20 t h Win over £4,000 Worth of gear

A nni v ers
A ry
e di T ion
40-prize bundle to win!
see p32

play better now! #263

february 2015
£5.50

20 Two decades
of TG
+

lessons

Reviewed
The full story behind Matt
Bellamy’s £500 signature
february 2015 PrINTeD IN THe uK £5.50
 editor’s letter

Welcome…
future PubliShing
Quay House, THe ambury, baTH, ba1 1ua
Tel: 01225 442244 Fax: 01225 822763
email: totalguitar@futurenet.com
Website: www.totalguitar.co.uk

Editorial
editor Stuart Williams
Content editor rob laing
reviews editor Dave burrluck
Deputy reviews editor Michael brown
managing editor Josh gardner
Production editor gary Walker I was 12 years old when the first issue of TG
art editor leanne O’hara
senior music editor Jason Sidwell
music editor Chris bird
hit the shelves at the end of 1994, and about
music Co-ordinator natalie Smith
editor at Large neville Marten
a year later I first picked up the guitar. With its
Contributors song tabs, backing tracks, lessons, interviews and
Steve allsworth, Phil Capone, Darran Charles, trevor Curwen,
rich Chamberlain, Stephen Daultrey, Charlie griffiths, nick guppy,
Jonathan horsley, Steve lawson, andy Mcgregor, Matthew Parker,
gear reviews, tg became my teacher and guide
adam rees, Mick taylor, niko tsonev, James uings, henry yates
through this exciting new world.
music engraver Simon troup
audio mastering Duncan Jordan
Video Production Martin holmes
Whatever was happening with popular guitar
Photography Joe branston, adam gasson, neil godwin, Kevin nixon,
gavin roberts, Joby Sessions, Jesse Wild, Will ireland music, from britpop to nu metal, garage rock to
advErtising
Phone: 01225 442244 Fax: 01225 732285
pop-punk, djent to folk revivals, tg has always
For advertising queries, please contact
alison Watson alison.watson@futurenet.com
been right there. 19 years later, i’ve still never sat
MarkEting down for a ‘real’ lesson, but i’ve always read tg.
Group marketing manager laura Driffield
marketing manager Kristianne Stanton Some would say it shows! i’d say it has allowed
ProduCtion & distribution
Production Controller frances twentyman me to learn the stuff i wanted to, and get the maximum enjoyment out
Production manager Mark Constance
Printed in the uK by: William gibbons & Sons ltd on behalf of future
Distributed by: Seymour Distribution ltd, 2 east Poultry avenue,
of playing guitar – no preaching, no elitism; no ‘bad’ guitar music. hell, it’s
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Overseas distribution by: Seymour international
even given me a career. every word in tg is written by people who live for
CirCulation playing the guitar, not least the mag’s five previous editors, who share their
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subsCriPtions
happiest memories of the mag with you below.
uK reader order line & enquiries: 0844 848 2852
Overseas reader order line & enquiries: +44 (0)1604 251045 Speaking of which, i’d like to talk about song tabs. removing tab from tg
Online enquiries: www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk
email: totalguitar@myfavouritemagazines.co.uk was a decision that none of us took lightly. last year, i mentioned on this
liCEnsing
International Licensing Director regina erak, regina.erak@futurenet.com
very page that we listen to our readers, and you’ve spoken! Which is why i
Tel: +44 (0)1225 442244 Fax: +44 (0)1225 732275
couldn’t be happier to announce that as of next issue we’ll be bringing our
ManagEMEnt
Content & marketing Director nial ferguson
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Strum along, full tab pages and backing tracks back to the mag, making
Group editor-In-Chief Daniel griffiths
Group art Director graham Dalzell
tg the best value, best quality, mag out there. So happy birthday, Total
Next issue on sale 16 February 2015 Guitar – here’s to many more. See you next month.
Printed in the uK by William gibbons on behalf of future.
Distributed in the uK by Seymour Distribution ltd, 2 east Poultry avenue,
london, eC1a 9Pt. tel: 0207 429 4000

the abC combined print

20 Years of tG editors sPeaK!
and digital circulation for
Jan-Dec 2013 is:

a member of the 19,262 Karl foster tim tucKer

audited bureau
of Circulations Print: 16,744 Digital: 2,488 (tG creator, (editor 1994-1997)
editor issue 1) “FaVourITe
Future is an award-winning international media group and
leading digital business. We reach more than 49 million
“TG was a hit from memory of tg? stuart Williams, editor
international consumers a month and create world-class issue 1, justifying its i’ll go with the
content and advertising solutions for passionate attitudinal title; for a time, it might interview with Paul Weller, my
consumers online, on tablet & smartphone and in print.
have been called ‘improve your guitar childhood hero, for issue 50. i got
Future plc is a public Chief executive Zillah Byng-Maddick Playing’, shudder! With the help of great treatment from Weller and had
company quoted on the Non-executive chairman Peter Allen guitar legends Steve hackett and Paul a wonderful chat about his career.
London Stock Exchange Chief financial officer Richard Haley
(symbol: FUTR). Tel +44 (0)207 042 4000 (London) Samson, the team and i produced it and then i spotted noel gallagher
www.futureplc.com Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244 (Bath) bang on schedule, pushing the hovering about for a surprise support
envelope with headings like ‘beef up slot. ‘go ask him,’ said Paul, so i did.
All contents copyright © 2015 Future Publishing Limited or published under licence. All rights reserved. No
part of this magazine may be reproduced, stored, transmitted or used in any way without the prior written your flange’ and illustrating a We got two star interviews and an
permission of the publisher. fuzzroundup with baked beans.” epic cover story that day.”
Future Publishing Limited (company number 2008885) is registered in England and Wales. Registered
office: Registered office: Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA. All information contained in this
publication is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press.
Future cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. You are advised HarrY WileY scott roWleY stePHen laWson
to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price and other details of products or
services referred to in this publication. Apps and websites mentioned in this publication are not under our
(editor, 1997-2000) (editor 2000-2004) (editor, 2004 -2011)
control. We are not responsible for their contents or any changes or updates to them. “Harry was on tg “my favourite total “beING paid to
If you submit unsolicited material to us, you automatically grant Future a licence to publish your submission
in whole or in part in all editions of the magazine, including licensed editions worldwide and in any physical from issue one, and guitar moment? throw a guitar (albeit
or digital format throughout the world. Any material you submit is sent at your risk and, although every became editor in 1997. first of all, it has to one that was in its
care is taken, neither Future nor its employees, agents or subcontractors shall be liable for loss or damage.
he was fun to work with, always on be the the relief i felt when we found case) from a second floor window in
We are committed to only using magazine paper the lookout for new bands, and could our audience outside of britpop the name of ‘research’ was one
which is derived from well managed, certified often be heard playing Stone roses, – having success with a new breed highlight! but also working with an
forestry and chlorine-free manufacture. future
Publishing and its paper suppliers have been Smiths, radiohead (he went to school of bands was amazing. My favourite incredibly talented bunch of people,
independently certified in accordance with the with a couple of them!), elliot Smith or ever feature was the famous getting to meet Slash and Ozzy
rules of the fSC (forest Stewardship Council). nick Drake songs in the office. Sadly, Dimebag one, but to take Slipknot Osbourne… the list could go on.
in March 2002, harry passed away from the worst-selling cover stars Picking a favourite memory from
aged just 33.” to the best in a couple of years was such a great period of time is a fun
 JasonSidwell a real buzz.” but impossible task!”

february 2015 3
 contents
monitor
First Look PrS S2 Custom 24 ����������������������������������������� 006
Riff Of The Month Slayer – Raining Blood ������������������ 008
On The Road black Star riders���������������������������������������� 010
Scale Of The Month Major Scale���������������������������������� 012
Guitar Shop Ammo Disco ���������������������������������������������� 014
In Praise Of fender Jazzmaster ������������������������������������� 016
Splurge, Save, Steal Coil-splittable shredders ������� 018
WTF? / Bring The Noise��������������������������������������������������� 020
In The Loop Country ���������������������������������������������������������� 022
In The Studio Thunder������������������������������������������������������� 023
Sound Advice expression pedal effects ���������������������� 024
On The Up eaves, Swimmers, Shattered Skies ������������� 026
Albums This month’s best guitar releases ����������������� 028
Five Minutes Alone Mike Campbell���������������������������� 030
Win! an incredible £4,000-worth of gear! ����������������� 032
Rig Tour Mastodon ������������������������������������������������������������ 035

Features
20 Years Of TG Take a trip down memory lane ������ 042
COVER FEATURE: 20 Guitar Lessons To
20 Guitar lessons Change The Way You Play We celebrate our
birthday by showing you how to get better ������������������ 046
to chanGe the Way you play

From altered tuninG to soloinG Faster, We’ll shoW
you hoW to overhaul your playinG and make you better
Contents: Will Ireland Philip Sowels Joby Sessions Simon Lees Adam Gasson
Sylosis Josh Middleton’s metal tips ������������������������������ 068
046 Blackberry Smoke Southern-fried rockers ���������������� 072
Blues Pills Dorian Sorriaux is old before his time ����� 078

068 sylosis: 072 blackberry 016

metal tips smoke in praise oF…

4 february 2015
 issue 263 February 2015
WIN
£4,000 !
OF GEAR
p32

086 round-up
Guild neWark st collection

Gear
Cort Manson MbC-1 Matthew bellamy Signature ��� 082
Laney a1+ �������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 088
epiphone Ltd ed Lee Malia Les Paul Custom ��������������� 089
Round-up Guild Newark St Collection�������������������������� 090
Matrix elements Vintage british 800 ���������������������������� 094
laney a1+ 88 010 black star riders
TC electronic flashback Triple Delay ����������������������������� 095
Quick Tests Mooer ShimVerb Pro, electric Loog ������ 096
Accessories �������������������������������������������������������������������������� 097

techniques
Guitar Workout artificial Harmonics ������������������������� 101
Guest Lesson Ola englund����������������������������������������������� 104
tc electronic Get Your Grades rockschool ����������������������������������������� 106
095 Flashback triple
Get Your Grades rGT ������������������������������������������������������� 107

riG tour: 035 SubScribe now & Save!

mastodon Subscribe to Total Guitar on p108 and get a Blackstar Fly 3 amp!

february 2015 5
 first look…
Standard
issue
PRS unleashes the
all-mahogany, American-
made S2 Custom 24

F
or anyone after an authentic PRS
playing and sound experience, but
without the requisite income for
a top-dollar model, the S2 series has been
a dream come true. And the choice is only
getting bigger with the introduction of the
S2 Standards, featuring a new incarnation
of the classic Custom 24.
The S2 Standard 24 sets itself apart from
its Custom forebear via a solid mahogany
body and set mahogany Pattern Regular
neck for hearty midrange and weighty
lows. Elsewhere, the pickup configuration
is the same – a PRS S2 HFS in the bridge
and Vintage Bass in the neck – as are the
PRS vibrato and locking tuners. There’s a
huge choice of finishes, too: Antique White,
Black, McCarty Tobacco, Sienna, Vintage
Cherry and this lovely Seafoam Green.
Price-wise, the S2 Standard 24 comes in
at £1,198, while the love ’em or hate ’em
bird inlays add £118. Of course, these aren’t
the only PRS guitars to be announced in
recent months – expect a review of the new
sub-£400 SE Standard models next issue…

Photography: Simon Lees

6 february 2015
 first look monitor

The S2 Standard 24 sets

itself apart from its Custom
forebear via solid mahogany
body and set mahogany
Pattern regular neck

february 2015 7
 monitor section

riff of the month

BEAM ME Up
blackstar launches the
bluetooth-ready id:Core beam
4 5 6 4 5 6
3 7 3 7 BUiLdiNg oN its iD:Core range, Blackstar has

video
2
1
8
9
2
1
8
9
unveiled the BEAM, a Bluetooth-enabled amp and
0 10 0 10 music streaming system, which is voiced to handle

lesson
4 5 6 4 5 6 4 5 6 electric, acoustic and bass guitars. it packs two 10-watt
3 7 3 7 3 7
speakers, six electric guitar voices and 12 digital effects,
2 8 2 8 2 8
1 9 1 9 1 9
plus UsB connectivity and emulated line out for easy
tm recording. the iD:Core BEAM will be available from
y/tg 263 ro
0 10 0 10 0 10

w w w.b it .l 4 5 6 4 5 6 4 5 6 March for £229.

3 7 3 7 3 7
2 8 2 8 2 8
1 9 1 9 1 9
0 10 0 10 0 10

4 5 6 4 5 6 4 5 6
3 7 3 7 3 7
2 8 2 8 2 8
1 9 1 9 1 9
0 10 0 10 0 10

4 5 6 4 5 6 4 5 6 4 5 6
3 7 3 7 3 7 3 7
2 8 2 8 2 8 2 8

Slayer
1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9
0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10

3
4 5 6
7 3
4 5 6
7 3
4 5 6
7 3
4 5 6
7 CooL to
tHE ’CorE
2 8 2 8 2 8 2 8
1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9
0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10

4 5 6 4 5 6 4 5 6
tracks 02-03
4 5 6

ibanez adds Premium

raining Blood 0:33
3 7 3 7 3 7 3 7
2 8 2 8 2 8 2 8
1
0 10
9 1
0 10
9 1
0 10
9 1
0 10
9
and Prestige models to
4 5 6 4 5 6 4 5 6 4 5 6 the roadcore line

I
n Raining Blood, Kerry King and
Jeff Hanneman deliver one of
3 7 3 7 3 7 3 7
2 8 2 8 2 8 2 8
1 9 1 9 1 9 CHANNEL
1 9Distortion For 2015, ibanez is expanding its roadcore line with
0

5
10 0

5
10 0

5
10 0

5
10

5
the Premium rC720 (£549) and made-in-Japan
the catchiest thrash metal riffs 3
4 6
7 3
4 6
7 3
4 6
7 3
4 6
7 3
4 6
7 Prestige rC1320 (£969). the rC720 packs two
of all time. Solid timekeeping is 2 8 2 8 2 8 2 8 2 8 Core-tone humbuckers and a Charcoal Brown
1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9
Flat-finished mahogany body, while the rC1320 loads
crucial, so make sure the open 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10
coil-splittable seymour Duncan 59 and JB
sixth string notes lock in with the gain
4 5 6 bass
4 5 6 mid
45 6
treble
4 5 6 reverb
4 5 6
humbuckers into its Dark Brown sunburst-finished
3 7 3 7 3 7 3 7 3 7
drum hits, and use downpicking 2 8 2 8 2 8 2 8 2 8 mahogany body. Both models will be available in
to add aggression and drive. 1
0 10
9 1
0 10
9 1
0 10
9 1
0 10
9 1
0 10
9
February – expect reviews soon…
While playing the gallop rhythm, 4 5 6 4 5 6 4 5 6 A guItAr 4 5 with
6 a 4 5 6
3 7 3 7 3 7 3 7 3 7
use a ‘down up down’ picking 2 8 2 8 2
humbucker
8 2
in the
8
bridge
2 8

sequence and pay close attention 1 9 1 9 1 position

9 1 is ideal9 for1this 9
0 10 0 10 0 10
song. if you have a
0 10 0 10
to the snare and cymbal crashes, 4 5 6 4 5 6 single-coil pickup, you’ll 4 5 6

as they mark out the accented 3

2
7
8
3
2
7
need
8
to lower the
3
treble
2
7
8
notes on beats 2 and 4. by locking 1 9 1 and
9 boost the gain 1and 9
Guitars and backing: Jamie Hunt Photo: © Tim Mosenfelder/Corbis

in with these drum hits, you can

0 10 0 10
bass on your amp to 0 10

5 4 5 6
4 6
achieve a chunkier 3tone.
check your timing and perform 3 7
this is a high-gain 2sound, 8
7
2 8
the riff with absolute precision. so
9 you’ll need an amp that 9
CrUsH ’EM ALL
1 1

Palm muting plays a big part in 0 10

can deliver some serious
0 10

5 4 5 6
achieving the chunky, thrash 3
4 6
dirt,
7 or, alternatively3 to plug7
in8 a distortion pedal
metal sound. The unmuted 2
1 between
9 your guitar
2
1 9
8
Orange launches new Crush
melody notes contrast with this 0 10
and amp.
0 10
solid-state combos for 2015
by ringing out at full volume, 3
4 5 6
7
5
3
4 6
7
enabling the single-note lines to 2 8 2 8 Brit AMp legend orange is bulking up its practice
cut through as much as the heavy 1
0 10
9 1
0 10
9
amp range with four new combos, which boast
sections do. This song is in 4 5 6
a high-gain, four-stage preamp design, custom
All our Video Lessons are online at totalguitar.co.uk/
eb standard tuning, so tune your
3 7 speakers and Cabsim-loaded headphone outputs.
video. to go to this lesson, type www.bit.ly/tg263rotm
2 into
the Crush 12, 20, 20rt and 35rt – the rts come
guitar to eb ab Db Gb bb eb in order
8

your browser. 1
0 10
9
with digital reverb and a chromatic tuner – range from
to play along. 4 5 6 £79 to £199; look out for a review next issue.
3 7
2 8
1 9
8 february 2015 0 10

4 5 6
3 7
 monitor section

on the road…
2
mar

21
mar

“Istillgetabuzzfromplayingthe
Lizzysongs.They’rejustabsolute
guitarvehicles.youcanhearitin
theaudience.youseethemlift”

