General Interest

Aside from his other-worldly chops, Carlos Santana has a deeply spiritual connection to his guitar playing.

With an illustrious career now spanning 60 years, the Mexican-American guitarist has won 10 grammy awards and sold over 100 million albums worldwide, and he credits this success with making listeners feel what’s coming from his soul as a guitar player.

• READ MORE: “For someone to do it better than him, they’re gonna have to reinvent the guitar all over again”: Kirk Hammett thinks no guitarist will ever eclipse Eddie Van Halen

He explains that to best convey emotion and soul, guitarists should practice improvisation.

“Anybody can practice scales up and down,” he explains in the new issue of Guitar World. “But there’s something about coming down a water slide. You don’t know how you’re going to land; it might be on your head or on your feet. That’s what happens when you deviate from the melody.”

In Santana’s view, a guitarist should seek to evoke the same emotions in a listener as a vocalist would.

“I don’t care who you are, whether you are Al Di Meola or not, I’d recommend this to any guitar player. If you spend even one day learning how to play and phrase like those lady soul singers, you will become a better musician. This is the truth. This is genuinely the most important part of the interview – right now.

“The only thing people will remember about your music is how you made them feel. They are not going to remember all the fast scales and ‘Look at what I can do!’ moments. But they will remember those three notes that made the hairs stand on the back of the neck and tears come out of their eyes, even if they don’t know why. That’s a whole other element, one I call spirit. Some people don’t know how to play with spirit, heart and soul.”

Santana explains that choosing the right notes when constructing a melody is “like putting your fingers in water and sprinkling someone’s face with water, or if you take a spoon to grapefruit and it squirts”.

“Those are the good notes,” he explains. “A lot of people don’t know how to squirt their best notes!”

“I learned this stuff from Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Albert King and Freddie King. If you don’t know how to squirt, everything is contained, and it can get boring after a while. I like being squirted in the face by music because it makes me feel alive.

He concludes: “The goal of any guitar player, whatever the style may be – from funk and flamenco to heavy metal – is to make the listener feel alive. A good guitar solo should sound like an orgasm. I can hear it in Eddie Van Halen’s playing, and the same goes for Jimi Hendrix. I live for the juicy notes.”

In the same interview, Carlos Santana reveals he once had a dream in which Stevie Ray Vaughan visited him and told him to convince his brother Jimmie to borrow his Dumble amp.

“He wanted to utilise my body and hands because he missed playing guitar,” he says.

The post Carlos Santana: “I like being squirted in the face by music because it makes me feel alive” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Will there ever be another guitarist who changes music quite like Eddie Van Halen? Metallica’s Kirk Hammett isn’t convinced.

As Hammett explains in a new interview with Consequence – in which he lists 11 albums every guitarist should own – EVH “reinvented the guitar”, and for anyone to make the same impact, they’d need to do the same.

• READ MORE: Ariel Posen on his new Fender Custom Shop signature Stratocaster: “I felt like my sound was right there immediately!”

Of Van Halen’s entire catalogue, Hammett contests that every guitarist – nay, “everyone” – should own the band’s 1978 debut album, Van Halen I. This album featured the likes of Eruption, You Really Got Me, Runnin’ With The Devil and Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love.

Speaking specifically on Eddie Van Halen’s style on this album, Kirk Hammett explains: “[He] never really went into harmonic minor or anything like that, or augmented scales or diminished stuff. Black Sabbath does it, we do it, tonnes of bands do it.

“Eddie’s riffs were kind of just like major-sounding riffs. Sometimes he had minor sounding stuff, too, but that says a lot in terms of how Van Halen’s music sounded. A lot of Van Halen sounds like good-time party music because that’s just the way that Eddie Van Halen wrote the guitar riffs. And it’s a beautiful thing in itself because he was able to write all sorts of songs that had all sorts of emotions and feelings.”

Of course, if there’s one technique Eddie Van Halen was best known for, it was two-handed tapping.

