Acoustic Summer 2015

WIN! A C.F. MARTIN & CO.
D-35 STANDARD EDITION WORTH 2,000

ISSUE 106 SUMMER 2015
www.acousticmagazine.com
The UKs only dedicated acoustic monthly. Only 4.95
AMERICAN BEAUTY
THE MARTIN D-35 TURNS 50
ZANE CARNEY
LIFE ON AND OFF THE
ROAD WITH JOHN MAYER
RYAN BINGHAM
OSCAR WINNER ON FINDING

SOLITUDE IN MUSIC
RYLEY WALKER
THE FAR-OUT FOLK SOUND
OF PRIMROSE GREEN
THE SHIRES
THE UK COUNTRY DUO

TAKING THE US BY STORM
ISSUE 106 SUMMER 2015 UK 4.95
27
9 771745 446040
106
!
GEAR ON TEST: MARTIN D-35 + D-35E RETRO + VINTAGE VIATEN + BEARD RESONATOR + BOURGEOIS AGED TONE SERIES + LARRIVE OM-03WW
>
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A LITTLE
Issue 106 Summer 2015
Editor: Guy Little
Email: guy@blazepublishing.co.uk
Sub-editor: Nick Robbins
Advertising Sales Manager: Florence Thornton-Weeks
Email: florencetw@blazepublishing.co.uk
Tel: 01926 339808
Design: Chris Sweeney
Advert Design: Jessica Riley
Studio Gear Photography: Eckie
Cover Photography: Eckie
Columnists: Raymond Burley, Clive Carroll, Mike Dawes,
Richard Gilewitz, Chris Gibbons, Gordon Giltrap, Daniel
Ho, Leon Hunt, Thomas Leeb, David Mead, Matt Stevens,
Chris Woods.
Writers: Paul Brett, Stephen Bennett, Graham
Hazelwood, Andy Hughes, Leon Hunt, Guy Little,
Alun Lower, Joel McIver, David Mead, Julian Piper, Teri
Saccone, Nick Robbins, Paul Strange, Richard Thomas,
Tom Christopher, Sam Wise.
Published By: Blaze Publishing Ltd. Lawrence House,
Morrell Street, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32 5SZ
Distribution: Distributed to the news trade by Comag
Magazine Marketing, West Drayton, Middlesex, UB7 7QE
Operations Director: James Folkard
Assistant Publisher: Ruth Burgess
Publisher: Wes Stanton
Accounts: Dave Deo
Marketing Manager: Sara Farmanfarmai
Subscription Rates: UK 71.40
For all subscription offers and overseas prices visit
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subscriptions hotline on 01926 339808.
Copyright Blaze Publishing Ltd 2015.
Printed in the UK.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system
or integrated into any other publication, database or
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of the publishers in writing. Under no circumstances
should this publication and its contents be sold, loaned
out or used by way of trade, or stored or transmitted as
an electronic file without the publishers prior approval.
Disclaimer:
While Blaze Publishing Ltd prides itself on the quality of
the information its publications provide, the company
reserves the right not to be held legally responsible for
any mistakes or inaccuracies found within the text of
this publication. Acoustic magazine is an independent
publication and as such does not necessarily reflect
the views or opinions of manufacturers or distributors
of the products contained within. All trademarks are
acknowledged.
Acoustic magazine is proud to support the Music

Industries Association.
WORD
THE WORKING MANS DREAD
orn in 1965 from the impending

shortage of Brazilian rosewood,
the C.F. Martin & Co. D-35 quickly
became one of the most popular
dreadnoughts of a generation and, thanks to
new models and innovations, it will continue
to be a staple of the Martin guitar line for
generations to come.
Despite being labelled the working mans
dreadnought, the Martin D-35 found its way
into the hands of some of the most distinguished
songwriters on the planet: Johnny Cash, Elvis,
David Gilmour, Neil Diamond, Judy Collins,
and Van Morrison among others. The design
of the D-35 represented an innovative solution
to a supply problem Martin had been using
Brazilian rosewood on its guitars for over 130
years, but by the mid-60s, the availability of
the tonewood was fast diminishing. By using
wedges and wings to build the three-piece
back on the instruments, Martin could utilise
the pieces of wood that usually wouldnt be big
enough for guitar making.
When I was 10 years old, in 1965, the
company realised that the supply of Brazilian
rosewood was in jeopardy, Chris Martin IV
tells me. Theres very little Brazilian rosewood
left today, but we have a small cache of it and
decided to commemorate the 50th anniversary
of the D-35 by making a limited edition 50th
anniversary guitar with Brazilian rosewood
called the Brazilian D-35 100 of these will be
made. On top of that, every D-35 made in 2015
will have a label recognising the milestone. Well
also laser etch the D-35 Turns 50 logo onto the
heel block inside the guitar. Thats a permanent

indicator of how special these guitars are and an
indicator of where folk music and rock music
met by the mid-60s, musicians were jumping
between the two genres and between electric
and acoustic guitars. And 50 years later, the
D-35 is still one of our best selling guitars.
To celebrate the D-35s birthday, as well as
the 100 Brazilian D-35 models, Martin has
released the D-35 50th Anniversary Limited
Edition featuring a European spruce top, the
Martin Vintage Tone System, and East Indian
rosewood back and sides and this is the one
well likely see in the UK stores as the rules
around shipping Brazilian rosewood gets a little
tricky, as we know.
In this issue, were commending the iconic
three-piece back dreadnought from Martin. We
laid our hands on the D-35 Standard Edition, the
D-35E Retro, and a wonderful Brazilian D-35
from 1968 which proudly leads the way on the
cover of this issue. Inside, youll find reviews on
the Standard and Retro editions, as well as an
interview with Chris Martin IV, a feature on
the 68 model, and a complete rundown of the
guitars history.
But do the others sound as good as the 68
model? I hear you screaming at me. Well, Im
not going to give the game away on page five,
am I?
Guy Little
Editor
CHECK US OUT ON:

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TEL: 01926 339808 FAX: 01926 470400 EMAIL: subs@blazepublishing.co.uk
SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS ON PAGE 42
REVIEW
ON
THIS MONTHS
neW musiC
CD...
Presents...
01
Megan
HenWood
Fall and Fade
Following their sell out

performances of The Lock
In, The Demon Barbers return
with new repertoire, extra band
members and a modern twist. Featuring some of the UKs most
exciting young clog, sword, hip-hop and break dancers they are
guaranteed to deliver the folk music and dance spectacular of the
year! Its as if theyve found the key to unlock the idea of 21st
century folk-rock revealing that these days rock isnt part of the
equation at allAnd its wonderful. fRoots.
n www.meganhenwood.com
n www.thedemonbarbers.co.uk
n www.facebook.com/meganhenwoodmusic
n www.facebook.com/thedemonbarbers
n@meganhenwood
n@thedemonbarbers
06
Kate
doUbleday
orChard
Kate Doubleday was born in

1969 to an Irish mother and
a father from Lancashire. She
grew up listening to the
travelling stories of her late Irish grandfather, Kelso, inspiring
her to become a singer-songwriter. In 1989 she travelled to
West Africa to explore the rich and vibrant musical landscape,
drawing many influences to her songwriting. This has led her to
release Renewal (2003), Belonging (2008) and Pied Flycatcher
(2011) on her own independent label, Copper Records
Flutter is Kates eagerly awaited new album produced by the
acclaimed Martin Levan (John Martyn, June Tabor).
BEST NEW
ACOUSTIC MUSIC
6
acoustic magazine SUMMER 2015
07
JoHn
bRindle
seCrets
John Brindle is a solo

singer-songwriter living
in Durham. Songwriting is
his passion. I like words
and music that not only entertain, but resonate with listeners.
Words And Music is my fourth album. I play a Martin OM28V
and my trusty 1993 Lowden O10. Im a solid fingerstyle
player, but theres always room for improvement! The
singer songwriter boom of the late 1960s and early 1970s
inspired me. CSNY, Jackson Browne and James Taylor are
big influences. I recorded the songs live in the studio before
adding my own harmonies. The future? To keep writing and
embrace opportunities.
n www.katedoubleday.com
n www.facebook.com/katedoubledaymusic
11
OF THE MONTHS
tHe deMon
baRbeRs
ranZo
The second album from

Oxfordshire-based singersongwriter Megan Henwood
is going to cause problems
for anyone who likes their new music to fit into neat little boxes.
Henwood has worked on the album with her brother, Joe, with
whom she won the BBCs Young Folk Award in 2009, but while
Head, Heart, Hand taps in to various long-standing musical
traditions, its not a record you can simply label as folk. The
painstakingly crafted songs recall soul, blues and pop.
n@katedday
15 TRACKS
02
n www.johnbrindlemusic.co.uk
WHiteHoRse
sWeet disaster
Taken from their

new album Leave No Bridge
Unburned (Six Shooter
Records), Canadian husband
and wife duo Luke Doucet
and Melissa McClelland tap into the American south with
their new single Sweet Disaster. The track channels slinky,
stylized Bond themes and 60s RnB. The song is about space,
time and love, nestled in an idea about a one-way ticket to
planet Mars. Previous album The Fate Of The World Depends
on This Kiss was nominated for Polaris Short List (2013)
and the band have been championed by BBC Radio 2s Bob
Harris.
12
peteR
KnigHts
gigspanneR
boWs oF
london
Since his departure

from folk-rock pioneers Steeleye Span at the end of 2013,
legendary fiddle player Peter Knight has turned his full
attention to his trio Gigspanner, and in the process has firmly
established their burgeoning reputation as one of the most
innovative acts on the folk/roots scene. Hailed as another
milestone in folks rebirth of cool, Gigspanner continues to
inspire audiences of all leanings, bringing them back for more.
Peter is joined by Roger Flack on guitar and Vincent Salzfaas
on percussion.
n www.whitehorsemusic.ca
n www.facebook.com/wearewhitehorse
n www.gigspanner.com
n@wearewhitehorse
n www.facebook.com/Peter-Knights-Gigspanner
03
Alex Wood
Band
Chameleon
Alex Wood is a thoughtful

and observant singersongwriter who covers a
range of musical styles,
while retaining a sense of individuality anchored in roots and
blues. Like all good stories, this one began at a party, where
everyone else had a song but him. One song, and several
parties later, Alexs life had changed forever.
Taken from his debut album I Am Not Lost, the shape
of those changes are well documented in the blues-driven
performance of Chameleon.
n www.alexwoodband.co.uk
08
Hannah
White
Whose Side Are
You On?
Hannah launched her

previous album to a
300-strong audience at
Londons iconic Union Chapel after a YouTube demand for a
track, recorded in her bathroom, reached 28,000 views. An
ambassador of independent music and art; with the acclaim
of a national publication asserting, It is only a matter of
circumstance that will determine whether [Hannahs album]
will become the soundtrack to a big Hollywood movie.
Hannahs latest album Whose Side Are You On? will be
released in July.
04
Hannah
Robinson
Curious
Michael
Armstrong
Johannesburg
05
Performing as a soloist and

with her band in London as
well as her native Dorset,
Hannah Robinsons busy live
schedule will see her play this years Isle of Wight Festival.In
making Water, Carry Me, her recently released EP, Hannah
worked alongside musicians Scott McKeon (Lana Del Ray),
Paul Beavis (Robert Fripp), Rob Mullarkey (Laura Mvula)
and Steve Smith (Sandi Thom).Hannahs songs blend her
nonchalant, percussive guitar style with soulful melodies and
lyrics full of personal experience and rich imagery owed to
her art school background.
Taken from British singersongwriter, Michael

Armstrongs eponymousdebut
album, Johannesburg is
one of 12self-penned songs,including collaborations with
legendary guitarists Albert Lee and Elliott Randall, plustwo
very special cover versions. Michaels own musical influences
include McCartney, Dylan, Steely Dan, Billy Joel, Supertramp,
Jeff Lynneand The Eagles. He grew up living and breathing every
note, lyric and chord change of his musical heroes and its true
to say echoes of these artists are evident in his music.This is
an album you wont stop playing.
n www.hannah-robinson.com
n www.michaelarmstrongmusic.co.uk
n www.facebook.com/hannahrobinsonmusic
n www.facebook.com/michaelarmstrongmusic
n @hannahrobinsong
n@mike73armstrong
09
Caddy
Cooper
Sunshine Hot
Caddy Cooper is a West

Australian acoustic country
and blues singer-songwriter
that you simply cant afford
to miss. Deemed one of the finest songwriters in the land
(Express FM), Caddys natural, un-rushed and all together
beautiful vocals (For the Country Record), infectious charm
(Blues in Britain Magazine) and Little Martin guitar have been
travelling worldwide, winning hearts and soothing souls with
Caddys iconic breed of storytelling.
Steve Pledger is an artist

attempting to make sense of the world through his writing;
producing songs that range from fragile reflections on love and
loss, to blistering commentaries on present circumstances. His
songs pack an emotional punch, both on record and on stage.
Based in the South West of England, his musical influences are
many and varied, resulting in a style and approach that is honest
and refreshingly direct, with an underlying sense of compassion
and longing.
n www.hannahwhitemusic.com
n www.stevepledger.co.uk
n www.facebook.com/hannahwhitemusic
n www.facebook.com/stevepledger
n@songsbyhannah
13
The Good
Lovelies
Waiting For
You
www.caddycooper.com
www.facebook.com/caddycooper
n@caddycooper
Steve
Pledger
Striking
Matches In The
Wind
10
14
Peter
Appleyard
Ghosts
n@stevempledger
Ivor Game
The Life You
Know
15
Featuring on the Canadian

award-winning trios eagerly
awaitednew albumBurn The Plan;WaitingFor Youis an
up-tempo, shimmering keyboard-laced number, showcasing
the bands impressive harmonies and signature vocals to the
full. The Good Lovelies, who are previous winners of the highly
sought-after Juno award, will be wowing UK audiences with
their live shows throughout June.
Peter Appleyard brings together

influences from the worlds
of rock, pop and folk, crafting
distinctive, feel-good and
emotionally charged compositions. Peters second studio album No
Looking Back was released on November 24, 2014. Recorded in the
wilds of rural Norfolk with acclaimed producer/engineer Jonny Cole,
this new release sees Peter broadening his musical horizons further
and features current single and live favourite Ordinary. Performing the
tracks live throughout the UK particularly showed the strength and wide
appeal of Peters music. Making the national final of the Exposure Music
Awards 2011 in London for Best Live act further confirmed his talent.
Ivor Game is a singersongwriter from Middlesex.

He started playing the guitar
from the age of 10 and writing
his songs soon after.Ivor found his feet playing the acoustic clubs
of London and has been touring his tuneful shows across the UK
and beyond for many years.He often tours Ireland, parts of Europe
and has performed in Nashville and Los Angeles.Ivor has been
releasing an album every two years since 1996s Hit The Big Time,
and in 2014 he released his 10th album Dizzy Spells. Ivors music
has been broadcast across the world, from Europe to Australia,
Japan and the USA.
n www.thegoodlovelies.com
n www.peterappleyard.com
n www.ivorgame.com
n www.facebook.com/goodlovelies
n www.facebook.com/peterappleyardmusic
n www.facebook.com/ivor.game
n@goodlovelies
n@peter_appleyard
n@IvorGame
SUMMER 2015 acoustic magazine
contents issue 106 summer 2015
36
American
Beauty
In order to get the most accurate
overview of the Martin D-35s illustrious
history, theres no finer place to go than
to C.F. Martin & Co. themselves. We
caught up with the companys CEO and
great-great-great-grandson of Christian
Frederick Martin himself, Chris Martin
IV, and the director of the C.F. Martin &
Co. museum Dick Boak.
18 Zane Carney
22 Ryley Walker
26 Ryan Bingham
32 The Shires
Zane Carney has been many things: child TV star, young local guitar
prodigy, lead guitarist in a band with a major label contract, lead
guitarist for John Mayer, and now singer-songwriter. We chat to him
ahead of his European tour.
Ryan Bingham is no stranger to writing music for film. Hes won an Oscar,
Grammy, and Golden Globe for his contributions to the world of motion
picture, but here he talks about writing music for his wifes movie A
Country Called Home, and his new album Fear And Saturday Night.
acoustic magazine summer 2015
Ryley Walker is a freewheeling, couch surfing, guitar picking,

folk rock sensation. His album Primrose Green has been compared
by reviewers to people like John Martyn, Tim Buckley, and Van
Morrison. We catch up during his hectic touring schedule...
Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes have made a name for themselves on the
UK country scene with their record-breaking debut album Brave, but as
they prepare for a performance at Music Citys Grand Ole Opry, we catch
up with Ben to talk about taking their brand of country across the pond.
GUITAR TeCHNiQues
GEAR reVieWs
improve your playing with

our techniques section...
Acoustic keeps you up to date with

whats hot and whats not in our
gear reviews section.
With 10 pages of different level-specific

techniques, whether youre a novice or an expert
our columns have something for everyone.
THE eXPerTs
94 rAy Burley
classical acionados rejoice

Bachs Prelude.
96 mike DAWeS
somewhere Home a celtic

ngerstyle ballad from mike
Dawes.
98 chriS giBBonS
Blossom Hill exploring

bluegrass techniques on the
Dobro guitar.
100 richArD gileWitZ

mix up your musicality with
Lyin eyes.
102 gorDon giltrAP

isabellas Wedding
exploring the harping
technique.
SPECIAL FeATures
44 mArtin D-35 StAnDArD

eDition & D-35e retro
David mead renders a chorus or two of

Happy Birthday to a brace of martin D-35s.
52 VintAge ViAten
David mead looks at a recent addition to the

Paul Brett Vintage signature range from
John Hornby skewes.
58 BlAckBeArD reSonAtor
We look at a signature model resonator

from the Beard company bearing the name
of the great Jerry Douglas
64 lArriVe om-03WW
if youre looking for a ngerpicker with

a difference, you walnut be disappointed.
alun Lower takes a closer look at the
Larrive om-03 WW
40 the clASS oF 68
When our friends at Replay acoustics said they had a

vintage specimen of the birthday boy D-35 that they
would happily lend to us, we really couldnt refuse.
after all, its great to look at both ends of this models
history we have two contemporary models and now
one from only the third year of production.
70 BourgeoiS AgeD tone

mAhogAny om
David mead meets a guitar that combines

the best of the old and the new
78 the WorkShoP: grit lASkin
Acoustic explores the world of an illustrious canadian

guitar maker and innovator noted for his skill in the
art of inlay via 25ks worth of guitar: the Da Vinci.
86 A regAl Journey
gordon giltrap tracks the unlikely journey of a Regal

mandolin that survived the doomed D-Day rehearsal
codenamed exercise tiger in 1944 that killed nearly
1,000 servicemen.
summer 2015 acoustic magazine
THIS ISSUE All the latest products and news

brings
you all of the latest
products and news
from the world of
acoustic music.
Steve N Seagulls complete the

2015
London
Acoustic
Show
line-up
Finnish bluegrass band achieved online viral notoriety for their cover versions of famous rock songs
Steve N Seagulls will bring their unique

bluegrass style to the UK for two shows at the
2015 London Acoustic Show. Held at Londons
Olympias Conference Centre on September 12
and 13, the Finnish folksters will appear on both
days for two main stage performances and a
meet-and-greet to celebrate the release of their
debut album Farm Machine.
What became a genuine international
phenomenon actually started out on a farm
in central Finland; in a barn, to be precise
There, in said barn, a bunch of like-minded
10
acoustic magazine August 2013
countrymen played a rollicking version ofAC/

