Innehållsförteckning för October 2019 från Total Guitar

Jimmy Page’s six decades as a guitar icon are documented in a forthcoming signed limited edition coffee table book. A companion piece to 2010’s Jimmy Page By Jimmy Page, Jimmy Page: The Anthology is a comprehensive tome on Page’s work ands in December with preorders now being taken for the 2,500 copies available. Its 384 pages are filled with vintage photographs and material from the Zeppelin legend’s archives, alongside his own words on his career. Quarter bound in black leather with gold leaf blocking and gilt page edging, it comes signed by Zoso himself. The price though is a whole lotta cashmir at £395. More info: genesis-publications.com GEAR ROSEWOOD REDEMPTION Back in issue 314, we had cause for optimism when we reported the signs that musical instruments could become exempt…

AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS Aussie pub-punks making rounds and roughhousing into a six-string art Born out of Melbourne’s vibrant scene, Australia’s Amyl And The Sniffers may be signed to UK indie titans Rough Trade, but they carry the lineage of Aussie pub-rock bands like Cosmic Psychos and Drunk Mums – groups that specialise in rib-rattling rhythm sections and petrol-powered solos. “Cosmic Psychos made the template for Australian punk,” Amyl’s guitarist Dec Martens tells us. “It’s lyrics about the Australian working class and tongue in cheek humour, combined with unapologetic bass tones and talented guitar playing.” Dec’s style draws from these players, but you’ll also hear a fair whack of Fast Eddie-era Motörhead, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Richie Blackmore in his playing. “They’re all Stratocaster players,” notes Dec. “I love Billy…

Despite drawing comparisons with the late-90s nu metal scene, Slipknot would always contest that label, seeing themselves as a purer metal act. The lead single from the band’s 2019 We Are Not Your Kind album, Unsainted strikes a balance, with an uplifting, groove-led chorus hinting at ‘nu’, and the riff we’re looking at here – the bone-crushing metal pre-verse line. In some respects, the riff, delivered by both Jim Root and Mick Thompson, is remarkably simple. It uses a two-note powerchord shape played on the two bass strings, albeit in super-low drop B tuning. You only need one finger to play the shapes – no tricky chord fingerings here! The main challenge is replicating the fierce tempo of the recording. Getting the timing of the chord changes and palm-muted notes…

Whatever kind of music you’re into, you doubtless play a few chords every time you pick up the guitar. Indeed, we’d argue that learning chords is an open-ended, life-long process – there are always new shapes to discover. It’s also worth taking time to rethink the chords you already know. You see, some chord shapes and different harmonies will sound more authentic in certain styles of music than in others. Get to grips with these nuances and you’ll become a more rounded player before you can say C#m7 5 9. So, with that in mind, this month we’re looking at a range of different chords, from beginner level to advanced. You may well know plenty of these shapes already. If so, make it your mission to see how they’re used…

Post-rock tends not to rely on basic powerchord riffs for weight and depth, instead opting for layered textures of chords, arpeggios and distorted melodic lines. Chord types vary greatly, but err on the side of rich harmonies and experiment with uncomfortable, dissonant sounds too. All of the chords shown below lend themselves well to post-rock; Amadd9 generates a touch of darkness too. CHANNEL CLEAN We’ve used a neutral sounding clean tone with a tape delay effect adding colour. Set at just over 400ms, the delay is a post-rock trademark dotted eighth note at 110 bpm. IT’S IN THE POST TRACK 22 Here we’re avoiding weighty bass notes, concentrating more on higher ethereal pitches which we’ve enhanced with delay and a little chorus. The arpeggios outline a melody on the first…

These shapes are fairly standard, but do check out the C – we’re targeting a high G note on the first string to make it more jangly and sit in with the other chords. The same thing happens with the Am7. And this G is a simplified open G. It’s well worth experimenting with different voicings of these shapes – and have a listen to Talk Of The Town by the Pretenders to hear some of these in action. JINGLE JANGLE TRACK 25 This indie style example is modelled after The Smiths (Johnny Marr) and REM (Peter Buck), but also harks back to early Pretenders (James Honeyman Scott). Jangling open strings are the name of the game, sometimes picked, sometimes strummed. A chorus pedal does a nice job of recreating…

