The latest issue of Guitar Interactive, the free digital guitar magazine has been released and it’s loaded to the brim with new video interviews, interactive guitar lessons and reviews of all the latest guitars, amps and pedals. Also, after the success of last month’s offer, every Guitar Interactive subscriber can still claim a FREE copy of the brilliant TAB editing software package Guitar Pro 6!
American guitar virtuoso Richie Kotzen is this month’s cover star with an in-depth interview at his LA home studio and a special ‘Kotzen Masterclass’ lesson from Tom Quayle. Other interviews include Free bassist Andy Fraser and Guitar Interactive favourite Steve Hackett returns to talk with Michael Casswell about his new album ‘Genesis Revisited ll’ and to perform an exclusive live session!
There’s more exclusive material on offer as Guitar Interactive are invited to the annual LA Amp Show to sample the latest products and find out what’s new in the world of Amplifiers. Pedals and Guitars. With a whole host of interviews with the brains behind the gear you love including Fractal Audio, Matrix Amplification, Suhr Guitars, Eganter + More….
There’s lots of prizes up for grabs in the competitions section of the mag… Gi are giving away two Wampler pedals and two copies of the new Randy Rhoads biography + find out which lucky reader bagged the Ibanez Steve Vai JEM70V Guitar!
Don’t miss the column features as Andy James, Tom Quayle, Rick Graham, Michael Casswell and Giorgio Serci all continue their technique lessons including tips, tricks and licks to help make you a better guitarist and starting this month, Guitar Idol winner Don Alder joins the Guitar Interactive teaching team to begin his ‘Acoustic Percussion’ series.
Included in the magazine is full downloadable tab for all of the lessons in the usual PDF format and now our new Guitar Pro 6 format so you can start using your FREE software right away (For details on how to claim your copy, visit the downloads page in the magazine).
The rest of the issue is jam packed with reviews including the new Tony Iommi Signture T-100 Laney Amp, Washburn, Rickenbacker, PRS, Hiwatt, Wampler, TC Electronic, Danelectro, Stonebridge and an exclusive review of the new Ibanez Roadcore RC230 Guitar!
If that’s not enough, Gi brings you a Quiet Room special with the new ‘Rise Of The Super-Ukes’ feature – Ukelele expert John Howlett explains why the Ukelele is conquering the world and reviews the best models on the market.
All this is available now and it’s completely FREE! Visit http://www.iguitarmag.com/issue13 to read it now!
THE QUIET ROOM_GUITAR REVIEW
It’s the present giving season, but can you safely buy a very cheap guitar for a
beginner? And what if you want an acoustic for yourself but cash is hard to come
by? We gave Tom Quayle Aria’s new AF-15 and told him to forget everything he
knows about playing guitar…
As a guitarist at the beginning of your
musical journey, picking the right starter
instrument can make the difference
between a few months of frustrated misery
or a lifetime of musical enjoyment and
participation. Back a couple of decades
ago it was very difficult to pick up quality
instruments at a price that didn’t involve
significant investment for the beginner. Poor
fretwork, shoddy laminate woods and bad
set-ups were the norm across much of the
industry but things have changed a great deal
and standards have risen a lot in recent years.
Aria’s offering for the starter market is its
AF series, clearly named to inspire and offer
hope for those taking their first steps into
the world of guitar playing. The AF15 is
perhaps the most appealing of the range
with its incredibly low price, small body size
and attractive design and is available in four
finishes. Our review model came in a natural
gloss but two sunbursts and black are also
available.
STAR RATING CHECK THE SPEC
148 Guitar Interactive Magazine Issue 14
The AF15 is constructed from all solid
woods, a fantastic achievement at the chosen
price point! Clearly we’re not talking highend
tonewoods here but the construction
is of a high quality with no obvious corner
cutting to speak of. Looking inside the guitar
you can see that the bracing and finishing
is all very clean with no wood shavings or
splinters sticking out anywhere, matching
the quality of the outer finish. The back
and sides are made from basswood, which,
whilst not being the most obvious choice
for an acoustic guitar, keeps costs down and
works surprisingly well. With very little
grain to speak of, the back and sides appear
very plain but this isn’t the biggest concern
for most beginners anyway. The top is solid
spruce and looks great with quality binding
and an attractive rosette around the sound
hole. Catalpa is used for the neck (I’ve
never heard of it either) as a replacement for
the much more expensive mahogany and
works very well in this regard, offering an
attractive and solidly constructed neck with a
rosewood fretboard offering 20 frets. Finally,
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