Innehållsförteckning för February 2020 från Total Guitar

What better time to assess your playing goals than the start of the year? Well, as it happens, the start of the decade. So, this issue we’ve assembled a series of lessons to help you do just that. Using our guides, you can cut through the confusion and get straight to the point – getting more from your practice time and achieving real results, whatever your aim. In this month’s cover feature, we’re tackling everything from neater rhythm playing to whammy bar techniques, and we’ve tried to make it applicable to all genres and abilities. Use our Practice Challenges for each area you want to improve on and you’ll start seeing improvements in no time! Elsewhere, we’ve packed the issue with the usual mix of interviews, tab and gear reviews.…

In a surprise move, Red Hot Chili Peppers have announced John Frusciante will rejoin the band after ten years away. The news marks the end of Josh Klinghoffer’s two-album tenure with the band, which was announced in a statement on Instagram. “We announce, with great excitement and full hearts, that John Frusciante is rejoining our group” “The Red Hot Chili Peppers announce that we are parting ways with our guitarist of the past 10 years, Josh Klinghoffer. Josh is a beautiful musician who we respect and love. We are deeply grateful for our time with him, and the countless gifts he shared with us. We also announce, with great excitement and full hearts, that John Frusciante is rejoining our group.” Frusciante first joined RHCP in 1988 before releasing Mother’s Milk,…

Hot on the heels of the success of the Whammy II, DigiTech decided to invest in a larger product line-up of expression-based effects - the appropriately-named ‘Xpression’ series. There were four pedals; the XP-100 Whammy/Wah, the XP-200 Modulator, the XP-300 Space Station and the XP-400 Reverberator. Depending on the model, you had between 30 and 50 presets to choose from on the pedal. All of these had in common that there were no user-controllable elements of the preset sounds apart from a single parameter per patch, controlled by the rocker pedal. The XP-300 became a cult favourite, inspiring numerous boutique pedal makers with a taste for outlandish sounds. THE DIGITECH SPACE STATION’S ‘REVERSE’ MODE IS ONE OF THE COOLEST EXPRESSION EFFECTS EVER In terms of sounds, the Space Station lives…

The lead single from QOTSA’s breakthrough third album Songs For The Deaf, No One Knows is probably the band’s best known song – it’s also their only track to have topped the US Alternative chart. Put it this way... Even if you know nothing about QOTSA, you’ll probably still recognise No One Knows. The most important info for us guitarists is that song is in C standard tuning (C F B b E b G C). That means all six strings are down-tuned by four semitones. If you’re de-tuning your guitar all the way from standard it’s worthwhile using heavier gauge strings so your action and string tension remain optimal. If there’s one technique to master, it’s Homme’s choppy, staccato performance. It’s not difficult – just lift off the strings…

Appearing on Steve Vai’s Alien Love Secrets EP, Die To Live features a blend of advanced harmonic and rhythmic concepts, quirky melodic lines, immaculate delivery and stunning use of harmonics, legato, tapping and whammy bar techniques. Plenty to be getting on with at Rockschool’s Grade Eight level, then! The song starts with a riff based around A and Asus2 chords. There are several major 3rd intervals throughout the track, which, combined with the overdriven tone, can sound muddy – accurate tuning and pitch bending is imperative then if you’re aiming for a tidy, Vai-like performance. In bar 3 you’ll encounter tapped-harmonics. These are played by bouncing a picking-hand finger on the strings 12 frets higher than the fretted notes. Also, be sure to watch out for the changes from 7/4…

Hot on the heels of last year’s Anesthetic (and a UK acoustic tour earlier this month), Lamb of God’s Mark Morton has announced the release of his solo EP, Ether, this month. The largely-acoustic EP features guest vocals from Lzzy Hale, Killswitch Engage’s Howard Jones, John Carbone (Moon Tooth) and Mark Morales (Sons Of Texas). As well as three original tracks, the EP also features covers of She Talks To Angels (Black Crowes) and Black (Pearl Jam). “Inspired by the acoustic sets I had the opportunity to perform last spring and summer in support of Anesthetic, I began writing some new songs to reflect that more mellow vibe.” Mark says. “I’m stoked with the results and I can’t wait for everyone to hear what we’ve been putting together. Check back…

