Indholdsfortegnelse for June 2016 i Total Guitar

Recording your guitar used to cost a lot of money. First, you’d either have to shell out loads of cash on boxes and wires, then try and figure out how to get a sound out of it, never mind making it sound good! If you went the other way, you’d end up paying to hire a studio, and dealing with the pressures that come with an unfamiliar person, in an unfamiliar environment. These days, it couldn’t be easier to record at home. Despite pretty much everything being equipped to plug into your computer and make recording easy, it can still be daunting and frustrating if you’ve never done it before. So, this month we’ve written the manual that doesn’t come with your gear. Forget what you’ve heard about expensive preamps…

The harmonic minor scale has deep roots in classical music but its sound translates brilliantly to rock guitar. Here, we’re plotting the notes out on the first and second strings to try out some lengthways position shifts and give you a chance to soak up the exotic mood of the scale. First up is a psychedelic line with a droning string, much like a sitar effect. Second is a Muse-inspired tapped lick with a repeating open string (known as a ‘pedal tone'). Finally, try out a legato line reminiscent of Yngwie Malmsteen. STONES’ JONES TRACKS 09-10 THIS 60S psychedelia-inspired harmonic minor melody can be played with one finger moving along the second string. Play second string notes with downstrokes and first string notes with upstrokes. Keep your fretting finger arched…

EXCEPTIONAL EXCELLENT GOOD FOR FANS OF POOR Katatonia THE FALL OF HEARTS With the line-up changes Katatonia have weathered in the last seven years, it’s impressive enough to see them reach their 25th anniversary with a remarkably strong discography, let alone create their most cohesive and ambitious record yet. It’s a testament to the vision of the band’s creative core, guitarist Anders Nyström and vocalist Jonas Renkse; metal’s most underrated songwriters are proving yet again what a unique world of sound they create together. One of Katatonia’s key strengths is expertly transitioning heavy slabs of riff into ethereal mellow passages, while sounding equally comfortable across the spectrum. Here they’ve explored extremes further, Nyström weaving creativity at every turn, and there are many of those here. From the Tool-worthy part picked/…

A SMARTPHONE “Smartphone cameras are getting really good. To get multiple angles on a video, borrow a couple more phones from friends. The iPhone and Samsung Galaxy are good. You can make it look like high-production without a big budget.” RECORDING SOFTWARE “If you can’t afford Pro Tools [prices start from £17.60 per month] use GarageBand, which comes pre-installed on Macs. You can get it for your iPhone or iPad, too [£3.99 on the App Store].” A MICROPHONE “You can record straight to iPhone with the Shure MV5 [from £83]. LIGHTING “If you can’t afford studio lights, then do some research on what the best video cameras are that function under low light settings.” APPS “We use a metronome app to keep us in time, and we use Voice Memo…

THE MOBILE RIG Recording on a phone or tablet gives you a set-up you can take anywhere IK Multimedia iRig Pro For just over £100, you get a simple box for plugging in your guitar or a microphone (although not at the same time) to an iPhone or iPad, plus it also works on Mac computers. Pair it with IK’s bundled amp modelling an recording apps and you have a straightforward setup to take anywhere. Shure Motiv MVi There aren’t many Android compatible interfaces on the market that do it all, but this little box from Shure does. It looks a bit like an alarm clock, but gives you a combi socket for a mic or guitar, it will also work with PC or Mac. Presonus AudioBox iTwo Just because…

Do Experiment with different rooms, this can make a huge difference to the sound of an acoustic guitar Don’t Tap your foot too loudly. If you must, take your shoe off and place a cushion underneath your foot Do Try different picks and strings. These are some of the biggest tone-shaping devices you have at your disposal, so it’s definitely worth it! Don’t Move too much while recording. You should be aiming to keep the guitar a consistent distance from the microphone Do Remember to switch off phones, boilers/air conditioning and anything else that could make noise during your take. If you’re a heavy breather, try and keep it quiet! Don’t Stress too much about string noise. It’s part of a natural acoustic sound. Coated strings can help minimise string…

THE FIRST RULE of your live sound; can you hear your own playing? Because if you can’t, you’re on a hiding to nothing. Your ability to play in time and with the right feel is founded on hearing yourself with as much separation between instruments as possible. And where your amp is onstage in relation to you and the rest of the band is often the last thing you might consider in the rush to be ready. ›› If your amp is too close to the bass drum and facing the audience, it’s already competing directly with the loudest instrument in the room and also, the worst place is to put the amp behind you on the floor; the sound hitting the back of your legs isn’t much use to…

