Innehållsförteckning för October 2020 från Total Guitar

Marty Friedman has announced a new solo record, Tokyo Jukebox 3, and if you think you know what to expect from the former Megadeth guitarist by this point in time, guess again. In a post on his official Facebook page announcing the record, he revealed some changes to his sound, including ditching effects like reverb and delay. “Just like everyone, I’ve had a real tough time dealing with 2020,” Friedman said. “We all suffered from a massive lack of fun this year, so I made it my mission to make feel-good, serotonin level raising music of the highest order, stuff that will hopefully kick you all in the feels, and hard. “Making the album during a pandemic had its hellish challenges, but everyone is facing hardships now, so I was…

“I’m very proud to be still playing with my British brothers,” says Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse. Though he’s regarded by some as the band’s new guitar player – taking over from original virtuoso Ritchie Blackmore and brief touring replacement Joe Satriani in 1994 – the American has actually been their longest-serving gunslinger by over a decade. The hard rock pioneers’ 21st album, titled Whoosh!, is their seventh with Morse. And while their legacy is one built on sonic evolution, fusing all kinds of progressive, blues and metallic thunder into its own mutative wall of noise, certain shades of Deep Purple have always been a staple... “Diversity has been a big part of the sound,” says Steve, referring back to the game-changing interplay between Blackmore and keyboard player Jon Lord,…

IT ’s little more than a year since their debut album came out, but Fontaines D.C.’s lives are unrecognizable from the scrappy newcomers that began 2019. That album, Dogrel, was universally acclaimed and landed top 10 chart positions on both sides of the Irish Sea. Upon its release, they were playing pubs in their native Dublin; their last show before lockdown was to a sold out Brixton Academy. Anticipation was at boiling point for their follow-up album, A Hero’s Death. They narrowly lost a chart battle for the #1 slot to Taylor Swift, despite lacking Swift’s enormous PR muscle and being unable to do any promotional gigs. It’s hard to avoid clichés about whirlwinds and rollercoasters to describe such a rapid rise to stardom, but as guitarists Carlos O’Connell and…

70 years has past since Fender launched its first solid-body electric. A slab of pine with a solitary singlecoil pickup appropriated from a lap steel, the Esquire showcased an adjustable three-saddle bridge, a bolt-on maple neck and a very appealing shape... In short order, via two quick evolutionary and appellative leaps, the Esquire became the Telecaster, and the rest is Fender history. But history has weight. Music, and popular culture as a whole, is governed by a nostalgia that can be gravitational, pulling anyone who thinks outside the box back to earth. It is no different for Fender. How Fender deals with this – the idea that says the best guitars have already been made – is instructive for anyone interested in guitar culture. Maybe the answer is right there…

First appearing in 1954, the Stratocaster has certainly stood the test of time. The double-cutaway body shape has endured, the original three-single-coil layout is the accepted standard configuration, and the five-way selector that evolved in the 70s, well, players had been jamming the early three-way switches into the ‘in between’ positions for years. Though the core Strat ideals remain to this day, specs are continually tweaked and literally hundreds of variants on the original template have been made available over the years. Here, we’re looking at the playing styles and tones of the greatest Strat players of all time. No Strat? No bother – there’s still loads to learn. Let’s get started… JIMI HENDRIX BLUES-ROCK INNOVATOR TRACK 07 Jimi will forever be associated with right-handed Strats, flipped over and restrung…

1. SADDLE UP! The traditional three-saddle bridge inevitably compromises intonation. A set of compensated saddles are a great replacement for the standard one. 2. TOP-LOAD OR THROUGH-BODY? Purists will insist on through-body stringing for the purposes of maximum sustain, but some ‘ashtray’ pickups allow for stringing up through the lip of the bridge. 3. FIVE TONES WITH A FIVE-WAY SWITCH Alongside the standard two-pickup parallel-wired option, you get both pickups in series (a fatter tone), and both in series but out of phase for a thinner, more nasal sound.…

Typical electric guitar pickups, like the 58/15S set here, are magnetic. When you hit a string, the vibrations are translated into electrical signals by the field of magnet/ magnets wrapped in wire coil. It’s the same concept used by microphone manufacturers, engineering transducers to transfer acoustic energy into a signal which can be amplified. Piezos work in a different way. Usually built into the bridge, and nowhere near as visible, they capture the combined pressure of the string and wood vibrations. What you end up hearing is the actual acoustic energy from the guitar, brighter and more wooden than the sound captured by magnetic pickups. It’s this combination of increased articulation and less compression that can give an electric guitar a completely different voice that, while not quite rivalling a…