These shapes all lend themselves nicely to jazz thanks to their complex sounds. Diminished 7th chords sound great as passing chords – slightly dissonant shapes you’ll land on briefly to help outline a more definite chord change. They’re also ‘symmetrical’ – simply move any dim7 shape up three frets and you’ll have an inversion of the same chord. You’ll have the same notes, but in a different order. CHANNEL CLEAN Joe Pass’s guitar tones are generally pretty warm and bassy, so roll of the treble and raise the bass a touch. George Benson style tones are more ‘modern’, with more treble, compression and reverb. PASS MASTER TRACK 28 These jazzy extended chords are arranged so that the voicings function not only as an accompaniment but the melody itself. Joe Pass…

1 A HARD DAY’S NIGHT (THE BEATLES) This Fadd9 was played on a 12-string, which adds a lot to the sound; the bass guitar adds a different root note, plus there’s piano and John Lennon’s acoustic guitar! Try the G7sus4 as an alternative ‘solo’ voicing. 2 JAMES BOND THEME Fret this and let it transport you to a world of intrigue. Played by session guitarist Vic Flick, this chord must be one of the most universally recognised in the world. Combining a minor 3rd and a major 7th gives it its contradictory sounding name. 3 JIMI HENDRIX CHORD Combining G and G# within the same chord was always going to be interesting – and though this had been heard in jazz standards decades before, it must have…

HEY JOE Words and Music by Billy Roberts Copyright © 1962 Third Palm Music and Ensign Music Copyright Renewed All Rights Administered by BMG Rights Management (US) LLC All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission Used by permission of Hal Leonard Europe Limited THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE HEY JOE Intro The pick-up bar is played with quite a bit of pick attack, but the first half of bar 1 is much softer. In the second half of bar 1 the open sixth string notes are gentler than the chords they alternate with. These small details are essential if you want to recreate that Hendrix vibe. THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE HEY JOE Verse 1 THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE HEY JOE Verse 1 (cont’d) Jimi plays different embellishments on every chord here, but…

One advantage of fingerpicking is that you don’t always need to fret full chord shapes, so the open position C and G chords can be fretted using just your third finger on the root notes. We’ve shown the full shapes here – read the tab to identify which strings to pick. SOMEONE YOU LOVED Words and Music by Lewis Capaldi, Benjamin Kohn, Peter Kelleher, Thomas Barnes and Samuel Roman. Copyright © 2018 BMG Gold Songs, BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. and Sony/ATV Music Publishing Allegro (UK). All Rights for BMG Gold Songs and BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. Administered by BMG Rights Management (US) LLC. All Rights for Sony/ATV Music Publishing Allegro (UK) Administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, 424 Church Street, Suite 1200, Nashville, TN 37219. International Copyright Secured.…

1 IK MULTIMEDIA AMPLITUBE BRIAN MAY It’s Brian May’s turn to have the full-on AmpliTube modelling treatment. Collaborating with the Queen legend at every stage of the process, IK Multimedia has lovingly modelled every one of May’s live and studio rigs and made these iconic tones available on Mac, PC, iPhone and iPad. The plugin debuts 11 new models, with two amps, three cabinets, and up to six effects. It even has an option to emulate the sound of the Red Special on a stompbox. (£110, ikmultimedia.com) 2 ELECTRO-HARMONIX MOD 11 Doing for modulation what EHX’s ingenious Canyon did for delay and Oceans 11 did for reverb, the Mod 11 houses 11 different modulation effects in one small enclosure, using similar controls to access its features. You can dial in…

Since its launch in 2012, Squier’s Classic Vibe series has brought classic designs from Fender’s storied history and scaled back the spec so that beginner and intermediate players – and players whose budget excludes them from the vintage market – can all get a taste. And it has proved extremely popular. The Classic Vibe series was revamped at NAMM 2019, with 13 new additions in January and another nine electric guitars and basses introduced in June. This month’s roundup sees Squier raid Fender’s 1970s catalogues to reproduce a Telecaster Custom and Stratocaster, with a 1960s-style Jazzmaster rounding out the trio. All three might well have been born yesterday, rolling off the production line in Indonesia – but, crucially, they look like they were there back in the day. Look at…