DCs Thunderstruck wearing the daftest
outfits they could find. They filmed the event,
posted the results on YouTube, and within a
couple of weeks, the clip had accumulated over
five million views. Its now topped out at 12
million achieving viral notoriety and amassing
the band a huge following in the process.
For Steve N Seagulls, this was a bolt from
the blue, but then, as history shows us, the
greatest stories ever told tend to start in a
stable, right?
SNS comprises an acoustic guitarist/

vocalist; a banjo player; a double-bassist; a
big dude wearing overalls and a beaver hat
playing mandolin/keyboards/accordion/
whatever-he-gets-his-hands-on; and a cajnstraddlin percussionist and they have
delivered a 13-track album featuring rural
riffs and villager vocals, filled to the brim
with hillbillified versions of immortal heavy
metal standards including Iron Maidens The
Trooper, Guns N Roses Paradise City and
Metallicas Seek And Destroy among others.
As foot-stompingly enjoyable as SNS are on
record, you havent seen anything until youve
experienced them live. The redneck show tours
nonstop, rocking the honky-tonks overseas
and soon the halls of Londons Olympia. Let
the hillbillification commence in London on
September 12 and 13!
Steve N Seagulls join Doyle Dykes, Martin
Carthy, Antoine Dufour (in association with
Ernie Ball Strings), Preston Reed, Leon Hunt,
Daniel Ho (in association with Yamaha Music
London), Jon Gomm (in association with
Fishman and JHS), and Luca Stricagnoli over
the acoustic weekender. Tickets are on sale now.
www.londonacousticshow.com
acoUSTIc news
BREEdlovE gUITaRS laUNcH

cUSTom STUdIo SoUNd wEBSITE
Allows customers to design dream guitar built by breedloves luthiers
maTT STEvENS
aNNoUNcES 2015
ToUR daTES
Acoustic columnist will hit the road
with Jon gomm and steve rothery
matt stevens has confirmed five solo acoustic

gigs for 2015, supporting Jon gomm and
steven Rothery alongside shows in Belfast
and italy. stevens, who was recently named
as one of the top guitarists in the Prog
magazine readers poll said: im not doing
as many solo shows this year to allow time
to work on the next Fierce and the Dead
record and to write new solo material, but
im hugely excited to be playing my first solo
show in italy and to play with Jon gomm
and steven Rothery.
matts band the Fierce and the Dead will
play a run of festival shows this summer
including summers end, arctangent, and
the Rhythm Festival and they will release an
eP later in the year.
matts solo shows will take him to italy
on June 14, manchesters Band on the
Wall with steve Rothery on July 4, Belfasts
guitar Festival on July 25, Londons Jazz
caf with Jon gomm on october 21,
concluding at milton Keynes stables with
steve Rothery on november 7.
For more information, visit his website.
www.mattstevensguitar.com
Breedlove Guitars of Oregon, USA, is offering

musicians, artists and collectors what they call
a truly magical musical opportunity. With
the Breedlove Custom Sound Studio, anyone
can design their dream instrument and have
it built by Breedloves master luthiers and
craftspeople. Inspired by Kim Breedlove, this
allows players to express themselves and their
music through custom heirloom instruments
with a distinctively crafted sound.
Crafting your Breedlove Custom Sound
Studio instrument is an experience like no
other. It begins with an extensive menu of
rare and exotic tonewoods, state-of-the-art
electronics, custom options, finish styles, inlay
patterns, custom artwork and hardware.
Breedlove will help you select just the right
pieces to create a highly customised musical
instrument thats perfectly you.
The Breedlove Custom Sound Studio

website is the first stop on your journey.
Theyll teach you how to listen to understand
exactly what tonal qualities youre after. Youll
learn the common language used to describe
guitars, their components and the sounds
they produce. Theyll explain body shapes to
ensure your new instrument fits you perfectly
and you can see examples of Custom Sound
Studio instruments theyve already built. And
then theres the Breedlove Wood Library
offering an extraordinary assortment of
exotic tonewoods. The Breedlove team travels
the globe in search of the finest and most
sustainable tonewoods available to make the
best guitars possible.
For more information on the Breedlove
Custom Sound Studio, visit:
www.breedlovemusic.com/soundstudio
August 2013 acoustic magazine
Win!
A C.F MARTIN & CO. D-35
WORTH 2,000
If you want to win a Martin D-35, all you have to

do is answer the following question correctly!
Couldnt be easier. If you need a hint, head over
to www.martinguitar.com
In what year was the C.F. Martin & Co. D-35 introduced?
A 1965 B 1975 C 1985

The Martin D-35 dreadnought guitar gives
you unsurpassed tone. The solid Sitka
spruce top produces a strong bass tone,
ideal for rhythm playing. To accentuate the
treble, Martin uses lighter 1/4 top braces.
Binding on the East Indian rosewood back
and sides and a bound ebony fretboard
add to this acoustic models distinctive

appeal. Dark warmth and bold projection
comes from a body made of East Indian
rosewood. A low profile neck made of
genuine mahogany is the foundation for
a 20-fret fingerboard of solid striped
ebony. Body and neck come together
via Martins dovetail neck joint ensuring

optimum strength and smooth action.
Additional highlights include Gotoh chrome
tuners, solid striped ebony bridge, black
pickguard, bone nut and saddle and a
concentric ring rosette. Comes with a C.F.
Martin & Co. hardshell case.
ENTER VIA:
WEB: www.acousticmagazine.com www.facebook.com/acousticmagazine
EMAIL: Include D-35 Comp in the subject field, making sure that you enter your answer, name, age, contact telephone number and address in the body of the email and send it over to
acousticcomp@blazepublishing.co.uk
POST: Complete the form, below, tear off and send FAO Acoustic magazine / D-35 Comp to Blaze Publishing, Lawrence House, Morrell Street, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32 5SZ.
Closing date for the competition is 01 July 2015. The winner will be announced 02 July 2015.
*Required details to enter the competition
Answer* ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Name*.....................................................................................................................................................................................DOB* ................................................................................................................................................................................................
Address* ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Email* ...............................................................................................................................................................................Tel. No.* ................................................................................................................................................................................................
Do you subscribe to Acoustic Magazine?* Yes No Do you buy/subscribe to another publication? Yes
No If Yes which publication? ...................................................................
Please tick if you do not want to hear from Acoustic Magazine or the London Acoustic Show
*Competition entries must arrive no later than the closing date specified. The winner will be announced on 02 July 2015. Only the winner will be contacted. One entry per household. Image(s) of winner may
be used for future editorial or advertising purposes. The winner will be selected at random from all the correct entries. No cash alternative is offered. Acoustic magazine reserves the right to substitute the
prize for an alternative of equal or greater value.
12
ACOUSTIC MAGAZINE SUMMER 2015
013.indd 13
22/05/2015 13:55
014.indd 14
22/05/2015 12:30
ASK
THE EXPERTS
FAIR PLAY VENUES
ecently, the MU launched its Fair

Play Venues scheme. Our goal? To
support grassroots venues, stamp out
the unfair treatment of musicians and to put
musicians in touch with the right venues.
HOW DOES IT WORK?

A venue may be considered a fair play venue
if it endorses the principles of our Fair Play
Guide (available viatheMU.org). The Fair
Play Guide offers advice to both artists
and promoters on co-promotions, ticketing
deals, showcases and competitions, so that
musicians can identify when a deal is fair.
Fair Play Venues must also be against pay-to-
play, where unscrupulous promoters expect

musicians to sign up to unfair ticketing deals.
For emerging acts, this can be impossible and very costly.
Once the venue signs up, it gets a Fair
Play Venue sticker to display within the
premises to show that it plays fair. That way
you, and other musicians, know it should
treat you fairly and with respect.
We are in the process of building a
comprehensive nationwide database of such
contacts which currently has 50+ venues. So
if you are looking to break your band in a
new area then you can get in touch for details
of specific fair play venues to approach.
HOW DOES A VENUE GET

INVOLVED?
This is where you come in.
If you have played a gig that
went well, at a venue where
you were treated fairly and
where the experience was
positive, then let us know
about the venue and who
runs it.
Were asking our members
to tell us when theyve got
a good news story, says
Dave Webster, MU national
organiser for live performance.
So they can say: Hey, I just
played a gig up in Leeds. We
had a good deal, they didnt
take commission on our
merch,they were really helpful
with the promotion and we got
a lot of punters in. The MU can
then contact that venue.
To nominate a venue,
or find a fair play venue
near you, email us atlive@
theMU.org.
SUMMER 2015 ACOUSTIC MAGAZINE
15
016.indd 16
22/05/2015 11:14
016.indd 17
22/05/2015 11:14
INTERVIEW ZANE CARNEY
Zane Carney has been many things: child TV star,

young local guitar prodigy, lead guitarist in a band
with a major label contract, lead guitarist for John
Mayer, and now singer-songwriter. We chat to him
ahead of his European tour.
WORDS: SAM WISE
echnically gifted, excitable, passionate,

and outgoing, carney is an incredibly
engaging young man. We caught up
with him as he prepared to tour in
support of his new solo album, and even through
the medium of skype, his enthusiasm for
doing what he loves was as infectious as it was
obvious. some artists clearly find talking to the
press an imposition, but carney appears to have
boundless energy to talk about his art, as well
as a sense of humble thankfulness to be able to
practise it and get paid.
You started playing music at a young age.
Can you tell us about how your adventures in
music got started?
i had a brother who started playing guitar
at 12; my dad was a commercial songwriter,
making jingles and stuff, so he gave my brother
a guitar, and four months later i had bagged
one too. i was 10 years old, and i got it on
my birthday through typical little brother
behaviour. my dad being a songwriter, and
my mum being a singer, we had the hilarious
Partridge family jam sessions, harmonising in
the car to whatever was on the cD player, just
making music together, which sounds twee, but
was actually incredibly fun, and makes a big
difference. actually, my first instrument was
piano when i was seven, so i hadnt thought
of becoming a guitarist. Whats cool about my
childhood is that my dad worked from home;
he had his own studio set up, which was pretty
unusual and advanced for the 90s. so i did get
to hear his music pretty much every day; we
were surrounded by art.
18
At 12, you were listening to and playing along

with Wes montgomery? That must have made
discussing music at school interesting
Whats funny is that my entire life ive been
into things that arent cool, but my mom was
also a model and a jewellery designer, and used
to dress us up with crazy clothes, and hair gel,
and bright colours, looking really awesome.
Playing guitar, and having a mom who dressed
me cool made me one of the cool kids, but when
my friends were over, it was all geeky stuff:
anime, comic books, video games. everything
ive been really passionate about, ive always
wanted to take it to the highest level. i was on
tV with a guy who was a famous magician, and
so i was super into magic; and then when we
couldnt afford guitar lessons, it was Pokmon,
and i wanted to have every single card, and
complete every single game. i got lucky in that
my high school experience was at performing
arts school athletes were ostracized, and
musicians were stars. our football team
actually had a 67-game losing streak, which
when you think about it means they didnt win
a single game for several seasons, so being a
jock was really not the ticket to popularity in
that school! i guess it was a good environment
for a kid who was a bit out of the ordinary. i
definitely got lucky.
Youve been through a number of musical
guises to come to this point. What did you
learn through those stages?
the way my family is, ive always been really
encouraged just to show up, and try, even if
you fail. Just doing your best and trying stuff
was rewarded and praised. Because of that, Ive

tended to say yes to every gig I can get, even
if its something I know nothing about. Id say
yes to playing on a rap record, and then for
the next couple of weeks, Id immerse myself
in that music, trying to understand everything
about it, how the guitarists made it work, what
I could do to replicate that, or to add something
different. The benefit from that is that now,
when I write songs, I have a whole vocabulary
to draw from. Its like being an author who has
visited different countries, and can bring all
of those ideas and structures to what they do
now. So its really informed my writing style,
knowing how in Germany they put the verb at
the end of the sentence. Maybe Im the guitarist
who could have written Yodas dialogue!
Listening to your playing, whether its your
own material, a solo with Mayer, or your solo
guitar version of Giant Steps, melody seems
central to everything that you do, which isnt
always the case with a lead guitarist. How does
your melodic thinking differ from others?
Yeah, its been an uphill battle for me to
incorporate melodies in my playing style. A lot
of feedback from clinicians at jazz competitions
when I was a kid would be, Great, youve got the
techniques, and you understand the harmonies.
Now start playing music. Then at about 23,
someone said, I love how you use melody so I
guess something changed. I can tell you that it did
not come naturally to me; modes, scales, intervals,
were all natural to me, but the melody was a
long uphill battle, so its incredibly rewarding to
me when people compliment the melody in my
playing. On my debut guitar record, Amalgam,
people were saying, Why didnt you just cut
loose and really play but I was just trying to
step away from the technical. Next time, I might
let loose a little bit more, be a bit more mind
bending. Im playing some of Amalgam alongside
the songwriter stuff on this tour, because this is
my first European tour, so I want people to get a
flavour of all the things I do.
Your current tour sees you as lead vocalist and
songwriter; thats a big change from being the
sideman in all your previous roles. What new
challenges does that bring you?
Well, actually, Im thankful that I had a sort of
grey zone period, when I was playing with my
brother in Carney, and we opened for all sorts
of people U2 and others and did a lot of big
festivals. In that band, I was the lead guitar
player, not the singer, and doing a bit of cowriting, which took me from straight sideman
to being an artist; really being in the spotlight.
When I started writing songs for this album
about four years ago, I drew upon the Carney
experience to remind myself that I can do it. Its
summer 2015 acoustic magazine 19
INTERVIEW ZANE CARNEY
really lucky to be able to play music for a living,

and its scary to knock back sideman or session
gigs in order to do my own thing, but thats
what i really want to do. im still doing gigs
with other people, but im just so grateful that
i get to play, and to do my own thing, and i just
hope i can write songs that speak to people.
You play both acoustic and electric guitar;
what do you look for in an instrument?
i just look for it to sound like my telecaster, man!
im less of a guitar nerd, and more of a music
theory nerd. i know what i like, but im less of
a historian; if i was in college, id be less of a
history major, more of a science major, so im
not the guy who knows every guitar ever. in a
guitar, im looking for a bit of a quirky balance,
harmonically. Like the guitar that Hofner is
making for me, the very bottom end is really
aggressive, but the mids arent, so i like that. i
loved listening to guys like Pat metheny, who
said that he just wanted to low notes and the
high notes to sound the same, and even though
i love to listen to that, i dont play well with that
kind of thing. i have a lot of different guitars,
and at the moment i have a Hofner zane
carney Jazzica, my signature model archtop,
which at the moment is the only one there is,
but will soon be manufactured and sold. When
i was 10, i got a bass first, because my brother
wanted me to be the bass player in our band,
20 acoustic magazine summer 2015
and i actually think thats influenced the guitars

i choose; maybe im looking for something a
little different than most guitarists. i have a 50
year plan, and by the time i get there, id like
my full time job to be film scoring. the music
industry is really suffering in some ways, but
film and tV music can still be game changing,
and its hard to see that changing. then at 75, i
want to retire and become a theory professor. i
love written music and counterpoint and so on,
but my forte is really ear training, and the logic
behind theory. so i want kids to come in and
say, i dont want to use this minor fourth chord,
but i want to have that same feel and to be able
to help with that stuff, like thinking through
the harmonic progressions and helping them
find things which would fit. maybe i just dont
approach things like the average player!
Our readers may well want to hear the music
youre talking about; where can they catch
you on this tour, and, given your varied
background, what can they expect to hear?
Well, right now we have 10 cities; we might
add one more show in Paris, but were doing
copenhagen, amsterdam, London, Paris,
and six cities in germany. one of the tour
dates is actually a guitar theory masterclass,
in Paris, and the tickets are selling better
than i expected. im playing purely solo, with
the Hofner signature guitar, and they have
sponsored the tour because of that. it really is

an acoustic too, an archtop with a Buscarino
jazz pickup. on the tour im going stop in
the factory, and play the prototype of the
production model, and then it should come
out in september 2015. its really meaningful
to me that im doing what i want to do, taking
the path of being an artist, and i feel like im
being really rewarded for that with things
like this signature model. im also playing my
taylor 810ce on this tour, which i use for
the straight up strumming stuff, and for Joni
mitchell-style fingerstyle stuff, but for the
improvisational stuff, im using the Hofner. im
using a lot of pedals to create soundscapes that
i can improvise over. i could use a loop pedal
to do some of this stuff, but because of my
background, i like to really be doing it in the
moment; im not like ed sheeran, its a different
type of guitar and vocals thing. i try to go as
deep as my favourite jazz artists, but then to
sing pop songs over the top, so if youre coming
for jazz, you hopefully wont be disappointed,
and if youre coming for a pop concert, you
wont be disappointed either.
carney is so musically inventive and
such an engaging character that its hard to
imagine that you could be disappointed. zanes
Amalgam and Conuence are out now.
www.zanecarney.com
021.indd 21
22/05/2015 11:15
INTERVIEW RYLEY WALKER

Your music reveals a strong 70s influence; I hear
a lot of John Martyn in it. What was the musical
environment around you growing up?
I grew up around classic rock stuff; my parents
werent too weird, they were pretty normal
people, listening to AC/DC, Led Zeppelin
whatever was playing on classic rock radio. I
discovered people like John Martyn about six
years ago. I loved his attitude and his innovative
playing but he was kind of a motherfucker.
So were your parents listening choices
something that spurred you on to learn guitar?
How did you start playing?
Ive never really been good at anything else I
tried, I guess. My friends had some guitars laying
around, so I picked one up one day, but I really
sucked at it, so I thought guitar was stupid for a
while, but I had it in my room, and I guess I just
kept picking it up, and eventually it started to
work for me.
Since then, youve played all sorts of styles from
noise rock up to your current fingerpicking folk
style, and released four albums. How do you go
about writing songs?
I put out a record this time last year, and toured
a lot on it, so I had a lot of dates on the road, just
going mad, writing songs and I try to play new
songs on the road, so Im trying things out. A
lot of it comes from just putting the guitar in a
tuning, trying things out, just playing with it;
sometimes they stay around for a long time, but
eventually some of those little seeds will grow into
a big, beautiful fruit tree, you know? Every day is
playing the guitar, improvising a bit; sometimes Im
living with those songs for six, seven months. Im
trying to be really conscious about my lyric writing
process; I mean, you know, Im not like Bob Dylan
or anything, theyre just songs about personal
situations. I just write from things I know, I mean,
I like poets a lot, and trying to describe things that
are beautiful, but lyrics are really hard, man.
Tell us about the band youre working with
currently, on the record and on tour.
Well, the band is comprised mostly of Chicago
jazz musicians, and theyre all good friends, not
hired guns or anything. As soon as you get to
know people in Chicago, its easy to do that. The
band changes a lot on tour; like the other day
we had the full band, and now its just me and
Brian on guitars, but we like to change it up a
lot. When we have a full band, there are a lot
of crazy different sounds; were adding a lot of
different instruments; somebody new will start
the song each night, and itll sound different.
Its not hard to do at all, we didnt like, sit down
and discuss it, like What are we gonna do live?
We just jammed the songs, and really, thats still
what were doing.
22
RYLEY
WALKER
WORDS: SAM WISE IMAGES: DUSDIN CONDREN
Ryley Walker is a freewheeling, couch surfing, guitar

picking, folk rock sensation. His album Primrose Green
has been compared to works from people like John
Martyn, Tim Buckley, and Van Morrison. He is not an
easy man to pin down, but we managed to chat to him
in the midst of his perpetual touring
So this album has been pretty well received;
where do you want to be in 20 years?
20 years from now, man? Jesus, Ill be 45; I
dunno, maybe I can buy a car by then? Thatd
be nice. I dont really have any possessions,
so yeah, I guess itd be nice to have a car, and
maybe a computer?
Its funny, isnt it, how things have changed?

Not so long ago, it seemed like if you didnt
have a record contract, it was hard to even
survive, but if you had one, that was a ticket to
some real money, or at least a good advance
Yeah, you know, you dont get money for
records these days; you get whatevers left over.
SUMMER 2015 ACOUSTIC MAGAZINE 23
INTERVIEW RYLEY WALKER

For me, I have to rent a car, pay my buddies
first, and Ill take whatevers left. You know,
I dont live anywhere, I dont really have any
outgoings, and so Im happy with just whats
left over. Ill probably just keep doing that for
the next 20 years. Right now, Im just touring
all the time, so I just sleep where somebody
lets me crash on their couch, and back home
I just sleep on friends couches. I dont have a
place of my own.
And because youre doing what you love, does
that feel like a good choice?
I think Im one of those people for whom
anything permanent in life terrifies me, like
having my own place is kind of terrifying, you
know? I just dont even really have any stuff.
I mean, I have a guitar, and some records, and
a bunch of t-shirts that, like, smell, because
Im on tour all the time. I dont really feel the
need to have a place right now. Id like one
eventually, itd be nice to come home and,
maybe to have my own couch or something.
But you know, Im lucky enough to have
friends who put up with me, I guess. Any
money I make just goes back into touring
because I like working a lot. My parents worked
a lot growing up, so did their parents; nothing
really ever came for free, we had to work really
hard growing up. Its sort of a Chicago thing,
the Midwest thing, you know? Theres no real
music industry in Chicago, theres no media
moguls that are going to come to your show and
go, Hey, you wanna come back to the hotel and
do a load of blow with Kid Rock? it doesnt
exist in Chicago. Youve got to bust your ass to
get what you want. The only thing that scares
me is too much free time; if I have too much
free time I think too much, and I get down, you
know? Not having a place to live doesnt bother
me at all, what scares me is open dates on a
calendar, because that means youre not doing
anything. If I can look and think, Ive got 50
dates coming up, then I can get out of Chicago.
Chicago is a really easy place to get lost in your
head; its so dense, and it gets really cold. I mean
its a good place, dont get me wrong, its cheap
to live there, you know, people stick around,
because you pay next to nothing for rent.
When the calendar is empty, I feel bored,
man, and I get antsy at home with nothing to
do. I love to see my family, you know, but then
I just want to play guitar. Some people find it
hard to just sit in the car for seven hours a
day, pausing only to eat McDonalds and pee
in disgusting bathrooms which are almost like
war zones, but I thrive on it, I can hang. Its the
only thing Ive ever been good at, you know?
Ive fucked up everything else in my life, every
straight job Ive had Ive sucked at it. Im not a
good employee at all. Im late, I dont care at all
24 ACOUSTIC MAGAZINE SUMMER 2015
I GREW UP AROUND CLASSIC ROCK STUFF.

