CHEER YOU ON - Akacod; Colley and Ortiz

Low Rock is a unique combination of equal parts jazz and equal parts blues, displaying a keen melodic pop/rock sense with darkly comic and ironic lyrics. Pioneered by the Boston band Morphine, a guitarless trio that reflected the sounds of the dark, winding, deserted streets after dark, smoke-filled bars and the seedy underbelly of the city, littered with cigarettes and scotch or whisky; whichever one prefers. With the daring to go into the world of grunge in the early 90’s with just an untamed saxophone, a drum set and a two string slide bass at their disposal and take on the likes of Nirvana and Pearl Jam for mainstream acceptance, Morphine were always fighting a losing battle in spite of which they managed to retain their bottom heavy sound through five full length albums. Even though they wrote pretty standard three-minute rock songs with verses, choruses, and hooks, the songs characteristically always revolved around a sensual groove akin to the rhythms of R&B.

UNCONVENTIONAL - Morphine, fronter by vocalist and bassis Mark Sandman

Bassist and vocalist Mark Sandman’s voice, deep and ravaged as the night, was the perfect instrument to deliver the menacing mix of dark lyrics and playful couplets featuring his classic laid-back croon and detached vocals. Evocative lyrics and affecting melodies that shined a light on the dark side of human nature made this band as addictive as its name.

A trio not built around the sound of an electric guitar, Morphine’s story begins in the country-blues rock quartet ‘Treat Her Right’ which featured a young Sandman exhibiting the innovation that would soon become Morphine’s trademark. Creatively restless, he began experimenting with low sounds playing a conventional six-string guitar, but did so through an octave-shifting effects pedal that made the instrument sound more like a bass. He then switched to a conventional bass, but one with just a single string, reasoning that all the notes he’d need to play were on that one string. By the time Morphine took off, he’d added a second string. Later, he would add a third, albeit one from a guitar, and call the invention the Tritar building a cacophonous sound that could stir your bones.

LEARNT TO FLY - Twinemen comprising of Colley, Billy Conway and Laurie Srgent. Twinemen chose their name as a homage to late Mark Sandman and his The Twinemen comic series. The Twinemen depicted three anthropomorphic balls of twine who play together in a band.

Low Rock is a style rich in free flowing jazz melodies with interwoven emotions full of intrigue, deep within the structure. A defining trait of the genre is acquiring the positive aspects of jazz, the implied notes, and the emotional depth without involving the pretentious nature of the art.
Inspired by Morphine’s wry pulp noir vignettes and ‘less is best’ aesthetic, the genre of Low Rock was joined by fellow bass-sax-drums combo’s. Bourbon Princess led by fretless bassist and vocalist Monique Ortiz brought a wider range of instrumentation introducing guitar, cello and mandolin in selected songs. Incorporating elements of acid rock and lounge into their sound, Twinemen, a band formed by Morphine saxophonist Dana Colley added to growing collection of bands representing the genre.
Following Mark Sandman’s heart attack on stage leading to his eventual death in 1999, Dana Colley and Monique Ortiz formed AKACOD as a tribute to this late indie rock icon and also established the Mark Sandman Music Education Fund in Boston. Bringing the deep dark mesmerizing sound to the new millennium, this trio has continued the legacy of Morphine, introducing and inspiring a whole new generation of bands to the psychedelic world of Low Rock.

Article by Shikher Chaudhary

“Owning a handgun doesn’t make you armed any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician.” – Jeff Cooper

One of the most versatile musical instruments on the planet, the electric guitar has become unbelievably popular in today’s world. People from all walks of life and different age groups have fallen prey to its magical charm. What makes it so special? Why is there a constant demand for this dazzling product? There may never be a correct answer to any of those questions, but looking back into its history can shed some light on how the electric guitar has come to make such an impact in the musical world.

