News

The Winery Dogs — Richie Kotzen, Billy Sheehan and Mike Portnoy — to Release Debut Album July 23

Guitar World Staff — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:39:40 +0000

The Winery Dogs, a new power trio featuring guitarist Richie Kotzen (Mr. Big, Poison), bassist Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big) and drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Avenged Sevenfold), will release their self-titled debut album July 23 via Loud & Proud Records.

The album was self-produced and mixed by Jay Ruston (Anthrax, Stone Sour, Steel Panther).

“I am so excited about the Winery Dogs and am proud and honored to be working with two of the greatest musicians on the planet," Portnoy said. "Richie Kotzen is such an unbelievable talent, as a vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. I think the Winery Dogs will finally get him the attention and recognition that he so richly deserves.

"What can be said of Billy Sheehan that hasn't been said already? He is one the true pioneers of the instrument and a legend. I am looking forward to working with the great staff of Loud & Proud Records, some of whom I worked very closely with during their time at Roadrunner and my time with Dream Theater. I look forward to continuing that relationship with the Winery Dogs!”

Stay tuned for U.S. tour news, which will be announced in the coming weeks.

For more information on the band, visit facebook.com/TheWineryDogs, twitter.com/TheWineryDogs and youtube.com/user/thewinerydogs.

Additional Content

Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals Announce "Technicians of Distortion" North American Tour

Guitar World Staff — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:05:59 +0000

Philip H. Anselmo will hit the road for his first-ever solo tour, "Technicians of Distortion," which kicks off July 31 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

On this tour, Anselmo will be joined by his band, The Illegals (guitarist Marzi Montazeri, bassist Steve Taylor and drummer Jose Manual Gonzalez). Tickets go on sale Thursday, May 23. Visit TheHousecoreRecords.com/ > ARTISTS for ticketing information.

Technicians of Distortion is in support of Anselmo's upcoming solo release, Walk Through Exits Only, due out July 16 (Housecore Records/Megaforce) and will take the group to 16 markets over a three-week period. Warbeast, who are signed to Anselmo's Housecore Record label and just released their new album Destroy (produced by Anselmo), along with industrial-doom and drone-metal one-man band Author and Punisher, will provide support on all dates.

"It is an incredible pleasure to do my first solo tour with my brothers in Warbeast and to introduce the mighty Author and Punisher to the extreme-music audience properly," Anselmo said. "This is a killer program of insane variety, so come out and support the gigs!"

Fans can expect a hardcore, stripped-down production that is focused on a set list that will include all songs on Walk Through Exits Only, as well as lots of extras.

With one additional date to be announced, the confirmed itinerary for the Technicians of Distortion tour is as follows:

JULY
31 Cain's Ballroom, Tulsa, OK

AUGUST
2 Wooly's, Des Moines, IA
3 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
4 House of Blues, Chicago, IL
6 House of Blues, Cleveland, OH
7 The Intersection, Grand Rapids, MI
9 Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, MI
10 Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ONT Canada
11 Heavy MTL Festival, Montreal, QC Canada
13 The Palladium, Worcester, MA
14 Upstate Concert Hall, Clifton Park, NY
16 Best Buy Theatre, New York, NY
17 Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA
18 The Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD
20 The Masquerade - Heaven Stage, Atlanta, GA

Metal For Life: Modal Citizen — Examining Five Essential Minor Mode Scale Patterns

Metal Mike Chlasciak — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:30:44 +0000

The following content is related to the July 2013 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now, or in our online store.

This month, we will continue our modal study by focusing on two essential minor modes, Dorian and Aeolian. Both of these modes can be looked at as “extensions” of the scale that is used most prominently for soloing in metal, minor pentatonic. A scale well familiar to most rock, blues and metal players, minor pentatonic is a five-note scale, spelled 1 f3 4 5 f7, in terms of its interval structure.

Both the Dorian and Aeolian modes are seven-note scales, and in each case two scale degrees are added to minor pentatonic. Dorian adds the major second (2) and major sixth (6) degrees, resulting in an intervallic structure of 1 2 f3 4 5 6 f7. Aeolian adds the major second and minor, or “flat,” sixth (f6) scale degrees and is spelled 1 2 f3 4 5 f6 f7.

Let’s focus on the Dorian mode first, using the key of G minor. In FIGURES 1–5, I progress through five fretboard positions of G Dorian (G A B f C D E F), first hitting a G5 power chord in order to strengthen our connection to the key of G.

Review: Ibanez Iron Label RGIR28FEBK Eight-String Guitar

Erik Kirkland, Video by Paul Riario — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:29:39 +0000

The following content is related to the July 2013 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now, or in our online store.

In recent years, eight-string guitars have enjoyed increased popularity thanks to progressive metallists like Meshuggah’s Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström, Tosin Abasi of Animals as Leaders and Periphery’s Misha Mansoor. But eight-string guitars are a smart choice for any player who regularly tunes way down, allowing you to get massive low end without the flubby sound and weak responsiveness of detuned strings on a standard six-string.

Ibanez has long been a leader in seven- and eight-string guitars—not surprisingly, all of the above-mentioned artists play Ibanez eight-stringers. The Iron Label RGIR28FEBK is the company’s latest eight-string creation, one that is aimed squarely at the metal market. With its 27-inch scale, thin but strong neck construction, powerhouse electronics and unerring playability, the Iron Label RGIR28FEBK is a solid addition to the company’s unmatched armory of extended-range axes.

