airline for its electronic and music products. They used a number of "jobbers" or wholesale companies to procure their guitars and amplifiers, such as National, Valco, Supro, Harmony, Kay, All guitars were sold by Wards under the Airline brand name.
Two Valco made Airline guitars. The one circled is Jack White's 1964 Hutto Airline model |
1954 Montgomery Ward catalog |
Another one of the more unusual guitars that Montgomery Wards offered under the Airline brand was the Kay Thin Twin. Though the pickups covers seem thin, the actual single coil pickups underneath the pickguard were normal size compared to comparable instruments.
Jimmy Reed with Kay Thin Twin |
The Kay Thin Twin was the model played by guitarist Jimmy Reed. You can see it in this 1954 company catalog. Most of the other guitars and amps on this page were made by National.
Western Auto catalog |
Western Auto Speed Demon |
One of my favorite Kay-made guitars sold by Western Auto was the three pickup Jazz King aka the Speed Demon. It came with distinctive Kay single coil pickups. Each pickup had its own volume and tone control. Some models came with the Truetone decal, while others came with the Western Auto "W" logo.
1962 Kay guitar catalog |
One of the more popular guitars in the 1960's was the Kay Vanguard, you can view it in the lower left corner.
Kay Vanguard - two versions under the Truetone brand |
This guitar came with one or two pickups, and a fixed bridge with an aluminum bridge cover. The price for the one pickup model was only $44.95, which was a big factor in the instruments popularity. These were sold by Western Auto, Sears, and under the Old Kraftsman brand for Spiegel, another catalog company.
Kay Value Leader |
One more popular model made by Kay was called The Value Leader. It was sold through several different catalog companies under different brand names, as well as under the Kay brand.
Kay Value Leader guitars |
This hollow body Les Paul shaped guitar came with a fixed wooden bridge, a rectangular aluminum pickguard, a trapeze bridge, and one, two, or three pickups. The single pickup model sold for $69.95, the two pickup model sold for $87.95, while the three pickup version was $99.95. The pickups were low output to decrease feed back.
1965-66 Fender Catalog |
Although Fender guitars were only sold through authorized dealers, you could obtain a Fender catalog from a dealer or directly from the company. For a guitar obsessed kid, these catalogs were like finding gold. We could look at all those guitars and dream.
1966 Baldwin Advertisement |
The new kid on the scene in 1966 was Baldwin guitars and amplifiers. Baldwin had recently acquired Burns of London guitars, and the rights to Kustom amplifiers. Some of the original Baldwin guitars were still labeled as "Burns", so Baldwin put their logo on top of the Burns logo. The Baldwin amplifiers were based on Kustom amplifier circuitry.
1966 Spiegle catalog |
The Joseph Speigel Company was a Chicago based business specializing in direct mail order sales. They sold guitars that were made by Kay Guitars of Chicago under the Old Kraftman brand.
1966 Carvin Catalog |
Emenee Toy Commercial |
In addition to the wish books there were a few television commercials in the mid-1960's from a toy company called Emenee. This New York based toy manufacture created several guitars that were made out of plastic.
Emenee Tiger Guitar with amp |
The Emenee Tiger guitar was a hollow body archtop instrument made entirely of plastic. It had a cutaway, an archtop bridge and came with a detachable contact microphone which was probably made by the DeArmond Company.
Emenee Swinging Cat Guitar |
The Swinging Cat guitar has been described in internet posts as perhaps the worst toy ever made. It was a solid body style all plastic guitar with a faux pickup section molded on top of the body. It came with a contact microphone that was permanently attached to the amplifier. The child could place the microphone contraption under the strings.
I wish you all A Very Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! I hope Santa brings you a new guitar.
Click on the links under the pictures for sources. Click on the links in the text for further information.
©UniqueGuitar publicationa 2020 (text only)
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The Truth About Vintage Amps, Ep. 126
Transformer talk, spaghetti carbonara, goat horn jazz, and even more transformer talk…it’s the 126th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps!
Want to be a part of our show? Submit your question or voice memo to podcast@fretboardjournal.com.
Some of the topics discussed this week:
:48 Skip types out a tube chart
3:16 This week’s sponsors: Emerald City Guitars, Amplified Parts, Stringjoy Strings, and Grez Guitars; the art of bargaining at a guitar show; the Bay Area Vintage Guitar Show; Premier and Alamo amps
7:43 A Marshall Major PA-200 head at Emerald City (link)
11:48 What’s on Skip’s bench: an RCA PA head; Bill Krinard’s return to the podcast?
15:08 RIP Earl Yarrow & Shep the dog
18:26 Junior Bonner
21:40 More Earl Yarrow
23:50 Brandy and soda
24:30 What to use in my Princeton Reverb clone: A Soursound 12-watt transformer or a Hammond 14-watt?