10 february 2015

Black Star Riders
TherearefewerClassAs,buttheLizzyalumniareaclassact…
I
“ t got wild,” remembers Scott Gorham of
the Thin Lizzy campaigns of the mid-70s.
“When you’ve got a guy like Phil Lynott
fronting this thing, who loved women and all
the Class A drugs that were going, it was
a party every night. After a while, it became
second nature. Like, this is what you do…”
The backstage might be less bacchanalian,
but scan the setlists for March’s UK tour and
you’ll note the shared DNA of Black Star Riders
and Thin Lizzy. The Riders, to recap, were
formed as a Lizzy offshoot in 2012, when
Gorham conceded that new studio material
under that hallowed name was a “touchy
subject” given Lynott’s death in 1986. They’ve
since recorded two whip-cracking albums –
including February’s The Killer Instinct – but
can’t resist playing the odd venue-detonating
trump card. “I’m looking forward to playing
the new songs,” says Gorham, who’ll be armed
with an Axcess Les Paul, Engl E650 and
Jim Dunlop Jerry Cantrell Wah. “Y’know,
Soldierstown, Through The Motions, The Killer
Instinct. But I still get a buzz from playing the
Lizzy songs. They’re just absolute guitar
vehicles. You can hear it in the audience.
You see them lift.
“The first time I played songs like Waiting
For An Alibi, Bad Reputation and The Boys Are
Back In Town, I was emotional, man,” recalls
guitarist Damon Johnson, whose gigbag
includes a 90s Les Paul, ESP Eclipse and
Wizard Vintage Classic valve amp. “That
twin-guitar sound, that Scott is the absolute
pioneer of – it changed my life.”
After two years locking lead lines, Gorham
and Johnson will appear telepathic when the
tour kicks off in Dublin on 2 March. “I’m
a lucky guy to be partnered with Damon,” says
Gorham. “He’s one of those really giving
on the road monitor
players. He’ll move over or take charge. He’s
a really easy guy to be up there onstage with,
and the bonus is he’s a fucking great player.”
Gorham feels he’s improved, even from
1978’s immortal Live And Dangerous. “Oh God
– a zillion times better!” he laughs. “Some of
the old stuff, I just can’t listen to anymore,
because it sounds like I’m still learning to play.
Almost every facet of my playing is better now.
As far as the band goes, I don’t think we’ve ever
had a bad show, with everybody fucking up.
That really would be a disaster.”
But then, stresses Johnson, it’s not about
technical perfection: “We’re not up there to be
‘impressive’. Everybody plays their asses off in
this band, but it’s not a muso thing. It’s heart
and soul and sweat and power. It’s really all
about the songs.”
BlackStarRiders’tourstartson2March,2015inDublin.
Seewww.blackstarriders.com
 monitor section

OF THE MONTH
Major scale
in association with

TGR263.mon_scale.fig01.musx 3NPS Major

T
he major scale is made up of looking at the A major scale (A B C# D E
Three-note-per-string scales
File provide
Date: 09:38 12/12/2014 seven major intervals, and its Scale of the Month
F# G#) in its three-note-per-string
more range than traditional
Page 1 ofshapes
1 bright sound makes it perfect for Contributor:
layout. Charlie
This is an efficient Griffiths
arrangement
playing over major chords and jamming of notes, which, despite the occasional
and give you more melodic
Notes: mileage
in major keys. The scale is used across
Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com
stretch, can be easier to get your head
many genres, including rock, pop, around than shapes that use a mixture
country and soul. This month, we’re of two and three notes per string.

