Carley Wolf -- Guest Picker, The Ghost Wolves
Name a song you hate—but which you must grudgingly admit boasts great guitar work.
If I hate a song, I don’t pay attention to the guitar work, I turn it off. For me it’s all about the song, and the guitar should serve that. But, if I had to pick something just off the top of my head, I would say “Pride and Joy” by Stevie Ray Vaughan. I’ve heard that song way too many times at blues jams growing up, but of course everyone respects his legacy, especially in Texas.
My current obsession is: Playing my vintage Japanese Teisco 1-string (and trying to find another one like it), getting to know my new Silvertone, and of course finding the gnarliest tone possible!
Jeff Palmer -- Reader of the Month
Name a song you hate—but which you must grudgingly admit boasts great guitar work.
“Smooth” by Santana. I’m not a pop guy and I don’t like Matchbox 20, but I could swim in those pseudo-violin caramel vibratos all day.
My current obsession is: Harmonics. Well-placed natural and pinch harmonics really make a riff or solo sing and stand out. I’ve been practicing them a lot.
John Bohlinger -- Nashville Correspondent
Name a song you hate—but which you must grudgingly admit boasts great guitar work.
Yesterday while driving I heard the 1984 semi-hit “Sunglasses at Night” by Canadian singer Corey Hart. This new wave, synth-driven track is an overt rip-off of “Sweet Dreams are Made of These” but the barely audible guitar solo on the end kills. Sounds like classic Lukather or Landau but was played by Andy Barnett, a guitarist I’d not heard of.
My current obsession is: Timing: It really is everything.
Chris Kies -- Associate Editor
Name a song you hate—but which you must grudgingly admit boasts great guitar work.
Pretty much anything that’s ever been recorded or played by guys like Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, and Joe Bonamassa. Whenever I’ve seen them live, I’m left dumbfounded by their abilities on guitar, but I still feel numb from their coma-inducing music.
My current obsession is: Women in music. I have an insufficient amount of female artists in my record collection, but lately I’ve been telling every person I meet about these musicians: Nikki Lane, Courtney Barnett, Mlny of Royal Thunder, Jillian in Ruby the Hatchet, Beth in Best Coast, Blues Pills, Pieta Brown, and Torres.
Jason Shadrick -- Associate Editor
Name a song you hate—but which you must grudgingly admit boasts great guitar work. I find most country music from the ’90s terribly redundant, overproduced, and dull. That is, until the amazingly beautiful and melodic fretwork of guys like Brent Mason and Dann Huff make an appearance.
My current obsession is: Learning the fine art of reggae guitar. It’s way more than a simple skank on 2 and 4. Players like Al Anderson, Junior Marvin, Peter Tosh, and Ernest Ranglin brought in elements of funk and rock to create a wholly unique, and underappreciated, style.
The new coiled cables are available in four eye-grabbing retro colors – Surf Green, Electric Blue, Orange and Caramel – as well as three standard colors: Black, White and Red. There is also a CME exclusive “Chicago Cream” color on the way.
Guitarists can choose between three different connector configurations: straight/straight plugs, right angle/straight and right angle/right angle options.
The Voltage Vintage Coil offers superior sound quality and durability thanks to ISO-COAT treatment, a patent-pending hermetic seal applied to solder terminations. This first-of-its-kind airtight seal prevents corrosion and oxidization, a known factor in cable failure and degradation. ISO-COAT protected cables are for guitarists who value genuine lifetime durability and consistent tone throughout their career on stage and in the studio.
Voltage cables are hand made by qualified technical engineers using the finest components available and come with a lifetime warranty.
Voltage Vintage Coil features include:
- Lifetime guarantee, 1000+ gig durability
- ISO-COAT treatment - corrosion & oxidization resistant cable internals
- Strengthened structural integrity of solder terminations
Voltage Vintage Coils carry $89.00 USD pricing each and are available online at voltagecableco.com, as well as in select guitar stores in North America, Australia, Thailand, UK, Belgium and China.
About Voltage Cable: Established in 2021, Voltage Cable Co. is a family owned and operated guitar cable company based in Sydney, Australia. All their cables are designed to be played, and built for a lifetime. The company’s ISO-COAT is a patent pending hermetic seal applied to solder terminations.
