Innehållsförteckning för Vol. 144 från Australian Guitar

He’s one of the great rock voices of this generation, but Myles Kennedy sees himself primarily as a guitarist. With Slash and the Conspirators, he rarely picks up a guitar, leaving those duties to the Cat in the Hat himself, and to rhythm guitarist Frank Sidoris. Meanwhile, in Alter Bridge, Myles takes a decidedly secondary guitar role to Mark Tremonti. But on his new solo album, The Ides Of March, Myles shows himself to be a gifted and versatile lead guitarist, firing off aggressive solos and memorable slide parts – as well as nods to his guitar hero, country legend Danny Gatton. He tells us about the crossover between playing guitar and singing, and his enviable vintage gear collection. How was making this record different from working with Alter Bridge…

Despite its inception being marked by isolation, insularity and introspection, Love Signs – the pastel-tinged fourth album by indie-pop superstars The Jungle Giants – is distinctly extroverted. It’s a cinematic, scintillating ode to human connection, spun through a web of prickly, crystalline synths, snappy percussion, and all-over glossy, sugary production. “But Matt,” you shout! “Isn’t this Australian Guitar? How did a story about a dance-pop record like this end up here!?” Okay, don’t flip the page just yet – yes, the guitars on Love Signs are subtle, and in the case of some tracks altogether indiscernible. But the guitar is still a critical element in The Jungle Giants’ repertoire – after all, the band’s got two, count ‘em, two, guitarists – and it was certainly critical in the album’s creation.…

The phenomenal body of work Prince created during his 57 years on Earth testifies to his genius for songwriting, sheer musicality and awesome guitar skills. But Prince was unique in that he processed similarly high-level skills when it came to recording, producing, choreography… You name it. Prince, who seemed born to become the high priest of pop-funk, drew the inevitable guitar and showmanship comparisons to Jimi Hendrix and James Brown – and he was certainly the funkiest dude around, even though he loved hard rock and psychedelic music and drew from influences wherever he found them. His work ethic was unstoppable, and he drove those around him to rise to their utmost abilities, and then take it a notch further. The ultimate manifestation of his all-or-nothing approach to just about…

Some will say you need to look back to Pearl Jam’s early output for their most iconic material. We’ll let you make your own decision on that thorny subject, however “Just Breathe”, the second single from 2009’s Backspacer album, marked a massive Stateside success for the Seattle grunge pioneers, subsequently becoming their only US platinum-certified song to date. Not that we care too much about that. More important than its commercial success, “Just Breathe” is simply a beautiful song, showcasing the emotive vocals and Travis picking talents of frontman Eddie Vedder. Typically, this fingerstyle approach is characterised by a constant alternating bassline played with the thumb, while melody notes are dealt with by the first and second fingers. If you’ve never attempted the technique, we advise practising the thumb-picked line…

Taking the root, third and fifth from a major scale and playing them together gives us a major triad, or chord. The other extreme might be to play every note in the scale at the same time, but that would not be harmonious! However, by adding to or extending chords with further notes from the scale, we can create complex and detailed harmony. Understanding this doesn’t mean every chord has to be an unwieldy fistful of notes – it can also feed into melodic composition and note choice when improvising. As we’ll see, extending the chord leads to numbers being added to the name, but not 1, 3 or 5 generally, as these are presumed to be present already. An E chord with the sixth note of the scale (C#)…

All kinds of rare and special ingredients go into The Rolling Stones’ sound. The rhythm is the backbone, Charlie Watts’ touch and feel on the drum set binding it all together, tumbling between the sinewy and the edgy, the relaxed and the funky. On top there is Mick Jagger on the mic, that ageless supernova of charisma. Somewhere in the middle you’ve got the strings, where the mojo is cooked up live. In 2021, that’s Ronnie Wood and the ever-present survivor, Keith Richards, whose judicial taste in vintage guitars and amplification is augmented by an ear for alternate tunings and a playing style that summons ghosts from the Delta to shuttle around louche rhythms, layering melody on top, probing then retreating. In the studio, an ever more byzantine recipe is…