Sno wpe r Tro ll Tracks 04-05

### 4 . œ ~~~~
q =100

..
This pop-rock riff is based
in the lower octave of the
& 4 . œ œ œœœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ jœ
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œ
scale. Keep your first finger at
the 5th fret throughout, using
the underside of your finger to TGR263.mon_scale.fig02.musx
~~~~
. .
mute the fifth string in the first
File Date: 11:24 19/12/2014 Scale of the Month
T
A 1 of 1. .
two bars. Fan your fingers out
to help make the stretch up to Page 9 9 9 6 6 6 7 7 Contributor: Charlie Griffiths
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
the 9th fret more comfortable. B 9 9 9 5 5 5 7 7 7 7 7 7
Notes: 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Engraved
5 5 5 5 by5 DigitalMusicArt.Com
5 5 5 7 9 7 5

Dov er Sou l Tracks 06-07

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œ œ œ œ
q =150

& # 44 œ œ
This inTervallic lick is
w
œ œ œ
inspired by Eric Johnson, and
uses 5th intervals to ascend the
scale and a repeating D note to 3
3
descend back down to the root TGR263.mon_scale.fig03.musx 3nps Major
note on the fourth string. You
can either use your pick File
T Date: 09:47 12/12/2014 10 9
10 9 10
7
10 10
Scale of the Month
throughout or hybrid pick (pick A 1 of 1
Page 9 7
9
6
9 7 7
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and fingers approach) to B 5
7 5
articulate the notes. Notes: Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com

Dark neS S Tracks 08-09

##4 œœœ œœœœœœœ œœ w œœ œœœœœœœ œ œ œj ˙ ˙ .
œœœœœ
q =120

& # 4 .. œ œ œ œ
This classic rock-style j
œ
.
harmony line is in the style of
the Hawkins brothers from
Guitars and backing: Charlie Griffiths

The Darkness. Start with your

second finger on the 7th fret;

. .
use hammer-ons to ascend the BU BU BD
7 9 10 9 7 7 9 10 9 7
T
. .
scale and pull-offs to descend 7 9 10 10 9 7 9 (10 ) 7 9 10 10 9 7 9 (10 ) (9 )
the first and second strings. A 7 9
6 7 9
7 9
6 7 9
Finally, bend the second string B
with your third finger.

12 february 2015
 monitor section

TG helps you
blag a new style ammo
t h i s m o n t h…

Disco x
What You
Need To Know

B
orne out of soul and funk, but with a key players: Nile rodgers,
distinct pop leaning, disco originated in 7 1 1 1 Claydes Charles Smith,
the 1970s. Chic’s Nile Rodgers is Jerome Smith, alan Kendall
undoubtedly the most influential guitarist of 2 key techniques: Partial
the genre, but notable mentions also go to chords, 16th-note rhythms,
3
Claydes Charles Smith of Kool And The Gang muting, single-note grooves
and Jerome Smith of KC And The Sunshine
Band. Disco guitar parts are usually comprised Nile rodgers is one of the
of syncopated 16th-note rhythms, often with
1
world's most prolific
relatively few changes, and with pentatonic guitarists, having had massive
notes added for a funky melodic groove. success with Chic, Sister
Em7 Sledge, Daft Punk and avicii.
x x rodgers’ main guitar is his
2
white 1960 fender
6 1 6 1 ‘Hitmaker’ Strat, which has a
1959 maple neck.
2 3 3 3 2 3 3
a typical disco guitar
3
sound consists of a Strat
set to the middle/neck pickup
3 plugged into a clean sounding
amp. a compressor pedal
helps even out the spiky sound.

Disco guitar parts are a

TGR263.mon_ammo.fig01.musx E9 E13 4 Disco Strat
mixture of ‘partial’ barre
File Date: 13:03 08/12/2014 These chords can all be found in various disco and funk tracks. Guitar Shopplay
Ammo
The Em7 shape is best known for opening Chic’s Good Times; E9 chords (ie, you don't every
Page 1 of 1 and E13 are both found in James Brown’s Sex Machine. Try Contributor: Charlie
string) and sparse Griffiths
single-note
Notes: linesbyplayed
jamming around these chords instead of the E7sus4 in our tab. Engraved with 16th notes.
DigitalMusicArt.Com

track 10
q =120

¿¿ ¿¿ # œœ. œœ œœ ¿¿ n œj œœ œœ
E 7sus 4 Em7

# 4 œœ œ œ œ
A G j
œœ ¿¿ œ œ œ œ œ
œ
œœ œœ œœ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ ¿
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. ¿¿ ¿¿ ¿¿ ¿¿ .
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T
. .
10 10 10 10 8 8 14 14 12 13 (15 ) 15(17 )
A 7
9
7
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7
9
7
9
7
9 7 9
7 9 9 7
9
14
14
14
14
12
12 BU BU
B 7 7 7 7 7
0
Guitar: Charlie Griffiths

Play bar 1 with your first finger at the 7th fret and use your remaining three fingers to play the chords, hammer-ons and pull-offs. In bar 2, play the A and G chords and string
bends with your first and third fingers. Disco is all about feel, so practise at a tempo that allows you to groove.

14 february 2015
 monitor section
Photography: Philip Sowels

in praise of…
Fender
Jazzmaster
Surf, alt-rock and
all that Jazz

B
y 1958, Fender had matured
from a quirky start-up run
by the visionary Leo Fender
to a relatively slick operation with
specialists overseeing R&D and
manufacturing. It was time to
expand. Launching that
expansion was the Jazzmaster,
a high-end electric that continued
Fender’s ambition to be taken
seriously by discerning customers
(in this case jazz musicians) and
to distance itself from rock ’n’ roll,
which Leo and co saw as a fad.
Ironically, jazzers never did take
to the Jazzmaster as Fender had
hoped. Instead, it was adopted by
surf-rockers, who loved its unique
looks and floating tremolo.
That trem was billed as an
improvement over the one on the
Stratocaster, featuring a lock that
could be set so if you broke
a string the others wouldn’t slip
out of tune. Its circuitry was
more high-end, too, featuring
warmer soapbar pickups and
a dizzying range of tones via its
dual tone circuits.
Later, the Jazzmaster became
the guitar of choice for alt-rockers
such as Television, Sonic Youth
and My Bloody Valentine. From
refinement to grunge, it was
a strangely cool turn of events.

The Jazzmaster is introduced to Fender’s

1958 electric guitar range
Fender ceases production of the
1980 Jazzmaster model
Fender Japan reintroduces the Jazzmaster
1986 with 1962 reissue
Jazzmaster appears on My Bloody Valentine’s
1991 Loveless album sleeve

16 february 2015
 monitor section

Coil-splittable shredders Want single-coil tone with

your shred? Check this trio out

18 february 2015
 monitor section

What the ∫ Theory for lazy b*sT*rds

This MonTh… Minor scales

T he most important sonic

characteristic of any scale (or
chord, for that matter) is whether it
is major or minor. The major scale is
used for its bright, happy character;
the many minor scales have different
sounds but all have a darker,
A major scale A natural minor scale
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8/1 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 8/1
moodier vibe than the major scale. This is a major scale, so musicians use it in bright, happy This dark, moody scale has a b 3rd, a b 6th and a b 7th. All the
One critical interval distinguishes sounding music. The eighth note in the scale is often flat notes have an effect, but the b 3rd is most important to
minor scales from major: the 3rd. marked ‘1’ as it is a repeat of the root note an octave up. the minor tonality.

Major 3rds are four semitones

higher than the root note; minor
3rds (aka b3rds) are only three
semitones higher. Other notes affect
the moods of minor scales, but none
is as important as the 3rd. Play
through the scales below and then A harmonic minor scale A Phrygian mode
make up a lick using each one. 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7 8/1 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 8/1
Like A natural minor, this exotic scale has a b 3rd and a b 6th, In addition to the all-important b 3rd this scale has a b 2nd,
Listen out for the mood each scale but its 7th is major. The three-fret jump between b 6th and a b 6th and a b 7th. After the b 3rd, the b 2nd is the most
suggests to you. 7th is vital to the sound. important interval here.

video
lesson
bring the noise! w w w.bit
.ly/tg26
3noise

Coax crazy sounds from your axe

#22 Fender
Bender step 1 step 2 step 3

B
TGR263.btn.fig01.musx
ehind-the-nut string bends have Prepare your fretting hand
long been used by country File Date:
by forming 22:50 16/12/2014
an e major
guitarists to emulate the sound chordPage
shape1with
of 1your
of a pedal steel guitar. Jerry Donahue is second, third and fourth
Notes:
a master of the technique and John 5’s fingers, leaving your first
country-fuelled Behind The Nut Love is a finger free to reach across
masterclass. In the rock world, Tony the nut to bend the strings.
Iommi used the technique in the opening
to Iron Man, as did Jimmy Page in his q =124
##
Heartbreaker solo. The technique consists
Fender Bender
Pick the sixth, fourth then Next, pick the open second
third strings and, as these Bring
string and useThe Noise
the same
notes ring out, press down Charlie technique,
behind-the-nut Griffiths
on the third string behind this
Engraved by time for a whole tone
DigitalMusicArt.Com
the nut so the G# note bend. Take care to
rises to an a, before execute the bend and
releasing back to G# again. release it steadily.
Track 11
œ œ

& # # 44
E

œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙
of using a fretting finger to press the
strings down towards the headstock.
fender type guitars allow for wider bends, œ RP
as they have a more recessed headstock let ring throughout
BU BD
than the flatter Gibson design. bending 0
T BU BD 0 (2) (2) (0) BU BD
the strings like this can be a painful A 2
1 (2) (1) 1 (2) (1)

business, so light-gauge strings such as B 0

0.009s are recommended.

20 february 2015
 monitor section

in the loop…
Country
Don your stetsons and cowboy
boots, and jam along with TG’s LOOP 1: track 14
country-style guitar loops Strummed
chOrdS
T
his month, we take inspiration from the
likes of Albert Lee and Brad Paisley to The chord here is a simple ‘E
loop and layer three guitar parts and shape’ barre chord. The trick lies
create a country-style arrangement. You will in targeting the fifth and sixth
need a basic clean sound with a touch of strings accurately so that you
get an alternating country-style
reverb and ideally a single coil-equipped
‘bounce’ on those bass notes.
guitar. Humbuckers are fine, but you would
need to thin out the low end on your amp for
a more twangy tone. For our arrangement, we LOOP 2: track 15
are employing three contrasting techniques.
We start with a simple, acoustic-style, low
FingerStyLe
register strummed part, followed by a grOOve
fingerstyle midrange riff and finally some You can play this riff fingerstyle,
TGR263.mon_loop.fig03.musx
high-register pedal-steel-style string bends. with your thumb picking the Country
File Date: 08:25 08/12/2014 fourth string and your first and In The Loop
second fingers playing the
Page 1Nooflooper
1 pedal? We’ve included audio second and third strings. Contributor: Charlie Griffiths
files on your TGCD for you to import Alternatively, use pick-and-
Notes:into a DAW, such as GarageBand Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com
fingers-style ‘hybrid’ picking.

track 16
LOOP 3: PedaL SteeL eFFect
˙˙ œœ œ œ œ œ œ ˙˙
#
j j

& 44 .. ..
œ œ j
nœ
Ó
Guitars and backing: Charlie Griffiths

let ring
Vol. Vol.

. .
Vol. RP
12
T
. .
15 15 15 15 BD 12
14 (16 )
A BU
14 (16 )
BU
(16 ) (14 ) 10 (12 )
BU
B

Hold the 12th, 15th and 14th frets as a chord shape on the first, second and third strings, and use your third finger to bend the third string up a tone while letting the other two
strings sustain. Complete the pedal steel effect by adding some reverb and using your volume control to gently swell the notes in.

22 february 2015

In the Studio
Artist:
Thunder
The reactivated classic rockers return with some surprises
Thunder’s Wonder Days is their 10th
studio album, their first for six-and-a-half
years and after their on/off status in recent
years, guitarist and principal songwriter Luke
Morley (who has been busy with The Union
during the “off” years) took 15 months out
to write a record that he assures us will
deliver “typical Thunder, hard-edged
bluesy rock”. But while it won’t disappoint
hard-rockers who’ve weaned at the
denim teat of Thunder’s
quintessentially British classic
rock sound since Backstreet
Symphony hit record stores in
“the older you get, the less you
the spring of 1990, Wonder
Days has a few surprises.
“There are some
can write about girls!”
interesting things going on,” says Morley.
“There is one song called The Rain, which is
probably the folkiest thing we have ever
done. It’s driven by a mandolin. It’s about
the Irish immigrants going to the United
Photography: Marty Moffatt
States during the Great Depression. I would
never have thought 20 years ago that I’d
write something like that – but I guess the
older you get the less songs you can write
about girls!”
Getting older is part of what
makes Wonder Days sound the
way it does, too. Thunder have
always had a Springsteen-ian
melancholy to their blue-collar
rock hymnal, but Morley says
that Wonder Days finds the
band in reflective mood as they look back to
an adolescence lived in 70s London. That
guitarist Ben Matthews had to sit out the
Wonder Days sessions while he recovers
from cancer treatment (thankfully he has
been given the all-clear and is building
himself up to returning for the band’s 2015
touring schedule), couldn’t help but shift the
band’s outlook. “We are at that age, 50 and
above,” says Morley, “and I think when you
realise that there is more behind you than in
front of you, you tend to take a step back and
take stock.”
In the studIo monItor
Recorded over three sessions at Rockfield
Studios in Monmouth, Wonder Days saw
Morley use a Telecaster for rhythm, a
Gibson Les Paul Standard
and Flying V for the leads,
and Gibson J-200 for
acoustic parts. A big Tom
Morello fan, Morley found a
use for a DigiTech Whammy,
too. But, this is a Thunder
record: the heart of its tone is Marshall. “The
basic set-up is a Marshall Vintage Modern
[2466] 100-watt amp, which for my money
is the best classic rock guitar amp there is.
By a long stretch. When you get to our sort
of vintage you know what you like.”
Wonder Days is released on 16 February 2015
through earMusic. Thunder’s UK arena tour kicks off
on 12 March in Leeds.
FEBRUARY 2015 23
 monitor section

sound Advice
Expression
pedal effects
Get more out of your digital effects with real-
time control from an expression pedal

F
rom stompbox pedalboards subdivision and feedback
to rack- and floor-mounted assigned to your expression pedal.
multi-effects units, Arguably the easiest way to
expression pedals can supply use an expression pedal is on
volume, wah and pitch-shifter a multi-effects unit. This will
effects or apply real-time control allow you to set up patches
to almost any digital effect (combinations of effects and
parameter. Aside from the already settings) that you can easily recall
mentioned gain, filter and and switch between – perfect for
pitch-type devices, modulation live use.
effects such as tremolo, vibrato, In this month’s example, we’ve
chorus and so on offer weird and set up our expression pedal to
TGR263.mon_soundadvice.fig01.musx wonderful sounds when you control tremolo, a filter ‘Q’Pedals
Expression effect,
apply real-time parameter a ring modulator, delay speed
File Date: 13:11 17/12/2014 changes. Digital delays can also Sound
(429 to 676ms range), Advice
pitch shift
Page 1 of 1 yield incredible sonic results with (octave up) and the Contributor:
mix level of
Notes: a pitch-shifted
control over delay time, rhythmicEngraved delay.
by DigitalMusicArt.Com
signAl pAth Guitar (bridGe pickup) expression-controlled effect amp (liGht overdrive)
tracks 12-13
q =75

j j j j j j
A5 D5 A5 E 7/B A5 D5 A5 E 7/B A5 D5 A5 E 7/B

## œœ ˙˙ œœ ˙˙ œœ ˙˙
& # 44 œœ .. œœ ˙˙
œ ˙ œœ .. œœ ˙˙ œœ .. œœ ˙˙
œ ˙ œœ .. œœ ˙˙ œœ .. œœ ˙˙
œ ˙ œœ .. œœ ˙˙
œ. œ. œ ˙ œ. œ. œ ˙ œ. œ. œ ˙
w/tremolo w/filter w/ring mod.
0 0 0
T 3 0 3 0 3 0
A 2
2
2
0
2
2
1
0
2
2
2
0
2
2
1
0
2
2
2
0
2
2
1
0
B
⇥ ≤ ⇥ ≤ ⇥ ≤ ⇥ ≤ ⇥ ≤ ⇥ ≤
0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 2

j j j j j j
A5 D5 A5 E 7/B A5 D5 A5 E 7/B A5 D5 A5 E 7/B

### œœ ˙˙ œœ ˙˙ œœ ˙˙ œœ ˙˙ œœ ˙˙ œœ ˙˙
& œœ .. œœ .. œœ ˙˙ œœ .. œœ .. œœ ˙˙ œœ .. œœ .. œœ ˙˙
œ. œ ˙ œ. œ ˙ œ. œ ˙ œ. œ ˙ œ. œ ˙ œ. œ ˙
w/delay w/pitchshift w/pitched delay
0 0 0
T 3 0 3 0 3 0
A 2
2
2
0
2
2
1
0
2
2
2
0
2
2
1
0
2
2
2
0
2
2
1
0
B
⇥ ≤ ⇥ ≤ ⇥ ≤ ⇥ ≤ ⇥ ≤ ⇥ ≤
0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 2
Guitars and backing: Niko Tsonev

We’ve played through our riff six times in total, each time with a different expression pedal-controlled effect. It’s unlikely you’ll get exactly the same sounds, so we’d encourage
you to experiment with your own gear.

24 february 2015
 monitor section

o
n
t
h
e
Eaves
u W Talented songsmith with prog pretensions
e all get our start in music in
a different way, but Eaves’ was
pretty ballsy…
p
“My friend booked a gig and his guitarist
dropped out two weeks before,” Eaves, aka
Joe Lyons, tells TG. “I was like, ‘I’ll learn
guitar and play a gig!’ So I bought a crappy
guitar and played that gig. Then the singer
left, so I said, ‘I’ll try singing…’”
Since then, the Leeds-based songwriter
has evolved into a direct and affecting
musician. Debut EP As Old As The Grave
features three economical, yet quite
stunning productions, most notably the
beautifully fingerpicked Alone In My Mind
(For Mannington Bowes) – an amalgam of
Nick Drake, Bright Eyes and Buckleys Tim
and Jeff – and channels Eaves’ folky side.
But there’s a little more than that going
on here…
“I love the band Mastodon,” he tells
a surprised TG. “All of their albums. Their
guitarist, Brent Hinds, and his way of
chicken-picking, I wanted to apply that to
a dark folk thing. So the album I’m making
at the moment has those aspects. It’s
acoustic based, but it’s a rock record.”
That currently-untitled record is due to
be released in April and will reportedly
offer more variety – everything from
nine-minute, full-band freak-outs to
26 february 2015
solitary singer-songwriter moments –
all anchored by Joe’s trusty Martin
00-15M acoustic.
“As soon as I got my management deal,
they said, ‘What guitar do you want?’ and
I said that one,” explains Joe. “I’d never
played one, so it was a massive risk. It got
sent to the coffee shop I was working in,
I pulled it out and I was so frightened – I’d
never had something so nice in my life!
I couldn’t sleep for a week, I was just
playing it and playing it and playing it.”
Produced by another dedicated
collaborator, Cam Blackwood (George
Ezra, London Grammar), the record has
been put on hold while Joe finishes up
a European tour supporting Nick Mulvey
(“a wizard”). Then it’s back in the studio
and back to what he does best.
“I try and be as honest as possible,” says
Joe of his writing. “Sometimes it can get
quite dark, but if that’s the mode that I’m in,
then I can’t pretend otherwise. You can’t
just paint a pretty rainbow across it
[lyrically or musically], because it’s not
going to come across. You’re fooling people
then, and I don’t like that.”
For Fans oF: Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley
Hear: Alone In My Mind
 on the up monitor

Swimmers
Cali surf-punks catching a wave

C
alifornia’s Swimmers
– formed of brother
guitarist/singers Max and
Cole Becker and drummer Joey
‘son of Billie Joe’ Armstrong –
spent 10 years performing under
the name Emily’s Army before
their recent rebirth.
“School Of Rock came out and
Cole, my younger brother, and
Joey, our best friend, started a
band and I became the bass player
for 10 years,” explains Max, who
recently switched to six-string.
“We realised we had grown up
doing that, but we didn’t really
find our sound until this year.”
That sound – as Max later
states, a “surfy Ramones” – is held
together in exquisitely jangly
fashion by Max’s Danelectro
DC59 and brother Cole’s Squier
Jaguar. It’s the kind of thing fans
of The Vaccines, Wavves and
FIDLAR will lap up. Indeed, the
band’s recent Swim EP was
released on cassette via the
FIDLAR-affiliated Burger Records.
“We did our first Burger show at
Beach Goth festival and it was
nuts,” enthuses Max. “It was like,
‘We’ve finally found a home!’ They
have a following, so whatever the
fuck they put out, people listen to
it. It’s like Lookout Records was
[in the 90s]. It hasn’t quite hit
a pop scene in America yet, it’s
still bubbling.”
Releasing a cassette is fine, but
does anyone still have a tape
player? “It’s just cool to have
something,” laughs Max. “We tell
people to listen to it on Spotify
and hold it front of their faces!”
For Fans oF: The Vaccines, FIDLAR
Hear: Ammonia And Bleach

Shattered Skies
Like pomp with your metal? Look to the Skies…

G
etting people to your
shows isn’t always easy,
especially when you’re out
of step with your local scene.
Prog-metallers Shattered Skies
refused to be cowed.
“We got a good reaction
internationally via the internet,”
explains guitarist Ian Rockett.
“We’d play festivals around
Europe and have great reactions,
then we’d come back to Ireland
and still play to 10 people.”
Eventually, the band solved the
problem: by bailing on it. Now
based in the UK, they’ve recruited
Chimp Spanner’s Jim Hughes on
bass and conjure up melody-
heavy metal, threaded
throughout with some clever