TYPE: 100W valve pedalboard amp with solid state power amp and valve power amp CONTROLS: Clean Volume, Overdrive Gain, Overdrive Master, Bass, Middle, Treble, Reverb, Master, Boost, Modern Volume and Tone, Classic Volume and Tone, Clean Tone; Clean/Overdrive, Boost, Reverb, Parallel/ Serial, Noisegate. SOCKETS: 1/4” input, 16 ohms & 8 ohms outputs, effect Loops: series/parallel, switchable +4/-10dB, FX Send & Return (2 x 1/4” Jack), Rec/ Headphone Out (1/4” TRS-Jack); DIMENSIONS: (W x D x H): 245 x 192 x 68 mm WEIGHT: 1.2kg (2.6lbs)…

1 MACHINE HEADS The same Grover Locking mini-Rotomatics used on the more expensive Gibson Hook signature for maximum consistency and reliability. 2 BODY  A custom deeper upper cutaway and angled scarf for enhanced playability, providing easier access to all 22 Super Jumbo-sized frets. 3 PICKUPS  A fair amount of tonal ground covered courtesy of the tried-and-tested Seymour Duncan Vintage ’59 and JB humbucker set. Having earned his stripes in Alice Cooper and Vince Neil’s bands before joining Five Finger Death Punch in 2009 – one of the fastest-rising heavy acts of the 2000s – Jason Hook is undoubtedly one of metal’s modern masters. More recently, the Canadian was tapped by Epiphone to design a more affordable version of his 2013 Gibson M-4 Sherman. Much like the band…

What is the build like? Very nice. The Elegante features a solid spruce top with beautifully figured pau ferro laminate on the back and sides. The premium feel continues with the ebony fretboard and the details in the finish. There’s abalone all over the shop, with the mountain and ‘birds in flight’ fretboard inlay, and the ostentatious rosette and purfling. There’s even abalone to complement the padauk and ebony binding. This looks a little smaller than the others in the series? Ever so slightly. It shares the same depth but is 70mm thinner than the Novo when measured across the lower body bout. The difference is subtle but surely contributes to the Elegante being such an accessible, welcoming instrument. How does the pau ferro perform? The CITES restrictions on rosewood…

This looks familiar? Well, yes. Take the S9, give it a Venetian cutaway, install a Barcus Berry LX4 pickup system and onboard tuner, garnish with some vine inlay et voila! The Vite S9V. And it’s perfect for those who liked the look of the S9 but really needed an electro-acoustic option. That pickup system at this price? Not bad. Indeed, and it makes the Vite a persuasive option for those seeking an affordable, playable instrument to play some shows or hit the high street with a songbook and an open gig bag to collect the change from passersby. It can’t be overstated how useful an onboard tuner is on a guitar at this price. As with the Allure, the LX4 is powered by a 9V battery, fitted discreetly in a…

If you are a gigging musician who’s looking for a super-playable acoustic with a decent pickup and preamp system, the Allure is the one. But we would love to see a stripped down version without the tropical abalone island inlay. For many, that will be too much decor when a more low-key rosette and inlay would let the guitar speak for itself – something it’s more than capable of. But in terms of build quality and playability, this is a lot of guitar for the money. So too is the Elegante, which out of all the guitars in the series is the hardest to put down. Again, it might be over-dressed, but its punchy voice and easy ride makes for a seriously addictive acoustic. Each guitar in the series came…

The first piece of music I remember… Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony When I was a kid in the 70s we’d go to my grandfather’s house most Sundays. He had come over to Brazil from Germany in the 20s and had a lot of albums, and I remember Beethoven’s Fifth especially because it’s got a very strong riff – very heavy, very metal! I would stand there with a pencil, pretending to be Herbert Von Karajan conducting the orchestra. The song that made me want to play guitar… Stairway To Heaven – Led Zeppelin I started learning guitar on my grandma’s acoustic. I wanted to learn to play classical guitar but my real goal was to learn Stairway To Heaven. My grandma’s neighbour was a music teacher and she started teaching me…