“There are people doing a right-hand technique on the neck, but not like Eddie,” Hammett explains.

“Eddie blew it open and hands down was the best guy in doing all that stuff. Absolutely the best guy in creating those amazing tapping licks and harmonic licks and crazy sort of note patterns. He was the king of all that stuff. No one did it better.

“For someone to do it better than him, they’re gonna have to reinvent the guitar all over again ‘cause Eddie reinvented the guitar. There wasn’t anyone who did that since Jimi Hendrix. And then Eddie did it.”

Elsewhere, Halestorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale recently waxed lyrical on Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang, even going as far as to say he’ll “save rock ‘n’ roll” with his band Mammoth.

“He’s a humble kid, there’s none of that ‘I’m a rock star’s kid’ stuff,” she said. “I’ve met quite a few of those guys that think that they’re better than everybody else because their dad was famous. That’s never been Wolfie.”

The post “For someone to do it better than him, they’re gonna have to reinvent the guitar all over again”: Kirk Hammett thinks no guitarist will ever eclipse Eddie Van Halen appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

If you’ve spent any time in the presence of Ariel Posen playing guitar – whether online or in the flesh – you’ll know that he is one of the most expressive and spellbinding guitar players on the scene right now.

• READ MORE: Halestorm pick their five most underrated rock and metal bands

It was entirely fitting then that the Canadian guitarist teamed up with Fender Custom Shop to create a limited edition signature instrument. But Posen’s signature Strat has certainly turned heads – even among those who aren’t fans of the 39-year-old – not just because it’s drop dead gorgeous, because that’s a given for the Custom Shop, but because it was a very unique and unconventional take on a Strat.

So instead of the classic recipe of three single coils and a synchronized tremolo, Posen opted to spec his guitar with a pair of P-90s, a hardtail bridge and even the knob layout was streamlined – with just a single master volume and tone for both pickups.

“I’ve been digging the two-pickup set up on a Strat-style guitar for a long time,” Posen explains of his decision. “I found after years and years of playing Strats, I think I just don’t connect with the three single coils as much. I find I don’t play like myself as much.”

Usually the default for a two-pickup guitar is to rock with humbuckers, but Posen’s experience playing a Jazzmaster sold him on the benefit of two single coils.

“I didn’t want to do two humbuckers as I really like low-output pickups,” Posen adds. “I knew I loved the sound of a Jazzmaster neck pickup (and the neck pickup in my Strat is wired to the spec of my actual JM). So when we started talking about the bridge pickup, the suggestion of P-90s came up and traditionally, I wasn’t always gravitating towards them, but decided to try it again and immediately connected with it. The way it complimented the JM-derived pickup was beautiful and I felt like my sound was right there immediately!”

The pickups themselves are unique to this guitar too, and were created for Ariel by Fender’s pickup guru Tim Shaw.

“Tim was amazing to work with,” Ariel gushes. “I said what I didn’t like, and said what I loved, and he kind of gave me an ‘anything is possible’ perspective. Lots of calls back and forth to discuss. It’s hard to describe sound with words, but we managed to do it and when the first set was ready in the prototype, it was just ‘it’.”

One For The Road

The prototype Ariel mentions is a guitar that Ariel has been seen a lot with over the last couple of years – it was here that all the important stuff of the final guitar was tested and refined.

“That was the prototype for the signature,” he confirms. “I had been messing around with some Strats, throwing different configurations of pickups in them. Each time I would talk to my friend at Fender, I’d talk about my experimenting and eventually they just said, ‘What if we just did a model?’ That kept the experimentation going.

“It took about two and a half years from originally chatting – these things take a while! So yeah, the Custom Shop Strat you’re referring to was the first official prototype. We kinda nailed it right on the first try, minus some cosmetic stuff. But the core elements and the sound was there first try.”

