Driven by Martin SC acoustics, these killer covers breathe new life into oft-played classics – take a closer look at them with GW's editors
Martin – in partnership with Guitar World – recently launched the No Limits Challenge, a contest that sees eight YouTube-savvy guitarists face off against one another and cover tunes you wouldn't normally associate with an acoustic, using one of the company's offset SC models.
In this week's quarterfinal matchup (each of which sees two guitarists covering a well-known song from a particular genre), Nili Brosh puts an acoustic spin on Van Halen's Jump, while Sophie Burrell tackles Slash's aching, iconic solo on Guns N' Roses' Sweet Child O' Mine.
We've recruited GW's resident tech/gear guru Paul Riario and video editor Alan Chaput to take a closer look at the covers and share their thoughts on the performances. You can check out their commentary above.
Alan and Paul might be our judges, but they don't actually choose the winner of each face-off. That task happens to be in your hands. Check out our breakdown of the covers above – and/or give each of them a spin below without the commentary – scroll down to the box at the bottom of the article, and cast a ballot for your favorite.
The winners of all four quarterfinal matchups – the other three of which are '80s rock, '90s rock and classic rock-themed, respectively – will advance to a semifinal round, where they'll be divided into two genre-based face-offs. The winners of those, of course, will advance to the finals.
Thus far, Helen Ibe and R.J. Ronquillo have booked their tickets to the semifinal round. You get to determine which guitarist is next to join them.
Be sure to check back next week, too, for the next quarterfinal matchup.
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Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.
