phodgson's picture

phodgson

Guitar World Member For: 49 weeks 4 days
Total Posted Content: 0 Articles
Total Posted Comments: 0 Comments

Posted Content

Interview with Roger Mayer: The Secrets of Jimi Hendrix's Guitar Setup

Posted 02/17/2012 at 2:14pm | by Peter Hodgson

Nobody knows the ins and outs of Jimi Hendrix's guitar sound like Roger Mayer. Mayer introduced Hendrix to his Octavia, a unit that added an octave overtone to the original note. Hendrix loved the sound and used it on the solo to "Purple Haze." The rest, as they say ...

» Read More

Your Lucky Number: Seven Kickass 7-String Guitar Songs

Posted 02/09/2012 at 11:35am | by Peter Hodgson

Look around you. There seems to be a seven-string renaissance happening at the moment. Actually, eight-string guitars seem to be going pretty strong, too. But there's something particularly satisfying about plugging in a seven and riffing out in between the traditional ranges of the guitar and bass.

» Read More

Lesson: Synesthesia and the Musical Mind

Posted 11/28/2011 at 2:52pm | by Peter Hodgson

Every now and then, I'll interview someone who credits part of their musical inspiration to synesthesia -- a phenomenon where one kind of sensory input triggers another. A common example is the perception of colors or textures in relation to music. I'm fortunate to have this trait myself, along with a few other odd little synesthesia-related quirks; I subconsciously associate odd numbers and angular shapes with warm colors, and even numbers and smooth shapes with cool colors, for instance.

» Read More

How a Mirror Can Help Improve Your Shredding Skills

Posted 11/25/2011 at 5:07pm | by Peter Hodgson

There's one particularly useful practice tool that will dramatically increase your shredding skills while simultaneously helping you to nail those all-important rock star shapes when you hit the stage. And the surprising thing is, you already have it. A mirror.

» Read More

Now That's a Turn-Off: The Lost Art of the Standby Switch

Posted 11/02/2011 at 11:14am | by Peter Hodgson

There was one overriding theme throughout the night. It was related to amp choice. And no, it wasn't that the majority of the players chose the amp with the most distortion (the Marshall) over the ones with less gain (the Fender and Vox). It was that nobody knew how to turn the amps on.

» Read More

Interview: Def Leppard's Joe Elliott Talks Guitar, the Down 'n' Outz

Posted 10/12/2011 at 10:46am | by Peter Hodgson

Legend has it that Joe Elliott met guitarist Pete Willis by chance after missing a bus, and upon auditioning it became apparent that Elliott had a pretty special set of pipes on him, and that's why you've raised a glass to "Pour Some Sugar On Me," gazed forlornly out of the bus window to "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" and banged your head to "Rock Of Ages."

» Read More

Interview: Dave Wyndorf of Monster Magnet Discusses 'Dopes To Infinity' Tour

Posted 09/13/2011 at 1:20pm | by Peter Hodgson

Monster Magnet had been kicking around for a few years by the time they released Dopes To Infinity in 1995. Spine of God (1992) and Superjudge (1993) definitely hinted at the potential of what was to come -- the blend of psychedelia, garage, heavy metal and space rock. But those albums didn't quite hit commercially.

» Read More

Musical Social Media Then and Now, with Megadeth, Queensrÿche and Dream Theater

Posted 08/30/2011 at 1:27pm | by Peter Hodgson

Here in 2011, it feels like the electrical interwebs have been with us forever. But it wasn't always so. Once upon a time, way back in the 1990s, the internet was a strange, disconnected place. Tech-savvy fans passed info around via primitive newsgroups, and even if they used the internet to track down bootlegs of their favorite artists they still traded them as actual CDs through the mail

» Read More

Interview with Forbidden's Craig Locicero: Taking The Thrash Out

Posted 08/05/2011 at 2:31pm | by Peter Hodgson

Forbidden is a classic thrash band in every sense of the word. Their roster has included members of Slayer (Paul Bostaph), Testament (Glen Avelias), Strapping Young Lad/Fear Factory (Gene Hoglan) and Machine Head (Robb Flynn), but through it all, guitarist Craig Locicero has kept the Forbidden sound anchored down with brutally precise riffs and shredding solos.

» Read More

Interview with Timo Tolkki: Symfonia's Power Metal Visionary

Posted 07/08/2011 at 12:48pm | by Peter Hodgson

Timo Tolkki is power metal royalty. From Stratovarius to Revolution Renaissance and now Symfonia, the Finnish guitarist was once ranked by Guitar World as one of the 50 fastest players in the world (27th, in fact).

» Read More