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath Opens Up About His Battle with Cancer and the Struggle to Make '13'

Brad Angle — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:28:47 +0000

This is an excerpt from the July 2013 issue of Guitar World magazine. For the rest of this story, plus features on Joe Satriani, Ghost B.C., Mick Jones of Foreigner, Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flats, plus transcriptions of "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" and Jason Becker's "Perpetual Burn," check out the issue at the Guitar World Online Store.

2011 was well on the way to being one of the best years of Tony Iommi’s life. The guitarist was on a successful book tour to promote Iron Man, his revealing autobiography in which he talks about his life and his career with Black Sabbath.

At the same time, he was reuniting with the original Black Sabbath members—vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward—to write and record a new full-length album, the quartet’s first since 1978’s Never Say Die!

But celebration gave way to concern when Iommi discovered a lump in his groin. Doctors initially misdiagnosed the problem as nothing more than an infection, but when Iommi’s condition worsened, his doctor biopsied the mass. At a follow-up appointment, he told Iommi the result: We found lymphoma.

“Once I heard my doctor say that, my whole world changed,” Iommi says. “I thought, Bloody cancerous lymphoma? Well that’s it. I’ve had it.”

This news came as such a shock that even today, as Guitar World sits across from a healthy-looking Iommi in a cottage in rural West Midlands, England, the guitarist’s affable disposition darkens when he recalls that grim period.

“Once they diagnosed it, I had to start the treatment right away,” he says. “And it knocked me about. I’d go through stages thinking, Can I do this? And then: Of course I can do this. I don’t want to die. I want to carry on and do what I’m supposed to do.”

Iommi’s treatment included an aggressive course of chemotherapy and radiation that attacked the cancer but seriously taxed his immune system. He began to feel sicker, lose weight and weaken, and had to focus what little energy he had into fighting his illness. Plans for the Sabbath record were put on hold. But as the guitarist’s body began responding to treatment, Iommi’s creative spark was rekindled. Much to everyone’s surprise, he turned his attention back to writing the songs that would eventually make up Black Sabbath’s new disc, 13.

“They thought I would pack up,” Iommi says. “But I asked the doctor, ‘Is it okay if I work?’ And he said, ‘Yes, you’ve just got to be careful.’ So I’d go in the studio and play for a bit. Then I’d get tired and I’d have to go and sit down. The guys would tell me not to push it.”

Iommi was determined to get the album made. And as Osbourne and Butler tell us when we catch up with them in a Los Angeles recording studio, where they’re putting the final touches on the album, he rose to the occasion.

“We all rallied around him,” Osbourne says. “But it’s not like we’d be saying, ‘Are you okay? Are you okay?’ We just got on with it. Sure, he looked tired, but he was a soldier and marched on. He still had more riffs coming out of him than anyone. None of us would go, ‘Oh, he’s fucking ill again.’ We’re bros. We grew up together. It’s like a family member getting sick.”

“It brought up how we’re all just mortal beings, and we aren’t gonna be here forever,” Butler adds. “Tony and I were on the Heaven & Hell tour with Ronnie James Dio, and six months later Ronnie was dead [from stomach cancer, in 2010]. We didn’t have any inkling that was gonna happen. When Tony got the cancer, obviously that was in his mind. We didn’t know how he’d respond to the treatment. So it was like, Let’s get the album done at all costs, as long as Tony’s up to it. So we’d write for three weeks, and then he’d go for his treatment and we’d all have three weeks off. But it didn’t affect his playing at all. In fact I think it really encouraged him and kept his mind off the cancer, which is the best thing you can possibly do if you have that.”

As Iommi got stronger, his future, as well as Black Sabbath’s, started looking brighter. The band continued writing and rehearsing, and making progress on the new album. On November 11, 2011, Sabbath held a press conference at Los Angeles’ Whisky a Go-Go to officially announce that they had reformed and would record an album of new material. But in early 2012, Bill Ward surprised everyone when he announced that he would not move forward with recording, saying he felt “ostracized” by the band and calling the contract he was offered “unsignable.”

“I was shocked,” Iommi says. “We were hearing stuff from lawyers, like, ‘I’m not happy with this. I’m not happy with that.’ We waited a long time for Bill and we wanted to sort it out. But at the end of the day, especially after I was diagnosed, I thought, Fucking hell, that’s it. We’ve got to get a move on. I might pop off next year! So I emailed him and said, ‘Bill, we can’t wait any longer. We’ve got to get on with it.’ And that was it.”

The band switched gears and began auditioning drummers but didn’t find the right fit until producer Rick Rubin offered the seemingly left-field suggestion of Brad Wilk, from Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. “We had our doubts, because they play a different, funky sort of music,” Iommi says. “But after a few days of rehearsal, we knew Rick was right. Brad was a really good player, and he was getting it. We liked his style and the way he tried different things instead of being regimented. It was sort of jazzy and loose, like Bill.”

With Wilk in place, Black Sabbath set up camp at Rubin’s Shangri-La studios in Malibu to record the album. Rubin had the band cut the basic tracks live in the studio together to help capture the vibe of the early Sabbath records. These sessions were also the first time Osbourne had tracked a studio record with Sabbath since the contentious, drug-addled experience of recording 1978’s lackluster Never Say Die! Not surprisingly, the singer felt a twinge of performance anxiety.

