November 2018

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Michael Ross

Michael Ross

Michael Ross is a writer/musician/producer/bon vivant living in Nashville. He curates guitarmoderne.com, dedicated to avant-garde and experimental guitar, and contributes to Premier Guitar, Guitar Player, Electronic Musician, and Sound On Sound. He is the author of Getting Great Guitar Sounds and All About Effects.

Articles

ARTICLES

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Melvin “Wah Wah Watson” Ragin: 1950-2018

October 26, 2018

With his rhythmic skill and creative daring, the inventive guitarist proved that the wah pedal was much more than a gimmick.

Guthrie Trapp: Man of a Thousand Gigs

April 12, 2018

With a new album showcasing his stylistic breadth and a relentless schedule of performing, recording, and teaching, the Nashville Tele-monster keeps the pedal to the floor.

Duane Eddy: Sultan of Twang

January 19, 2018

The guitar legend talks about the invention of his reverb-drenched sound, his versatile career and technique, and his lifelong love affair with the Bigsby-rigged Gretsch 6120.

Prog Pioneer Steve Hillage Gets Funky Fresh

August 1, 2017

50 years of evolution from art-rock to R&B to pulsing EDM have kept the British guitarist—and his Strats, Gibsons, Steinbergers, and effects—dancing along the cutting edge.

Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ Team Up

June 19, 2017

The veteran bluesmen reveal why they broke the genre’s rules on their first studio collaboration, TajMo, while sharing resonator guitars, banjos, and electric workhorses along the way.

Psych-Blues Guitar Hero Harvey Mandel

February 2, 2017

The legendary innovator’s new album and box set reveal a lifetime of trippy techniques like tapping, extreme vibrato, and backwards soloing.

Six-String Solace

September 27, 2016

Premier Guitar talks to certified music therapists across the U.S. about their specialized approaches to using guitar as an instrument of healing.

Stian Westerhus: Daredevil Guitar

August 18, 2016

The Norwegian sonic wirewalker defies the conventions of tone, technique, and composition to create a unique aural universe.

Forgotten Heroes: Reggie Young

June 2, 2016

On working with Elvis, opening for the Beatles, and playing with the cream of the crop as a session ace in Memphis and Nashville.

AJ Ghent’s Stand-Up Steel

August 13, 2015

From sanctified beginnings to high-energy secular soul, this steel guitarist forged his own way.

Richard Thompson: The Incomparable Alchemist

June 25, 2015

The iconoclastic virtuoso revisits his roots on a new album produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy.

Forgotten Heroes: Pops Staples

June 23, 2015

The gospel guitarist who took his tremolo-shaken country blues from Sunday mass to the masses.

Pedal to the Metal: A Short History of the Pedal Steel Guitar

February 17, 2015

Trace the evolution of the planet’s most mechanical—and for some, most mysterious—stringed instrument.

Bill Frisell: To the Great Beyond

October 30, 2014

With his inventive touch, the prolific guitarist takes his latest musical exploration, Guitar in the Space Age, back to the future.

Forgotten Heroes: Curtis Mayfield

October 6, 2014

Explore the life, music, and legacy of the ’60s soul and funk pioneer.

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Forrest Custom Guitars DB Boost B and G Bender Review

September 2, 2014

Double-bender T-style delivers seemingly infinite tones and textures.

Forgotten Heroes: Bruce Langhorne

June 9, 2014

You may not know his name, but “Mr. Tambourine Man” helped pioneer ’60s folk-rock with his amplified Martin flattop.

Joe Satriani: Outside the Box

April 15, 2014

With a new autobiography and a 15-disc box set chronicling his musical past, the silver surfer reveals how he learned to really play.

The Codependent Guitarist: The Art of Being a Sideman

March 25, 2014

Seasoned players explain how to succeed as a supporting guitarist.

Spoiled Guitarists: That Guitar Costs How Much?!

February 10, 2014

Are guitarists spoiled or lucky?

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