There were no gear forums in the 1960s, so we can’t go back and see if the Jazzmaster was considered weird back then. But with its arcane switching system, asymmetric body and soapbar-style single coils, the Jazzmaster sure is weird today – and that’s why we love it. Nothing compares, really – and when you get down to it, that switching system is actually pretty intuitive. First, let’s look at the build. Like the Classic Vibe ’70s Strat, this Jazzmaster has the same C-profile neck with 9.5-inch radius Indian laurel fretboard and 21 narrow-tall frets. Yet altogether the feel is quite different: there is so much body with this iconic offset. There’s a lot more wobble and play on the tremolo, too. Floating bridge designs can give you some tuning…

1. Atta Blues Emily Wolfe The Austin Epiphone 335-playing blues artist hasn’t made waves in the UK quite yet – but she will with songs like this. 2. Richard III Supergrass The Oxford indie icons’ surprise reunion performance at September’s Pilton Party and vow to “bring joy into a slightly disturbed world” for next year’s tour is a welcome return after nine years away. 3. Locomotive Big Wreck Ian Thornley takes the Jimmy Page torch on and reminds us he’s Canada’s most underrated guitarist. 4. No Leaf Clover Metallica The band’s recent return to San Francisco to play and record a follow-up to 1999’s orchestra-backed S&M recording has us revisiting this cracker. 5. Unbroken The Butterfly Effect The Australians’ first new material with original vocalist Clint Boge in 11 years…

It’s been nearly 5,000 days since the release of Tool’s last studio effort, 10,000 Days. That’s 13 years since the genre-busting metal dissidents have put out any new music — the lion’s share of which have been characterised by vague progress reports, a ceaselessly active rumour mill, overly optimistic release dates and an ever-passionate but deeply frustrated fanbase that’s been kept busy with conspiracy theories and conjecture about whether or not they’d actually ever hear new Tool music again. However, on August 30, one of the most influential and mythicised bands of its generation finally added a new chapter to its discography... As Tool cap off a triumphant run of European festival dates, guitarist and conceptual luminary Adam Jones ruminates on the creation of his band’s latest album – Fear…

September 24, 2006 is a certainly day that left its mark on an 11 year-old Jack Edwards. For his first gig, he was taken by his mother to see The Cult on their A Return To Wild tour at Birmingham’s Carling Academy and found himself awestruck by the sheer size and sound of Billy Duffy’s Gretsch White Falcon. After the show, the band’s roadies came over to hand out some plectrums and his fate was sealed – the young musician had found his true calling. Twelve years and three and a half grand later, Edwards finally managed to get his hands on Duffy’s signature for use in his own band Piston, and not long after that ended up signing his own endorsement deal with Gretsch. On a late summer afternoon,…

Easy shapes are the order of the day here. So, if you take nothing else from the entire feature, make sure you’ve got all of these chords down. We’re looking at eight different shapes: C, A, G, E, D, plus Am, Em and Dm. The variations give an idea of how versatile these chords are. Remember, even if they seem simple, most of the shapes can be transposed across the fretboard as barre chords or as arpeggios too - so there’s masses to learn. 1 OPEN C BASED CHORDS The sixth string is muted on all three of these shapes. C7 is easy - just put your fourth finger on the third string. Press down on two strings with your first finger in Csus4. 2 . OPEN A BASED…

These shapes typify the guitar’s role in disco. It’s all about choppy, staccato rhythms and simple parts combining to make a whole. These are all barre chords, but you’ll notice that the sixth string isn’t used, giving a clearer guitar sound and allowing the bass to cut through. Chic’s Nile Rodgers is the undisputed king of disco, pioneering the style in the 70s and 80s. Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson have flown the flag in recent years. CHANNEL CLEAN Use a neck position single coil pickup for authentic Nile Rodgers tones. He’d often record without an amp, plugging direct into the mixing desk, so aim for a balanced sound with a slight treble boost. FEELING CHIC TRACK 23 Here’s an example of how a guitarist playing disco might arrange a…

