Innehållsförteckning för October 2023 från Total Guitar

“Some of what you practise should sound sh*t, because then you know you are working on something that needs to be worked on” – so says Guthrie Govan in our interview on p46. Now, while my inner stand-up comic retorts, “Well, I must be doing it right then!”, it’s worth noting what a solid point Guthrie makes. Go beyond your comfort zone and gradually you’ll improve. It’s a point made in a different way by Sophie Lloyd, who also appears in the mag with a bespoke video lesson she’s made. She identifies three elements of practice (speed, accuracy, play clean), but recommends working on only two at a time. A key part of practice is breaking down the music you play into its constituent parts. Refine each bit separately, technique…

FIND YOUR AUDIO AT BIT.LY/TG376AUDIO Welcome to our huge All-Star Masterclass feature! This month we’ve recruited some of the world’s finest players to help you improve your playing. Heading up this mammoth 40+ page extravaganza is a selection of video lessons from Cory Wong, Sophie Lloyd, Josh Middleton and more, plus a raft of bite-sized tips and bespoke advice from acts such as The Darkness, Iron Maiden, Philip Sayce, Guthrie Govan and, well, we’ll let you discover the rest. Along the way, you’ll find some ‘play in the style of’ tab examples that illustrate our star contributors’ advice, so grab a guitar, follow the link shown here to navigate to the audio and video content, and let’s get rocking!…

As one of the most respected players working in funk right now, Cory Wong is widely regarded as the Nile Rodgers for the next generation. Ahead of his UK tour in October, he explains how to make sure you stay right in that pocket and reveals the chords that can get you through any musical scenario… Your right hand is often described as a motor – always ticking along even in between the notes you play… “What I noticed early on is that a lot of things feel easier when all the downstrokes are on the beat or on an ‘and’. And all the ‘e’ and ‘a’ notes are played using an upstroke. If I live by that philosophy, that means my right hand is just pulsing 16th notes the…

“STRING BENDING IS A BIG PART OF BLUES PLAYING” LISTEN TO ALBERT COLLINS The first thing that comes to mind whenever I’m having a conversation about digging into the blues and taking it to the next level is ‘Listen to Albert Collins!’ He played some of the most tricky, powerful and terrifying stuff as far as blues players go. I’m always blown away by the tremendous power he had in his hands, from the pick attack with the thumb and index finger. He’d get under the low wound string and just snap it and pop it. And then with the index finger he would hammer an unwound string maybe an octave or two octaves up. So if the note was D, he’d hit the open wound string and then pop…

In this lesson Dweezil shows you a few licks to help you visualise the fretboard as three sets of two adjacent strings and he demonstrates why this is useful. As he says, “Most of you are probably well familiar with the A minor pentatonic scale played in 5th position (ex1). Within this pattern, there are three specific shapes that can be played on adjacent strings. Using this 5th-position pattern, I can visualise these different shapes of minor pentatonic that fall on each set of adjacent strings.” What he’s getting at is that you don’t need to make it business as usual running up and down a scale you know only too well. You can mix it up and get more creative mileage by thinking in different shapes. And if the…

Joe Bonamassa is one of the world’s most popular blues-rock guitarists, a top producer and de facto ambassador of the blues. Here he takes you through his own creative take on the blues turnaround. Joe tells us, “I came up with an unusual approach to the turnaround that sometimes freaks people out a little bit… based on sliding half-step bends, so they can sound a little jarring, in that they are not perfectly in tune. If you have perfect pitch, watch out! There’s a bit of a rub in the way these half-step bends sit on top of the chords. In fact, that is what I like about them. To my ears, this turnaround technique sounds very expressive and provides some of the ‘grease’ that I love to hear in…

CLASSIC TRACK Coffee & TV is a sunkissed pop classic built on a thunking Tele rhythm. The song kicks off in earnest with the chunky chording at 0:14. “It’s that thing of updating cheesy cliches; I like doing that,” Coxon told TG back in 2012. “That rhythm is very old. I think it’s really a Simon & Garfunkel kind of rhythm.” The chords themselves, he says, “...are just ridiculous. They’re unusual. They’re sort of minor chords played against major chords.” But it’s the effects-laden solo freakout that takes the weirdness biscuit. “I was just stamping on anything,” he says. “I don’t even remember which pedals. I just did that and thought, ‘Pfft, that’ll do for now, but it’s a bit ropey’, and put it aside.” SOUND ADVICE Everything you need…

