GT: Do you have a type of pick that you can’t live without?
SMcQ: I use a Dunlop thumbpick all the time.
GT: If you had to give up all your pedals but three, what would they be?
SMcQ: I only have four. Two of them are stage tuners - one for the acoustic and the other for the electric. And then I have a tremolo pedal and a Donner Yellow Fall delay pedal that I use for an instrumental piece I wrote called The Day Of Wrath, That Day.
GT: Do you play another instrument well enough to be in a band, and if so have you ever done it?
SMcQ: Well, hilariously, when I was a teenager and living in Washington, DC, I played a Fender Rhodes in a prog-jazz outfit called The Rhinos. I also play keyboard (or preferably a real piano if it’s available) and a floor tom drum as well as acoustic and electric guitars in my live set.
SMcQ: I can read standard notation and tab, but not a chart. I do love the way charts look, though. I have charts of a few of my songs that were written out by a keyboard player who played on one of my albums, and they came in handy when a fantastic keyboard player in the Netherlands sat in on a gig I did there.
GT: Do guitar cables really make a difference? What make are yours?
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Esta historia es de la edición May 2020 de Guitar Techniques.
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THE MOODY BLUES
This month Stuart Ryan delves into the picking style of this British prog legend whose acoustic guitar has powered many a Moody Blues song.
WAYNE KRANTZ
This issue Nick Mellor provides an insight into this brilliant jazz stylist, focusing on his approach to improvising over static chords.
OPEN G TUNING
Open tunings are great fun and can help create exciting new ideas. Simon Barnard shows how to incorporate open G tuning into your playing.
RODRIGO GOUVEIA
Last month we featured Mateus Asato, and mentioned the importance of the neo-soul style in his playing. Here we turn to his fellow Brazilian, the master of neo-soul fusion.
MARK KNOPFLER
Our topic this month is a master craftsman as both guitar player and songwriter. His style is unique and his influence spreads far and wide.
U2
Martin Cooper checks out the chiming pedal delay tones of this stadium-filling band from Dublin, Ireland, and guitarist The Edge.
LUTHER ALLISON
It’s blues with a touch of soul this month, as David Gerrish explores the dynamic, expressive style of an often overlooked Chicago bluesman.
JOHANN KASPAR MERTZ Capriccio
This month Declan Zapala explores the music of Austria at the turn of the Romantic period with a fiery caprice to level up your fingers and unlock your inner virtuoso.
THE CROSSROADS Michael Landau
John Wheatcroft explores the playing of a session ace _ and blazing blues-rock maestro who graces the top-flight m band of singer-songwriting legend, James Taylor.
VIDEO MASTERCLASS Troy Redfern
This month GT welcomes this slide guitar virtuoso. If you've been wanting to take your slide playing to the next level then this is one's for you. With Jon Bishop.
