This is me and Barry Langton playing the London Guitar Show with ace bass player John Currie.

Barry has his own band and plays around London but we often play a Jazz set whenever we can.

As you play more and gain experience though you will appreciate how a couple of different guitars can give you different tones for recording, keep you approach fresh and also ‘reset’ your ears. Every three months or so I tend to play a different guitar for a while and it changes my playing a bit.

It is also handy for keeping your hands in condition; not only the different feel of a new guitar neck, but if you want you can strengthen your hands by stringing a guitar with a higher string gauge and doing some regular practicing.

I have been working towards getting a basic set of good guitars for a while, that all compliment each other for my music projects. A lot of guitars have come and gone for various reasons but this is where I am at now.I choose which one to use either by the style of music, or just by the way it suits the actual track I am working on.

Most of my guitars have been set up and modified by the fantastic guitar technician Charlie Chandler of C.C.G.X. (Charlie Chandler’s Guitar Experience) who sets them up using the PLEK computer controlled machine to a very high standard and some of them have the Buzz Feiton tuning system as well.

1. Fender Stratocaster Black ‘1954’ Jap Vintage Reissue

Probably the most versatile guitar on the planet, you can do anything with a Strat. This one has ‘alnico’ single coil pickups that are very bright, but also have a good bass extension, so it’s a pretty versatile axe.

The only style not covered well would be jazz but when you know how to do it you can still get a convincing jazz sound by using the front pick-up and the tone control at somewhere around ‘3’. I have rewired it so it has a single volume and tone for any pickup setting. Modifications – just a set-up.

2. Fender Thinline Telecaster ‘1972’ Jap Vintage Reissue.

This again is an extremely versatile guitar that combines well with the Strat. With the pair you have most bases covered. It’s fitted with Humbucking pick-ups that are brighter than Gibson humbuckers and fit more into the “Fender” soundscape. I had Charlie Chandler fit a Fender single coil strat pick-up in the centre position and rewire the guitar so I can coil-tap the humbuckers by pulling out the Tone control. This makes the guitar into a three single-coil guitar (like a Strat).

It has a ‘very’ lightweight body due to the f-holes that make it easy to play all day, which is why I use it so much at school, also it’s as close as I can get to playing a Gibson 335 without actually using one.

Modifications – ‘Plek’ setup, Buzz Feiton tuning, stainless steel frets, rewired.

3. Gibson ES335 Dot Reissue Red.

This is a great guitar that I often use for blues and fusion. The LA session players used this type of guitar all through the 70’s and 80’s as it can sound good in any style from jazz to country. It is a larger bodied guitar and quite a bit heavier than my Fender Thinline, so for this reason I wouldn’t want to play it all day, but it plays fantastically and always sounds big and fat when I record it.

Mods – ‘Plek’ Setup, fret dress, rewired.

4 Gibson “Howard Roberts” Fusion.

This is really a jazz guitar, but it has several special features that make it also work well in more contemporary blues and fusion styles. It feels like a slightly larger bodied ‘semi-acoustic’ Les Paul that is equipped with a larger, fat D shaped, 50’s style Les Paul neck.

It’s great to play sitting down as the neck sits into the body by about two frets (from where it would be on the 335) and this makes the neck feel closer and very ‘available’. (Similar to the “Musicman Axis Sport/Eddie Van Halen” designs, although they use a smaller/faster neck profile).

This model has a cleaner and brighter sound than the Gibson 335 probably because the body is made from ‘chromite’ (the other name for balsa wood?) so it is good for jazz, soul or Contemporary R’n’B gigs as well.

Mods – ‘Plek’ Setup, Jason Lollar pickups, new pots and rewired.

5. Taylor 714CE Acoustic Steel String.
I have been looking for a decent acoustic guitar all my life and finally I have found one that I can actually get around just as comfortably as if I was playing a Strat.

It is a bright sounding guitar that has a well-defined midrange and a fair bit of bass, but it isn’t too crunchy. You can play light fingerstyle or medium strumming using a thin pick and the guitar does all the work for you. The actual guitar is physically very light and comfortable to play as well. Thanks Taylor.

Mods – none yet, but I might get it Buzz Feiton-ed.

6. Godin ACS - Multiac Classical Guitar.
This guitar does two very valuable things for me, not only is it an easy-to-play classical guitar, but it also has a Roland Synth-Driver installed.

On the Classical side, it has a slightly smaller neck than a regular classical guitar combined with a great sounding pick-up/preamplifier that I can plug in and record direct with out piezo-quack. It is much quieter acoustically than a real classical guitar, so that makes late night practicing easy as well. I really should try to do more of it.

