Come with us, time travelers, as we revisit a year’s worth of axes, amps, stomps, basses, baritones, and other tools of our music-making trade—all deemed worthy of the Premier Gear Award.
Fulltone 2B JFET Booster
Much of what makes Fulltone’s Full Drive 2 and 3 such hits is their forgiving simplicity: They make dialing up great overdrive and boost tones a breeze. The 2B takes that simplicity a step further, extracting the boost section from the Full Drive 3 and stuffing it into a sturdy, ultra-compact pedal that packs a wallop and serves as a tone masseuse extraordinaire.
$103 street, fulltone.com
Click here to read the full review
Red Witch Zeus
The chrome-clad Red Witch Zeus took a Premier Gear Award this year thanks to its split personality—part analog sub-octave, part silicone fuzz. The two completely stand-alone effects are impressive as solo beings, but run both simultaneously and you’ll summon thunderous sonic mayhem.
$299 street, redwitchpedals.com
Click here to read the full review
Jackson SLATXMGQ 3-6 Soloist
Stable, sonically potent, and ready to slay, this imported X-series Soloist impressed reviewer Joe Charupakorn with it’s buttery action, tuning-stable vibrato, and surprising versatility. These qualities make this metal-on-the-surface axe equally suited for blues, rock, and pop applications.
$699 street, jacksonguitars.com
Click here to read the full review
Faith FNCETB Neptune
The Neptune managed the ever-so-satisfying trick of sounding and feeling very expensive at a three-figure price. Using Indonesian trembesi wood for the back and sides, along with an Engelmann spruce top adds up to a simultaneously bright and bass-rich voice. And with versatile Shadow electronics, it’s a great stage-ready performer too.
$999 street, faithguitars.com
Click here to read the full review
Demeter Bass 400
Designer James Demeter has been handcrafting high-end pedals and amps to the delight of players for 30-plus years. With the Premier Gear Award-winning Bass 400, he paired his revered VTBP-201 tube preamp with a class-D power amp to deliver a rig that’s lighter on the back and pocketbook, yet remains plenty heavy in tone.
$999 street, demeteramps.com
Click here to read the full review
Reverend Descent H90 Baritone
Shawn Hammond ventured that the H90 might be the most versatile baritone electric on the market. With potent Railhammer pickups and sound-shaping features, including powerful tone and bass contour controls, it’s hard to argue against that assertion. The H90 is stout, affordable, and capable of sounds from fabulously fat to searing.
$999 street, reverendguitars.com
Click here to read the full review
Nace PRO-18 Tolex Combo
Our esteemed colleague Ted Drozdowski has done a gig or two in his time, so when he called the PRO-18 “a damn-near perfect gigging machine,” we figured this classy little EL84 tweedster had a thing or two going for it. And while Ted found the Nace capable of the rowdy brashness you’d expect from a Marshall-inspired circuit like this, he also found it capable of great nuance, and agreeable to guitars and pickups of every kind.
$1,799, naceamps.com
Click here to read the full review
DryBell Vibe Machine
Croatia’s DryBell did not dabble in half measures when they built this Shin Ei Uni-Vibe clone. The photocells at the heart of the pedal (a must for any real Uni-Vibe clone) are all carefully matched and tested. The extra work yields a fantastically rich and authentic Uni-Vibe-style stomp, complete with expression-pedal functionality.
$295 street, drybell.com
Click here to read the full review
Xotic RC-Booster SH
This groovin’ collaboration between fusion guru Scott Henderson and Xotic is a dual-channel version of the company’s flagship pedal, the RC Booster. Its two voices—a clear, warm transparent boost and a singing, saturated lead mode—both respond well to picking dynamics. The RCB-SH is ideal for players who are happy with their core tone, but seek a little extra kick to make their guitar stand out onstage.
$168 direct, xotic.us
Click here to read the full review
PRS SE 227 Baritone
We were not at all surprised when the PRS SE 227 turned out to be an exquisitely built and playable baritone electric—we’re used to that sort of thing from Paul Reed Smith. What really knocked us out was how sonically adaptable and varied the 227 turned out to be. With nuanced, low-output pickups that proved equally capable of delivering raging rock and softer, snappier fare, it’s one of the more multifaceted and value-packed baris we’ve run into in years.
$749 street, prsguitars.com
Click here to read the full review
MXR 5150 Overdrive
Promising any aspect of Eddie Van Halen’s tone in a box is tricky business. The dude is a magician and you don’t cop that kind of wizardry through circuits. But in terms of enabling the quest for Eddie-dom, it would be hard to find a more capable tool than the 5150 Overdrive. Sensitive, aggressive, and surprisingly tweakable, the feature-packed stomp offers a killer path to the brown sound and beyond.