25 years since he death of Irish blues-rock legend Rory Gallagher, the great man’s work is showcased in a collection released this month. The Best of Rory Gallagher features classic tracks recorded with power trio Taste and as a solo artist, plus a previously unreleased 1973 cover of The Rolling Stones’ (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, on which Rory played alongside one of his heroes, rock’n’roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis. In this photo from 1979, shot for his album Top Priority, Rory is playing the guitar for which he was synonymous – a battered 1961 Fender Stratocaster, his most prized instrument, but he didn’t treat it with kid gloves. As his nephew Daniel Gallagher told Guitarist editor Jamie Dickson: “There is footage of him in 1979 in Montreux, and he…

Brought together by a love of poetry, Fontaines D.C.’s influences cover James Joyce and Joy Division to the Beat poets and the Beach Boys. Releasing two albums in as many years, they’re keeping themselves busy, and this year’s sophomore release A Hero’s Death features the song we’re looking at here, I Don’t Belong – where guitar duo Conor Curley and Carlos O’Connell showcase ingenious atmospheric complementary guitar parts. The trick, if we can call it such, is a constant A note ringing underneath the chords. The shapes are simple – you’ll be playing two-note powerchords on the middle two strings, but that ringing open A gives the song its dark, droning feel. As Fender artists, Jaguars, Mustangs and Telecasters feature in Conor and Carlos’ rigs, alongside Twin Reverb amps –…

Fender’s amp development has mirrored that of the guitars. There are the vintage reissues of the Princeton Reverb, Deluxe Reverb and the Twin Reverb – the perennial valve-combos in the line. But with the Mustang and Tone Master series, Fender has embraced amp modelling tech, the Mustang’s offering onboard effects, digital connectivity and a options for the domestic shredder. The Tone Master series, meanwhile, offers uncanny modelling replicas of the Deluxe and Twin. In a blind taste test, you’d do well to sort valves from digital processor. Lift them up, though, and the Tone Masters are super-light. And that’s progress.…

The Telecaster was one of the earliest electric guitar designs to come from Leo Fender’s Fullerton plant back in 1950. Originally specced with a lone bridge position single-coil pickup and called the Esquire, it would soon receive its neck pickup and change of name – first to Broadcaster, then, following objections from Gretsch, who felt it too similar to their Broadkaster drum kit, to Telecaster. A small number of interim models were made with no name on the headstock, earning themselves the ‘Nocaster’ nomenclature. Here, we’re looking at some classic Tele tones and techniques. Once again, don’t worry if you don’t own the guitar in question. There’s plenty to learn, whatever you play... COUNTRY TRACK 14 Finding favour with country guitarists from its very first iteration through to the present…

For Ride The Lightning, James Hetfield used his white $200 Epiphone Flying V with a Seymour Duncan Invader pickup in the bridge and Kirk opted for his black Gibson Flying V. In place of Hetfield’s Jose Arredondo modded Marshall JCM800 head, which had been stolen after a show in Boston, producer Flemming Rasmussen sourced a stock 1984 JCM800 2203 and paired it with an Ibanez Tube Screamer. The distorted tone is thick and bassy, generating a proper ‘gut-punch’ on palm-muted powerchords. The clean guitar parts are doubled with a 12-string acoustic. If you’re playing solo, use a chorus effect or try a 12-string emulator such as DigiTech’s Mosaic pedal. The original is roughly a quarter-tone sharp but our backing track is at standard A440 pitch.…

£139 We guitarists love a yarn, especially when it comes to tone. Tales of golden-eared wizards crafting away at their breadboards in an attempt to create the Holy Grail of guitar sounds, the virtues of which are spread word-of-mouth by players in the know. If you’re destined for it, it’ll find its way to you. But only once you’re ready. Except the story of Paul Cochrane and the Timmy isn’t a tale. His original late-90s Tim overdrive was well received, but took up too much ’board space. So Paul produced the smaller, four-control version as the Timmy in 2004, helping kickstart the trend for boutique transparent overdrives. But there’s a problem with ‘boutique’; its exclusive nature means that not everyone can get their hands on the product. Enter MXR with…

Nashville’s Soccer Mommy has had quite the rise over the last half-decade. Born Sophia Allison in Switzerland, the 23-year-old has spent the last five years scaling the indie rock precipice – signing to tastemaker label Fat Possum, touring with the likes of Kacey Musgraves, Vampire Weekend and Mistki and dropping out of New York University to pursue music full-time. Since 2016, Allison has released two studio albums, a compilation and numerous singles and demos that are all equally coveted by her ever-growing fanbase. Soccer Mommy’s popularity is largely attributed to her honest, moving music that mixes 90s alternative rock with hints of dream pop and more mainstream early-00s pop-rock, citing the likes of Slowdive, Taylor Swift and Avril Lavigne as influences. Her voice is relatable for many who, like Allison,…

