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!
REVIEWS_GUITAR REVIEW
Ready made ‘vintage’ guitars have an obvious appeal - but can sometimes disappoint.
They may look nice and played-in, but don’t always deliver tonally. Getting
it right is even harder with semi-acoustics than it is with solid bodies, so how has
Washburn fared with its vintage reworking of the HB35? Tom Quayle puts on his
pre-faded jeans and tries not to get too distressed.
The HB36 Vintage is Washburn’s deluxe
version of its HB35 guitar and is an aged/
distressed semi-hollow design aimed at Jazz,
Blues or Rock players. There’s no denying
this guitar is a real winner in the looks
department and catches the eye with its light
ageing and impressive finish. Aimed at the
mid to low-mid price market it has a great
deal of competition but aims to give a high
level of quality to cost ratio.
The HB36 Vintage is constructed using lovely
flame maple back and sides with a spruce top,
featuring a dark sunburst finish that is aged
beautifully, giving a lived-in feel that is very
appealing to the eye and ear. The maple 22
fret neck is finished in similar fashion and
topped with an ebony fretboard adorned with
split block inlays, all topped off with multilaminate
binding around the body and neck.
Adding to the aged appearance Washburn has
chosen very attractive distressed gold hardware
in the form of a tune-o-matic bridge with
stop bar tailpiece, Grover Rotomatic 18:1
ratio tuners and in-house Washburn 621 and
STAR RATING CHECK THE SPEC
70 Guitar Interactive Magazine Issue 14
623 neck and bridge pickups. To complete
the look, an ebony pickguard and knobs are
provided, giving a very impressive looking
overall package. As is to be expected with this
kind of guitar, a solid maple block runs down
the centre of the body, giving added sustain
and feedback suppression at higher volumes.
The construction is, on the whole, very
good for a guitar in this price range, judging
from our sample. The HB36 is heavy but
not overly so, giving a reassuring feel to the
build quality and a good level of sustain
when being played. The flame maple back
and sides are beautiful, with impressive
workmanship on the binding and aged
spruce top. The ageing is more subtle than
aggressive, adding an air of class rather than
abuse to the top and hardware. The glued-in
neck joint is good with no sign of cracking or
weakness although the finish on our sample
could have been better around the neck joint
and cutaways, where it was rougher than on
the body and neck.
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