The Godin also features a Roland Midi Synth Driver internally so I can plug the midi output into my Mac midi interface when I want to record into Cubase etc. I often use it for recording a bass line, any rhythm guitar/keyboard/string parts and for ‘synth’ solos, that I double with a guitar amp output. Mods – none yet.

Here is a description of each pedal. This is the order of the pedals both physically and electrically.

1. MXR Dyna-Comp.
I have a couple of compressor pedals (Boss CS3, Marshall ED1) but this is still my favourite. I only use it at about 25% squeeze but it is on all the time. I turn the output up so it is driving my other pedals (and my amp) slightly hotter than when turned off.

2. Cry Baby Wah-Wah.
This is the standard Wah-Wah. It is a bit crunchy but I can adjust the amount of sound going through it so it won’t distort unless I want it to. The compressor helps me adjust this level.

3. MXR Envelope Filter.
This is an auto-wah filter pedal that is useful for funk rhythm guitar. Again I can set the filter very accurately because I use the Dyna-Comp in front of it.

4. Ibanez “Reissue” Tube Screamer.
This is a fantastic overdrive pedal, everybody uses one and there is a good reason why, it has a great sound that suits blues and fusion tones, not too overdriven and if you turn down your guitar it will clean up really nicely. Sometimes I use a Boss OD2 (Yellow one) or SD2 (Orange One) as well.

5. Boss CE2 Chorus.
This is the typical 80’s chorus sound that everybody likes.

6. DOD Stereo Phaser.
This is the last pedal before my sound leaves the pedal board. When it is turned off it still acts as a stereo splitter so I can run into two small combos and get a big sound all the time. This is actually a Bass effects pedal, but I like it cos it has a better low-end response and doesn’t seem to distort as easily as other pedals I have tried.
The phase sounds really 70’s with rich strong regeneration, and a nice even sweep (especially in stereo) from very slow up to a fast warble. It reminds me of an old Mutron Bi-Phase pedal, not as warm but much smaller and it fits on my board.

That is basically what I use and even though I keep trying different pedals out for a while, I still keep coming back to this basic setup.

I am thinking about building another pedal board so I don’t have to keep messing this one about when I try out different effects pedals. When I have something sorted out I will put it up.

1. High Volume on Stage.
If I need to play clean and loud on stage it’s got to be a “Fender Twin Reverb”. Because it has 2X12 inch speakers and a 100-watt amp, the Twin is loud, clean and thin sounding so it suits funk, RnB or country tones. If I need it fatter I just add a Tube Screamer. This one is really beat up but it has been serviced and it sounds good.

2. Moderate Volume on Stage.
The Fender Concert II on the other hand is only 60 Watts but has an Electro Voice 1X12 fitted so it is quite like an old ‘Boogie’ in tone, loud and fat and sounds good at any volume. (It’s very heavy though). I had this one serviced in LA by Paul Riviera himself just before I flew back to UK.

3. Low Volume in the Studio.
My favourite amp for low volume work has got to be a “Fender Princeton Reverb”. It’s only an 18-watt amplifier but the ratio between the cabinet size and the 10” ceramic speaker produces a bright sound with a really smooth bass response that is great for every thing I do. The reverb is sweet and the vibrato is really retro. This is the amp I use all the time for recording.

That’s all for this section although I would love to add a Vox AC30CCX, a Marshall 18 watt combo or an Ampeg Reverb Rocket to this page.

Iain Scott Fusion Band – Chameleon.

Iain and Luca. (Jazz guitar duo)

Iain and Barry Live. (London Guitar Show)

This is the London Guitar Show, me playing with Misha (guitar), Tom (drums), and Svetlana (bass).

We play rock tunes when Misha is taking the lead, as in this picture, and fusion tunes when I am at the helm. This makes the band very versatile and gives both me and Misha a great platform to work from.

Tom and Svetlana are also fantastic to work with as they play the grooves powerfully, but without ever overplaying, oh, and they never make mistakes. True professionals and a joy to work with.

By the time he was 18, Iain was gigging in the pubs and social clubs in various pop covers bands, sitting in with any blues band he could find and playing guitar and occasionally bass in theatre productions around the country. A friend soon recommended a move to South Wales.

Cardiff
It was in Cardiff that Iain found lots of work, by night as a resident guitarist in the nightclubs and by day doing recording sessions and TV work for HTV, BBC Wales and BBC Bristol. This work included playing with pop acts like Bonnie Tyler, The Nolan Sisters and ‘Guys and Dolls’, and backing visiting American artists like Johnny Ray and Gene Pitney.

