No. 350 January/February 2025
On the Cover: Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
Senior editor Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers caught up with the revered roots duo Gillian Welch and David Rawlings to learn more about the writing and recording of their latest songs and the vintage guitar discoveries that helped shape them.
In the features department, Dom Flemons, Jerron Paxton, Tray Wellington, and Yasmin Williams have a lively conversation about expanding the boundaries of Black country music; Mark Small tells the story of how Russian-born virtuoso Grisha Goryachev became a flamenco guitar master; E.E. Bradman talks shop with nylon-string phenom Niwel Tsumbu; and the AGeditors spotlight some of 2024’s most exciting guitars, amps, accessories, and albums.
Lessons include an introduction to transposing on guitar; the fundamentals of how to connect chords with bass runs; a Weekly Workout on taking your alternating thumbpicking into new territory; and a lesson from Mary Flower on how to create colorful accompaniments in open-D tuning.
Songs to Play: Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ new folk-rocker “Empty Trainload of Sky”;the cowboy ballad “Little Joe the Wrangler”; a flatpicking arrangement of the classic spiritual“I’ll Fly Away”; a beginner-friendly rendition of the cautionary folk standard “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down”; and a stately DADGAD interpretation of the Scottish song “Black Is the Colour of My True Love’s Hair” by guitarist Buck Curran.
Plus, Fairbanks Guitars founder Dale Fairbanks talks about his transition from part-time barista to master luthier; AG’s expert, Martin Keith, explains why your guitar won’t play perfectly in tune (and why that’s OK); a review of Live In Aspen, Sharon Isbin’s transcendent collaboration with sarod master Amjad Ali Khan; and more.
In gear coverage, Doug Young test drives two stunning, limited-edition 50th Anniversary guitars from Taylor: the 614ce LTD Grand Auditorium and 858e LTD 12-String; and checks out the JangleBox Acousticomp, a compression/sustain pedal voiced specifically for acoustic guitar.
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