$199 street, jimdunlop.com
Click here to read the full review
Ampeg PF-50T
The all-tube PF-50T might not be laden with bells and whistles, but this classic-looking head thoroughly impressed reviewer Steve Cook with its rich vintage warmth, handy dual DIs, and very attractive price for an amp of this caliber.
$899 street, ampeg.com
Click here to read the full review
Carr Lincoln
Joe Gore called Carr’s Lincoln a “freewheeling fantasia on Voxiness,” a description that’s not just reflective of the Carr’s design inspirations but also of its abundant color and personality. Like just about every Carr that’s crossed our transom, it’s beautifully built. But it’s the bounty of complex, rich, and rainbow-spectrum Brit-tones on tap that put us over the moon for the Lincoln.
$2,980 street, carramps.com
Click here to read the full review
Sire Marcus Miller V7
Sire stirred up more than a splash in the bass community with their sub-$500 Marcus Miller V7 this year. The tones, construction, and aesthetics impressed reviewer David Abdo so much that he bestowed very heavy praise: “In fact, it might be one of the best production J-style basses out there regardless of price.”
$499 street, sire-usa.com
Click here to read the full review
Catalinbread Katzenkönig
As Joe Gore pointed out in his review of the Katzenkönig, working with old circuits need not rule out creativity. The Katzenkönig proves the power of imaginative circuit DNA scrambling—mating the raw potency of Tone Bender MKII on the front end with the tone shaping power and thrust of a RAT on the output end. The result is tight, tough, explosive, surprisingly easy to wrangle, and above all refreshingly original.
$169 street, catalinbread.com
Click here to read the full review
RJM Mastermind PBC
On the surface, pedal switching seems like a very mechanical task, but RJM’s Mastermind PBC reveals how judiciously applied doses of digital functionality can expand the potential of an affordable switcher in really practical ways. With 768 possible presets, you’ll almost certainly run out of licks before you exhaust the compact RJM’s possibilities.
$999 street, rjmmusic.com
Click here to read the full review
Boss ES-8
Power, ease of use, and an accessible price. This wouldn’t be the first time we’d used this loose group of descriptors for a Boss product. But given all the ES-8 pedal switcher does (800 presets and deep programmability) and it’s affordability relative to the competition, the ES-8 is a great value and a killer foundation for any busy pedalboard.
$699 street, bossus.com
Click here to read the full review
Carl Martin Octa-Switch MK3
The Octa-Switch MK3 proved there’s still room for straightforward mechanical simplicity in the fast-evolving realm of pedal switching. With its intuitive operation, it’s especially suited to neophyte switcher users. And with a $427 price, it represents one of the best bang-for-the-buck propositions in the pedal switcher game.
$427 street, carlmartin.com
Click here to read the full review
Ernie Ball/Music Man St. Vincent
It’s no surprise that a guitarist as potent and delightfully irreverent as Annie Clark would help conceive an axe as potent and irreverent as her signature Ernie Ball/Music Man, the St. Vincent. The three mini-humbuckers add up to a multitude of possible voices, while the superb playability translates not just to comfort, but huge expressive possibilities.
$1,899 street, music-man.com
Click here to read the full review
Mesa/Boogie Subway D-800
Mesa’s highly anticipated entry into the lightweight class-D game did not disappoint reviewer Jordan Wagner, who was especially taken with the amp’s EQ. The smart-looking 800-watt powerhouse might weigh in at a slim 5 1/2 pounds, but as Wagner remarked, “Even with the input and master knobs conservatively set to 10 o’clock, the rig packed quite a wallop.”
$699 street, mesaboogie.com
Click here to read the full review
Dr. Z Z-Lux
In its all-gray-and-black guise, Dr. Z’s Z-Lux is an unassuming creature. But with 40 watts of quad-6V6 power, high headroom, versatile EQ, and onboard spring reverb and tube tremolo, it’s an ideal partner for modern players who love mid-’60s American amp vibe and lots of wiggle room for their effects.
$2,399 street, drzamps.com
Click here to read the full review
Dusky D₂O
The D₂O would probably walk away with the prize for “coolest-looking amp we tested all year.” But we discovered it also sounds every bit as killer as its pop-art look suggests. While the dual 6L6 power section suggests a blackface Fender clone, the D₂O delivered a Vox-like crunch that was fat with sustain, multifaceted, and delightfully full of surprises.
$1,500 street ($575 cabinet sold separately), duskyamp.com
Click here to read the full review
Thorpy FX Fallout Cloud
It’s a cliché to draw parallels between any English product and Her Majesty’s fave superspy, but in the case of the Thorpy Fallout Cloud (formerly known as the Muffroom Cloud), the mix of stylish tailoring, tough-as-nails build, and killer performance truly make it the 007 of Muff-inspired fuzzes. Indeed, Fallout Cloud sounds huge while maintaining a harmonic complexity and sophistication that’s worthy of Commander Bond himself.