The cosmetic stuff he mentions were pretty minor, but they all add up. “The Lake Placid Blue on the first was a little ‘too’ blue,” he admits. “I also decided not to go matching headstock. That was based on the look of my Jazzmaster, and while it looks great on that, I just never connected with the look of it the same way on the Strat! Much happier with what I ended up going with.”

If you’ve seen Ariel at shows in recent years you’ll notice that he has a thing for blue guitars, in addition to his Jazzmaster, he also owns a blue Mule Mulecaster…

“I do like blue!” he chuckles. “If you’re gonna do a signature model, it should represent your aesthetic. My other Strat that the neck of this guitar is based on is a beautiful sunburst with a heavy relic but I feel like it’s the most common looking finish on a guitar, especially a Strat. I just wanted to lean into what was true to myself and authentic. I also think it looks nice!”

Hard Lines

Perhaps the other biggest departure from the traditional Strat recipe on Ariel’s signature is the lack of vibrato – a decision that’s been borne out from hard lessons learned on the road.

“I love vibrato-equipped guitars; however, as a touring musician and someone who’s in the studio a lot, or other higher pressure situations, I didn’t want to lean on a guitar that had a floating system of any kind,” he explains. “I used to love having the whammy on a Strat but every time I’d break a string, the guitar becomes unusable. In the middle of a show, you’re kind of stuck. It was a decision out of necessity, and maybe this is crazy, but I feel like there’s a little more resonance in the sound of the guitar where it’s hard-tailed. Maybe I made that up, but I’ve just been digging that set up more on Strat the last few years!”

Another thing that you won’t find anywhere on Ariel’s signature Strat is… well… a signature… “Honestly, I didn’t even discuss it,” he explains of the lack of his name anywhere on the guitar. “It’s not a big deal to me. They would have put it on if I asked! The guitar is unique and people will know that it’s my model, but also, I’d love for people to want to use it as a tool and not just play it because it is or isn’t a signature model of someone!”

That’s not to say that Ariel is taking this moment in his career lightly however, far from it – he understands what a moment it is for any guitar player to have a signature Fender guitar.

“I can’t say it was something I planned on doing,” he admits. “Sure, it’s a dream, but not something I was actively chasing with anyone. In fact, I never assumed I’d have this opportunity, so when it came up, I was just as surprised as anyone else would be.

“I truly believe that it is a really great and solid instrument, and a really fresh take on something that has been done the same way so many times before. I can’t say enough how grateful I am – I definitely don’t take the opportunity for granted. It’s not something that everyone gets to do and I’m incredibly grateful to be able to experience it! A milestone indeed.”

Find out more about the Ariel Posen Strat at fender.com

The post Ariel Posen on his new Fender Custom Shop signature Stratocaster: “I felt like my sound was right there immediately!” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Frontwoman Jessica Dobson plunges into the depths of her Benson-powered road rig.

Seattle indie rockers Deep Sea Diver released their fourth full-length record, Billboard Heart, earlier this year via Sub Pop, and their supporting cross-country tour took them to downtown Nashville’s Blue Room at Jack White’s Third Man Records.

PG’s Chris Kies connected with singer and guitarist Jessica Dobson in 2020 for a virtual Rig Rundown, but this time we get a close-up, in-person look at Dobson’s tour kit, including her signature Benson stomp box and a custom guitar.

Lighten the Load

Dobson picked up this slick Bilt S.S. Zaftig to replace her beloved but terribly heavy Fender Starcaster. This one has Lollar Regal Wide-Range humbuckers in it.

Regrets, I’ve Had a Few

Dobson purchased this used Fender Elvis Costello Jazzmaster in 2010, and has since met the person who sold it—and totally regrets it. It’s strung with D’Addario .011–.052s, and tuned to E standard.

Blue Benz

U.K.-based builder Elliott Trent modeled this custom Trent guitar for Dobson on her mother’s old blue Mercedes, and loaded it with P-90s.

Benson Boom Box

Dobson’s amp of choice, taped to perfection, is this 30-watt Benson Chimera 2x12 combo.