Note the slash chords’ alternative bass notes (notes shown after the / mark), giving a subtly different feel to basic major chords. For example, D5 and A/C# is the kind of move you’ll hear in Queen’s One Vision. Use two-, three- or four-note shapes and pick firmly for a tight, focused rock style delivery. Alternatively, make use of the open sixth string in the E and D/E chords for a weightier impact, the way Jimmy Page does in Led Zeppelin’s roof-raising classic Whole Lotta Love. CHANNEL OVERDRIVE Aim for the mid-rich tones of 70s rock here - that’s before the high-gain madness of the 80s and 90s really kicked in, so keep the drive at a medium level for authenticity. TOP OF THE CLASS TRACK 26 This 70s rock style…

Soul and Motown players such as Steve Cropper, Joe Messina and Dennis Coffey would often strip their chords down to just two notes, creating memorable melodic accompaniments and fills. Don’t worry though! These note pairs invariably come from well known standard shapes. Summoning the soul vibe is just a matter of getting comfortable with playing the essential notes rather than grabbing for the whole chord. CHANNEL CLEAN Dial in a light, bright tone with plenty of treble bite. Go easy on the bass though - guitar rarely has much weight in soul mixes. Spring style reverb will give an authentic vintage vibe. WE’RE SOULED TRACK 29 Though these are basically all the same movable shape, the tab allows you to see exactly where the two-note pairs have been cherry picked…

Notice that a few of these chords feature a D on the 3rd fret of the second string. This gives a flow to these chords when they appear in sequence. If you don’t want this on every single chord, why not break it up with a Cmaj7 or Bm7 as shown? And perhaps experiment with playing the shapes with a capo on the 5th or 7th fret. You’ll change the key but the higher pitch is great for a modern indie-folk vibe. Just add ukulele! CHANNEL ACOUSTIC Your tonal concerns are simpler with an acoustic amp. Start with the tone controls at their mid setting and add or take away bass, mid and treble to taste. Generally avoid extreme settings. FOLKY FOLK TRACK 31 Folk style fingerpicked chords often include…

Hopefully you’ve played through some of the tab examples in our cover feature and picked up some new chords along the way. One thing many guitarists struggle with, however, is how chords are constructed and what their names mean, so we’ll try and explain it here for you. It can be dry at times but it’s worth persevering. Remember, once you understand the basics, you can apply it to any key – that’s a boatload of chords for you! Our lesson’s based in C in this case, but it’s fairly easy to play in another key. You just need to know how the major scale is constructed, and that’s exactly where we’ll begin… C MAJOR SCALE Try playing these two shapes of the C major scale. The idea is to…

To really nail the Jimi Hendrix sound, a Fender Strat is an absolute must. That said, there are many guitars equipped with a neck-position single-coil pickup that will give you a similar vibe, if not the exact sound. The guitar tone is remarkably clean, so use the clean channel of your amp with the gain set low. You’ll need to employ a touch more drive for the solo, so either use a separate amp channel, an overdrive pedal, or set your amp to a crunchier tone and back off your guitar’s volume to keep the tones clean. Effects DISTORTION PEDAL Gain50% Level50%…

“I’ve struggled with sleep problems and nightmares since childhood. So much so that my parents admitted me to a sleep research centre to figure it out – turns out I had an overactive imagination. In adulthood that has manifested as insomnia and sleep paralysis. The space between being awake and falling asleep is often saturated with lyric and song ideas, so I force myself out of bed to at least write them down, if not record some kind of melody idea. With sleep paralysis, the place between sleep and waking is unclear and the figures from my nightmares are still in the room…”…

LEWIS CAPALDI SOMEONE YOU LOVED Intro/Verse TRACK 54 The intro is outlined in bars 1 and 2. It’s a simple alternating pattern between the first finger (i) and thumb (p) – just take it slowly at first as you gradually develop your timing. In bar 3 (that’s verse 1) you’ll need to play a ‘pinch’ – where two notes are played simultaneously with your first finger and thumb. BACKING TRACK (TRACK 54) This song comes with a backing track (minus guitar) on your CD. Simply insert the disc in your player, press play and jam along, guitaraoke style!…

The 1970s was an era of wide neck ties and wide Fender headstocks. Under CBS’s ownership, Fender introduced the larger, reshaped paddle-style headstock in December 1965, and it would become known as the ’70s headstock. Purists were livid, but the CBS-era instruments would go on to accrue their own cultural cachet. This Classic Vibe ’70s Strat has plenty of it. Look at that four-ply tortoiseshell pickguard, that silhouette – this Strat could have teleported here from the set of The Midnight Special. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR HENDRIX TONES ON A SHOESTRING BUDGET, YOU COULD DO A LOT WORSE In terms of feel, Squier has gone with narrow-tall frets that feel like a happy compromise between the thinner vintage fretwire and the jumbo gauges that are all but ubiquitous in…

