Get inside the mind of one of the most creative improvisers playing guitar today.
Chops: Intermediate
Theory: Advanced
Lesson Overview:
⢠Explore the half-whole diminished scale.
⢠Create flowing lines that use bebop phrasing.
⢠Understand how to combine pentatonic scales with modes.
Click here to download a printable PDF of this lesson's notation.
Are you hip to Jimmy Herring? Perhaps youāve heard his name, but canāt quite place it. Herringās career spans a quarter of a century, so he must be doing something right to still be at the top of his game.
Born in 1962 in North Carolina, Herring began to show a real gift for guitar in his teens. His influences were broad, but being exposed to Steve Morse and the Dixie Dregs certainly helped shape his utterly incredible picking technique. His formative years were filled with a great education (including stints at both Berklee and GIT) and, more importantly, hundreds of hours of performing demanding fusion onstage in an improvisational setting.
Itās fair to say that Herringās musical interests have always focused more on the jazz and the jam-band scene, as he has played in such outfits as Jazz is Dead (featuring members of Dixie Dregs, Weather Report, and Mahavishnu Orchestra), The Dead (a continuation of The Grateful Dead after Jerry Garciaās death), and The Aquarium Rescue Unit.
Even though his career has consisted mainly of sideman work, Herringās two solo albums, Lifeboat and Subject to Change Without Notice, feature amazing playing and compositions. Iāll take this opportunity to feature a video with Herring alongside our own Jason Shadrick. In it Herring deconstructs what might be his best tune: a gospel-blues track called āBilgewater Bluesā that features a fascinating interpretation of the blues form.
For our first set of examples, Iāve prepared a backing track that sits on a static Bbm7 sound. Take a listen below and experiment with the different phrases we cover, and then try to come up with some of your own.
Our first lick (Ex. 1) features some slippery phrasing that combines the Bb blues (Bb-Db-Eb-E-F-Ab) and Bb Dorian (Bb-C-Db-Eb-F-G-Ab) scales. Make sure to notice what notes fall outside of the basic pentatonic or blues framework and learn where they are coming from. For example, in measure two we have a G natural which would be the 6 of the Dorian or Mixolydian scale.
The next phrase (Ex. 2) works over our backing track, but weāre actually imagining an Eb7 (which would be the IV in a Bb blues). Itās worth taking notice of the typical bebop chromatic approach in the end of the second measure. There are some tricky little position shifts in the third measure, so take this one real slow. You want to have the right notes when youāre up to speed.
Ex. 3 uses one of Herringās favorite soundsāthe half-whole diminished scale. This is a fantastic scale built of consecutive half- and whole-step intervals (though it could also be seen as two diminished arpeggios a half-step apart). Itās a great little outside sound that can be used for a bit of color over a minor or dominant setting. Check out Herringās āScapegoat Bluesā to see it used to full effect.
Here we combine the Bb half-whole (Bb-B-C#-D-E-F-G-Ab) scale with some pretty out rhythms (the latter for their jarring effect) before we resolve back to the Bb minor pentatonic scale.
For some variety, hereās a backing track that covers a basic B minor blues form. Before we see how Herring might tackle it, take a listen to the groove.
The first lick in Ex. 4 can easily fit over a blues progression, starting in the third measure. Itās here we outline the I-IV movement before returning to the tonic. Beginning on the second beat, we have some heavy chromaticism on the B melodic minor scale (B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A#). That leads into a line based mostly around an E melodic minor scale (E-F#-G-A-B-C#-D#), but with a D natural, which implies the Dorian mode. In the fourth measure, thereās a tricky alternate-picked C#m7b5 arpeggio. This implies a jazzy Em6 sound before resolving to an equally tricky Bm6 arpeggio that leads us back to the I chord.
The final example outlines the bVI-V-I progression that you would hear on a minor jazz-blues. Over the G7 we play a phrase using the G Mixolydian (G-A-B-C-D-E-F) scale. Then we shift to a chromatically embellished GmMaj7 arpeggio over the F#7 (implying an F#7#5b9 sound). To finish the lick we shift back to our Bm7 chord (actually a Bm6 on the track) and wail with a blend of B Dorian, blues, and melodic minor. These types of phrases are an essential part of the fusion vocabulary and require alternate picking mastery well beyond my own. This example is at 115 bpm, but Herring wouldnāt break a sweat at 160!
Take your time with these ideas and use them as a springboard to do your own listening and transcribing, and enlist the provided backing tracks to accompany your musical explorations.
Significantly smaller and lighter than original TAE. Easy to configure and operate. Great value. Streamlined control set.
Air Feel Level control takes the place of more surgical and realistic resonance controls. Seventy watts less power in onboard power amp. No Bluetooth connectivity with desktop app.