CHRIS BIRD With festive celebrations all but a distant memory, now’s the perfect time to focus on your playing – so says our resident tab, technique and tuition expert. “TG keeps me pretty busy,” says Mr B, “so easy, repetitive exercises that I can drop in and out of work best for me. Take a look at our Workout on page 48 and get practising!” STAN BULL After (just about) recovering from the Christmas break, Stan has settled into his new role at TG. “One of my New Year’s resolutions is to work on my own playing, as improving my technique is something I keep putting off. Luckily the 2020 Guitar Workout makes for an excellent starting point.” ALEX LYNHAM TG’s resident pedal expert has been waxing lyrical about Digitech’s…

Finck Plank NIN guitarist gets a signature Reverend With Trent Reznor reportedly planning on a busy year for Nine Inch Nails recording and touring, Robin Finck’s new Reverend signature models could see plenty of action in 2020 – and they look built for it, too. Based on Reverend’s Sensei shape (sans Bigsby), the Robin Finck signature (price TBC) features a Korina body, bound ebony fingerboard, Railhammer Chisel ceramic humbuckers, Tune-o-matic bridge and stop bar tailpiece, volume and Reverend’s versatile Bass Contour controls with a three-way switch. The Railhammer pickups use two types of magnet bespoke to the wound and plain strings. The ‘rail’ magnet is for the wound strings and there’s enlarged pole magnets for the plain strings. The advantage of this design is said to result in tighter low…

1 “This is my signature guitar, the Dellinger-JSM. It’s got some cool features that are unique to it, and some that are a first for Caparison which I was really excited about.” 2 The body is mahogany and the top is walnut, which gives it a unique sound. I find it to be little bit darker than a lot of typical bolt-on-neck guitars.” 3 “The neck is maple with walnut reinforcement, which is something we fought for over the years, and it’s a really cool feature to have on any guitar. If you’re touring it’s much more impervious to the elements than say a two-piece neck or something like that. So we’ve had really good luck with these.” 4 “This is the first edition Caparison did with a pickguard, which…

Wouldn’t You Ratherfeatures both Myles and Mark on guitar – each, most likely, double-amped through PRS MT15, Cornford RK100 (Mark), Diezel Herbert and VH4 amps (Myles). For general riffing, most of their drive tones come from their amps – but pairing a distortion pedal with your amp might get you closer to the recorded sound. If you’re after a more authentic sound we’d recommend using an amp modeler and exploring Bogner and Mesa/ Boogie presets. Finally, make sure to use a bridge-position humbucker.…

Okay, stick with us here! We all know that scales aren’t that exciting, but the CAGED system will transform the way you play. You already know open C, A, G, E and D chords, right? The CAGED system plots these beginner-friendly shapes across the fretboard as barre chords, helping you play all the way up and down the neck. To transfer this to lead guitar, you’ll be linking a scale with each chord, and that’s not as hard as it sounds. The chords are relatively easy and the scales have similar finger patterns, so you’ll soon be blazing around the fretboard. 1 C SHAPE Play an open C shape, move it up two frets and make sure to use a barre. You’ll get this D chord. This is the…

“Have you heard of David Tronzo, man? You should look up some of his YouTube videos – he comes up with some pretty wild shit. I haven’t done anything that wild, like playing slide with a shotgun barrel. But I did once use motorcycle handlebars. When I was sixteen, my friend’s family owned a Triumph and Harley-Davidson shop. I don’t remember how, but I bought these handlebars, got a hacksaw – then I had a lifetime’s supply of slides. “What’s funny is, I still have that slide, and when we started doing the acoustic set, about four years ago, I was having a hard time getting the notes to punch out. So I went back and started trying metal, got the old handlebar out – and that’s what I’ve been…

The 1980s saw rock music producers taking production values to new levels, with bands like Def Leppard and Bon Jovi releasing albums whose sound would define an era. For guitarists wishing to recreate some classic tones, that means firing up a few effects pedals. Top of any pedalboard essentials list would be modulation (chorus, flanger etc) and delay. Usually associated with ringing cleans, modulation effects were also commonplace on drive tones for solos. Delay is essential for slick leads, but the real secret weapon is the humble compressor, which will tame peaks in your signal and deliver authentic smooth leads. This month’s Jam Track is inspired by soft rock and ballads from the 80s. There are no direct shortcuts to play in the style, but, when it comes to soloing,…