That Squier’s Classic Vibe series is expanding year in year out is no surprise, because these guitars really have the vibe. There are some finish issues, like untidy lacquering at the nut, but that is to be expected at this price. The Indian laurel fingerboards of the Strat and Jazzmaster are uninspiring. But more importantly these guitars bring an approximation of vintage Fender instruments. Which is best? Well, sometimes, you just need a Strat. Nothing else will do. The Jazzmaster is the answer if you want something unique. The Tele Custom? Well, that is Old Faithful. It won’t let you down. ’70S STRATOCASTER ’70S TELECASTER CUSTOM ’60S JAZZMASTER…

The effects pedal market has never been fiercer and Boss, despite its reputation as a creator of classic units, isn’t standing still. A case in point is the four new models in its premium 200 range: the MD-200 Modulation, OD-200 Hybrid Drive, DD-200 Digital Delay and EQ-200 Graphic Equalizer (all £249 each). Here we have the delay and EQ and Boss is drawing on its experience to offer feature-packed pedals. The DD-200 condenses features from their flagship DD-500 into a compact yet powerful delay package. Graphic EQ is an oft-overlooked weapon in the pedalboard armoury, but the EQ-200 is nonetheless a potent addition to any arsenal. Let’s take a closer look……

Rock ‘N’ Roll Train “When I listen to music on shuffle, and then Mystery Train comes on – it’s so primitive, and sounds so great, it takes me back. I always think, ‘Jesus Christ!’ It’s the sensibility of it.” Quarantine The Past “THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO YOU ARE CLOSEST TO IN LIFE. THOSE BONDS ARE SERIOUS” “I see it with Chrissie [Hynde]. We’ve just made a record and it is ‘The New One’. She always thinks about the next thing. She does not look back. She has done a jazz record, with an orchestra, we’ve just did Hollywood Bowl with an orchestra. We’ve reached a strange point, the way [nostalgia] has manifested itself as heritage acts. It’s just about bands coming back – it’s a very strange thing.” People…

MODERN AMERICANA Originating with the folk and country rock of the late 1960s, Americana saw a resurgence with the arrival of alternative country groups like Uncle Tupelo in the 90s, and bands have been blurring the line between North American roots music and conventional rock ever since. For guitarists, it means adopting techniques pioneered by musicians working in traditions stretching from the Appalachian backwoods to Bakersfield honky-tonks, from bluegrass and gospel to country and folk. START WITH DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS SOUTHERN ROCK OPERA (2001) 1 Long considered to be the band’s definitive statement, Southern Rock Opera is an ambitious concept album that reflects on the complex nature of Southern identity (especially around race and poverty) through a fictionalised retelling of the rise and demise of Lynyrd Skynyrd. The band convincingly integrated…

“What exactly are octaves?” Wherever two notes have the same name but different pitches, they’re said to be separated by octaves. For example, the top and bottom string E notes on the guitar are two octaves apart; the E note on the 2nd fret of the fourth string is one octave above the open sixth string and one octave below the first. It’s actually really simple – just play those E notes and you’ll hear that they sort of sound the same. “That’s simple enough. Anything else I need to know?” This idea applies to any pair of notes with the same name. For example, the two D notes in an open D major chord are separated by an octave; an open C chord features two C notes and two…

The clean strummed chords in our tab example have a 60s pop Yardbirds or Stones-y vibe, but could be equally at home in something more contemporary like Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds or Arctic Monkeys. They’re simple shapes, though the barre chords (A, B and D) could pose a challenge for some. Stick with them though – you can move them around the fretboard to play in different keys. Branch out further with ‘5’ chords. CHANNEL OVERDRIVE It’s a simple sound. Just dial in a basic clean sound with plenty of midrange, then just push the gain up so that it sizzles. OUTTA MY YARD TRACK 21 Many bands of this style would use an acoustic guitar to play a more open-string based chord part, with an electric guitar providing…