“The pressure on us was terrific,” Osbourne says. “I didn’t want to sound hokey, trying to cop Paranoid or Master of Reality. But at the end of the day, you just have to go with your heart and ‘let go and let god,’ as they say. I’ll know if I’m cutting corners and if I can do a better vocal take or melody.”

Photo: Travis Shinn

For the rest of this story, plus features on Joe Satriani, Ghost B.C., Mick Jones of Foreigner, Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flats, plus transcriptions of "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" and Jason Becker's "Perpetual Burn," check out the issue at the Guitar World Online Store.

Additional Content

'Learn Slide Guitar' DVD Teaches Slide Scales, Improvising, Muting, Vibrato and More

Guitar World Staff — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:27:46 +0000

The Learn Slide Guitar DVD is available now at the Guitar World Online Store.

It's the ultimate DVD instructional guide to playing slide guitar like a pro. The disc, which was designed for beginning-to-intermediate guitar players, contains more than two hours of lessons that will help you play in open and standard tunings, learn slide scales for soloing in all keys, plus improvising, open-tuning chord forms, muting, vibrato, Delta and electric blues and more.

The Learn Slide Guitar DVD contains:

Chapter 1: Introduction

• Performance/DVD Objectives
• Wearing the Slide: What Finger?
• String Action/String Gauge
• Picking: Fingers vs. Pick
• Slide Types/Materials

Chapter 2: Open E Tuning

• Open E Tuning: E B E G# B E
• Chord Forms in Open E Tuning
• Slide Scales for Soloing
• Slide Positioning/Intonation
• Right-and Left-Hand Muting Techniques
• Expanding Basic Scale Position
• Using Open Strings
• E Major Pentatonic
• E Major Hexatonic
• Medium-Slow Shuffle, Elmore James Style
• Medium-Slow Shuffle, Johnny Winter Style
• E Shuffle, a la Robert Johnson
• Duane Allman Style
• Ry Cooder Style
• Derek Trucks Style

Chapter 3: Open D Tuning

• Open D Tuning: D A D F# A D
• Johnny Winter Style

Chapter 4: Open A Tuning

• Open A Tuning: E A E A C# E
• Chord Forms in Open A Tuning
• Slide Scales for Soloing
• Using Open Strings
• John Lee Hooker Style
• Johnny Winter Style
• Robert Johnson/Sleepy John Estes Style
• Muddy Waters Style

Chapter 5: Open G Tuning

• Open G Tuning: D G D G B D
• Slide Scales for Soloing
• Muddy Waters/Johnny Winter Style
• Keith Richards Style
• Mick Taylor Style

Chapter 6: Standard Tuning

• Slide Scales for Soloing
• Slow Blues in E, Robert Nighthawk Style
• Earl Hooker/Wah-Wah Slide Style
• a la "Statesboro Blues"

Chapter 7: Vibrato

Chapter 8: Standard Tuning with a Twist

• Stevie Ray Vaughan's G String up One Half Step to G#

For more about this exclusive DVD, visit the Guitar World Online Store.

2013 Golden Gods Video: Danzig — "Death Comes Ripping"

Guitar World Staff — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:31:15 +0000

The biggest names in hard rock and heavy metal rocked Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, at the fifth annual Revolver Golden Gods Award Show.

As always, the event featured the once-in-a-lifetime collaborations that America’s only hard-rock and heavy-metal show has become known for.

Below, check out a video of Danzig performing the Misfits' "Death Comes Ripping."

To watch ALL the 2013 performances and awards, head here or visit GoldenGodsAwards.com.

2013 Golden Gods Video: Five Finger Death Punch, Rob Zombie and John 5 Play "Thunder Kiss '65"

Guitar World Staff — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:29:30 +0000

The biggest names in hard rock and heavy metal rocked Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, at the fifth annual Revolver Golden Gods Award Show.

As always, the event featured the once-in-a-lifetime collaborations that America’s only hard-rock and heavy-metal show has become known for.

Below, check out a video of Five Finger Death Punch teaming up with Rob Zombie and John 5 to play White Zombie's "Thunder Kiss '65."

To watch ALL the 2013 performances and awards, head here or visit GoldenGodsAwards.com.

Additional Content

Video: Mick Taylor and the Rolling Stones Perform "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" at Staples Center

Guitar World Staff — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:25:59 +0000

Last night, the Rolling Stones performed at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Once again, they were joined by their former lead guitarist, Mick Taylor.

The band and Taylor played "Sway," "Midnight Rambler," "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and "Can't You Hear Me Knocking," the classic Sticky Fingers track. You can check out a fan-filmed video of "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" — complete with Taylor's lengthy solo — below.

As is always the case with fan-filmed video, we apologize in advance about the quality. (Actually, the picture quality and sound are decent this time around!)

Blues Power: An In-Depth Guide to the Amps and Effect Pedals in Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Arsenal

Chris Gill — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:36:33 +0000

Stevie Ray Vaughan’s guitar tone was as dry as a San Antonio summer and as sparkling clean as a Dallas debutante, the product of the natural sound of amps with ample clean headroom.