interplay from Ian and Jim.
Meanwhile, Sean Murphy, a clean
singer in the Mercury/Bellamy-
mould, who got his start in
musicals, plays frontman.
“It’s a different type of training,”
says Ian. “It gave him the
opportunity to experiment with
his voice and get a little bit more
flamboyant, and that’s what we
liked. He’s not rooted in metal and
it gives him a unique approach.”
Also rating high on the unique
scale is Ian’s Strandberg Boden
eight-string – a brand favoured by
the likes of Periphery and Animals
As Leaders.
“I get a lot of quizzical looks,” he
says. “It’s headless, it’s an odd
shape, it’s got a fanned fretboard
– but I like that. If I walk onstage
with it, people stick around. They
think, ‘He’d better be able to
play it!’”
Debut album The World We
Used To Know proves he can.
For Fans oF: Animals As Leaders,
Muse Hear: 15 Minutes

february 2015 27
 monitor section

Albums

Ryan Bingham
Fear and Saturday night

Like Some of ryan adams’ work,

and more recently, The White
buffalo, former rodeo rider and
Grammy award-winner bingham
represents modern americana
with a lived-in authenticity and
stories to tell. His weathered gem
of a voice remains a calling card,
but the more intimate, seemingly
personal, songs here overshadow
the few comparatively throwaway
upbeat rockers.
fingerpicker My Diamond Is Too
Rough is intimate and thought-
provoking, and Snow Falls In June’s
majestic flow is indicative of the

Periphery
heights he’s reaching, recalling
prime Steve earle.
Rob Laing
Download: My Diamond Is
Too Rough
JuggeRnAut: ALphA /
JuggeRnAut: OMegA

chris howorth,
t he tiny ripple Misha Mansoor started by sharing his
demos through the John Petrucci forum has become
a tidal wave. Periphery stand today as metal’s torchbearers
in this moment for a bigger and brighter future, with heightened creative
awareness through cross-pollinating all manner of genres
the last into one giant wrecking ball of heaviness. Funeral For A Friend
album Alpha and Omega, the two parts of epic double-album
Juggernaut, mark the next step of their sonic expansion by
Chapter and VerSe

i bought… eschewing djenty riffs in favour of more unpredictable

WhiteChApeL
OuR
enDLess WAR
“When I heard this album’s lead
single, The Saw Is The Law, I was
really impressed with the
production and the huge guitar
sound they get. Most of the
heavier music I hear these days
is missing the hook. It doesn’t
© Jason Squires/WireImage
progressive meanderings and melodic dispositions.
WhiLe 2013’S Conduit took ffaf
back to their metal roots, the
Those who love their meaty, down-tuned riffage have band’s seventh album hones in on
little to fear, however: songs such as MK Ultra, Four Lights another early influence. fast-
and Graveless carry all the neck-snapping polyrhythms paced punk is the order of the day,
you’ll ever need. But it’s the moments when the although Kris Coombs-roberts
still delivers his trademark snaking
Washington DC sextet step out of their comfort zone that
truly inspire, giving singer Spencer Sotelo free rein to melodies on the likes of You’ve Got
augment their cascading soundscapes into world-beating A Bad Case Of The Religions.
The twin harmonised guitars of
anthems. Heavy Heart, Alpha and 22 Faces have more than
Inequality come closest to the
a whiff of Linkin Park polish to them, without any sacrifices Casually Dressed… glory days,

have to be melodic, it just has to
have parts that repeat that the
listener enjoys. Whitechapel’s new
album has hooks! It’s one of our
pump-up CDs on tour.”
exCeptiOnAL | exCeLLent
to the technical wizardry at the heart of their music.
while tracks such as You Should Be
Consider the gauntlet for the metal album of 2015 well Ashamed Of Yourself add some
and truly thrown down. biffy-style riffage. for some, it may
Amit sharma be a reinvention too far, but it’s to
Download: 22 Faces ffaf’s credit that they pull it off.
Michael Brown
| gOOD | FOR FAns OF | pOOR Download: You Should Be
Ashamed Of Yourself

28 february 2015

enter shikari
the mindSWeep
FoCuS. you could never accuse
enter Shikari of lacking it, lyrically
– they were preaching their
‘humanity over business’ gospel
years before the current economic
cluster bomb, let’s not forget.
but fourth album The Mindsweep
could do with a little more of the
f-word, musically.
The scattergun approach runs
from heavy-handed hip-hop
through to Dillinger escape
Plan-style guitar chaos. So while
it’s encouraging to see a band of
this size take such fearless leaps
and, at times, it’s a rich, rewarding
listen, The Mindsweep suffers a
little for its lack of a musical
mission statement.
Matt parker
Download: The Last Garrison
Blackberry smoke
hoLding aLL the roSeS
georgia roCkerS blackberry
Smoke have earned a near-
unrivalled live reputation during
their 14 years on the road, but
never quite fulfilled their potential
in the studio. Their brendan
O’brien-produced fourth album
marks a change in fortunes.
from bluegrass-metal to classic
rock and moody acoustics, it’s
a varied collection that’s just
polished enough, while Payback’s
A Bitch sees them shirking the
sometimes indulgent southern
nostalgia of their previous writing.
Now, they have a record that
oozes the confidence and class of
their shows.
Matt parker
Download: Holding All The Roses
sylosis
dormant heart
JoSh middLeton takes his brit
band’s thrashy signatures into
murkier, sometimes slower,
groove-infested riff waters on
their fourth album, and the results
are hugely impressive. Middleton
and guitar partner alex bailey
bring an approach that marries
more streamlined hooky songs
(Leech, Mercy) with the ambitious
kind, and boy, do they have chops
(check out Harm’s dual-sweep
picking and Overthrown’s eastern
solo section for starters).
It’s a perfect storm of metal;
a union of atmosphere, tunes and
technicality. uS acts often hog the
spotlight, but there’s a success
story being written right here.
Rob Laing
Download: Dormant Heart
the subways
the SubWayS
For their imaginatively titled
fourth album, The Subways opted
to go it alone, without a producer.
Having previously worked with
the likes of butch Vig, Stephen
Street and Ian broudie, here
frontman billy Lunn mans the
desk, and the result is a collection
of snappy tunes, largely clocking
in at less than three minutes.
There’s plenty of staple
Subways fuzzy riffs (My Heart Is
Pumping To A Brand New Beat),
poppy garage-punk (Just Like
Jude) and Oh Yeah-style grungey-
glam (We Get Around). you know
what you’re getting with The
Subways: this is more of the same.
stuart Williams
Download: Pet Boy
Black star Riders
the kiLLer inStinCt
bSr’S 2013 debut vindicated the
decision to push past the Thin
Lizzy name while carrying its
spirit, and this second album is
a successful balance of Lizzyisms
(many of which are inherent in
Scott Gorham’s style) and classic
rock. Celtic call-to-arms
Soldierstown and the anthemic title
track have twin leads and a girth to
their tones that Lizzy never
achieved in the studio.
elsewhere, Blindsided shows the
strong mellow side of the band,
while Damon Johnson continues
to prove himself a fine guitar
duelist and songwriting partner
alongside Gorham and frontman
ricky Warwick.
David hands
Download: Bullet Blues
Wednesday 13
monSterS oF the
uniVerSe: Come out
and pLague
there’S LittLe change in the
formula for the former
Murderdolls man’s sixth solo
effort – it’s all odes to aliens and
monsters, underpinned by rob
Zombie’s hammy shock and
obnoxious punk swagger.
but what the record may lack in
originality it makes up for in
infectious hooks spread over the
driving riffs of Bombs, Guns & Gods
and Planet Eater – Interstellar 187’s
grinding rhythms and creepy
undertones, adding some weight
to the OTT storyline and
monotone vocals.
Adam Rees
Download: Come Out And Plague
albums monitor
boxset:
a Light In The black
rainboW
though he’S more well
known for Deep Purple,
rainbow was where ritchie
blackmore’s vision for rock
became fulfilled. This five-CD/
DVD boxset of highlights and
rarities (there’s also a reissue of
their albums on vinyl) provides
a fascinating view of how that
vision changed over nine years
and numerous line-ups.
The band made their most
ambitious (and best) work on
their first three albums with
Dio at the mic, represented by
the first two discs here,
including live cuts that
showcase how the 1977-8
line-up could confidently follow
blackmore’s improvisation.
Rob Laing
the smashing pumpkins
monumentS to an eLegy
Like oCeania before it, the
latest entry in billy Corgan’s
Teargarden By Kaleidyscope opus
invokes the Pumpkins’ roots and
traverses new ground, albeit not
always successfully. Meat ’n’
potatoes drumming from Tommy
Lee propels the album’s nine
concise tracks, which span Mellon
Collie-esque riff-rock (Tiberius and
One And All), slightly shaky eDM
(Run 2 Me) and mid-tempo new
wave (Monuments).
It’s not an especially cohesive
effort, but whatever era of
Pumpkins you’re into, you’ll
probably find something to
appreciate here.
Michael Brown
Download: Tiberius
february 2015 29
 monitor section
5 minutes alone
Mike Campbell
The Heartbreaker has been Tom Petty’s right-hand man for more than
40 years. Here’s some of his wealth of guitar wisdom to share
I got my first real six string…
“My very first guitar was pretty
much unplayable. I was 14 or
something. My mom went to
a pawn shop and got me
a Harmony acoustic. I didn’t know
any better! It was one with an
f-hole, and it wasn’t a good one.
They do make some good ones,
but this was not a good one.
I thought that it was just the way
that guitars were. I could hardly
push the strings down, and
I figured ‘man, these guys must be
strong!’ Then I went to my friend’s
house and he had an SG. He
handed it to me and I pressed the
strings down and was like, ‘my
god, you don’t have to bleed!’
I used to bleed over that thing.
“The next guitar I got, my dad
© Sayre Berman/Corbis
sent me a Goya electric six-string.
He was on tour in Okinawa and
he mailed me this $60 guitar.
It was playable. I actually
auditioned for Tom on that thing.
30 february 2015
They laughed at me when
I walked in and played it, but
once I played Johnny B Goode,
they quit laughing.”
I want to break free…
“Well, to me, not just guitar, but
overall, a light went on for me
when we were doing American
Girl in the studio. I loved that song
the first time I heard it. I thought it
would be great with a 12-string,
but we didn’t have a 12-string at
the time. When we did the record,
I tried to simulate a 12-string the
best I could on my Fender
Broadcaster by playing octaves.
If it had been a 12-string I would
have done it on one string, but
I found a way to play it and sort of
“Try to serve the song. When the
guitar plays a solo it should be as
good as the guy that was singing ”
make it sound like a 12-string.
When we made that record,
something happened with the
sonics in the studio. We found the
right voicings for the guitars and
found a sound and feel that felt
like us. I felt like it was something
that we identified, a tonality and
soul that was ours. There was
something special about it.”
Just a castaway, an island
lost at sea…
“If I had to pick one guitar to take
to a desert island, I’d pick my ’67
Rickenbacker 12-string, which
I bought a couple of tours ago in
New Jersey. The ’67 is George-
style from A Hard Day’s Night,
with the double binding. It’s just
like heaven. It sounds incredible.
But having said that [laughter],
my original 12-string, from the
cover of Torpedo, is one of the little
body ones. I got it for $120 back in
the day, and later I took it to
Rickenbacker and they said it was
the next guitar off the assembly
line after George’s. It has the same
wiring and sound as George’s.
That’s a beautiful-sounding
guitar, too, but it’s so valuable that
I leave it at home.”
See me, feel me…
“Before Mudcrutch [his pre-
Heartbreakers band with Petty],
I had a three-piece kind-of blues
jam band down in Florida. We
were playing little gigs around
Florida, and we were booked into
this school for the deaf. So we’re
standing up there playing, at a
women’s club, and it’s full of deaf
people! Children, mostly. They
could feel the music, though, and
feel the beat, and we were playing
and though they couldn’t hear us,
they were responding to the
vibrations. It was pretty amazing.
That’s the magic of music; it’s the
ultimate communicator. I’ve had
a lot of weird Heartbreakers gigs,
too. But that gig was enlightening.
These kids were standing and
pounding on the stage to the beat.
It was incredible.”
Learning to fly…
“I tell people to listen really
closely to the song when they’re
working out their guitar parts.
Listen to the melody and the feel
of the singer, and try to get inside
the character of the guy who’s
singing to find an answer to that
or an accompaniment that is in
that same pocket, that’s not
showing off or playing above the
song, or trying to put too much
into it. Try to serve the song.
Getting to the soul of the song is
the key. When the guitar plays
a solo part, it should be as good as
the guy that was just singing.
It should fill that hole with the
same character and soul and carry
the story along without taking it
too far onto a tangent. The other
thing I notice is a lot of young
guitar players want to play fast.
I’ve noticed a lot of them don’t
have good vibrato. I still work on
my vibrato! The vibrato is your
signature of yourself.”

£4,000-worth
of gear! KicK off the new year with a boatload of
new guitars, amps, pedals and accessories
over 20 years
of Total
Guitar, we’ve seen a lot of gear,
and judging by the quality of
kit we get in these days, one
thing’s for sure: we’ve never
had it better. So, to celebrate
our 20th birthday, we got in
touch with some of our favourite
companies and lined up
WIN!
a colossal bounty of guitars,
amps, effects, accessories and
more for one lucky winner –
see over the page for the full list
of prizes.
To be in with a chance of
winning a whole new rig’s
worth of sweet, sweet gear,
simply answer the following
question correctly:
Which guitarist was on the cover
of the very first issue of
Total Guitar?
a Jimmy Page
b Jimi Hendrix
c Johnny Marr
Head over to www.futurecomps.
Danelectro Drive V2
co.uk/tg263gearbundle to enter.

Boss ME-80 Blackstar Fly 3

Danelectro Transparent
Overdrive V2

Fender Sonoran SCE Hagstrom Super

Blackstar ID:260TVP Swede EMG

32 FEBRUARY 2014
 competition

Marshall Major
headphones
TC Electronic
PolyTune 2 TC Electronic

WIN ALL
Hall Of Fame Mini Reverb TC Electronic TC Electronic Flashback X4
Ditto X2 Looper

of thIs
stuff!
Vox Mini5 Rhythm Korg Pandora Stomp
Planet Waves 6x Planet Waves Classic
lock strap Series patch cables
*Amp not included

Planet Waves
D&A Electric Classic Celluloid, 2x Planet Waves
Gigstand Duralin and Black American Stage cables
Ice picks
IsoAcoustics 2x boxes of
D&A Acoustic D’Addario NYXL strings
ISO-L8R430 amp stand* Gigstand Line 6 Relay G30

D’Addario t-shirt
Boss BD-2W Boss OD-1X D’Addario hip flask
Boss CE-5 Blues Driver Overdrive
Boss PS-6 Harmonist Chorus Ensemble
thanKs to the
following
companies
Rosetti
Planet Waves www.rosetti.co.uk
NS Artist Capo
Fender GBI
www.fender.com

Pedaltrain PT-3 Boss FV-500H Boss SD-1W Blackstar Amps

volume pedal Super Overdrive www.blackstaramps.co.uk
Boss TE-2 Tera Echo Roland UK
www.roland.co.uk
TC Electronic
www.tcelectronic.com
IK Multimedia
www.ikmultimedia.com
Westside Distribution
IK Multimedia T-Rex Fuel Tank www.westsidedistribution.com
iRig HD Chameleon Korg UK
www.korg.com
Line 6
uk.line6.com
D’Addario/Planet Waves
www.daddario.com
Marshall Amps
www.marshallamps.com
JHS
IK Multimedia iLoud Dunlop GCB95 www.jhs.co.uk
IK Multimedia AmpliTube Cry Baby Wah
SCV Distribution
All-In Bundle Mono Guitar Sleeve www.scvdistribution.co.uk

t&Cs: the competition is open to uK entrants only. under 18s must obtain parental consent to enter this competition and be able to demonstrate this to total Guitar’s reasonable satisfaction. Answers must be received between 16/01/2015 and 15/02/2015. the winners will be selected at
random from all correct entries received between the relevant dates and will be sent the prize free of charge. Each winner will be notified within 28 days of the closing date and will be required to give details of a delivery address in the uK to which the prize should be sent. By entering this
competition, you consent to us using your personal details to send you information about products and services of future and the companies listed above which may be of interest to you. for full terms and conditions, please go to: www.futurenet.com/futureonline/competitionrules.asp

FEBRUARY 2014 33
 rig tour
Mastodon
words: Michael brown & rob laing photography: adaM gasson

The metal kings bring their live show to Europe, with an impressive
array of interesting gear in tow…

v ideo
w w w.b it .l y/
tg 263rig

february 2015 35
 Brent’s Electrical Guitar
Company Custom Series
Three, with aluminium neck
1 3
A
s the Once More ’Round The Sun
tour marches its way through the
UK, our rig hunters approach the
fabled tusked beast with caution on
a mission to dissect the tonal details of its
leathery hide and fearsome tusks. We’re
soon reminded that the ’Don have two
very different players at their disposal
to explore the proggy depths of tone that
have resulted in six superb records and
thousands of road miles across the globe.
Brent Hinds’ and Bill Kelliher’s
contrasting mindsets apply to their rigs,
too (shown here with their European tour
set-up); one is a self-confessed gear-head
on a dedicated quest, the other doesn’t
sweat the small stuff; as their respective
contributions here attest.
brent’s guitars
electrical guitar coMpany
custoM series three
“i play this in the first part of the set. it’s a
1 guitar made by my friend Kevin burkett out
of Pensacola, florida. it has an aluminium neck
and lucite body [pickups are an egc humbucker
in the neck and a lace brent hinds hammer
claw in the bridge]. it’s kind of nostalgic of greg
ginn and you can see through it, so it’s really
36 february 2015
The Silverburst Gibson
Custom Flying V that
Brent keeps in drop A
Brent blames this
SG-shaped Custom EGC
DS for his back problems
2
neat. and when the lights hit it, it turns whatever
colour the lights are. and it sounds good! it’s a bit
heavier than your average gitfiddle.”
electrical guitar coMpany
custoM egc ds
“it’s the same, but an sg shape. The way
2 it’s balanced is really hard to play and it
hurts my back. i’m going to have to send it back
and get it readjusted.”
gibson custoM silverburst
Flying v
“i had that made for me back in 2005
3 [it features gibson ’57 classic
humbuckers]. i play that on the drop a songs.”
gibson sg ‘Mustard’
“i really like mustard a lot, and figured 4
4 i might as well get a guitar the colour of Brent’s a big fan of ‘mustard’
mustard. i use that on the standard tuning drop guitars, and this lust-worthy
SG certainly cuts it…
e to d songs across the board.”
 mastodon rig tour

Bill’s come a long way,

from his first $600 Gibson 6
to this signature Les Paul

Bill’s favourite guitar – a

Les Paul Custom 1982
Silverburst with Lace pickups

Developing the pickups for

his signature model was a
real labour of love for Bill

5
bill’s guitars
gibson bill Kelliher halcyon
custoM les paul
“it’s a signature model. i think they made
5 400, but the one i have is custom to me
because it has a special paint job on the back.
it’s like my golden axe [the explorer signature
model gibson produced], but in a les Paul
version. it has lace dissonant aggressor
pickups that i designed. it’s been really
humbling. i remember when i couldn’t afford
a gibson. i saved up $600 and bought my first
gibson explorer in white, a 1991 or 1992, thinking
‘This is the cream of the crop, this is the top of
line.’ i finally owned one… i couldn't believe it.
now, having one with my name on it’s incredible.
it took a while, but it’s better late than never,
right? i’m very happy that gibson would honour
me by giving me own guitar.”
7
les paul custoM 1982
silverburst w/ lace picKups
“in the early days, i had a lot of guitars
6 stolen, and i’d always wanted a silverburst.
i got this in 2003 at a guitar center in houston.
This is my favourite guitar.”
lace bill Kelliher dissonant
aggressor picKups
“lace were saying to me, ‘you've got to
7 have your own signature pickups.’ i’m like,
‘well i love your pickups and i already think they
sound great, but how do i make them sound
better? i don’t know.’ so i talked to the owner and
the guy who was designing the pickups and said,
‘Just start sending me pickups and i’ll start
tweaking them and i’ll send you my specs back,
then you send me a new one and we’ll get closer
and closer to what i think sounds like my sound.
something i’d be proud enough to put my name
on and say it was my pickup and i designed it. it’s
literally built from scratch. we started with,
‘okay here’s a pickup, what do you want
to change?’ ‘i want more gain, less high end…’
i actually took five or six different pickup
companies that i liked qualities of in each one
and said, ‘can you make it, first off, sound like all
of these in one pickup?’ it took about a month
and a half to two months. every week, i’d get the