It has every classic Marshall tone from the past 50 years CONTROL CENTRE THE CODE’s control panel is logically laid out, with knobs and buttons following the same signal path as a real analog setup GATEWAY TO GREAT TONE THE Gateway remote control app is superb, brilliantly designed and by far the easiest of its type to use ALL ON DISPLAY THE generously sized backlit LCD display is thoughtfully designed, with all the relevant info in large, easy-to-read characters AT A GLANCE  TYPE: Digital modelling amplifier OUTPUT: 50W SPEAKER: 1x12” custom design AMP MODELS: JTM45, CL DSL, CL American, CL JVM, Acoustic Simulator, Clean, Bluesbreaker, Plexi, CR American, JCM800, OD JVM, OD DSL,OD American, OD Silver Jubilee, 50s British CONTROLS: Gain, bass, mid, treble, volume, master volume, preset select, preset…

What sets this apart is the unbridled upper-fret access FRETS THE Buzz Feiten Tuning System ensures chords sound perfectly intonated, which is of particular benefit for open-voiced distorted chord work NECK JOIN A SEAMLESS and almost nonexistent neck join that, in conjunction with the large cutaways, allows faultless access to upper frets PICKUPS MEDIUM-OUTPUT with a tight, focused low-end, these Englund/Seymour Duncan-designed pickups are well-equipped for riffs, but might lack the necessary brightness and power for soaring lead work AT A GLANCE  BODY: Alder NECK: Maple SCALE: 648mm (25.5”) w/ Buzz Feiten Tuning System FINGERBOARD: Ebony, 355mm ( 14”) radius FRETS: 24 PICKUPS: 2x Seymour Duncan Solar humbuckers CONTROLS: 1x volume, 1x tone, 5-way blade pickup selector HARDWARE: Hipshot fixed bridge, Grover Exclusive 18:1 tuners LEFT-HANDED: Yes FINISH: White Matte…

AT A GLANCE BODY: Laminated spruce top, maple back and sides NECK: Glued-in, one-piece maple SCALE: 629mm (24.75”) FINGERBOARD: Rosewood FRETS: 22 PICKUPS: 2x Höfner humbuckers CONTROLS: 2x volume, 2x tone, 3-way pickup selector toggle switch HARDWARE: Chrome Licensed Bigsby vibrato, tune-o-matic bridge, die-cast machineheads LEFT-HANDED: No FINISH: White w/ RAF roundel only CONTACT: Barnes & Mullins 01691 652449 www.hofner.com ALONG with Lambretta scooters, Steve Marriott haircuts and scrapping with rockers on Brighton’s seafront, the RAF roundel has come to define the 60s mod era and Britishness in general. Originally seen on the wings of fighter planes, the red white and blue circles were famously adopted by mod gods such as The Who, and their followers, who sewed them onto their parkas. Here, the iconic roundel sits upon the Verythin’s…

TYPE: Wah pedal CONTROLS: Internal trim pots: volume, Q, and six-band EQ SOCKETS: Input, output, mains adaptor BYPASS: True bypass POWER: 9V battery or mains adaptor (not supplied) CONTACT: Westside Distribution 0844 3262000 www.jimdunlop.com GIVEN the simplicity of a wah pedal – basically a tone knob you control with your foot – Dunlop has a huge catalogue of Cry Baby models. Just in terms of artist collaborations, it offers versions for Dimebag Darrell, Zakk Wylde, Eddie Van Halen and Kirk Hammett. Now, Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci gets in on the action with the most tweakable Cry Baby yet. At first glance, his signature wah is a handsome devil, with its smoke chrome finish and bright blue status LEDs to let you know when the effect is engaged. Yet, it’s…

ThIL LIYYV formed in Dublin in 1969, and though they had scored a hit with Whiskey In The Jar in 1973 and were a popular live act, mainstream success remained elusive. A significant lineup change came in mid ’74 with the addition of Scotsman Brian Robertson and Californian Scott Gorham on twin-lead guitars, who together would create the band’s trademark layered harmony sound – as heard on this track from the band’s 1976 album, Jailbreak. Those iconic guitar lines first appear after the chorus. Take a close listen and you’ll hear that Robertson and Gorham sync together tightly on both vibrato and the precise length of each note – essential tricks of the twin-lead trade. The slick harmonies come about thanks to both guitars using the same scale (the major…