$290 street, thorpyfx.com
Click here to read the full review
Chellee Odie Classic
The Odie Classic might be the Screamer-inspired overdrive for players who don’t like TS pedals. Reviewer Charles Saufley found it more open, oxygenated, and complex than his own vintage Tube Screamer (which he likes quite a bit). And at less than $150, it’s priced competitively with a lot of TS clones that can’t approach its wide-spectrum sonic profile.
$149 street, chellee.com
Click here to read the full review
Echopark F-1
David Von Bader called the F-1 “foolproof, musical, and explosive.” That’s good, given that there are only two knobs to control this primitive, but sonically cultivated little beast. But while the minimalistic F-1 may appear limited, it’s wildly adaptable. Gray it may be, but this Echopark is a fuzz for all seasons.
$230 street, echoparkguitars.com
Click here to read the full review
Korg Pitchblack Custom
Following in the footsteps of Korg’s successful Pitchblack tuner, the true-bypass Pitchblack Custom offers an improved detection range of +/- 0.1 cents, triple the battery life, a smaller enclosure, and a bigger display with four user-selectable meter modes. The Pitchblack Custom’s bright 3-D vertical strobe-like display instills confidence that this black box can handle its duties on the darkest stages.
$99 street, korg.com
Click here to read the full review
Tyyster Pelti 12-String
“Pelti” means sheet metal in Finnish, and that’s what luthier Ville Tyyster uses for the body of this immaculately built electric 12. If you love the crisp, jangly tones of classic 12-string electrics from Rickenbacker and Fender, the humbucker-equipped Pelti delivers in spades. But thanks to an internal contact mic, dual volume controls, and a stereo output, the Pelti offers exciting new sonic turf for hardcore jangle-holics to explore.
$4,570 street, sites.google.com/site/tyysterinkitarat/
Click here to read the full review
Bergantino Audio Systems B|Amp and HD112 & HD210 Cabinets
Already known for his standout bass cabinets, Jim Bergantino decided that the time was right to design his own amplifier. The resulting 700-watt B|Amp packs tons of tonal and operational features—most of which are governed by a quartet of knobs below the LCD display—into its 6 1/2 pound frame, and it received accolades aplenty from reviewer David Abdo for its loud, clean tone and sound-shaping ease. Paired with Bergantino HD112 and HD210 cabinets (also Premier Gear Award winners) that were praised for their “crushingly clean tone,” this rig proved to be the whole enchilada.
$1,399 street (B|AMP)
$729 street (HD112)
$829 street (HD210), bergantino.com
Click here to read the full review
Malekko Charlie Foxtrot
Borrowing elements of a sampler/looper, a delay, and a pitch shifter, Charlie Foxtrot almost defies categorization. Once you grasp how the controls interact, Charlie avails textures ranging from subtly warped pitch hiccups to beautifully bizarre 10-second loops. The pedal delivers the sort of delicious dementedness you can typically attain only through complicated digital gear, but in a functional format even numbskulls can grok.
$189 street, malekkoheavyindustry.com
Click here to read the full review
Line 6 Helix
An ambitious multi-effector with nearly 200 amp and pedal models, a built-in expression pedal, exceptional rear-panel connectivity, and large, bright, color-coded editing surfaces, Helix is an extraordinarily powerful recording and performing tool. Crafty guitarists might use it for composing and sound design, tracking to DAW via Helix’s quality convertors, gigging through a P.A., or bypassing Helix’s amp/cab simulations and playing through a conventional amp. Guitarists who like hanging out in the digital realm will be hard pressed to find a superior traveling companion.
$1,499 street, line6.com
Click here to read the full review
Boss VB-2W Waza Craft Vibrato
An enhanced version of the VB-2 Vibrato—a Boss pedal coveted for its relative rarity—the new VB-2W Waza Craft is a wonderfully quirky modulation device. Like the original, the VB-2W is an analog pitch wobbler, but it has a quieter circuit, a jack to control depth with an expression pedal, and two switchable voices. Those looking for unconventional sci-fi sonics will find them in the VB-2W.
$199 street, bossus.com
Click here to read the full review
BluGuitar Amp 1
A 100-watt, 4-channel amplifier that can be mounted on a pedalboard? Meet the Amp 1, an ingenious device that combines a tube-powered preamp with a solid-state class-D power amp. Amp 1’s tones range from darn good to ridiculously good, and the 3-band EQ section works beautifully in all modes. Though not dramatic, the digital reverb is rich, musical, and convincingly spring-like. Amp 1 is a triumph of both engineering and sound design.
$799 street, bluguitar.com
Click here to read the full review
Henriksen Bud
Jazz and fingerstyle players are likely to love this tiny (9" x 9" x 9") 135-watt, solid-state combo, but the dual-channel Bud has a lot to offer guitarists of almost any musical persuasion. The Bud’s flexible inputs and outputs, excellent reverb, potent 5-band EQ, and burly low end make it ideal for small gigs. Need a personal monitor, teaching-room tool, or micro-PA for a laptop or tablet? This Bud’s for you.