Built on powerful dual‑engine processing and world‑class UAD modeling, ANTI 1992 High Gain Amp gives guitarists the unmistakable sound of an original "block letter" Peavey 5150 amplifier* – the notorious 120‑watt tube amp monster that fueled more than three decades of modern metal music, from Thrash and Death Metal, to Grunge, Black Metal, and more.
"With UAFX Dream, Ruby, Woodrow, and Lion amp emulators, we recreated four of the most famous guitar amps ever made," says UA Sr. Product Manager Tore Mogensen. "Now with ANTI, we're giving rock and metal players an authentic emulation of this punishing high gain amp – with the exact mic/speaker pairings and boost/noise gate effects that were responsible for some of the most groundbreaking modern metal tones ever captured."
Key Features:
- A complete emulation of the early '90s 120‑watt tone monster that defined new genres of modern metal
- Powerful UAFX dual-engine delivers the most authentic emulation of the amp ever placed in a stompbox
- Complete album‑ready sounds with built‑in noise gate, TS‑style overdrive, and TC‑style preamp boost
- Groundbreaking Dynamic Room Modeling derived from UA's award-winning OX Amp Top Box
- Six classic mic/speaker pairings used on decades of iconic metal and hard rock records
- Professional presets designed by the guitarists of Tetrarch, Jeff Loomis, and The Black Dahlia Murder
- UAFX mobile app lets you access hidden amp tweaks and mods, choose overdrive/boost, tweak noise gate, recall and archive your presets, download artist presets, and more
- Timeless UA design and craftsmanship, built to last decades
For more information, please visit uaudio.com.
- YouTube
MonoNeon, aka Dywane Thomas Jr., came up learning the bass from his father in Memphis, Tennessee, but for some reason, he decided to flip his dad’s 4-string bass around and play it with the string order inverted—E string closest to the ground and the G on top. That’s how MonoNeon still plays today, coming up through a rich, inspiring gauntlet of family and community traditions. “I guess my whole style came from just being around my grandma at an early age,” says Thomas.His path has led him to collaborate with dozens of artists, including Nas, Ne-Yo, Mac Miller, and even Prince, and MonoNeon’s solo output is dizzying—trying to count up his solo releases isn’t an easy feat. Premier Guitar’s Chris Kies caught up with the bassist before his show at Nashville’s Exit/In, where he got the scoop on his signature 5-string, Ampeg rig, and simple stomp layout, as well as some choice stories about influences, his brain-melting playing style, and how Prince changed his rig.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
Orange You Glad to See Me?
This Fender MonoNeon Jazz Bass V was created after a rep messaged Thomas on Instagram to set up the signature model, over which Thomas had complete creative control. Naturally, the bass is finished in neon yellow urethane with a neon orange headstock and pickguard, and the roasted maple neck has a 10"–14" compound radius. It’s loaded with custom-wound Fireball 5-string Bass humbuckers and an active, 18V preamp complete with 3-band EQ controls. Thomas’ own has been spruced up with some custom tape jobs, too. All of MonoNeon's connections are handled by Sorry Cables.
Fade to Black
MonoNeon’s Ampeg SVT stack isn’t a choice of passion. “That’s what they had for me, so I just plugged in,” he says. “That’s what I have on my rider. As long as it has good headroom and the cones don’t break up, I’m cool.”
Box Art
MonoNeon’s bass isn’t the only piece of kit treated to custom color jobs. Almost all of his stomps have been zhuzhed up with his eye-popping palette.
Thomas had used a pitch-shifting DigiTech Whammy for a while, but after working with Paisley Park royalty, the pedal became a bigger part of his playing. “When I started playing with Prince, he put the Whammy on my pedalboard,” Thomas explains. “After he passed, I realized how special that moment was.”
Alongside the Whammy, MonoNeon runs a Fairfield Circuitry Randy’s Revenge (for any time he wants to “feel weird”), a literal Fart Pedal (in case the ring mod isn’t weird enough, we guess), and a JAM Pedals Red Muck covers fuzz and dirt needs. A CIOKS SOL powers the whole affair.