pickup, put it in the guitar and then say ‘This is
what i like, this is what i don’t like.’ Then i’d send
it back, they’d send me a new one… until, finally,
i said, ‘This one is awesome, let’s just stop and i’ll
put my name on it and see what happens.’
“so it was pretty involved. i’m really hands-on;
i soldered it in myself and i was very excited to
wait for the mail for the newest pickup. we got
to a place where i was really happy with it.”

february 2015 37
 Bill switches between
JCM 800s and Blackstar
and Orange heads

brent’s aMps
Marshall JcM 800s
“i’m running two JcM 800s, unfortunately,
8 that’s what i’ve got to play. at home, i run
old JMPs, diesels [Vh-4] and stuff like that. The
JMPs [‘77 and ‘78 MKii 100-watt lead series]
i play at home are the ones i played in the very
beginning of Mastodon, and i bought them from
nashville Pussy.”

bill’s aMps
Marshall JcM 800s
“one of them is a reissue, a 2203 reissue.
9 The other is an original, an ‘81 or
something. i swap amps around a lot. Tonight,
i’m using those, other nights i’ve been using
a blackstar hT Metal head, which i love. The
natural distortion and the clean on it sound
great. it’s a great amp. i’ve got an orange out
with me as well, so i play around with all those
different amps and combinations. at the
moment, i’ve got a good thing going on with the
Marshalls. but who’s to say tomorrow the
orange wouldn’t be plugged in. it’s the Th100
model, which has a great distortion channel.
i’m never happy with just one amp. i always have
a few different types of amps running.
“i treat both heads the same usually, but with
the axe-fx you can run one direct with a
distortion box in front of it, and with the other use
the actual distortion of the head itself.”

orange cabs
“over here, i’m using orange cabs, which i think
have Vintage 30 celestion speakers. i’ve always
used celestions, since i was a kid. i just fell in love
with the celestion sound, and they’ve been
really good to me over the years.”

brent’s eFFects
Two Marshall JCM
800s are at the heart 10 “everything just pretty much stays on all
the time. i just have to knock the (Ts-808)
8 of Brent’s live rig
off and then the phaser off and on quite often.

38 february 2015

10
11
This Fractal Axe-Fx II and
MFC-101 MIDI controller
handle Bill’s live effects
dunlop cry baby 105
bass wah
“it has a wider envelope and it makes
11 a more dramatic effect. Troy [sanders,
bass] had one laying around the practice pad
and i said, ‘This will work.’ and then i tried
another wah and thought, ‘This thing’s crap –
it doesn’t have that huge envelope on it.’”
bill’s eFFects
Fractal axe-Fx ii w/ MFc-101
Midi Foot controller
“i’ve tried all sorts of combinations and
12 never been able to do that with other
effects processors; sending one signal doing one
thing to one and another signal to the other thing
12
doing something else. i haven’t been able to
figure that out until the axe-fx. because certain
amps i have sound great with a distortion box in
front of them, and some don’t.
“i’m using it like a pedalboard at the moment
and i’m finding it really useful. i don’t use a lot of
effects, but it does exactly what i want it to do.
it does everything; there’s nothing it can’t do
really, it’s great. one of the things i like about it is
it runs off a cat5 cable right to a pedalboard
that’s specific for it. it’s all easy to understand.
you can hook up your laptop to it and tweak stuff
in real time, like it’s a real pedalboard in front of
you. i’m still learning about how to use it, but at
the moment it works great. i’ve got delay, one
clean channel that has a phaser. i’ve got reverb,
mastodon rig tour
Brent’s board includes a
Tube Screamer, an MXR
Phase 90 and a GT-OD
12
a little bit of chorus. i’ve got an octaver, a boost…
those are the ones i use the most. i just touch
them here and there, it’s for peace of mind that
they’re in there if i need them, it’s just for effects.
“at home, i use it with a couple of friedman
heads; the hbe 100 and i’ve just got a Jerry
cantrell signature friedman head. They’re top of
the line, and they just sound so amazing – so
good. They’re building an amp for me, the way
i want one, so i’m excited to hear how that’s
going to turn out. i own probably 30 different
amp heads, so at home i’ll dust one off to see
how it sounds… tomorrow i might be, ‘i don’t like
that, let’s try this old Marshall.’ i always run at
least two heads. i’m always searching for that
perfect sound, but i think i’m pretty close.”
february 2015 39
 Feed aCK
totalguitar@futurenet.com
letter
W h at g u i ta r ?
What has happened to the
letters/email page in Total Guitar?
This isn’t a technique question,
but I am desperate to know what
guitar Kurt Cobain is holding on
the cover of TG 220, Nov 2011.
It looks like a Jag, but it’s right-
handed, including the strings! It
appears to have a fully covering
mirror scratchplate, too. Please
help me out with this.
Tim allen, via email
Hi Tim, as you’ll note from the fact
you’re reading this, Feedback is still
facebook.com/totalguitar
“Childhood dream realised: “I’ve been using the boss
@TotalGuitar first time one rC-3 Loop Station for two
of my songs has been years; I can’t live without it.”
tabbed in a british mag. :)” CraiG Howard,
Jon Gomm, Twitter Facebook
40 february 2015
very much alive and well! We reckon
that guitar is the Framus 5/170
Electrona, which was apparently
handed to Kurt on the day of the
photoshoot as a prop – it was a
right-handed model, after all! We even
got a snap of it at the Framus Museum
in Markneukirchen, Germany for you
– it’s a looker, all right.
Lovin’ Devin
Issue 260, my 260th issue since
the first in December 1994…
where’s this going? Well, I was
about to launch into how recently
the mag was being taken over by
full-page ads and full-page photos
with less and less ‘content’, but I’ll
leave you guys to be the judge on
that. What I’m now about to
reveal is that one single article has
saved you my subscription…
I can’t thank Total Guitar and
adam rees enough for the
brilliant review he gave on the
Devin Townsend album Z2. I had
known DT from his work with
twitter.com/totalguitar
“@TotalGuitar I’ve got my
@Cort_Guitars
@MansonsGuitars MbC-1
on order; cannot wait!!”
ian maClean, Twitter
sta r p r i z e ! WOrT
H
£75
TC Electronic PolyTune 2 tuner
No more tuning one string at a time – the PolyTune 2 lets
you tune all six strings at once! www.tcelectronic.com
letters emails pics etc…
rhythm is king
Thanks for the massive rhythm playing feature
in the last issue (262). I spent hours trying out
all the examples, and although I can’t get the
tricky alternate picking ones sussed just yet,
I’ve already started writing new songs using the
chord variations. us guitarists get so obsessed
with playing faster, we forget most of the songs
we listen to are all about the riffs and chord
progressions. There’s no shame in rhythm!
Ben HousTon, Watford
We couldn’t agree more, Ben. We cater to both rhythm and lead players in
TG, and we love both styles equally. Whatever you’re playing, you’ll need to
stay in tune, so enjoy your new PolyTune 2!
Steve Vai, but not anything else.
This prompted me to go through hot
youTube for days watching the
Strapping young Lad and Devin
Townsend Project back catalogue;
shots “My amplifier
died on me, and
wow, I can’t thank you guys now I have to
enough! I’ve since bought two resort to the
DVD packages and four albums in smallest amp/
speaker in
two weeks: the power of the the world!”
review! Looking forward to the
next 260 issues – keep up the
great work!!
les Gourlay, via email
h o Wa r D ’ s Way THiS
MOnTH’S CraiG JaCKson,
Hi TG, fair play for giving the top WinnEr Norwich
slot to ben Howard on your
albums of 2014 list; after all the Send us your pics and win
acoustic on Every Kingdom, I was an Orange amp worth £193!
really surprised by how much email your shots to us with your full
electric guitar there is on the new name and address. The best wins an
Orange Crush PiX Cr35LDX amp.
one! Just goes to show that you
can never predict where an artist www.orangeamps.com
will go next, and how important it
is to try new playing styles.
Jed Harley, via email
youtube.com/totalguitar
“Dimebag is the definitive
rockstar. Nobody has
rocked that kind of attitude.”
KeeGan donovan,
Facebook #Speak up… Don’t be shy
 PluS NeveR miNd oN S A l e
RecoRd The choRd BookS 16 f e b
HUGe GUITAR SoUNdS! heRe’S The

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STeAl THeIR STyle
The edge
INTeRvIewS
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Sleeping With Sirens You requested it, so we’re bringing it back!
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 TwenTy At the end of the 90s, the
Britpop era gave way to

s
the advance of nu metal

yof e a r
TG
In celebration of
reaching the big
20, we pick out
a few highlights
and momentum
shifts in our
illustrious
lifespan

ms
el Brown & Stuart Willia
Words: Rob Laing, Micha

Muse weren’t ready to

become rock stars in
2000: tough luck, boys

You’ve never had iT so Good nu meTal kills The GuiTar solo

ToTal GuiTar is born
December 1994 issue 1
The one that started it all at the tail
end of 1994. In it, there was a
bluffer’s guide to Jimi Hendrix
(of course), sweep-picking
masterclass, Steve Hackett’s guide
to multi-effects and even bass
reviews. Back then, we were also
calling the Parker Fly the guitar of
the future – nothing’s changed.
January 1995 issue 2
Our group test led with the question: can you
get a decent electric guitar for under £400?
Nowadays, we all know you absolutely can;
guitar gear has never offered you so much
bang for your buck and choice, but in 1995 it
wasn’t so clear-cut, and aria’s ar Standard
(£379 back then) ended up coming out on top.
When briTpop aTTacks
February 1996 issue 15
In the late 90s, TG’s covers were dominated by
a musical movement the likes of which the uK
had never seen, and we landed all the major
players: Oasis (who we branded britain’s
best band)! blur! The Stone roses! Suede!
The Seahorses! Ocean Colour Scene! Kula
Shaker! The Verve! Supergrass! reef!
radiohead! Cast (anyone?)!
December 1999 issue 64
by 1999, britpop had run its course; there was
a new scene on the horizon: nu metal. In issue
64, TG gave it the full treatment, singling out
Korn and Limp bizkit as trailblazers. according
to these nu metal bands, the solo was dead
– just ask Linkin Park’s brad Delson, who
claimed “guitar solos are hogwash!” in issue 91.
Hogwash, indeed.
maTT bellamY’s TG debuT
march 2000 issue 67
“We’re not ready to be rock stars yet,”
Muse frontman and guitarist Matt bellamy
told us after the band had released their
Showbiz debut. He was wrong. We said they
were going to be “huge”, and it didn’t take long
for Muse to deliver on that in everything from
their sound to their massive arena shows.

42 february 2015
 TWenTY Years of TG feaTure

red hoT GuesT ediTor

april 2001 issue 82
As the Chilis returned to the
limelight, a half-naked Frusciante
took his seat at the helm of TG,
steering that issue’s tabs in the
direction of his founding influences,
with tracks from Joy Division, The
Stooges, Blind Blake and Led
Zeppelin. Elsewhere, we listed the
finest guitarists from grunge,
punk and, erm, soft rock.

“To us, rock ’n’ roll is about doing

exactly what you believe in” Chris Martin
Coldplay were in defiant
mood for our cover story
back in September 2000

The readers speak

Summer 2002 issue 100
for our 100th issue, we asked you to vote for mick-noT: slipknoT unmasked
your 100 greatest guitarists, and here’s how February 2003 issue 106
the top 10 lined up: beginning in 1999, the Slipknot axeman
1. Jimi Hendrix has made several cover appearances
2. Jimmy Page over the years. In 2002, Mick Thomson
3. Eric Clapton took on the haters and proved his shred
4. Slash worth in the TG studio, while a year later,
5. Brian May as part of a guitar summit with Joe Satriani
6. Joe Satriani and The Offspring’s Noodles, we were the
7. Eddie Van Halen first mag anywhere to unmask #7 – because
8. David Gilmour he left his mask at home. Whoops.
9. Kirk Hammett
10. Steve Vai
haWkins flYinG hiGh
may 2004 issue 122
coldplaY come ouT fiGhTinG
© Patrick Ford/ Idols Katherine Lane-Sims

a testimony to self-belief, The Darkness

September 2002 issue 101
Coldplay had just released soon-to-be-
massive second album A Rush Of Blood To The
Head. Guitarists Chris Martin and Jonny
buckland stood firm to the backlash coming
from some TG readers. “To us, rock ’n’ roll is
about doing exactly what you want and what
you believe in,” reasoned Chris.
slogged for four years to be taken seriously
enough to get a record deal, then brought
good ol’ british rock guitar back into the
mainstream at a time when it was
completely aWOL. “We don’t make this sort
of music as a reaction to anything that’s
going on,” said guitarist Dan Hawkins.
“This is actually the music we’re really into.”

february 2015 43
feaTure TWenTY Years of TG

pG’s Tips!
July 2004 issue 124
TG’s longest-running guest lesson series ever
was brought to you by none other than one of
the most gifted players alive right now, Mr Paul
Gilbert. He kicked proceedings off with a nice
little descending legato lick.
alTer bridGe shred for us
December 2005 issue 143
We backed Tremonti and co from the very
beginning, and they rewarded TG readers
by recording their first (and still only)
instrumental exclusively for us, with tab of
Tenacious D: the only
artists ever to get 11 out of
10 in a TG album review
The d Take over TG
December 2006 issue 156
TG’s chad for iT
november 2005 issue 142
We travelled to Canada in dogged
pursuit of the fabled Kroeger and got
more than we bargained for during
24 hours on the road with Chad and
Ryan Peake. Nickelback were on the
verge of going stadium-sized but
gave TG AAA access to their

course. Ahavo Rabo Taco Salad was an absolute
shred fest, “giving the readers something to
get their chops around,” as Tremonti put it.
avenGed arrive
September 2006 issue 153
Cocky and brazen their reputation may have
been, but Zacky and Synyster have always
walked the walk. When we spoke to them back
at Download festival in 2006, avenged
Sevenfold were still eight years away from the
prized headline slot there that they would
easily justify, and along the way they’d face the
tragic death of drummer, The rev.
© Joby Sessions
2006 was the year Jack black and Kyle Gass humble world of Jägermeister and
took over the pages of TG, and boy, did they hand-modded Gibsons.
wreak havoc: uncle Kyle answered readers’
letters, they stuck their nose into the features
section and gave us their 10 commandments
(the first of which is ‘never stop rocking’). Oh,
and they took the opportunity to give their
album, The Pick Of Destiny, 11 out of 10.
GreaTesT GreaTesT riffs
march 2007 issue 160
Issue 258’s bbC analysis wasn’t the first time
TG did 100 greatest riffs – check out the results
from our reader poll – conducted on MySpace,
no less – in 2007…
1. Metallica – Master Of Puppets
2. AC/DC – Back In Black
3. Pantera – Walk
4. Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Train
5. Slayer – Raining Blood
6. Rage Against The Machine – Killing In The Name
7. Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine
8. Muse – Plug In Baby
9. Iron Maiden – The Trooper
10. Led Zeppelin – Black Dog
11. Metallica – Enter Sandman
12. Led Zeppelin – Whole Lotta Love
13. Pantera – Cowboys From Hell 2006 was the year
Jack black and kyle
14. Avenged Sevenfold – Beast And The Harlot
15. Trivium – Pull Harder On The Strings Of
Your Martyr
16. Metallica – Battery
17. Deep Purple – Smoke On The Water
18. Cream – Sunshine Of Your Love
Gass took over
19. Velvet Revolver – Slither
20. Jimi Hendrix – Purple Haze the pages of TG

an ed for heiGhTs
auguSt 2012 issue 230
When we spoke to Ed Sheeran
(and it took a while to pin him down)
he was big, and since then he’s gone
full-on stratospheric. His next step?
Three nights at Wembley Stadium
with just his little Martin guitar and
a looper. He got there with songs and
a work ethic that every aspiring artist
can learn from.
Guitar Hero player Marcus
Henderson stopped by for a
chat with TG in June 2008
hero or zero?
June 2008 issue 176
Guitar Hero was at its peak and the sight of
people twiddling coloured buttons on plastic
explorer and SG-shaped controllers stirred up
debate. Was it a good thing for real guitar or
a lazy substitute? We got Marcus Henderson,
the player behind the guitar recordings in the
original Guitar Hero, to weigh in, along with
some reader views.
rise of The proGaTeers
april 2012 issue 226
New eras call for new guitar heroes,
and the rise of progressive metal has
seen a different breed emerge.
forward-thinkers in technique and
tone, Periphery’s Misha Mansoor
talked new horizons and ‘guitar
wankery’ with mutual fan and
Dream Theater virtuoso
John Petrucci.
TG’s here To help
January 2014 issue 249
rattled by recording? Petrified of the
pentatonic? TG has a history of taking
subjects that might intimidate players
and stop them making music, and
breaking them into tasty digestible chunks.
We’re more dedicated to helping you get to
grips with the challenges than ever, too.
TWenTY Years of TG feaTure
Re: Modelled
The biggest development in
guitar gear over the last 20
years? We reckon it’s amp
modelling – here’s the proof
line 6 launcheS the poD
Digital modelling was just hitting the
mainstream in 1999, and when it comes to
hardware the POD played the biggest part at
an affordable price (£299), offering mic’d up
tones that sounded like real amps, not
a computer. Our verdict: “It looks cool, it
sounds cool and even the box it comes in
is cool.”
native inStrumentS guitar rig
That knackered PC in the corner gained
a whole new use back in 2004, when
Native Instruments introduced Guitar Rig.
Suddenly, the sound of a cranked amp and
any effect you wanted was available in
software form that was easy to use. It even
came with its own guitar-friendly hardware
to plug in with. Fast-forward to 2014 and GR
is in its fifth generation – you can even get a
version for free!
axe-Fx anD you Shall receive
These days, nary a month goes by when we
don’t spot an Axe-Fx II nestling in a guitarist’s
rack, but back in 2011 this was trailblazing
stuff, with 70 amp emulations and virtually
endless customisation. It wasn’t cheap, but
with axe luminaries such as Misha Mansoor
and John Petrucci snapping it up, the Axe-Fx
was here to stay.
iK multimeDia goeS mobile
Back in ’94, we felt cutting edge if we got to
have a go on a pager, let alone a mobile phone
that could fit in our pocket. 20 years on and
we use our phones to make riffs more
regularly than calls, and IK Multimedia’s
iRig is the most popular device that allows
us to do it.
The Axe-Fx II and the Line 6
POD caused quite a stir when
they arrived on the scene
february 2015 45
20
lessons
to change the way you play
Words: Steve Allsworth, Chris Bird, Charlie Griffiths, James Uings
Photography: Joby Sessions

T
here are so many areas of guitar
playing that we’d all like to be
better at, but sometimes it’s
difficult to take a step back
from our playing and actually figure out
where to begin. The good news is that
once you do, you can start to remedy
these ‘problems’. This month, we want
to help you to identify the parts of
your playing that need working on,
but more importantly give you the
answers to actually help fix them.
Over the next 17 pages, we’re
going to give you 20 full lessons
on everything from developing a
more interesting chord vocabulary,
to improvisation, string bends,
building speed and mastering the
geography of the fretboard. There’s
something here for everyone, so
close the door, set your metronome
and let’s get to work!
 20 guitar lessons lesson one
Do you sit, stand, slouch or even lie down when you play?
Your playing position affects that of your hands. Start the
transformation by getting your posture sorted…
Position, Posture, technique
1 Sitting poSture
Your feet should be shoulder-width
apart, pointing forward. Your shoulders
should be back and your back straight,
resting against the back of your seat.
2 Angle of guitAr
Your guitar’s body should sit against
your ribcage, with the underside of your
forearm resting on the guitar. Depending
on its shape, your guitar’s body should
reach your belly button.
3 StAnding poSture
Guitars are heavy, so make sure you
keep your back straight and avoid the
temptation to lean over towards your
fretting hand. Bad habits ingrained early
are difficult to undo later on.
48 fEBruArY 2015
4 StrAp height
A low-slung guitar looks cool, but all
your seated hand positions change
drastically and you’ll have to compensate.
Set your strap so the guitar’s position
doesn’t change when you stand.
5 picking
Aim to play notes with the tip of
your pick. This will help you play
accurately and will stop your pick
snagging on the strings.
6 WriSt movement
Your picking and strumming
movement should come mostly from the
wrist. It should feel loose and move freely.
Your forearm will move a little, but make
sure it isn’t doing all the work.
7 thumb poSition
The pad of your thumb should be
upright around the middle of the neck.
Everyone’s hand is different, so there are
