
Grab some of the legend’s guitar magic by adding some jazz to your blues.
Intermediate
Intermediate
Overview:
- Find out how to effectively use ghost notes.
- Make Carlton’s gritty pick-scratch technique a part of your playing.
- Learn some quick tricks to apply colorful chordal extensions to your solos.
Let’s play a quick game of Jeopardy! The category: Guitarists with Wildly Successful 50-Year Careers. The answer: With over 3,000 sessions under his belt, this guitarist has been a first-call session player, recording with artists such as Steely Dan, Michael Jackson, and Dolly Parton. He's also a successful solo artist, having released 36 albums, and a four-time Grammy Award winner. The question:
Who is Larry Carlton?
Perhaps unknowingly, we have all heard Carlton’s signature, lyrical guitar style more times than we can imagine, on a countless number of classic records, movie soundtracks, and TV themes. Just check out his impeccable touch and tone on Mike Post’s theme from TV’s “Hill Street Blues,” for which Carlton won the 1981 Grammy for Best Instrumental Performance.
Now, let’s break down his style with an exploration of some of his classic work with Steely Dan and over his solo career.
It Begins with the Blues
Carlton earned the nickname “Mr. 335” for his almost exclusive use of a Gibson ES-335 model during much of his early career. Known for his “sweet” sound, he seamlessly married the soul of blues, the spirit of rock, and the sophistication of jazz. The foundation for his playing, though, is decidedly the blues, and one of his early idols was blues master B.B. King. Traditional blues is a style with a somewhat purposefully limited vocabulary, most of which is drawn from the six-note blues scale (1–b3–4–b5–5–b7). All this means is that it’s the player’s style which must take center stage.
Carlton’s playing is brimming with personality, which he expresses in tastefully subtle ways. Ex. 1 emulates his distinct touch in songs such as “Blues Bird” from his classic 1982 solo album Sleepwalk.
It’s the nuances of Carlton’s playing with stand out here, as it’s more about how he plays the notes than the notes themselves. Notice how the slowness of measure 1’s initial bend and the overbend on beat 4 of measure 2 both pack a hefty punch. The vibrato for the Eb at the end of measure 2 doesn’t begin until after the note is held for a bit, allowing it to just hang in the air for a moment. Then in measure 3, the dot over the “and” of beat 3 indicates the note should be played staccato, or short. Similarly, the accents in measure 4 indicate to play those particular notes a bit louder.
It’s fun to note that a classic Carlton technique is the way he often chooses to pick notes on the higher strings exclusively using upstrokes. However, instead of using the usual flat part of the pick, the key here is to scratch the strings with its narrow inside edge, which lends a gnarly grit, as you can hear in Ex. 2.
These Ghosts Aren’t Scary
To capture Carlton’s style, we’re going to need to dip our toes ever so slightly into the pool that is jazz guitar. Don’t worry, though, you don’t have to be able to improvise over saxophone colossus John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” to avail yourself of some of the style’s finesse and flavor.
Let’s look a key nuance of jazz phrasing that contributes to the character of Carlton’s playing—ghost notes. These notes are almost not played, sounded just enough to give a phrase a certain “bounce” that is so common in jazz. Steely Dan’s 1976 release The Royal Scam, was a coming-out party of sorts for Carlton, having contributed a number of soon-to-be classic solos, most notably in “Kid Charlemagne.” Ex. 3, however, is a motif he plays throughout the album’s title track. Meant to sound implied, ghost notes are often fittingly indicated in parentheses, as shown in our example. Play each of these softer, so as to make it sound as if they’re bouncing off of the ones which surround them.
Hitting All the Right Notes
Carlton’s vast knowledge of jazz harmony gives him the ability to add a variety of colors to his playing which aren’t common in blues or rock guitar. He accomplishes this by touching on extensions, notes built on top of a 7th chord that “extend” the chord. For example, some common extensions of a Cmaj7 chord (C–E–G–B), are its 9 (D), #11(F#) and 13 (A). Each of these notes has a distinct color that Carlton uses as if he’s painting on a canvas.
Ex. 4 is reminiscent of his playing on Miles Davis’ “So What” from his Grammy-nominated 1987 live album Last Nite. Played over a Dm11 chord, the phrase lands squarely on the 11 (G) on the first beat of measure 1, then continues with a series of descending arpeggios, touching on the 9 (E) and 13 (B). Play this phrase slowly, absorbing the unique character of each of these notes.