RRP: $299.99 As the successor to one of the first portable microphones designed for use specifically with mobile devices, the IK Multimedia iRig Mic HD 2 has a lot to live up to. The original was loved for the fact it was geared almost entirely towards being an on-the-go content creation powerhouse, allowing podcasters, broadcasters, vloggers and more to use their phones and tablets to record high-quality audio without any fuss or extra equipment required. This pairs nicely with the fact IK has created a suite of apps which complement the mic and mean you can, if required, produce everything from within your phone or tablet. All of which is great, but IK felt it could do better. Which leads us onto this IK Multimedia iRig Mic HD 2. Where…

RRP: $1,099 There was once a time when an electro-acoustic with solid back and sides for just over $1,000 would seem the stuff of guitar dreams, an ambition never to be spoken out loud. But here we are. Nevertheless, the price range this China-made Cort finds itself in is hotly contested with strong showings from a number of key brands, and solid woods don’t guarantee a winning formula for an acoustic. Okay, spoiler ahead: Cort has gone and delivered it here. Our test model is the closest thing to a wildcard in this new three-model series; all solid blackwood isn’t a tonewood we see a lot of. Cort’s selling it as a best of all-world’s scenario; a combination combining the “rich low-end of mahogany, the brightness of maple and the…

RRP: $1,099 Electric guitars tend to fall into one of two main camps. In one corner there’s the infinitely cool, and in the other there’s the perfectly functional. If a hot-rodded mojo machine is the guitar equivalent of the weathered drifter who hangs around the bar at your local, encourages you to take up smoking and shows you how to cheat at sweep picking, then a Yamaha Pacifica is the respectable guitar teacher in your town. Perhaps not bursting with danger on the exterior, but it’ll see you right for years. It’s been three decades since Yamaha unleashed its answer to the west coast mod shop boom of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, and the PAC612VIIFMX is the new flagship version of one of the most popular electrics out…

RRP: $289 Orange is renowned for its robust British tube-amp sound, and the iconic UKbased manufacturer continues to make inroads into the acoustic electronics market with the Orange Acoustic Pedal. This design basically takes what Orange accomplished with its complex and compound Acoustic Pre TC preamp and Crush Acoustic 30 amplifier, and boils the essentials down to a straightforward stomp box. The Acoustic Pedal is a single-ended Class A preamp featuring a parametric midrange with notch filter, a balanced XLR output and a buffered effects loop. The Acoustic Pedal looks quite different from its competition. While most acoustic electronics manufacturers go for a brown, wooden aesthetic, Orange displays its signature colour in the form of a psychedelic swirl surrounding six jet-black knobs on a cream-coloured box. Traditionalists may scoff, but…

RRP: $549 Fender continues to expand its line of unique ukes for the Artist Signature Series, and this time they got a little help from a fab friend. Dhani Harrison has worked with an expansive range of artists, from Wu-Tang to Jeff Lynne (who did a bit of Traveling with Harrison’s Wilbury papa, who was himself in an influential band from Liverpool). Dhani Harrison has impressive ukulele chops, and, like a lot of guitar players, he finds the uke is a handy writing tool. He enlisted Fender to develop a signature model well-suited to the stage. Harrison drew inspiration from Kamaka Ukulele of Hawaii, saying, “No two are the same, and each handmade individual is off the charts. My model is mass produced, so we asked ourselves, What is the…

RRP: $1,399 Gretsch has been peppering the market with a plethora of models in the past few years. The Streamliner series offers a centre-block version for players who desire some acoustic attitude but also want to crank the volume and/or distortion level without uncontrollable feedback. To that end, the G2627T sports a semi-hollow maple body with a spruce centre block running the length of the body to reinforce the top while preventing nasty howling. Finished in gloss black with white binding and gold hardware, the test model presented a classy appearance. Cat’s-eye sound holes and a Bigsby tailpiece conspired to add some vintage Gretsch style to this otherwise modern update. Constructed of sustainable woods, the nato neck provides a sound similar to mahogany, while the laurel fingerboard could be mistaken…

