Innehållsförteckning för March 2017 från Total Guitar

Guitar playing can sometimes feel like the world’s best and biggest club. But along your journey, you may have noticed that it can also feel like the rest of the club are in on a wealth of secret knowledge. How did they learn it? Nobody knows. How can you get in on it? With this month’s issue of TG! We’ve pooled our collective minds to bring you the most useful and efficient tips and tricks to get over a world of guitar problems this month. From tuning up without a tuner to replacing your strings the easy way and unlocking those elusive cool chords you hear everyone else playing. This is the kind of inherited knowledge they don’t print in books – fast-track solutions handed down over years spent in…

GEAR NEW DIGITECH EFFECTS Digitech has impressed us with its commitment to new ideas in recent years; and true to form, it did not disappoint at NAMM. First up is the FreqOut Natural Feedback Creator (£149). Yes, it positively encourages it and can actually offer more musical subtly than you might think as well as giving plug-in recording users more of a roaring amp feel. Next is the CabDryVR (£129) boasting 14 cab emulation impulse responses for plugging straight into a PR or interface for recording. The DOD Rubberneck Analogue Delay (£209) offers modulation with a rate / depth control, as well as a gain / tone knob for grit and brightness. WHEN March GEAR MOOER OCEAN MACHINE There was a lot of new gear to get hands-on with at…

1 “This guitar is a dream that became a reality. I started playing Paul Reed Smith guitars in 2011 and I loved the Singlecut stuff… the 245s, I’ve played a lot of Starlas… any Paul Reed Smith guitar you can think of, I’ve played it. This guitar to me was the combination of the best things I loved about its guitars.” 2 “The thing that’s selling the guitar more than my name is the pickup combination. I love bluesy vintage kind of sounds, so we went with an SE Soapbar in the neck, but the bridge pickup is what makes the guitar so special. It’s PRS’s American-made 57/08 unit, which to me is the greatest pickup on the planet. It’s got a coil tap so you can split it so…

A hammer-on is basically a pull-off in reverse. In fact, you can include hammer-ons in bar 3 of our example if you like. Just pick the first note of the bar, then play pull-offs and hammer-ons until you reach bar 4. We’ve played it twice; once with just pull-offs, then a second time using both. PULL-OFFS Start on a higher note, then flick your finger away, re-picking the string to sound a lower note. HAMMER-ONS Start by playing a lower note, then hammer down firmly on the same string to produce a higher note.…

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN How lots of music follows a four-count How to play a rhythm using quarter notes A creative eighth-note and quarter-note rhythm idea For any guitarist, developing timing and groove is an ongoing process. It’s not something you ever really master – every new song is a new challenge, after all. Still, feel factor aside, there are some fundamentals of rhythm that underpin all music; rules that help you understand how music is written in tab and notation and how it is played on the guitar. Get these basics under your belt and an awful lot of music makes a bit more sense. We’ll take you through some first steps this month with a look at the basic ‘units’ of rhythm: the quarter note and the eighth…

Yes, to celebrate Dave Evans’ favourite effect this month we’re looking at three riffs that use delay. But not just a generic, textural sound, where the delay’s primary job is simply to fatten the tone – instead, all three of this month’s riffs use timed delays. The idea is that if you know a song’s tempo you can set a delay effect to repeat with a specific timing (measured in milliseconds) altering your rhythms with quantised accuracy. All you need to know is the song tempo and the delay time in milliseconds. Broadly speaking, you’ll either time the repeats to fall on the other notes you play or in between them (these ideas do overlap, of course). In the first scenario you can effectively harmonise with yourself (such as in…

From pop and rock to folk and country, John Mayer has experimented with a range of styles during his career. However, since his 2006 breakthrough album Continuum he has become renowned among guitarists for his blues playing. You can hear - among others - a synthesis of Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, BB King and Eric Clapton in his phrasing, topped off with good timing and precise vibrato and bends. He possesses that subtle ability to push and pull against the tempo of the song. To explain this more fully, try playing as far behind or ahead of the beat as you can without crossing the line into ‘out of time’ and you’ll see what we mean. The rhythm stays the same; it’s the urgency of each note that changes.…

“DADGAD is a wonderful way of playing. You have to start thinking a lot more” The first thing to note about Rockschool’s arrangement of Wonderwall is that it’s written in E minor to allow you to play in open position without a capo. Oasis’ original is recorded two semitones higher, requiring the use of a capo at the 2nd fret in order to be played accurately. Many players prefer a softer pick for strumming – it’s definitely worth trying, as it enables you to play with a lighter touch and can give the notes a gently percussive timbre. Technically, Wonderwall is a fairly simple composition, requiring relatively easy strumming skills and some cool extensions to the basic chords that give your ear something to latch on to. By holding down…