However, Vaughan occasionally used pedals to augment his sound, mainly to boost the signal, although he occasionally employed a rotating speaker cabinet and wah pedals for added textural flair.

Vaughan’s fierce playing style was the key to his distinctive sound, but it was also very hard on his equipment, and over the years his amps and pedals were heavily modified to withstand the abuse.

AMPS

1980 Marshall model 4140 Club and Country

Most guitarists with multi-amp rigs will use Fender amps for clean tones and Marshalls for distortion and overdrive, but Vaughan did the opposite. However, it made sense that he used a Marshall for clean tones, as his Marshall was a model 4140 Club and Country combo with two 12-inch speakers, which was Marshall’s version of a Fender Twin Reverb. With 100 watts of output and a power amp section driven by KT77 tubes, the Club and Country provides more clean headroom than the typical Marshall design. The amp remained in Vaughan’s rig until early 1984, when a Dumble Steel String Singer replaced it.

1964 Fender Vibroverb

The heart and soul of Vaughan’s live rig for most of the Eighties was a pair of Fender Vibroverb combos. The Vibroverbs, each featuring a single 15-inch speaker, were the source of Vaughan’s cranked-up overdrive tones, and he also used one of the combos to power his Fender Vibratone rotating-speaker cabinet throughout his career. Introduced in 1963, the Vibroverb was Fender’s first amp with built-in reverb.

Fender initially produced the Vibroverb with two 10-inch speakers and brown Tolex covering, but in late 1963 the model’s design switched to a single 15-inch speaker and black Tolex. Vaughan always assumed that his Vibroverbs were one serial number apart from one another based on the numbers “5” and “6” on the tube charts, but those are production run numbers and the actual serial numbers were 36 numbers apart.

Dumble Steel String Singer

Vaughan first discovered the amps of legendary Los Angeles boutique-amp pioneer Alexander “Howard” Dumble when recording Texas Flood at Jackson Browne’s Downtown Studios in 1982, using Browne’s Dumbleland 300-watt bass amp to record most of the tracks during the sessions.

Impressed with the Dumble amp’s ability to maintain crystal-clean tone even when subjected to his aggressive low E string attack, Vaughan custom-ordered a Steel String Singer head, which Dumble beefed up with 6550 tubes and 150 watts of output instead of the model’s usual 6L6 tubes and 100 watts. Vaughan usually used his Dumble head with a custom-built 4x12 cabinet loaded with Electro-Voice speakers.

When delivered in 1984, the Steel String Singer immediately became the main clean amp in Vaughan’s rig, earning the “King Tone Consoul” nickname that Vaughan bestowed upon it. Vaughan acquired a second Dumble Steel String Singer in 1986.

Mid-Sixties Fender Super Reverb

Before Vaughan bought his Marshall Club and Country amp, a mid-Sixties blackface Fender Super Reverb was the source of his clean tone. When Vaughan started playing increasingly larger venues in 1983, he added a pair of Super Reverbs to his rig, which he used along with his Vibroverbs.

Like the Vibroverb, the Super Reverb is powered by two 6L6 tubes and provides 40 watts of output, but because it has four 10-inch speakers (Vaughan loaded Electro-Voice speakers in his Super Reverb amps) instead of a single 15-inch speaker it provided the louder clean headroom Vaughan needed onstage.

Eventually, the Super Reverbs replaced the Vibroverbs as the source of his onstage overdrive tones, although Vaughan kept one Vibroverb in his rig exclusively for driving the Vibratone rotating speaker cabinet. During his 1990 tour, Vaughan replaced the Super Reverbs with a pair of Fender’s newly released ’59 Bassman Reissue amps.

Fender Twin Reverb

For his 1985 Japan tour, Vaughan used a pair of Fender Twin Reverb amps (a mid-Sixties 85-watt blackface model and a late-Seventies 100-watt silverface version with master volume) in place of his Dumble Steel String Singer head. The Twins disappeared from his rig after that tour, only to resurface for a brief period in 1987 when they temporarily replaced his Vibroverb combos.

Early Seventies Marshall model 1967 Major Lead

As Vaughan’s insatiable appetite for power increased, so did the size of his onstage rig, until 1988, when he decided to simplify his multi-amp setup by stripping it down to a pair of high-powered amps: his 150-watt Dumbles and a 200-watt Marshall Major Lead head. Vaughan experimented with a variety of speaker cabinets for the Marshall, including huge 4x15 and 8x10 cabinets designed for bass, before settling on a 4x12 loaded with Electro-Voice speakers like he used with his Dumbles.

If the Marshall Major lasted through the set (this model’s linear design frequently caused intense voltage spikes that arced across adjacent tube sockets and blew tubes), Vaughan would use it to perform a raucous version of “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” to close his set.

In Step session amps

When recording In Step, his last studio album with Double Trouble, Vaughan had 32 different amps at his disposal, including a 1962 Fender Twin, a mint original 1959 Fender Bassman, and vintage Fender Harvard and Magnatone amps, in addition to the Fender Vibroverbs, Dumble Steel String Singers, and various Fenders and Marshalls he used onstage. When recording each song, Vaughan experimented with different combinations of amps and settings until he dialed in the sound he wanted.