The Journey begins…

This takes us all the way back to the 1930s, when the first electric guitars were made. To divert from the original acoustic guitar feel, and to produce louder outputs, the electric guitar was introduced. After many different approaches, a technique evolved wherein a new prototype magnetic product was developed that picked up the vibrations of the strings and converted it into electricity. This electricity was then channelized into an output unit like a speaker (or amplifier) through which the musical notes were heard. And thus the birth of a product that couldn’t have a better name, – “Pick Up”.

Electric Guitar

Pick ups are basically magnets wrapped with coils of very fine wire, that are placed into the bodies of electric guitars to pick up the vibrations of the strings and produce electricity. The earliest designs were aptly called ‘single coil pick ups’. However, all magnets tend to pick up unwanted ambient, electromagnetic noises as well, so there was always a ‘hum’ that was produced. To avoid this, a new method was approached. Instead of using just one magnet, they used two magnets of opposite magnetic and electric polarities which cancelled out the hum. This new model was called ‘humbucker’. Humbucker pick ups not only canceled out the hum, but because both magnets were picking up the vibrations, the output turned out to be much warmer and ‘fuller’. This version became more popular in hard rock and heavy metal music. The older classic rock and blues styles still prefer the single coil sound.

A new era…

Guitar manufacturers started experimenting with different kinds of ‘upgrades’ to improve the already existing models of guitars. The innovative vibrato bridge (now called tremolo) was invented to create a vibrato technique on the electric guitar. This new bridge allowed for incredible new sounds that musicians had never imagined, but it also meant that the guitar would keep going out of tune.

Laney Amps are the perfect match for your EPS guitar

To try and prevent that from happening, one Mr. Floyd Rose came along. He came up with a system that locked the strings in place at the nut of the guitar. This prevented the tuning keys from being used and made sure that the guitar stayed in tune. His model also included a ‘floating’ bridge on which the other end of the strings was also vise – locked. The new floating bridge could be pulled back as well as pushed down, allowing a whole range of new sounds and the double locking system kept the strings in tune as well!

Adding flavour to sounds…

Now that guitar manufacturers were building and improving new and newer models, musicians had new desires. They wanted to be able to do so much more! All these new models of guitars allowed the musicians to send in very innovative musical signals, but the sounds that came out needed flavour. Early guitar amplispeakers or ‘amps’ were designed to amplify the acoustic guitar sound, but with the introduction of the electric guitar in the early 1930s, these amps had to be modified.

The guitar amp is a product that picks up the signal sent from a guitar (through a cable) and sends that signal through a series of stages. Earlier the most predominantly used amps were vacuum tube (also known as valves in Britain) amps. For financial reasons and with modern technology forever growing, there are many different kinds of amps available in today’s market.

So now what…?

Now that we’re aware of how an electric guitar works and what exactly an amp is, how do we decide which of the many different kinds of guitars to go in for, and how to choose the right amp for our own styles? Well, there is never a wrong choice when it comes to music as it is always a matter of taste. However, there are some combinations that never disappoint, and here are a few options that could get you started, if you’re a beginner or help you make the right choice to upgrade if you’re a performer!

When you think heavy metal and hard rock think ESP! There is no other brand of guitars and basses that can match the features and pricing of this brand. Right from the feel, to the tone and the shapes, ESP screams heavy metal. If that isn’t reason enough, the artist list should dispel all lingering doubts – right from Metallica, Slayer and Children of Bodom, to Lamb of God and Dimmu Borgir all of them swear by the brand. On the Indian side, we have bands like Demonic Resurrection, Bhayanak Maut, Myndsnare and Kryptos whose guitars go through one performance after another and sound just as heavy each time.

Coming to the features of these guitars, they go together with the pricing, depending on the audience at which the guitar is aimed. The LTD Series of ESP now available in India, have the series ranging from the 50 series (starting at 13k aimed at beginners), the 100 and 200 series (starting at 18k aimed at intermediate guitarists) and the 400 series (beginning at 40k aimed at the pros).