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 getting hung up on hokey mythology or nonsense marketing speak: we aim to bring you bullsh*t-free opinions on the gear you’re interested in. WE CAN’T BE BOUGHT TG review scores are a true reflection of our experts’ opinion on the product they’ve been testing. You’ll never find a rating in our mag that has been bought and paid for. REAL…

REVIEW Positive Grid’s Spark range of amps has changed the game for plugging in and practising, combining digital modelling, effects and audio streaming with its powerful Auto Chords and Smart Jam features. First there was the desktop Spark 40, next came the more portable Spark Mini, and now, we have the Spark GO. This diminutive box serves as a do-it-all practice solution, sharing the same tech spec sheet as the other two, only this time squeezed into a pocket-sized format. We say squeezed in, but what’s really going on here is that the Spark GO’s settings are handled by the accompanying Spark app where you can create, edit and save sounds, jam along to music from your streaming service, play to backing tracks, and it even has a video capture…

It’s been a whirlwind year for British guitar sensation Sophie Lloyd, who went from being one of the most prominent players online to performing in arenas with Machine Gun Kelly as well as releasing her own music with guest appearances from members of Trivium and Steel Panther. Here she shares some of the most valuable knowledge she’s picked up along the way… In the past you’ve said legato feels like your strong point. How did you develop that fret hand finger strength? “I bought one of those Gripmaster hand exercisers when I was a kid and thought I was so cool on the school bus doing all my squeezes. I don’t think it made any difference to my playing! There’s no replacement for picking up a guitar, feeling those strings…

“I RARELY TOUCH THE GUITAR BEFORE A GIG” YOU HAVE TO EXPERIMENT You can use a lot of different tunings. I keep a lot of guitars around the house in different tunings. That way, when you pick one up different things come out. You have to experiment and see what interests you. Once you know, you have to carry on and try to push your boundaries. Practice is important but use your mind and think. Everyone has a different way of playing. There are a lot of guitar schools where you learn the same chords and scales, which ultimately means people ending up sounding the same. You have to be innovative and remember that nobody does it right. There is no right. There is no best. Everything is what you…

Here in this lesson, bluegrass ace Molly Tuttle demonstrates one of the guitar techniques she relies on the most for both performing and songwriting: the clawhammer fingerstyle technique. The basic clawhammer strumming technique begins with putting your pick hand into a “claw”-type shape, with the thumb and index finger pointed in towards each other. The nails of the index and middle fingers are used to rake across the higher strings while the thumb is used to pluck the lower strings. Molly demonstrates this with some basics before playing a traditional tune titled Little Sadie, which is tabbed below. Before you get started, the first step is to put your guitar into an alternate tuning, one that is similar to a banjo tuning... 01 CLAWHAMMER TUNING NOTES bit.ly/tg376audio This tuning is…

Even if you don’t quite recognise the name Marty Schwartz, you’ll probably have ended up stumbling across his hugely popular Marty Music YouTube videos – viewed in their millions and helping players learn classics riffs, solos and techniques. The fedora-loving educator’s influence is so vast, Epiphone just announced they would be awarding him with his own ES-335 signature. We figured he’d be a great person to tap up for this month’s tips-based issue… Before you started on YouTube, you were a guitar teacher. What’s the biggest mistake all guitarists make? “There are two things that come to mind. The first one is rhythm in general. Guitar out in the wild – not in your bedroom but performing and playing with other people – is 90 per cent rhythm. I’d say…

It’s fair to say that The Darkness’ 2002 debut Permission To Land, played a major part in a rebirth of the pomp and bombast of ’70s and ’80s arena rock and metal. At the heart of the band are Justin and Dan Hawkins, the Les Paul-toting guitar duo evoking the spirit of acts such as Queen, AC/DC et al. But you know all that! What we’re looking at here is the guitar techniques the pair employ. Like almost any hard rock act, powerchords are at the heart of the rhythm parts – no surprises there. Harmonised licks and pentatonics are key to their solos, with fiery Jimmy Page-esque delivery. Aping their heroes Chuck Berry and Angus Young, the Darkness boys take rock ’n’ roll phrasing and turbocharge it, evoking the…