CHRIS BIRD CHRIS has been jamming along with The Boys Are Back In Town. Tying in with our cover feature, Chris’ top tip is to record yourself playing the harmony lines. “Listening back to yourself will help you fine tune details like vibrato and note length”, says the big man. Sage advice! JOSH GARDNER ALL this talk of recording had Josh cringing about his first time in a pro studio. After dozens of failed takes and a minor breakdown all because his guitar just wouldn’t stay in tune, he realised he was pushing it out by resting his hand on the floating trem of a loaner guitar. Always know your gear! ROB LAING ROB’S been drawing on his own live experience – past mistakes included – to look at some…

Although Simon neil plays stratocasters, he frequently stacks up multiple guitar takes in studio recordings. For this reason you may find that a single coil-equipped guitar sounds too weedy and that a humbucker in the bridge position is better suited to the thick, chunky distorted tone. Dial in plenty of midrange for breadth and treble for strat-like bite. raise the gain and bass if your guitar has single-coil pickups. All thE video lessons in this issue of total Guitar are available to view online at www.bit.ly/tg280video…

“All my friends would be outside, and I’d be inside playing guitar all day – that’s all I wanted to do” I got my first real six-string… “It was always the guitar that spoke to me. When I saw Stevie Ray Vaughan for the first time as a kid, it changed my life and lit the fire inside of me, to get my first real guitar. The Yamaha SE-150. It was shaped like a Strat, made out of crappy plywood. My family didn’t want to invest in an expensive guitar for a seven-year-old. Just a few years later, I got my very first Strat, and that guitar was later autographed by Stevie Ray, just before he passed away. He said, ‘Hey man, you keep playing this thing and maybe one…

LETTERS EMAILS PICS ETC… SPEAK THE TRUTH Every month your reviewers extoll the virtues of the sounds of guitars and amplifier combinations using their best grown up English, but I have never seen an article that explain the huge range of speaker variations and sounds that are available. Even the most wondrous highly polished PRS is going to sound different depending on what speakers you hear it through and I have certainly been to guitar shops that only have a couple of seriously ‘unloved’ combos to play a potential purchase through. It would be great to have a feature that explained how different sizes, types and number of speakers in your cabinet had on the sound of your guitar– make it happen TG! ASHLEY MARTIN, via email Speakers are…

Wolf Alice are a hard band to pin down, genre-wise. While some have incorrectly tried to tag them as grunge revivalists, the London four-piece do draw from 90s alt-rock in their love of driving amps from their pedalboards to utilise a wide tonal range – from QOTSA fuzz fests to hypnotic shoegazey delay and bouts of live improvisation. Singer/guitarist Ellie Rowsell and fellow six-stringer Joff Oddie might have begun as an acoustic duo, but in just three years their electric band dynamic with bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey is developing fast and allowing their debut album’s songs to evolve further onstage during a pretty relentless touring schedule. Let’s take a closer look at the rigs they rely on. JOFF ODDIE GUITARS 1 FENDER ’62 JAGUAR REISSUE ”I’ve had…

IK Multimedia AmpliTube Custom Shop  www.ikmultimedia.com This expandable version of IK Multimedia’s AmpliTube is totally free, and comes with four amps, five cabs, nine stompboxes and more! If you like it, you can download more models, but you will have to pay for them… Kuassa Amplifikation Lite  www.kuassa.com Kuassa’s Amplifikation Lite is 100 per cent free, and provides you with a three-channel amp equipped with EQ and cabinet modelling. It’s not the flashiest, but it is solid, and won’t cost you a bean. Native Instruments Guitar Rig Player  www.www.native-instruments.comnative-instruments.com Guitar Rig Player gives you one amp (based on a Marshall Plexi), plus a host of effects including delay, modulation and filters.…

There’s an array of stunning riffs all over Misadventures, but Tony lets us into a secret – his favourite didn’t come from himself or Vic. It wasn’t even written on guitar. “The riff from Texas Is Forever is really fun,” he says. “It’s such a fast riff that runs through the whole song. That riff was actually written by Jaime [Preciado] on bass. He wrote this bass riff and that started the song, we built a song around it. After we built the entire song we realised it would be cooler if we had that as a guitar riff and not a bass riff so he wrote it and then lost his cool riff! It’s fun to play, it’s simple but so fast, my wrist is so tired every time…