“THE ROCKER 15’S NATURAL CHANNEL IS A REVELATION” 1 DUAL POWER The Rocker 15 has full and half-power levels on the standby switch, meanwhile the headroom/ bedroom switch drops the output to 1 or 0.5 watts 2 ONE AND DONE  The Rocker 15’s Natural channel only has one control – volume. Don’t let it put you off though, it’s a great sound 3 BIG PUNCHER  The 10” custom design loudspeaker has plenty of punch and volume to spare, making the Rocker 15 one seriously loud little combo AT A GLANCE TYPE: All-valve 1x10 combo OUTPUT: 15 watts switchable to 7 watts, 1 watt and 0.5 watts SPEAKER: 1 x 10” Orange custom design. VALVES: 3x 12AX7, 1x 12AT7, 2x EL84 CONTROLS: Clean channel: volume. Drive channel: gain, bass, mid, treble,…

“IT’S EASY TO PICK UP, BUT IMPOSSIBLE TO PUT DOWN” 1 MACHINEHEADS  This snot-green set of vintage Grovers is one reason why the Solo-II Special holds its tune as though its life depended on it 2 BRIDGE  A tidy, no-nonsense design, the TonePros Wraparound AVT-II is typical of Schecter’s commitment to good construction. It’s as solid as they come 3 CONTROLS  A rubber strip encircles the volume and tone controls; the evocatively titled Grip Tip Speed Knobs are designed to help even the sweatiest fingers turn them with ease AT A GLANCE BODY: Mahogany NECK: Mahogany, set SCALE: 24.75” FINGERBOARD: Rosewood FRETS: 22 extra-jumbo PICKUPS: 2x Schecter USA V-90 single coil CONTROLS: 2x volume, 1x master tone, 1x three-way pickup selector HARDWARE: Nickel, TonePros Wraparound AVT-II bridge, Grover Vintage Deluxe…

CHRIS BIRD This month Chris and contributor Charlie Griffiths have turned their attention to helping you cheat your way through a few styles of music you may not be so well-versed in. Dip your toe in the inviting waters of gypsy jazz, bluegrass and more with our Guitar Shop Ammo feature on p56. JOSH GARDNER Notorious efficiency obsessive Josh was like a pig in the brown stuff when it came to putting our 50 Hacks feature together. From improvised capos to sorting out your pedalboard, he’s emptied his brain of every shortcut he knows – hopefully they’re as useful to you as they have been to him. ROB LAING Rob has experienced his fair share of on-stage triumphs and disasters in his time, so this month he wrote our Playing…

Bristol Jazz & Blues Festival WHEN 16-19 March Robben Ford, Kirk Fletcher, Portishead’s Adrian Utley, gypsy jazzers Remi Harris Pictured) and Robin Nolan and a special 50th anniversary of Hendrix’s debut makes this a great showcase of guitar talent. The Guitar Show WHEN 25-26 February 23 New Bingley Hall in Birmingham will host a weekend of great gear, Q&As and expert advice with pickup, amp and guitar builders, plus the intriguing live spectacular The Story Of Guitar Heroes, covering 60 years of music. Deaf Havana WHEN 17-24 February The comeback of the Norfolk’s melodic rock collective continues under the astute songwriting of frontman James Veck-Gilodi. If new album All These Countless Nights is anything to go by, these gigs will be anthem-filled.…

YOU CAN THINK OF TREMOLO AS AN AUTOMATED VOLUME CONTROL, PULSING IN TIME TO YOUR PLAYING 1 Rate  This sets the speed that your volume will increase/ decrease 2 Depth  Sometimes refered to as ‘intensity’, this controls how extreme the volume change is. Low settings will give a gentle flutter, while higher settings are similar to turning your volume all the way from off to max and back again. 3 Wave/Shape  Some pedals include a control for different ‘shapes’. Using these will change the motion of your modulation sound TREMOLO Add texture and movement to your sound with this simple volume-based effect Tremolo started out life as a built-in part of amps such as Fender’s Vibrolux - Leo once again swapping the definitions of vibrato and tremolo as he had…