All-star MASTERCLASSJOSH MIDDLETON Following the shock announcement that he was parting ways with Architects back in May, Josh Middleton is back to doing what he does best – churning out an onslaught of finger-twisting riffs and leads on the new Sylosis album, A Sign Of Things To Come. Ahead of the band’s live dates in November, Josh discusses what makes a well-rounded metal musician... Alternate picking is clearly one of your strong points. How did you hone in on that particular technique? “I think it’s really important to be able to alternate pick groups of threes. Because the modes are a big part of lead playing and that’s how they are generally played. It’s not very natural to begin with because if you start on a downstroke, the notes you…

“I’M ESSENTIALLY PREACHING THE ‘WORK ON YOUR EAR’ APPROACH” MUSIC IS A LANGUAGE Everyone’s journey getting acquainted with the guitar is slightly different. Everyone eventually becomes the player they deserve to be based on how they chose to spend their time practising. It’s what they chose to prioritise… that’s what informs the end result. Someone whose goal is to become an improviser might naturally gravitate towards a path like the one I’ve picked – which is based around wanting music to feel like talking. Music is a language, so let’s try to make it feel like my first language. Part of my practice time would therefore be getting things I can hear in my head out onto the fingerboard. If that’s the goal you set yourself, then naturally you will…

Beating writer’s block Misha Mansoor & Jake Bowen Periphery Misha: Sometimes people ask about writer’s block, and maybe if you’re not the kind of person where staying up late works for your schedule and it’s more difficult, just try a different time where you’re not all there. Maybe wake up super early. For me, staying up very late sometimes will yield looking at things differently and it’s a way to take a different perspective on it. Jake: It’s interesting, when we’re writing, because we’ll shift our hours. We all keep pretty normal hours, more or less, when we’re not doing music stuff. But, when it comes to an album, when we’re writing, we’ll shift our hours to where we’re getting going in the afternoon, and then we’ll stay up all…

With much of the track following a riff and distorted powerchords, this classic from Nirvana’s In Utero album may not be an obvious strummer. However, the implied chords are simple and it’s an easy tune to jam around, with or without the riff. Not convinced? Check out Pat Smear’s strummed acoustic accompaniment on the band’s MTV Unplugged album and accompanying concert film. If you tackle All Apologies on electric guitar, Cobain was famously seen performing the (then unreleased) track with a Fender Strat at the band’s legendary 1992 Reading Festival show. A neck position single coil pickup is suitable for the clean and distortion sounds alike – though you may prefer a more conventional bridge humbucker. Kurt’s amps ranged from Randall and Mesa/Boogie heads, Crown power amps, a Fender Twin…

Founded in 2010 by Leigh Dovey, York-based PJD Guitars began getting attention for their single-cut Carey models, followed by their best-selling St John offset, a few years back via UK stockists like Guitar Galleries and Andertons. Unlike many UK makers, Leigh’s ambition lies in the production electric guitar, not the high-end, one-off custom world and they built around 400 guitars in 2022. For this year, along with setting up a new manufacturing space, PJD, who now have a staff of nine, have reconfigured their range – which is where our York Standard comes in. The previous Standards – the entry point to the range – were well-received but were sailing close to £2,000. As you can see, the new Standards are priced very aggressively for a UK-made guitar. ONE OF…

They’re here. Do not attempt to adjust your television set and do not panic. This gilded hybrid is not a creature from another world or an unexplained apparition; it’s merely the latest edition to the ever-popular Squier Paranormal series. Fender purists may want to look away now, as this otherworldly line of guitars twists tradition to conjure up a whole host of unique creations that will leave conformists shaking in their boots. Viewing the Strat through the lens of a ’60s Custom Telecaster, this Nashville model opts for a double-cutaway body that keeps the bound edges, bridge, pickguard and control layout of the Tele while offering players the feel and tone of Fender’s ’54 icon. The result is a striking guitar that is sure to divide the crowd. While we…

Chorus sounds haven’t been as popular as they are right now since the 80s, and one of the biggest proponents of the once-ostracised Grand Fromage of modulation sounds is The Police’s Andy Summers. But here’s the thing: it’s one of the worst-kept secrets of guitar tone that Andy’s distinctive chorus sounds actually came from an Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress Flanger. Now, 40-plus years after the song this pedal takes its name from was released, EHX has now honoured Andy Summers with his own signature flanger. Setup-wise, this is very much a (now-discontinued) Deluxe Electric Mistress with a cool paint job. With three main controls (Color, Range and Rate), plus a dedicated dry output in addition to the regular blended output. The Color control sets the overall intensity of the flanger’s icy…