MY PARENTS LISTENED TO AC/DC AND LED
ZEPPELIN. I DISCOVERED PEOPLE LIKE JOHN
MARTYN ABOUT SIX YEARS AGO. I LOVED HIS
ATTITUDE AND HIS INNOVATIVE PLAYING.
about the work, Im not good with customers,
and so this is the first opportunity in my life
of succeeding in some small way. So Im not
in it for all that bullshit and Im not interested
in being a star, I mean, Im not going to be a
star. This is all I know, its all I can do. Some
people are born to, like, mix concrete, or be
schoolteachers, or nurses, and I just cant do
anything else. Theres no plan B, all Ive got is
a set of pipes and a guitar, and I get to hang in
weird countries and cities, make new friends,
meet cool people, and drink beer.
So what if this was 1971, not 2015, and you

have the right sound and they throw money at
you. What happens to Ryley Walker then?
Well, I guess I would take every chance to go
on tour, and I guess Id see Van Morrison in his
prime, thats all I can think of. Theres no pop
sensibilities in me, man, not even in a past life.
Ryley Walkers Primrose Green is out now.
To keep up-to-date with Ryley and his live
dates, follow him on Twitter.
@ryley_walker
025.indd 25
22/05/2015 12:48
INTERVIEW RYAN BINGHAM
WORDS: TERI SACCONE IMAGES: ANNA AXTER
Ryan Bingham is no
stranger to writing
music for film. Hes
won an Oscar, Grammy,
and Golden Globe for
his contributions to the
world of motion picture,
but here he talks about
writing music for his
wifes movie A Country
Called Home and his
new album Fear And
Saturday Night.
26
ormerly a bull rider, builder,

and Oscar winner, singer Ryan
Bingham is cultivating his
reputation as a singer-songwriter
and strong live performer. Although his
name may be unfamiliar, you may have
heard his music in the film Crazy Heart
(starring Jeff Bridges). Bingham nabbed a
best song Oscar in 2010 for his best original
song contribution to the film (co-written
with T-Bone Burnett). Binghams latest
album Fear And Saturday Night is a step
forward in his trajectory as a vital indieAmericana artist.
Bingham lived an itinerant childhood
moving around throughout the southwest
USA, although he was born in Texas and
spent much time in different regions of the
state, he literally dug holes when he left
home to earn his crust. He left home young,
as his family life was traumatic. Both of his
parents had chemical dependency issues.
Ultimately, his dad committed suicide, and
his mother died from alcoholism. This dark

past surfaced in his music (most poignantly
on his previous album Tomorrowland).
Besides his knack for storytelling, Ryan is
in possession of a mesmerising, hardscrabble
voice. Now 34, he is a true survivor whose
perspective has recently shifted closer to one
of optimism, reflected on Fear And Saturday
Night. He has much to look forward to, as he
is about to have his first child with his wife
who is his manager and a film director about
to release her first feature film. Although
his career and personal life are on the up,
Bingham still retains world-weariness in his
introspective music.
The distinguished Jim Scott produced Fear
And Saturday Night. How did that alliance
come about?
It was easy to decide to work with him due to
his past [Tom Petty, Ron Sexsmith]. A friend
gave me his number so it was pretty easy to
get hold of him, yet I was surprised he was
so accessible. We met at his house and it just

went from there. Hes a wonderful guy with
an incredible studio, so it was great.
Did you have all the songs worked out
before you began recording?
I tried to make all the songs fairly mappedout beforehand, and I had everything on
demo, too. Jim is inspiring and enjoyable
to work with. He made suggestions here
and there and gave me the freedom to
experiment and work things out. He creates
an environment that helped me find my own
solutions to any problems.
Youve got a distinctive voice, but did Jim
bring out anything unforeseen in you?
It can be vulnerable to lay down your vocals
in the studio with everyone watching you.
But he knows what he wants to hear and
he might switch up mics that will make you
sound so good. That brings confidence. So Id
say he helped me be more confident.
INTERVIEW RYAN BINGHAM

Youve been writing music and producing
the soundtrack for her film A Country
Called Home
my wife started writing this script a few
years back, and once she got it all put
together, i found the script sitting on the
coffee table one morning and started reading
it. it was just one of those scripts that, once
you start reading it, its hard to put down. i
just kept reading it from the beginning right
to the end and without telling her, i started
working on this song for it, before she asked
me. i was really inspired by the story. my
wife and i have travelled down the road
many miles together. shes my manager we
run our own record label together, and so
weve had quite a few adventures on the road
and weve seen a lot of this country, and it
brought back a lot of memories of us together
and all kinds of adventures together. so thats
the story of how i got started on writing
and being involved with it. i snuck in there.
the characters in the story, and what it was
about got me hooked. sometimes you relate
to stuff, and sometimes you dont. after i
read it, i started writing the songs, and one,
in particular, came out in the four or five
minutes that i took to sit down and write
it. sometimes it happens, and sometimes it
doesnt and this time it all poured out.
Are some of your songs written on a piano

as opposed to a guitar?
i mainly start on a guitar and if i do start with
a piano i work it out on the guitar later.
Who inuenced you musically?
texan songwriters like steve earle and
townes Van zandt; people who told stories. i
started writing songs late in life in my 20s
but i also liked Lightnin Hopkins, Woody
guthrie, and people like that.
I read about your upbringing which didnt
sound conducive to nurturing your musical
side. In spite of that you ourished...
Well, it was more like an accident. i was living
in Laredo, texas, and had a guitar for a while
and someone there taught me mariachi music
on it. it was an outlet for me. When i moved
up to austin i saw guys having fun playing
music and at the time i had a shit construction
job digging holes. i started writing songs,
playing them for my friends. since gigs paid a
hundred bucks a night, that was much more
28
than my day job so i decided to pursue music

and i never looked back. i really liked the
freedom and the identity it gave me.
At one point you worked as a bull rider?
i grew up in new mexico and texas
doing that. my uncle rode bulls and my
grandfather was a rancher, so rodeos
were normal in our family. i started riding
steers at 11 years old and bulls at 15. that
eventually got me playing gigs. i was working
for a rodeo company and told them i could
play guitar. i played guitar for their after
parties in the bars wherever wed go. id play
bars, parties, even barbeques.
You turned out so well despite experiencing
so much trauma within your family. Youve
moved on from that. How will you integrate
your new baby with being on the road?
im planning to be a stay-at-home dad for a
while as my wife has a feature film coming
out so while she promotes that i hope to take
care of our baby. im looking forward to that.
What will the soundtrack be like?

im imagining a fairly acoustic score that
underlines the journey of the characters.
i think the songs should play more of an
integral part in the film, and not just be
background music. so its something where
i really want to sit down and make sure that
the songs really have a reason to be there.
im excited about it. i have a lot of good
friends that id like to get to come in and help
work on the project and play, so i think itll
be a lot of fun putting this together. its been
inspiring so far.
Tell us about one of the songs youve already
written for the film
its called a country called Home the title
of the film. i always try to leave songs open
for people to interpret in their own way.
i think this film is the same everybody
has their own story, and they tell them
in different ways, but somehow we can
all share ideas and things that we all go
through. We all connect to that stuff.
What is your go-to guitar?
my number one is a 1963 J-45 that my wife got
me for my birthday a couple of years ago. even
in the studio, when i have four or five guitars to
choose from, this one is always the favourite.
This is your fifth album. Are there times

when your wife gives you creative advice
that you dont agree with?
Yeah, although shes the first person I play
things to but we can disagree on things. We
do a lot together, but we are different people
and we separate work: she deals with label and
management stuff and I deal with the band.
of people are in dark and desperate places.

And I think I just relate to people kind of
on those terms a little bit, and I think when
youre writing you really have to take that
into consideration and look at where people
are and what everybodys going through
and say something about it. I dont want to
preach, I just want to give that a voice.
Your songwriting is very much about your

perspective, documenting what you see
on the road across America and it has
been kind of bleak in terms of what youve
witnessed along the way...
I think it is kind of dark but, ultimately,
I try to have a really positive outlook on
everything and try to be as hopeful as I
can. At the same time, traveling around the
country in these times, it is kind of dark
and desperate out there in some places. I see
a lot of the small towns that tourists dont
get to see when Im touring and people are
hurting bad out there; not enough jobs, and
too many homeless people. Therefore, a lot
What scares you after living through so

many challenges in your personal life?
Im pretty fearless now, but I have a real
respect for those dark places I went to in
the past and I dont want to go there again. I
want to enjoy the small things in life, not get
depressed, and just live life. If all hell breaks
loose, I can deal with it because of what Ive
been through, but I have a healthy respect
for life.
Ryan Binghams Fear And Saturday Night
is out now. Bingham plays UK dates in
October 2015. Check his website for tickets.
www.ryanbinghammusic.com
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INTERVIEW THE SHIRES
Ben Earle and Crissie

Rhodes have made a
name for themselves
on the UK country
scene with their
record-breaking debut
album Brave, but as
they prepare for a
performance at Music
Citys Grand Ole Opry,
we catch up with Ben to
talk about taking their
brand of country across
the pond.
he Shires may be the hottest new

thing in acoustic country music, but
vocalist and guitarist Ben Earle was an
experienced writer before he found
Crissie Rhodes and formed the band his song
Over And Out features on Newton Faulkners
2009 album Rebuilt By Humans, and hes worked
with pop acts such as Westlife, Matt Cardle, and
Boyzone. But it is in country music that Ben has
found his home. I discovered country music about
three years ago, and it felt like coming home. It felt
32
like this was the music I was born to write. I knew

about country music, obviously, but I only knew
about Dolly Parton, and the usual clichs about
key changes and rhinestones, but it is far more
important and varied than that.
So lets go back to Bens start with guitar. I come
from a musical family, one of my uncles is the
keyboard player with Then Jericho who was big
in the 80s, and he taught me piano which I took
to really easily. Another uncle plays acoustic, so
he showed me some chords, but I nearly gave up
because of the pain of holding down strings for

chords. I think there is a pain barrier when you
learn to play the acoustic guitar; if you can get
past that early discomfort, and start to click with
the music, its well worth hanging on, and seeing
some results for your efforts.
My first acoustic was a Venus copy, and Ive
still got it somewhere at home. Now I have a
couple of Martins that I got just before our tour
last autumn. The preamps on Martin guitars are
great; they are awesome for playing live on stage.
I have a Takamine that I love, but I just dont like

the preamp as much in that as the Martins. Plus,
they are a talking point, when you take them out
of the cases; people are impressed with a Martin
which is always good. I just love them so much,
and I get really excited when I play them they
inspire me to write which is ideal. Writing songs
on guitar is completely different from writing on
piano for me. Obviously writing country songs
is just natural with an acoustic guitar. We have
been to Nashville a few times now to write and
record, and all the writers out there sit with their
acoustics and see what comes up, and that is how I
write these days as well.
Lets talk about recording do you like to record
your guitar and vocals separately? As a rule I do.
Im not the best or most natural guitar player, and
I do like to make sure that what I am doing is right;
I am a bit of a perfectionist like that. A couple of
songs we did do live in the studio with Crissie and
I just standing opposite each other and singing
we did that with How Many Love Songs, and
Made In England on the new album Brave. I

think you get special vocal performances that
way, which may not always make for the best
sound quality, but the magic of the atmosphere
is whats important. I know that some people
say you only get your best take in the first three
tries, but I am not so sure about that. I think that
sometimes by the fiftieth take, you have that
gritty edge in your vocal because your voice is
going, and you have the feeling of frustration that
can feed that last time around and make it work.
INTERVIEW THE SHIRES

its so important to good guitar sound on your
songs. on Brave, there are some overlaid twinkly
guitar parts that i played; they were actually on
the original demo that i made on Logic in my
bedroom. We tried to get the right feel and sound
for the album, but we never did get it quite right,
so in the end, we just took the tracks off the demo
and dropped them into the album using Pro tools,
and it sounds fine. For our on-stage band, we
have an amazing guitar player named charles,
he is still at the Royal northern college of music,
and he picks out the best lines and reproduces
them on stage; he really is a fantastic guitarist.
He and the rest of our band sent an audition to
our manager, and it was when we were due to
go out on tour so our manager put the guys and
us together, and it works really well. We are so
pleased to have them to work with us.
the shires made uK chart history earlier
in the year by being the first home-grown uK
country act to break into the top ten on the
album charts. they were also the first uK act
to be signed to the re-launched Decca nashville
label. although the shires proudly y the ag
for uK country music, Ben has learned some
valuable lessons about the art of country music
from its natural home in music city.
one thing i took away from our times in
nashville was the phrase, Dont bore us, get to
the chorus which sounds great in a proper
southern accent! i always used to be very
concerned with following correct song structure,
i would have the intro, the verse, the pre-chorus,
the chorus, but country writers just dont follow
any rules at all, they will do exactly what the song
needs, and they work on their instincts all the
time. if you listen to the song We owned the
night by Lady antebellum, there is no second
verse it goes straight into a guitar part. some of
the nashville writers can get into a chorus about
25 seconds into the song, and thats a lesson i
have learned: work with the song, not the rule
book. Follow what feels right.
now that they are developing a serious
reputation and following as a country band, there
is always the danger that some smart-mouth
is going to try and label the shires not truly
authentic because of where theyre from but
thankfully Ben is not worried about it. their
song made in england makes sure they stamp is
clearly evident on the music they make.
People are surprised to find that we are from
the uK. We are not trying to be copyists; we
dont write about the american experience,
or american country themes like trucks and
rhinestones because they are not our experiences.
You have to be genuine and take your inspiration
from your own life and what you see around
you. We love the tradition of country music,
the story telling, the real feel, and even die-hard
old-school country fans can see that we are real,
People are
surprised that
we are from
the UK. We are
not trying to
be copyists. We
dont write about
the American
experienc. You
have to be
genuine and take
inspiration from
your own life.
We just love
the tradition of
country music.
we are genuine, and we are not trying to be

something were not, and the sense of reality
gets respect. We try really hard not to get into a
musical style that could see us aligned to a specific
area of country music. The danger is, if you are
known for a certain approach, you start writing
to fit that approach, and we want our songs to go
where they take us, and for our style to develop
naturally. I really like bro-country even
though a lot of purists are not keen on it our
song Friday Night was written right after I had
listened to some bro-country. Its all part of
delving deeper into the genre and seeing what is
there, whether it is frowned upon or not, I want
to hear everything I can.
Working with writers and musicians in
Nashville has obviously been a formative
experience for Ben, and he has clearly learned a lot
from visiting the spiritual home of country music.
It was so good to work with the studio guys
in Nashville, they are so professional. They hear
something, run through it a couple of times, and
they are good to go, straight to record. Theyll run
through in one take, and if something is not quite
right, you can ask them to go again from bar 40,
theyll run it again, and we just drop that section
into the track with Pro Tools. They are used to
direction, and I had a strong idea of the sounds
and arrangements I wanted, and they respected
that. I was a little nervous at first, but these guys
are used to this its the way they work, so it was
fine. They work so quickly, too we recorded
15 songs in three days! Working with writers
in Nashville was another great experience. I
am something of a chameleon, so I trend to slip
into whatever role I think Im needed for. If
the other people are a bit shy, I will speak up
and drive the session, and I certainly learned
a lot about lyric writing. Lyrics are everything
in country music; we only use the same four
basic chords, so the music is just the seat for
the words to sit on. I found that some lyrics
came quickly Nashville Grey Skies was a fast
song to write; I Just Wanna Love You came
together in about an hour; but sometimes I can
spend an entire day getting the words just how
I want them because they are the entire focus
of the record and they have to be right.
By the time you read this, the Shires will
have played at the legendary The Grand Ole
Opry venue in Nashville. Ben is both excited
and nervous about such a huge event. Yeah,
we knew there had to be a time when we
played in America, and took our country music
over to them and our first date is at The Opry,
so no pressure!
The Shires record-breaking debut album
Brave is out now. They tour the UK throughout
October, and their latest single State Lines is
available on iTunes.
www.theshiresmusic.com
feature d-35 turns 50
american
beauty
WORDS: david mead images: richard ecclestone
To honour the occasion of the D-35s 50th anniversary, David Mead

speaks to Chris Martin IV and Dick Boak from C.F. Martin & Co.
n order to get the most accurate overview

of the D-35s illustrious history, theres no
finer place to go than to C.F. Martin & Co.
themselves. First of all, I caught up with the
companys CEO and great-great-great-grandson of
Christian Frederick Martin himself, Chris Martin
IV. Where better to start than with the origins of
the D-35s three piece back
We were running out of Brazilian rosewood.
Wed run out, basically, by 1969 and so even in
65 they knew something was going on and that
it was harder to get and more expensive. We
had pieces of Brazilian rosewood that we had
set aside because there was degrade around
the edges, so we reasoned that if we took those
and used a third piece as a wedge in the centre
we could still utilise them to make guitar backs,
theyd just be three pieces instead of two. We
werent the first people to do this, but we solved
the problem of using this wood and keeping
production going, starts Chris.
Someone said that it wasnt enough and that
we needed to do something else jazz it up and
actually ask a premium for it. So we introduced
it as a premium to the D-28; not in between a
D-18 and a D-28 but above the D-28 and below
36
the D-45, which we werent making back then.

So initially it was conservational, but then they
went beyond that and there were a couple of
years where it actually outsold all of the other
dreadnought models.
The D-35 proved to be an immediate success
with players. After all, 1965 was right at the birth
of the burgeoning singer-songwriter boom, with
artists like the Byrds, Joni Mitchell, and James
Taylor waiting in the wings. You know, part of
it may have been that they wanted something
a little new everybody knew what a D-18 was
and what a D-28 was, but they might have been
thinking, Heres a new Martin thats having some
success commercially, Ive got a few bucks in my
pocket and Im going to treat myself I think
that bound fingerboard was really distinctive;
that really set the guitar off visually. I mean, it
was a pain in the ass to put the frets on, but thats
another story!
I have a book called The Most Revolutionary
Year In Music: 1965 and in this book, the author
talks about some of the cultural things that were
happening that year. In 65 there were riots in
Watts in Los Angeles, Malcolm X was killed,
it was the first year that President Johnson
officially sent soldiers to Vietnam and

declared it a war. Youve got the Grateful
Dead performing their first concert,
Jefferson Airplane debuting in San
Francisco, then you have Hunter
Thompson, The Hells Angels, Allen
Ginsberg and Neil Cassidy attending
an LSD-fuelled party at Ken Keseys
house. So there was a lot going on
politically and it really converted
folk musicians from that sort of cutesy
Kingston Trio, Tom Dooley kind of thing
to, Hey, were going to write songs about
some of the current political issues that we are
confronted with in the mid 1960s. Nobody
realised it at the time, but the D-35 came along
at a time when musicians were suddenly able
to crystallise the angst that people were feeling
about some of these pressing issues around race
and war.
One of the more noticeable differences
between the two contemporary models I have
in for review and the vintage 1968 D-35 is the
shape of the headstock. Id never noticed the
rounded corners before when did Martin
return to the flat top headstock?
Left to right: Martin D-35E

Retro, Martin D-35 Standard
Edition, 1968 Brazilian
rosewood Martin D-35.
as you can see, the top of 68 D-35 has

mellowed down to a lovely amber and the
binding around the top and back has taken
on that vintage creamy off-white hue, too.
the D-35 proved to be an immediate success

with players. after all, 1965 was right at the
birth of the burgeoning singer-songwriter
boom with artists like the Byrds, Joni Mitchell,
and James taylor waiting in the wings.
When we realised it was happening! it

happened over time and it was very subtle and
because it happened so gradually, by the time
we noticed it was really obvious, but we hadnt
seen it. so we asked ourselves, How on earth did
that happen? and it was because the fixture was
wearing and so they just kept getting rounder and
rounder until someone said, somethings going
on here oh, the fixtures wearing out! so we
built a new fixture, laughs chris.
it was like a famous short video which ive seen
several times; its a psychological thing, they tell
you to watch these people passing a basketball
back and forth very carefully. theyre passing the
basketball by bouncing it and so youre watching
and watching and then, when the video is over,
they ask you what you saw. everyone says that
38
the three-piece Brazilian rosewood back of

a 1968 Martin D-35, available from replay
acoustics in Kent, uK
its just people passing a basketball back and forth

and they say, oh, so you didnt see the gorilla?
and when you watch it again in slow motion
someone walks behind them wearing a gorilla
suit! no one ever sees it because theyre so intent
on watching those basketballs.
along with the standard and retro models,
there are a couple of special 50th anniversary
D-35s We did a madagascar rosewood one,
because we couldnt get Brazilian as its getting
so hard to export. We have a little cache of
madagascar and its the same thing as before,
we had some back pieces with defects which we
could cut down for wedges and so that worked
out. We introduced a new limited edition model
at the Frankfurt show which has electronics in
it, were going to do a 60th Birthday chris martin
three-piece back model at the summer namm

show and were also going to do a reintroduction
D-1235 because that was also introduced in 1965.
every standard D-35 model that we make this
year will have a label and laser etching on the
block commemorating the fact that, even though
its just a standard D-35, it was made in the 50th
anniversary year. so anyone who buys something
D-35 related from us this year will receive some
kind of acknowledgement that its an anniversary
guitar. the funny thing is that if you look at the
D-18, D-28 and the D-45 then the D-35 is the
youngest sibling of that family and here we are,
50 years later and its still an important part of
the martin model line-up, chris finishes.
the next stop in my archeological dig around
the D-35s history was a chat with Dick Boak
who is the director of C.F. Martin & Co.s museum

and company archive. We discussed the more
technical issues of the guitars development and,
as is usual with new models, the story really
began with the building of the first prototypes.
A prototype was made with standard D-28
bracing, which is 5/16ths of an inch (7.94mm)
in width and that particular model was called
an X-35. That guitar had such a big heavy bass
response that it was felt that the bracing was
too heavy for the specific tonal dynamics of a
three-piece back. A three-piece back seems to
increase the bass response for some reason. So
they made three more pairs of prototypes with
different bracing configurations, some that had
D-28 bracing and some that had the thinner
triple-0 bracing and some that had a combination
of the two. The one that they decided upon had
thin quarter inch (6.35mm) top braces and more
delicate triple-0 sized back braces. The thinner
bracing seemed to counteract the tonal dynamics
of the three-piece back and produce a guitar
that still had a very nice strong bass but had a
powerful treble response as well, says Dick.
The D-35 was also very pretty; people really
responded to the beauty of the three-piece back
and the contrast between the wings and the
centre wedge, because they purposefully tried to
pick woods that contrasted. People who owned
D-35s from the 1969/70 era will notice that,
during the transition between Brazilian and
Indian rosewood, sometimes Brazilian rosewood
was utilised as the centre wedge or sometimes
as the wings on guitars which would normally
be Indian rosewood. Thats something that
confuses people sometimes; they would have
a D-35 that was made after we stopped using
Brazilian rosewood but it has a component
or two of Brazilian that was
being used up.
I expect youre now
going to be inundated
with D-35 owners
from that era
who are curious
to know whether
they have one of
the hybrid models.
Anybody who knows
wood can pretty
readily identify
Brazilian rosewood
by the spidery black
overlapping landscape
grain versus the more
reddish purple colour of
East Indian. Its pretty
easy to tell for us and a
photograph sent to Martin
Customer Service can verify
that, too.
Every Standard D-35 model that we make