Jessica Dobson’s Pedalboard

Dobson runs a busy board powered by a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 Plus and operated via a Boss ES-8. There’s also her signature Benson Deep Sea Diver, plus a Benson Germanium Preamp, JHS Pulp N Peel, Sarno Music Solutions Earth Drive, Benson Germanium Boost, EHX Deluxe Memory Man, Strymon blueSky, EHX POG2, Chase Bliss Brothers Analog Gainstage, and Menatone Pleasure Trem 5000, plus a TC Electronic PolyTune 2 Noir.

Benson Deep Sea Diver
Benson Chimera
Benson Germanium Preamp
JHS Pulp 'N' Peel Compressor Pedal
Benson Germanium Boost
Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man Analog Delay / Chorus / Vibrato Pedal
TC Electronic PolyTune3 Noir
Strymon blueSky
Electro-Harmonix POG2
Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 Plus
Boss ES-8

Kiesel Guitars has rereleased one of the most iconic models in the company’s line of custom-built instruments: the DC127 now rejoins the lineup of Kiesel’s premium US-made instruments for a limited time.

Designed to excel in a variety of musical styles, the versatile DC127 is available in a 6-string configuration. Key features include:

• Body tonewood options include Alder, Swamp Ash, Roasted Swamp Ash, Mahogany, Walnut, Black Limba
• 25” scale length, 24 stainless steel frets
• Fretboard material options include Ziricote, Ebony, Royal Ebony, Richlite Black Diamond, Richlite Maple Valley, Zebrawood, Rosewood, Birdseye Maple, Flamed Maple, Maple, Roasted Birdseye Maple, Roasted Flamed Maple, Roasted Maple, and Palemoon Ebony
• Electronics: Comes standard with either one or two Kiesel M22 pickups; various control layouts available, including a special option featuring 2 volume and 2 tone knobs with coil split and phase switches
• Bridge options include Hipshot fixed bridge, Hipshot tremolo, Floyd Rose tremolo with locking tuners

Like other Kiesel models, the reissued DC127 is available in a wide range of options for unique customization. Players can select their favorite finish, tonewoods, electronics and hardware to create the guitar of their dreams…expertly crafted in Kiesel’s Southern California custom shop.

Kiesel’s DC127 is available for street pricing starting at $1,799. For more information visit kieselguitars.com.

Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler says he probably wouldn’t be able to play some parts of their 1985 Brothers In Arms album today, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic slowed him down.

The classic album, which marked their fifth studio release, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. It featured hits like Money For Nothing and became the first album to sell one million copies on CD. Knopfler isn’t too stressed about the pandemic’s impact on his playing though, as he’s actually looking forward to improving again.

• READ MORE: “Everybody shouted at once, ‘No! Don’t touch it!’”: How a microphone mishap led Mark Knopfler to finding the perfect guitar tone for Money For Nothing

In a Guitar World interview, Knopfler says, “It’s tempting just to say, ‘Oh, it’s nothing’ and downplay it, but thinking about Brothers in Arms now, it seems like that record meant so much to so many people”

He adds, “The CD had just been invented and they decided it would be a super idea to push Brothers In Arms in hi-fi shops. That’s where a lot of people first heard it. Then the singles made it in different countries and it became a worldwide thing. Next thing you know, you’re in the eye of the storm.”

Asked if he would play the guitar parts on the record differently today, he replies, “I probably wouldn’t be able to play them so well now. But I’m hoping to put my head down and really get back into some proper playing in the near future. Covid slowed me down a lot. I’ve had it three times.

He continues, “If you’re away from the guitar for a while, your pads get softer and you lose your facility a little bit. So I’m really looking forward to improving. I think what happens is, you develop lazy techniques. I’m forever doing that. You know, half-chords, these little semi-shapes. It wouldn’t make a teacher very happy.”

A deluxe 40th anniversary edition of Brothers In Arms is out now – find out more or order it now via Mark Knopfler’s official website.

