A Great Interview, Barre None
I agree with
Martin Barre’s
comments on
vintage guitars
[July 2011
web-exclusive].
[They’re] a tool,
and practically
any piece of
wood and wires
can be set up to play great. I do admire
the vintage instruments. But after having
three of mine stolen, I have mixed feelings
about them. Martin, you are indeed a
master guitarist. Cheers!
—John Arevalo
via premierguitar.com
Always loved Martin’s tone and feel.
Saw them five times as a kid. He’s right,
95 percent comes from the PLAYER.
Better to leave the ’58 in the vault and
take something else on tour. Martin’s got
it down and has always been one of my
favorites. Good luck with the tour.
—Ricky Rue
via premierguitar.com
Thanks for the great interview. Martin’s
ability to play all the different styles
required in Tull, from rock to folk and
everything in between, is amazing! In
the days of inflated egos, it speaks volumes
about a person of Martin’s talent
to be able to let Ian run the show for
over 40 years. Take a listen to his solo
work on his album Stage Left to really
appreciate his versatility.
—Greg Miller
via premierguitar.com
Thanks, guys! It’s great to get such
well-articulated feedback on the stories
we plan and craft so carefully. Let us
know what you’d like to see covered
next at info@premierguitar.com or at
facebook.com/premierguitar
Instructional Seasoning
[Deep Blues: Old Blues, New Chords, July
2011 web-exclusive] is the kind of knowledge
you can expect from sitting with a
seasoned player. Very powerful, very practical.
Well done, Dennis [McCumber] . . .
look forward to seeing you at the National
Guitar Workshop in a couple of weeks.
—Gary
via premierguitar.com
You’re welcome, Gary. We know how important
it is for you to have audio the way you
want it, which is why we’re now offering
lesson audio as both streaming and as a download,
and streaming review audio examples.
We’re going to be streaming a lot more audio
and video online soon, too. So stay tuned!
After-School Amp
to the 3rd Power
I had saved all my money from working
after school and intended on buying my
first car. A demo of the British Dream
[reviewed July 2011] changed my plans. I
tried it and was blown away! I bought the
amp and scrapped the car [plans] and have
no regrets. None whatsoever! I have to hitch
rides to get to band practice, LOL! But hey,
a lot of people have cars . . . [but] I have
the BEST guitar tone of anyone!
—Tony V
via premierguitar.com
I know the feeling, Tony! I decided to spend all
my money on guitar gear as a high-school student,
too, and I never regretted it a bit (though I
was kind of bummed my parents never decided
to spoil me with a free set of wheels). When I
look back at the gear I ended up buying, however,
I’m pretty sure none of it was as great as the
amp you purchased. See, this was in the ’80s—
not a decade particular famous for its juicy tones.
Here’s to helping you wisely invest more of your
money in the future! —Shawn Hammond
Fender 60th Anniversary Tele
Web Review
It looks like a great guitar and I am keen
to get my hands on one. I am SO glad
this one has the six individual bridge
pieces instead of the traditional three.
Not being able to individually intonate
each string is a non-starter for me—I can’t
abide a guitar that is slightly out of tune
due to intonation issues. This has been
the one sticking point that has kept me
from purchasing a Tele. Kudos to Fender
for addressing this defect in an otherwise
perfect guitar.
—Sky
via premierguitar.com
Although certain Tele aficionados would beg
to differ, Sky, we’re just glad you dug this webexclusive
review. It takes all kinds! Let us know
if you take the plunge and buy one—we’d love
to hear whether it meets your expectations!
Staff Picks Turn-Ons
For me, it’s Michael Bloomfield’s “Your
Friends” [that epitomizes my tonal
approach]. Like [
PG senior editor Andy
Ellis] said, when I heard that, there was no
turning back. Staff Picks is a great idea . . .
might turn us on to something we haven’t
listened to before, and it gives context to
the equipment reviews and other commentary
from the staff at
PG. Thanks!
—Tim G
via premierguitar.com
Thanks, Tim! That’s exactly why we do Staff
Picks. Further, the regular question about what
we’re listening to gives us more opportunities
to talk about cool new albums we get but just
don’t have enough room to cover.
Correction
We misidentified some of the people in a
photo in our July 2011 Steve Cropper feature
[“The Royale Treatment”]. The caption
on p. 172 should have read: “The MGs and
friends hard at work in the studio in the
mid to late ’60s. Left to right: Isaac Hayes
sits at the piano while Sam Moore and
Dave Prater lean on the piano, Duck Dunn
plays his Fender bass in the background,
Booker Jones plays the tuba, and Cropper
plays through what appears to be a blackface
Fender Deluxe Reverb.” We apologize
for the confusion.
Keep those comments coming!
Please send your suggestions, gripes, comments, and good words directly to
info@premierguitar.com.
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