W
ell, it’s certainly been a busy month. As I write this,
I’m in the unglamorous end of a British Airways
Dreamliner cruising at 40,000ft somewhere over
Virginia. We’re about to begin our descent into
Nashville for the Summer NAMM show – an event that’s gone
from strength to strength in recent years, maintaining a healthy
mixture of big brands and boutique builders and a considerably
more intimate feel than the winter show in Anaheim.
By the time you read this, you’ll doubtless be fully up to
speed with all the new guitar, amp, effects and accessory
releases from the show floor, but you can head to Guitar.com
to catch up on all of our coverage and ensure there’s nothing
you missed.
If it’s a deep dive you’re looking for, then you’ve come to
the right place – this month’s new gear explosion sees us put
Fender’s retro Vintera Series to the test alongside hot new
products from Gretsch, Taylor, Blackstar, Chapman, Gibson and
more. Gibson has been in the news for its legal challenges of
late, but head to p28 to find out what we think of the first
production-line Les Pauls of the new era.
Elsewhere in the mag, we chat to a diverse bunch of artists,
from guitar Jedi Guthrie Govan to country-soul superstar-in-
waiting Yola, blues wunderkind Kingfish and LA songwriter
Vanessa Wheeler, aka VAVÁ.
Just before we went to press, we learned of the sad death
of legendary guitar tech Alan Rogan. Over the years, Alan
tech’d for some of the world’s biggest bands – The Stones and
The Who among them – and I was once lucky enough to witness
him holding court in a London pub, regaling this Beatles
obsessive and others with tales of working with George
Harrison. Wonderful stuff.
It wasn’t just stars – Alan also helped up-and-coming builders
by giving them access to vintage instruments. It’s a testament
to the man that so many industry luminaries and members of
the extended Guitar Magazine family have expressed sadness
at his passing. Our thoughts go out to Alan’s friends and family.EDITOR’S LETTER
MUSIC CITY
All content copyright BandLab UK Limited 2019, all rights reserved.
ÊĩĭńĈƤĈŋÝl·ĈĈƣĈŸƪĈƷŕŸƇƇŕĈōžƍŸĈƇĩÝƇƇĩĈğÝûƇƍÝńûŕōƇĈōƇŕğ
IƍĭƇÝŸqÝġÝƳĭōĈis correct, we cannot take any responsibility nor
ùĈĩĈńāÝûûŕƍōƇÝùńĈğŕŸÝōƪğÝûƇƍÝńĈŸŸŕŸžŴŸĭōƇĈāɚńĈÝžĈŋÝl·Ĉ
ĈƣĈŸƪĈƷŕŸƇƇŕûĩĈûl·ŷƍŕƇĈāŴŸĭûĈžÝōāŴŸŕāƍûƇžŴĈûĭƼûÝƇĭŕōž
ƤĭƇĩŋÝōƍğÝûƇƍŸĈŸžŴŸĭŕŸƇŕŴƍŸûĩÝžĈɚsŕŴÝŸƇŕğƇĩĭžŴƍùńĭûÝƇĭŕō
ŋÝƪùĈŸĈŴŸŕāƍûĈāɕžƇŕŸĈāĭōÝŸĈƇŸĭĈƣÝńžƪžƇĈŋŕŸŸĈžŕńāƤĭƇĩŕƍƇ
ƇĩĈŴŸĭŕŸûŕōžĈōƇŕğ ÝōāiÝù³fiĭŋĭƇĈāɚIƍĭƇÝŸqÝġÝƳĭōĈ recognises
ÝńńûŕŴƪŸĭġĩƇžûŕōƇÝĭōĈāƤĭƇĩĭōƇĩĭžĭžžƍĈɚÊĩĈŸĈŴŕžžĭùńĈɕƤĈ
acknowledge the copyright.
EDITORIAL
CHIEF EDITOR Chris Vinnicombe
ART EDITOR John Thackray
MANAGING EDITOR Josh Gardner
PRODUCTION EDITOR Owen Bailey
PUBLISHING PRODUCTION MANAGER Craig Broadbridge
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sam Roberts
SENIOR PRODUCT SPECIALIST QƍƤŸĭûĈ
INSTRUMENT & COVER PHOTOGRAPHY Eleanor Jane
CONTRIBUTORSqĭûĩÝĈńdÝŋĈžāÝŋžɕŕōƪ Ýûŕōɕ
(ÝŸŸÝō"ĩÝŸńĈžɕŕāGŕġġɕiĈĭġĩGƍġĈɕ(ÝƣĈQƍōƇĈŸɕ
dŕdŕĩōžŕōɕĭûĩÝŸāƍŸƣĭžɕńĭžŕōĭûĩƇĈŸɕqĭûĩÝĈńÊÝƇƇž
HAVE A STORY? 1ŋÝĭńƍžÝƇĈāĭƇŕŸžʭġƍĭƇÝŸɚûŕŋ
SALES
ADVERTISING MANAGERdŕĈ¤ƍŴŴńĈ
ĽŕĈɚžƍŴŴńĈʭġƍĭƇÝŸɚûŕŋ
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER (ĭqÝŸžĩ
āĭɚŋÝŸžĩʭġƍĭƇÝŸɚûŕŋ
PRODUCTION & OPERATIONS
PRINT William Gibbons & Sons Ltd
DISTRIBUTED BYqÝŸl·ĈƇğŕŸûĈɧ³fɨiƇā
Ƀ"ĩƍŸûĩĭńńńÝûĈɕ"ÝōÝŸƪÊĩÝŸğɕiŕōāŕō1ȿɂɃQ³
BANDLAB TECHNOLOGIES
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER qĈōġƍfƍŕl·
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Ivan Chen
AVP, WEB TECHNOLOGIES iÝƍŸĈōƇiĈIŸÝƣĈŸĈōā
AVP, COMMS & PARTNERSHIPS iÝƍŸĈōQĈōāŸƪÝŸžŕōž
SENIOR MANAGER, BRAND STRATEGY Krystle Hall
MANAGER, CONTENT STRATEGY Iliyas Ong
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Terence Stanley
STAFF WRITER Daniel Ong
SUBSCRIPTIONS & BACK ISSUES
ġƍĭƇÝŸɚûŕŋɠžƍùžûŸĭùĈ
Tel ʔɂɂɧȾɨȿɁɅȿɆɃȿɆɆɀ
"ÝńńžûŕžƇɅŴŴĈŸŋĭōƍƇĈŴńƍžƪŕƍŸ
phone company’s access charge
BandLab UK Limited
³ōĭƇɅɕĭƣĈŸžĭāĈ"ŕƍŸƇɕ
Lower Bristol Road,
ÝƇĩ ɀɁ(Ù
Chris Vinnicombe
Chief Editor, Guitar.com & Guitar Magazine
[email protected]EDITOR’S LETTERGUITAR MAGAZINE 9DON’T MISS OUT!
ÉĭžĭƇƍžŕōńĭōĈğŕŸƇĩĈńÝƇĈžƇŕōġĈÝŸɕÝŸƇĭžƇžɕƇĈûĩōĭŷƍĈÝōāƇĩĈġƍĭƇÝŸĭōāƍžƇŸƪ
Guitar.com | facebook.com/guitar | youtube.com/theguitarmagazine
instagram.com/guitar | twitter.com/guitar