'SNL' Guitarist Jared Scharff Adds "Unnecessary Shredding" to Disclosure/Sam Smith's "Latch" — Video

Features
By published

Saturday Night Live guitaristJared Scharff has a new web series called Unnecessary Shredding.

In it, Scharff adds lots and lots of tasteful shredding to songs that are devoid of shredding—if not devoid of guitars, period.

In the series' newest video, posted to the interwebs July 14, Scharff adds some unnecessary shredding to "Latch" by Disclosure and Sam Smith.

"When Sam Smith debuted on SNL two seasons back, I was mesmerized by his voice and talent," Scharff says. "I love how sparse this song is, and hearing Sam Smith's voice on top of it is such a cool combo.

"I'm playing an extremely rare, one-off, blue Fano Retrosphear, the only color that was different then Fano's original silver metal motif. I'm using an old DigiTech Whammy/Wah through an Orange Rockerverb head."

Opinions?

Jackson Maxwell
Jackson Maxwell

Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.

More about guitarists
The Vapors’ Dave Fenton

“I get asked, ‘What’s it like being a one-hit wonder?’ I say, ‘It’s better than being a no-hit wonder!’” The Vapors’ hit Turning Japanese was born at 4AM, but came to life when two guitarists were stuck into the same booth
Stevie Ray Vaughan plays his #1 Stratocaster (left), Stevie Wonder sits at a keyboard

“Let's play... you start it off now, Stevie”: That time Stevie Wonder jammed with Stevie Ray Vaughan... and played SRV's number one Strat
Fake Stryman HolySky pedal

“Blurs your bassist so the mix stays focused on where it really matters”: From feline fuzz pedals to Bootsy Jooce, the April Fools Day guitar gags are out in full force this year – and we've rounded up the best
See more latest
Most Popular
The Vapors’ Dave Fenton
“I get asked, ‘What’s it like being a one-hit wonder?’ I say, ‘It’s better than being a no-hit wonder!’” The Vapors’ hit Turning Japanese was born at 4AM, but came to life when two guitarists were stuck into the same booth
Stevie Ray Vaughan plays his #1 Stratocaster (left), Stevie Wonder sits at a keyboard
“Let's play... you start it off now, Stevie”: That time Stevie Wonder jammed with Stevie Ray Vaughan... and played SRV's number one Strat
Bootsy Collins performs during the 2012 Voodoo Experience at City Park on October 26, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
“The bass is the instrument you need to play the longest to become truly funky”: 20 funk bass legends who took low-end groove to new heights
Jason Newsted, Robert Trujillo,and Kirk Hammett of Metallica perform at Day Two of the bands' 30th Anniversary shows at The Fillmore on December 7, 2011 in San Francisco, California.
“There’s an art to simplicity, and Jason Newsted brought that art. Cliff Burton was more aggressive, and a busier player”: The bassists of Metallica
Patrick Patterson of Cymande feels the funk as he performs SXSW 2022, playing his sunburst Gibson ES-339 – a guitar that's served him well over the years.
“We set out to put our thoughts and musical ideas out there, hoping they’d be appreciated. That’s proved to be true”: Sampled by Grandmaster Flash, De La Soul and the Fugees, Cymande shaped the sound of hip-hop. Now they’re back to claim their legacy
[L-R] George Harrison, Aashish Khan and John Barham collaborate in the studio
“I got the impression that he needed to be quite forceful to get his songs onto Beatles records”: George Harrison orchestrator John Barham reflects on their shared love of Indian music and being conducted by Phil Spector
Seymour Duncan PowerStage 700 Bass
“Our goal is to stay at the forefront of amplification innovation”: How Seymour Duncan set out to create the ultimate bass amp solution by pushing its PowerStage lineup to greater heights
Albert Collins performs at the San Francisco Blues Festival at Fort Mason in San Francisco, California on September 15, 1990
“Freddie King would ask me why I never tried using thumbpicks – I just couldn't play with one”: He took Jimi Hendrix's place in Little Richard's band, was idolized by Stevie Ray Vaughan, and is one of the most overlooked Telecaster slingers of all time
Scott Ian
“I could try and recreate his vibrato for the rest of my life. It’s never going to happen. If I got to play his guitar through his rig, it’s not gonna sound like him”: Tony Iommi changed his life – now Scott Ian is playing Sabbath’s last stand
Jazz bassist Anthony Jackson plays a six-string bass at North Sea Jazz festival, The Hague, Netherlands, 10th July 1998.
“The six-string bass guitar was a dream – if Leo Fender could come back today I think he would approve”: 10 6-string bassists you need to know