“THE ALL-ROSEWOOD-NECKED STRAT COULD BE SEEN AS SOMETHING OF A LAST HURRAH FOR THE AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL SERIES” Fender has unveiled the 2020 Limited Edition American Professional Stratocaster, which comes equipped with a solid rosewood neck. The neck itself features a deep C profile, with narrow-tall frets, and a laser-etched Fender logo on the headstock. Also, new to the model are a trio of Pure Vintage ’65 Stratocaster single coils – as opposed to the original’s V-Mods – as well as two vintage-inspired finishes: Desert Sand (with gold pickguard) and Fiesta Red. Otherwise, the guitar is spec’d as per the regular American Pro Strat, with an alder body, treble bleed circuit, and 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo with pop-in arm. If recent reports are anything to go by, this model could be seen…

As proved by our Rig Tour features, Fractal’s Axe FX family has become not only a fixture of professional setups, but in many cases it’s the cornerstone of the rig for tonehounds aplenty. For us regular folk there’s always been one drawback, and that’s the cost. But now, after its much-anticipated wait, Fractal has started shipping the FM3: a more affordable amp/cab/FX modeller that shares its tonal DNA with Fractal’s flagship AXE FX III. The FM3 makes use of Fractal’s latest ARES amp modelling - as found in the AXE FX III - and inside this shrunk-down stomper (the same footprint as Fractal’s FC-6 controllers) live over 260 amp models derived from its bigger brother. In addition to this, Fractal has included all of the AXE FX III’s cab impulse…

10 KEY TRACKS Cory Wong takes us on his recent recording journey LUNCHTIME (Motivational Music for the Syncopated Soul, 2019) Obviously who I am as a guitar player is going to be a through-line on every record I make. But it is interesting to have a broader approach on Motivational Music... and Elevator Music For An Elevated Mood. Even though it’s two albums, it’s one big cycle. It was a continued self-discovery of how to explore my artistic vision of joy and fun, combined with rhythm guitar as a lead thing. When you hear the song, how do you know that it’s me? What is it about my sound, my attacks, my releases, the nuances of what I play, which makes somebody recognise it? How can I let my personality…

There’s a rock ’n’ roll cliché about musicians achieving stardom and immediately becoming insufferable. By any standards, IDLES have earned the kind of success that can send egos out of control. Their last album, Joy As An Act Of Resistance, broke their label’s record for most pre-orders, earned them a top 5 chart debut and a stack of awards, and led to a Glastonbury Pyramid slot. Their 190-date 2019 tour climaxed with a headline show at Alexandra Palace that sold out in 24 hours. It’s a relief, then, that they still talk just like the band who used to gig around clubs in Bristol. Their songs rail against sexism, racism, and toxic masculinity, so it would’ve been disappointing if they’d rocked up to the interview full of rockstar pretensions. Still,…

When you are making music, there is no right way of doing things, but you’ve got to create an environment in which nothing can get between you and your ideas. Where you’ve got space to game it out, guitar tones, melodies and all. Take Girl In Red (stylised: girl in red), a lo-fi indie rock project of Norwegian singer-songwriter Marie Ulven. Girl In Red describes the early stage of her writing process as mumbling over chords. It’s tentative. The guitar is there from the start, and crucial, fleshing out the song, but not more so than the context; she’s alone, and that is when she can best open up. “I definitely work best alone while writing lyrics,” says Ulven. “Being alone allows me to write with relaxed shoulders and actually…

1. TONE CONTROL FOR THE BRIDGE PICKUP Locate the wire connecting the Strat’s second tone pot to the pickup selector switch. Unsolder this and move it one tag towards the middle of the switch and solder it back up. 2. BLOCK YOUR TREM Not into the whammy bar? Then block it off. It’s an easy mod that only requires a wedge of hardwood to be jammed between the trem block and the cavity. 3. ELIMINATE NOISE Cover the cavities & scratchplate rear. Ensure no tape touches the circuitry. Connect your shielding in its own circuit and earth it by connecting a wire to the back of a tone pot.…

Fender’s Jazzmaster was released in 1958 as a premium sister model to the Stratocaster. Its target market of jazz guitarists never really took to it, but its warm, twangy tones soon found favour amongst a generation of surf guitarists, then later in alt-rock and indie/ shoegaze. We love the classic Jazz shape here at TG, but it’s easy to mix it up with similar offset lines of Fender’s Jaguar – which would appear in 1962. The principal difference is the scale length (the Jazz is 25.5” compared to the Jag’s 24”). But also look out for the pickups – the Jazz is usually specced with soap bar style single coils, whereas humbuckers and standard single coils are more commonplace on the Jag. Below we inspect a handful of artists, genres…

The tab will of course give you the most authentic approach for this song, but you can easily strum your way through too – Bm, G and A are easy enough, and, if E5 is a stretch, simply switch to an open position Em chord instead. G6, Bm11, Asus2/4 and Aadd9 are the shapes used in the outro. The open high E string gives a rich, colourful sound to these chords and you could also experiment with an open B string, too. PLAY GOD Words and Music by Sam Fender Copyright © 2017 Kobalt Music Services Ltd KMS All Rights Administered by Kobalt Music Group Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission of Hal Leonard Europe Ltd.…