$1,099 street, henriksenamplifiers.com
Click here to read the full review
Strymon Dig Dual Digital Delay
With its two delays and flexible, interactive controls, Dig is a powerful echo-generating machine. It delivers the best of ’80s rack-device sounds, yet it feels as timeless as any echo unit out there. Triplet, eighth, dotted-eighth, and dotted-quarter settings let you dial in intriguing rhythmic repeats, and its three resolution settings and many “hidden” secondary functions means Dig adds up to more than meets the eye.
$299 street, strymon.net
Click here to read the full review
Fender American Elite Precision Bass
Reviewer Steve Cook discovered P-bass glory with the Fender American Elite model that’s outfitted with a noiseless P/J configuration and active electronics capable of covering a vast tonal landscape. Cook says, “Yes, plenty of basses are marketed as built for all styles of music, but the American Elite Precision can truly back this claim.” Superior tone, killer components, and an impressive build? That’ll seal the deal for a Premier Gear Award.
$1,799 street, fender.com
Click here to read the full review
3Leaf Audio Wonderlove
Players who dig the Mu-Tron III will adore Wonderlove, a potent envelope filter from Seattle’s 3Leaf Audio. It covers all the Mu-Tron III bases while adding controls to unlock sounds you can’t coax from a vintage unit. Well made and reasonably priced considering its quality hardware and design innovations—which include a built-in effects loop—Wonderlove nails expected envelope filter tones, plus many others.
$299 street, 3leafaudio.com
Click here to read the full review
Fender Bassbreaker 45
Early Marshall amps “borrowed” heavily from the Fender Bassman circuit, a point Fender underscores with their 2-channel Bassbreaker 45. The 45-watt 2x12 combo mates a vintage Fender-style circuit with a pair of EL34s to create a distinctly British flavor with lots of headroom. Equipped with powerful 70-watt Celestion G12s, a hefty transformer, an attenuator, and a clever scheme for connecting the dual channels in series, this amp delivers classic tones at a cost-conscious price.
$999 street, fender.com
Click here to read the full review
JColoccia ID
When you set the controls on the JColoccia ID overdrive at neutral positions, it’s a sonic dead ringer for a vintage Tube Screamer. But unlike most 808 clones, the ID delivers a genuinely useful, expanded EQ section that lets you dial in more air, more punch, and more radical tones than you’ll get out of any 3-knob Tube Screamer. This sonically flexible pedal offers a satisfying way to dirty up your world.
$169 street, jcolocciaguitars.com
Click here to read the full review
Mojo Hand FX Sacred Cow
Mojo Hand Sacred Cow is one of the best Klon-inspired pedals we’ve seen in recent years, and it’s more than a slavish copy of this well-codified sonic template. The Sacred Cow’s most obvious enhancement is its lean/fatty switch. Lean settings are “normal,” while fatty settings lend low-end heft that gives flexibility to players who switch between single-coils and humbuckers. For Klon tones at an accessible price, the Sacred Cow is tough to top.
$179 street, mojohandfx.com
Click here to read the full review
Taylor 562ce 12-Fret 12-String
The 562ce gushes gloriously rich tones and plays like a dream. Its mahogany Grand Concert body has an elegant Venetian cutaway that affords easy access to all 18 frets, despite the 12th-fret body joint. With its flawless workmanship and factory setup, low and fast action, hyper-accurate intonation, unreal sustain, and Expression System 2 electronics, the 562ce is an instrument of refined delicacy that makes fingerstyle playing an utter delight.
$2,699 street, taylorguitars.com
Click here to read the full review
Marshall JCM 25/50 2555X Silver Jubilee
Produced only in 1987, original Marshall Silver Jubilee amps now fetch ridiculous sums. Marshall has heeded the clamor with the new JCM 25/50 2555X Silver Jubilee. While the 2555X boasts several design changes, in most critical ways it’s a faithful recreation of the original. Powered by four EL34s, the amp delivers 100 watts in triode mode and 50 watts in pentode. It boasts responsive EQ controls, heavenly clean tones, and a hot-rodded JCM800 vibe.
$1,899 street (head); $1,299 street (cabinet), marshallamps.com
Click here to read the full review
Schroeder SA9+
While some may argue the potential effect of say, a single capacitor in an amp or pedal, the SA9+ reveals how good the sum of many great components and an inspired, well-executed build can sound. Powered by twin KT66s, the amp’s superior headroom means very sweet clean tones, but the 40-watt head also makes a very responsive blank slate for pedals ranging from modulation to the most aggressive fuzz.