The post Mark Knopfler admits he “probably wouldn’t be able to play” parts of this classic Dire Straits album now appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Joe Bonamassa is embracing his difference as a modern blues player, and says he’d much rather put his own spin on the genre than appease the purists.

The blues is drenched in history, with so many greats having paved the way for artists like Bonamassa to come along, from B.B. King to Buddy Guy. With so many inspiring players having shaped its early beginnings, there are many out there who believe it’s a genre that should be honoured and left unchanged.

• READ MORE: “Maybe some young kids will be like, ‘Wow, I saw that movie. I like what he played. I wanna try that’”: Buddy Guy’s cameo in Sinners was to “help the blues”

In JoBo’s case, he’s done with trying to please this community of blues lovers, and feels his superpower as a player is in his personal touch on a genre that so many of us respect.

He tells Guitar World, “What I interpret the blues as is different from what other people interpret the blues as. I’m long past the point of caring. There’s nothing I can do to change people’s opinions about me, nor do I wish to.”

He adds, “It doesn’t matter, because when I look at our last set of gigs and I see full arenas, I think, ‘We did something right, and the music struck a chord with a large number of people.’

“So do I placate the minority of folks, or do I play an arena gig with blues songs that nobody else is doing? I’d rather do the latter. Why do I have to impress 10 people when a thousand people are saying, ‘Hey, man – I dig this’?”

Even while doing things his own way, there’s no doubt that Bonamassa pays his respects to the guitar greats. Back in early July, he wrapped a trio of shows in Cork, Ireland paying tribute to the legendary Rory Gallagher.

After the shows, he reflected on what he called “the biggest honour and greatest challenge” in a post on Instagram. He wrote, “I am so grateful to have had this opportunity and to have conquered my own self-doubt in accepting this incredible honour and responsibility.

“I hope we all did Rory right and played these shows in his spirit. I hope he would have been proud to see the love from his hometown carrying his legacy on. An honour of a lifetime for that I will never forget. Thank you Donal, Daniel, Eoghan and the entire Gallagher family for your trust.”

Joe Bonamassa’s new album Breakthrough is available to buy or stream now. He is also currently on tour in the US.

The post “Why do I have to impress 10 people when a thousand people are saying, ‘Hey, man – I dig this’?”: Joe Bonamassa is done with criticism from blues purists appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Blackstar has unveiled Polar Go, a “pocket-sized” two-in-one audio interface and stereo recorder.

Designed to “meet the needs of modern creators”, Polar Go has all the features you’d expect in a streamlined portable audio interface, including a combo XLR/ ¼” mic, line and instrument input – with +48V phantom power for condenser mics – a 3.5mm headphone output and dual USB-C ports for power and data.

Where Blackstar looks to set the Polar Go apart from its competitors, though, is in the addition of built-in ProCapture stereo mics.

• READ MORE: The PRS SE Silver Sky is now available in four new finishes – inspired, according to John Mayer, by “traditional American fashion”

The company claims these built-in mics are fit to capture both vocals and instruments with “stunning depth and clarity”.

Additionally, the Polar Go has a companion app – available on both iOS and Android – which ties in to Blackstar’s content creator target audience.

Features of the app include built-in video recording – so you can sync video captured using your smartphone with audio captured through the Polar Go’s stereo mics – as well as a “simple, intuitive UI made for creators”.

There’s also a Magic Wand tool for auto-enhancing audio with a single tap, and presets for vocals, guitar, podcasts and more.

The Polar Go also has a rechargeable battery with up to six hours of battery life, and is compatible with GarageBand, BandLab, and all major recording apps.

“Polar Go is more than a mobile interface; it’s a complete, pocket-sized studio designed for the modern creator,” says Blackstar. 

“With a built-in stereo mic system powered by Blackstar’s exclusive ProCapture technology, Polar Go delivers  crystal-clear, professional-grade sound straight from your phone, tablet, or laptop, no studio or experience required. 