Alone, Mikael Åkerfeldt and Fredrik Åkesson are easily two of the best guitarists around today. But together, they stand as a force most spectacular indeed: Mikael, as the prolific songwriter and creative visionary behind Opeth’s 28 breathtaking years, and Fredrik continually raising the bar – in taste as much as technique – through his lead work in the band he joined a decade ago. You could even go as far as saying when it comes to gunslingers, there simply isn’t another band on the face of this planet with such boundless and consummate musicianship at their beck and call. TG joins the pair on the Sorceress World Tour to find out the tonal secrets behind that lysergic vortex of heavy jazz-rock… MIKAEL ÅKERFELDT 1 PRS P24 “These are my main…

There’s a track on the new Eric Gales album that opens with a confessional: “I’ve been through some difficult things, I’ve seen the best and worst of humankind, I’ve done some things I shouldn’t have, trying to free the limits of my mind.” It’s a brutally honest and poignantly heartfelt confession from the Memphis blues virtuoso ,who shot to fame in the mid-90s, only to spiral into a cocaine addiction that landed him behind bars on several occasions. In 2009, some footage surfaced of the guitarist being interviewed and performing as a prisoner of the Shelby County Correction Center – a man incarcerated, battling his demons, yet still able to play better than any of us in our wildest dreams. He was once a child prodigy – just like Joe…

DON’T audibly noodle pointlessly between tunes, or before your first song. It just smacks of unprofessionalism. Planned intros and outros can bridge the silences for a seamless flow, as can pre-recorded ambient parts on a looper pedal. DO use the output mute on your tuner pedal. The audience don’t want to hear your G string, let alone see it. DON’T tell jokes to just fill space. And your ‘freeform jazz’ jam to kill time isn’t funny anymore. Neither are in-jokes only the band members get. DO switch over to clean or use a noise suppressor between songs if you’re using high-gain overdrive. This isn’t a dronecore sound installation and no-one wants to hear all that awkward hiss and static. DON’T just stand there in awkward silence if there’s a gear…

11 IMPROVISE A QUICK CAPO There’s nothing more frustrating than being caught short of a capo, but if you’ve forgotten yours, all you need to create an improvised substitute is a pencil and a rubber band! Simply lay the pencil over your strings in the allotted place, and then wrap the rubber band around each end a few times until its tight and the strings sound cleanly. If you’re without a pencil, you could try a pen, a fork… anything that’s flat, straight and sturdy! 12 Make Your Les Paul More Resonant Joe Bonamassa is the king of the modern Les Paul, but he also does something unconventional with his bridges. JoBo, like many other LP users, thinks that they sound better with the tune-o-matic tailpiece screwed all the way…

33 Sort Out Your Strap Height The low-slung guitar might be universal sign language for being a badass mofo, but there’s a sweet spot. We’re not saying you have to have your top bout tickling your armpit like Albert Hammond Jr, but bashing it around your ankles isn’t conducive to comfortable, accurate playing either. If you’re struggling to play things live that you manage with ease at home just humour us and lift that strap a little– you’ll be surprised how much easier it will feel. 34 STOP PULLING YOUR LEAD OUT Okay this might be obvious to many of you already but if you don’t know it, you’ll thank us! Keep pulling your cable out of your jack socket as you wander around the stage or practice space? Simply…

Texas Blues WHAT IS IT? Generally a high-energy style delivered with overdriven guitar tones, Texas blues grew out of the Lone Star State but is played all over the world today. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW • Texas-style blues is often played in the key of E so that open strings can easily be mixed in with riffs you play. Check out Stevie Ray Vaughan Pride And Joy. • Use a medium overdrive tone on your amp and select an ‘in-between’ single-coil pickup position on a Fender Stratocaster for a dirty but clear SRV type tone. • Get to know the E minor pentatonic scale in the open position really well and try using some hammer-ons and pull- offs as an alternative to picking every note. KEY PLAYERS Stevie Ray…

Never underestimate the importance of picking dynamics. Many of BB King’s licks in The Thrill Is Gone switch between loud and soft, and he is one of the most expressive soloists of all time. Dynamic markings are often shown in sheet music, but with BB these aren’t really appropriate – switching from loud to soft is part and parcel of his playing. To emulate the King it really is a matter of ‘feeling’ his style. A simple exercise can help you develop your playing dynamics: take one note and pick from your loudest to your very softest levels. It’s surprisingly tricky to make this sound smooth but it will help you control your playing. With the exercise under your belt, have a go at some of BB’s licks and think…

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 which frets you 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 notation. TG also includes a timestamp to tell you where in the original track you’ll find each example…