this year will have a label and laser etching on
the block commemorating the fact that, even
though its just a Standard D-35, it was made
in the 50th anniversary year. Chris Martin IV
What about the D-35s

evolution since the 1960s? The
original D-35s had mitred
fingerboard bindings and as
the popularity of the model
increased in the late 1960s,
that was suspended in favour
of a continuous piece of
binding that rounds around
the end of the fingerboard,
which is the way that the
D-35s are still made now.
Other than that, and apart
from the changeover from
Brazilian to East Indian
rosewood, there havent been
any significant alterations
to the models design or dimensions. There

have been new models that have been offered;
when we reintroduced the herringbone D-28
[the HD-28] we concurrently issued the HD-35
which has scalloped bracing which we call high
performance bracing because its the thinnest
that we offer on any of our dreadnought guitars.
So the HD-35 has an even more balanced tonality,
very similar I think to the D-28. When I compare
those two models, I consider the HD-35 to have
a heavier bass response than the D-28 and I
consider the HD-28 to have more treble and
balance than the D-28 or the HD-35. These are
subtle tonal differences that I notice after playing
hundreds of each of these models, but thats not
to say that one instrument might jump out of
the pack as being more bassy or more trebly or
more balanced or whatever. guitars are made

with individual pieces of wood and even though
each model tends to have a pretty consistent tone
across the board, if you were to line 10 of them
up and play them all, theres invariably one that
stands out as being a little more bassy and one
thats a little more trebly and the others tend to
fall in line in the middle.
How do you think that the D-35 compares
to the D-45? Well the D-45 has also changed
from being a Brazilian rosewood scalloped
instrument to being an indian rosewood
unscalloped instrument to nowadays being an
indian rosewood scalloped instrument. so its
gone through three configurations and many
different versions like the D-45V or the models
that have been made in different tonewoods, like
madagascar rosewood and cocobolo or various
different custom shop options. But if were
talking about stock models then the original D-35
would compare to a 1960s D-45 as being perhaps
a little more balanced and a little less thick in the
bass. once the D-45 became scalloped again i
would then equate it to the HD-28 in tone.
one of the main differences between the
standard and Retro D-35s that i have here is
the top wood: sitka spruce for the standard and
european spruce for the Retro. i think they
wanted to make the Retro a little more special
than the standard. if you were to try to analyse
the tonal differences in all of the spruces, it comes
down to tapping them to see what note they
produce. You pinch the guitar at the very top of
the soundboard and tap it where the bridge is
going to be and it produces a note that you can
actually read with a guitar tuner. of course its
easy to produce a great guitar with any of these
different spruces, but from my experience from
the D-35 was also very pretty; people

really responded to the beauty of the
three-piece back and the contrast between
the wings and the centre wedge, because
they purposefully tried to pick woods that
contrasted. Martins Dick Boak.
just fooling around with tapping tops, i find that

sitka spruce produces a very low, rumbling and
boomy bass note. conversely, adirondack, which
typically has a wider grain but is still very stiff,
produces a much higher pitch. the other spruces
tend to fall in between european alpine spruce,
which would be kind of in the middle and pretty
close to adirondack, then engelmann spruce is
a little bit lower, but not as low as sitka. there
are many other spruces that vary in their tap
tones and it can vary within the same species.
Personally, i tend to like the higher pitch, though
sitka spruce tends to do very well on guitars
that are chosen for vocal accompaniment or on
smaller bodied guitars where it is balanced out by
the natural treble response.
i noticed that the vintage D-35 seemed to be
a little bit lighter than the new standard and
seems richer in tone. they certainly do lose
weight and gain clarity as they age. it is our hope
that martin guitars start out with tremendously
open and balanced tone, but as the guitar ages,
especially after the lacquer has expelled all of
its solvents, which happens pretty quickly, and
the wood has expelled much of its moisture
content and cellular structure, the guitars tend
to lose weight and shrink up a little bit and the
dryness really continues to improve the tone of
the instrument. i think they lose about seven per
cent or more in weight and up to seven per cent
in terms of dimension.
the martin D-35 celebrates its 50th
anniversary this year. martin guitars are
available from dealers around the country you
can find your nearest dealer by visiting their
website. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the
50th anniversary models in stores near you.
www.martinguitar.com
cLaSS OF
David Mead enjoys a

close encounter with a
vintage D-35
ver the years, I have had the

great privilege of playing a
number of vintage instruments,
both electric and acoustic.
Some have had celebrity owners, others
have come my way because of the job I do.
Ive even owned a couple, but sold them
because I was so nervous about having
them around the house! But when our
friends at Replay Acoustics said they had a
vintage specimen of the birthday boy D-35
that they would happily lend to us,
we really couldnt refuse. After all,
its great to look at both ends
of this models history we
have two contemporary models and now one

from only the third year of production.
So may I present to you a 1968 Martin
D-35, serial number 240803 and a mighty
fine specimen it is, too. As far as battle scars
are concerned, there are actually very few
in evidence. There are three minor hairline
cracks in the guitars back that run along
the wood grain all previously treated
and rendered benign and are practically
invisible unless you really know theyre
there. Theres another to the front, just
below the pickguard and a slight knock on
the headstock, but apart from that this D-35
seems to have endured the last 47 years in
the hands of players who have treated it with
due respect. Theres no buckle rash to the
back or much wear to the rear of the neck or
frets and I must say that Ive seen instruments
much younger than this with many more
dings and blemishes than are present here.
The only work that has been carried
out that we know about for sure is that its
recently had a neck reset by Dave King and
so its in fine fettle and a beautiful example of
an early D-35.
When I first opened the case, I thought
that the top must be Adirondack because of
the wide grain, but this struck
me as a bit odd because
Martin werent
using that
particular
spruce
during the 1960s. I confirmed this with Dick

Boak who told me that Martin stopped buying
Adirondack during the 1950s and so the top is
almost certainly Sitka. He went on to say that
some of the Sitka spruce purchased back then
by the company exhibited the wide grain
pattern Im seeing here. As you can see from
the photographs, the top has mellowed down
to a lovely amber and the binding around
the top and back has taken on that vintage
creamy off-white hue, too.
In 1968, Brazilian rosewood was still the
order of the day for the D-35s back and here
the grain isnt by any means the wildest
that Ive seen but still shows signs of the
characteristic whorls and swirls in the wood,
particularly on what Martin refer to as the
wings. This was a time when that particular
timber was only just beginning to show signs
of becoming difficult to obtain and was still
fairly commonplace on acoustic guitar backs.
How things have changed!
As you will have read in the interview with
Chris Martin IV, I was struck by the shape of
the headstock something that became really
obvious when I had all three D-35s lined up on
stands in front of me. I was curious to know
when it was that Martin altered the shape but,
as Chris told me, this was not an intentional
design adjustment but merely due to the wear
and tear of a component in the factory. Once
they realised what was happening, the part
was replaced and Martin headstocks took on
their familiar flat-topped design once again.
I took the opportunity to play the same tune

on all three D-35s and the 68 won hands down
in the tonal stakes. Chris Martin didnt seem
surprised by this, merely saying, Yeah, well; its
Brazilian and its time, yknow
Weve said many times in the magazine that
its fearfully difficult to describe tone, but this
D-35 definitely has a richer, smoother and more
broad timbre to it than its modern counterparts.
Brazilian rosewood is renowned for producing
complex overtones and uncanny sustain and
that is certainly the case here. Just picking the
harmonics at the 12th fret produces a sort of
bloom and an almost cathedral-like wash of
resonance as the notes decay. Chords sound
massive, too; strumming an E minor in the open
position becomes a physical experience as its
possible to feel the guitar vibrating against
your chest. The basses are very strong and the
trebles well, if sound can be ascribed a colour
then the trebles here are golden. Theres also
bags of volume on hand, the Brazilian rosewood
seemingly having increased the useful dynamic
range to the extent that, even when played
whisperingly quiet, youre still rewarded with
an amazing tonal response.
Thats enough frothy emotional stuff from
me. If youre in the market for a vintage
instrument in very fine condition with a set of
larynges to die for then visit Replay Acoustics
website. This 68 D-35 could be yours for 4,850.
With thanks to Tony at Replay Acoustics for
his generous loan of the instrument.
www.replayacoustics.co.uk
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gear Martin D-35 and D-35E Retro 1,999 & 2,749
Martin
D-35
Standard
& D-35E
Retro
David Mead renders a chorus
or two of Happy Birthday to a
brace of Martin D-35s
s you will have noticed from all the bunting

and associated frivolity throughout this
months issue, C.F. Martin & Co. is celebrating a
very special 50th birthday this year.
Over time, the D-35 has enjoyed the attention of players
like George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen, David Gilmour,
Van Morrison, Johnny Cash and a whole host of others.
Its history is more thoroughly detailed in my interviews
with Chris Martin IV and Dick Boak elsewhere in the
magazine but, briefly, this dreadnought was first launched
onto the market in 1965, its distinctive three-part back
in place to conserve the companys rapidly diminishing
stock of Brazilian rosewood for as long as possible. Despite
the back and sides being replaced with the more widely
available Indian rosewood at the close of the 1960s, the
guitar has seen very few cosmetic changes since its debut.
We have two examples of modern day D-35s: a Standard
Edition and a Retro to compare whats the difference?
Well, lets find out
App Extra
PRESS PLAY to
hear these in action
gear Martin D-35 anD D-35E rEtro 1,999 & 2,749

Martin D-35 STaNDarD
nEED tO KnOW
Manufacturer: Martin
Model: D-35 Standard
retail price: 1,999
Body Size: Dreadnought
Made in: USa
top: Sitka spruce
Back and Sides: East indian
rosewood
neck: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Ebony
Frets: 20
tuners: Grover
nut Width: 43mm
Scale Length: 645mm
Strings Fitted: Martin SP Medium
Left Handers: Yes
Gig Bag/Case included: Moulded
hardshell case
aCOUStiC tESt rESULtS
pros: Great sounding dread from a
treasured marque
Cons: nothing to declare
Overall: its nifty and its 50: a Martin
dreadnought with a rich history!
aCOUStiC ratinG
Sound Quality:
Build Quality:
Value for Money:
5 Stars: Superb, almost faultless.
4 Stars: excellent, hard to beat.
3 Stars: good, covers all bases well.
2 or 1 Stars: Below average, poor.
This dreadnought was rst launched onto the market in

1965, its distinctive three-part back in place to conserve the
companys rapidly diminishing stock of Brazilian rosewood.
D-35 StanDarD
the standard D-35 exists as the basic model, if there is anything basic about a
martin. as chris martin iV says in our interview, the company has produced
a few different takes on the original design in order to celebrate its longevity
in the music business, but this is essentially the no frills option.
BUiLD QUaLitY
the D-35 sits in the ranks of martin dreadnoughts between the D-28 and the
luxuriously appointed D-45, although way back in 1965 the latter was currently
out of production. a great deal of thought was packed into the D-35s voicing in
order that it feature as a contrast to its stablemates, the bracing being a case in
point. early models would have had either sitka or european spruce tops, but this
modern day standard version has sitka. as you might expect from a company
that prides itself on its choice of timber, the top here is immaculate and at
present a very pale yellow in hue under the polished gloss nish. the bracing
underside is 6mm sitka in the usual X pattern.
the back and sides here are east indian rosewood, the distinctive threepiece back having wings of dark wood with a wedge of milk chocolate
coloured timber in the centre as a contrast. even back in the Brazilian
rosewood days, every effort was made to show a difference in colour
between the outer and inner woods on the D-35s back and its good to
see that practice continuing today. all the inlays and binding back,
side and top are either white Boltaron or a white/black Boltaron
combo, the latter being used for the heel cap, too.
the D-35s neck is one-piece mahogany, although the spec on the
martin website states that it is select hardwood. i took this point
up with Fred greene, VP of the martin custom shop, and he told me
that select hardwood is a generic designation across the whole line.
apparently, there are times when mahogany supplies are low and
so similar woods like sipo (a member of the same family as mahogany)
is substituted. However its denitely mahogany on both the D-35s i
have before me now. i was glad to have cleared that one up its been
troubling me for years...
This D-35 sounds full and rounded with plenty of bass and
shimmering trebles to its name. The D-35 really does have
enough power to underscore a sung melody perfectly.
the machine heads are grover, sitting in trios on either side of the rosewood veneered
headstock with a 43mm bone nut at the top of the bound ebony ngerboard. its
bone once again for the 16-inch radius (406mm) compensated saddle, which
sits in the middle of an ebony belly-style bridge. needless to say, all the
workmanship is absolutely top class throughout the construction and im
eager to nd out what the D-35 is like in action.
SOUnD QUaLitY
i guess its safe to say that martins D series personies what most of us think
of as the classic dreadnought sound, although there are subtle variations built
into the range. this D-35 sounds full and rounded with plenty of bass and
shimmering trebles to its name. Youll notice that most of the famous names
who have taken the model up are singer-songwriters, and this is no coincidence
because the D-35 really does have enough power to underscore a sung melody
perfectly. to my ears, its brighter than a D-28, but the brightness isnt in the
least bit harsh. on the contrary, theres a lot of sweetness there and chords
sound full and wholesome as a result. Fingerpicking sounds good, too and
its not often you can say that about a dreadnought; but i found a clarity
that would suit both a solo instrumentalist or singer who just wants a little
sonic latticework under their melodies.
D-35E rEtrO
as you might expect, the spec between these two models is very
similar. Possibly the most striking difference is that the Retro
model includes a Fishman aura Plus pickup, but i understand that
there are a few other deviations along the line, too.
BUiLD QUaLitY
the thinking behind martins Retro series is to build them like mother
used to. so can we expect the exact formula as the guitars built back
in the mid-1960s? not exactly. the main difference, of course, is that
Brazilian rosewood is pretty much out of bounds for everyone these days
and so youre still getting indian rosewood as a substitute here. However, if

Martin D-35e reTrO
nEED tO KnOW
Manufacturer: Martin
Model: D-35E retro
retail price: 2,749
Body Size: Dreadnought
Made in: USa
top: European spruce
Back and Sides: East indian rosewood
neck: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Ebony
Frets: 20
tuners: Grover
nut Width: 44mm
Scale Length: 645mm
Onboard Electronics: Fishman F1 aura Plus
Strings Fitted: Martin SP Medium
Left Handers: Yes
Gig Bag/Case included: Moulded hardshell case
Contact Details: www.martinguitar.com
aCOUStiC tESt rESULtS
pros: a stage-ready dread with a vast tonal spectrum
Cons: the pickup takes a little time to fully understand
Overall: a high quality performance orientated
dreadnought which more than lives up to its revered
heritage
aCOUStiC ratinG
Sound Quality:
Build Quality:
Value for Money:
2 or 1 Stars: Below average, poor.COntaCt
DEtaiLS:
Westside Distribution / Martin Guitar
www.westsidedistribution.com
www.martinguitar.com
Fishmans aura technology is renowned for being able to

mimic either other guitar body sizes as is the case with the
foot pedal series or microphone proles, as is the situation
here. The electronic imaging built into the units preamp
was from a 1967 D-35 and so the chances are that the
amplied voice of the retro is as close as you can get to that
cherished vintage sound.
you have a taste for exotic hardwoods and a credit card that isnt already too fried,
martin is producing a special D-35 with madagascar rosewood back and sides
and a Brazilian rosewood centre wedge this is the D-35 Brazilian 50th
anniversary Limited edition, and only 100 have been made. martin has also
announced the D-35e 50th anniversary Limited edition with a european
spruce top (including martins Vintage tone system) combined with east
indian rosewood back, sides, and centre wedge. (check out the interview on
page 36 for more information about the 2015 anniversary D-35s.)
among the differences between these two D-35s, the rst is that the
Retros top is european spruce as opposed to sitka. im assured that this hasnt
been done on a whim, but merely to produce an alternative sound picture. in
any case, its a good looking piece of wood, nicely ambered with ageing toner
for additional vintage appeal. the Retros back and sides are indian rosewood
once again, with the same contrasting wedge of lighter coloured timber in
the centre of the back. another difference between this and the standard is
that the binding here is ivoroid instead of white Boltaron. its slightly less
vivid in appearance ivoroid being decidedly off-white in colour which
lends yet another touch of class to the guitars overall livery.
mahogany is the select hardwood on this model, too; but this
time the neck prole is different. on the standard model the neck
designation is low prole, but on the Retro its a low prole oval
with what martin refer to as a performing artist taper, which
enhances playability. Well see about that in a moment, but for
now well continue with the spec in the form of grover machine
heads and indian rosewood veneer, but this time the nut is
44mm, just one mm wider than on the standard.
apart from that, the saddle is once again bone, the bridge
ebony and just about everything else is as we left it with the
standard model. Did i mention that this guitar has a second strap
pin? obviously it has been built with performance in mind.
SOUnD QUaLitY
Fishmans aura technology is renowned for being able to mimic either
other guitar body sizes as is the case with the foot pedal series or microphone
The thinking behind Martins retro Series is to build them

like mother used to. So can we expect the exact formula as
the guitars built back in the mid 1960s? Not exactly. The
main difference, of course, is that Brazilian rosewood is
pretty much out of bounds.
proles, as is the situation here. the electronic imaging built into the units preamp was from
a 1967 D-35 and so the chances are that the amplied voice of the Retro is as close as you
can get to that cherished vintage sound.
acoustically, though, i switched back and forth between the two D-35s and despite
the more obvious fact that the Retro is heavier because of the pickup and preamp
on board, the sound here is perhaps more open than on its standard counterpart.
it sounds more mature, too, if you see what i mean. i think that the standard might
be a tad louder, but any loudness is like that of an enthused juvenile as opposed to
the Retros more grown up reserve. i guess that i could round it all up by saying that,
acoustically at least, the Retro has a little bit more going on under the bonnet than the
standard in terms of its tonal soundscape.
the Fishman aura Plus is not the easiest preamp system that ive seen as it takes
a while to fully come to terms with the multifunctional controls that span easy mode,
performance mode, phase, tuning, tone, and volume with just two rotary/push
buttons. However, just a brief run through with the manual revealed that there
are plenty of alternative sounds to explore. i set the pickup to P which is dry and
unaffected in order to best hear the raw audio and the result was pleasing to say
the least. that tonal maturity i mentioned a moment ago really comes through
and icking through the different mic simulations reveals that there certainly
is bags here to play with. With all this diversity at hand, the chances are good
that a performer will nd exactly the amplied sound he or she is looking for.
COnCLUSiOn
Youre going to ask me which one i prefer, arent you? You know, its a
difcult question to answer as both are simply fabulous in their own
right. the standard is a straightforward, good-sounding dread with all
the accompanying punch that martin has built their reputation upon. the
Retro is around 750 more expensive, but youre getting more variation,
not only from the european spruce, which i think adds a dimension to the
acoustic sound, but from the pickups vast tonal palette, too. in the end, its
horses for courses; if performance or recording is your aim, then the extra
money for the Retro will be well spent. if youre after a dread-for-all-seasons, as
well as a little bit of guitar history, youd do no better than seeking out the standard.
David mead
51
047.indd 47
22/05/2015 14:03
049.indd 49
22/05/2015 13:57
gear Vintage Viaten 229

App Extra
PRESS PLAY to
52
VINtAGE Viaten
David Mead looks at a recent addition to the Paul Brett Vintage

Signature range from John hornby Skewes
egular readers will know that Acoustics

very own Paul Brett has been working with
the people at Vintage to produce a range of
signature instruments and a very interesting
bunch they are, too. First of all there were the six and
12-string models, followed by the Viator travel
guitar and now the Viaten tenor plus Gemini
baritone are set to join the critically acclaimed
ranks. I reviewed the Viator when it came
out a couple of years ago and found it to be
excellent, very modestly priced and bags of fun
all at the same time. So Im eager to see what the
collaboration between Paul and the boffins at Vintage
have come up with this time
BUILD QUALItY
Its not very often that we get the chance to hear about
a project like the Viaten from the people behind it, but
seeing as Paul is close at hand I was able to ask him to
colour in the background to the tenors origins.
Vintage and I are trying to add instruments to the
range that they havent already got in place, he tells
me. From my perspective, the Viator Travel guitar has
been a brilliant success with loads being sold and so I
wanted to add a tenor in a similar vein but with some
design modifications. These include a solid headstock
and a different shaped neck which is based more on
an early European design rather than Americana. The
binding is different but still keeps the look of my other
Vintage guitars. I also wanted it to have the flexibility

VINtAGE VIaTeN
NEED tO KNOW
Manufacturer: Vintage
Model: Viaten
retail price: 229
Body Size: tenor (see text)
Made In: china
top: Spruce
Back and Sides: Sapele
Neck: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Sonokeling
Frets: 18
tuners: open gear style
Nut Width: 35mm
Scale Length: 559mm
Left Handers: no
Gig Bag/Case Included: custom
Viaten padded carry bag
ACOUStIC tESt rESULtS
pros: Superbly well built and bags of fun!
Cons: no issues at this price
Overall: another signature instrument
in a range that is already justly
celebrated far and wide
ACOUStIC rAtING
Sound Quality:
Build Quality:
Value for Money:
CONtACt DEtAILS:
JHS
www.jhs.co.uk
to adapt to different tunings and i wanted it to be loud

and good for both picking and strumming.
tenor guitars seem to have originated around the
1920s and were designed to give four string banjo
players a chance to double on guitar.
a four-stringed instrument, the
tenor is tuned in fifths as opposed
to the fourths tuning found on
the regular instrument. the
most common tuning is c, g, D,
a bass to treble, but, as Paul says
above, the thinking was that
players could adopt and adapt
where tunings are concerned and
go where their musical whim takes
them at any one time. these days, youll
hear tenor guitars in many of the socalled neo acoustic bands as well as a
few traditional folk outts. nick cave,
the Kate Rusby Band and seth Lakeman
have taken to the tenor cause and so it
looks like this diminutive addition to the
Vintage range could be a timely one.
Different makers tend to build tenor
acoustics to varying dimensions and
so, for completeness sake, ill give you
the Viaten statistics, if youll excuse the
pun. measuring just 820mm from tip to
toe and with just four strings, it would
be easy to confuse the Viaten with a
large ukulele. But to my eyes, it looks
The standard tuning for

a tenor guitar is C, g, a,
D, the bass C being the
same pitch as the one
found at the third fret on
a regular guitars a string.
realistically speaking, the
worlds your oyster here
as many different tunings
will sit well on the Viaten.
more like a smaller parlour instrument. the body is

390mm long and 283mm wide, measured at the bridge
and it has a depth of an average 84mm. so its sweet
and petite with an immediately recognisable family
lineage as the overall look and body dcor is very
similar indeed to Pauls other signature models.
so the Viatens top is spruce with both bindings and
rosette made from a herringbone pattern of rosewood
and maple. as weve come to expect from the Vintage
series, everything is very neat and tidy both inside and
out, the bodys matte finish adding an extra touch of
class. Back and sides are sapele, that generally honeytoned timber presented here in a darker hue forming a
rich contrast to the pale spruce top.
theres a maple heel cap at the base of the mahogany
neck a three-piece affair with a separate heel and
an almost invisible scarf joint at the top. tuners are
unbranded Waverly lookalikes, open-backed with
those distinctive old style buttons. over on the front
of the headstock, theres a rosewood veneer that
bears the Vintage logo and model name and a suitably
slender bone nut rests at the top of the sonokeling
fingerboard. this is a timber that is, for all intents
and purposes, from the same tree as indian rosewood
but differs in place of origin and climate. Popular
in indonesia, the colour tends to vary more than its
indian counterpart, but here on the Viaten if someone
had told me it was indian rosewood i would not have
questioned it. Finally, back at the body end, the bridge
is sonokeling once again, with a bone string saddle
and four plastic pins.
the Viaten is an attractive little chap and im
thinking that id better plumb the depths of my
memory to haul up some mandolin chords for the
next section.