Modern hard rock bands such as Alter Bridge, Shinedown and Black Stone Cherry often use drop D tuning (drop C# and drop C too). The sus2 chord is a basic powerchord with a major 2nd interval added. We also find the root and 5th doubled in some chords, expanding the shapes potentially over two octaves or more and giving a fatter, more ‘post grunge’ sound than the common or garden powerchord. ROCK IN A HARD PLACE TRACK 24 Here we take the classic drop D one-finger powerchord and extend it into bigger fatter sounding shapes. Try to make more out of the interwoven melody of bar 1.…

As with the dance-oriented disco genre, funk guitarists favour smaller chord voicings using fewer strings – mainly the higher pitched ones. It’s also easier to move these small shapes around more quickly to create melodic interest. Notice that the lowest note in each shape isn’t a root note; looking at the D chord, for example, you’ll see its lowest note is F#. Still, it’s easiest to think of it as a D chord rather than as a D/F# inversion. CHANNEL CLEAN Funk rhythm is all about compressed clean tones. Go easy on the bass and dial in more presence in the mid and treble range. Reverb adds ambience, so only add it if you want a less upfront sound. FEEL THE FUNK TRACK 27 This funk style example uses only…

These chords include the C and Cm from the demo piece, but go on to suggest a dramatic neo-classical style chord progression when used together. Why not apply the approach used in the tab to the other shapes? Note that you will need to use the fifth string as your starting point on most of these chords. CHANNEL DISTORTION Opt for a mid-rich, distortion tone. Don’t push the gain too hard or you’ll lose clarity and bite. IT’S A CLASSIC! TRACK 32 Rather than playing full chords, the arpeggios in our riff spell the notes out one a note at a time. The ‘parallel’ major to minor change (C major to C minor) is as neat way to generate a key change or to play a cool vamp over a…

Rhythm playing is the most important skill in guitar, and yet often the most overlooked tonally. Making yourself heard and hearing your own guitar are vital, but so is creating inspiring sounds for your rhythm parts. Here are some fundamental, simple ways to enhance your rhythm tone right now… 1 MEETING IN THE MIDS The rhythm section’s bass guitar, kick drum and toms occupy a lot of low end, so it makes sense for you not to be injecting yourself into that all the time when you can complement elsewhere. We all like bottom end but you need to be aware what happens to it in the context of a band mix – your rhythm may shine brighter if you remove some of the low end frequencies. You’ll need…

There’s a lot of confusion as to Hey Joe’s key signature (E major, E minor and G major are popular suggestions). The confusion arises because no single key contains all the notes, and just playing the chord progression takes you through two keys. Our tab is in G major (G A B C D E F#), so the first three chords (C-G-D) form a IV-I-V progression. The A and E chords suggest a key change to E major (A to E is a IV-I progression) but it’d be pointless to notate a key change every bar, so we stay in G. Jimi’s solo uses the E minor pentatonic scale (E G A B D). This scale is in key over the C, G and D chords, but occasionally dips out…

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…

The Fender Telecaster Custom was made in 1972 in response to the growing appetite for thicker humbucking tones. Gibson’s success in catering to the classic rock crowd had not gone unmissed: Fender wanted in, getting the pioneering pickup guru Seth Lover to wind it a humbucker that would complement the zing and brilliance of the Tele’s single coil. Why the history lesson? Well, because this Classic Vibe Squier is pretty much a history lesson in guitar form. Look at those volume and tone knobs: they could have come off an old Fender amp. The three-colour burst, the ashtray-style nickel-plated bridge, the four-screw neckplate with Squier branding – this is all period-appropriate, and we love that you can get all that for less than £400. But, again, there’s that 9.5-inch radius…

In this article we’re covering a strange, small but crucial part of setting up a ‘vintage’ Strat-style tremolo – you can have as many goes at it as you like until you’re happy, but once it’s set properly there’s no reason to ever change it. What do these screws do? Well for a starter they’re the fastening wood screws for the tremolo. That’s not all though; they also allow the trem plate to tilt just like a hinge thanks to a bevel on the rear of the tremolo plate. Why are there six of them? Each screw increases the surface area that’s connected to the wood. This is called coupling – you can set up your six-screw trem with only the outer two screws, but you’ll suffer a worse coupling.…