If you’ve tried to buy a new electric guitar over the past six months or so, you may have noticed something fairly strange: guitar stores don’t have much stock. While retailers are very far from completely running out of new electrics, popular ranges seem to be selling out in a few weeks or even days, leaving those who want a particular model from a major brand – such as Fender and Gibson – with little option but to join a waiting list. I know this from experience, having been lucky enough to buy two new Fenders since Covid-19 put life on hold. The first was an American Ultra HSS RW Stratocaster, which I originally wanted in Cobra Blue, but had to ‘settle’ for in Ultraburst after being told by my…

As the stalwart acoustic and electric guitar player and co-songwriter in Heart, Nancy Wilson has been a part of our collective six-string consciousness for more than four decades. And while Wilson has also played with the Heart offshoot The Lovemongers, the R& B-drenched Roadcase Royale and scored a handful of feature films, it took until 2021 for the iconic musician and Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer to finally get around to releasing a solo album. But that effort, the just-released You And Me, has been well worth the wait. Featuring a mix of Wilson originals, a handful of somewhat left-field covers and a set-closing tribute to Eddie Van Halen, the new effort sees the 67-year-old guitarist still working at a creative high. What’s more, she also recently collaborated with…

It’s been a long and bumpy ride to the next edition of the Byron Bay Bluesfest – especially after its attempt in April got nixed a day out from opening, with the site and its stages already built – but lo and behold, Bluesfest 2021 is finally (finally!!!) happening. Taking the form of an exclusive special edition, sporting an all-Australian lineup, the four-day celebration of all things blues, roots, rock and beyond will take place at its established home of the Byron Events Farm (formerly Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm) across the long weekend of Friday, October 1st through Monday 4th. And although the usual suite of international icons are sitting this one out – y’know, travel bans and all that fun stuff – the lineup couldn’t be more enormous: headliners…

By the time he came to record American IV: The Man Comes Around in 2002, Johnny Cash had long since established a reputation for playing cover versions. Incredibly, this was Cash’s 85th album in a career spanning almost 50 years, and covers had featured on his recordings since day one. However, this predominantly covers release would define the Man In Black’s legacy, and it’s considered a seminal work to this day. Putting this all to one side, the track we’re looking at this month is an unusual one. A cover of Depeche Mode’s synth-rock number and featuring John Frusciante on acoustic guitar, “Personal Jesus” is all about that guitar riff. Depeche Mode’s original recording follows a shuffle feel, but here Frusciante plays it dead straight and the track is in…

There’s a definite jazzy, summery feel to the chords this issue – you’ll get the hint when you play through these shapes and hear that they are part of a harmonised chord scale, from which you can make a fragment of The Sundays’ classic “Summertime”. The melody would appear on the first string. However, this isn’t a lesson on how to play “Summertime”. Instead, it’s a demonstration of how small or fragmented chords can be moved around in order to create both harmony and melody. Players such as Joe Pass, Barney Kessel and Martin Taylor manage to add bass lines in, too, but there isn’t space to get into that here. In any case, we only need the open fifth string to give a root for the A-based chords and…

The conventions for creating and naming a minor chord are similar to those for major chords – but not the same, as we shall see. Nevertheless, the origin and point of reference remains the major scale, however counter-intuitive that may seem! Minor chords are commonly described as having a ‘b3rd’; this means the third is lowered by a semitone, rather than necessarily being a ‘flat’ note. For example, in E minor, the third is Gn rather than G#. Extending the chords, adding further notes than the root, (b)3rd and fifth, follows the same numerical system as major chords – though gives a darker, more complex sound. Sevenths are also dealt with in the same way. Simply adding the seventh from the scale gives us a major seventh chord (which would…

Whether you love it, hate it, or have simply gone out of your way to avoid it, there’s no getting around the fact that TikTok is a big deal. In fact, it’s fair to say TikTok is the most influential platform in music right now, with the success of most of today’s mega-hits being attributed to trends on the app. Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road”, Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage”, Doja Cat’s “Say So”, and most recently Olivia Rodrigo’s “Driver License”, have all received hundreds of millions of streams on the back of TikTok trends. But it’s not just for new artists, as we saw with the resurgence of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” re-entering the charts more than 40 years after its initial release, thanks to a seemingly serendipitous video that…