$3,950, schroederamplification.com
Click here to read the full review
SolidGold FX Horizon
The beauty of the Horizon optical compressor? How it goes beyond basic compression. Yes, it can handle the most pedestrian compression tasks if you keep those attack and comp settings at the lowest levels. But the real treat is the swelling, super-squished, and downright psychedelic approximations of tape manipulation and studio-chain compression you can get via three knobs.
$175, solidgoldfx.com
Click here to read the full review
Ibanez Analog Chorus Mini
Ibanez’s Mini series has produced hit after hit so far, and with its warm, liquid modulations, the Analog Chorus Mini reveals how adept Ibanez designers have become at stuffing their best analog effects into petite packages. At 99 bucks, and with a footprint not much bigger than a Matchbox car, it’s one of this year’s price-to-performance ratio champions!
$99, ibanez.com
Click here to read the full review
Fender American Elite Telecaster
The Telecaster is nearing 70 years old. But it’s a long, long way from retirement. In fact, the American Elite Telecaster reveals not just how freaking perfect the Telecaster is as a guitar design, but how much wiggle room there still is for tweaking. Fast, comfortable, and overflowing with sustain, the American Elite is a bold proclamation of how the granddaddy of solidbody electrics remains alive and vital.
$1,799 street, fender.com
Click here to read the full review
Peavey Classic 30
The latest addition to Peavey’s Classic series, this all-tube 30-watt 1x12 combo has enough versatility to handle virtually any playing situation. With two foot-switchable channels and four EL84s, the Classic 30 covers a wide sonic territory, and its shared 3-knob EQ and spring reverb make it easy to dial in everything from sparkling surf to roadhouse rock. An effects loop and switchable boost are welcome additions to this affordable, rugged stage amp.
$699 street, peavey.com
Click here to read the full review
Alexander La Calavera Phaser
Though it’s digital, La Calavera sounds and operates like a great analog phaser. It’s no more difficult to use than a vintage Boss phaser, but its tonal range is far greater. La Calavera strikes a savvy compromise between power and simplicity, and all the controls offer deliciously musical ranges and tapers, which makes it incredibly easy to create compelling sounds in the pedal’s three operating modes. And hey, it looks rad too.
$189 street, alexanderpedals.com
Click here to read the full review
Source Audio Nemesis Delay
With seven knobs, two switches, two push buttons, two footswitches, and a raft of I/Os, the Nemesis digital delay may look imposing, but dialing in personal variations on classic and newfangled echo sounds is actually intuitive and fun. Nemesis can dish authentic slapback or perform precise sound-sculpting functions, and it’s a joy to explore the musical possibilities between those extremes. An easy-to-use editor app makes this powerful standalone delay even more versatile.
$299 street, sourceaudio.net
Click here to read the full review
EarthQuaker Devices Spatial Delivery
Don’t let Spatial Delivery’s simple layout fool you—this envelope filter is capable of countless cool tones. Thanks to a clever multi-mode filter, you can create new sounds in a fraction of the time required by more complex filter effects, and it’s easy to dial in just the right response to suit your touch. The versatile controls are beautifully calibrated, the sound quality is superb, and the price is right for a handmade pedal.
$195 street, earthquakerdevices.com
Click here to read the full review
Ibanez TSA5TVR Tube Screamer Amp
The 6V6-driven Ibanez TSA5TVR Tube Screamer amp—which, as you might have guessed, has an onboard Tube Screamer circuit—is a 5-watt, 1x8 combo that excels at blues-rock leads, grinding power chords, ’60s garage fuzz, and Led Zeppelin-style leads. And how about that two-tone vinyl that looks lifted from a ’57 DeSoto Fireflite? Throw in a subtle but lush Accutronics spring reverb and you have the perfect amp for recording or playing intimate club gigs.
$399 street, ibanez.com
Click here to read the full review
Come with us time travelers, as we revisit a year’s worth of axes, amps, stomps, basses, baritones, and other tools of our music-making trade—all deemed worthy of the Premier Gear Award. This year’s list is as diverse as ever: Classics revisited, shred machines made affordable, fuzzes refined and made more fiendish, amps that blast and purr, basses that boom, and time-warping delays and reverbs that mock astronomers’ notions about the cosmos. From manufacturers big and small, these delights await you in the pages ahead. Enjoy the voyage.
Some names you’ve heard, others maybe not. But they all have a unique voice on the instrument.
Intermediate
Intermediate
• Open your ears to new influences.
• Understand how to create interlocking rhythm parts.
• Develop a new appreciate for the rhythmic complexity of Wayne Krantz, the effortless bebop of Biréli Lagrène, and the driving force that is David Williams.
