TOM MISCH
LONDON-BORN TOM MISCH is something of a modern-day renaissance man, whose talents include DJ-ing, playing the piano and violin and having impressive vocal chops. But what separates the 27-year-old singersongwriter-producer from his peers is his dexterity with the electric guitar, from which he effortlessly blends contemporary jazz, neo-soul, funk and R&B, his chameleonic style supplying an organic feel to his otherwise beatfocussed sound.
Misch studied jazz guitar at London's Trinity Laban Conservatoire, and his fingerstyle approach of using alternating chords spliced with short licks has formed the basis of some of his most well-loved compositions. A superfan of iconic crate-digging producer J Dilla, Misch uses modern tech to create lush worlds of texture, often multi-tracking his guitar atop washed-out synth pads and string drones. He frequently pulls from his affection for hip-hop by creating beds of loops and samples for his improvisational noodling, and his love of R&B gives his lead phrasing a strong melodic quality. His understanding of funk often finds him purposefully playing behind the beat, a technique that's easy to identify but harder to emulate.
A good example of Misch's sonic world-building through layered guitar parts comes from his appearance in a Fact magazine video, where he has 10 minutes on the clock to create a beat from scratch on a digital audio workstation. Armed with a vintage semi-hollow Gibson six-string, he first records a funky bassline across the lower frets, which he pitches an octave down using a plug-in. He then adds clean, jazzy chord inversions on top, which he pitches up to emulate the sound of an electric piano.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
PRS
PREVIOUSLY PART OF PRS's Maryland-built guitar line, the SE NF3 was recently reissued in the company's offshore-produced SE series. The SE NF3 is so named for its Narrowfield Deep Dish (a.k.a. DD) \"S\" pickups. These unique PRS-design units have deeper bobbins to accommodate more windings and extra metal pieces between the magnets to yield a more powerful \"single-coil\" tone, while remaining noise-free because they are in fact humbuckers. A control set consisting of master volume, tone and a five-way blade switch allows the usual selections of bridge, middle and neck pickups by themselves and the neck-plus-middle and bridge-plus-middle combinations that allow the SE NF3 to veer into Strat-like territory in switch positions two and four.
EPIPHONE
Inspired by Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V and 1959 ES-355
Dobro 101
A look at the iconic bluegrass slide box.
CERTIFIED GREATNESS
Fingerstyle master Tommy Emmanuel combines unique musical instincts and breathtaking technique to become an acoustic tour de force.
MASTER OF HIS OWN JOURNEY
For more than 50 years, David Lindley graced albums and concert stages with his singular talent on a vast range of stringed instruments. In this Guitar Player exclusive, his musical friends — including Jackson Browne, Ry Cooder and Bonnie Raitt - pay tribute to an original.
TRANSCENDENTAL MAN
Luther Dickinson interpreted a priceless work of art in music. In the process, the blues guitarist wrote his own next chapter.
THE BEAT GOES ON
Together with Tony Levin, Adrian Belew and Steve Vai join forces for a Robert Fripp-endorsed revival of King Crimson's groundbreaking 1980s music.
I'M 100 PERCENT HAPPY WITH THE WORK I'VE DONE WITH PINK FLOYD. BUT...'MY FOCUS IS DIFFERENT RIGHT NOW'
Leading a rock group and being a solo artist were \"not what I asked for,\" David Gilmour says. For Luck and Strange, he assembled a team that shared the weight of his creative efforts. The result? \"The best album I've made since The Dark Side of the Moon.\"
DOUG GILLARD IS INDISPENSABLE
His six-string genius has proved vital to the music of Guided by Voices, Nada Surf and other indie-rock favorites. But all he really wants is to make good music.
Sol Salvation
The genius of Sol Hoopii is preserved in 16 timeless cuts on Master of the Hawaiian Guitar.