Tag: May 2016

Gear Review: Krivo’s Django Bucker and Nuevo Single Coil Pickups Sparkle with Gypsy-Jazz Tone

For fans who wanted that singing, sometimes slightly distorted sound, tracking down the original Stimer magnetic pickups that Django Reinhardt used was all but impossible.

Greg Olwell
November 4, 2016

Freakwater Returns with Songs that Feel Old and Grim and Magical on ‘Scheherazade’

Their first album in 11 years is at least as good as anything they’ve ever done, and probably better.

Kenny Berkowitz
May 17, 2016

The Stray Birds: Taking Wing With Guitar Strings

The Stray Birds began in 2010 as a duo, after de Vitry returned from Spain to her hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. There, she met Craven, and the two began writing and playing together at an open mic in nearby Marietta.

Pat Moran
March 24, 2016

Peter Frampton standing with acoustic guitar. Photo by Gregg Roth

Frampton Comes Unplugged

For his latest album, Peter Frampton decided to pull out all the plugs on a totally acoustic set of 11 reworked classics from his 1970s solo records.

Mark Kemp
March 23, 2016

Video Lesson: How to Play in Waltz Time, from ‘Edelweiss’ to ‘Sweet Baby James’

Songs in 3/4 can sound sweet on acoustic guitar, especially when you go beyond a basic one-two-three waltz rhythm and take a more nuanced approach to picking patterns, chord voicings, and bass lines.

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
March 17, 2016

New Gear: Solomon Phidelity Gives a Nod to Classic Acoustic Guitars of Yore [VIDEO]

While it is the descendant of instruments usually associated with swing and bop, virtually any style that you can play on a flattop could be rendered on this guitar.

Adam Levy
March 17, 2016

New Gear: Taylor’s 858E and 552CE 12-Fret

Taylor’s 858e and 552ce offer effortless playability Twelve-string guitars are notoriously tricky instruments, particularly in terms of playability and intonation, and it can be hard to find a great one, though Taylor has earned a good reputation for its 12-strings. So it’s satisfying to make the acquaintance of not one,…

Adam Perlmutter
March 17, 2016

The Basics: Master Monotonic Bass Fingerpicking In the Style of Mance Lipscomb and Lightnin’ Hopkins

Monotonic bass fingerpicking is a solo guitarist’s technique for improvising blues in a down-home, back-porch vein.

David Hamburger
March 16, 2016

Jeff Gunn plays percussive acoustic guitar.

Video Lesson: Develop a Percussive Approach to Guitar

One of the most exciting developments in acoustic guitar performance in recent years has been an emphasis on percussive elements.

Jeff Gunn
March 10, 2016