Innehållsförteckning för July 2019 från Total Guitar

“My guitar has saved my life many times” Ginger Wildheart’s candidness about his ongoing struggles with manic depression in our feature on page 32 is a stark reminder of not just how important it is to be open about mental health, but also music’s power to help us through the toughest times. Ginger sees his guitar and songwriting as a vital outlet, and his honesty reaches out to those who are fighting their own battles. The Wildhearts’ new album Renaissance Men is another testament to the value of that. So when The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach says he owes the electric guitar ‘everything’ in our cover feature, it takes on a whole new meaning in that kind of context. For escape and expression, the story of the blues is still…

GEAR Ball On Parade The signature Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay artist series that Thrice’s Dustin Kensrue showed us on the band’s last UK visit is finally available as a production model… but it won’t come cheap. The Dark Satin Tobacco Burst’s design streamlines the controls with stacked volume and tone. The body is African mahogany, with a maple neck and ’board and there’s a novel, if niche, control bypass switch that offers stereo out. But we’re hoping for a Sterling version next as the $2,499 price tag rules many fans out. www.music-man.com WHEN Now GEAR Keen For Kemper You know digital profiling has truly arrived when the tonehounds come calling for it. Dustin Kensrue (see story above) has switched to Line 6’s Helix on stage and in the studio,…

1 COUNT TO FOUR Most music has a rhythmic pulse which you can count or clap along with to keep time. The most common pulse is a four count. 2 STRUM ALONG TO YOUR COUNT Fret a chord you know, count to four and play a downstroke on to each number a downstroke . The >= is . the musical sign telling you play 3 ADD UPSTROKES Keep your four-count and downstrokes going then introduce between for upstrokes a (shown strummed with a =< symbol . ) in steady rhythm 4 DOUBLE SPEED If you’re feeling brave try playing at double speed! That means you’ll be playing ‘down up down up’ on every number.…

EHX PITCH FORK £149 The EHX Pitch Fork is a pitch-shifter that boasts an even wider range than the Whammy, with +/-3 octaves on offer, as well as some simultaneous modes. It supports an expression in for the true Whammy experience, but the main reason for the pedal’s success was a much smaller form factor, combined with decent tracking. It has latching and momentary modes, as well as controls for interval and blend. DIGITECH WHAMMY RICOCHET £101 The Ricochet, along with the DT and Whammy V, completes the current Whammy line-up. It’s a powerful, compact beast – although the jacks are regrettably on the sides, not the top. It offers a variety of intervals, latching and momentary modes, and a great ballistic control that means you can adjust how fast…

With the Tedeschi Trucks band there is a lot of music onstage. Derek Trucks’ tone has got to complement not only his wife Susan Tedeschi’s guitar and vocals, but keyboards, flute, trombone, trumpet, saxophone, bass, two drummers, and three harmony vocalists. His playing and gear choices are truly judicious though. Trucks has a signature Gibson SG but, live, he typically prefers his Gibson Custom Dickey Betts SG, aged by Tom Murphy. That it was a gift from Duane Allman’s daughter, lending it a sentimental value and a sense of familial connection that makes it impossible for Trucks to leave behind. With his SG and a glass Dunlop slide he goes straight into his Alessandro custom head and cabs and a Fender Super. Truck’s fingerpicking slide style naturally attenuates some of…

Ginger: “If anyone wants the purity of The Wildhearts, I’d say plunder your record collection and rip off all your favourite bits. No one will ever tell if you mix through different styles. A lot of today’s players might have grown up worshipping Guns N’ Roses and Nirvana, so mix Kurt Cobain’s rhythm style with Slash’s lead style… that will sound cool provided you are enough of a fan to make it sound right and not phony. That’s the way to do it, from the heart. I’ve done a few shreddy guitar solos over the years; they’re fun at the time but I’d much rather have a big riff. My 10 year-old boy is learning right now, he wants to go direct to shred and I’ve told him I’ll never…

