Guitar Player

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TRIPLE MASTERS

Guitar Player • Vol. 57 No. 11 NOVEMBER 2023

POSTWAR BOOM • Fender’s ’48 Dual Professional combo lives again in a near-original reissue, courtesy of Mr. Joe Bonamassa.

BLUES KEEP CALLING • Selwyn Birchwood plays like a man possessed. On Exorcist, he proves he’s firmly in command of his talents.

TIP SHEET • What makes Alex Skolnick a consummate guitarist? These five tips have a lot to do with it.

MY CAREER IN FIVE SONGS • As he returns to the road after a fight with cancer, Dave Alvin reflects on the songs that defined his time with the Blasters.

The Crowning Touch • First offered publicly in 1956, Fender guitars in custom color finishes command a king’s ransom on today’s vintage market.

No Ass-Kicking Allowed • Noel Boggs kills with kindness — and a kiss — on Magic Steel Guitar.

Noble Prize • Rare and well made, this 1968 Teisco May Queen is a Japanese import worth a princely sum.

HOT TUNA’S ELECTRIC FAREWELL • When Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady wrap this fall’s tour, Hot Tuna’s plugged-in performances will be a thing of the past.

A Devil for the Details • He made rockabilly cool again and revitalized big band in the era of grunge. As he drops his latest rockabilly rave-up, The Devil Always Collects, rock and roll maverick Brian Setzer reveals what drives his boundless creativity and shares a shedload of the guitar gear behind his music.

DARK GREEN • As Metallica hit the road in support of 72 Seasons, Kirk Hammett tells us how Peter Green’s famous “Greeny” ’59 Les Paul has changed his thinking — and playing — since the guitar has been in his care.

SHAKE YOUR MONEYMAKER • Following a pair of five-figure Custom versions, here’s the everyman Greeny. But is it a valid introduction or a slightly pimped version of an existing Les Paul?

UNDER THE HOOD • What’s inside, and what’s going on 
with those Greenybuckers?

MATTEO MANCUSO IS LIGHT YEARS AHEAD OF US ALL • When it comes to improvisation, Italy’s fingerstyle fusion maestro leaves the best players in the dust. Says Al Di Meola, “It would take two, three lifetimes to catch up with him.”

ABANDON TO THE SPIRIT • “All of a sudden, you’re on a tightrope!” As he reunites his Indo-jazz supergroup Shakti for a new album and tour, John McLaughlin expounds on harmony, rhythm and the power of improvisation.

JUMP, JIVE AN’ WAIL • A tribute to Brian Setzer’s guitar mastery and unique blend of nearly forgotten musical styles and classic, time-honored playing techniques.

THE BENDS • Outside the box ideas for making string bending easier on an acoustic guitar.

PRS • Myles Kennedy Signature

NILE RODGERS AT THE FLICK OF A SWITCH • Myles Kennedy tells Guitar Player how PRS rose to his challenges with his signature model.

ACOUSTIC CONTROL • Gamma Effects Pedals

L.R. BAGGS • HiFi High-Fidelity Acoustic Bridge Plate Pickup System

SOMA LABORATORY • Cosmos Drifting Memory Station

KRK • GoAux 3” Personal Monitors

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How I Wrote… “She’s So Young” • Moe Berg looks back to the birth of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 1988 international power-pop hit.