The guitar has been a major factor in so many styles of music over the last 70 years, and any experienced musician can tell you that playing any one of those styles with authenticity takes countless hours of dedication. As we learn the instrument, we seek out music that we find inspiring to help guide us toward our voice. The legends we all know in the guitar pantheon have inspired millions of players. In my musical journey over the years, I’ve always been thrilled to discover unique musicians who never attained the same recognition as their more famous counterparts. With so much music at our disposal these days, I thought this group of guitarists deserved a little more spotlight. The inspiration and knowledge they have provided me were paramount in my development, and I wouldn’t be the player I am without them.
Biréli Lagrène’s Bombastic Bop
Standards was the first jazz guitar record I really listened to, and his playing on this entire album is devastating. There is so much groove, joy, and ferocity in every note. The way he lays ideas out on the fretboard made a lot of sense to me, his rhythms were intentional and clear, and it was surprisingly easy to dig into as a rock guitarist at the time. He has an extensive catalog of jazz, gypsy jazz, and fusion records with some of the best in the world, and he’s also a killer bass player who can sing just like Frank Sinatra! Ex. 1 is over the first eight measures of “Stella by Starlight.” I stole so much vocabulary from this solo that I can still play bits from memory 20 years later. Lagrène’s treatment of two-measure chunks to play his ideas was significantly helpful. Whether it was an engaging rhythmic phrase, constant eighth-notes, or just cramming in as much as he could, I stopped worrying so much about catching every chord change after I learned this one.
Ex. 1
Stella by Starlight
Old-School Swing!
George Barnes is a unique jazz guitarist who was a contemporary of Charlie Christian, Johnny Smith, and Django. A significant part of his early work was writing and arranging for radio and television, for NBC, and he also wrote the very first electric guitar method book in 1942. A friend in Austin gave me two CDs of his: a collection of his playing from the Plantation Party radio show and an overview of his octet recordings. The octet recordings sound like unhinged cartoon music with guitar and orchestral instruments and are highly enjoyable. Ex. 2 is a line I lifted from a recording of him playing “Ain’t Misbehavin.” It was one of the hippest endings I have ever heard on a jazz tune, and although I can’t find the recording anywhere, I still use it all the time. I love the intention in George Barnes’ playing. Swinging and mischievous, he always sounds like he was having fun.
Ex. 2
The George Barnes Sextet - Lover, Come Back to Me
“Thrilling” Rhythm Solos
David Williams is one of the greatest rhythm players of all time. He is responsible for most of the memorable guitar moments on Michael Jackson’s records, and all his parts have an infectious nature. He is the primary reason I got interested in rhythm guitar, and he is still an inspiration on that front. One of my favorite examples of his playing is the breakdown in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” (where Vincent Price does the rap). His signature thunderous right-hand approach to single-note rhythm parts is in full effect, and the natural accents between the two rhythm parts are infectious on their own but weave perfectly together. Ex. 3 is my interpretation of two interlocking parts in this style. He’s said in interviews that his concept as a player was to develop “rhythm solos” that could stand out front in a song, and this is a perfect example of that.
Ex. 3
Thriller
(Better than) Average Riffs
Though Hamish Stuart is most known for being an original member of the Average White Band, the singer/guitarist/composer/producer also did extensive work with heavyweights such as George Benson, Paul McCartney, Chaka Khan, and Aretha Franklin. Though AWB was still working until 1983, Hamish was doing sessions with various artists as a sideman in the early ’80s, including this excerpt from “Move Me No Mountain” off Chaka Khan’s Naughty from 1980 (Ex. 4). I’ve always loved the interplay between these two parts, range-wise and rhythmically. The lower pick line hits some unusual 16th-note placements, and the higher dyads have a churn to them that is amazing. Both parts together feel different rhythmically from anything I have ever heard but sound so cool and unique.
Ex. 4
Chaka Khan - Move Me No Mountain
Wayne Krantz
Wayne Krantz is one of those guys that hit me like a lightning bolt. Upon hearing him, I felt like I had “permission” to play more with the fingers of my right hand, use jagged and intentional rhythms, and above all, to play more naturally. Wayne has always played like himself. His control over rhythm and articulation alone is legendary, not to mention the vast body of unique work he has created. Ex. 5 is an excerpt from the only solo I ever learned of his, from “Infinity Split” off 1999’s Greenwich Mean. I love this solo because it is incredibly engaging rhythmically and melodically, but almost 100 percent inside the harmony. This solo taught me more about rhythmic placement and articulation than anything.
Ex. 5
Wayne Krantz - Infinity Split
Though I could only grab a certain percentage of these guys’ “vocabulary,” learning these parts over the years helped me find my sound. The result was an attempt to emulate some of their musicality in my way, rather than outright imitating them. Anything you hear that grabs your interest is probably worth sitting down and figuring out. While we might not mention the guitarists above alongside Hendrix or Van Halen, they have all done their part to put a brick in the cathedral, furthering music, and the instrument.
Seven previously-unheard Bruce Springsteen records will be released for the first time this summer with “Tracks II: The Lost Albums,” coming June 27.