Following last month’s announcement of the British company’s debut nylon-string acoustic, the Lyra, Faith has announced another first - this time, in the shape of a baritone model. Its body shape is based on a Faith favourite, the baby-jumbo Neptune. The HiGloss Neptune Baritone (£1,099) features a 680mm scale length for tuning to lower registers and features an Englemann spruce top with solid rosewood back and sides and flamed maple binding. The fingerboard, bridge, headstock plate and heelcap are Macassan ebony. This electro model is fitted with the Fishman INK3 preamp system that features an onboard chromatic tuner, three-band EQ and volume control. The under-saddle piezo pickup is Fishman’s Sonicore.…

With their triumphant hard rock debut My Generation, already on general release, The Who would follow up with this single in the Spring of 1966. The band already had form for non-album hits. Just a year earlier I Can’t Explain had dropped – and both tracks remain fan favourites to this day. Here you’ll be looking at guitarist Pete Townshend’s tight strumming technique and the chords he used to create the song’s opening riff. Townshend’s approach to rhythm guitar has always been, shall we say, forceful! And, though windmilling with your strumming arm is all good fun, we’d say it’s more important to get Pete’s super-tight timing down first. Initially then, strum firmly but keep your movements small and efficient – excessive motion can affect your timing as each strum…

BOSS WAZA-AIR This wireless headphone system aims to restore the natural dimension, resonance, and ‘moving air’ feel of a real amp. The system offersthree different sound environments, while its tones and controls come courtesy of Boss’ stage-class Katana amps. Five amp types deliver tones from clean to high-gain, plus a full-range voice for bass or electro-acoustic. There are also more than 50 effect types, including mod, delay and reverb options, and the system comes loaded with six onboard memories to store setups. (£378, www.boss.info) JOYO TC-1 TONE CHAIN This easy-to-use multi-effects boasts footswitches for distortion, overdrive, delay and tap tempo (which also functions as a tuner), with each available as a separate effect. Each effect has its own adjustable parameters – mix, feedback and time for delay; gain, level, tone…

It’s understandable you’ll have go-to sounds on the Amp1 that you want to call up quickly with the footswitches, and BluGuitar caters for that with Preset Mode. In the default Standard Mode, the left pedal switches between the clean and a drive channel, the middle switch activates boost and the right switch kicks in the reverb. Preset mode allows you to assign Clean, Vintage, Classic, Modern, Boost or Reverb to any of the three switches. You can use a standard amp footswitch or BluGuitar’s own Remote1 to add in even more options too.…

1 AMP MODELS  The Mustang LT covers all the tonal ground you’re likely to need, from classic Fender cleans to higher-gain models 2 EFFECTS  With 25 effects built-in, the Mustang has you covered for dynamics, modulation, filters, pitch-shifting, delay, reverb and more! 3 USB  This lightweight combo can also double as an audio interface for recording your guitar to your computer From apps to computer software, mini headphone amps to rackmount modellers, there’s no shortage of products available for us to plug into in order to practise playing the guitar. If anything, the amount of choice can be somewhat overwhelming, with interfaces replacing your amp, your amp doubling as an interface, all with pretty much everything you actually need under the hood. “UN-FUSSY SIMPLICITY AND INTERESTING SOUNDS”…

What can I expect from the cheapest in the series? Value, and plenty of it. Sure, the Novo has a laminate construction, with spruce on top and walnut on the back and sides, but at this price the finish is immaculate. Here, Washburn has plumped for okoume for the neck, which offers a more lightweight – and cheaper – alternative to mahogany. That finish looks a bit different... It’s Gloss Charcoal Burst, and while it might not be the traditionalist’s choice it nonetheless complements Washburn’s tonewood choices nicely. And besides, if you’re going all-in for that moody singer-songwriter vibe it might be more your speed than cherry red. What makes this so good for beginners? It’s so playable. Sharing the same slim C neck profile as the others in the…