As well as working in jazz situations with Madeline Bell, Alan Skidmore, Elton Dean and Harry Beckett, Iain also held the guitar chair in the ‘Welsh Jazz Orchestra’.

Around this time, Iain worked in jazz-funk band “The Outsiders” with welsh keyboard wizard Richard Dunn (Sly & Robbie, Van Morrison), the amazing bass player Pino Palladino (The Who, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Paul Young, etc) and the ultimate groove machine Arran Ahmun (John Martyn, Clannad) on drums.

Los Angeles
After playing with dozens of chart topping artists through the 70’s’ it was obvious that the club scene was dying, so Iain relocated to Los Angeles in 1981 to study at Guitar Institute of Technology (L.A.) During this time Iain was pleased to find himself learning from a fantastic bunch of teachers including Robben Ford, Scott Henderson, Steve Trovato, Joe Diorio, Les Wise and Don Mock. After graduating with honours he was asked to join the faculty and taught private guitar lessons and “depped” for the faculty over the next couple of years.

It was during this time that Iain played in the highly arranged three-guitar fusion band “Afterburner” with ace guitarists Frank Gambale (Chick Corea, Billy Cobham, Vital Information, Jean Luc Ponty) and Danny Gilbert (GIT Lecturer, Beach Boys), bass player Oscar Cartayer (Spirogyra, Tania Maria) and drummer Christoff Dechamps (Jean Michel Jarre). This band played at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, had a six-month residency at Donte’s jazz club and was the Mesa Boogie amp demo band playing at trade shows.

Working in LA was very diverse, some highlights for Iain included playing smooth jazz fusion in “The Zone”, rock and roll with Brian Wilson of the Beachboys, doing expensive corporate functions in Filipino pop star Gloria Berja’s Band and working nightclubs in groovy Cuban keyboardist Rolli Guevara’s Band. Not so good was a stint touring motels and “road bars” around southern California in a top 40 band.

London
Iain returned to UK in 1989, returning to Cardiff, and was soon busy doing local jazz gigs by night and setting up private teaching by day. He appeared in many TV productions including a series of Pop Concerts with the Welsh National Opera. He also wrote the music for the stage show “Blow for Bute Street” and performed on stage

An opportunity to move to London and join the Guitar Institute (Institute of Contemporary Music Performance) as a guitar teacher and lecturer was next on the list, Iain spent the next ten years writing course material and developing the “Popular Music” Degree Program for Thames Valley University (TVU).
In the early 90’s Iain played in the London blues band “The Dolphins” that featured with bassist Rob Burns (Nucleus) and drummer Willie Wilson (Pink Floyd).
Later he could be found gigging around town in the “Iain Scott Fusion Band” featuring keyboardist Robin Lumley (David Bowie, Brand X,) guitarist Adam Phillips (Cher, Enrique Englazier), bass player Derrick Mackenzie and drummer Ash Soan (Del Amitri, Squeeze). Guest artists often featured in this band, including Tenor sax player Dick Heckstall-Smith (Colosseum) and drummer Clive Bunker (Jethro Tull).

Magazines
Iain’s involvement in publishing started by writing the “Blues Guitar” column for “The Guitar Magazine” from 1991 to 1999 (a total of 120 issues). More recent work includes the “Blues to Jazz” column for “Guitarist” magazine (Issues 255 – 296).

Books
Iain was asked to contribute to “Guitar Legends” Studio Editions 1995 providing all the music and much of the technical information throughout the book. He later set up a publishing company and produced ‘Electric Blues Guitar,’ East River Publications 1998, a very popular guitar tuition book still used by many guitar teachers.

One of his most recent projects was to record all the music for Paul Scott’s “Need To Know” Bass Book (Collins Publ) in his studio.

Composing
In 2002 Iain achieved an MMus in “Composing for Film and TV” and has since been busy composing and recording ‘production music’ that is used in TV and Cable productions all round the world.

Teaching
Currently Iain is Head of the Guitar Department at ICMP and is constantly writing and updating course materials for the new BMus Degree program validated by University of East London (UEL).

What’s Happening Right Now.
When not busy at school you will find him setting up and fitting out his own 24-track studio “Captain Jim’s” which specialises in analogue and digital recording with an old school approach. It is based around a 70’s Studer 2” tape recorder and a Soundcraft ‘Ghost’ analogue desk.

Up-coming projects include a four-guitar “Fusion Orchestra”, a blues-rock CD, a Jazz/acoustic guitar duo CD, new tuition material on CD and video, ICMP tutor CDs and more, lots more…