Tone Report Weekly 197 | Page 37

FOR URES on of the Superstrat MIE WOLFERT Growing up, a lot of my favorite guitarists played superstrats. One might assume from this tidbit of personal background information that I’m a shred enthusiast, fan of big hair bands, or a devoted acolyte of Edward Van Halen. In actuality, none of these things are true (though I have definitely grown to appreciate the genius of early EVH in my adult years). I started playing guitar in highschool, during the Grunge Age of the early ‘90s, and my tastes and influences have largely remained in the punk/hardcore and art-rock realms. The superstrat wielding guitar heroes of my formative years were players like Dr. Know of Bad Brains, Helmet’s Page Hamilton, Vernon Reid of Living Colour, Blind Idiot God’s Andy Hawkins, and Kendall Jones and John Bigham of Fishbone. Sure, some of these dudes are highly-capable shredders, but the common thread between them is less a need for speed, and more a need for versatility, reliability, practicality, and big tones. These are just the kinds of things that the superstrat excels at. ToneReport.com ToneReport.com 37 37