“Whether you’re a singer-songwriter, podcaster, livestreamer or filmmaker, Polar Go transforms your audio from  phone-quality to studio-ready instantly. Just plug in and create, anywhere, anytime.”

The Polar Go is priced at £79. Learn more at Blackstar.

The post Blackstar launches Polar Go – a “pocket-sized” audio interface with built-in stereo mics appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

NUX’s Queen of Tone dual overdrive pedal is, at least in name, a clear nod to Analogman’s iconic King of Tone—which is, in a very general sense, a highly modified mash up of two Marshall Bluesbreaker circuits. However the Queen of Tone deviates from Analogman’s approach to the dual-overdrive concept in a significant way: The pedal retains some Bluesbreaker lineage in the form of NUX’s own Morning Star overdrive, a Bluesbreaker-style pedal that makes up one half of the QOT. But the other half of the two-overdrive set up is the Horseman, NUX’s version of the Klon Centaur.

The Morning Star side boasts controls for drive, tone, and level, while the Horseman’s control set consists of gain, treble, and output knobs. A routing switch enables you to switch the order of effects, and a toggle on the crown of the pedal selects true or buffered bypass. A second adjacent mini-toggle engages an input FET Stage that adds even more gain. There are also two hidden features of sorts: Holding down the Morning Star footswitch engages Shine mode, which adds treble boost and clarity. Pressing and holding the Horseman side, meanwhile, activates Silver mode, which extends the gain range of the Horseman circuit. (“Silver” refers to the silver Klon Centaur, which is typically considered treblier and sometimes raspier than the gold iteration).

The two circuits complement each other well and stack seamlessly.

One peculiar aspect of the Queen of Tone switching that’s worth noting: The pedal activates with the release of the footswitch, which enables the press-and-hold function for the Silver and Shine modes. Some players will perceive this as a lag, but if you can adjust your timing without upsetting your rhythm and flow, it’s merely a minor annoyance.

Gain On the Range

I tested the Queen of Tone with a Fender Telecaster and Gibson ES-355, alongside a tweed Deluxe-style 1x12" combo, and the pedal proved easy to use, extremely versatile, and adaptable to either guitar/amp combination. From the Morning Star’s juicy, dynamic, tube-like clipping to the Horseman’s clear, transparent, and slightly mid-forward response, there are a ton of tones to tap into, and the vast majority of the sounds are not only useful, but loveable. What’s more, the two circuits complement each other well and stack seamlessly, offering a unique gain structure depending on the signal order.

NUX addressed a common issue with Bluesbreaker-style circuits, which often require maxing the level control for adequate output. Here, there's more headroom to work with, which, along with the extra high-end shimmer from the Shine mode, contributes to a very present tone. There’s plenty of cut and brightness available from the Horseman side, too. For my taste, the Silver mode pushed things a little too bright, but it’s useful when you need leads to soar. Engaging the FET switch also produces a notable increase in gain to either side. But as you might guess, with all the extra brightness and gain already built into the extra circuits, it can be overkill unless you really want to hammer your amp’s front end.

It could be argued that neither of these circuits is quite as lush or transparent as some boutique counterparts. But even discounting the cost savings, which are considerable, both the Horseman and Morning Star hold up very well on the tone front. Brought together in the Queen of Tone, they open up a huge expanse of gain-shaping possibilities.

Is it possible to pinpoint the birth of heavy metal? Obviously, many generally agree that the genre is the handiwork of Black Sabbath, but according to author and music journalist Jason Schneider, it was actually Jimi Hendrix who got the wheels in motion.

In a new interview with Booked on Rock, Schneider – who just released his new book That Gun in Your Hand: The Strange Saga of ‘Hey Joe’ and Popular Music’s History of Violence – contests that The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s 1966 version of Hey Joe could be where metal first found its footing.