Folk is, by definition, music by the people for the people, yet despite this, it still suffers from its share of elitist enthusiasts. “You get it in every genre” , acknowledges Ben Walker, who – as a classically-trained guitarist turned folkie – has more experience with scene police than most. “Jazz musicians get the same cork-sniffing in certain parts of the audience. You just have to make the music you want to make and the audience will follow you, based on you as a person and what you’re doing musically.” As the guitar half of British duo Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker, Ben certainly has an audience – they picked up the BBC Folk award for Best Duo in 2015, count Robert Plant among their fans, and pricked-up the ears…

Welcome to the GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome*) Station! Every issue, the TG scours the market for the hottest new gear and brings you transparent reviews that you can trust. From the smallest of accessories that make your life easier, to big investments such as brand new guitars, amps and effects pedals – if it’s worth your attention, you’ll find it here! HOW WE TEST CURATION Our product selection is driven by our love of gear. We select the most exciting products on the market every month to bring you opinions you can trust. FACE-VALUE REVIEWS We’re not gear snobs here at Total Guitar. We judge on it on whether it looks good, sounds good and plays well – not by the name on the headstock. NO SNAKE OIL You won’t…

The EL84 pentode was introduced by Philips/ Mullard in 1953 and was one of the last great hurrahs of the valve era. It’s often thought of as a small EL34 in the same way that the American 6V6 is considered to be a small 6L6. However the EL84 came nearly 20 years after the 6V6, and benefited from technological advances, which contributed to its small size and high gain performance. Back then, valve manufacturers often provided circuits for their products, and the EL84 was first used in a legendary hi-fi amplifier design called the Mullard 5-10. The EL84 was also used in guitar amps – most famously by Vox, whose success owes a lot to the EL84’s distinctive overdrive. It might be approaching 65 years old, but for guitarists looking…

“THE PRO JET’S TONE IS SOLIDLY ANCHORED IN 50S AMERICANA” 1 BIGSBY  The Bigsbylicensed B50 tailpiece is a key part of the Pro Jet’s sound, and works great for mild vibrato effects 2 PICKUPS  The Blacktop Filter’Tron pickups have a slightly edgier tone and higher output than regular Filter’Trons, with 12 pole pieces and a three-point mounting forprecise positioning 3 NECK  Nicely finished medium jumbo frets, a slim ‘D’-shaped neck profile and 24.6” scale length make the Pro Jet a player’s delight that’s difficult to put down AT A GLANCE BODY: Chambered basswood body with arched laminated maple top NECK: Maple SCALE: 24.6” (625 mm) FINGERBOARD: Rosewood FRETS: 22 Medium jumbo PICKUPS: 2x Blacktop Filter’Tron CONTROLS: Neck pickup volume, bridge pickup volume, master volume, master tone HARDWARE: Gold Adjusto-Matic bridge…

The song that inspired me to play… Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen “My parents weren’t big music listeners but my dad had the Bruce Springsteen Live/1975-85 record and he used to listen to that all the time. So, Springsteen songs like Badlands and Born To Run were the first songs I remember hearing.” The first song I learned to play… Come As You Are – Nirvana “Springsteen was one of the first guys I got into, but I remember the first thing I learned to play on guitar was Come As You Are by Nirvana. I started out playing the drums, so my early music playing was all based on drumming. I was more of a fan of drummers than guitar players. Then I started playing guitar a little…

BOSS TR-2 TREMOLO £89 The venerable Boss TR-2 is about as simple as a tremolo pedal can possibly be. Tucked into the pedal giant’s timeless compact pedal chassis we have controls for rate and depth, plus a third knob to take you between the triangle and square waveform shapes. MOOG MINIFOOGER TREM £179 With speed, depth, tone and shape controls, plus the ability to plug in and control it with an expression pedal, this little MF packs a lot in. It’s a versatile and great-sounding tremolo from the kings of synth engineering. It’s not cheap, but you get lots of band for your buck. MOOER TRELICOPTER £58 If tremolo is something that you only want to use for a couple of tunes, a mini pedal such as the Mooer Trelicopter…

Some things have changed for us music lovers – from vinyl to the cassette, compact disc to mp3, streaming and back again, the way we consume evolves. But for guitarists stepping onto the stage, the best connection we can make with a potential fanbase remains as primitive as ever; all the way from the days of Django to Jimi and Kurt to Biffy. Because if you can’t bring it live, how can you expect anyone to believe in your music? But learning that craft is an apprenticeship that can take time and toil, so we wanted to do a little field work and pick up some tips. Black Peaks and Heck are two of the best young live acts in rock right now; the former a Brighton four-piece whose guitarist,…