EFFECTS

Ibanez Tube Screamer

According to pedal-geek lore, Vaughan was a big fan of the TS808 version of the Ibanez Tube Screamer, but evidence in the form of stage photos, live videos, insurance documents and customs declarations reveal that the TS9 version of the Tube Screamer was his preferred choice from 1982 through most of the Eighties.

Vaughan usually used his TS9 to provide a clean boost to his Fender Vibroverbs for solos, with the level control all the way up and the drive control set to relatively low gain.

In 1988, a new Ibanez TS10 Tube Screamer replaced the TS9 in his pedal board, which Vaughan generally used to generate high-gain distortion (with both the drive and level controls boosted) that wasn’t otherwise available from his Dumble and Marshall Major rig.

Fender Vibratone

The lush rotating-speaker effects heard on Vaughan tracks like “Cold Shot” and “Couldn’t Stand the Weather” were generated by a Fender Vibratone speaker cabinet. Similar to a Leslie Model 16, the Fender Vibratone is designed for gigging guitarists and features a rugged, roadworthy cabinet covered in black Tolex.

More importantly, the Vibratone is also designed for use with a standard guitar amp and features a guitar speaker that emphasizes crucial midrange tones instead of the full-range, two-way woofer and tweeter speaker array found in most Leslie cabinets. Fender sold the Vibratone from 1967 through 1972, and it is still considered one of the best true rotating speaker effects for guitarists.

Roland SDD-320 Dimension D

Although Vaughan didn’t use the Roland Dimension D in his live rig, it was a secret weapon in the studio, where he often added it to his guitar tracks during mixing. Vaughan first discovered the Dimension D while mixing his guitar tracks on David Bowie’s Let’s Dance, and he liked how its subtle chorus effect thickened his guitar sound without changing his natural tone significantly like other chorus effects frequently do.

The Dimension D was used on the solos to “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and “Pride and Joy” on Texas Flood and most of the solos on Couldn’t Stand the Weather. During mixing, Vaughan would add the Dimension D effects himself via the effects send/return controls on the mixing console.

Vox V846 wah

Vaughan’s wah pedal of choice was a Vox V846 from the Sixties that originally belonged to Jimi Hendrix. Jimmie Vaughan, Stevie’s brother, acquired the pedal from Hendrix when Jimmie’s band shared a bill with the Experience in Fort Worth. Vaughan owned several other Vox wah pedals and was allegedly very fond of an early Seventies version with a Japanese TDK inductor.

Vaughan used the Vox wah on his Hendrix covers and “Telephone Song” on the Vaughan Brothers’ Family Style, and he famously used two wahs at once to record “Say What.”

Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face

Vaughan tended to prefer clean tones and natural tube-amp overdrive, but in 1988 he added an original Sixties Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face pedal to his rig when he became obsessed with emulating Jimi Hendrix’s signature sounds.

Unfortunately, the Fuzz Face’s germanium transistors were extremely unreliable when exposed to hot stage lights or the sun during outdoor gigs. Vaughan collected several Fuzz Face pedals, and he would try several during sound check to choose the one he thought sounded best that particular day. Eventually, he got tired of the unreliable transistors in his Fuzz Face pedals, so he had them modified by his amp tech César Diaz, who later used the modifications as the basis for the Diaz Texas Square Face pedal.

Tycobrahe Octavia

Another key effect that Vaughan used to emulate Hendrix tones was an Octavia fuzz pedal that produces octave-up effects. Vaughan initially used Roger Mayer Octavia pedals (housed in distinctive “spaceship” metal boxes), but when Diaz located three New Old Stock Tycobrahe Octavia pedals, Vaughan switched to those.

His guitar tech, Rene Martinez, says that Stevie thought the Tycobrahe pedal produced the best Octavia effect he had ever heard. Vaughan especially liked how the Octavia sounded when used along with a Tube Screamer.

Be sure to pick up the new March 2013 issue of Guitar World magazine, which features SRV on the cover and celebrates the 30th anniversary of Texas Flood. The issue also profiles the amps and effects in Vaughan's arsenal, dissects 10 Vaughan albums and discusses Vaughan's "Number One" Fender Strat. The new issue is available now at the Guitar World Online Store.

Additional Content

Prog-Gnosis: Roller-Coaster Ride — Seven-String Arpeggios

Tosin Abasi — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:13:19 +0000

The following content is related to the June 2013 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now, or in our online store.

To me, one of the most valuable study practices has been the exploration of arpeggios (also known as “broken chords,” wherein each note of a chord is played individually and in succession) played across all the strings. Like most guitarists, I began on six-string and soon graduated to seven- and then eight-string guitar. This month, I’d like to demonstrate some cool ways to perform a variety of arpeggios on the seven-string guitar.

An approach that has worked well for me is to devise a specific arpeggio fingering pattern diagonally across the strings, spanning over two octaves, for which I can then alter one or two notes in each octave to morph from one chord quality to another, for example, from minor seven to dominant seven or major seven. This way, the fingerings are visually and physically similar and thus easier to memorize.

Shred Zeppelin: How to Play Like Jimmy Page

Jimmy Brown — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:11:28 +0000

That his solos in such Led Zeppelin classics as "Good Times, Bad Times," "Heartbreaker," "Rock And Roll" and "Stairway To Heaven" are so firmly etched in two generations of guitarists' memories is testimony to his compositional and improvisational genius.