Here’s Carlton smokin’ on an alternate live version of this classic tune:
Ex. 5 is an example of how Carlton approaches using extensions in more of a rock setting. “Don’t Take Me Alive,” another song from The Royal Scam that showcases Carlton’s mastery, features this phrase in its intro solo.
Now, you’ve likely played this lick many times before. But it’s how Carlton implements it here that is striking. Using rock-style string bending, he directly targets the 9 (D) and 11 (F). How does he find them? Well, here’s a quick trick: Over a minor chord, you can often play the minor pentatonic scale a fifth above. So, over the Cm7 chord in Ex.5, instead of using the standard C minor pentatonic scale (C–Eb–F–G–Bb) Carlton uses G minor pentatonic (G–Bb–C–D–F) which readily makes the 9 (D) available via a host of basic pentatonic licks you almost certainly already know. It’s a jazzy take on rock playing without sounding like you’re trying to impress your friends with some highfalutin jazz licks.
Here’s yet another instance (Ex. 6) of Carlton targeting extensions, this time within a beautiful fill over a major chord in “Daddy Don’t Live in That New York City No More” from Steely Dan’s 1975 album Katy Lied.
How does he do it this time? We’re in the key of E minor, with Cmaj7 functioning as the bIVm chord, and he simply draws from the E minor scale (E–F#–G–A–B–C–D). Not impressed? Take a closer look to see how Carlton views the fretboard as a palette of colors, aware of how each note in the scale functions over the chord. He subsequently targets the major 7 (B), 9 (D), and 11 (A), letting the notes ring over each other for effect.
Ex. 7, our final music example, is a Carlton-style phrase that makes use of some of the key elements we’ve discussed above: targeting the 9 of the Dm9 and Fm9 chords (E and G, respectively), with the addition of some well-placed staccato, accented, and ghosted notes.
Larry Carlton’s unique and soulful style most certainly developed out of his keen melodic and rhythmic sense. But it also leans heavily on the musical nuances he has consistently mined throughout his storied 50-year career. Focusing on them in your own playing can be a path to finding your own unique voice on guitar.
- Larry Carlton’s Favorite Guitar Solos From Bebop to “Sleepwalk” ›
- Beyond Blues: Larry Carlton ›
- Rig Rundown: Larry Carlton ›
The new Mark IIC+ 1x12 Combo and Head are authentic recreations of Mesa Boogie's original models.
The new MESA/Boogie Mark IIC+ in head and 1x12 combo formats isavailable worldwide at authorized MESA/Boogie dealers, and on www.mesaboogie.com.
The Mark IIC+ is pure “Vintage Boogie” and based on the original Mark II (now called the MarkII-A) design, the world’s first “Dual Mode” amplifier containing independent performance modes dedicated to clean and overdrive sounds. The IIC+ model represents the 3rd generation of that game-changing single channel/dual mode layout and includes all the refinements made to that
original format over its nearly five influential years. It was also the last model in its family, as the subsequent model would contain three performance modes and be dubbed the MARK III.
The IIC+’s single row of controls is shared by its two modes (preamps), one for Rhythm(clean) and one for Lead (overdrive). Independent, though still interactive, sets of gain and volume controls help optimize each gain structure while shared Tone controls handle the broad stroke voicing. Fine-tuning of the sounds is accomplished by the PULL SHIFT voicing features – some Mode specific – fitted to the simple controls and further shaping via the on-board 5-Band Graphic EQ.Though the “Q” of the individual Bands (Slider Pot frequencies) is fairly wide around their CenterPoints, they provide a surprising degree of surgical-level sculpting quickly and musically.
The Rear Panel of the C+ provides the important features that keep this amp as relevant as ever 40 years after its initial run. Global PRESENCE and REVERB controls are centered foreasy navigation from the Front in stage environments. A series, tube buffered Effects Loop provides a seamless interface for your time-based processing. The Power Select switch at the far right (left from the Front) allows for your choice of the full 75 watts of “SIMUL-CLASS” power for richness, authority, and max headroom or “CLASS A” for 25 watts of reduced power and low end along with easier, smoother power clip at lower volumes. One 8Ohm and two 4 OhmSpeaker Outputs provide for a wide array of cabinet impedance matching. And though not a compensated Direct Output for Consoles or Interfaces, a SLAVE tap off the speaker outputs captures the entire sound of the amp – preamp and power section – to produce a non-compensated feed for IRReaders or external processors that might even serve an era-appropriate “dry/wet/wet” rig.