Features for the mid range and higher end models would include a mahogany body, Flame Maple or Quilt Maple top, Floyd Rose Bridge, EMG pickups and Grover tuners.

Laney Amplifiers

If you own the best metal guitar money can buy, you deserve the best metal amp to run it through. And again we have Laney Amplification where you choose right from a beginner amp, to a studio recording amp, to a full blown stack sound.

The Laney range includes solid state amps, tube emulated and all tube amps. The various options available in these three types offer a wide range to customers. So whether you’re a beginner, intermediate guitarist or performing professional, you will always find an amp to suit your sound. Prices range from about 3k to about 65k.

Also don’t forget to check out the new Prism range of digital amps. Laney amps will give you any sound you want; whether it’s a clean tone, warm tone, slightly distorted or all out metal feel, Laney amps deliver every time.

• Analysis by Duane Wilson, Brand Manager ESP & Laney –  India

Paul Reed Smith (PRS) Guitars

The hot black Alexi-200 from PRS guitars

PRS guitars are among the world’s most versatile guitars. The only way to prove that without actually owning one is to look at the artists who do. Santana, Avril Lavigne, Ritchie Sambora, The Eagles, Opeth, Porcupine Tree and the list continues.

Paul Reed Smith, a guitar maker and musician felt that he couldn’t get the sound he wanted from the guitars that were already available. Brands like Gibson and Fender too didn’t have an impact on Paul’s musical style. So he decided to make his own guitars, to try and get what he thought was missing.

He then decided to find out what the heavyweights thought of his guitars, so he went backstage during live gigs and offered his guitars to some of the biggest names. He would then take their suggestions and modify the guitars to suit the artists’ style. Before he knew it, PRS became one of the biggest guitar companies in the world, biting off shares from the Gibson and Fender market as well. To cater to demands of smaller markets, they had to release a lower end version, so that they could be affordable to people who weren’t as rich as Santana. This brought out the SE series.

PRS SE Series have been in the Indian market for some time now, featuring signature models of Santana, Mark Tremonti, Paul Allender and now even the new Mike Mushok baritone. To get a feel of these guitars, go to any Furtados outlet in the country and ask for your PRS guitar!

Vox Amplification

To get the most real sounds out of your guitar, you have to plug into an amp that brings out the best tones. Vox has been the favorite amp of most musicians, since its creation in the late 1950′s. Made famous by bands like the Beatles and The Rolling Stones, Vox is now a company that makes all the possible kinds of amps, guitars, processors, stomp boxes, cables and many more products that you would consider useful to a musician.

Vox amps offer a range so wide, that sometimes we don’t know what to pick up. Do I want an all tube amp? Do I need a processor to process my sound? What about miking my amp? These are frequently asked questions that musicians ask themselves. What if there was a product that has everything? The new Vox VT series has all the above features. It uses a 12AX7 tube to produce real tube power amp sound. This series comes with 22 realistic amp models, 12 high quality digital effects, an option to connect the VFS5 – a footswitch that allows you to change patches in real time, and more!

There are many other products that Vox endeavours, like the Tonelab ST, miniature amps called Amplugs, the DA series battery powered amps, etc.

Two of the most versatile brands combined together would give you the most versatile sounds possible! So if you want to explore, try out different styles, check out different genres, upgrade the sound of your genre, think Vox, think PRS! You will not have to look any further!

• combo amp: These have either 1, 2 or 4 speakers built into a wooden cabinet
• standalone amp: These amps need separate speakers commonly known as cabinets to produce an output sound
• tube amps: These are amps driven by tubes
• solid state amps: These are based on semiconductor or solid state circuits
• modeling amps: These are digital amps that simulate many different kinds of amp models, cabinets as well as digital effects like chorus, flanger, reverb, delay and so on

Guest Article by Arjun Dhanraj, Brand Manager – PRS & Vox, India