28:01 What to do with one single can of El Pato; avant-garde guitarist Havard Skaset; Los Pericos Quadradas chips (link); Norwegian goat horn player Karl Seglem’s “Mytevegar” (Bandcamp)
33:23 Help my humming Vintage 47 Mini
37:52 What to do with a 1964 Magnatone 401, one-to-three input transformer, how to not get shocked
42:43 Should we be burning-in our amps after repairs?
46:21 Converting a Bogen MO30 to a Fender Pro circuit
51:44 Recording a tube amp at low volume by pulling the phase inverter
53:21 1952/1953 Fender Tweed Deluxes with low gain instrument jacks, input impedance
55:44 Armadillo Amp Works cabinets
56:20 Is this serviced 1970 Fender Bassman head still a Fender Bassman? gifting a tweed Bassman to your nephew
1:01:25 Thanks for the TAVA show notes; what’s the deal with my one-knob, early 1960s Gibson Skylark GA-5?
1:06:50 What output transformer to use on my Trainwreck clone? Dynaco transformers
1:09:03 Heritage Auctions’ typewriter sale (link)
1:10:49 Spaghetti carbonara; gutting a Peavey VTX Heritage 130 to build a bass amp with an ultra-linear transformer; Sunn amps
1:14:40 The magic of Soundmasters; Sacramento ska band Filibuster; how a family of amps can basically have the same pre-amp circuitry; 807s vs. 6L6s or EL34s
1:24:43 Thoughts on the 2024 Vintage Guitar Price Guide
1:27:57 What could cause DC voltage to build up on the grid of a power tube aside from leaky coupling caps
1:35:10 Shoutout to the Fender greats: Richard Smith, Bruce Zinky, Lynn Wheelwright, Terry Foster; a circuit baffler of sorts!
1:37:47 Spaghetti carbonara & Los Pericos Quadradas redux
Love the show? We have a Patreon where you can support it and get exclusive bonus content and surprises:
https://www.patreon.com/vintageamps
Above pic: Listener Rob’s one-knob Gibson Skylark, as discussed on this week’s episode.
The post The Truth About Vintage Amps, Ep. 126 first appeared on Fretboard Journal.
The post The Truth About Vintage Amps, Ep. 126 appeared first on Fretboard Journal.
Mike Stern’s Epic “Original Rays” Solo
Come along for the ride as Stern stuns the 1987 Newport Jazz Festival crowd, taking them from quiet jazz meditations to soaring blues-drenched crescendos.
Throughout my college years, I spent countless nights at New York City’s now-defunct 55 Bar, sitting literally six feet away from guitarist Mike Stern as he and his trio blew the roof off of the place time and time again. With that in mind, let’s set our time machine for the 1987 Newport Jazz Festival, and revisit a particularly thrilling live performance of “Original Rays,” an earworm of a tune co-written by Stern with late tenor saxophone legend Michael Brecker (the bandleader here) and keyboardist Don Grolnick. The original, more subdued studio version can be heard on Brecker’s 1987 debut solo album, in which Pat Metheny handles guitar duties, delivering a typically masterful solo. But it was Stern who would play guitar in Brecker’s touring band, bringing his trademark musical mix of beauty and brashness. Let’s take a trip through the tour de force that is Stern’s solo in a joyously raucous performance of “Original Rays.”
First, here’s the tune in its entirety. It’s recommended to watch all the way through to experience the full impact of Stern’s solo, which begins just as Brecker’s own spirited turn ends, at 5:24.
Whirling, Swirling Bends
Right from the very first notes of his solo, Stern reveals a quiet cleverness. Revisit the previous link to catch the moment he takes Brecker’s final phrase and playfully borrows it for his entrance. Stern is always listening to his bandmates, and this isn’t exclusive to jazz players. A classic use of call-and-response can be heard in the iconic outro solo in the Eagles’ “Hotel California.” As an aside, watch as Joe Walsh uses Don Felder’s exit lick for his entrance.
“Original Rays” is in the key of F major, and Stern’s solo begins with a brief bluesy interlude based around the F major pentatonic scale (F–G–A–C–D). Over the quietly understated droning F5 tonality, he continues his solo with his Boss DD-3 delay remaining on what he jokingly calls his “save the whales” setting. In Premier Guitar’s 2018 Rig Rundown, Stern briefly discusses why he keeps two DD-3s on his board; plus, you’ll see his exact “whale” settings on the left delay.
Next, Stern employs a series of ghost bends—silently bent notes where only the release is heard. He sounds each with a volume swell, which masks any pick attack, resulting in a smooth violin-type entrance. The key is to start with your volume turned completely off. Then, after silently striking the note, quickly turn up your volume knob to return to full volume. Watch as Stern executes a series of volume swells below, then play through Ex. 1 to take a few practice swings, without any pesky bending involved.
Here, Stern mostly explores the F major scale (F–G–A–Bb–C-D-E), but creates tension by targeting colorful notes. In that same segment, he targets the ninth (G) in two different octaves, allowing its tension to hang in the air before quickly resolving to the root (F) with the bend’s release (Ex. 2).