[[ Be sure to check out the "How to Play the Best of Led Zeppelin" DVD, available now at the Guitar World Online Store. ]]

In this lesson, we'll examine the main technical elements and improvisational approaches that characterize Page's soloing style, and we'll look at some of his signature licks.

The Smear Box

Jimmy relies heavily on the minor pentatonic "box" pattern illustrated in FIGURE 1 for many of his licks, using mostly the top three or four strings. When he does go down to the bottom string, he'll shift positions with his middle or ring finger on the 5th string, as indicated here.

FIGURE 2 shows this fretboard pattern in the key of E with the root note E falling on the top and bottom strings at the 12th fret. Using this visual pattern as a template, Jimmy will often begin a phrase by playing the Chuck Berry-influenced "smear" motif shown in FIGURE 3 in the key of E.

This lick begins with a whole-step bend on the G string from the fourth up to the fifth (A to B). The bend is executed with either the ring or middle finger while the index-finger barres the root-fifth doublestop on the top two strings.

Page utilizes this smear motif as a springboard to dive into blazing E minor pentatonic speed licks like those shown in FIGURES 4-6. As you play through these figures, notice the use of pull-offs on the top three strings, as well as whole-step bends, such as from the minor third up to the fourth (G to A) on the 1st string at the 15th fret. You can hear Jimmy playing licks along these lines in his solos in "Good Times, Bad Times" (1:30), "Dazed and Confused" (3:52), "The Lemon Song" (1:51) and "Communication Breakdown."

Jimmy also uses these same types of repeating smear/pull-off licks in different keys. For example, in his outro solo to "Black Dog" (4:12), he plays a lick similar to the one shown in FIGURE 6, but in the key of A using the 5th-position A minor pentatonic (A C D E G) box pattern illustrated in FIGURE 7. In his first two lead phrases in "Moby Dick" (:36 and :41), he uses this same fretboard shape in the 10th position (see Figure 8) to play scorching blues licks in D minor pentatonic.

Page utilizes this same fretboard shape to play major pentatonic licks as well. He does this by simply moving the minor pentatonic box pattern shown in FIGURE 1 down three frets, transforming it into a major pentatonic box pattern in the same key, as illustrated in FIGURE 9.

If you compare the E minor and E major pentatonic box patterns depicted in FIGURES 2 and 10, you'll notice that the fingering patterns are identical, but that the notes assume different harmonic functions. This simple three-fret transposition enables Jimmy to transform minor pentatonic licks into major pentatonic licks (and vice versa) in the same key using the same fretboard shapes and fingering patterns.

Jimmy applies this transposition principle brilliantly in his "Communication Breakdown" solo. After playing several measures of rather dark sounding E minor pentatonic blues licks in the 12th position, he suddenly creates a lighter shade of blue by playing E major pentatonic licks using the exact same fretboard pattern in the 9th position.

Page uses this same major pentatonic box pattern illustrated in FIGURE 9 to play bright-sounding country-style licks, most notably in "The Song Remains the Same" (in D, 7th position, at :58, and in A, 2nd position, at 4:19), "Celebration Day" (in C, 17th position, at 1:46, and 5th position at 1:53) and "Houses of the Holy" (in A, 2nd position, at 1:11).

FIGURE 11 is a signature Jimmy Page "wall of notes" triplet run played in the 12th-position E minor pentatonic box pattern illustrated in FIGURE 2. You can hear him playing similarly blistering runs, both ascending and descending, in "Good Times, Bad Times" (at 1:30, 2:02 and 2:33) using this same fretboard pattern. In "I Can't Quit You Baby" (2:29), he plays almost the same lick in A minor pentatonic using the box pattern depicted in FIGURE 7.

Though he's mostly revered for his huge-sounding, eternally cool riffs, inventive altered tunings, acoustic fingerpicking masterpieces and otherworldly, ambient soundscapes, Jimmy Page is also one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock. That his solos in such Led Zeppelin classics as "Good Times, Bad Times," "Heartbreaker," "Rock And Roll" and "Stairway To Heaven" are so firmly etched in two generations of guitarists' memories is testimony to his compositional and improvisational genius. In this lesson we'll examine the main technical elements and improvisational approaches that characterize Page's soloing style and look at some of his signature licks.

Sweet Bends

One of the things that makes Page such a great lead player is his tasteful, lyrical use of string bending (he prefers extra light gauge strings because they're easy to bend and shake). FIGURE 12 illustrates a minor pentatonic box pattern Jimmy uses to play soaring Albert King-style bends like those shown in the key of E in FIGURE 13. (Notice the inclusion of the major third in this shape. Jimmy will often teeter between the major third and fourth when playing in a major or dominant seventh tonality.)

As this example demonstrates, this compact little box shape lendsitself to performing a variety of soulful half-step and whole-step bends, such as from the fourth to the lowered fifth (A to Bb), from the minor third to the major third (G to G#), from the fourth to the fifth (A to B) and from the root to the second/ninth (E to F#). It's also great for playing screaming one-and-a-half-step and two-step "overbends," such as from the root to the minor third (E to G), from the root to the major third (E to G#) and from the fourth to the major sixth (A to C#). Jimmy uses this box pattern in the 15th position to play these types of bends in E in "Good Times, Bad Times" (1:43), and in A (8th position) in "I Can't Quit You Baby" (2:48).