It’s great to have all the power of a modern digital signal processor inside your amp, but you need to be able to harness that power creatively and musically, rather than having to wade through pages of preset parameters, by which time you’ll probably have forgotten what you were trying to do in the first place. Marshall’s Gateway app (available in Android and iOS flavours) is a brilliant piece of software that lets you access amp models, effects and cabinet simulations in real time using Bluetooth, so no fiddly cables to lose or break. Gateway lets you edit and save one hundred presets, which you can then upload onto any CODE amp, making it easy to share patches with your friends. It’s actually easier to use than the amp’s real…

This is a robust strummer with a sensitive side for fingerstyle NECK WITH chunky frets and a meaty, deep C profile, the neck is a real handful. String spacing at the bridge is airy, too, and the compensated saddle ensures excellent intonation. All good! PREAMP SHADOW’S Performer Tuner preamp and Nanoflex pickup make for a good electro performance. The tuner, while very accurate, is hard to see in stage conditions, however BODY THIS highly figured Javanese trembesi isn’t always readily available. Aside from the neck, it’s all gloss-finished with a subtle dark red sunbursting, hence the ‘Blood Moon’ name AT A GLANCE  TOP: Solid AAA Indonesian trembesi BACK & SIDES: Solid AAA Indonesian trembesi NECK: Mahogany, 3-piece SCALE LENGTH: 645mm (25.4”) FINGERBOARD: Macassan figured ebony FRETS: 20 ELECTRICS: Shadow Nanoflex…

AT A GLANCE BODY: Laminate mahogany NECK: Glued-in, mahogany SCALE: 629mm (24.75”) FINGERBOARD: Rosewood FRETS: 22 PICKUPS: 2x Höfner humbuckers CONTROLS: 1x volume, 1x tone, 3-way pickup selector toggle switch HARDWARE: Black tune-o-matic bridge and tailpiece, die-cast machineheads LEFT-HANDED: No FINISH: Natural mahogany only WHILE its dimensions are the same as the Mod, the more affordable Mahogany model has a slightly chunkier neck. Where it really slims down, though, is in its price tag. For a quid shy of £300, you get an all-mahogany laminate construction, including the body top, back and sides, and the neck, topped off with a rosewood fingerboard that comes well-dressed with 22 medium frets. The control layout is simpler than the Mod. Yes, you get a couple of the house humbuckers, but you’ll have to…

As you dial the gain up, it revels in its built-for-metal design HEADSTOCK IT’S sharp and, in the wrong hands, dangerous, but it’s the iconoclastic touch we expect from Jackson, and kinda cool, too NECK JACKSON says it’s built for speed, and it is, but it’s also super-solid, reinforced with graphite and a scarf joint PICKUPS JACKSON’S own brand ’buckers have plenty of growl, but if you can afford it, the Pro Series Monarkh has top notch Seymour Duncan Blackouts AT A GLANCE  BODY: Mahogany w/ arched top NECK: Maple, set ‘Speed Neck’ SCALE: 629mm (24.75") FINGERBOARD: Rosewood FRETS: 22 PICKUPS: 2x Jackson High Output humbuckers CONTROLS: 2x volume, 1x tone, 3-way pickup selector HARDWARE: Jackson fully adjustable radius compensated bridge w/ anchored tailpiece, black LEFT-HANDED: No FINISH: Quicksilver (shown),…

TYPE: Bass practice amp OUTPUT: 3W (single), 6W (Stereo Pack) SPEAKER: 3” CONTROLS: Gain, EQ, Comp ratio, sub, channel Master vol SOCKETS: Input, aux in, headphones, speaker POWER: 6x AA batteries (included), 6.5V power supply (available separately, £12.99) DIMENSIONS: [HxWxD] 125 x 170 x 100mm CONTACT: Blackstar Amplification 01604 817817 www.blackstaramps.co.uk BASS amps are usually big boxes because they need large speakers to chuck out all that low-end energy. Clearly nobody told Blackstar, which has made its first dedicated bass amp a minuscule affair. The Bass Fly shares the Fly 3’s tiny enclosure, and like the guitar version, this three-watt amp can be battery-powered. Also like the Fly 3, if you need more power, the Stereo Pack (£79) adds a second three-watt extension cab and power supply. You get two…

FROM THE moment the opening crunchy 12-string riff kicks in, this song oozes class. Taylor Swift’s original isn’t exactly a guitar track, but Adams’ reworking ditches the synth-pop in favour of a brooding guitar-based alt-country vibe that takes the song to a totally different place. For more of the same, check out the album, a song-by-song cover of Swift’s own 1989 record. You’ll need to place a capo on the 1st fret to play along to our backing track. Then, once you’ve learnt the song, you can easily change key by moving the capo further up the neck to go higher, or by removing it all together to play a semitone lower. The intro and outro sections we’ve tabbed are electric 12-string guitar parts. Don’t worry if you haven’t got…