no hard and fast rules, but avoid pushing
with the base of your thumb, as this will
limit your mobility.
8 thumb for bendS
You’ll probably need to move your
thumb. Many players hook their thumb
over the top of the neck to give them extra
leverage when performing string bends.
9 finger plAcement
Place your fingers close to the frets
without being directly on top of them.
This will eliminate fret buzz and help your
playing sound clean and accurate.
10 plAying chordS
Playing more than one note at
a time can result in fingers on lower-
sounding strings muting higher notes.
If you can’t play all the notes with your
fingertips, adjust your thumb position.
 lesson two 20 guitar lessons

Understand how blues turnarounds work and
you’ll improve both your songwriting skills
and improv expertise. TG shows you how…
AdApted for styles as diverse as
rock, blues and jazz, the humble
turnaround has been used for
more than 100 years. These
clever changeovers lead the
listener’s ear with a strong ‘pull’
back to the beginning of the
progression, giving the feel that
you are recycling or ‘turning
around’ the whole chord
Blues turnarounds
BasiC Blues turnaround
tracks 19-20
sequence. In a standard 12-bar
blues, the turnaround typically
occurs in the last two bars. The
simplest idea is to use a ‘V chord’
to lead you back to the root
chord. In the key of E, B7 (the V
chord) has this leading effect into
the E root chord. There are many
variations on this theme, and This turnaround in e uses a common descending pattern in bar 1 that’s based on an e
we’ll look at three common ideas. major arpeggio, moving down chromatically. The B9 chord in bar 2 is a bluesier
variation on B7 (made more bluesy by approaching from a C9). If this were a full 12-bar
blues, you’d expect an e root chord to follow the B9 as you restart the progression.

Contrary motion tracks 21-22 Jazz turnaround tracks 23-24

There are two common moves in a blues turnaround: a descending run (e, D, C#, C, B) The blues turnaround isn’t limited to a V-I move. In some blues progressions, and
and an ascending (e, G#, A, B b , B). They both finish on the crucial B root note of the especially jazz, a I-VI-II-V chord progression extends the idea with more complex
all-important V chord. Here, we combine both patterns, moving in opposite directions. harmony. normally in C, the chords would be Cmaj7, Am7, Dm7, G7. We’ve ‘jazzed’
Practise first with the higher notes to hear the strong sound of this turnaround. them up with a Joe Pass-style walking bass line.

Marty FriedMan’s ‘sPider’

Powerchord Fingering
bAck in issue 171, Marty friedman x x x x x x x x
told TG about his preferred ‘spider’
fingering for powerchords, explaining
that this four-fingered approach 6 1 6
allows him to play faster and cleaner
changes. The first/third finger shape 2
is the obvious fingering, but if you add
in a second/fourth finger shape you 3
can cross the strings and cover the
© Paul Bergen / Contributor

4
fretboard swiftly. Try alternating
between the two shapes shown here,
paying close attention to the
fingering; as you gain confidence, try
moving up and down the neck. eb5 b5

fEBruArY 2015 49
 20 GUITAR LESSONS COVER FEATURE

Beat creative plateaus by retuning your guitar.
TG looks at two of our favourite altered tunings
DADGAD tuning often goes hand
in hand with acoustic guitar in
folk circles, but it’s equally at
home on the electric. The folk
angle is mainly because of its
modal sound, hence why it’s also
known as D modal tuning or
Celtic tuning. All this really means
is that there are fewer obvious
major and minor chord shapes
due to the tuning, with a lot of
chord shapes using ambiguous
2nd and 4th intervals (the open
strings themselves create a large
Dsus4 sound). This can create a
moody atmosphere that sounds
Altered
tunings
great strummed or played as
arpeggios. Jimmy Page was a big
fan of DADGAD (check out Led
Zeppelin’s Kashmir and Black
Mountain Side).
Open E (EBEG#BE) is the
tuning of choice for many blues
slide players, including the likes
of Derek Trucks and Sonny
Landreth. When strummed, the
open strings sound an E chord.
Open E isn’t just for slide players,
however, as bands such as The
Black Crowes use this tuning
extensively for a bluesy Southern
rock sound.

DADGAD TUNING tracks 25-26

Because this tuning feels so alien, just by using your ears and a few relatively simple shapes, you can come up with some original and unusual-sounding chords. The final bar is
reminiscent of a folk-style Jimmy Page line that’s based around a D major sound.

OpEN E TUNING tracks 27-28

This whole riff should have a ‘let ring’ vibe throughout, and due to the tuning you needn’t worry too much about open strings bleeding into one another. The pull-offs shouldn’t be
too tricky, but make sure you hit the relaxed ‘swing’ feel throughout.

february 2015 51
 COVER FEATURE 20 GUITAR LESSONS

Chords with
open strings
Add some shimmer to your rhythm playing with
open-string variations on simple chords

E ChORDS B ChORDS C#m ChORDS A ChORDS

x x o x x o x x o x x o
UtilisinG open strings can add
new dimensions to basic chord 4 1 4 2 3 4 5 2 5 1
progressions. This simple and
effective technique has been 3 4 2
used to great effect by players
as diverse as Alex Lifeson, Jeff 3 3
Buckley, The Edge and Ed
4
Sheeran, to name but a few.
The approach works best when
playing in a key that shares a lot Eadd9/G# Badd11/F# C#m/G# A
of notes with the open strings,
such as the keys of E and G. x o o x o o x o o x o o o
Here, we’re taking a typical
pop/rock chord progression in E 7 1 2 1 4 1 5
major and looking at various ways
to play the chords while keeping 2
either the first or second strings
open. Try playing through the 3 4 3 4 3 4 3
chord chart using some of the
shapes shown here.

tracks 29-38 E5 Bsus4 C#m7 Aadd9

x o o x o o x o o x o o

16 1 11 1 13 1 9 1

3 3 3
Practice tiPlik!e any 4 4 4 4
treat these shapes d time
other chord and spen ges.
practising some chang on E Badd11 C#m7 Aadd9
aim to fret each strin you
your fingertips so thatrings. o o o o o o o x x x x o o
don’t mute out open st
7 1 9 T 1 5 1
1 2
2 1

3 4 3 4 3 2
4

E5 Badd11 C#m7 Aadd9

As they ring against the fretted notes, the open strings are crucial to the sound and
feel of these chords. Practise each chord first by strumming, then picking each string
individually to check that each note is clean. When you’re ready, try mixing and
matching these shapes with the chord progression over our backing track.

52 february 2015

plAy rhythm
ACross the
fretboArd
Break away from open-
position rhythm playing and
use the CAGED system to
discover major and minor
chords across the entire
fretboard
the CAGeD system makes it easy to access
any chord across the neck; here, we’re applying
the approach to major and minor chords.
If you already know the five essential open
chord shapes C, A, G, E and D, then you are
already halfway there, because the CAGED
system simply moves these shapes around the
neck as barre chords. Moving between the five
shapes will help you create more engaging,
interesting and even unusual rhythm parts.
The trick is seeing how the CAGED shapes link
together, sharing notes on certain frets. Barre
chords have no open strings, and this makes
them ‘movable’ shapes, so you can move each
shape to any fret and play in any key you wish.
It doesn’t matter if some shapes are tough to
play; just don’t fret all the strings and play a
‘partial’ chord.
tracks 39-42
CREATIVE RhyThm pART
This is a simple two-chord progression based on C and Am chords. The C chord is in bars 1 and 2, but notice that it runs through all five CAGED shapes. We’ve done the same with
Am in bars 3 and 4. Try creating your own parts by moving the CAGED shapes up and down the fretboard to access other keys.
20 GUITAR LESSONS COVER FEATURE
mAjOR ChORDS mINOR ChORDS
C shape Am shape
o o
1 1
o 3
2 2
3 o
x x
A shape Gm shape
1
4
3
x
x
1
1
2 1
2
x 4
G shape Em shape
4 1
1 1
1 1
1 4
2 3
3 1
5 5
E shape Dm shape
1 2
1 4
2 3
4 1
3 x
1 x
8 5
D shape Cm shape
3 x
4 3
2 1
1 2
x 4
x x
8 9
Start with the open ‘C shaped’ C major chord These five shapes are based on open-
then ascend the neck to play C chords in the position minor chord shapes. You do not
other positions indicated above, first using always start with a C shape; but the
an ‘A shape’, then a ‘G shape’, an ‘E shape’ sequence of shapes always remains the
and so on. Strum the full chords first, and same. Here, we start on an Am chord,
then pick each string to check that all of the followed by a ‘G minor-shaped’ Am chord,
notes are clean. then an ‘E minor-shaped’ Am chord, and so on.
tracks 43-44
february 2015 53
 COVER FEATURE 20 GUITAR LESSONS

A mAjOR SCALE ShApES A mINOR SCALE ShApES

Shape 1 (E shape) Shape 1 (Em shape)
1 2 4 1 3 4
2 4 1 2 4

plAy leAd
1 3 4 1 2 4
1 3 4 1 3
1 2 4 1 3 4
1 2 4 1 3 4

ACross the
4 4
Shape 2 (D shape) Shape 2 (Dm shape)
1 3 4 1 2 4

fretboArd
1 3 4 2 4
1 2 4 1 3 4
1 2 4 1 3 4
1 3 1 2 4
1 3 4 1 2 4
Just like chords, scales can 6 7
Shape 3 (C shape) Shape 3 (Cm shape)
also be played in five CAGED 1 2 4 1 3 4
positions across the fretboard. 1 2 4 1 3 4
1 3
Unlock your soloing potential 1 3 4
1
1
2
2
4
4
with this essential lesson 1 3 4 1 3
1 2 4 1 3 4
9 9
To successfully play solos and melodies Shape 4 (A shape) Shape 4 (Am shape)
over chords, it helps to associate chords and 1 2 4 1 2 4
scales with each other. Put simply, major scales 1 3 4 1 2 4
sound good over major chords and minor 1 3 4 1 3
scales sound good over minor chords. 1 2 4 1 3 4
Here, we map out the major and minor scale 1 2 4 1 3 4
shapes both from the same root note so that 2 4 1 2 4
you can compare the two sounds. The A 11 12
‘natural’ minor scale (A B C D E F G) has a cool,
dark atmosphere, whereas the A major scale Shape 5 (G shape) Shape 5 (Gm shape)
(A B C# D E F# G#) is happier-sounding. 1 4 1 2 4
3
These scales exist all over the fretboard, but 1 2 4 1 3 4
1 2 4 1 3 4
just like the CAGED chord system, they can
1 3 1 2 4
be arranged in five manageable chunks,
1 3 4 1 2 4
called ‘positions’ or ‘shapes’. It can be hard to
1 3 4 2 4
spot the chord shapes these scales resemble,
13 14
so treat this as a longer-term goal.
Run through these shapes, starting on the sixth Work through the minor scales using the same
tracks 45-48 string and finishing on the first. It helps if you
remember where the root notes are. As the scales
method as with the major scales. Memorising
all of these shapes is a long-term goal that can
feel familiar, try to spot the related barre chord take a while, so it is fine to focus on learning one
shapes within the notes that form these scales. or two shapes until you are comfy with them.

C mAjOR SOLO tracks 49-50

This short, simple solo uses just three scale positions, and will help you start connecting the CAGED shapes together. The key of C major is three semitones higher than A major,
so our solo is based on the same shapes shown above, but three frets higher up the neck.

54 february 2015
 20 GUITAR LESSONS COVER FEATURE

A mINOR SOLO tracks 51-52

This solo is more challenging, in that it uses all six strings and all five CAGED scale shapes. Learning the solo in full will help you understand how to navigate the tricky position
shifts. Make sure that you also compare the tab with the scale shapes.

four-finger dexterity
Take your playing to new levels with four exercises designed to develop your finger
independence, dexterity, and the brain power needed to coordinate tricky fretting moves

LATERAL SpIDER ExERCISE track 53 ChROmATIC TwISTER track 54

This variation of the classic spider exercise is designed to perfect your accuracy across This lick is designed to get all four fingers moving. The move from second to third finger
the fretboard. It can easily be extended over the whole neck and on all six strings. is particularly fiendish, so take your time building up the speed.

STRING SkIp LEGATO track 55 TypEwRITER LICk track 56

This exercise is tough on the fret hand thanks to the string skips and hammer-ons. Aim The idea here is to play the repeating note with each of your fretting fingers, one after
for a steady, even flow of notes. For more of a challenge, move the lick to lower strings. the other. The repetition is a great way to check that your thumb is in the best position.

february 2015 55
 COVER FEATURE 20 GUITAR LESSONS

stAminA And
strength
The benefits of improving 1. Greater flexibility
you’ll be able to reach further
your fret-hand strength along the fretboard, helping
are many. Dig down deep everything from chords all the
way to tapping and legato.
and try out TG’s tough
arpeggio exercise for a 2. Wider stretches
you’ll develop the ability to fret
full-on fretting workout wider and more interesting-
sounding chords.
3. Better chord accuracy
Start saying goodbye to
annoying fret buzzes and hello
to crystal-clear chords.
4. stronger fingers
This will give you more
confidence when playing
anything from block chords
to arpeggios.
HealtH warning!
as with any strength or
stamina workout, it’s wi
listen to your fret handse to
a little aching is normal, .
if you feel any sharp pa but
in,
stop immediately
5. Perfect barre chords
The foundation to many chords
starts here, so you’ll condition
the small muscle between the
thumb and forefinger.

STAmINA ExERCISE tracks 57-59

There are some shapes that will feel completely alien, simply because you’ve never used your fingers in that configuration before. Start very slowly, concentrating on perfect
thumb positioning, ensuring you have a proper arched finger shape, and use the fingertips rather than the pads. This will all help to avoid buzzes and scuffed/muted strings.

pAul gilbert sAys ‘mAy the

4th (not) be with you’
YoU probably know the blues scale. Simply add
a b5th into the minor pentatonic scale and you
get the blues scale. Über shred lord Paul Gilbert
5 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 1 1 1 1 1
has his own take on the blues scale, simplifying
2 2
the shape by taking out the 4th interval –
“probably the least interesting of the notes of
3 3 3 3 3
the blues scale”, according to Paul. Ditching the
©REX/Brian Rasic

dull-sounding 4th results in a more direct, 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

to-the-point and aggressive scale that's perfect
for edgy blues, fusion and heavy metal soloing.
It's easy to play on the guitar, too. A blues scale A blues scale
(no 4th)
56 february 2015
 COVER FEATURE 20 GUITAR LESSONS

Bend in tune Bending in tune separates the

novice guitarist from the pro.

every time TG’s exercise will take your

string bending to the next level

It takes a combination of strength, control,

feel and a lot of practice, but the 12 short licks
we’ve tabbed here will take you through most
of the techniques you’ll require to perfect
your intonation. Each line can be adapted
into any key and style, so the exercises don’t
just end here.
Listen to the audio track. You’ll hear each
phrase played over a simple backing, and
that’s followed by a short space for you to
play back the same lick in a ‘listen and repeat’
style. The first few phrases have a ‘naked’
bend with no vibrato – great for practising
your intonation. Next, you’ll hear the same
phrase played with vibrato (a notoriously
tricky technique) that requires more fret-
hand control. Make sure you try both along
with the track.

iP!
Pracayttoicpraecttise string
The best w y fretting the target
bending is b that you’re bending
pitch (the noutecan get the sound of
up to) so yo our head. Try this with
the note in y string-bend phrases
some of the efore you play along
tabbed here be backing track
with th

STRING bENdING Track 60

Don’t forget to support your finger for maximum control. So, if you’re bending with your third finger, keep your first and second fingers on the string for added strength.
Unlike spider exercises, you can angle your fingers and squeeze the neck for more of a push.

58 february 2015
 20 GUITAR LESSONS COVER FEATURE

Speed up your lead

If you want to build some serious speed in your lead, focus on one hand at a time

ALTERNATE pICkING Tracks 61-62

Step 1 Fret hand Get acquainted Step 2 Pick hand Alternate picking
with the exercise by means never playing
placing your fretting two downstrokes or
fingers on the right two upstrokes in a
frets. For bar 1, use row. Try muting the
your first, third and strings all together
fourth fingers; for bar with your fret hand
2, use your first, so that you can focus
second and fourth on picking evenly
fingers. Warm up by and transitioning to
using hammer-ons a new string cleanly.
and pull-offs to Remember, no
produce the notes. fretting for this stage
Don’t pick yet! of the exercise!

SwEEp pICkING Tracks 63-64

Step 1 Fret hand These arpeggios are Step 2 Pick hand Sweep picking is
CAGED system similar to strumming,
shapes; first, an ‘E but in a controlled,
shaped’ C chord, then slow-motion manner.
a ‘C shaped’ G chord. The idea is to move
Use hammer-ons to your pick up and
train your fingers to down across the
fall into place. Try to strings, letting the tip
have only one finger of your pick strike the
in contact with the strings evenly and
fretboard at a time. steadily. Mute the
Focus only on fretting strings and pick
here; don’t use your without fretting any
pick yet. notes for now.

february 2015 59
 COVER FEATURE 20 GUITAR LESSONS

Final step Metronome practice

You’ve prepared each hand for both exercises, so it is time
to synchronise both hands using a metronome

1 Start at a
comfortable tempo
at which you can play
2 Ensure that your
fingers and your
pick both arrive at the
3 Practise each
example for
90 seconds, then
4 Test your limits
by gradually
raising the tempo until
the exercises without string at exactly the increase the tempo in you can no longer
making mistakes. same moment. small increments. play accurately.

“Test your limits by raising the tempo until

you can no longer play accurately”

viBrato
Nearly every guitarist uses this expressive technique, but have you ever really analysed your
vibrato skills? Improve your feel as TG looks at six of the most iconic vibratos in history

1 BB king
Blues legend BB King has a very fast, shallow vibrato. To emulate it, try
taking your thumb off the neck and shaking your hand rapidly, but don’t
bend the string more than a quarter-tone.
Track s 65-70
4 Brian maY
Dr May makes his guitar sing with a slow pulsing vibrato similar to
David Gilmour’s, but a wider semitone curve adds an almost operatic
vocal effect, which permeates Queen’s music.

2 angus Young 5 sTeve vai

Angus’ playing has a blues foundation, and with it comes the fast Vai’s tone-wide vibrato is almost comparable to a classical violinist. You
flutter associated with that style, but his rock attitude comes through can emulate his style by drawing a circle with your finger as you bend
with a more pronounced bend, which should be roughly a semitone. and release the string.

3 DaviD gilmour 6 Zakk WYlDe

David Gilmour is the granddaddy of taste, and his vibrato is smooth, Wylde by name and wild by nature. Zakk’s vibrato is as extreme and
often ethereal and has a very subtle and slow rise and fall in pitch. ferocious as they come, and he bends the string on average a tone and a
Think BB King in super-slow motion. half. Grip firmly to lever the string up and down.

60 february 2015
 Cover Feature 20 Guitar Lessons

Three-noTe-per-
sTring shapes
Three-note-per-string licks are a cool alternative
to the box shapes of the pentatonic scales. If you’re
a mainly pentatonic lead guitarist, these two licks
will take your playing to the stratosphere

three-note-per-strinG LeGato tracks 71-72

This lick moves across the entire fretboard via a clever sequence that includes a position shift in each phrase. It’ll test your strength and dexterity in all of your fingers, but more
important is that it’s a cool way to cross the fretboard in a musical way.

MeGa-LiCk tracks 73-74

The logical next step for any three-note-per-string legato exercise is to start introducing slides to improve your neck coverage. This one takes practice to avoid ‘stuttering’ during
the slides, so start off slowly to make sure your rhythms are accurate.

62 february 2015
 20 Guitar Lessons Cover Feature

sound qualIty/ CharaCterIstIC Chord

Mode Intervals/notes/forMula Mood progressIon
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Ionian C D E F G A B (C) Bright, happy C–F–G
T T S T T T S

1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 8

Learn
Dorian Dark, yet sweet Dm6–G
D E F G A B C ( D)
T S T T T S T
1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 8
Phyrgian E F G A B C D (E) Dark, exotic Em–F

The modes
S T T T S T T

1 2 3 #4 5 6 7 8
Lydian F G A B C D E (F) Bright, mysterious Fmaj7#11–C
T T T S T T S

for good
1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 8
Mixolydian G A B C D E F (G) Bright, with a dark edge G–F
T T S T T S T
1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 8
Aeolian A B C D E F G (A) Dark, sad Am–G–F

Scared of modes? Don’t be.

T S T T S T T
1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7 8
Bm7b5–Em
Discordant,
Locrian