There has never been a pre-show vibe more calm. Jimmy Eat World’s latest album, Surviving, was released last night; another sold-out beckons tonight, and it’s just, well - it’s just so quiet. All is well; serene. Maybe that is due to the gear decisions Jim Adkins and Tom Linton made some time ago, having had the Fractal Axe-Fx units recommended to them by Kenny Andrews of Failure. Now, they place all their faith – and their tone – in their Fractal Axe-Fx III units. It makes life easy. They wheel in a case, use MIDI switching systems from RJM to access their tones, and off they go. There’s definitely something to be said for trusty, reliable old gear; no meltdowns to be found here. Elsewhere, Adkins uses his signature Telecasters…

DON’T PUT THE GUITAR DOWN “Just always have a guitar on you. As long as you don’t annoy your partner or family, you can sit there hammering out scales watching TV. You don’t even need to hear it, you get your fingers used to whatever exercise or lick it is. It will always go in, even if you’re not really consciously practising and stuck into some movie or TV show.” KEEP AN EYE ON THE ANGLE OF YOUR WRIST “The main thing for me was learning Battery by Metallica and playing it over and over again, all day long. I remember when I couldn’t do that – and it was so frustrating. I realised a lot of it came down to your wrist angle. If you hold your wrist out…

Though remembered by many as the guitarist who played slide on the extended outro of Derek And The Dominos’ rock epic, Layla, there’s actually a huge amount of other Duane Allman material to check out. In this month’s lesson, we’re concentrating on his standard-tuned non-slide soloing, which played an equal part in establishing Duane’s credentials – particularly the attention-grabbing solo at the end of Wilson Pickett’s cover version of The Beatles’ Hey Jude, which would make Duane known to Eric Clapton, pre-Layla. Duane was well-regarded enough by top industry figures of the day to be taken on as a full time session musician at FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, playing for Aretha Franklin, Otis Rush, Boz Scaggs and many others. Though Duane is probably most associated with a Goldtop Gibson…

“I’m always looking for something different,” says singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, drummer and clarinetist Andy Shauf. “My hands want to go C to G to A minor and F, but instead if you think about it melodically there are so many ways you can go. Follow the melody and look at the chords later.” Over the past decade the Canadian artist has built up a reputation with award-nominated albums such as 2016’s eclectic The Party and, the year before, The Bearer Of Bad News. The latter features his signature tune, the dark, eight-minute murder ballad Wendell Walker, and demonstrates his skills as a storyteller and multi-instrumentalist. Shauf plays all the instruments on his superb new record The Neon Skyline, a warmly down-home concept album that channel The Beatles, Paul Simon…

1 CLEAN CHANNEL The clean channel offers a good balance between West Coast boutique warmth and Fender cut for various pickup types and is an ideal platform for widening the Iridium’s scope even wider alongside the amp’s own boost and your overdrive pedals. 2 NOISE GATE On the Amp1’s left side are tone and volume Custom Controls for fine-tuning individual channels to your specific guitar/s, a parallel and serial FX loop switch and the three-mode Noise Gate; Off, Soft offering minimal gating between playing and Metal – a very good hard gate that proves especially effective for the Modern channel. 3 NANOTUBE The sub-miniature vacuum tube used for the power amp here is soldered into place and more resilient than traditional tubes. It offers a very long…

What is the pickup system like? Those who have played Washburn’s Apprentice series of electro-acoustics will be familiar with the Barcus Berry LX4 pickup. Positioned on the shoulder of the instrument, with the pickup fitted underneath the saddle, the LX4 features an onboard tuner, and controls for bass, middle, treble, volume and presence. Like the others in the series, we find the Allure offering well-balanced tones, and the LX4 doesn’t step all over the guitar’s natural voice. The arm rest is a nice touch. Does it make much of a difference? It is and it does! The Studio body shape already sees the Bella Tono series prioritise comfort, but the super-smooth bevel is very kind on the forearm. And what about that fretboard inlay? It’s quite insane. And there’s nothing…