Out of production for four decades, we welcome back this icon and celebrate its impact on the incredible guitar heroes and timeless recordings they made during one of rock guitar’s biggest decades. The Mark IIC+ legacy is one we don’t take lightly or for granted and recreating it in today’s world with today’s available components and rigorous worldwide Compliance Regulations was no easy feat. However, we are just as proud and excited about this iteration as we were about the first one that was produced for less than two years, four decades ago.
Gibson Band Featuring Slash, Duff McKagan, and Cesar Gueikian Announce Benefit Single
100% of "I Can Breathe" song proceeds to benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness, NAMI.
On Giving Tuesday, Gibson announces a new release from the Gibson Band--a revolving collective of musicians who join together to make music and raise funds and awareness for worthy causes.. A hard-hitting rock song, the new benefit single “I Can Breathe” features rhythm guitars and piano from Cesar Gueikian, CEO of Gibson, with special guests Duff McKagan on lead vocals and lyrics, and Slash on lead guitar and solos. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the song “I Can Breathe” will benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), through Gibson Gives. NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health resource organization that is dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.
On “I Can Breathe” Duff McKagan crafted the lyrics and is featured on lead vocals, Cesar Gueikian wrote the music and played rhythm guitar and piano, and Slash wrote and played thelead guitar and solos, while Jota Morelli (drums), and Seta Von Gravessen (bass) rounded outthe group in the studio. The music was recorded by Cesar at La Roca Power Studio in BuenosAires, Argentina, vocals were recorded by Duff at the Sound Factory in Los Angeles and leadguitars and solos by Slash in Los Angeles. The track was produced by Cesar Gueikian and JorgeRodriguez with collaboration from Pablo Toubes and Francisco Trillini, and mixed and masteredby Greg Gordon. A special thanks goes to Gonzalo Riviera Villatte, Gina Furia, and guitar techLisardo Alvarez for all his work at La Roca Power Studio.
Gibson Records, Duff McKagan, Slash, and Cesar Gueikian, will donate 100% proceeds from thesale of “I Can Breathe,” in addition to all auction funds raised to the National Alliance on MentalIllness (NAMI), through Gibson Gives. NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental healthresource organization that is dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affectedby mental illness. NAMI’s mission is to create a world where all people affected by mentalillness live healthy, fulfilling lives supported by a community that cares.
“It was such a pleasure to work with Cesar and his whole crew on this tune,” says Duff McKagan.“The musical slant and progressive rock-ness of this huge epic pushed me in a whole new direction. Ilove a challenge and Cesar killed it! Most importantly, to be of service for mental health issues andawareness is super important to me at this time. Let’s rock!”
“Cesar and Duff came to me with a really cool piece of music,” adds Slash. “I loved the riff idea, andDuff's vocal, so I felt right at home on the track.”
“Guns N’ Roses had a profound influence on me and my guitar playing, so having the opportunity towrite and record this song with Slash and Duff is a dream come true, and it’s an honor to call themfriends and partners,” says Cesar Gueikian, CEO of Gibson. “’I Can Breathe’ started as aninstrumental track I recorded at La Roca Power Studio in Buenos Aires. Upon listening to the mix thatGreg Gordon put together, Jenny Marsh (Global Director of Cultural Influence at Gibson) suggestedDuff as lyricist and vocalist. Guns N’ Roses had just come off touring when I shared the song withDuff, he loved it and quickly wrote the lyrics and cut the vocals at the Sound Factory in Los Angeles.Having Duff on vocals made the next step obvious, which was asking Slash if he would collaboratewith lead guitars and solos. Both Duff and Slash transformed the track from a collection of riffs to agreat song! While Greg Gordon’s mixing and creativity tied it all together. I am grateful for thecollaboration from Slash, Duff and Greg, and from my friend Serj Tankian’s participation with coverartwork. I’m thrilled we are donating all proceeds from the song to a great and relevant cause.”
Made in close collaboration and with significant input from Jimmy Page, the Jimmy Page EDS-1275 uses new 3D scanning technology to aid in handcrafting an effective clone of his original EDS-1275.
There are very few guitars that can claim to be as instantly recognizable and iconic as Jimmy Page’s 1969 EDS-1275 Doubleneck. The photos of him playing it on stage with Led Zeppelin are indelible to rock ’n’ roll history. While Gibson has been making doubleneck electric guitars since 1958, Jimmy was the player who defined the EDS-1275 from the day it was delivered to him. Introducing the Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Doubleneck VOS, now part of the Gibson Custom core lineup and built to the exact specifications of Jimmy’s iconic EDS-1275 Doubleneck.