Here’s all you need to know… B C D E F G A (B)
S T T S T T T
unresolved

ionian Mode track 75

The major scale has a distinctive sound,
thanks to its sequence of intervals: tone,
tone, semitone, tone, tone, tone, semitone
(TTSTTTS). When the major scale starts
from a different note, the order of these
intervals changes and produces seven new
scales, called ‘modes’. Each mode has its own
distinctive mood.
The best way to get a feel for each mode is
to compare the different intervals that each
starting point produces. The Ionian mode is
the same as the major scale and has the
intervals: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. All other modes and
their intervals are compared to it. Modes
with a major 3rd (marked ‘3’) are major and
are generally happy-sounding. Modes with
a minor 3rd (with a ‘b3’) are minor and have
a generally dark sound. The table above tells
you all you need to know about the modes
derived from the C major scale.
Try our tabbed licks to get a feel for modal
lead. The licks are identical, except that each
begins a step farther up the C major scale to Because the major scale is so common, it is rarely
ensure it is a mode. referred to as the Ionian mode. Its bright, happy sound is
great for upbeat tracks and soaring melodies.

dorian Mode track 76 phryGian Mode track 77 Lydian Mode track 78

Dorian is a minor-sounding mode, but it has a brighter Phrygian is a minor-sounding mode that has a distinctly Lydian is a major-sounding mode that has an exotic
sound than other minor scales and modes (thanks to its exotic, some say Spanish, sound. Its dark sound means sound that is used a lot in jazz and instrumental rock as
major 6th) and is used a lot in blues and jazz. that it is used a lot in heavy metal. a substitute for the, often dull, major scale.

MixoLydian Mode track 79 aeoLian Mode track 80 LoCrian Mode track 81

Mixolydian is a major-sounding mode that is used a lot in Also known as the natural minor scale, the Aeolian is a The Locrian mode is the least common of the modes, as
rock and country music. It is mixed frequently with major minor-sounding mode with a dark, sad sound. Early hard its root chord is the discordant m7 b 5. However, it is used
pentatonic licks. rock and metal was based heavily on the Aeolian mode. occasionally in heavy metal and fusion.

february 2015 63
 Cover Feature 20 Guitar Lessons

UndersTanding
chord names
Chord names can sometimes look incredibly complex. Learn a few
simple rules and concepts to demystify this dark art of music

track s 82-91

scale intervals As with the modes, the best way to understand chord naming is to compare the
notes in each chord to the notes in the major scale. Chords that use lots of notes
reference major scale notes an octave higher. These ‘octave up’ intervals are
known as compound intervals. These are the notes, and numbered intervals in
the key of C major.

C d e f g a B
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

(8) 9 (10) 11 (12) 13 (14)

Building triads Known as ‘triads’, the most basic chords are built from three notes. A flattened note
(b3, etc) lowers a note by a semitone; a sharpened note (#5, etc) raises it by a
semitone. The b and # signs tell you how to adjust the major chord to make it either
minor, diminished or augmented.

Chord type short name 1st 3rd 5th

1 3 5
Major C
C E G

1 b3 5
Minor Cm
C Eb G

1 b3 b5
Diminished Cdim (C°)
C Eb Gb

1 3 #5
Augmented Caug (C+)
C E G#

64 february 2015
 20 Guitar Lessons Cover Feature

major & minor 7ths The major and minor triads are the most common. When you see a complex chord
name with lots of numbers, it is usually an extra note added to one of these basic
chord types. The most common of these are chords that add the 7th or b7th.

Chord type short name 1st 3rd 5th 7th

1 3 5 7
Major 7th Cmaj7
C E G B

1 b3 5 b7
Minor 7th Cm7 (Cmin7)
C Eb G Bb

1 3 5 b7
Dominant 7th C7
C E G Bb

6th chords This can be applied to lots of chords which, at first glance, look complex. For
example, a C6 chord is simply a C major chord with the 6th note of the major scale
added, while a Cm6 is a C minor chord that also has a major 6th added.

Chord type short name 1st 3rd 5th 6th

1 3 5 6
Major 6th C6
C E G A

1 b3 5 6
Minor 6th Cm6 (Cmin6)
C Eb G A

complex chords Even a complex chord such as Cmaj7#11 looks simple when viewed in this way.

Chord type short name 1st 3rd 5th 7th 9th 11th
1 3 5 7 9 #11
Major 7#11 Cmaj7#11
C E G B D F#

TGR263.coverfeature.fig20.musx
File Date: 08:22 12/12/2014
Page 1 of 1
Notes:

aLex skoLnick’s ‘seqUenced’

major scaLe

œœœœœ
testaMent axeman Alex Skolnick certainly knows

& 44 œœœ œœœœœ Œ

a thing or two about creative soloing. Alex’s idea

œ
tabbed here is based on the C major scale; these are
humble beginnings, technically speaking, but Alex
shows that even a basic scale can be used creatively.
The idea is to take every 4th interval in the scale
(eg, C-F, D-G, E-A and so on) and swap between T
ascending or descending the pairs of notes. You can A 9
9 7
7
10 9 7

apply this idea to any scale you know and try other
B 10 8 7
10
10 7
8
© REX

intervals, too. 3rds sound particularly good.

february 2015 65
 Cover Feature 20 Guitar Lessons

joe Bonamassa
geTs more oUT
of The minor
penTaTonic
Many guitarists opt for the minor
pentatonic scale for solos. This isn’t a
bad thing; the minor pentatonic
is a versatile scale and many
guitarists use it almost exclusively
(Eric Clapton, Slash, Angus Young).
Joe Bonamassa is a pentatonic master,
but, more importantly, Joe uses the
scale as a framework that he can build
upon, adding in unrelated notes that
sound great. The benefit is you have to
remember only the odd new colourful
note rather than learning a bunch of
new scales. Play through the minor
pentatonic scale and try improvising
with just one of the extra notes
highlighted in green.
improve
yoUr improvs
Get improvising now! TG goes beyond the major scale
and takes a shortcut to improvisational nirvana
ImprovIsIng can be a mind, it can be tough to get Remember, this is only a guide,
minefield. Which scale should around to playing anything. The there are limitless options and
you use over which chord? What handy flow chart below will these are by no means the only
ideas and techniques work with allow you to quickly see what ones available to you. But it’s
which style? With all these your best options are for most always good to have some
questions running through your common progressions. structure to start with.
Tg’s improvisaTion fLow charT
Follow this handy flow chart to help you work through your improvisation options and
hopefully produce something that’s more musical as a result. Start with the chord you are soloing over:
DOMINANT MINOr,
7TH M7, M9

Minor pentatonic with 2nd

1 3 4 sinGLe Chord or sinGLe Chord or
1 4
proGression proGression

1 2 4
1 3 sinGLe Chord proGression sinGLe Chord proGression
1 3
1 3 4 CLassiC roCk/ BLues indie/CLassiC roCk MetaL BLues/JaZZ
one stop one stop
5 Country/JaZZ
soLution? soLution?
Minor pentatonic with 6th aeoLian phryGian dorian
1 BLues sCaLe/
4 MixoLydian MaJor no yes no yes
1 3 4 pentatoniC
1 3
2 aLL the Chords Within
1 4
© Will ireland

i-iv-v MixoLydian Mode Minor pentatoniC

one Minor key?
1 3
1 4
no yes no yes
5

b7 MaJor aeoLian
aLL MaJor or b2 Chord?
Chord? doMinant 7th?

no no phryGian no
MixoLydian Mode BLues sCaLe

iv Chord MaJor?
revieW B7 MaJor
individuaL Chord
Chords no dorian

no yes v Chord or doMinant 7th?

revieW
individuaL MixoLydian
Chords harMoniC Minor

66 february 2015
 20 Guitar Lessons Cover Feature

perfecT
pracTice roUTines
Allocating a set amount of time every day to a focused practice
session designed around your strengths and weaknesses will
hone the skills that will help you improve

1 plan your tIMe

Set aside a realistic amount of time you can dedicate
to practice, then divide it into short sections. What you do
exactly is up to you, but scales and chords, rhythm playing,
lead playing, sight reading and improvising are a few
common categories.
7 play wIth other MusICIans
aside from personal practice, you should play with
other musicians. you don’t need a whole band, just one
other person on any instrument. your playing will improve
as you learn to jam and lock in with other players.

2 Choose speCIfIC goals

although you may have general ideas such as ‘lead
playing’ in your routine, make sure that you have a specific
goal within that subject. for example, you might set a goal
such as ‘play through chord changes using arpeggios’.
8 lIsten to your playIng
When you’re concentrating hard on your playing it can
be hard to evaluate what needs to be improved, so it’s
important to listen back to what you’ve played. It’s easy to
record yourself playing – even a phone recording is fine.

3 noodlIng Is not praCtIsIng

Hours of potential practice time are lost to noodling.
beware of playing endlessly with no direction. even when
practising a specific goal, it’s easy to lose concentration and
drift into playing familiar licks that won’t help you improve.
9 evaluate your playIng
as you listen back to your playing, make notes on
what you think could be improved. This might be things
such as ‘string bends are out of tune’ or ‘solo lacks
structure’. These observations will help you identify what
you need to work on in future.

“hours of practice time are

Listening back to your
playing can help you pick
what needs improvement

lost to noodling. Beware

of playing endlessly with
no direction”
4 foCus on praCtICe
Turn off your phone, close facebook and shut the door.
Practice is practice and nothing else should interfere. Make
sure you concentrate on your playing 100 per cent so you
can be sure you’re giving it everything you have.

5 aCCuraCy over speed

There are no prizes for fast, sloppy playing. focus on
playing as accurately as possible. If you can’t play
something at full speed, slow it to a speed where you
can play it. Only increase speed when you can play
without errors.

6 play wIth MaChInes

all your scale practice should be done to a metronome
and, eventually, you should play everything with one. This
will give you a solid sense of time and help you play with
other musicians.

february 2015 67
 interview sylosis

Heartwork
Words: Rob Laing Pics: Will Ireland

Sylosis’ fourth album confirms

them as the UK’s finest modern
metal band, with frontman Josh
Middleton one of the most gifted
players to emerge from the genre in
recent times. We examine the core
elements of his style on new record
Dormant Heart, then extract his
hard-earned wisdom for metallers

T
he best metal bands are lone wolves; they don’t quite
fit in and they don’t try to. They walk their own path.
That’s especially true in the UK, the birthplace of the
genre, where respect is earned at the grass roots by offering
something special that can turn cynicism to respect.
Four albums in with not a misstep in sight, Reading’s
Sylosis have doggedly gone and marked themselves as the
UK metal band to hear for musicianship and killer riffs with
Dormant Heart. It’s an irresistible blend that could unite
metal’s warring factions and endless sub-genres with its
extremely tasty stew of thrash, sludgy groove, progressive
rock atmospherics and superlative lead. One that sounds
genuinely passionate and unique amidst the sheen of
modern metal rolling out of studios in 2015.
With Josh Middleton, Sylosis have a humble leader who
lets his chops do the talking. And they say a great deal.
Josh took on the additional role of frontman following the
departure of Jamie Graham after 2008’s well-received
debut, Conclusion Of An Age. We dissect the vital organs of
his playing anatomy that have helped him evolve even
further on Dormant Heart, and also find he’s got wisdom to
share for other guitarists looking to improve their own
metal playing.

68 february 2015

“it’s important for us to
create an atmosphere”
Diversity
“The main foundation of our sound is thrash, we love
that, and we’re always going to have that. But in the
past we’ve had so many songs with that really fast
tempo that we needed to take a step back and
have some more variety in there. So different
types of songs, different tempos and different
types of riffs to break it up somewhat. That was
a focus on Dormant Heart.”
Groove
“One of my favourite albums, and of the whole
band’s actually, is Far Beyond Driven by Pantera.
That album is predominantly all about the
groove, and we hadn’t really touched upon that
too much before. It’s constantly an inspiration,
even though compared to a lot of technical
metal it’s quite straightforward. I can never get
sick of it. Some of the Pantera groove has crept
its way into this album.”
Vocals
“My vocal range has expanded a bit
through experience. It’s something that
came with time. I always try to pitch the
screams, so they’re slightly musical and
there’s a melody. It means sometimes that
I can focus more on vocal hooks and have riffs
take a back seat. But that can be sort of worrying to
our fans when I start saying stuff like that. We put up a
song online called Leech, which is definitely one of the
more stripped-back songs, really basic riff-wise so the
vocals can take over. That’s not necessarily a direction
we’re heading in. There’s more variety, but we’re always
going to have the fast stuff, always have the more technical
side, too.”
Atmosphere
“A lot of technical metal bands are relying on technology
and albums are coming out with programmed drums, so it
all sounds sort of soulless and there’s not really any
atmosphere. We’ve always been into bands like Cult Of Luna
and Neurosis, who create a real atmosphere on their albums.
Film scores and even early Portishead are a big influence, too.
It’s important to us to not just write riffs but have something
that creates an atmosphere and sucks you into a world.”
Sweeping
“We’ve always used a lot of sweep picking and we’re sort of
known for that at this point… It’s always done to outline
interesting chords that I couldn’t really be playing with a ton of
distortion. It’s about making a hypnotic loop, and that’s
more interesting to me than sticking it in
a solo for the sake of it and just showing off.
I try to do it in a musical way that’s melodic.”
sylosis interview
video
www.bi t.ly/263 sylosis
Arrangement
“We always try to have the solo be
something to look forward to in
the song… and not just a case of
wanting to hear something
flashy. It’s something that helps
to build the song, or change the
dynamics. Paying attention to
the backing of a solo is just as
important as what I’m playing.
The music has got to be
interesting, and we try not to
just rehash a riff that we’ve
already used and just stick a solo over the
top of it. That works sometimes, but it is
nice to make something more special.”
Scoop
“When you play in standard E tuning like
us you can afford to be a bit more scooped
and less harsh on the ear. A lot of metal
bands have got into using more midrange
tones. And especially when you down-
tune so much, you do need it to get some
of the note clarity. In standard, if you’ve got
too much midrange it’s a bit too nasty on
the ear. So we can go for a bit more of an
old-school, or even slightly more Pantera
tone. Which is more scooped than a lot of
modern bands but works and you can still hear
all the notes. It’s a little bit more pleasing than
what I’m hearing from more modern bands.”
Chemistry
“Our other guitarist [Alex Bailey] keeps me on
my toes because he’s an amazing player. He’s
really humble, but I have tried to get him to go
into more lead stuff. Now and then he takes
over, not necessarily leads, but the more
interesting parts live when I have to
concentrate on vocals. On this one, there’s
a song called Harm and we’re known for these
sweep picking parts, and it’s got a dual-
harmonised sweep picking part. So we’re
harmonising that technical stuff now. That’s
probably the most technical thing we’ve done,
so anyone who thought the Leech song was us
going more straightforward, wait until they
hear that one because it’s probably the most
technical thing we can do with both guitarists.”
tUrn over For MetAl tiPs
february 2015 69
 interview sylosis
Six StepS to Better Metal
Josh took guitar lessons, and he’s given lessons. Now he’s
even teaching fans Sylosis songs via his YouTube channel.
So we got him to share some of his best tips…
1 try stAying in stAndArd
Sylosis are actually gaining
a reputation for not drop tuning:
“We constantly get people who are
surprised that we’re in standard tuning, they
just can’t believe, or they didn’t realise when
they were listening to us. Inverted
powerchords tend to fool people a lot of the
time. But standard forces you to really
concentrate on the riff that you’re playing and
the notes in it. You can’t get away with playing
random notes all in a low register because in
standard, you can hear every note. And if one
of them isn’t in the right key it will really show
in standard. So you tend to not just focus on
the riff, but you also think about it
rhythmically; what the drums are going to be
doing, and whether the bass can play
powerchords, which can really help thicken
things up as well.”
2 think rhythMicAlly
Great riffs and parts are about more
than just your guitar – think about how your
guitar interacts with the drums:
“I always think rhythmically when writing
riffs; a lot of the time I won’t even have a guitar
Josh says the best way to
learn to play fast is to start
out practising slowly…
70 february 2015
with me when I’ll write a riff. I’ll be in the
shower and humming out some kind of beat
or some sort of accents the drummer can be
doing that are interesting to me. That sort of
leads into what makes the riffs sound heavy.
It’s not always about the riff, it’s also about
what came before and after the riff that
makes it heavy.”
3 endUrAnce > sPeed
Want to play well fast? You need to
slow down. Yes, really:
“A lot of people chase speed, and when you
go straight for that you develop bad technique.
And it’s going to be harder to get where you
want to be. If you focus on the endurance side
“you’ll get to those fast speeds you
want to achieve by practising slowly”
of things, it’s muscle memory and you train
your muscles at a slower speed; you’ll get to
those fast speeds you want to achieve quicker
by practising slowly. That sounds wrong, but
that really is how it works.”
4 leArn theory
Overcome the stigma of theory and
you’ll free your playing:
“I think a lot of people are scared of learning
too much theory and it dictating what they do,
but after a certain point it’s so helpful when
you know your modes and you don’t even
have to think about them. After doing it for so
long you can go on your ear and it will tell you
that two frets up is the note that you want to
hear. Or a fifth on the next string is the note
you can hear in your head. That’s something
that I didn’t really think I’d ever be able to do,
I thought that was something the jazz players
did and hit every note they want to play as
opposed to going up and down a scale, where
you know your fingers are ‘allowed’ to go.
“With time, you develop your ear. As a
blanket approach to all beginners, learning
video
w w w.b it .ly/
tg 263s yl os is
theory will really help that, and even if you
naturally don’t have a good ear for music, if
you practise the right scales your ear will
probably adapt anyway. ”
5 stArt recording
A home set-up will make you a better
player and songwriter:
“I used to have a Yamaha four-track that
I used to record in, back in 2000 or 2001, so
I got into it very early on. I had one of those
PODs – which I’ve still got actually – and in
2004 I got my first home studio set-up.
A really basic interface. It’s hugely important
for the writing and it’s been vital in how far
we’ve come as songwriters. It’s really easy to
experiment with writing ideas and what
makes songs work, and what doesn’t. The
experience you get from recording yourself at
home can show you what makes a song work
well and how throwing in something that’s a
bit different can be a nice surprise as well. It’s
so important these days to be able to demo
songs for yourself and really listen back to
them with fresh ears a week or two later.”
6 go UnPlUgged
Playing acoustic guitar builds
strength you can take back to your electric:
“For me, learning on an acoustic was hugely
important. The first year of me having lessons
was playing an acoustic, and it was kind of
annoying at the time because I wanted to play
heavy stuff, but it’s the old story when your
parents don’t want to buy you an electric
guitar if you’re not going to stick with it. But it
helps so much, especially for building up
left-hand strength. Learning steel strung
acoustic really builds your finger strength for
electric, at least using a cheap acoustic in
conjunction with electric as a training tool.”
 interview blackberry smoke
Fruit
Words: Matt Parker Pics: Will Ireland
Pickin'
Georgia’s soulful rockers Blackberry Smoke have
worked hard to build a live reputation. now, with
album four, they've got the record to match…
B
lackberry Smoke formed in 2000
and have spent most of the
intervening time on either a
tourbus or a stage. It figures, then, that
guitarists/vocalists Charlie Starr and
