Analyze these covers of two hits from alt-rock's heyday with GW's editors, and vote for your favorite
Martin – in partnership with Guitar World – recently launched the No Limits Challenge, a contest that sees eight YouTube-savvy guitarists face off against one another and cover tunes you wouldn't normally associate with an acoustic, using one of the company's offset SC models.
In this week's quarterfinal matchup (each of which sees two guitarists covering a well-known song from a particular genre), Gretchen Menn and Jay Leonard J deliver two impassioned versions of hits from alt-rock's heyday, with Menn covering Alice in Chains' Man in the Box and Jay Leonard J covering Red Hot Chili Peppers' Give It Away.
We've recruited GW's resident tech/gear guru Paul Riario and video editor Alan Chaput to take a closer look at the covers and share their thoughts on the performances. You can check out their commentary above.
Alan and Paul might be our judges, but they don't actually choose the winner of each face-off. That task happens to be in your hands. Check out our breakdown of the covers above – and/or give each of them a spin below without the commentary – scroll down to the box at the bottom of the article, and cast a ballot for your favorite.
Thus far, Helen Ibe, R.J. Ronquillo and Sophie Burrell have booked their tickets to the semifinal round, which comprises two more genre-based face-offs. You get to determine which guitarist is next to join them.
Be sure to check back next week, too, for the first semifinal matchup.
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.