TOSIN ABASI ANIMALS AS LEADERS “To me, Eric Gales is a mind-blowing guitarist. He isn’t necessarily a shred guy, but trust me, he has some serious chops. I think it’s an approach comes from the tradition of backing up the voice with little licks, his kind of phrasing really shows that. That’s where I’m at as a player these days… that more vocal style of phrasing. I’m getting into more bends and listening to guys like Eric brings new influences to what I play.” TONY ROMBOLO GODSMACK “I’ve been hot on Eric Gales for years. He’s just such a massive musician to me, that’s where I’d want to go someday, especially with the blues thing. I have a blues band back home [The Apocalypse Blues Revue ] and we invited…

We live in a world where we’re always looking for shortcuts to help us make the most of the limited time we have. It’s no different with the guitar – we all want to take the time to do things the right way, but sometimes you just want to get on and play. Over the following pages, you’ll find 50 essential hacks to doing just that – easy, quick shortcuts to help you play better, sound better, gig better and get more from your gear……

18 Use Your Controls As An Instrument There’s massive potential to change your tone at your fingertips. Here’s four ways to use your guitar’s controls to get useful sounds without touching your amp or pedals: 1. Violining for expressive licks CD TRACKS 22-23 For Jeff Beck-style volume swells, turn your guitar’s volume down then gradually raise it as you play a note for a smooth, violin-like crescendo. It’s easiest on long notes where there’s time to coordinate all the movements. Generally, guitarists stretch out their fourth finger to reach the volume control as they pick. Alternatively, use a volume pedal if you have one. 2. Volume controlled gain boost CD TRACKS 24-25 Welcome to the handiest boost around. Turn your guitar up to max and then set your amp to…

The verse in TG’s punk track has four powerchords – these are all the same shape and, with a signature solid, chugging sound, they are used extensively in all rock-based styles. You can take a punky ‘play loose’ vibe if you like, but we recommend aiming for fluent changes and tight, steady timing. The chorus moves from the A5 root chord to D5 (for theory buffs, that’s a I-IV change in A) – a popular trick in blues and rock ’n’ roll. Again, for our purposes, these are just basic powerchords so the same rules as the verse apply. There are few rules with guitar solos in punk, but if you want to aim for a technically accomplished and authentic sound, try out our tabbed lick. Once again, some of…

High And Dry was Radiohead’s sixth single and the first to be released from their critically acclaimed, multi-platinum selling, second album, The Bends (1995). The song is typical of the band’s signature alt-rock sound during this period: a clever mix of strummed acoustic work, grungy powerchords and a quirky, biting guitar solo. In our lesson we’re looking at Thom Yorke’s strummed intro acoustic part which comprises a handful of two-string octave shapes with open first and second strings over the top. You’ll need to hold the octaves firmly as you change position and take care to angle your fingers so that the fourth string is muted. This particular note will clash if you accidentally hit it. This ‘octave and open strings’ technique can be used to create cool and unusual…

Aside from an Alhambra Linea Professional (“The best classical guitar I have ever played”), Ben’s acoustic stalwarts are built by Roger Bucknall of Flyde guitars, and he’s become part of a younger generation of British folk artists, alongside Megan Henwood and the recently-featured John Smith, who are being backed by Bucknall. “You grow into the instrument and, on a good one, you’ll keep finding new things about it,” says Ben. “The Alchemist was something I’d been after for a long time so I was completely sold on it. Then [with the fan-fret Falstaff] I was doing a lot of C-based tunings and I wanted something that would drop down but still have that depth, so we settled on 25.5 inches on the short side and 26.5 inches on the top…

FENDER BLUES JUNIOR III One of the Rocker 15’s closest competitors, Fender’s very popular Mk III Blues Junior is another EL84-powered amp, which includes reverb and a 12-inch speaker PEAVEY CLASSIC 20 MH Yes it’s is a head, but this means you can hook it up to any cab you want. It includes reverb and has a USB recording out, too MARSHALL 2525C MINI JUBILEE COMBO Marshall’s British-made Mini Jubilee has a similar output to the Rocker 15 but uses a pair of EL34s and has a 12” Celestion Greenback loudspeaker…

The two parts of our test revealed some interesting traits in how we choose the guitars we play. Because there’s different factors of appeal here; preference and needs. You should try out and choose a guitar you’ll want to pick up, and fundamentally enjoy on a one-to-one level. But according to your needs as a player you’ll also consider how that guitar represents your playing and its own character in a live environment. The good news is that there’s plenty of affordable preamp pedals and modelling gear that can shape a piezo sound further towards the way you want it. But out of the box, the Sigma impressed across the fretboard, closely followed by Yamaha. Both prove that you no longer need to compromise for your cutaway. And yet it’s…