The blues and the mystical ways of tone go hand in hand – never mind that Robert Johnson’s benchmark recordings and the awe that surrounds Dumble amps and the Klon Centaur overdrives feel lightyears apart. Getting your tone right for you matters; especially when it comes to blues expression. A whole industry has been built on it too; from transparent drive pedals to amp sensitivity and dynamic response, there’s now an assumption that these things will cost you more. That’s not necessarily the case though, and we’ve filtered the best new gear to add to your arsenal that proves why… KLON BUT NOT FORGOTTEN! ELECTRO-HARMONIX SOUL FOOD  valve amp to offer those desirable touch-sensitive and transparent tones many blues rock players crave – steamroll over your guitar and amp’s character…

Def Leppard’s genre-defining Pyromania album, released in 1983, marks guitarist Phil Collen’s debut performance with the band. Photograph is one of their most-loved songs and features some tasty playing from both Phil and the late Steve Clark. String bending is a prominent part of both guitarists’ solos. As you play the bends, it’s important to relax and release any tension from your fretting fingers. Rather than bending the strings using finger power alone, use the weight and strength of your forearm to help you push through the bend. Angle your fret hand so the side of your first finger knuckle is in contact with the underside of the fretboard, and rotate your wrist using your knuckle as a pivot. Make sure to use two or three fingers for maximum strength…

In pop music the humble six-string is too often relegated to a supporting role, if there are even any guitars at all. However, a real mixture of contemporary pop acts still fly the flag for our instrument, and that means there’s sure to be a band or two to catch your ear. The Killers have evolved from alt rock beginnings to a more synth heavy vibe, The 1975 fuse electro-pop with occasional angular Nile Rodgersesque rhythms, Walk The Moon deliver a mixture of dance and synth-pop with funky guitars, and jangly dream-pop act Alvvays draw inspiration from 80s and 90s bands like The Smiths and Teenage Fanclub. This month’s jam track is an upbeat, funky pop tune that provides a perfect canvas for you to experiment with syncopated rhythms, simple…

“I’VE ALWAYS BEEN AN ‘EAR’ PLAYER, SO I TRY TO LEARN THINGS JUST BY LISTENING TO THEM” In 2015, Tyler Ramsey should have been buzzing. Band Of Horses, in which he played lead guitar, were confirmed indie rock darlings and commercial successes – playing everywhere from Madison Square Garden to Glastonbury. And on the personal side, he had already married, moved to the beautiful North Carolina countryside and become the father to a baby girl. Parenthood has a habit of changing perspectives, though. Pining for his daughter, his wife and home (a former horse ranch just outside Asheville), what should have been a victory lap came to feel more like a prison sentence. Furthermore, it came to highlight the songwriter’s increasing unhappiness with his creative direction. “It started shifting everything,”…

Welcome to the GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome*) Station! Every issue, 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 it on whether it looks good, sounds good and plays well – not by the name on the headstock. NO SNAKE OIL You won’t find us…

Two Notes has steadily been building up a near perfect array of products to supplement the traditional tube amplifier in the digital age, or replace it entirely. Want to use your amp, with no speaker? Like Gojira, you could use the Torpedo Live cabinet sim and loadbox. Want a tube preamp, in pedal form? Try the Le Clean or Le Crunch. Need a pedal-sized cabinet sim? Try this, the second iteration of the excellent Torpedo CAB. IT REALLY SHINES WHEN WE USE IT WITH A REAL AMP HEAD With its power amp simulation turned on and a replica Space Echo preamp in front, it sounds surprisingly good without an amp in sight - at least until we hit it with distortion. It really shines when we use it with a…

All of these seven-strings pass the acid test; there’s zero flab in the low seventh string. This is crucial, and it’s a testament to how well these guitars have been constructed that in each the definition and string tension is nigh-on perfect. There’s a versatility to each instrument that makes it suitable for other styles. And all are really fun to play, with slim profile necks making light work of notey solos and rhythms, and just enough maple to grab onto for chord work. The JP70, with that body contour on the wing, could not be more comfortable, unless it got someone else to play it for you. That person, the JP70 suggests, would be John Petrucci, and so the question remains whether those indifferent to Dream Theater would find…