Vibrato

One the most distinctive features of Jimmy's lead "voice" is his polished vibrato, especially his bend vibrato (vibrato applied to a bent note). His vibrato is fast, even and shimmering. A classic example of Page's impeccable bending and vibrato technique, as well as his phrasing genius, is his lead break beginning at 3:05 in "Whole Lotta Love." This excerpt is comprised of six succinct, punctuated phrases and each one reveals at least one signature Jimmy Page move. This solo is also a great example of how he uses notes from the E minor pentatonic scale (E G A B D), the E blues scale (E G A Bb B D) and the E major pentatonic scale (E F# G# B C#) in combination to create soulful, bittersweet melodies.

Jimmy plays phrases 1 and 3 in the trusty 12th-position E minor pentatonic box, which, as we've already seen, facilitates the rapid execution of pull-offs, hammer-ons and bends on the top three strings. He begins the first phrase with the whole-step smear bend on the G string, then plays a slick descending lick using the E blues scale. Notice the smooth double pull-off from Bb to A to G. He finishes the phrase with the same bend from A to B, which he then adorns with a haunting, wide vibrato. This bend vibrato is produced by partially releasing the whole-step bend and pushing it back up to the "target" pitch (B) in a quick, steady rhythm, as illustrated in FIGURE 14.

Phrase 2 demonstrates Page's judicious use of the "open-position" E minor pentatonic scale pattern. Notice how he takes full advantage of the open-string notes by playing a slick double pull-off (B to A to G) to the open G string, followed by a descending succession of fast single pull-offs to the open G and D strings.

Jimmy returns to the 12th-position E minor pentatonic box in phrase 3 and plays a smear lick on the top three strings, which he follows with a bend on the 2nd string at the 15th fret from the minor seventh (D) up to the root (E). Notice how he then plays the minor third (G) on the 1st string at the 15th fret, then quickly bends the D note up to E again and sweetens the bend with a robust vibrato, using the same partial-release-and-rebend technique detailed for the bend vibrato in phrase 1.

B.B.'s Box

Phrases 4-6 demonstrate Jimmy's tasteful use of a fretboard pattern many guitarists endearingly refer to as "B.B.'s box" (in honor of the legendary blues guitarist B.B. King, who relies on it for most of his signature licks). This pattern is based around the index finger on the root note on the 2nd string and facilitates the playing of major pentatonic, minor pentatonic and blues scale licks, all in the same position and key, with the index finger functioning as an "anchor" on the root note. FIGURE 15 illustrates this box pattern in E, with the root note located on the B string at the 17th fret. Jimmy begins phrase 4 on this note, then performs a gut-wrenching two-and-half-step overbend at the 20th fret on the same string, bending the G note all the way up to C (the lowered sixth) using both his ring and middle fingers to push the string (this technique is known as reinforced fingering). After releasing the bend he picks the E note again then plays the natural sixth (C#) below the root on the 3rd string at the 21st fret.

Jimmy begins phrase 5 on the root, E, at the 17th fret, then plays a screaming one-and-a-half-step overbend on the 1st string at the 20th fret, bending the fifth, B, up to the lowered seventh, D. Again he employs both his ring and middle fingers to push the string for added strength and control. After releasing this bend, he plays a descending lick using notes from the E blues scale. You can hear Jimmy playing a similarly wailing lick using this same box pattern (and an Echoplex) in his "You Shook Me" solo (4:18).

At the end of this solo, 3, Page contrasts the harmonically darker sound of the blues scale by playing a brighter sounding E major pentatonic lick in the same position. Notice how he bends the second/ninth, F#, up a whole step to the major third, G#, then overbends it an additional half step to the fourth, A, again using two fingers to push the string.

Unison Bends

Another signature move in Page's lead lexicon is the unison bend. This technique involves strumming two fretted notes that are a whole step apart on two adjacent strings (either the G and B, or B and E), thenquickly bending the lower note up a whole step to match the pitch of the higher note. This maneuver works best on the B and G strings, as the notes are comfortably fingered two frets apart with the index finger on the B string and the ring finger on the G string (the middle finger can help the ring finger bend the lower note up to pitch). Properly executed, this technique produces a natural chorusing effect and makes the doubled note cut through the roar of the rhythm section like a laser beam through fog. Page uses unison bends to emphasize notes during key melodic phrases and licks. You can hear him utilizing this technique on the G and B strings in "Dazed and Confused" (3:39), "Stairway to Heaven" (7:29) and "Communication Breakdown."

Open-string Licks

Some of Page's fattest sounding and most memorable licks are performed in the lower fretboard positions and involve the use of open strings. FIGURES 16 and 17 are twangy 1st- and 2nd-position licks that use single and double pull-offs to the open strings. You can hear Jimmy playing similar types of open-string licks in his solos in "The Song Remains the Same" (4:30) and "Moby Dick" (:46).

