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GALLERY: Riot Fest 2016

See what guitars and basses the punks, metalheads, and hardcore rockers used during the Windy City’s other 3-day festival.

Ween’s Dean Ween

One of the ringleaders of the offbeat alt-rock group Ween, Dean (a.k.a. Mickey Melchiondo) pays constant tribute to his Hendrix influences by primarily rocking a Strat onstage. The mashed-up Strat's cavity has a '57 route and has a dowel cut in half lengthwise glued to the outside wall to receive the extra screw hole for a '62 or later pickguard. It was refinished Dakota red in the early '90s. And its neck plate dates to 1962. The guitar has a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails pickup in the bridge and Fender Lace Sensors in the middle and neck positions.

There's a lot of musical gold inside the scales.

Intermediate

Intermediate

• Develop a deeper improvisational vocabulary.

• Combine pentatonic scales to create new colors.

• Understand the beauty of diatonic harmony.
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Improvising over one chord for long stretches of time can be a musician's best friend or worst nightmare. With no harmonic variation, we are left to generate interest through our lines, phrasing, and creativity. When I started learning to improvise, a minor 7 chord and a Dorian mode were the only sounds that I wanted to hear at the time. I found it tremendously helpful to have the harmony stay in one spot while I mined for new ideas to play. Playing over a static chord was crucial in developing my sense of time and phrasing.

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The high priest of prog-metal guitar, John Petrucci, is still finding new territory on his instrument.

Photo by Mark Maryanovich

The legendary progressive-metal guitarist details the darkness—and the renewed camaraderie—that led to his band Dream Theater’s 16th full-length record, Parasomnia.

Some very important events happened in John Petrucci’s life in 2024. He celebrated an enormous milestone with his bandmates in prog-metal behemoth Dream Theater: They’ve been a band for 40 years. Many bands aren’t destined to last a single decade, let alone four. It’s a titanic personal and artistic achievement. And yet, that anniversary paled in significance next to another major development: The band wrote and created a new full-length record with founding drummer Mike Portnoy, who had been absent from Dream Theater since 2010.

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Fifteen watts that sits in a unique tone space and offers modern signal routing options.

A distinct alternative to the most popular 1x10 combos. Muscular and thick for a 1x10 at many settings. Pairs easily with single-coils and humbuckers. Cool looks.

Tone stack could be more rangeful.

$999

Supro Montauk
supro.com

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When you imagine an ideal creative space, what do you see? A loft? A barn? A cabin far from distraction? Reveling in such visions is inspiration and a beautiful escape. Reality for most of us, though, is different. We’re lucky to have a corner in the kitchen or a converted closet to make music in. Still, there’s a romance and sense of possibility in these modest spaces, and the 15-watt, 1x10, all-tubeSupro Montauk is an amplifier well suited to this kind of place. It enlivens cramped corners with its classy, colorful appearance. It’s compact. It’s also potent enough to sound and respond like a bigger amp in a small room.

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- YouTube

Watch the official video documenting the sold-out event at House of Blues in Anaheim. Join Paul Reed Smith and special guests as they toast to quality and excellence in guitar craftsmanship.

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