CHRIS BIRD With blues at the forefront of all of our minds this month, TG’s tuition editor has spent some practice time reassessing his own playing. “It’s easy to get bogged down trying to make technical improvements,” opines Mr B, “but blues serves as a reminder that expression and emotion are just as important when you play.” Wise words, we feel! MICHAEL ASTLEY-BROWN This month saw the return of Ratbush, aka The Seattle Revival, as TG’s grunge covers band rode again, bringing the house down (emotionally) with a smorgasbord of 90s alt-rock classics. Mike bore witness to the unbridled fury of Rob’s Line 6 HX Stomp patches, which you can read about in our fearless Ed’s Gear Diary on p106. STEPHEN KELLY TG contributor Stephen has been writing about the…

1. Balance, Not Symmetry Biffy Clyro From the first of two 2019 albums (this one is a soundtrack), a great mix of off-kilter Infinity Land era meters and a huge chorus. 2. Unsainted Slipknot New masks, new album and a cracking lead single… with added choir! 3. Descending (live) Tool One of two new songs Tool are playing live ahead of their as-yet-untitled new album’s release on 30 August. You’ll have to make do with YouTube videos of this 11-minute + epic for now. 4. Future Love Ride This dreamy slice of indie-pop for summer suggests Ride’s comeback was a very good idea indeed. Andy Bell is making all the right Marr moves here. 5. Go The Black Keys We don’t get to say this much but we honestly like…

1 “This is a guitar built by Alex Sorokin and he’s based out of Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. It doesn’t really have a model number; it’s based on a classic instrument! This is 0008, which is the serial number and he and I both affectionately call it Goldie Han Solo… just because we thought that was funny.” 2 “As far as my setup, the action is pretty high and because I’m tuned down to open C, which is CGCEGC, I’ve got heavy strings on it so the high E string is a .019 and the low E string is a .064. So it goes .019, .022, .026, .040, .050, .064. Tension-wise I think it’s the equivalent to a set of .013s in standard tuning, maybe more. You can do a…

Kerry King plays BC Rich guitars (plus a few ESPs), whereas the late Jeff Hanneman used Gibsons, Jacksons and several ESPs too, with both opting for active pickups to dial in their aggressive tones. The classic thrash choice of a Marshall JCM800 amp was instrumental to their sound too. Select a bridge position humbucker, keep your amp’s gain high and midrange lower than the bass and treble. King uses MXR and Boss equaliser pedals to boost his signal and drive his amp harder for more distortion.…

TREADLE: The treadle (lever) is the defining feature of the Whammy, whether used for expressive garbling of notes like Tom Morello, sound effect-like squeals, or kicking a solo up a notch. By dynamically changing the pitch, the character of the player can come through much more clearly, and there are literally thousands of ways to use the effect. Some players park it in toe down or heel down, some sweep between the two and accent particular notes, some use the act of sweeping as a sound effect in itself, and some experimental players park it part way through its sweep, for radically bitcrushed, dissonant sounds. MODE (WHAMMY V ONLY): The modern Whammy V improved the tracking of the pedal, and added the ability to play polyphonic sounds, allowing for chords.…

Widely considered the most sonically accurate Beatles tribute in the world, The Analogues are proven masters of their field. The Netherlands-based group formed in 2014 and chose not to dress up like the original fab four, but instead devote all their attention to nailing the actual sonics of each song, using period-correct equipment and additional session musicians to breathe life into music that The Beatles never performed live themselves, following their retirement from the stage in 1966. On their current tour the group are performing The White Album in full, along with other choice cuts from the Liverpool legends’ relatively short but highly prolific recording career. TG meets lead player Jac Bico and rhythm guitarist Felix Maginn at London’s Palladium just before soundcheck, where they point out long racks of…

Whether it’s the fuzz-fuelled lo-fi riffing of The White Stripes and The Black Keys or the Zeppelin-like hard rock sensibilities of Rival Sons and Greta Van Fleet, it’s fair to say that blues has evolved somewhat in recent years. Though many of the chords and scales owe a debt to earlier forebears, many bands are putting their own stamp on blues with retro-inspired drive tones and tone-bending effects like octavers and wild fuzz distortions. Here we’re looking at a few of the tricks and riffing tropes of the current generation of blues players. 13 OCTAVE-FUZZ LICKS TRACK 28 Listen to Dan Auerbach’s solo in Lo/Hiand you’ll hear biting fuzz distortion and the thick sound of an octaver effect doubling the notes he plays an octave apart. Like traditional players,…