$699
Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander Core
Boss streamlines the size, features, and price of the already excellent Waza Tube Expander with little sacrifice in functionality.
Many of our younger selves would struggle to understand the urgeāindeed, the needāto play quieter. My first real confrontation with this ever-more-present reality arrived when Covid came to town. For many months, I could only sneak into my studio space late at night to jam or review anything loud. Ultimately, the thing that made it possible to create and do my job in my little apartment was a reactive load box (in this case, a Universal Audio OX). I set up a Bassman head next to my desk and, with the help of the OX, did the work of a gear editor as well as recorded several very cathartic heavy jams, with the Bassman up to 10, that left my neighbors none the wiser.
Bossā firstWaza Tube Amp Expander, built with an integrated power amp that enables boosted signal as well as attenuated sounds, was and remains the OXās main competition. Both products have copious merits but, at $1,299 (Boss) and $1,499 (Universal Audio), each is expensive. And while both units are relatively compact, they arenāt gear most folks casually toss in a backpack on the way out the door. The new Waza Tube Expander Core, however, just might be. And though it sacrifices some refinements for smaller size, its much-more accessible price and strong, streamlined fundamental capabilities make it a load-box alternative that could sway skeptics.
Micro Manager
The TAE Core is around 7 1/2" wide, just over 7 " long, and fewer than 4 " tall, including the rubber feet. Thatās about half the width of an original TAE or OX. The practical upside of this size reduction is obvious and will probably compel a lot of players to use the unit in situations in which theyād leave a full-size TAE at home. The streamlined design is another source of comfort. With just five knobs on its face, the TAE Core has fewer controls and is easier to use than many stompboxes. In fact, the most complicated part of integrating the TAE Core to your rig might be downloading the necessary drivers and related apps.
Connectivity is straightforward, though there are some limitations. You can use TAE Core wirelessly with an iOS or Windows tablet or smartphone, as long as you have the BT-DUAL adaptor (which is not included and sets you back around 40 bucks). However, while desktop computers recognize the TAE Core as a Bluetooth-enabled device, you cannot use the unit wirelessly with those machines. Instead, you have to connect the TAE Core via USB. In a perfectly ordered world, thatās not a big problem. But if you use the TAE Core in a small studioāwhere one less cable is one less headacheāor you prefer to interface with the TAE Core app on a desktop where you can toggle fast and easily between large, multi-track sessions and the app, the inability to work wirelessly on a desktop can be a distraction. The upside is that the TAE Core app itself is, functionally and visually, almost identical in mobile and desktop versions, enabling you to select and drag and drop virtual microphones into position, add delay, reverb, compression, and EQ effects, choose various cabinets with different speaker configurations and sizes, and introduce new rigs and impulse responses to a tone recipe in a flash. And though the TAE Core app lacks some of the photorealistic panache and configuration options in the OX app, the TAE Coreās app is just as intuitive.Less Is More
One nice thing about the TAE Coreās more approachable $699 price is that you donāt have to feel too bad on nights that you āunderutilizeā the unit and employ it as an attenuator alone. In this role, the TAE Core excels. Even significantly attenuated sounds retain the color and essence of the source tone. Like any attenuator-type device, you will sacrifice touch sensitivity and dynamics at a certain volume level, yielding a sense of disconnection between fingers, gut, guitar, and amp. But if youāre tracking ābigā sounds in a small space, you can generate massive-sounding ones without interfacing with an amp modeler and flat-response monitors, which is a joy in my book. And again, thereās the TAE Coreās ability to āexpandā as well as attenuate, which means you can use the TAE Coreās 30-watt onboard power amp to amplify the signal from, say, a 5-watt Fender Champion 600 with a 6" speaker, route it to a 2x12, 4x12, or virtual equivalent in the app, and leave your bandmate with the Twin Reverb and bad attitude utterly perplexed.
The Verdict
Opting for the simpler, thriftier TAE Core requires a few sacrifices. Power users that grew accustomed to the original TAEās super-tunable āresonance-Zā and āpresence-Zā controls, which aped signal-chain impedance relationships with sharp precision, will have to make do with the simpler but still very effective stack and combo options and the āair feel levelā spatial ambience control.The DC power jack is less robust. It features only MIDI-in rather than MIDI-in/-through/-out jacks, and, significantly, 70 watts less power in the onboard power amp. But from my perspective, the Core is no less āprofessionalā in terms of what it can achieve on a stage or in a studio of any size. Its more modest feature set and dimensions are, in my estimation, utility enhancements as much as limitations. If greater power and MIDI connectivity are essentials, then the extra 600 bones for the original TAE will be worth the price. For many of us, though, the mix of value, operational efficiencies, and the less-encumbered path to sound creation built into the TAE Core will represent a welcome sweet spot that makes dabbling in this very useful technology an appealing, practical proposition.
