No. 265, January 2015

Ride the Whirlwind

Acoustic-guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela rock their nylon-string Yamahas like a hurricane

BY PAT MORAN

Crying Time Again

Johnny Cash’s Native American-themed protest album Bitter Tears gets an all-star remake

BY JEFFREY PEPPER RODGERS

Year of the Folksinger

Former Carolina Chocolate Drop Dom Flemons gets back to the basics on his solo debut

BY DAVID MENCONI

Acoustic Shell

Trampled by Turtles guitarist Dave Simonett reflects on his migration from rock ‘n’ roll to string-band music

BY JEFFREY PEPPER RODGERS

SPECIAL FOCUS

Guitars under $600

Want a great guitar at a great price? Here’s some advice bargain hunters can’t afford to be without

NEWS

The Beat

Hip-hop jazz singer Jose James discovers the joys of playing a Taylor 514ce

Songcraft

Singer-songwriter Luke Winslow-King talks about how he brings together different strains of folk music

Basics

Embellish your Carter-style guitar playing with hammer-ons

Weekly Workout

The rhythm of the basic 12-bar blues shuffle

Here’s How

Open up a world of sound with Open D tuning

Playlist

Yusuf Islam returns with Tell ‘Em I’m Gone, plus new releases by Tinariwen, Chuck Prophet, Vashti Bunyan, Doug Seegers, and a collection of the Songs of the Spanish Civil War

Great Acoustics

The legacy of the National Style 4 resonator

Shoptalk

Kala re-launches its Thinline series of acoustic-electric guitars

Makers&Shakers

Former rocket scientist Ellis Seal now makes carbon-fiber instruments for McPherson Guitars

Review: Yamaha LS16

Yamaha’s special treatment lends a vintage appeal

Review: Takamine GD20-NS

A dream come true for the newbie guitarist 

Review: BeatBuddy guitar-pedal drum machine

Your very own kit-in-a-box 

Pickin’

The 12-string Gryphon Veillette grants guitarists easy access to mandolin-like effects

In the Stores

Two books for the hard-working musician