SOUND QUALItY
as ive said, the standard tuning for a tenor guitar
is c, g, a, D, the bass c being the same pitch as the
one found at the third fret on a regular guitars
a string. Realistically speaking, the worlds
your oyster here as many different
tunings will sit well on the Viaten and
might possibly take your fretboard
meanderings in some very interesting
new directions at the same time. i
decided to stick with the norm for my
tests here and what i found was a very
lively little instrument that packs
quite a punch in the volume stakes,
too. its easily as loud as a lot of mandolins
that ive played, but somehow more fun.
Having only four strings is by no means a
limitation either, and its easy to imagine the
Viatens voice sitting perfectly in the mix in
practically any acoustic ensemble. its bright,
sweet and vibrant and i think it would keep
any seasoned player happy for ages.
These days, youll hear tenor guitars in many of the so-called

neo acoustic bands as well as a few traditional folk outts.
Nick Cave, The Kate rusby Band and Seth Lakeman have taken
to the tenor cause.
CONCLUSION
it really is remarkable that Vintage keep
coming up with quality instruments at
bargain prices like this. the Viaten will sit
well in the burgeoning Paul Brett signature
series and its future looks bright, too.
over to the man himself: We are putting
out a new version of the Viator with a
different antique finish, an onboard Fishman
matrix system and a usB output. the Viaten
will have this option, too. i have a sample of
the Viator with these additions and it sounds
great via an amp and with the usB you can
record direct to any device that has a
usB input. they are putting it out
as a limited edition in June for
only 30 or so more than the
acoustic version.
a pickup would increase
the appeal of the Viaten for
many players out there on
the circuit and the ability to
plug it directly into a DaW on
a computer really is the icing
on the cake. congratulations
are due all round!
David mead
The Viatens top is spruce with both bindings and rosette made
from a herringbone pattern of rosewood and maple. as weve
come to expect from the Vintage series, everything is very neat
and tidy both inside and out, the bodys matte nish adding an
extra touch of class.
Having only four strings is by no means a limitation and its

easy to imagine the Viatens voice sitting perfectly in the mix in
practically any acoustic ensemble. Its bright, sweet and vibrant
and it would keep any seasoned player happy for ages.
56
055.indd 55
22/05/2015 12:42
057.indd 57
22/05/2015 13:58
JERRY DOUGLAS BLACKBEARD
GEAR JERRY DOUGLAS BLACKBEARD 3,699
58
I have to recall Bob Brozman telling

me that a good resonator suitably
drop tuned should be able to shatter
a kidney stone at 30 feet!
David Mead takes on Blackbeard

and plunders a treasure hoard of tone
ike most people in the uK, i rst discovered

Jerry Douglas playing via BBc 4s excellent
transatlantic sessions programme. on further
investigation, of course, this turns out to be the
merest tip of a very large iceberg because Jerry has won
14 grammy awards and appeared on over 1,600 albums
including those by Ray charles, eric clapton, Dolly
Parton, mumford & sons and Paul simon. Renowned
as a lap steel virtuoso, Jerry became a Beard guitars
endorsee in 2008, the year that his rst signature model
appeared in the catalogue. the Blackbeard is the latest
model in the line and features a brand new type of
Fishman pickup. so lets grab a spyglass and move in for
a closer look
BUILD QUALITY
Paul Beard rst started making resonator guitars in
1985, after leaving college clutching degrees in aviation
mechanics and mechanical engineering. Hed been a fan
of reso guitars since the age of 18, but became dissatised
with the standard of instruments he was coming across
and decided that the time was ripe to begin putting
matters right with his own designs. He made good use
of modern technologies that had become available since
the inception of the resonator and now, his guitars have
found their way into the hands of players like LeRoy
mack, mike auldridge and Jerry Douglas.
cosmetically, the Blackbeard has the look of some of
the historic instruments pioneered by the Dopyera family
back in the 1920s. im sure i dont need to explain that the
name Blackbeard is in place because, well, its black and

JERRY DOUGLAS
BLACKBEARD
NEED TO KNOW
Manufacturer: Paul Beard
Model: Jerry Douglas Blackbeard
Retail Price: 3,699
Body Size: Resonator
Made In: USA
Top: Mahogany
Back and Sides: Mahogany
Neck: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Mahogany
Frets: 19
Tuners: Gotoh
Nut Width: 51mm
Scale Length: 635mm
Onboard Electronics: Fishman Nashville
Strings Fitted: DAddario EXP .016 - .056
Gig Bag/Case Included: Custom hardshell case
ACOUSTIC TEST RESULTS
Pros: An excellent resonator designed for a player
at the top of the class
Cons: If youre not a lap steel player, you wont
want to linger here
Overall: Top notch tones and an ease of playing
that really draws you in!
ACOUSTIC RATING
Sound Quality:
Build Quality:
Value for Money:
4 Stars: Excellent, hard to beat.
3 Stars: Good, covers all bases well.
CONTACT DETAILS:
The Music Room
www.themusicroom-online.co.uk
www.beardguitars.com
made by Paul Beard. But i will

just mention that theres also a
Brownbeard model as well
and before you ask, its a clear
nish, allowing the natural
good looks of the body timber
to shine through.
in any case, despite the
fact that the photos of this
guitar might imply that the
black nish is impenetrable,
its actually see-through, given
the right lighting conditions. as
such, its possible to see that the
body is made from mahogany
as the tell-tale grain shows
through. in fact, it turns out that
just about everything on this
guitar is mahogany, including
the ngerboard, but well get
to that in a minute. meanwhile
the body plays host to the
resonator mechanism which
has been adapted and modied
over the years by Paul Beard.
the mechanics here include a
#14 spider, a Legend cone and a
chrome coverplate with Pauls
trademarked spinning palm motif.
the two chromed rings on the
upper bout form the bass bafe
Renowned as a lap steel virtuoso,

Jerry became a Beard Guitars
endorsee in 2008, the year that
his first signature model appeared
in the catalogue. The Blackbeard
is the latest model in the line.
and at this point i have to recall Bob Brozman telling me
that a good resonator suitably drop tuned should be able
to shatter a kidney stone at 30 feet!
the Blackbeards neck is squared off, measuring a
at 50mm on the rear and constructed from one piece
of mahogany. this is a reminder that this guitar was
designed solely for lap steel purposes and not adapted
from a straight resonator with a standard issue neck.
in fact, if we needed any further clues to this guitars
purpose, you only have to look at the 20mm high bone
nut and mahogany ngerboard. Well, i say ngerboard
but you know what i mean. aside from the dot inlays
down the fretboard, theres Jerry Douglas signature
inlaid in the top fret. in all areas, the quality of
workmanship is immaculate and the Blackbeard really
does look ready wield its cutlass. so id better go and nd
myself a slide, raise the Jolly Roger and see if i can shiver
some timbres!
SOUND QUALITY
sitting here with the Blackbeard, i was immediately
enchanted by its acoustic sound and how easy it was to
achieve an authentic voice. i tuned to open D as its about
as close to the familiar territory of DaDgaD as youre
going to get with an open tuning. as such, the bass really
does have a lot of punch and the trebles are powerful, too.
i think that the warmth of the mahogany mixed with a
resos slightly nasal overtones really mix together well to
produce an excellent set of tones.
as i mentioned in the introduction, the Blackbeard
comes tted with a Fishman nashville pickup. there
are two types available for resophonic guitars: a two
piece saddle for spider-style and one that replaces
the guitars biscuit saddle completely and features an
embedded piezo-ceramic pickup. its the latter we have

here and although Fishman recommend
using a preamp between the guitar and
amplier in order to take advantage
of the nashvilles full range of tones,
its not essential and so i decided to go
my usual route of plugging the guitar
direct into an aeR compact 60. there
are no preamp controls on the body of
the Blackbeard, but even through the
aeR with the eQ set at i was able to
establish that the pickup here is as powerful
and punchy as the guitar itself. an almost
perfect match, in fact. as such the acoustic
sound of the Blackbeard is given a few
fathoms of additional depth that bass really
does come through and i would imagine that
just a little bit of gain on an amp would take
you rmly into the seasick steve area of slide
debauchery. But kept on an even keel, the
electried voice of the Blackbeard has a lot to
offer and in the hands of a player like Jerry
Douglas could make some serious waves.
The bass really does have a lot of

punch and the trebles are powerful,
too. I think that the warmth of the
mahogany mixed with a resos slightly
nasal overtones really mix together well
to produce an excellent set of tones.
CONCLUSION
ive played many resonators before but can
honestly say that ive enjoyed spending
time with this one more than any other.
its all there, ready and waiting and if you
want to know what this guitar sounds
like in the hands of a real maestro then i
urge you to seek out the Youtube video of
Jerry rehearsing the song on a monday
in the dressing room backstage
with the tedeschi trucks
Band. the playing is
simply marvellous and
despite the lack of
any professionally
produced audio or
production reworks,
you can hear that the
Blackbeard really does
rule the waves!
David mead
Aside from the dot inlays down the

fretboard, theres Jerry Douglas
signature inlaid in the top fret. In all
areas, the quality of workmanship on
offer is immaculate.
The Blackbeards neck is squared off,

measuring a flat 50mm on the rear
and constructed from one piece of
mahogany. This is a reminder that
this guitar was designed solely for lap
steel purposes and not adapted from
a straight resonator with a standard
issue neck.
62
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063.indd 63
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LArrIVE oM-03ww
GEAR larriVe oM-03ww 1,249
these guitars are so immaculately built, youd think a 3D

printer had churned them out yet this is a crafted, organic
product designed to create art.
if youre looking for a ngerpicker with a

difference, you walnut be disappointed.
Alun Lower takes a closer look at the
larrive oM-03 ww
nyone in the least bit familiar with reviews

of Larrive guitars will know that they
generally only go one way, and thats
straight to the ve star club and assuring
themselves a place right at the top of any magazines
annual best gear awards. so consistent in quality are
they, that every time i know im going to be looking at
a new Larrive i always feel like a certain part of the
review is going to write itself. curiously, that didnt
happen on this occasion as ive never played an allwalnut guitar before in my life. Back and sides, sure
but never the entire body. so while im more than
familiar with Larrives om-03, i really had no idea
what to expect, tonally, from such an instrument. that
makes for quite the enticing prospect indeed, so without
further ado, lets get to the good stuff.
BUILD QUALItY
For all my admiration of Larrive, i honestly found
myself in the unfathomable situation of being a little
underwhelmed upon rst opening the case. guitars
featuring walnut that ive tested in the past have always
featured some beautiful guring, but the om-03 actually
looks fairly at and uninteresting and thats coming from
someone who generally likes to keep his guitars as simple
as possible. the matte nish, while awless in quality and
perfectly applied, really doesnt help matters making
what should be an exotic wood look more like a laminate.
in truth the neck is the most visually appealing element on
64 acoustic magazine SuMMeR 2015
App Extra
Download the Acoustic app
to hear this in action
june 2015 acoustic magazine 65

LArrIVE oM-03WW
NEED tO KNOW
Manufacturer: larrive
Model: oM-03ww
retail price: 1,249
Body Size: oM
Made In: Usa
top: solid Peruvian walnut
Back and Sides: solid Peruvian
walnut
Neck: Mahogany
Fingerboard: african ebony
Frets: 20
tuners: Ping, 18:1
Nut Width: 1
Scale Length: 25.5
Left Handers: no
Gig Bag/Case Included: hardshell case
pros: Great value for money awlessly
built guitar from a great name
Cons: lack of guring on the walnut may
leave some feeling a little short-changed
Overall: Unique voice and tonal contrast
for ngerstylists if thats you, check
this out
ACOUStIC rAtING
Sound Quality:
Build Quality:
Value for Money:
5 Stars: superb, almost faultless.
CONtACt DEtAILS:
Sound technology Ltd.
www.soundtech.co.uk
66
acoustic magazine SuMMeR 2015
display, being the only piece of wood

on the entire guitar that looks to
have any depth and variance in
the grain. granted this wont
be an important factor in the
slightest for most people and
certainly doesnt impact how
this guitar sounds but every
element in guitar design has a
factor on the players enjoyment
and for me the looks just dont hit the
mark on this occasion.
all of that said, every other
conceivable facet of the om-03s
construction is just ludicrously good.
in all my days, i dont think ive ever
come across a guitar builder that can
rival the consistency of quality that
Larrive offer. every element is netuned to perfection, from the quality
and performance of the tuners to the
pinpoint accuracy of the binding. every
fret is led and polished immaculately,
with superb intonation and playability.
the action as always is set to the exact
height i have come to expect (and
thoroughly enjoy), while string tension
and tuning stability are also excellent.
these guitars are so immaculately built,
youd think a 3D printer had churned
them out yet this is a crafted, organic
product designed to create art. Larrive
clearly has the keenest eye for balance
and detail that you could
hope for and it pays
off in spades.
elsewhere
on the guitar
you have an
immaculate
ebony
ngerboard,
bridge and
headstock
fascia, each
inlaid awlessly
with the dot
marker and
Larrive logo
details.
the top
there will be plenty of you out there

that will fall head over heels for the
oM-03s unique voice. Fingerpickers,
in particular, do need to try out this
guitar if looking to spend somewhere in
this price range.
is supported by Larrives symmetrical parabolic
X-bracing, and is accented nicely by the herringbone
rosette and crisp maple binding.
SOUND QUALItY
Reservations about the looks aside, the one thing i was
looking forward to more than anything with the om-03
was to experience the tones of an all-walnut body crafted
by one of the best in the business. the resulting tone is
something that surprised and challenged me in many
ways, and ill do my best to describe exactly why.
Without a doubt my favourite element of the tone is the
bass response. We talk about clarity of the low end but this
is something else almost baritone-like in its response and
denition, especially if you experiment with some alternate
tunings. its a beautiful, expansive and dark tone that begs
to be played and had me hooked from the rst note. the
om-03 obviously looks very similar to an all-mahogany
instrument at rst glance and for that reason my brain told
me to expect a bias towards the mid-range, but in truth the
mids are relatively subdued and instead you get a bright,
balanced high end taking over the tone. its a different sort
of treble, though not sparkly or zingy like a spruce top
but somewhere between cedar and mahogany. theres just
a little bit of roll-off that stops the high end getting ahead
of itself and whether that suits you will depend very
much on your preferences and style of playing.
to put it simply, strumming with a pick is not the way
to get the most out of this guitar. the unique high and low
and response is far more suited to ngerpicking, offering
a clear and dened playing experience that leans slightly
more towards the lower end of the tonal spectrum. the
high end is not nearly as dominant as you may expect and
this makes playing with a pick sound a little imbalanced
to my ear. strumming by icking your ngers out and

using the back of your nails yielded a much
more responsive and characterful tone,
while thumbing the lower strings
kept that baritone feel very much at
the forefront. the overall character is
very woody and natural, with bags of
volume and projection but a little more
subtle than i had originally anticipated.
While there were elements i loved,
this isnt a tone that suits all styles and
will denitely have to be heard in person
before a purchase decision is made.
CONCLUSION
all things considered, i found my time with
the om-03 WW to be a mixed bag in the
truest sense intriguing, challenging and
exciting all at the same time. as always with
Larrive value for money is quite remarkable
for just over the 1,000 mark you will really
struggle to nd a guitar maker that offers so
much across its range of instruments.
ill be honest if i was personally looking
for a new guitar tomorrow, this wouldnt
be the one. However, i actually see this as
a huge positive i cant remember the last
time i tried a special edition guitar that
was actually individualistic enough to split
opinion like this. thats really deserving of
praise in my book and i have no doubt that
there will be plenty of you out there that
will fall head over heels for the om-03s
unique voice. Fingerpickers, in particular, do
need to try out this guitar if looking to
spend somewhere in this price
range. so would those
who employ a variety
of tunings the
intriguing balance
of the high end and
almost baritone-like
lows make this a
guitar that rewards
experimentation.
so while this guitar
doesnt rocket itself
straight to a ve star
review from me,
dont let that make
you think that
this Larrive
compares
poorly to any
of its peers.
the best
piece of
advice i
can give
is to get
out there
and try
one im
sure youll be
surprised and,
who knows, it
might just be the one.
Alun Lower
68
You have an immaculate ebony

ngerboard, bridge and headstock
fascia, each inlaid awlessly with the
dot marker and Larrive logo details.
the top is supported by Larrives
symmetrical parabolic X-bracing, and
is accented nicely by the herringbone
rosette and crisp maple binding.
Every conceivable facet of the oM-03s

construction is just ludicrously good.
in all my days, i dont think ive ever
come across a guitar builder that can
rival the consistency of quality that
Larrive offer.
strumming with a pick is not the way

to get the most out of this guitar. the
unique high and low and response is far
more suited to ngerpicking, offering
a clear and dened playing experience
that leans slightly more towards the
lower end of the tonal spectrum.
067.indd 67
22/05/2015 11:40
069.indd 69
22/05/2015 12:40
ly
ise
ated
he
ly a
ve
are
s
oser
sses
s
e
rm
and
t
that
fa
ice
a
u
BOUrGEOIS at MahoGanY oM
uck
at
ng
GEAR BoURGEoiS at MahoGanY oM 4,899
The ageing process here is a positive

thing, having produced a ne,
readily playable instrument with a
warm voice that would suit both
ngerstylist and strummer alike.
David Mead meets a guitar that

combines the best of the old and
the new
n a world where vintage tone seems to be the holy

grail for most of us, the industry is positively awash
with luthiers trying to square the circle and deliver
aged timbre from band new instruments. a few
minutes surng various acoustic manufacturers on the
web will conrm that theres similar sorcery afoot in all
corners of the globe. the Bourgeois om i have in front
of me now is a case in point. the at in the guitars
name stands for aged tone, Dana Bourgeois having
come up with his own special brand of alchemy in order
to give a well seasoned voice to a virtual newborn. in
fact, im told that this guitar left the workbench on
march 10 this year and im intrigued to know what sort
of song its going to sing.
BUILD QUALItY
to be brief and without donning a white lab coat and
coming over all professorial, the process involved in
treating the tops on these aged tone guitars involves
gently roasting them to remove moisture. the ofcial
name for this procedure is called torrefaction and was
originally developed in Finland to treat and enhance the
woods used in outdoor furniture. guitar manufacturers
have adapted the process using lower temperatures to
cook the resins and sugars in the wood, reducing the
mass and increasing the stiffness-to-weight ratio. it
darkens the hue of the wood signicantly and when
combined with a specially formulated cyanoacrylic nish
and sympathetic bracing inside the body of guitar, the
App Extra
PRESS PLAY to
june 2015 acoustic magazine 71