A set spanning 83 songs, "The Lost Albums" fill in rich chapters of Springsteen’s expansive career timeline — while offering invaluable insight into his life and work as an artist. “'The Lost Albums' were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed and not released,” said Springsteen. “I’ve played this music to myself and often close friends for years now. I’m glad you’ll get a chance to finally hear them. I hope you enjoy them.”
From the lo-fi exploration of “LA Garage Sessions ’83” — serving as a crucial link between “Nebraska” and “Born in the U.S.A.” — to the drum loop and synthesizer sounds of “Streets of Philadelphia Sessions,” “The Lost Albums” offer unprecedented context into 35 prolific years (1983-2018) of Springsteen’s songwriting and home recording. “The ability to record at home whenever I wanted allowed me to go into a wide variety of different musical directions,” Springsteen explained. Throughout the set, that sonic experimentation takes the form of film soundtrack work (for a movie that was never made) on “Faithless,” country combos with pedal steel on “Somewhere North of Nashville,” richly-woven border tales on “Inyo” and orchestra-driven, mid-century noir on “Twilight Hours.” Alongside the announcement of “The Lost Albums,” a first look at the collection also arrives today with “Rain In The River” — which comes from the lost album “Perfect World,” and encapsulates that project’s arena-ready E Street flavor.
“The Lost Albums”will arrive in limited-edition nine LP, seven CD and digital formats — including distinctive packaging for each previously-unreleased record, with a 100-page cloth-bound, hardcover book featuring rare archival photos, liner notes on each lost album from essayist Erik Flannigan and a personal introduction on the project from Springsteen himself. A companion set — “Lost And Found: Selections from The Lost Albums” — will feature 20 highlights from across the collection, also arriving June 27 on two LPs or one CD. “The Lost Albums” were compiled by Springsteen with producer Ron Aniello, engineer Rob Lebret and supervising producer Jon Landau at Thrill Hill Recording in New Jersey.
For more information, please visit brucespringsteen.net.
Tracks II: The Lost Albums
LA Garage Sessions ’83
1. Follow That Dream
2. Don’t Back Down On Our Love
3. Little Girl Like You
4. Johnny Bye Bye
5. Sugarland
6. Seven Tears
7. Fugitive’s Dream
8. Black Mountain Ballad
9. Jim Deer
10. County Fair
11. My Hometown
12. One Love
13. Don’t Back Down
14. Richfield Whistle
15. The Klansman
16. Unsatisfied Heart
17. Shut Out The Light
18. Fugitive’s Dream (Ballad)
Streets of Philadelphia Sessions
1. Blind Spot
2. Maybe I Don’t Know You
3. Something In The Well
4. Waiting On The End Of The World
5. The Little Things
6. We Fell Down
7. One Beautiful Morning
8. Between Heaven and Earth
9. Secret Garden
10. The Farewell Party
Faithless
1. The Desert (Instrumental)
2. Where You Goin’, Where You From
3. Faithless
4. All God’s Children
5. A Prayer By The River (Instrumental)
6. God Sent You
7. Goin’ To California
8. The Western Sea (Instrumental)
9. My Master’s Hand
10. Let Me Ride
11. My Master’s Hand (Theme)
Somewhere North of Nashville
1. Repo Man
2. Tiger Rose
3. Poor Side of Town
4. Delivery Man
5. Under A Big Sky
6. Detail Man
7. Silver Mountain
8. Janey Don’t You Lose Heart
9. You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone
10. Stand On It
11. Blue Highway
12. Somewhere North of Nashville
Inyo
1. Inyo
2. Indian Town
3. Adelita
4. The Aztec Dance
5. The Lost Charro
6. Our Lady of Monroe
7. El Jardinero (Upon the Death of Ramona)
8. One False Move
9. Ciudad Juarez
10. When I Build My Beautiful House
Twilight Hours
1. Sunday Love
2. Late in the Evening
3. Two of Us
4. Lonely Town
5. September Kisses
6. Twilight Hours
7. I’ll Stand By You
8. High Sierra
9. Sunliner
10. Another You
11. Dinner at Eight
12. Follow The Sun
Perfect World
1. I’m Not Sleeping
2. Idiot’s Delight
3. Another Thin Line
4. The Great Depression
5. Blind Man
6. Rain In The River
7. If I Could Only Be Your Lover
8. Cutting Knife
9. You Lifted Me Up
10. Perfect World
Bruce Springsteen - Tracks II: The Lost Albums Trailer - YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.The guitarist-of-all-trades runs us through his formidable live rig.
Rhett Schull’s a busy guy. Between being one of the most prolific YouTubers in the guitar sphere, working as a trusted hired gun, and creating his own original music, including last year’s EP The Early Days, he’s an avid cyclist. Just a week before we met up with Rhett at Eastside Bowl in Madison, Tennessee, for this Rig Rundown, he was slated to ride a 100-mile race in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Those plans were dashed when 70-mile-an-hour winds stoked a wildfire near town and burned just over 26,000 acres. But the show must go on: The next night, Schull played a gig in town, a special release for people reeling from a brutal natural disaster.