WHAT IS TAB? TAB is short for tablature, a notational system used to give detailed information as to where notes should be played on the fretboard. Tab appears underneath conventional music notation as six horizontal lines that represent the strings of the guitar, from the sixth (thick) string at the bottom to the first (thin) string at the top. On these lines, numbers represent the frets where you should place your fingers. For example, an A note on the 2nd fret, third string, will be shown as a number ‘2’ on the third line down on the tab. Unfretted strings are shown with a ‘0’. The key and time signatures are shown in the traditional notation. TG also includes a timestamp to tell you where in the original track you’ll…

“We’re not just there to play our instruments. We’re there to take people on a journey. It can get loud. It can get soft” London has been good to Robben Ford. “The first time I ever played here, I was 21 years old and very inexperienced,” remembers the veteran bluesman. “It was a whole new world. That time, I did two weeks at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club with Jimmy Witherspoon, on the bill with Eddie Harris. The second time was with Joni Mitchell, and I met George Harrison, so that was pretty special. I haven’t been to London for a while – but I’ve recently reignited things.” British fans may have missed Ford in recent times, but the response to last year’s acclaimed studio release, Into The Sun has given…

“THIS IS my guitar that I’m going to be buried with. And a lot of dudes don’t tour with guitars like that, they usually keep them at home, which I think is just a pussy move. Guitars are supposed to be played, and supposed to be played like a man. So that’s why I bring this on tour and I love it. Next to my dog, it’s probably the only thing I love on earth and if it broke or got stolen I would probably cry.” “THERE’S A Bare Knuckle Juggernaut in there [in the bridge position]. Bare Knuckles are the sickest pickups. I have them in every one of my guitars. They’re the best pickup and worth all the hype people talk about them. The Juggernaut is a little…

KEEP FISHIN’ This may sound like a simple question but for years now I’ve searched – just as I have for the perfect pizza – for a decent guitar tuner and still have yet to find one I can say I am truly happy with. I started with a Boss tuner that cost a mini-fortune way back when, and found it to be, quite frankly, almost useless to me. Then I found some software that I thought might be able to do the trick but none of them were very accurate, and finally purchased a cheap digital clip-on Chinese thing that I’ve actually found to be the best I’ve used yet – but it still leaves the guitar not quite as accurately in tune as I’d like. Am I doomed…

The term ‘covers band’ can conjure up images of a hearty rendition of Mustang Sally at a wedding reception, but Boyce Avenue have taken the art of the cover to a new level, reaching billions of fans with their versions of rock and pop hits. Their secret weapon? The internet, and their profile means they’ve just released their third studio album of original songs, The Road Less Travelled. Singer/guitarist Alejandro Manzano calls it their “most well-rounded to date – we’ve taken everything we learned on the first album, which was very acoustic, and combined it with the emotion of the second [All You Have Left].” We asked him and brother Fabian about the key steps they made from bedroom band to global stars. No band? No problem Know your musical…

Check your connections Yes, we know you’ve already done this, but a loose jack here, or a forgotten USB cable there can bring everything to its knees. While you’re doing a complete ‘idiot’ check, don’t forget to make sure your guitar’s volume control is turned up – we’ve done this plenty of times! Got power? When you’re using a condenser mic, make sure you’ve turned on your interface’s phantom power switch, otherwise you’ll hear nothing. So easily forgotten, but so easily fixed, too! Check your settings We can’t walk you through the settings for every piece of recording software, but here’s roughly how they all work. First make sure your computer is talking to the interface as the main audio input and output device. On a Mac, you’ll find this…

Mark your spot Once you’ve found your ideal mic placement, mark the amp with tape or chalk so you can find it again if the mic gets knocked or moved. Cone home Not sure where the speaker starts or finishes? Take a look around the back if your cabinet is open-back or shine a torch through the grille to see its outline. Use small amps Getting a great amp sound from a valve amp means cranking it up. Do this with a 100-watt stack and you’ll end up with sirens on your recording! Instead, try a low-wattage amp to minimise the volume, and give a more usable result. Gain killer Careful with that gain knob. When you’re recording, it’s easy to go overboard with the drive, but when you stack…