BOUrGEOIS
AT MAHOGANY OM
NEED tO KNOW
Manufacturer: Bourgeois
Model: aged tone oM
retail price: 4,899
Body Size: oM
Made In: USa
top: adirondack spruce
Back and Sides: Mahogany
Neck: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Ebony
Frets: 20
tuners: Waverly
Nut Width: 44mm
Scale Length: 648mm
Strings Fitted: Daddario EXP .012 - .052
Left Handers: Special order
Gig Bag/Case Included: custom deluxe
hardshell
pros: Factory fresh and aged to perfection
Cons: its always going to come down to
price in the end
Overall: a new build with a voice that sounds
like its been round the block a few times!
ACOUStIC rAtING
Sound Quality:
Build Quality:
Value for Money:
CONtACt DEtAILS:
Ivor Mairants
www.ivormairants.co.uk
www.bourgeoisguitars.net
instrument begins to take on the sort

of tone for which highly prized and
often forbiddingly expensive
vintage models are renowned. ive
spoken to a number of luthiers
over the years who swear that
only time will do the job of
ageing authentically and that it
cannot be reliably reproduced by
articial means. But i must admit
that ive heard some surprisingly
mature sounds coming from very
young instruments recently and so
im going to sit on the fence with this
one and judge each instrument i come
into contact with on its own merits.
thats the science bit over and done
with, lets get down to the meat of the
matter and take a good look at this
om. First of all i have to say that no
stain has been used on this guitar in
order to give it a vintage vibe and so
something is denitely happening
here. the adirondack top looks
suitably retro but lacks any of the
usual signs of road weariness and the
bumps, dents and knocks that would
normally accompany it. its pristine,
but in an olde worlde way, if you see
what i mean. Personally i like it as an
alternative to the sheet white wood
we usually see on an instrument
that is barely two months old. Dana
Bourgeois has a reputation for being
incredibly selective when
it comes to choosing
timber for his
instruments
and that is
in evidence
here as the
adirondack
looks superb
and is offset
with a wood
inlay rosette
and teardrop
shaped celluloid
pickguard.
The AT in the guitars name stands

for Aged Tone, Dana Bourgeois having
come up with his own special brand
of alchemy in order to give a well
seasoned voice to a virtual newborn.
theres body binding made from ziricote surrounding the
top and back, a sleek dark line perfectly in keeping with
the overall hue of the nish.
over on the back and sides, Bourgeois has used
mahogany, although this model is available with
madagascar rosewood as an alternative if that tickles
your fancy. in fact, the aged tone series incorporates
oms and various dreadnoughts, too. so when you take
into account the fact that a lot of these guitars are built
to customer order, you have a considerable opportunity
to nd exactly the model youre looking for. in any case
the mahogany here suits the guitars dark side admirably
with a nice glazy grain pattern and a thin black strip
down the backs centre. its a single piece of mahogany
for the oms neck, too, beginning with a ziricote heel cap
and ending with a set of open backed Waverly tuners just
above the volute.
theres an extra touch of exotica in the form of a
madagascar rosewood headstock veneer with the
Bourgeois logo inlayed in pearl at the top before
we reach the 44mm nut which has been made
from fossilised mammoth bone and cut perfectly to
accommodate the start of the strings journey down the
subtly bound ebony fretboard.
Just three position markers break up the blackness
here, enhancing even further the oms overall decorative
reserve. as youve gathered, the theme here is dark, the
only bright line on the entire body being the bone string
saddle that sits amidst its ebony bridge. even the string
pins are blackout ebony. generally speaking, this is a ne
looking guitar, but what about the promise of aged tone
we heard about earlier?
SOUND QUALItY
Dealing with the practicalities rst, the om is quite light
72

in the hands and the neck has the merest
hint of a V prole to it. the sort of
message im receiving here is vintage
before i even pluck a string! the next
thing to briey consider is what exactly
is that golden voice that players spend so
much time and money seeking out? im
sure that it differs from person to person,
but as far as Dana Bourgeois is concerned
its lightening fast response, elevated
volume and tonal complexity. Well, rst
impressions are that the general timbre from
the om is very sweet and there is denitely
a marked difference between the tone of this
guitar and others ive come into contact with
that have been around the same age. Dare i say
that it sounds mature? it has certainly lost
that shrillness that sometimes accompanies
brand new adirondack, thats for sure. in
terms of volume, then? Yes, here too the om
seems looser and somehow more played
in than a new instrument. the basses have
taken on a dry warmth instead of those from a
boisterous puppy-like fresher and the trebles
seem to be older than theyre letting on, too!
in short, i think the ageing process here
is a positive thing, having produced a ne,
readily playable instrument with a warm
voice that would suit both ngerstylist and
strummer alike.
Theres an extra touch of exotica in the form of a Madagascar

rosewood headstock veneer with the Bourgeois logo inlayed in
pearl at the top before we reach the 44mm nut which has been
made from fossilised mammoth bone.
CONCLUSION
naturally, when youre talking about
innovative and time consuming processes
being brought into the
production of a hand crafted
instrument, you can
expect a price tag to
match all the expertise.
at a smidge under
5k, the Bourgeois
at om doesnt come
cheap, but if your ears
will allow you to buy
into the fact that you
would be purchasing an
instrument with all the
benets of a brand new,
workshop fresh guitar
but with a time
travelled voice
unblemished
and perhaps
more crucially
guaranteed
then a
quick look
at vintage
acoustic
prices on
line might
just make
you think that
youre really
getting quite a
good deal!
David Mead
Dana Bourgeois has a reputation for being incredibly selective

when it comes to choosing timber for his instruments and that is
in evidence here as the Adirondack looks superb and is offset with
a wood inlay rosette and teardrop shaped celluloid pickguard.
The Adirondack top looks suitably retro but lacks any of the
usual signs of road weariness and the bumps, dents and knocks
that would normally accompany it. Its pristine, but in an olde
worlde way.
073.indd 73
22/05/2015 12:37
075.indd 75
22/05/2015 11:42
RETUNE
Presenting new, interesting or alternative musicians.
Listen to something different. With Paul Strange
YOUR
EARS
KATE DOUBLEDAY
RUBY MAY SPENCER
as a singer/gardener/songwriter living on the west coast of Wales, my

songs focus on my experiences of life and the landscape around me. my
musical heroes are guitarist sekou Diabat of Bembeya Jazz and the
malawian multi-instrumentalist ali Farka tour, but nature has to be
my biggest influence. in fact, throughout June, i will be playing gigs at
nature reserves around england and Wales. my regular guitar, and my
favourite, is a Fylde goodfellow 8055 custom, cutaway, semi-acoustic,
with a windfall cedar top and walnut sides. i play with trevor Lines
(guitars and ukulele), Dan Wilkins (guitars and kora) and marie smith
(cello). We usually perform totally acoustic gigs and the goodfellow
balances well with the other instruments it has a very full sound
with bass resonance. i play fingerstyle, and am just beginning to use
alternative tunings such as DaDgaD. i like to let my songs evolve,
playing with lyrics and melodic layers. over the years ive completely
changed my composing method from being based around vocal lines
and harmonies worked out on a four-track to being based around
arpeggiated guitar figures with the voice floating freely on top. i like to
leave the describing of my music to the listeners, but the theme of my
new album, Flutter, is the polarity of vulnerability and strength. im
really pleased with it. the title comes from the lyrics of in a Land, and
i hope it captures a feeling of fragility echoed throughout the album.
martin Levan has made a beautiful recording of the songs, and Red
Kite studio, with its beautiful sound and location, helped us find further
layers in them. my friend Ruth angell brought so much to Flutter with
her emotive playing and Jamie smith (accordion) added lots of colours to
the songs too. sid Peacock wrote the beautiful string arrangements for
the Froe quartet (Ruth angell, charlie Heys, Helen Lancaster and emma
capp). it was a real treat for me to work with such talented musicians.
www.katedoubleday.com
im a 15-year-old singer-songwriter from exmouth, Devon. my music

is lyrically driven, based on life experienced from personal and other
points of view. its of no specific genre, although amy Winehouse, Bob
marley, etta James, James Bay and ed sheeran are musical influences.
the songs on my debut eP The Prologue are about not being afraid to
be who you are. although the opener, Down, is about the ending of a
friendship, the chorus was inspired by my 85-year-old Jamaican greatgrandmother Doris who, after a disagreement with another elder at her
nursing home, told her, if im going down, youre going down with me!
i love performing it. Running With the Wolves is about doing things
that make you happy, regardless of what others think. i started with
my vocal coach Hannah Wood when i was 13. shes been an absolute
star, helping me so much with confidence and improving musically.
she insisted on supporting me in the studio. she sings backing vocals
and plays lead guitar on all the tracks, giving the eP a folky feel. i play
a Fender cD-60ce sunburst, electro-acoustic. ive tried some other
guitars and would like to upgrade soon. it was bought second-hand,
its comfortable to play and the colours look great on stage. i started
teaching myself guitar from Youtube videos. i now go to south West
music school, and my guitar and vocal lessons are paid for, so i have
been getting lessons weekly for a few months. i usually write my songs
as poems, ill have the first verse and chorus in 10 minutes, then start
figuring it out on acoustic, and write the rest. ive composed an anthem
for exeter Respect Festival in June, which ill perform at the event. im
playing more festivals in June, including the Bradninch music Festival
and Bicton summer Ball, then im at Plymouth Devonport guildhall
(July 4) and a charity music event in aid of the Harry cunningham
trust (august 22).
www.soundcloud.com/rubymayspencer
STYLE (ROOTS)
76
STYLE (POP/FOLK/BLUES)
ANTONIO LULIC
SIOBHAN WILSON
BEN WILLIAMS
Where did my deep gravelly vocals come

from? When I started out as a teenager I was
a Radiohead fan, so I copied Thom Yorkes
vocal, but my natural register was deeper
and more interesting, so I stuck with it.
My music ranges from intimate folk-style
ballads about being drunk or in love to
bigger, rockier tunes. The songs from my
recent EP Son emerged after much touring.
Last year I moved out of my London flat
and lived out of a suitcase. So theres a lot of
the loneliness of an itinerant musician on
the EP. Im proud of the opener, Beckoning
Drum. Id been gigging it solo, but it needed
a bigger sound, and producer Patrick Wood
has nailed it. Theres also City Of Austin,
Texas. After playing in Austin a couple of
years ago, my then girlfriend and I planned
to take a train across America. We broke up
just before the trip and I had nobody to go
with. But I boarded the train anyway, and
found myself rolling across the Texas deserts,
watching lightning storms, and thats when
the song happened. My workhorse is an
Alvarez-Yairi WY1, a smaller-bodied acoustic
that I love. I bought it because I like Ani
DiFrancos sound, and thats what she plays.
I also gig a Fylde tenor, a Taylor baritone
and an Alvarez MFA70CE given to me
by Alvarez when I opened for Ed Sheeran
in New York. I use it for alternate tunings.
Im self-taught. I started when my parents
bought me a Yamaha FX310 and I stared at
REM chord sheets until I was brave enough
to go to an open mic. Ive some festival dates
soon, as well as a UK tour to preview my
new album, provisionally called Boozehound.
I write from personal experience, which
means heartbreak and wanderlust. My
newer material feels more optimistic, though.
Its all very well making an audience feel
something, but you dont want to send them
home in tears.
www.antoniolulic.com
My songs are like hidden messages. I often

sing about things Id be too shy to tell people
in real life. I try to paint a picture of emotion
and romance through heartfelt melodies
and expressive arrangements, exploring
elements of pop, classical and folk. My new
EP, Say Its True, began life last year in a
cottage in Inveraray beside the stunning
Loch Fyne, then in a few studios around
Glasgow, where Im based. Im happy with
it because it sounds like me. The title track
focuses on hope, the small rekindling of
affection after youve thought yourself
never capable of loving again. My favourite
track is The Great Eye. It saw me through
a hard time. All the guests on the EP did a
fantastic job. The most inspiring was violinist
Im a singer-songwriter and guitarist based

in Manchester, where I host a monthly
night at The Castle Hotel. My debut album
Who Do You Think You Are? has just been
released, along with a new single, I Can
Do That. I started playing the guitar at 13,
and still play every day, but at the moment
Im more focused on songwriting. In some
songs I try to reflect honestly on situations
from everyday life, in others I just have fun
playing around with words. My writing is
inspired by great songwriters I like a lot
of artists from the 1970s, who provide a
beautiful guitar accompaniment that does
just what the song requires, while at the
same time being instantly recognisable as
say, a James Taylor or Joni Mitchell guitar
part. Acoustic guitar is a great vehicle
for songwriting, not least because of its
portability you can write pretty much
anywhere. My main acoustic is a Taylor
512. Being a left-hander, you dont always
get the widest choice in guitar shops, and
when I picked this one up I knew straight
away that I had to have it, it just felt right.
I have been gigging with it for years and
it has been all over the world with me. I
have a Fishman Rare Earth Blend pickup
installed and just go straight into the PA
STYLE (FOLK)
STYLE (POP/CLASSICAL/FOLK)
Aidan ORourke, who has an intensely

sensitive approach to sound. I play a Ricardo
Montes CX21 Evolution, which I found in
a shop in Paris about seven years ago. Its a
classical semi-acoustic with an ergonomic
body that fits miniature people like me with
small arms nicely. I use whatever nylon
strings look the toughest in the shop because
my fingers are in tip-top shape. I use tremolo,
Electro Harmonix Holy Grail reverb and
delay on my Gretsch electric, but I keep my
classical nice and clean for now! My dad
had a guitar at home so I self-taught for
a bit, then had some lessons when I went
to music school. Because I had classical
training on my other instruments, I try to
keep the guitar separate from that world
and do what comes naturally. I take the
guitar everywhere with me on my travels.
I write songs on it in confined spaces like
train carriages and hotel rooms. Im looking
forward to the release of my EP on 29 June
and its launch at Glasgows Glad Caf on 24
June. The summer will be spent playing gigs,
writing and recording songs, working hard
and having fun.
www.siobhanwilsonmusic.bandcamp.com
STYLE (FOLK/POP)
via a DI. On the album, I also used my

Martin D-28, my Gibson ES-335, my Fender
Telecaster 1952 reissue and my American
standard Strat. Change It was the first
song I wrote for Who Do You Think You
Are? about seven years ago. In all, I wrote
around 50 songs it wasnt just a case of
featuring the best, but choosing which
ones would fit together. Although there is
a wide range of styles on the album, I think
it works well. The secret of good playing?
Listening. Thinking about what the song or
music requires rather than letting your ego
take over.
www.benpwilliams.com
feature workshop
THE
WORKSHOP
WILLIAM
GRIT
LASKIN
Acoustic explores the world of an illustrious Canadian guitar maker and

innovator noted for his skill in the art of inlay via 25ks worth of guitar.
Words: Stephen Bennett Images: The Acoustic Music Company
evotees of the fashion world (so

all of us guitarists, then) insist
that the catwalk eccentricities of
today end up shaping the musthave, high-street uniforms of tomorrow.
so it is with luthiery. the bigger makers
even at the highest level continue to look
to the innovators; the few designers and
builders prepared to risk the kind of leftfield experimentation that might just take
the sonic and aesthetic possibilities of the
acoustic guitar to the next level. and if its
invention youre looking for, William grit
Laskin is your man.
Acoustic found him on top storytelling form
recently, at a specially-organised gathering
at the acoustic music company; the latest
in a line of legendary luthiers lured to
78
Brighton by the boundless six-string passion

of proprietor and patron trevor moyle.
armed with tales of exploding guitars,
miniature sliding doors, babies nappies and
prisoners-of-war, Laskins a great talker and,
happily, for a man whose imagination wanders
the realms of fantasy figuring out ways to make
them real, hes down-to-earth, generous and
(this could be the secret) insatiably curious.
one look at a Laskin guitar and the
photographs are jaw-dropping will reveal the
particular skill hes probably most renowned
for: inlay. and though its only the tip of
the iceberg, this is headstock and fretboard
decoration taken to new levels; astonishing in
its intricacy, vibrancy of colour and exquisite
delicacy. initially, the sheer visual overload
might seem a bit much for some, but this is,
undeniably, instrument building as fine art and

to carp would be like complaining you cant boil
a Faberg egg. Besides, Laskin guitars sound
as good, if not better, than just about anything
else out there. Which helps. Like half-imagined
movies, frozen in abalone, turquoise, ebony and
precious metals, Laskin develops visual themes
that run the entire length of headstock and
fingerboard, telling stories of musicians, writers,
artists and inventors or depicting the beauty
of the natural world. His reimagining of the
liquid energy of Hokusais famous blue wave, for
example, only becomes a mind-boggling piece of
craftsmanship once you get past the immediate,
eye-popping, wow-factor.
and today, the distinguished mr. Laskin
(please, call me grit) is here to talk about his 44
years (and counting) as a guitar maker, and he
Grit Laskin with

the Darwin
to DNa guitar
featuring the
intricate inlay
down the
fingerboard.
In Laskins case,
his inlay work
is unsurpassed
and a constantly
evolving mastery
of the art.
Inlay from Grits
elaborate 25k
Da Vinci guitar.
tells the tale with a self-deprecating lightness of

touch far removed from the implications of his
childhood nickname.
Born in Hamilton, ontario, Laskin took
up the guitar at the age of nine; his father
determined to give young William the musical
opportunities he himself had been denied. the
son developed into a fine player, most notably as
an accompanist to the late canadian folk-great,
stan Rogers but his own fame would eventually
derive from the craftsmanship he learned off the
back of a teenage whim.
Following a chance encounter with Jean
Larrive at a toronto folk festival, Laskin found
himself examining one of the canadian guitar
gurus newly-made instruments for evidence of
any visible join between the headstock veneer
and the top of the neck; he couldnt believe
that level of build-accuracy and precision was

achievable by hand. on the spot, he asked
Larrive to take him on as an apprentice and
soon the scruffy 17-year-old would-be-musician,
scraping a living as a gopher in a recording
studio, found himself on a three-month trial
alongside another suspicious-looking kid whod
been hanging round the Larrive workshop
drinking beer one sergei de Jonge.
now, almost half a century on, Laskin is
proud to represent a tradition that stretches
back through Larrives own mentor, a german
prisoner-of-war called edgar munch who learned
his luthiery skills while incarcerated in england
alongside a spaniard whod worked on Ramirez
instruments before the war, thus forming part of
a chain running right back to antonio torres, the
acknowledged stradivarius of the guitar.
simply knowing hes bearing the standard

of such an illustrious lineage, however, isnt
enough for Laskin. Hes determined to leave his
mark; one that were all now benefiting from, in
its multiple guises, whether we realise it or not.
Laskin was the first luthier to implement the
idea of the arm-bevel. the impetus came from
a classical player whose long hours of practice
and performance during the late 80s were
causing him serious pain in the right arm. the
introduction of the bevel not only increased
playing comfort but allowed blood to ow
more naturally through said arm, increasing
hand efficiency and virtually eliminating rightshoulder problems from the strain of reaching
around the box. Despite medical experts lauding
the innovation, Laskins luthier contemporaries
thought this was just another of ol grits
feature workshop
gimmicks. Hes never made a guitar without the
bevel since and almost all of those doubters now
employ a similar design or offer it as a custom
option. Kevin Ryan began to explore his own
modifications in the 1990s, but by then Laskin
had already moved on to the chest bevel. That
ones catching on, too.
Then theres the side-port the industrys
more elegant expression for that extra hole in
the top bit. Developed partly in collaboration
with his old pal Sergei de Jonge, again in the
late 1980s, its another idea picked up from a
frustrated classical player whod been struggling
with moving from loud to soft in concert
settings, what with the competition from massed
ranks of sawing cellos and violins. Laskin came
up with a strategically placed sliding-door
device which, when opened, gave a remarkable
power-boost from the perspective of both the
listener and the player. The results were so
striking that it soon became a question of why
bother messing with the fiddly door-part?
Plucking a single note on the Da Vinci guitar,
Laskin demonstrates one hand covering then
uncovering the side-port. The difference is
immediately striking; the enhanced volume and
sustain bringing a clearly-discernible richness
to the sound.
Alongside the building experiments, though,
theres a cautionary tale of moisture (or the lack
thereof). Laskin resolved to take on the problem
of how to humidify instruments subjected to
extreme climate changes. He spoke to the New
York cellist whod invented the never-quiteadequate Damp-It system. How to improve
it? He researched others attempts at sealing
the soundhole to humidify the body from the
inside. The resultant tensions between the
neck and the body soon turned into cracks,
then chasms. Time for a rethink. It was at this
point Laskin began to consider the everyday
miracle of the disposable nappy; specifically,
its capacity to get rid of moisture while
staying dry against the skin. Its manufacturers
introduced him to the wonders of Gore-Tex
and it wasnt long before Laskin had patented
a device to be suspended between the strings
employing that companys ingenious, oneway-water-stopping chemical membrane. Dean
Markley agreed to market the early version
but no one thought to add the warning that
over-humidifying is as harmful as too much
drying out with disastrous results. Customers
thought the instruments moisture levels
were going to be regulated in all climates at
all times. No. Within months, the high-end
guitar collectors of steamy, midsummer New
York were filing heavyweight insurance claims
for guitars that were simply exploding the
sides expanding so much they shot off the
bindings. It was the no-brain equivalent of
Initially inspired by the luminous

virtuosity of American illustrator,
Maxfield Parrish, Laskin now
devises ever more elaborate ways
for his customers to capture
and commemorate aspects of
their own lives or celebrate their
artistic heroes.
feature workshop
the Da Vinci guitar (pictured), all 25ks

worth, is a magnificent creation in its own
right and the perfect statement of how far
his work has come these 40-odd years.
the headstock has Peruggia with the

painting half-hidden under his smock; the
stone arches of the Louvre behind him.
turning the fires on full blast in a heatwave

but nonetheless, for Laskin, it was back to the
drawing board. in the meantime, however,
gore-tex had found a new angle coating
strings (which also caught on) and with
Laskins humidifier patent running out
and him having no means of organising
the systems mass production, the beancounters waited, Planet Waves took over
and, effectively, grits been cut out of that
particular loop ever since.
Fortunately, the inlay news is better in
this case, of an unsurpassed and constantly
evolving mastery of the art. initially inspired by
the luminous virtuosity of american illustrator,
maxfield Parrish, Laskin now devises ever more
elaborate ways for his customers to capture
and commemorate aspects of their own lives or
celebrate their artistic heroes. He likes to build
what he describes as a narrative along the
fretboard and onto the headstock, as opposed
to merely juxtaposing a series of unconnected
images. He sees this aspect of his work as part
of an immensely rich transaction; art that has
direct meaning to the players life as well as
providing a tool for his or her own creativity.
the Da Vinci guitar that Laskin brings to
tamco, all 25ks worth, is a magnificent
creation in its own right and the perfect
82
Moving onto the fretboard and shifting to a horizontal

orientation Da Vincis Vitruvian Man is not only watching the
thief but grabbing his foot to prevent him from getting away.
statement of how far his work has come these