Behind-The-Nut

Another cool move Jimmy does is bend a string behind the nut by pressing down on it with his fingers. A classic example of this is the slinky, psychedelic lick he plays in his a capella solo in "Heartbreaker" (2:06). This lick is performed using double pull-offs to the open G string with the left hand as the right hand repeatedly bends the string behind the nut to raise the pitch of the C note (5th fret) a whopping two whole-steps. Jimmy uses a similar technique in his "Dazed and Confused" solo (4:04). In this case, he bends and shakes the open string behind the nut using his first two left-hand fingers as he repeatedly picks the stringwith his right hand. He uses the same technique during the song's intro (:14), where he sounds a G natural harmonic (N.H.) on the 3rd string at the 12th fret, then, as the harmonic is still ringing, bends its pitch up a whole-step to A by pressing the string downward behind the nut with his left hand.

Lateral Mobility

Jimmy will often shift from one position to another in the middle of a phrase to play long, smooth ascending runs like those shown in FIGURES 18 and 19, using finger slides to seamlessly connect the notes and transport his left hand up and down the fretboard. You can hear him playing similar types of ascending runs in "Moby Dick" (:52), "Black Dog" (3:36) and "Heartbreaker" (2:35 and 3:08).

"Since I've Been Loving You" is a fine example of the expressive use of "crammed" phrasing in a slow blues context (the "wall of notes" approach). Notice also how he effectively exploits the minor pentatonic box pattern introduced back in FIGURE 1, this time in the key of C minor, and uses the ninth (D) as a "color" tone.

This primer is but a glimpse into one aspect of Jimmy Pages' unique, multifaceted guitar style. The best way to truly understand and appreciate his diverse, inventive approach to melody is to study complete transcriptions of classic Led Zeppelin songs, many of which have appeared in these pages over the years. (Complete album folios are available from Warner Bros. Publications, Miami, Florida.) If you really want to emulate Jimmy, then do what he did early on and open your mind and ears to a healthy variety of guitar styles and musical genres.

Additional Content

Video Premiere: "Desire" by The Winery Dogs — Richie Kotzen, Billy Sheehan and Mike Portnoy

Damian Fanelli — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:04:20 +0000

The Winery Dogs — a band featuring guitarist Richie Kotzen, bassist Billy Sheehan and drummer Mike Portnoy — recently released a music video for a track off their new self-titled album.

Check out "Desire" below, and be sure to tell us what you think in the comments.

Last month, the band released a music video for "Elevate," the first single from the new album. You can watch "Elevate" right here.

For more about the Winery Dogs and the new album — which will be released in North America on July 23 — visit the band's Facebook page and official website.

While you're at it, check out our interview with Sheehan from last month, right here.

The Winery Dogs Track Listing:

01. Elevate / 02. Desire / 03. We Are One / 04. I’m No Angel / 05. The Other Side / 06. You Saved Me / 07. Not Hopeless / 08. One More Time / 09. Damaged / 10. Six Feet Deeper / 11. Criminal / 12. The Dying / 13. Regret

Additional Content

Listen: Megadeth Premiere New Song, "Kingmaker"

Guitar World Staff — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:55:49 +0000

Megadeth will release their new album, Super Collider, June 4.

In anticipation, the band has unveiled a new track from the record, titled "Kingmaker." Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments. You also can stream the album's title track right here.

For a new interview with Megadeth's Dave Mustaine and Chris Broderick, check out the June 2013 issue of Guitar World, which is available now at newsstands everywhere and at the Guitar World Online Store.

Super Collider can be preordered now at Amazon.com. The "Super Collider" single is available at iTunes for $1.29.

Additional Content

Video: Sample Guitar World's New 'Mastering Scales' DVD

Guitar World Staff — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:54:06 +0000

Guitar World has released a new DVD we think you'll enjoy: Mastering Scales.

The DVD, which is available now at the Guitar World Online Store, is a deluxe crash course in guitar theory, with more than 80 minutes of instructional video to help you reach the next level.

The DVD features everything you need to know about the pentatonic, hexatonic and blues scales, plus exotic scales, monster shred patterns, moving through the cycle of fifths.

Your Instructor on the DVD is Jimmy Brown, author of Guitar World's best-selling DVD, Mastering Fretboard Harmony. Over the last 24 years, Jimmy has built a reputation as one of the world's finest music editors through his work as transcriber, arranger and senior music editor for GW. He's also a busy working musician, performing regularly as a solo acoustic guitar/vocal act and rocking out with a full band at taverns, restaurants, resorts, weddings and private parties.

Here's the complete list of chapters:

• Chapter 1 – C Major, A minor, G major, E minor pentatonic scales.
• Chapter 2 – Two-notes-per-string pentatonic box patterns.
• Chapter 3 – Moving through the cycle of fourths and fifths.
• Chapter 4 – “2+3” and “3+2” fretboard patterns.
• Chapter 5 - Two-note-per-string and three-note-per-string pentatonic box patterns.
• Chapter 6 – Pentatonic “modules.”
• Chapter 7 – A minor, C major, E minor, G major blues scales.
• Chapter 8 – More blues scale exercises, the “monster shred” pattern, E minor hexatonic scale.
• Chapter 9 – E minor, D major, C Lydian, A minor, and G major hexatonic scales.
• Chapter 10 – Alternating between hexatonic scales.
• Chapter 11 – Obscure but cool-sounding hexatonic scales.
• Chapter 12 – Comparing back to back hexatonic scales, and the “Iberian” hexatonic scale.

The Mastering Scales DVD is available now at the Guitar World Online Store for $14.99. NOTE: This product includes a PDF booklet on the DVD and can be retrieved by opening the DVD on your computer.