The Jimmy Page EDS-1275 features a double-cutaway one-piece mahogany body that provides exceptional access to the full length of both the12-string and six-string mahogany necks. Both necks have long tenons and are hide glue fit, and the neck profiles are recreated from 3D scans of the necks on the original guitar. The necks are both capped with bound Indian rosewood fretboards. Each fretboard is equipped with 20 authentic medium jumbo frets and adorned with aged cellulose nitrate parallelogram inlays. The fretboards of both necks have a 12” radius, which is perfect for both playing chords as well as for string bending while soloing. The 18 tuners are Kluson double line, double ring style, just like those found on the original guitar, and even the headstocks feature the correct 17-degree angle and specific logo stylization found on Jimmy’s EDS-1275. The electronics are just as authentic and deliver all of the sonic character of Jimmy’s legendary EDS-1275. Two uncovered Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Custombuckers with double black bobbins and Alnico 5 magnets are used for the two six-string pickups, while a covered pair is installed on the 12-string neck. Of course, the two volume and two tone controls use CTS potentiometers and period-correct ceramic disc capacitors, and the pickup select switch, neck select switch, and output jack are all from Switchcraft.
Here is your opportunity to own a clone of Jimmy Page’s famous EDS-1275, identical to how it appeared on the day that Jimmy first received the guitar. A Gibson Custom hardshell case is included, along with a vintage leather strap, and a certificate of authenticity with a photo from famed photographer Barrie Wentzell.
Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Doubleneck VOS '69 Cherry
Recreation of the EDS-1275 used by Jimmy Page made using 3D scans of the original guitar, one piece mahogany body, mahogany six and 12-string necks with custom Jimmy Page profiles, Indian rosewood fretboards, Jimmy Page Custombucker pickups with Alnico 5 magnets and double black bobbins, Gibson Custom hardshell case
Reader: Daniel Switkin
Hometown: Oakland, California
Guitar: Doublecaster
Here’s the doubleneck dream realized, even if it weighs 9 pounds, 5 ounces.
Taking a Squier Affinity Stratocaster and Mini Precision Bass, one reader created a super-versatile instrument for looping that he can pick, pluck, tap, and slap.
I've been using a multitrack looper with a guitar and an octave pedal, which was okay for simple bass parts, but didn’t give me thick strings and I couldn’t slap with it. So I decided to build a double-neck prototype specifically for looping, with a 6-string guitar and a 4-string bass.
Since building the necks would be the hardest part, I looked around for instruments with bolt-on necks I could reuse. Squier makes an Affinity Stratocaster and a Mini Precision Bass which were affordable and had matching fretboards, so I bought those. It was also cheaper to reuse the electronics and hardware that came with them, rather than buying everything separately.
Using two precut instrument bodies saved the burden of having to route cavities for the electronics.
My plan was to design my own body from scratch. As I debated which neck should go on top, how far apart they should be, and whether to line up the nuts or the saddles, I realized there was actually enough wood there to make a double neck body, which saved me the work of recreating the neck pockets, etc. Putting the guitar on top made barre chords much more comfortable, and the 28.6" bass scale meant I could still reach the first fret easily.
After stripping the paint with a heat gun, I ran both bodies through a table saw, glued them together, and thinned them to 1 3/8". Then I created an offset body shape, a new arm bevel, and reshaped the three cutaways. The pickguards are both original, with the guitar side cut down to make a yin and yang shape. The controls are volume and tone for each neck, using the original knobs. I moved the jack to the back and upgraded it to stereo so the guitar and bass signals can run through separate effects chains.
Note the location of the jack on the back of the extended-shape body. It’s unconventional but practical.
My top concerns were weight and ergonomics. Many doublenecks are around 12 to 13 pounds and 18" wide. I knew I would never play something that big, no matter how good it sounded. To that end, I saved weight everywhere and tracked everything to the gram in a spreadsheet. (That’s also the reason I chose a fixed bridge instead of a vibrato.) I ultimately used a wipe-on gel stain to keep the weight down further. Stripping the paint from the factory saved 5 ounces! The final playable weight is 9 pounds, 5 ounces, and 15 1/4" wide at the lower bout. This has been pretty manageable, however, there is some neck dive because of the tuners. I’m taking everything I’ve learned from this prototype and designing a new doubleneck, which will be headless. I believe I can shed another pound and eliminate the neck dive that way. You can watch my entire build on YouTube.