40-odd years. its inlay-narrative is best told in
the artists own words.
in researching Leonardo Da Vinci, i
discovered that the mona Lisa was once
stolen. in 1911, an italian called Vincenzo
Laskin sees Inlay

as part of a rich
transaction; art that
has direct meaning
to the players life.
He likes to build a
narrative...
Peruggia, who worked at the Louvre, simply
walked out with it under his coat. it was
only recovered two years later, when the
thief, in wishing to restore the painting to its
rightful home, offered it to the uffizi gallery
in Florence. this became the root of my story.
the headstock has Peruggia with the painting

half-hidden under his smock; the stone arches
of the Louvre behind him. moving onto
the fretboard and shifting to a horizontal
orientation Da Vincis Vitruvian man is not
only watching the thief but grabbing his foot
to prevent him from getting away. Further
down, Leonardos helicopter is being pushed
into service by the extended hand of the man
himself; a variation on the only authenticated
self-portrait done in his lifetime. Behind that
is the iconic image of Leonardo as an old man,
done in a way that imitates the original style
of the drawing (red chalk thats since faded
to orange). the background material is beige
Jasper stone, giving that marbled, aged look
and by orienting this particular image 180
degrees from all the other elements of the
story, it gives the impression that the older
Leonardo is just an observer, standing back,
overlooking both the narrative and his own
younger self.
and to think most of us are happy to settle
for dots or the odd owery bit. grit Laskin
part-inventor, part-alchemist, all-enthusiast
isnt about to settle for anything. Hes already
off into the clouds. expect him back, with his
next wild and wonderful notion, any time soon.
www.williamlaskin.com
081.indd 81
22/05/2015 11:45
083.indd 83
22/05/2015 12:46
c
o
g
r
n
i
TAXED PAUL BRETT
ner
str
FEATURE 12-STRING CORNER
A LT
GS
E
FO R N AT E T U N I N G
RT
H E 12 -STRI N
y main tunings for 12-string

guitar, apart from dropped
D, are open major and minor
tunings. Most are dropped a
tone or a tone and a half in pitch from concert.
So, for example, Id use open Gm tuned down
to Fm this pitch gives the 12-string a lot more
depth. My dropped D tuning is down a tone to
dropped C and also has the same effect. I find
thatthese tunings area bit easier on my voice too.
When I first started playing in a duo with John
Joyce, he would detune way down so that his
dropped D shapes became B in my concert tuning
which, for soloing on acoustic guitar, was a little
uncomfortable and limiting. However, with a bit
of practice, it did work well.
On my 14 frets to the body Aria signature
guitar (released in the mid-1970s), I always used
a capo on the second fret and tuned to concert,
but on my Vintage signature 12-string, I never
use a capo. I did for a little while use a 1970s
Ovation 12-string as it plays verywell at speed
and produces a tight and bright sound and
is especially suitablefor my solo orchestral
style, but it wasnt so good for blues. I still use it
occasionally for orchestral stuff, although I dont
feel wholly comfortable with the bowl-back
design. When Ovations first appeared on the
market, everyone played them. Country music
icon Glen Campbell used one all the time and I
remember our own Gordon Giltrapusinghis on a
regular basis with his band.
The big Stellas from the 30s dont handle
open tunings too well but they are masterful
for blues picking and do produce that sound
everyone associates acoustic blues with. Very
rare to source and priced to match, these iconic
old masters are not ones to risk on a gig-by-gig
basisfor many reasons. Theft and accidental
damage are two issuesthat immediately
spring to mind, not to mention the insurance
policythat you would needto take out to cover
the aforementioned!
My signature Vintage 12-string carries the
Fishman Matrix System which I absolutely love
APP EXTRA
PRESS PLAY
TO HEAR PAUL
PLAY TAXED
and I have them fitted on all my Vintage by JHS

instruments. They are not invasive into the body
structure, easy to use, and just have one volume
and one tone control that are usually mounted
internally, just below the inner soundhole ring.
The pickup strip is under the saddle as the battery
is mounted in a pouch on the inner heel of the
neck. Its more inconvenient to get at than an
external battery compartment, but it doesnt
bother me as I always check them regularly. The
DOWNLOAD
ONLINE EXTRA
DOWNLOAD THE FULL TRANSCRIPTION AT
WWW.ACOUSTICMAGAZINE.COM
jack is inserted via the lower bout strap button.

The reason I designed my signature 12-strings
like that is because it gives players the opinion to
put in their own preferred pickup system with
the Fishman being fairly easy to remove without
causing any damage to the body of the guitar.
The tab I have offered this month is my own
composition called Taxed. Enjoy thanks to
Mark Thompson for the tablature.
Paul Brett
085.indd 85
22/05/2015 12:36
FEATURE D-DAY MANDOLIN
A REGAL J
Gordon Giltrap tracks
the unlikely journey of
a Regal mandolin that
survived the doomed
D-Day rehearsal
codenamed Exercise
Tiger in 1944 that killed
nearly 1,000 servicemen
One of the servicemen carried with him

on that doomed voyage a 1940 Regal
mandolin, typical of the budget war
issue instruments that abounded at that
time. Those lucky enough to survive
scratched their names on the back and
upper side of the instrument.
86
n 1988, a remarkable man named Ken

Small wrote a book called The Forgotten
Dead about the tragic events that took the
lives of nearly 1,000 American servicemen
while training off the Devonshire coast for
the upcoming D-Day landing Exercise Tiger.
Ken Small was responsible (after many years
of research) for the recovery of an American
duplex drive Sherman tank from the seabed
that took part in the exercise. Ken purchased
the tank in 1974, but it took another 10 years
to bring the tank up from the ocean. This
culminated in Ken single handedly researching
the full heart-breaking story of what took
place in the early hours of April 28 1944, and
revealing to the world through his book the true
extent of the tragic debacle. The tank stands as a
memorial in Torcross, Devon, and is a constant
reminder of the sacrifice that the men made
fighting for freedom and democracy.
Shortly after the book was published, Ken
received a visit from a woman who wanted
to gift a very special mandolin that had been
signed by some of those servicemen who
took part in the training and preparation for
the D-Day landings and who were fortunate
enough to survive that historic event.
Apparently, these men billeted with the lady
and it is believed that on their return, they
continued their stay before heading home to
the States. One of the servicemen carried with
him on that voyage a 1940 Regal mandolin,
typical of the budget war issue instruments
that abounded at that time. He obviously
JOURNEY
wanted to gift her something as a reminder of
their friendship, and these servicemen each
scratched their names on the back and upper
side of the instrument.
The most poignant message scratched onto
the upper side reads: God helped us. USS LCT
639 hit the beach off France on June 6 1944.
Just holding this humble mandolin sends
shivers down your spine and is a privilege to
have on loan for a while. It is extraordinary
that it has survived. The late Ken Small became
a friend of my wife Hilary and I, and when he
showed us the mandolin it was understandably
in a sad state of repair. It was then that we
suggested we get it restored for him by the
luthier Nick Springett who at the time lived in
Leamington Spa, so it made perfect sense to let
him do the work, and what a wonderful job he
made of it. The instrument isnt playable and
although it probably could have been made to
play we didnt want to destroy its originality.
This mandolin has got to be one of the most
important and historic musical instruments
of the Second World War. It went to Omaha
beach and returned if this instrument could
speak it would have so many tales to tell!
The Regal Musical Instrument Company
was formed in Chicago in 1908 and closed its
doors in 1954, and although the Regal name
continues to this day, the instruments are no
longer made in the USA. Their most popular
instruments are their resonator guitars.
This mandolin is of basic construction and
is probably pine or oak with rosewood for the
fingerboard. A couple of the bearings on the
machine heads have been replaced but this is
purely cosmetic. It probably had a great sound
as did many instruments from this period. Let
us not forget the basic ladder back bracing
found in those lovely old Harmony Sovereign
instruments and related models. Just because
the construction was simple, doesnt mean they
didnt produce a full and magical sound.
My friend Paul Brett is an expert in his field
on wartime and pre-war instruments, and has
used their lineage to produce some outstanding
instruments under the Vintage brand for John
Hornby Skewes.
Our Sincere thanks go the great mans son
Dean Small and his wife Sarah for the loan of
After publishing his book, Ken received

a visit from a woman who wanted to
gift a special mandolin that had been
signed by some of those servicemen
who took part in the training and
preparation for the D-Day landings and
who were fortunate enough to survive
that historic event.
The Regal Musical Instrument

Company was formed in Chicago
in 1908 and closed its doors in
1954, and although the Regal
name continues to this day, the
instruments are no longer made
in the USA.
the instrument. Dean is now the custodian
of the tank and of course the mandolin since
his fathers passing in 2004. A big thank you
goes out to Gavin Coulson of John Hornby
Skewes for donating a case to protect this
priceless instrument. There are plans afoot
for this troubadour to undertake some fund
This mandolin has got to be

one of the most important
and historic musical
instruments of the Second
World War it went to
Omaha beach and returned!
raising concerts to help with the upkeep of this

marvelous memorial, which is sadly rotting
away year-by-year and obviously restoration
work of this nature doesnt come cheap.
Visit the official website for more
information on this incredible story.
www.exercisetigermemorial.co.uk
SUMMER 2015 ACOUSTIC MAGAZINE 87
FEATURE COLLECTORS COLUMN
COLLECTORS
COLLECTORS
COLUMN
Paul talks to us this month about his vintage guitar
auction on June 20, highlighting different aspects of
collectability and age range, including a Gibson U-Harp
from 1916 and a limited edition Takamine from 1998.
irstly, I would like to thank everyone

who turned up at TennantsGarden
Rooms in Leyburn, North Yorkshire,
for the opening night and charity
show to launch my vintage guitar exhibition
and auction. We raised over 3,000 on the
night for the Future Talent charity. They invest
funds into helping underprivileged, talented
children along in the music industry. My
thanks also to all of the artists who gave their
time to perform at the concert: Gordon Giltrap,
John Etheridge, Raymond Burley, Michele
Breeze, Ben Smith, Tom Newman and to all at
JHS/Vintage Guitars for their sponsorship and
support who, together with Tennants, made
the whole thing possible. Many of the guitars
featured will be up for auction via Tennants on
June 20. The auction will be online and you can
get all the details and whats up for grabs from
www.tennants.co.uk
Over the many years I have been collecting,
I have acquired an eclectic array of rare and
unusual brands and also quite a few iconic
ones. Over 100 instruments will be featured
in the auction. From the late 1800s right
through to the present day, there will be
acoustics and electric instruments that will
appeal to the enthusiast and serious collector
alike. Apart from my inclusions, there will be
a good selection of instruments from other
owners. Remember, when you are building up a
collection you are also preserving the historical
aspect of vintage instruments, not only to enjoy
playing them, but also to keep them safe for
future generations to admire and learn from
and to see and hear those iconic instruments.
There will be Gibsons from the 30s,
88
Washburns, Stellas, Kays, Harmonys,

Silvertones, Hofners,Fenders, and
many rare brands that are not
easily found. One of my most
admired guitars is a1916 U-Harp
by Gibson. Its in museum condition
and comes with its original case. This
really is a collectors investment that
will turn every head that sees it. The
craftsmanship is superb as is the
visual beauty and, of course, the
iconic Orville Gibson company
crafted it in the early days of
American luthiery. It is a
huge beast by comparison
to other harp guitars,
but it is undeniably a
major player in the
development of the
harp guitar as we know
it today.
Im not selling my
entire collection I am
holding on to a few that
Im not ready to part with
yet. On the other and more
recent end of the scale, Ill be
auctioning a great Takimine limited
edition electro-acoustic from 1998. It is
adorned with phases of the moon inlays and
boasts Takimines revolutionary DSP preamp
control unit. Its a well-made and stylish guitar
with a great feel and amplified sound. It has
a spruce top, Rio Grande Palisandro back and
sides, and a rosewood fingerboard. I was really
taken with this particular guitar at the time of
purchase for its all-round aesthetic appeal as
well as the sound. So, hopefully someone will

adopt it on June 20 along with many others
that are on offer.
The next time I write another column, I shall be
minus some of my long time friends and playing
buddies but perhaps theyll be with some of you!
Paul Brett
089.indd 89
22/05/2015 11:56
feature in the loop
in the
loop
Coordinating your rhythm
in a live looping scenario
ne of the hardest
things to do with a loop
pedal is to coordinate
your feet while playing
the guitar. Until recently, the
Example 1
Example 2
mysterious act of musical multilimbed coordination was only really

a problem for drummers. Thanks
to looping technology, now we all
have to deal with it. Every musician
can improve their sense of rhythm

with a little practice, and this month
were going to look at how this
applies to live loopers whether you
want to be the next Robert Fripp,
Zoe Keating, or Ed Sheeran.
One good thing is that creating
guitar loops forces you to improve
your timing; if your loop timing is
off, people will soon notice and the
overall performance wont work.
Improving your timing will impact
on your playing in any context,
whether its solo or with others.
Improving your timing should
be part of your everyday practice
routine. If you dont have a
metronome, you can use the click
track from your digital audio
workstation. Without playing the
guitar, try tapping your foot along
to a metronome while counting out
the time signature as this can really
help to internalise the beat. Practice
different tempos, gradually speeding
up for a few minutes every day. You
can even try keeping a steady tempo
as you walk around, feeling each
step. If you become bored of playing

along to a metronome, you can
always play along to your favourite
records; anything you can do to help
internalise the beat. Remember to
practice timings other than 3/4 and
4/4. 5/8, 9/8 or 11/8 can be fun time
signatures. Leave a click running
throughout your practice routine
and youll see your timing improve.
Ive found one of the hardest
challenges is to play slow pieces.
This is because the beat can waver
over the time you are recording
your loop, and it can easily drift.
This month, were going to use
the song The Wait by the band
The Fierce And The Dead. Its an
instrumental played on two guitars
in a slow 3/4 time signature. The
style is often called post-rock a
style of music popularised by bands
like Mogwai, Tortoise, Godspeed
You! Black Emperor and Slint.
Post-rock is often instrumental and
focuses on using dynamics and rock
instruments used to play typically
non-rock sounds.
Can we play post-rock with just
an acoustic guitar and a loop pedal?
Of course it just takes a bit of
work on the arrangements. With
an electro-acoustic guitar and a loop
pedal, you can still use effects like an
electric guitarist; there is no reason
why you cant add delay, an octave
or even fuzz. Its up to you. As ever,
try a few things; you never know
you might find your own unique
sound. Just be careful not to use the
same effect over and over as people
can quickly become tired of hearing
your favourite new toy. Try looking
at a few videos of people using effects
pedals on YouTube if youre not sure
what each individual effect does.
Example 1 is our initial loop in
the key of C. Hit loop record on
your loop pedal and play the part in,
remembering what weve learned by
playing along with a metronome to
feel the beat. Before recording, you
can even try playing this specific part
along to a metronome, just to really
get it locked in. If the tempo is too
slow for you try counting it 1 (2, 3), 2
(2, 3), 3 (2, 3) to fill in the gaps if this
feels more natural.
Example 2 is our harmony part,
played by a second guitar on the
original recording. Here we will hit
Example 3
Matt Stevens
Instrumental Composer
Matt Stevens is a musician

and composer from London.
An instrumental artist, he
uses an acoustic guitar and
sampler to create multilayered tracks live. His
music has been described
as a guitar orchestra. He
plays live all over the UK
and listens to Sonic Youth,
Carcass, Nick Drake, Cardiacs
and King Crimson.He is
constantly recording new
music for several projects.
www.mattstevensguitar.com
Example 4
loop record and play our new part

over the top of example 1. It is key
to feel the rhythm as you put this
second layer down. Try and tap the
beat with your foot as you play this
section; you can leave loop record

switched on for as long as you like
until you feel ready to overdub the
part. Take it gradually and focus on
getting the timing perfect.
Once this loop has been going

round for a few times, we may want
to vary things. Stop the loop and
play example 3 unaccompanied.
This creates a nice dynamic shift,
and when your loop comes back

in itll sound much bigger. Try and
play this part as quietly as possible
for dynamic variation. If you play
the main loop with a pick, you could
play this section with fingers to
change the sound even more.
After playing through example 3
once, bring back your loop and play
example 4 over the top of it. This
is a little melodic part to add some
variety. You can either play this
over again a few times or hit loop
record and overdub it. Either way
will work and as long as you are
playing notes in the key of C major
(C, D, E, F, G, A, B) you can keep
adding melodic parts for as long as
you like.
Perceived originality is often the
re-contextualisation of an idea from
one area into another. Instrumental
post-rock is rarely played on an
acoustic guitar, so it can sound quite
unusual, original and interesting
in an acoustic context. By trying
ideas in different contexts we can
create new sounds that will help us
to stand out and be remarkable, just
as those original post-rock bands did
when they first broke through.
Matt Stevens
91
LEARN ACOUSTIC TECHNIQUES
ACOUSTIC TECHNIQUES
TECHNIQUES - TRANSCRIPTIONS - TIPS
WANT TO IMPROVE AS AN ACOUSTIC PLAYER?

Acoustic magazines level-specific technique and advice columns can do just that...
Acoustic would like to encourage you to dig into our column pages more
frequently and really get to grips with the wide range of skills and talents available
at your fingertips. Our columnists offer up a selection of performance pieces,
technical advice on the mechanics of playing, important aspects of theory and
more, all to help you improve as a player.
OUR
COLUMNISTS
94
RAYMOND
BURLEY
96
MIKE
DAWES
98
CHRIS
GIBBONS
100
RICHARD
GILEWITZ
102
GORDON
GILTRAP
92
093.indd 93
22/05/2015 11:58
learn acoustic techniques
Techniques Skill Level: advanced
Bach Prelude
A well-known piece from the classical guitar repertory

prelude J.s. Bach
Raymond
Burley
Classical Guitarist
Raymond Burley is an
accomplished classical guitarist,
composer and arranger. One
of his most recent projects
was the album Double Vision
a collection of Giltrap pieces
arranged for two guitars.
www.raymondburley.com
or this issue, Id like

to take you back to
Johann Sebastian Bach
with another wellknown piece from the classical
guitar repertory; one thats
often underestimated in terms
of its technical requirements.
Prelude (BWV 999) began life as
a work for keyboard. It probably
doesnt help that the piece
originally appeared in a set titled
12 Little Preludes for Beginners
first published in the mid-19th
century. In the baroque period, if
a work was assigned to keyboard
or clavier, it was often not
clear as to what instrument the
composer had in mind: organ,
harpsichord, clavichord, for
example. The last Bach prelude
I featured in the magazine was
taken from the composers
BWV 998 comprising a Prelude,
Fugue and Allegro; the current
prelude is not paired with other
movements. Free-standing
preludes are not unusual; in
94 acoustic magazine november 2014
semiquavers throughout as any

hesitations or fumbles will be
immediately apparent. As far as
this is concerned, your chosen
tempo will help or hinder; I
would suggest somewhere in the
region of crotchet = 60. As with
the classical guitar repertory

we have those by Villa-Lobos,
Carlevaro, Barrios, Trrega
and many other composers.
Bachs BWV 999 Prelude was
later adapted for the lute and
can be found in a manuscript
by Johann Peter Kellner (17051772); whether or not it was
arranged with the composers
permission well never know.
Its certainly reminiscent of the

style bris an arpeggiated chord
form of writing common at the
time. The original key of the
piece was C minor the guitar
arrangement moves it up a tone
to D minor. An interesting fact
about the piece is that it begins
in the tonic key and ends in the
dominant. This is not uncommon
if a piece leads directly to
another but quite unusual for

a single movement work. The
modulations are so subtle and
gradual that this fact can easily
go unnoticed.
Earlier, I mentioned the
possible technical problems:
the most obvious is achieving
smooth chord changes
particularly tricky in a
piece containing relentless
many arpeggio-based pieces,