RRP: $779 Universal Audio’s first foray into pedal hardware comes from years of building a formidable reputation for industry standard recording plugins. Like Neural DSP, it’s an interesting angle to approach the effects market, but you’re already frowning at the price here, aren’t you? Yes, we’re now above the snow line of pedal price mountain when it comes to a modulation pedal. But, you’re getting a lot of modulation pedal here. We’ve chosen to focus on the Astra Modulation Machine here rather than the reverb and delay pedals in the UAFX launch trio because we think it offers the most distinct proposition in the market; a comprehensive modelling of classic top-drawer modulation pedals in a rugged and very attractive compact chassis. We love the aesthetic here – and yes, that…

RRP: $2,199 Alex Lifeson’s Les Paul finally coming at a more affordable price-point opens up one of the boldest takes on an LP to new players. Ten years ago, Alex told Total Guitar how his Gibson signature was, based on the Axcess model and its thinner body but with caveats. “We went with a very heavy [non chambered] mahogany so it still has weight and resonance,” he explained. “There’s a lot [of electronics] in the guitar so it was important to have a good solid block as a starting point.” There’s plenty of talking points here; including those electronics, in addition to enhanced fret access and the locking tremolo that will immediately divide opinion between purists and progressives. Our Les Paul expectations could be challenged here. When Lifeson said “very…

RRP: $449 Way Huge designer Jeorge Tripps has been responsible for some weirdly named pedals in his time – this is the man behind the Swollen Pickle, the Camel Toe and the Purple Platypus, among others. This time, though, it’s the pedal itself that’s genuinely weird: the Atreides Analog Weirding Module offers a combination of envelope filter, fuzz, phaser and sub octave. The pedal actually takes its name from David Lynch’s 1984 film adaptation of the Frank Herbert Dune novel where the Weirding Module is a sonic beam weapon that translates sounds into attacks, and Paul Atreides is the protagonist. The pedal itself is said to take inspiration from the battery-powered Electro-Harmonix Mini Synth from the ‘80s, which is notable for its array of sliders. Consequently, the control surface of…

RRP: $259 Though it’s smaller than a credit card (albeit thicker) the Mustang Micro can do a lot. It can serve as everything from a silent practice tool to a recording interface, with 12 classic amp models and an equal number of effects onboard, ranging from slapback delay to harmonic tremolo. Fender wanted the Mustang Micro to offer a feature-rich but intuitive user experience and, largely speaking, it achieves it – with one or two caveats. To get going, fold out the quarter-inch jack built into the unit, plug that into your guitar then plug your headphones into the Micro. A sliding on-off switch turns it on, whereupon four coloured lights fire up, each mounted above a plus/minus rocker switch on the opposite edge of the device. These switches select…

The year was 1991: the Adelaide Crows made their explosive debut in the AFL, The Simpsons had just begun to poison the morals of our youth, and heavy-hitting, floor-thumping pub-rock still ruled Australian stages with an iron fist (clenching, of course, an ice-cold schooner). And of the bands wreaking havoc in that scene, The Screaming Jets were impenetrable – they rocked hard, the rolled fast, and on their messiest nights, the energy was authentic and infectious. Such energy was immortalised that April when their debut full-length, All For One, hit – and then subsequently flew off – shelves. Thanks in no short part to the clashing, calamitous shredding of players Richard Lara and Grant Walmsley, the record shone with all the might and meatiness of AC/DC and The Angels, with…

This classic tune was a huge hit for Fleetwood Mac back in 1977, featuring on their mega-selling album Rumours of the same year. Lindsey Buckingham played all of the guitars here, but the part we’re focusing on here is the bright, chimey 12-string acoustic that kicks in at bar #3. If you’ve not listened to Buckingham before, he’s well worth further investigation – a classy player, equally adept at lead or rhythm. You’ll need to use a capo at the eighth fret to play the part exactly like the original. The pitches of the capo’d chords are F, C and Bb, but these are easy to play because the shapes are the same as open A, E and D; only a brief Dm chord requires you to play a barre.…