Schull’s a certified gear aficionado and tone wizard, so PG’s Chris Kies headed to Eastside Bowl to have him walk us through his current live rig. Check out the Rundown here, and stay tuned; Schull’s got more music coming later this year.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
Special Serus
Schull’s wife pointed out this Novo Serus J hanging on the wall of a guitar shop back in 2017, and it was love at first strum. Made from tempered pine and loaded with Amalfitano P-90 pickups, plus sporting an unmissable pink sparkle polyurethane finish, it’s a real looker, and one of Schull’s favorite guitars.
Third Man Thumper
After Schull did a video on the Fender Jack White Pano Verb amplifier, Fender sent him a Jack White Triplecaster Telecaster, part of his signature series of gear with Fender launched last year. Schull calls it one of the most versatile guitars he owns, with each of the three pickup options virtually splitting it into three separate guitars.
Firebird-Watching
This beauty from Gibson’s Custom Shop came to Schull following NAMM in 2020. On tour, he needs something with humbuckers and something with single-coils. Then, he thinks of what’s exciting him. These days, it’s this Firebird V, which doesn’t have a typical Firebird tone, but cuts closer to something like a Telecaster at times.
Rockin' Two With a Two-Rock
Schull runs two amps onstage, but he doesn’t run them in stereo; he believes the stereo image doesn’t translate as well in a live situation where listeners are spread across the speaker system’s field. With this Two-Rock Classic Reverb Signature and an AC15-ish David Edwards Apollo, Schull gets a “broadband” sound set for big, fat clean tones, like one giant amp on the edge of breakup.
Fun fact: Edwards surprised Schull with the Apollo when Rhett went to Florida to work on some videos.
Rhett Schull's Pedalboard
Schull’s 2024 EP is very effects-heavy, so he commissioned the pedalboard-whisperers at XAct Tone Solutions to build him this double-decker station based around an RJM Mastermind PBC/6X switcher. Some of the stomps, like the Chase Bliss Mood, are activated by MIDI, and all the different sounds from each song—from intro to chorus to bridge to finish—is set up in the RJM. If Rhett wants to go off script, he can hit the function button, which lets him engage pedals on a one-by-one basis. A Line 6 HX One is a “wildcard” pedal in this rig, filling in gaps as needed.
In addition to those machines, the rig includes a Chase Bliss Dark World, GFI System Synesthesia, Hologram Electronics Chroma Console, Boss Space Echo RE-202, GFI System Duophony (which mixes the Dark World and Synesthesia), Chase Bliss Automatone Preamp MkII (used for boost, EQ, fuzz, or overdrive depending on the song), Old Blood Noise Endeavors Beam Splitter, Source Audio ZIO, Memory Lane Electronics Tone Bender clone, and a Mythos Argonaut. A mysterious Japan-made Noel dirt pedal, finished in striking red and gifted to Shull by JHS Pedals’ Josh Scott, rounds out the collection. Utility boxes include a TC Electronic PolyTune3 Noir, Lehle Little Dual, a pair of Strymon Ojai power supplies, and a bigger Strymon Zuma supply.
Sterling by Music Man introduces the Joe Dart Artist Series Collection, featuring the Dart I, II, and III basses.
The original Dart I features the Sterling-shaped body with a single humbucker and volume knob. The Dart II, featuring the beloved Ernie Ball Music Man Caprice body, swaps the humbucker fortwo single-coil pickups, each with its own volume knob for precise, hum-free control. Completing the trilogy, the Dart III is a short-scale StingRay bass with a split single-coil pickup and single volume knob.
A blank canvas, the bass collection embodies the no-frills philosophy of the original Ernie BallMusic Man design—everything you need and nothing you don’t. All three basses are equipped with passive electronics, Ernie Ball flatwound strings, and are available in Natural or Black finishes. No tone knobs here.
“Jack Stratton and I are thrilled to team up once again with Sterling by Music Man to build affordable versions of the three best basses I've ever held in my hands. The JoeDart I, II, and III represent three different sounds and feels, three different eras of bass,and three different shades of my own work as a bassist,” said Dart. “The feel of these instruments is incredible, and the quality would be remarkable at any price point.”
This is a special “Timed Edition” release, only available for pre-order on the Sterling by MusicMan website for two months. Each bass is made to order, with the window closing on May 31st and shipping starting in September. The back of the headstock will be marked with a “2025Crop” stamp to commemorate the harvest year for this special, one-of-a-kind release. A gig bag will be included with each purchase.
All basses are priced at $499.00
For more information, please visit sterlingbymusicman.com.