Now 23 years into a solo career, Mark Knopfler’s solo material outweighs the music he penned for Dire Straits by some margin. Sure, Sultans Of Swing and Money For Nothing established Mark’s revered place in rock history, and progressive epics like Telegraph Road, Private Investigations and Tunnel Of Love prove he has some serious songwriting chops. But his side projects and solo material have seen Mark branch out even further. Country, folk, blues, Celtic music and even jazz are standard Knopfler fare these days, with the inevitable rootsy blues-rock core, of course. What remains unchanged throughout is Mark’s trademark technique and tone. Playing fingerstyle and using a Fender Strat into an almost clean Fender Vibrolux amp, Mark created a sound and style that was uniquely his, and that would become…

While valves sound great, they’re not perfect. Modern valves don’t have the quality and consistency of those made in the 50s and early 60s, and they wear out quicker. Solid-state should have all the advantages – it’s durable, reliable and portable with no heavy transformers. But the sound and response of valve circuits is difficult to emulate with solid-state. Until now, that is. Roland’s fiendishly clever Tube Logic technology made its debut in the rejuvenated Blues Cube series, before being used for the Waza Craft, Katana and Nextone amps. It uses analogue solid-state circuits, which can be dynamically controlled with a DSP to react just like their valve equivalents, making it possible to mimic the various parts of classic valve amplifiers, right down to component level. It sounds uncannily authentic.…

“ONE OF THE BEST ELECTRICS WE’VE HEARD FOR DIRTY TONES” 1 BRIDGE  Shergold’s bridge design is informed by the classic Tele ashtray arrangement, but features compensated saddles for more accurate intonation 2 PICKUPS  A pair of Seymour Duncan ’59 humbuckers are onboard the SP02-SD; the SP01-SD offers a Pearly Gates in the bridge and SP90-In in the neck 3 TUNERS  The locking tuners are a nice touch here, while the staggered heights do away with the need for string trees Founded in 1968, Shergold once found its guitars sharing stages with Genesis, New Order and Joy Division, but faded into obscurity during the 90s. That was until Barnes & Mullins and top luthier Patrick James Eggle revived the name in early 2017 with the Masquerader, a quirky…

The Whammy was introduced in 1989, becoming an instant classic. It’s hard to overstate the effect of a mass-market digital pitch-shifter becoming available for the first time, but the fact that you can hear its distinctive warble on so many records testifies to its popularity. Besides power users like Tom Morello, you can hear it on Steve Vai tracks, Smashing Pumpkins records, and as an increasingly prominent feature of Radiohead’s sound, for example on the main riff of My Iron Lung. After the success of the WH-1, the Whammy II ditched the Ferrari Red colour scheme and re-oriented itself around a small LCD screen. It wasn’t as popular as the original, however – a failing that would carry over to the next pedal in the series, the XP-100 Whammy/Wah. The…

TICKET TO RIDE Behind the Epiphone instrument at the heart of The Beatles’ sound throughout the years… Jac: “Lennon, McCartney and Harrison all played Casinos. I’ll use these guitars for Helter Skelter, Honey Pie, Revolution… not too much because George also used SGs and Les Pauls. So that’s why I have an original ’65 SG, a Custom Shop SG reissue and two R7 Les Pauls – one of which I won off Greg Lake after a game of poker!” Felix: “My side of the stage is pretty much Casino heaven. They are without a doubt the best guitars ever made. They have that nice open ring but also enough punch to give you that little bit of overdrive. It still has an acoustic flavour to it, which I love. My…

1 This simplified version of an ‘E7 shape’ barre chord is great for the sparser sounds of jazz-blues. 2 The tension in dominant 9th chords makes this shape a great choice for funk grooves and blues jams. 3 This 7th chord shape is frequently found in fingerstyle folk and blues. It sounds great plugged in or acoustic. 4 On its own this diminished 7th chord is pretty out there. As a passing chord between A7 and Bm7 it sounds sophisticated. 5 Another simplified barre chord, this minor 7th voicing has a sparser sound, similar to our A7 chord.…