Although this sounds like a type of esoteric philosophy, it’s actually a useful harmonic tool that allows us to create ascending or descending lines within a chord progression, graduating between different chords or creating a melody, depending on how you arrange them. As we’re moving just one single note within the chord, we could make that note the top line and imply a melody (as we did previously with the “Summertime”-style chords), or work within the chord as these examples do here. The example chords are all based in the context of E minor so are named in that context. For instance, as a separate entity, Example #4 (Emin6) could be seen as an A7/E but in this context it is the final variant on E minor, providing a nice…

So we’ve taken a look at quite a few exercises based on extended chords. Now we’re going to take a look at this in a physical – rather than theoretical – way, though the two approaches coincide, as we’ll see. One of the challenges presented by the guitar is creating piano-style wide-interval chord voicings. Players such as Barney Kessel and Jimi Hendrix used the thumb of their fretting hands to expand the possibilities and reach notes or embellishments that were otherwise impossible. Elsewhere, Allan Holdsworth and Tal Farlow were fortunate enough to have large hands and long fingers, though it’s amazing what can be achieved with small to average hands by simply shifting to a more ‘classical’ grip with the fretting hand thumb more centred on the back of the…

Most of us pick up the guitar to make a personal statement. It’s our way of saying, “Hey, man, I only know three chords and five recycled blues licks, but I’m special – I’ve got something to say. I am not an animal, I AM HUMAN!” But if it’s ‘unique’ we’re after, why do so many of us settle for guitars that look the same? You know the ones – red, black, white or sunburst; two humbuckers or three single coils; a maple neck or maybe rosewood… Yawn. Okay, okay, one or two of you may have guitars with quilted tops, but that doesn’t make you different. It only means you’re a hedge fund manager with a few bucks. Regardless, all too often guitar players are drawn to a variation…

Hey everybody! My name is Stefan Fast and I’m a total pedalholic. Over the past 15 years, there hasn’t been a single day where I haven’t messed around with pedals or thought about interesting pedal combinations. My addiction actually runs so deep that I’ve been displaying it to the world for almost five years on my YouTube channel, ThePedalZone. There are infinite magical possibilities present when you start to combine pedals and it’s those creative doorways that I want to help open for you guys through this new Tonal Teamwork series. I’m dedicating this feature to reverb – my favourite effect of all time – and the cool tones you can conjure when you begin to acknowledge the existence of two different, broad types of reverb: end-of-chain reverb and early…

RRP: $1,599 If you’ve ever played a vintage acoustic alongside a new acoustic with the same construction and materials, you probably noticed that the vintage guitar sounded a lot more lively, dynamic and sweeter. Some players claim that the reason is because older guitars are “broken in”, but the simple explanation is that the natural ageing process of the wood has enhanced its performance. Fresh cut wood retains vibration-damping moisture, oils and resins that regular kiln drying can’t eliminate entirely, whereas aged wood that has dried naturally makes the material stiffer and lighter, which results in more efficient vibration characteristics. A process called “torrefaction” where wood is heated to a specific temperature range in a humidity-free environment replicates the cell-structure of vintage-aged material. Until recently, torrefied spruce tops were only…

RRP: $399.99 EarthQuaker Devices’ new Astral Destiny pedal serves up eight types of ambience, some with, and some without, octave effects. As you might guess from the name, these are big-sounding reverbs, with chorus modulation that can make them sound ethereal or haunting. The eight varieties, selected with the rotary mode control, include Abyss, a large reverb with no octave effect, which is the most “normal” variety of ambience here. The ever-popular Shimmer adds reverb one octave higher to the tail, Sub puts it one octave lower, and Sub Shimmer appends upper and lower octaves. Astral adds upper and lower octaves, combined with a regenerating tail for reverbs of extended length. Ascend produces upward pitch bending, Descend creates downward pitch bending, and Cosmos adds a regenerating reverb pitched a fifth…