A Different Kind of Tension
Stern switches off his delay and wends his way through the next section by improvising a series of beautiful single-note passages. He again looks to create moments of tension, although this time he purposefully targets notes that are out of key. The phrase at 5:48 (Ex. 3) has him leaning briefly but forcefully into the flat sixth (Db) at beat 1 of measure 2, adding a welcome tension.
Stern again targets the Db with the chromatically-inflected phrase that begins at 6:01 (Ex. 4), allowing it to hang in the air just a bit longer than we think he might. It’s dissonant, but somehow beautiful.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the “Stern-ism” at 5:56 (Ex. 5), a trio of arpeggios moving up the neck in the key of F, implying Fmaj7 (F–A–C–E), then spelling out Bb (Bb–D–F) and C (C–E–G). You’ll catch him using variations of this phrase a few times at any given show to great effect. In fact, we’ll look at another a bit later in this solo.
Using Repetition to Maximize Intensity
At 6:14, Stern glances back at bassist Jeff Andrews and drummer Adam Nussbaum as if to say, “Get ready. It’s on.” With that, Stern engages his now-vintage Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive and ventures into blazing new territory, as he and the band begin to bring the simmer up to a boil. Experiencing him ratchet things up like this at 55 Bar was my introduction to the devastating power of the blues, of which Stern is a master.
There are so many fantastic moments that follow, as Stern moves from one thrilling crescendo to the next, each one more exhilarating. But it’s not just that he’s playing blues licks, it’s how he’s playing them. Sure, he has a nasty tone and is really digging in, but it’s his use of repetitive phrases that so often drives his points home. The first occurrence of this is at the 6:36 mark, with Stern employing stinging bends within a repeated blues phrase, varying it slightly each time (Ex. 6).
Listen further and you’ll hear him repeat more phrases, sometimes just once, but you can feel the energy rising every time. The phrase at 7:10 harkens back to Ex. 5’s ascending arpeggios, this time adding hints of repetition to the mix to create explosive bursts of ferocity (Ex. 7).
Then, following more examples of the power of repetition, Stern truly begins to soar at the 7:27 mark, where he repeats a simple blues lick with reckless abandon, as in Ex. 8. Use the tab only as a guide, as Stern fits in as many repeats of the phrase as he possibly can over these bars.
How much more can the audience take? No matter, because Stern has even more in store for them, and us. At 7:41, he makes his way over to his board to turn his delay back on, and proceeds to completely bring down the house. A whirlwind of lethal bends and blues fury follows, along with a blazing set of climbing tremolo-picked bent unisons at 8:10 (Ex. 9). The contrast of the longer note values here adds a palpable sense of drama, but you’ll need to pick just about as fast as you can in frenzied fashion, as Stern does.
Like a long-awaited exhale, the solo culminates with a thunderous F5 chord, announcing that we’ve arrived at our final destination.
Stern’s solo that day, like so many of his others, is a master class. He takes the audience on a thrill ride, at times seeming to fly out of control, but somehow always safely landing on his feet. A standing ovation follows. What more can be said?
I thought that was the end of the story. But just before finishing this lesson, I decided on a whim to do a quick YouTube search on “Michael Brecker Band 1987,” and I discovered even more gold. Here is Stern doing it yet again a few months later, and just as he did every night, absolutely destroying:
Way Huge Stone Burner Review
Way Huge’s Atreides Weirding Module is one of Jeorge Tripps’ great gifts to the world. It’s a gift that keeps giving, too. The Attack Vector phaser and envelope was its first offspring. But the newest, the Stone Burner Sub Atomic octave fuzz is a killer, maybe the coolest, and probably the most practical pedal from the Atreides family. It’s an unusually useful and forgiving octave fuzz that will generate up to two sub octaves, which feature more or less prominently depending on the sub level.
This sub octave filter works in concert with the fuzz, which you can’t remove entirely from the mix, but which ranges in intensity from nasty and spitty to double-nasty and surprisingly capable of sustain. Various mixes of the sub and fuzz levels yield tonalities that stretch from synthy elasticity and fuzz bass to fractured, tectonic-scale Earth rumblings, and fuzz that sounds like a banshee gargling gravel and rusty nails. (I mean this in the most complimentary possible sense.)
The wide-ranging tone knob, meanwhile, has a profound effect on a given mix’s glitchiness, sustain, and overtone profile. The Stone Burner also responds in fascinating ways to guitar volume and tone input—sometimes emphasizing tight fundamentals and octaves in more concise and equal parts, or enhancing the more synth-like qualities of the filter. Variations in pitch from finger vibrato and whammy bars activate many ghostly responses and overtones, too. Needless to say, it is a fairly confrontational effect, but the Stone Burner is also malleable, sweet, bratty, and beautiful.