Well-designed pickups. Extremely comfortable contours. Smooth, playable neck.
Middle position could use a bit more mids. Price could scare off some.
$2,999
Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay II
A surprise 6-string collaboration with Cory Wong moves effortlessly between ā70s George Benson and Blink-182 tones.
Announced at the 2025 NAMM show, Cory Wongās new collaboration with Ernie Ball Music Man scratched an itchānamely, the itch for a humbucker-loaded guitar that could appease Wongās rock-and-R&B alter ego and serve as complement to his signature Fender Strat. Inspiration came from no further than a bandmateās namesake instrument. Vulfpeck bassist Joe Dart has a line of signature model EBMM basses, one of which uses the classic StingRay bass body profile. So, when Wong went looking for something distinctive, he wondered if EBMM could create a 6-string guitar using the classic StingRay bass body and headstock profile.
Double the Fun
Wong is, by his own admission, a single-coil devotee. Thatās where the core of his sound lives and it feels like home to him. However, Wong is as inspired by classic Earth, Wind & Fire tones and the pop-punk of the early ā90s as he is by Prince and the Minneapolis funk that he grew up with. The StingRay II is a guitar that can cover all those bases.
Ernie Ball has a history of designing fast-feeling, comfortable necks. And I canāt remember ever struggling to move around an EBMM fretboard. The roasted maple C-shaped neck here is slightly thicker in profile than I expected, but still very comfortable. (I must also mention that the back of the neck has a dazzling, almost holographic look to the grain that morphs in the light). By any measure, the StingRay IIās curves seemed designed for comfort and speed. Now, letās talk about those pickups.Hot or Not?
A few years ago EBMM introduced a line of HT (heat-treated) pickups. The pickups are built with technology the company used to develop their Cobalt and M-Series strings. A fair amount of the process is shrouded in secrecy and must be taken on faith, but EBMM says treating elements of the pickup with heat increases clarity and dynamic response.
To find out for myself, I plugged the StingRay II into a Fender Vibroverb, Mesa/Boogie Mark VII, and a Neural DSP Quad Cortex (Wongās preferred live rig). Right away, it was easy to hear the tight low end and warm highs. Often, I feel like the low end from neck humbuckers can feel too loose or lack definition. Neither was the case here. The HT pickup is beautifully balanced with a bounce thatās rich with ES-335 vibes. Clean tones are punchy and brightāespecially with the Vibroverbāand dirty tones have more room for air. Individual notes were clear and articulate, too.
Any guitar associated with Wong needs a strong middle-position or combined pickup tone, and the StingRay II delivers. I never felt any significant signal loss in the blended signal from the two humbuckers, even if I could use a bit more midrange presence in the voicing. The midrange gap is nothing an EQ or Tube Screamer couldnāt fix, though. And not surprisingly, very Strat-like sounds were easy to achieve for having less midrange bump.
Knowing Wongās love for ā90s alt-rock, I expected the bridge pickup to have real bite, and it does, demonstrating exceptional dynamic range and exceptional high-end response that never approached shrill. Nearly every type of distortion and overdrive I threw at it sounded great, but especially anything with a scooped-mid flavor and plenty of low end.
The Verdict
By any measure, the StingRay II is a top-notch, professional instrument. The fit and finish are immaculate and the feel of the neck makes me wonder if EBMM stashes some kind of secret sandpaper, because I donāt think Iāve ever felt a smoother, more playable neck. Kudos are also due to EBMM and Wong for finding an instrument that can move between ā70s George Benson tones and the hammering power chords of ā90s Blink-182. Admittedly, the nearly $3K price could give some players pause, but considering the overall quality of the instrument, itās not out of line. Wongās involvement and search for distinct sounds makes the StingRay II more than a tired redux of a classic modelāan admirable accomplishment considering EBMMās long and storied history.
Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay II Cory Wong Signature Electric Guitar - Charcoal Blue with Rosewood Fingerboard
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Korg Pitchstrap Guitar and Bass Strap Tuner - Black
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Cherub Pix Tune (WST-915Li)
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Taylor Beacon Digital Clip-on Tuner - Black
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The Melvins' Buzz Osborne joins the party to talk about how he helped Kurt Cobain find the right sounds.
Growing up in the small town of Montesano, Washington, Kurt Cobain turned to his older pal Buzz Osborne for musical direction. So on this episode, weāre talking with the Melvins leader about their friendship, from taking Cobain to see Black Flag in ā84 to their shared guitar journey and how they both thought about gear. And in case youāve heard otherwise, Kurt was never a Melvins roadie!
Osborneās latest project is Thunderball from Melvins 1983, something of a side trajectory for the band, which harkens back to this time in Osborneās life. We dig into that and how it all relates and much more.