• READ MORE: “He said, ‘Carlos, where I am, I don’t have any fingers’”: Carlos Santana says Stevie Ray Vaughan came to him in a dream and told him to borrow his brother Jimmie’s Dumble amp

“People have debates all the time about the origins of hard rock or heavy metal,” he says [via Ultimate Guitar]. “But I think going back to that time, 1966, when Jimi and bands like The Who were just first starting to make records, they wanted volume. And of course Cream, Eric Clapton: the birth of the Marshall amplifier.

“I think all of that just, if you want to trace the origins of heavy metal back to anything, I think that’s where I would go.”

As Schneider points out, the recording sessions for Hey Joe saw Hendrix fighting against the engineer to reach the loud, high-gain sound he was used to.

“Jimi approached it as if you were on stage, so he instinctively just cranked his amp up to maximum,” Schneider explains. “And that’s something that the studio engineer had never experienced before.

“So, all of a sudden, here’s Jimi playing at top volume, and all kinds of things are rattling around the studio. But Jimi refused to turn down. And that was the sound, so they had to kind of eventually work out a compromise.”

Of course, it was Black Sabbath’s arrival in 1968 and their massively distorted riffs which truly set the foundations for what would become the heavy metal genre we know today. 

But did Hendrix, Clapton and other guitarists who loved cranking the gain on their amps pave the way for them? Jason Schneider certainly thinks so, and we can totally buy it.

Watch the full interview below:

The post “If you want to trace the origins of heavy metal back to anything, that’s where I would go”: Music journalist says this Jimi Hendrix song gave birth to metal music appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Reader: Mark Shadle

Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Guitar: dodeka

I’ve been a Telecaster guy from my very first electric guitar purchase, and I’ve since had many in addition to numerous T-style versions that I built myself. I do like variations on the original theme such as the Thinlines and models with humbuckers, but my heart lies mostly with the single-coil models. My second and current obsession is 12-string guitars which I got into around a year ago. And because I’ve practiced and played 12-strings almost exclusively since, I’ve had a difficult time enjoying playing 6-strings again. This led me to build what I consider the ultimate T-style guitar. I have seen a few 12-string Telecaster models before—the most recent being a Japanese Fender Flagship Store exclusive. But it was never imported to the United States, and while they are still available today, they exist in limited numbers on the used market, most appear to be in Japan, and they are expensive.

The body on dodeka is alder which is painted with a fiesta-red matte-nitro finish. The neck is maple with a rosewood fretboard and Gotoh machine heads. Taking inspiration from a Fender 1951 Precision Bass, the custom pickguard is single-ply Bakelite. Pickups are Fender American Vintage ’62 Custom single-coils with alnico 3 magnets in the neck and alnico 2’s in the bridge. The bridge is solid brass, which was CNC’d in a custom shape that mirrors a Telecaster’s lines. It also has grooved brass compensated saddles, which help keep all those strings aligned. Lower-octave strings are routed through the body and the high-octave and unison strings are top-loaded through the bridge. Intonation is surprisingly very good and close to spot-on with all strings.

I stuck to a traditional setup when it came to the electronics and control harness, utilizing a configuration with a 3-way switch, a .047 uF orange drop cap, and CTS 250k pots. I also added a .001 cap and 100k resistor to the volume control for more treble bleed when you reduce guitar volume. It’s all wired with vintage push-back wire and finished with a Switchcraft jack mounted in an Electrosocket plate. The name dodeka, by the way, comes from the ancient Greek word for 12, and I read somewhere that the word’s origins are rooted in a manner of saying “6 + 6,” which made it even more fitting.

When I first played the guitar, I was so pleased that it sounded so resonant—almost as if it had a hollow cavity in the body, which it most certainly does not. I often sit and play it without plugging it in as I enjoy the acoustic aspect of its sound. The sustain is fantastic and the guitar stays in tune nicely. It sounds extraordinary when plugged into my Vox AC30 with some added light compression and chorus, and can be very chimey, with a sound similar to a Rickenbacker 12. I am very pleased with the finished product and really glad that I pursued my 12-string Telecaster dream!