avoid placing the fingers in
chord shapes add the fingers as
and when they are required. Bar
15 contains an obvious problem,
this being the stretch required
by the first and flattened fourth
finger. This may require some
work. Be careful and attempt it
in short bursts until it becomes
comfortable and free of buzzes.
In bar nine, a five-string barr
is required but avoid placing
it at the beginning of the bar;
cover the bass B flat and then
lower the barr gently when it
is required. I know of several
recordings where this is not done
and an unwanted fourth string
can be heard quite clearly.
Although the notes in the
arpeggios of the first and
third beats of each bar should
ring together, try to avoid
the two third beat bass notes
overlapping. Of course, some of
them will not cause problems
as they are found on the same
string the second note will
cancel out the first. For those
basses on two different strings
(the opening bar, for example)
it will mean lifting a finger or
damping with the right hand.
Notice also the bass rest on
the second beat; some players
observe it, others dont. As far as
dynamics are concerned I would
tend to follow the shape of the
notes as they get higher, get
louder. As always, experiment.
I hope you enjoy this piece as
much as I have over the years.
Raymond Burley
november 2014 acoustic magazine 95
LeaRn acoustic techniQues
TECHNIQUES SKILL LEVEL: aDVanceD
SOMEWHERE HOME
a celtic finGerstYle ballaD from miKe Dawes
ExamplE 1
mIKE DaWES
Fingerstyle Virtuoso
mike Dawes is an acclaimed

globetrotter and wizard
impersonator working with
the candyrat label. His solo
work has seen him perform
in all corners of the world and
his studio cV includes sessions
with the likes of gotye and
newton Faulkner. He is also
the right-hand axe man to
Justin Hayward of the moody
Blues and is usually sat in some
airport writing for us here at
acoustic magazine.
www.mikedawes.com
ts a pleasure to be back with

a brand new transcription
for you this month. By
request, ill be taking you
through the dots to my song
somewhere Home.
this piece is a little different; its
a celtic fingerstyle ballad with a
fun jig section in the middle. its a
very powerful song to perform and
a lot of fun to play. its track five on
my What Just Happened? album.
thanks to mark grover for getting
the tablature off the ground.
the song was written around
the time i moved over to Bath and
was subsequently exposed to a
lot of traditional music. its based
around repetitions and variations
of a few key themes. in this issue,
well be breaking the back of the
main theme. We are in DaDgaD
tuning with a capo on fret two.
96
acoustic magazine NOVEMBER 2014
ExamplE 1
For the most part, the song is in 6/8
time with a very free time feel. Do
keep this in mind when performing
it. it should be very loose and
ocean-like (think waves); dynamic
and smooth.
these first 10 bars, plus lead

in, introduce the feel of the song
through melody and harmony. You
can instantly hear the celtic vibe. Be
sure to arpeggiate the chords gently
with individual fingers, rather than
strumming with the thumb where

possible. Keep it as smooth as you
can, with the notes ringing out like
a sustained piano. Fill the space!
tempo is around 80bpm here and
we are in the key of e.
Example 2
Example 2
In these bars, the theme continues
to build using a traditional
fingerstyle technique. The dynamic
should be building at a subtle rate up
to the transition to a more clear 6/8
time (as marked) where the playing
becomes a little less free.Be sure to
use your pinky for those harmonics
in the third bar here. It helps to keep
things fluid. Do also be aware of the
subtle tempo increase!
Example 3
Example 3
This last example will take us all the

way through to the conclusion of
the first cycle of the main theme.
We start by using our third finger
to hit the seventh fret natural
harmonics as the bass line moves
upward. The eagle-eyed among you
may recognise the E major scale in
the second bar as the finger warmup shape from a column I did a few
years back. Remember to hit that
seventh fret note with the pinky to
help keep the arpeggio smooth.
As this example progresses, there
are numerous shifts in tempo.
This is to try and match the studio
recordings free time feel. Please do
use the album audio as reference
where possible.
Finally, as we duck and dive
our way up the scale, we calmly
drift back down to finish with a
nice harmonic rake. This resolves
the madness of the previous few
bars and ties it all together. Ive
even left in the leading notes
to the next column, just to be
a tease.Good luck, and enjoy
Somewhere Home.
Mike Dawes
DOWNLOAD
ONLINE Extra
Download the full transcription of
somewhere home from our website
july 2014 acoustic magazine 97
Techniques Skill Level: Suitable for all
Blossom
Hill
Exploring bluegrass techniques on the Dobro
chris gibbons
Composer
Chris is not only a guitar

teacher but also a composer
and producer who has worked
on many orchestrations for
television and recordings
alike. He has many years
of experience both in
performance and helping
others develop their playing
potential to its best.
www.chrisgibbonsmusic.co.uk
n the last issue, we looked

at simple blues for Dobro.
This editions offering is in a
bluegrass-style and features
some new techniques for you to
explore. For a little more insight
into some of the peculiarities of
this style, Ive included the tab for
conventional tuning acoustic where
the differences in conventional
fingering vs. bar position for the
Dobro are made clear.
One of the key features in

articulating runs using a tone bar
is by back pedaling from a higher
bar position and using a banjo roll
type of right hand grip to produce
a string of notes that would
otherwise require a succession of
rapid bar movements which would
be difficult to execute.
Take a look at example 1. Its
clear to see how many bar moves
would be required if approached
in an orthodox manner, but by
placing the bar across strings six,
five and four and leaving strings
one, two and three open, its
possible to pick the melody with
no bar movement at all. What is
required is to arrange the right
hand picking to produce the notes
in the right order, using the thumb
(p), index finger (i), and middle
finger (m), in two grips; the first
covering strings two, three, and
four; the second covering strings
three, four and five.
I use the word grip as this is a
common term in steel, pedal steel
D
B
G
D
B
G
0
5
0
7
simple chord progression: G

open strings, C with the bar at
the fifth fret and a string pull
on the second string raising the
E to F and back again; D at the
seventh fret starting with the
string pull and released before
moving the bar to fret 12 and a
final pull and release. You can
see how the suspended fourth
chords are arrived at by simply
using the behind-the-bar pulls.
The performance piece for this
month is Blossom Hill inspired
by the up tempo bluegrass
standard Blackberry Blossom.
Ive composed this in a gentle
3/4 time and it is to be learned
at a slow pace, paying close
attention to intonation and
clean right hand fingering. This
composition will certainly open
the doors of perception to the
Dobro players tool kit, so please
use the skills learned here in
your own music and Dobro or
Chris Gibbons
resonator improvisations.
Chris Gibbons
Blossom Hill
#3

& 4
3
4
and Dobro playing to describe

which right hand fingers are
set over certain strings for the
purpose of playing a particular
cord inversion or set of notes.
In bar 11 of the performance
piece Blossom Hill, the D chordbased arpeggio is formed with
a grip over strings one, three
and four. Similarly, the G chord
at bar 10 is formed with a right
hand grip on strings two, three
and six.
The other technique I am
introducing is behind the bar
string bending. Here, the third
finger of the left hand pulls the
string toward the body while
the first and second finger and
thumb hold the bar in position as
normal. This is a great trick and
reproduces the sound character
of a pedal steel guitar where
notes can be raised or lowered
using a system of rods and levers
operated by the feet or knees.
Lets look at example 2. This
demonstrates this trick in a
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acoustic magazine november 2014
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july 2014 acoustic magazine 99
Techniques
for all
TechniquesSkill
SkillLevel:
Level:Suitable
intermediate
The Ensemble
Mix up your musicality with Lyin Eyes

Richard
Gilewitz
Fingerstyle Guitarist, Composer,

and Educator
Richard Gilewitz is a lively
entertainer of six- and
12-string finger gymnastics.
His signature style delivers
a technical diversity of
blending the classical field
with the steel string world
to create an exploration of
fingerstyle guitar, with over
three decades of well-honed
experience.
www.richardgilewitz.com
ll youre about to read

is advice coming from
a guy whos never
played in a band in his
life and has consistently joked, I
dont want to hear their problems
or share my money!
Now, after living a solitary
existence, Ive become more
absorbed in the joys of ensemble
work. Playing with another
person, or the numeric equivalent
of a small symphony, can be a
joyous and challenging occasion, as
well as musically enlightening.
It was quite an eye opener
when I first faced a situation
where I was required to play with
others. Often, it was not exactly a
requirement or even expectation,
but more of a request or invitation
to participate. So I caught myself
seeking out situations where I
could experience other players,
100 acoustic magazine november 2014
explore new repertoires, develop

an ability to listen differently, and
basically get outside myself. A
crucial musical element had been
missing in my growth as a player.
During recent seminars I
conducted in the UK for both
guitar and my new interest,
the ukulele, I encountered
groups of people who were
consistently inquiring about
methods for making their
groups more cohesive. The
following is a handful of ideas
from the collective contributions
accumulated over a month that are
worth considering when playing

in a group setting of two or more
at various skill levels.
Tips before the gig
The leader(s): Select a leader or
guide for the duo or group to avoid
confusion and conflicts. It might
be wise to have a decision maker,
one who may not be the most
talented individual in the group,
but the right person to aid in
avoiding conflicts.
Egos and emotions: Get over
yourself. Its not that big of a
deal and nothing is really worth
making that big of a scuff about.

Be professional, courteous, and
realise that things simply dont
always go your way.
The commitment: If you say
youre going to show up on a
certain day at a certain time, stick
to it. People appreciate punctuality.
Tips before the gig
The repertoire: Keep it to a
minimum. Dont just start
cranking out a list of 19 tunes you
cant wait to get your hands on.
Start with one or maybe two or
three at the most and see what you
my head when my guitar teacher

David Walbert, said as almost an
aside to himself, I dont think most
musicians have learned how to
effectively use silence in music.
The improv: An enormous
amount of fun can be had if you
choose to simply be the sprinkles
on the ice cream. Learn to float
in an out at appropriate times,
dropping in a few musical nuggets
here and there to enhance the
tune. Think of the phrase you may
have heard time and time again
which is less is more.
The instrumentation: If you
have the advantage in the group
of having access to multiple
instruments, this can be a great
thing since you have more musical
ingredients to cook with in the
musical kitchen. Throw in a
tambourine; let the flute take on
some improvisation. Allow for
some layering but be a musical
chef about it. Just dont chuck a
bunch of stuff in the pan and start
cookin and crankin away. Therein
lies the roots of artistry.
lyin eyes Don henley / glenn frey
can do to tighten those up. Learn

some commonly played tunes so
you are prepared when asked to
join other players on stage.
The theory: There are way too
many people playing music who
have absolutely no concept of
basic theory. Its not that scary to
learn because it requires no more
than having the ability to know
a literal dribble of configurations
involving the first 7 letters of the

alphabet! About a billion tunes
are built around a I, IV, V chord
progression. In other words, play
the first, fourth and fifth chord
letter names in a row. A couple of
examples are A, D, and E. Or C, F
and G. Often, the third chord in
the sequence is played as a seventh
chord as opposed to a major chord.
By the way, I just gave you two out
of the five you should know.
The rhythms: Play more than
one rhythm. How about exploring
the using of triplets, sixteenths,
syncopation and staccato attacks
to spice things up a bit.
The tempos: Almost every group
seems to fall into some sort of
pocket rhythm. When measured
with a metronome it becomes a
groups musical identity. Mix it up

and vary your metronome setting
during practice sessions to achieve
a different feel.
Dynamic playing: Once again,
the groups musical identity can
fall into a flat lull of sorts without
any dynamic sense. Incorporate
in power surges, staccato attacks,
crescendos, decrescendos, a softer
strike without losing the tempo,
and melodic accents that are
sometimes well thought out and
sometimes reactionary.
Exit and re-entry: Dont play
all the time. Pretend the music is
like a continuous escalator and its
not exclusively your job to keep
the music going. What you should
examine is how to play for effect.
I still cant get the comment out of
Lyin Eyes
Here is a simple arrangement of
the opening of the popular 70s
hit Lyin Eyes by the Eagles.
Use this sample to noodle with
as you find the right tempo and
a relaxed strumming rhythm.
Watch how they did the tune or
feel out your own rendition to put
your voice into it if you choose to
do so. Ive included a very basic
fingerpicking pattern that should
suffice, but could obviously be
expanded upon. Note that with
the D7 chord I am suggesting an
alternating bass picking style with
the thumb or p handling strings
four and three. This approach is
extremely effective when played
on a 12-string guitar due to the
octave strings.
Richard Gilewitz
november 2014 acoustic magazine 101
Techniques Skill Level: Advanced
Isabellas Wedding
Gordon explores the harping technique
Gordon
Giltrap
Instrumental Artist
Gordon Giltrap is pioneer of
acoustic music in the UK. His
extensive discography gives
evidence of a skilled musician
whose expertise lay in
composition and arrangement.
His pieces are played and
enjoyed by young and old alike.
www.giltrap.co.uk
ormally within my
columns, I focus on
sections that may
prove tricky by looking at them in
sequence. In this case, I want to jump
ahead and look atbars 34 and 35
so be sure to have downloded the
entire tab from the website. Both
these bars feature a lovely technique
called harping so called because it
emulates the sound of a harp when
played in an arpeggio style using
harmonics and open strings. In order
to really do justice to this technique
you need a reasonably good thumb
nail or thumb pick.
Designate the thumb and the
index finger of the right hand to
pluck the harmonic 12 frets beyond
either an open string or 12 frets
beyond a fretted string. What you
are doing is plucking a string (fretted
or otherwise) followed by a harmonic
on another string using the thumb
to pluck the string while placing the
index finger lightly over the crown of
the fret (plucking simultaneously) so
it rings loud and clear like a bell or in
this case a harp.
102 acoustic magazine march 2015
Here is a quick exercise to get you

going if you havent ventured
into harping territory before. The
left hand does not come into play
yet. Pluck an open fourth string

(D). I suggest either the second or
third finger right hand and then
follow that with a harmonic at the
twelfth fret bass sixth string (E)

using the thumb and index finger
outlined above. This applies to all
of the following.
Move up to the third string (G)

and play that string open followed
by a harmonic at the twelfth fret
at the fifth string (A). Move up to
the second string (B) and play that
string open followed by a harmonic
at the twelfth fret fourth string
(D). Move up to the first string (E)
and play that string open followed
by a harmonic at the twelfth fret
third string (G). Follow this with the
harmonic at the twelfth fret second
string (B), and then with the twelfth
fret harmonic at the first string (E)

again using the thumb and index
finger to play the harmonic.
On paper this probably looks
confusing but as you try it you will
see an obvious pattern emerging
from the example that follows.
Picking harmonic pattern

n 4 open, 6 harmonic
n 2 harmonic
n 1 harmonic
Once you get the feeland flow
of this ascending sequence, try
playingit backwards!
n Open first string (E), harmonic
third string (G)
n Open first string again (E),
harmonic fourth string (D)
n Open second string (B), harmonic
fifth string (A)
n Open third string (G), harmonic
sixth string (E)
Let us get back to those two bars in

question: 34 and 35. Here you will
see that the left hand does come into
play now with the fourth fret on the
D string covered while harping 12
frets beyond that fret. In bar 35, the
second fret fourth string is covered
while you harp 12 frets above
that. The fret numbers are clearly
marked. There are many masters of
this technique: Tommy Emmanuel
and the late Lenny Breau.
Returning to the piece itself: At
the beginning of bar seven (the 4/4
bar) we have what I describe as a
typical Giltrap signature hammer-on
riff which I have used in many of
my pieces, repeated in bars seven,
nine, 11, 13, 15 and in a similar
way on the lower strings in bars
17/19/21/23/25 and 27. The trick is
to keep them all consistent. Note in
bar six there is a pull off to an open
string from the seventh fret first
string. This occurs in bars 10 and 14.
If you wish, you can play this as a
plucked note. There is a long stretch
in section B bar 10 that happens
again on the repeats.
Section E is what I describe as my
Elgar-influenced pastoral section
leading up the harping part. You
can play this a tad slower if you
wish as it has a more reflective and
romantic feel to it. Throughout the
piece there are many repeated parts.
Try to vary the dynamics each time.
Thanks go to Steve Marsh for the
transcription taken from my book
Troubadour. This piece, along with
many of my compositions, can be
downloaded from Lathkills website.
www.lathkillmusic.co.uk
Gordon Giltrap
DOWNLOAD
ONLINE Extra
Download the full transcription
from www.acousticmagazine.com
march 2015 acoustic magazine 103
Classifieds
To advertise here simply call 01926 339808

or email: florencetw@blazepublishing.co.uk
Reader ads now online at

104 acoustic magazine SUMMER 2015
104-105 Classifieds.indd 104
22/05/2015 13:51
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Advertisers Index
Acoustic Music Co.............................................................. 57
Alive Network...................................................................... 13
Allianz..................................................................................... 55
Aria.......................................................................................... 47
Auden..................................................................................... 14
Bass Centre........................................................................... 15
Blues Matters....................................................................... 83
Daniel Ho............................................................................... 89
Elixir Strings.......................................................................... 21
Frailers.................................................................................... 89
Freestyle................................................................................. 75
Gremlin.................................................................................. 49
Headway................................................................................ 83
Ivor Mairants........................................................................ 25
JHS........................................................................................... 55
London Acoustic Show..............................................30-31
Lowden.....................................................................................2
Mike Dawes.......................................................................... 93
National Resophonic............................................................3
Oasis........................................................................................ 81
Paul Brett............................................................................... 93
Peterborough...................................................................... 89
Proel........................................................................................ 73
Promenade........................................................................... 85
Sandarac................................................................................ 29
Santa Cruz............................................................................. 63
Stentor.................................................................................... 81
Strings and Things...........................................................108
Summerfield........................................................................ 25
Sutherland............................................................................ 69
Tanglewood.......................................................................... 67
Taylor................................................................................16-17
The Music Room................................................................. 61
The North American Guitar..........................................107
Westside...................................................................................4
SUMMER 2015 acoustic magazine 105
104-105 Classifieds.indd 105
22/05/2015 13:52
Cat Stevens
LEGENDS
WORDS: TERI SACCONE
espite his name

change and the
passing of time, its
hard to overlook the
glorious musical contributions
that singer-songwriter Cat Stevens
(now Yusuf Islam) has made since
bursting on the scene in the late
1960s and early 1970s.
Born Steven Demetre Georgiou
in London in 1948, Stevens had
a Swedish mother and a Greek
father who ran a restaurant. As a
teenager, Cat became the singer
in a folk band and was discovered
by a producer who released the
singers self-penned track I Love My Dog
which made an impact on the British charts in
October 1966, peaking in the top 40. Stevens
next single Matthew & Son was equally well
received. Another of his songs Here Comes
My Baby further established Cat as a reputable
singer-songwriter and even as a pop hero as
this track started to gain him attention in the
US music market.
Stevens third single Im Gonna Get Me a
Gun reached the top 10 in the UK, preceded by
his debut album Matthew & Son also a top 10
entry. In May of 1967, P.P. Arnold got into the
British charts with Cats classic composition
The First Cut Is The Deepest, peaking in the
top 20. Stevens next two singles A Bad Night
and Kitty faltered by barely registering on the
publics radar. In March 1968, Cat contracted
tuberculosis and was sidelined from making
music for more than a year.
During his recuperation, the songwriter
underwent a transformation regarding
his music, engendering a more intimate,
introspective approach in his songwriting.
This style would prove to be the key to
international appeal. The album Mona Bone
Jakon, released in 1970, featured the single
Lady DArbanville and became his third top 10
hit in the UK. Meanwhile, Cats songwriting
prowess continued to attract other artists to
his material as that year Jimmy Cliff entered
the British charts with the powerhouse

composition Wild World.
It was Cats seemingly tireless songwriting
stamina that brought him to release a second
album later that year: Tea For The Tillerman.
The album proved to be his big breakthrough
in the US. Among the hits from the album
was his version of Wild World. At this point,
Stevens was being recognised as a foremost
singer-songwriter in the blossoming folkrock movement of the time and was now a
superstar performer.
Smash singles such as Moonshadow and
Peace Train galvanised his skyrocketing
stature as an artist. His fifth album Teaser And
The Firecat immediately went gold. In addition
to Moon Shadow and Peace Train, it contained
another top 10 smash Morning Has Broken.
1972 was Cats commercial peak, yet he
changed his tone slightly with a rockier album
Catch Bull At Four that proved a success on both
sides of the Atlantic. Cat was so entrenched in
his creative process that he painted his album
covers and began producing his albums too.
By 1973, with many tours and albums under
his belt, plus writing original songs for films,
the grind of being an internationally loved
recording artist was taking a toll on him. He
left the UK and moved to Brazil for a year, but
he donated the money he would have paid in
taxes to charity. He cut back on his live shows
and stopped granting interviews.

In June of 1973, Stevens released
a new single The Hurt that made
the US top 40. It was followed
in August by his seventh album,
Foreigner, which was seen as a
creative risk. Gone was the acoustic
guitar interplay that had been
the core component of Stevens
sound, replaced by more intricate
keyboard-based arrangements
complete with strings, brass, and
a female vocal trio. Despite the
inherent stylistic risks, the record
was another massive commercial
success peaking inside the top five
in the US and UK, and subsequently going gold.
He released his eighth album Buddha And
The Chocolate Box in March 1974, preceded
by the single Oh Very Young. As usual, the
album made the US and UK top five. That
summer, he released a version of Sam Cookes
Another Saturday Night followed by a
greatest hits album.
Although he was still active musically, Cat
became a devout Muslim in 1977 so long
as his songs were morally acceptable. He
changed his name to Yusuf Islam, subsequently
marrying and raising five children. He soon
gave up his career in lieu of opening a Muslim
school in North London.
In 2009, almost 30 years after his last album,
the singer released a new studio effort, An
Other Cup, under the name Yusuf Islam. In
early 2009, he released a cover version of
The Day The World Gets Round by George
Harrison. All proceeds from the song were
donated to help the children of Gaza. In April
2014, he was inducted into the Rock And Roll
Hall Of Fame. In October of that same year, a
new album entitled Tell Em Im Gone appeared,
produced by Rick Rubin and featuring guitar
from Richard Thompson.
At the end of 2014, Yusuf embarked on a
tour another milestone after being elusive
for many years. To this day, his yearning still
touches millions the world over.
107.indd 107
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108.indd 108
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