In this edition of Rock Lick Legends we take a look at Jeff Beck, who is renowned for his hard rock style and is regarded as one of the first British players to use distortion in the 1960s. In this column we will concentrate on the Wired (1976) period of Beck’s playing that showcases his jazz-rock style. Beck’s playing on the Wired album is raw and bluesy but with jazz inflections and the prepared examples display his ferocious vibrato and way of effectively fusing the blues scale and Mixolydian mode.

Jeff Beck played a signature Fender Stratocaster and occasionally, Telecasters; in the 70s he also used a Gibson Les Paul. Over the years Beck used an array of amps from his Yardbirds days in the 1960s where he used Vox AC30s to Fender Twin Reverbs. For effects Beck used a DigiTech GSP-21 Legend.

Suggested Album: Wired

Playing Rating: Intermediate