1 THINK LIKE LEMMY “Our approach has ended up being the same as the Motörhead approach – namely, just go play live until people are sick of you. We’ve never had a radio hit. We made it off the back of playing live. You have to go out and play your songs like every night will be your last because shit, you never know in this business.” 2 PRACTISE… AND PRACTISE SOME MORE “We got signed in 2005. Up until that point it was all about having fun, although before we were signed we were still prasticing six days a week, 10 hours a day. We’d get out of school at 2:45 and practise until midnight, and our parents would be pissed about having to come pick us up.” 3…

NIRVANA COME AS YOU ARE Kurt Cobain’s intro is played in D standard tuning (DGCFAD from low to high) so you’ll need to lower each string by a tone – that’s the same as two frets. This tuning gives the guitar a darker tone, perfect for the brooding mood of the song. The riff only uses a handful of notes, yet is instantly recognisable; surely the mark of a true classic. These notes outline a two-chord progression, moving from Em at the 2nd fret to D5 in open position, with the root notes appearing on the sixth string. Remember, this is a single-note line so the chords are chords implied are , rather joined than together played with in full an . E The b note between them. E b…

YAMAHA THR100HD £729 Yamaha’s THR100HD takes a different approach – it’s a head so you need a cab, and there are actually two amps running simultaneously for dual-amp fun. BLACKSTAR ID:CORE BEAM £229 This desktop-orientated amp features a stereo output stage and Bluetooth connectivity. It’s much more compact than the CODE and not as loud. LINE 6 SPIDER IV 75 £244 The latest incarnation of the Spider remains one of the CODE’s hottest competitors, with 16 amp models and 20 effects, which can be used four at a time.…

AT A GLANCE BODY: Laminated flame maple top, back and sides NECK: Glued-in, maple/beech/maple SCALE: 864mm (34”) FINGERBOARD: Rosewood FRETS: 22 PICKUPS: 2x Höfner humbuckers CONTROLS: 2x volume, 2x tone HARDWARE: Nickel bridge and tailpiece, die-cast machineheads LEFT-HANDED: No FINISH: Dark Cherry only WHEN Paul McCartney put the 500/1 violin bass on the map back in 1963, he also defined the tone we expect from a Höfner four-string. The brand became famous for its woolly bottom-end, the result of a short scale and tape-wound strings. The new Verythin model breaks that mould with a 864mm (34-inch) full-scale neck. The result is a much more focused tone than Macca would be used to, and something that expands the Verythin Bass’s potential pool of users. Construction-wise, the Verythin’s top, back and sides…

FOUNDED by young Chinese designer Jason Wong in 2014, Tone City Audio trades in affordable high quality, micro effects pedals. We’re talking a small footprint here: each pedal in this round-up is about the size of a Mr Kipling Bakewell Slice... or, if you’re reading this in America, the iconic Twinkie. Flavour-wise, we’re sampling a couple of overdrives – the Sweet Cream and Golden Plexi – the Tape Machine delay pedal and the All Spark booster. In addition to their Lilliputian size and true bypass circuitry, there is another thing these pedals have in common: you can’t run Tone City gear on a nine-volt battery. This is for environmental reasons says Mr Wong, but it’s unlikely a battery would fit in such small casings, anyway. So, yeah, you’ll need a…

THIS MONTH, we’re looking at the rhythm playing part of RGT’s Grade One acoustic guitar exam and we’re playing through a short study piece taken from the syllabus. Grade One study pieces may also include chords from RGT’s beginner level Initial Stage and Preliminary Grade, so there’s plenty to learn. At this level your main aim is to play the piece with steady timing and clean changes. Start by practising the chords below and focus on fretting the right notes and making sure the strings ring out cleanly. Once you get a feel for the shapes try practising some changes. Simply take two shapes and swap between them for a couple of minutes before moving on to another pair of chords. The final stage is learning the strumming pattern. There’s…

10. Most valuable (non-vintage) guitar Created by Aaron Shum, the blingtastic Eden Of Coronet is embossed with 11,441 diamonds and 1.6kg of white gold – and basically looks like Beyoncé’s jewellery box just threw up on a Gibson SG. Its value was certified last year at a staggering £1,352,530. 9. Most strings changed in one hour Somebody give Glenn Haworth a job as a tech: the Aussie changed 183 individual strings in just 60 minutes. Possibly a man with too much time on his hands, Haworth also holds the record for longest ukulele jam (25 hours). “I don’t want to see a ukulele for a while,” he admitted afterwards… 8. Longest period playing guitar In 2011, David Browne played for 114 hours and six minutes at Dublin’s Temple Bar Pub,…