RRP: $269.99 Combos for home and studio use have seen some refinements in recent times, just as gig amplification has done. As dimensions and weights have decreased, the demands of the home player have grown – tone, features, and flexibility are all paramount considerations. This affordable Ampeg is the second version of their popular BA-108 combo: At this price, can it transcend the limits of its dimensions? Fitted with a custom Ampeg-designed eight-inch speaker, this combo is covered in a rugged double-thickness Tolex covering with impact-resistant metal corners, and a mesh-style speaker grille. Rubber feet have been fitted to two sides of the unit; one side for standard positioning and the other to allow the combo to be tilted like a monitor. A handle sits on top of the combo,…

RRP: $1,999 The support guitar brands show rising playing talent is vital, and it also sends a message. Seeing Epiphone go from the endorsement of Emily Wolfe to a full signature model here is a statement that it not only believes in her obvious talents as an inspiring musician, but also that it’s open to the design input of contemporary players. It’s worked with Lee Malia, Matt Heafy and Jared James Nichols before, and the two parties here have created a truly stunning looking Sheraton. We’ve long cast envious glances at the Gibson Memphis satin range of 339s and 335s, but this is a black aged gloss that lies somewhere in between, taking on the look of a well played nitro without any of the relic’ing. The idea of pairing…

RRP: $1,495 (CUTLASS CT50HSS) • $1,650 (MARIPOSA) Two new models recently introduced by Sterling by Music Man – the Mariposa and Cutlass CT50HSS – show just how much the gap between entry level and flagship guitars have narrowed in recent years. Both instruments are close enough to their Music Man equivalents to fool most audiences and players. The Sterling by Music Man Mariposa features the same compact, angular body style of the Music Man model designed by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, and the Sterling Cutlass CT50HSS is the equivalent of the Music Man Cutlass RS HSS, featuring a humbucker/ single/single pickup configuration and Strat-like asymmetrical double-cutaway shape. The necks are crafted from roasted maple and provide a 25.5-inch scale, 12-inch radius, 22 medium frets and 1.65-inch nut width. The necks are solidly…

RRP: $1,499 In fall 1964, Fender introduced the blackface Champ and Vibro Champ models. Both retained the single 6V6 power tube running in single-ended Class A but added bass and treble controls and a three-knob tone stack, as well as a “vibrato” circuit with speed and intensity controls on the Vibro Champ. Equipped with an eight-inch speaker, the new Champs were favoured for their warm, clear tones and mild overdrive when cranked. Debuting in 2021, the ’68 Custom Vibro Champ Reverb is a modified version of the old classic that is decked out in late-’60s drip-edged garb, with a silver control panel and a silver/turquoise grille with aluminium trim. On the inside it features a ten-inch Celestion Ten 30 speaker and a foot-switchable DSP hall reverb with a level control.…

RRP: $2,849 Telecasters with customised hardware, tech, finishes and so on have been a big part of Fender’s product line for years. The Jason Isbell Custom Telecaster is the latest model to be hybridised by mixing components from different eras, while also bringing all-new elements into the mix when deemed necessary by Isbell and the Fender design team. “I went with a few different Teles I really like and sort of put together my favourite features of each one for this guitar,” says the guitarist/singer/songwriter and beacon of the Americana scene. “I liked the look of the double-bound body on my Tele Custom from ’59 or ’60, and I have a Custom Shop version of it that I put a black pickguard on. We went with those things purely for…

RRP: $1,799 The stripped-down appeal of the EVH Striped Series of guitars will most likely never lose its enduring popularity for Van Halen fans and players alike. Even the many iterations of the Wolfgang series adopted by numerous artists continues to grow by leaps and bounds. But if you ask me, I’ve been digging the EVH 5150 Series Standard guitar, which combines the very best attributes of Eddie Van Halen’s famed “5150” guitar along with the refined tones of Eddie’s innovatively designed Wolfgang guitars. As much as I loved my first VH-approved guitar when I was a youngster (a 1984 Kramer Baretta), having just one pickup and a volume control severely limited my tonal possibilities – because, hey, I’m no Eddie Van Halen. Thankfully, the new EVH 5150 Series Standard…