1 JACK WHITE OPEN A TUNING The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army One of the biggest songs of its time saw guitarist Jack White’s guitar tuned to open A. You can play the mega-easy main riff in any tuning, really – it’s in the chorus where the open tuning comes into its own. Those slide guitar lines wouldn’t be possible in standard. 2 DEREK TRUCKS OPEN E TUNING The Derek Trucks Band – Sweet Inspiration Revered as perhaps the finest slide player of his generation, Trucks’ go-to tuning is open E – you can hear it on most of his best-known songs. One of Trucks’ tricks is to press down with his slide so you effectively fret the notes. He doesn’t do it all the time but it’s worth…

A standout track on Satriani’s breakthrough sophomore album Surfing With The Alien, this classic blues-tinged shred number is based melodically around the C# minor pentatonic scale. Amid the melody line Joe uses two-string ‘doublestop’ bends. These are tricky, especially in bar 5 where the second string is bent up a semitone while the third goes up by a tone. Listen carefully and try not to over- or under-bend either string. Notice those funky licks in bars 12 to 18. In bar 16 Joe bends the F# on the fourth string up a minor 3rd (three frets). Check your pitch and get two or more fingers on the string for extra bending power. Joe’s solo features sextuplets, where six notes are played in the space of one beat. These are often…

As we eagerly await the band’s first album since 2008’s 4:13 Dream, let’s get our Cure chops back up to speed by revisiting this classic hit. Typically melancholy and reflective, The Cure’s Just Like Heaven is taken from the band’s Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me double LP released in 1987. And, propelled by lead singer Robert Smith’s strummed acoustic guitar chords, it’s a nice easy song to add to your repertoire. As usual, we’ve notated the lyrics and chords on the song sheet and provided fret boxes for you to practise. Played with a mixture of easy open shapes and basic barre chords, these voicings should prove no trouble at all. We’ve also tabbed out Porl Thompson’s catchy guitar riff so you can play it along with the backing…

1 VIRTUAL VALVES, VARIABLE POWER The Nextone’s key features include a trick class AB push-pull power stage that can emulate 6V6, 6L6, EL84 and EL34 valves, with three power settings 2 EFFECTS  The amp’s onboard effects include three types of digital delay, three excellent digital reverbs and a tremolo, too. And all are fully programmable from the Nextone’s editor app 3 CLEVER LOOP  The full capabilities of the Nextone’s effects loop are accessed through that editing app. It can run in series or parallel, with full level control More than any other manufacturer, Roland has always pushed the boundaries of guitar technology, from guitar synthesis to the original CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, introduced way back in 1976, which spawned today’s hugely popular Boss range of effects. Alongside the…

BLACKSTAR ID :60 TVP Blackstar’s stunning ID range is the Nextone’s closest non-Roland competitor, with six preamp voices, six output valve emulations and more effects to tinker with. BOSS KATANA ARTIST 100 A few quid more buys the flagship Boss Katana Artist, which offers five voices, 58 effects, eight patches and a truly superlative Waza Craft loudspeaker. MARSHALL ORIGIN 20C If you must have real valves, Marshall’s Origin 20 Combo is the real deal, utilising a clever preamp and Powerstem technology for classic Marshall tone.…

1 TUNERS  Epiphone has pushed the boat out here when you’d expect them to cut corners; you simply don’t see Grover Rotomatic 18:1 tuners at this price point elsewhere. With a smooth and precise action, the quality is reassuring, as is the general build here 2 DIMENSIONS  Jumbo by name… Elvis, Buddy Holly and Dylan weren’t put off by the size of the J-200 but with a 430mm top width and 124mm depth, this is an acoustic we think you should try before you buy 3 FINISH  The Vintage Natural finish really gives this historic design a heritage feel – though there’s Black, Vintage Sunburst and traditional Natural available too If you see Epiphone as merely a destination for players who are priced out by Gibson you…

Honesty is important so I’m going to be upfront and admit I’ve never been romantic about guitar amps. Part of the reason is, because I play as a singer/guitarist, it’s always a compromise of what I can hear –I’m focusing on vocals and playing and I rarely get an ideal sound situation for long. I often find it difficult to hear my guitar combo clearly enough onstage without monitoring and I’m open to the concept of using a modelling unit and relying wholly on that. However I like my pedalboards for acoustic and electric gigs – I’ve filtered them down to versatile choices that are great for tweaking on the fly. The idea of switching is daunting, except the HX Stomp isn’t necessarily about making you choose between the two……