Paul Jackson represent two of the finest
players TG’s had the pleasure of recently
witnessing: just listen to this year’s live
record Leave A Scar for evidence of that.
You’ll find no liberal Live And Dangerous-
style overdubs – just a rock band that
have been playing together for 15 years
and sound tighter than a duck’s butt.
The Southern rockers embrace a wide
variety of bluegrass, gospel and
heavy-rock heroes, while politely
shouldering comparisons to frequent
tour partners the Allman Brothers and
Lynyrd Skynyrd. We sat down with
Charlie and Paul to discuss the band’s
beginnings, the future of Southern rock
and how, with help from Brendan
O’Brien, they may finally have an album
worthy of their live reputation…
What were your roots, musically, and
when did the guitar come into
the picture?
Charlie: “My dad is a bluegrass guitar
player and singer, so I banged around
on his guitars. I don’t remember there
not being a guitar in the room. Then,
when I became 11 or 12 years old, none
of my friends liked that. They didn’t
want to hear [bluegrass icon] Bill
72 february 2015
video
w w w.b it .l y
y/
b e rr
5 9 b la ck
tg 2
Monroe, they liked Sabbath! So
I bought an electric guitar from
a friend for $25. It was a Heit
Deluxe Mosrite copy and he’d
painted it like Eddie Van Halen’s
[Frankenstrat] with all the stripes.
It was really goofy.”
Paul: “I was adopted. My mom
re-married and my biological father’s
family, I didn’t grow up anywhere near
them – they were in Philadelphia –
but they were all musicians. I picked
a guitar up and started going for it,
so I don’t know, it was just in
me somewhere.”
How did the idea for Blackberry
Smoke come together?
Charlie: “I was playing in another band
with Brit and Richard [Turner], our
drummer and bass player. It was this
singer-songwriter guy in Atlanta and
we were his band, but he had an
agenda that didn’t seem to include us.
The three of us knew we had
something that really clicked and I’d
written some songs that this guy didn’t
wanna hear, so it was just a natural
place for us to land. Those songs were
Blackberry Smoke songs: Sanctified
Woman, Testify… Then I knew Paul
from years ago, from a cover band.
I knew he had a beautiful harmony
vocal – which is very important in
Blackberry Smoke, that bluegrass

“when it’s your name on the ticket and
you see a line of people around the club,
you think ‘it’s starting to work’”
thing – and he was a great guitar
player, so I called him and he
came to Atlanta and that was it.”
You describe your following as
“organic”. Could you explain
what you mean by that?
Charlie: “It means it’s not people
that heard our music on the
radio. It’s truly a word-of-mouth
campaign; now with social
media being what it is, that’s
a way bigger mouth than it was
in 1970 for the Allman Brothers,
but while a tweet is a great way
to spread the word, the proof is
still in the pudding.
“We spent years playing bars,
but then we would turn around
and go and open a big show for
Skynyrd, or ZZ Top or Zac Brown;
but when it’s your name on the
ticket and you look out and see a
line of people around the club,
you think ‘It’s starting to work.’
Then it’s just trying to keep it
fresh. The setlist changes every
night and that’s a good start,
I think.”
You lay down your albums very
quickly. 2012’s The
Whippoorwill took only five
days. Why is that?
Charlie: “The schedule didn’t
permit otherwise at that point.
We had a small window. I don’t
think anyone
involved was
really sure
whether
we’d finish,
and it just so
happened
that we
managed to do it. It was a great
studio, with great people, and we
were very rehearsed on those
songs. We got great sounds the
first day and that was it, it was a
nice happy accident.”
What can you tell us about your
new record?
Charlie: “It’s done! The projected
release date is 10 February. The
blackberry smoke interview
album is called Holding All The
Roses and [its namesake] on the
album is probably the heaviest
song we’ve ever recorded. We
recorded in Atlanta, Georgia at
The Quarry Studio, and Henson
Recording Studios in Los
Angeles, which used to be A&M.
It’s produced by Brendan O’Brien
and he was fantastic. He’s
a legend: a great musician,
a great producer and I think it’s
our best-sounding record to
date. We’re just over the moon
about it.”
How did Brendan O’Brien come
to be involved?
Charlie: “From the very
beginning of the band, if we ever
talked about being produced, his
name was always the first name
on the list. It was a pipe dream,
really. He’s from Atlanta as well,
he’s an Atlanta legend, plus he’s
an incredible, incredible guitar
player. Eventually, the way that
the snowball builds, we were
able to build ourself a tall enough
stool to stand on and eventually
reach Brendan O’Brien! He came
to a show in Los Angeles and
hung out for a little while, then
I sent him some demos and he
said, ‘I’m in’.”
How did Brendan O’Brien help
you as a guitarist?
Paul: “Brendan O’Brien is every
bit the guitar player Charlie says
he is, but it was about knowing
you don’t have to stress. He
brings a lot out of you and he got
me in my comfort zone. He
would give you little hints about
what to do on certain parts, but
still let us do our thing, you
know? He didn’t mess with our
sound, but if he’d have wanted
to, I’d have been like, ‘Sure!’ You
trust a cat like that.”
Speaking of your sound, what’s
in your current tour rig?
Charlie: “My main guitar is a ’56
Les Paul Junior. I’ve had it a long
february 2015 73
 interview blackberry smoke

Paul uses three Wampler

Charlie’s board features
pedals: the Ego, the Paisley
a Wampler Tape Echo and
Drive and the Decibel Plus
an Analog Man Bad Bob

time. It’s on every Blackberry Smoke

Teles, Strats and Les Pauls
are the backbone of the
Blackberry Smoke sound
threebirds
Charlie picks three great
Southern-style guitarists
you might not know…
Eddy ShavEr
Band: Billy-Joe Shaver
“He’s unfortunately
deceased, he died in 2000.
He’s legendary Texas
songwriter Billy-Joe Shaver’s son [and
collaborator] and he was quite possibly
the best guitar player you never heard. An
incredible, incredible guitarist. Check out
Unshaven: Shaver Live At Smith’s Olde Bar.”
alan andErSon
Band: NRBQ
“He’s not a Southerner, but
he is possibly the coolest
guitar player on earth.
He plays this great mishmash of jazz and
country and blues. It’s this seat-of-his-
pants playing. It was always a Tele through
© Kirk West /Michael Putland / Charlie Gillett Collection /Getty Images
record, pretty much every show and
it’s the heart of Blackberry Smoke.
Amps-wise, I’m playing these Plexi
clones built by a guy in North
Carolina called Germino, Germino
Amps. He’s a genius. He’s a student
of the non-master volume Marshall
amplifier, so that’s what they are, but they’re Charlie: “I don’t really know. I guess
all hand-wired and made in the USA. I’ve it’s pretty simple! It’s not hard to dance to.
been using those for a while.” It’s honest and familiar, possibly.”
Paul: “I use mainly Les Pauls. I have a ’79 Les
Paul that I use a lot and a newer one that a
friend of mine relic’d up. Then I have a Tele
What do your fans tell you?
Charlie: “A lot of people say we remind them
and a Strat that a guy put together for me. of ’Skynyrd! Well, I’m joking, but the way
It’s simple stuff, nothing major. With the amp, a lot of people say it is that we remind them
I’m using an Orange Custom Shop 50. It’s of ’Skynyrd but that we sound like ourselves
“my main guitar is a ’56 les Paul Junior.
it’s the heart of blackberry smoke”
hand-wired and it’s just a great classic – and that’s a great compliment, because
rock sound. It goes well with [Charlie’s] we’re not a tribute band.”
Germino, too.”
Do you feel you could be the torch bearers
Do you use many effects? for that sound?
Charlie: “I use more effects now than I ever Charlie: “Yeah, if that’s the way people feel
have done, and it’s just because people have then that’s an honour. It’s not specifically
gotten so good at it! I always wanted an what we set out to do. We’re just five guys
Echoplex and I can’t afford one, but this playing music: two guitars, bass, keys, drums

a Super Reverb with that chime-y tone.”
ClarEnCE WhitE
Band: The Byrds
“The guy who’s
considered the best
flat-picker in the world,
Tony Rice, worshipped at the feet of
Clarence White. Clarence took bluegrass
flat-picking and incorporated a Django
influence. Then he got a Telecaster and
decided he wanted to emulate pedal steel
licks, so invented the B-Bender guitar.”
company, Wampler, makes the Faux Tape
Echo. To my ears, it sounds as close to the
original product as I can get. Then there’s
a company in Athens, Georgia called Greer
that makes great effects, and I’ve been using
an Analog Man Bad Bob for a clean boost. It’s
like a 30dB explosion! Then a Cry Baby wah.”
Paul: “I use the Wampler Decibel Plus pedal
as a boost, the Brad Paisley overdrive pedal,
a [Ego] compressor and then a Cry Baby.”
You seem to do very well in the UK. What do
you think it is about Southern rock that
appeals to audiences here?
and vocals. There’s a way larger well of
influences to draw from than just ’Skynyrd
and the Allman Brothers [see Threebirds,
left], which we love dearly, but it’s so much
more. I think it really boils down to where we
come from.”
What’s your hope for the future of the band?
Charlie: “I hope that with this new album we
can reach more people. That’s the goal with
every album. We don’t speculate over airplay,
because we never get it! So it’s really just
more of the same: to continue to tour and
build it.”

74 february 2015
 interview blues pills
Young Man,
old Soul
A teenage guitarist channeling the magic touch of Paul Kossoff and Peter
Green? Blues Pills’ Dorian Sorriaux is not like others
T
he idea of dropping your school
studies to run off and tour Europe
as a guitarist in a blues-rock band
sounds like the script from a film,
or at least a daydream worth
having. But a couple of years ago, Dorian
Sorriaux went from studying in small-town
Brittany to zig-zagging around the festival
circuit in a van with Swedish and American
bandmates. But his life change wasn’t quite
that simple in the end…
“I was studying in the tour van,” laughs
Dorian. “And I picked the hardest subject,
which was scientific. Looking back, I didn’t
know I was going to be on tour, so I would
have chosen literature because it’s easier
to read in the van! Doing all the math and
chemistry was a bit challenging.”
But he graduated, learned to speak
fluent English remarkably fast, and with
the responsibility box ticked, he’s now
throwing his all into the band. They
recruited him after a chance meeting
when bassist Zack Anderson and original
drummer Cory Berry (now replaced by
André Kvarnström) were impressed by
a 14-year-old Dorian when he supported
their pre-Pills band in France.
“After that show, we kept in touch on
Facebook,” Dorian explains. “About six
months after that is when they started Blues
Pills. Right after that they sent me the links
to the demos they’d recorded, and then
I was recording lead guitar for the first EP.
Six months later, I was on tour with them
in Spain.”
We can see why they were keen to bring the
Frenchman onboard. We hear a lot of players
who attempt to resurrect the cosmic spirit of
70s blues-rock, but very few sound as though
they are really feeling the blues part. Dorian,
however, is different.
78 february 2015
Words: Rob Laing
“My dad was listening to ZZ Top, and I loved
it right away,” he remembers. And the blues
drew him under its spell very early on. “Other
people at school didn’t really listen to that
music when I was nine or 10. Even I thought it
was strange. I wasn’t ashamed of the music,
but it was a personal thing for myself.”
Playing in bands from his early teens, Dorian
ended up answering an ad from an older blues
player looking to jam, which would prove
a valuable step on his journey.
“We used to jam pretty much every week,
and jamming with a musician who had a lot
more experience than me was a great learning
experience. He would tell me, ‘That was good
“i never really play the
same solo live. i like the
idea of improvising”
Dorian but you don’t have to play it that fast
right away, just take your time.’”
That may explain the route Dorian has taken
to find a remarkable maturity in his playing.
It can be heard on last year’s assured self-titled
debut, which found Blues Pills re-recording
some of the tracks from their preceding EPs
with Graveyard producer Don Alsterberg.
The record also proves an impressive
showcase for frontwoman Elin Larsson, the
combination of her powerful Janis Joplin-
esque timbre and a rhythm section that recalls
the heady grooves of the Hendrix Experince
proving a powerful blues cocktail. Dorian adds
the most potent shot to the mix. From driving
funked fuzz riffs to minor-chord psychedelics,
he confidently runs the gamut of dynamic
rhythm magician and conjurer of
heartbreaking vibrato like a reanimated lost
guitar hero frozen in carbonite since 1972.
“It’s having those solos that are less about
technical abilities and more about the feeling
and what it brings to the song,” Dorian
explains of his roots. “Paul Kossoff was a player
who did that really well. There’s a lot of
feeling, with the big bends he did and the
vibrato. I like Peter Green for that, too; really
tasteful blues guitar playing.”
Crucially, the young Bretton has got an ear
for a hook like his influences, too. There’s no
self-indulgent blues bobbins here. Indeed,
18-year-olds should have no business
pulling off the spine-tinglingly intense
breaks in Ain’t No Change and Black
Smoke, then laying down superlative
slide in River with equal class that puts
the 12-bar brigade to shame.
“I never really play the same solo live,”
he notes. “I like the idea of improvising.
But I also like melodies; players like
Kossoff and even George Harrison, so it’s
not just random licks. I like great
melodies that bring something to the song,
but still trying to keep the feeling on
spontaneous improvising.”
While the Blues Pills sound is undeniably
‘retro’, not all Dorian’s guitar influences are
too. “I should mention Phillip Sayce,” he adds.
“He has influenced me quite a lot. I saw him
opening for ZZ Top in France. Being able to
watch live videos from this guy that’s doing it
right now was a bit easier to get a connection
with, rather than people that died 50 years
ago. He can play fast, but it’s always tasteful
and he puts a lot of feeling into it, more than
others who I should probably not name!”
We’re hoping other young players will be
saying the same about Dorian one day.

european union
Dorian’s unusual gear choices
Though he’ll hire
Orange rockerverbs when
he’s touring in the uK,
Dorian’s true amp love is a
hidden gem, but he may
have snapped them all up
by the time you read this…
“It’s called a DNS (Denmark
Norway Sweden, where it
was distributed by
Hagstrom). It’s from the
early 70s and kind of a mix
between an old fender and
a Vox aC30. I discovered
them through Don
alsterberg. People don’t
© Adam Gasson
really know about them, so
if you’re lucky you can find
blues pills interview
video
w w w.bit .ly/
tg263B lues
them cheap on Craigslist in
Sweden. I have two that
I bought for £200. They
sound amazing.”
His latest guitar choice is
unusual, too: “I was thinking
I’d really like a Les Paul with
P-90s. but the older Les
Pauls are really expensive,
but also really heavy. I liked
the Les Paul shape, P-90s
and Sunburst, so I
wondered where I could
find something.” enter
Corsa guitars from
Switzerland with the LCPG
and PG90 Manalishi
pickups [there’s that Peter
Green connection again].
It was love at first strum:
“I played for four hours
because it was so nice.”
february 2015 79
089

Cort Manson MBC-1 Matthew

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february 2015 81
 iNterview
HugH Manson

New BorN
Hugh Manson on the
development of the Cort MBC-1
Matt Bellamy signature model
A
n official Matt Bellamy signature
model has been a long time coming for
Muse fans on a budget, but finally, the
wait is over as the MBC-1, a joint venture
between Manson, Cort and Bellamy himself,
has arrived. The result of three years’ design,
development and prototyping, the whole thing
was overseen by pioneering UK guitar builder
(and maker of pretty much every guitar Matt
plays) Hugh Manson. Naturally, when we
found out about the MBC-1, we wanted to
know all about it, so we caught up with Hugh to
bring you the full story behind one of the most
anticipated signature guitars of the last decade.

How did your relationship with Matt

Bellamy begin?
“Matt was a customer of Mansons Guitar Shop
when it first opened. When he got his first
advance for the first album, he came in and
obviously knew I was a guitar maker – and
ordered his first guitar. It was the aluminium-
clad guitar that’s commonly known as the
DeLorean, that was the first guitar. Since then
he’s had something like 28 guitars, all different
with different features.”

Were you aware of Muse in the early days?

“Well, they played their first gig in the basement
of our local pub, so we were aware of them.
They were at college together, and we helped
them out a lot in the early days. We were the
importers for Matchless and Soldano, so we
helped them out with amps, Dennis at Sawmills
studio was their manager, and we had a close
relationship with him. So it all fell into place
beautifully, it was fortunate we were local.”

You’ve produced some ambitious designs

over the years, is this a challenge?
“Matt’s great to work with because the most
exciting kind of musician to work for as a guitar
maker is a person who knows what they want

82 february 2015

The MBC-1 is made by
Cort, but has Manson
Design pickups
to achieve, but have no idea how to achieve it.
I work similarly with other artists who have
a great vision of sonically what they want to
achieve, but have no idea of how a guitar is
made, or what they’re made of and why, and
what woods produce different sounds. It makes
it reasonably creative from my point of view.
There are many guitar makers building
re-hashes, and I try to make things that are
radically different, so when you get asked to
make them it’s great, because it gives you the
excuse to do it! Particularly finishes, you know?
It’s great to find someone who’s willing to
experiment. Fortunately, he’s got pretty great
stage presence, too, so I can make guitars that
look pretty wild onstage instead of just a
Three-tone Sunburst!”
Where does the MB shape come from?
“Well the shape – he hasn’t quite stuck with it.
The DeLorean was the first, that had an
enormous top horn on it, and we’ve gradually
made it smaller over the years, more pleasant to
the eye, really. We kind of designed it together.
I did the drawing, then Matt turned up and
said, ‘Oh make that bit bigger, make this a bit
smaller…’ and we added all the bits. I’ve still got
the original drawing.”
Matt Bellamy runs the rule
over one of his new Cort
signature models
This is a guitar built in Matt
Bellamy’s image, and his
signature’s on the headstock
When did the idea for an affordable version
of Matt’s guitar come about?
“Well, it started before any of our licensed
guitars came out, I was getting requests every
day: ‘Can you build me the same as what Matt
Bellamy plays?’, and I wouldn’t do it because
I’ve been honourable to Matt. It’s the guitar he’s
known for and I didn’t want everybody else to
have them. So we started negotiations and
finally came up with the MB Series – the black
one and the red glitter one – but they’re over
£3,000. They’re very labour-intensive, they
take a long time to make and we can only make
a particular number. Now, because the Muse
fanbase is so enormous, we decided years ago
that a more affordable model would be a good
idea. It would make all the fans happy and we
could produce a good guitar for a good price.”
How did you settle on Cort for the MBC-1?
“It went on and on and on, we offered it to
many other companies and got turned down
by pretty much every major guitar company.
So I took the bull by the horns and decided to go
and find a manufacturer who wanted to make
this. So I found Cort, and my mental process
was ‘Let’s pick the biggest guitar manufacturer
in the world’ on the basis that repetition would
gear HugH Manson
prove perfection. If you make a million guitars
a year, you’re gonna get pretty good at it. I went
to the factory and was completely blown away
by the attention to detail. At every single
production stage there’s unbelievable checking
processes. I was just so impressed. The pickup
manufacturing is state-of-the-art, and they
were really keen to listen to my outlook on
making guitars. So it was win-win all around.”
Did it take a long time to arrive at the final
version of the guitar?
“The development, from choosing the company
to getting a prototype in my hands, was maybe
two to three years. We went through every
single thing, from the weight of the body wood,
the shape of the neck, the compound radius of
the fingerboard, the size of the frets. The
pickups; that was a really long one. We’d send
them pickups that we’d made here, they’d send
us pickups that they’d made, god knows how
many different types of magnets and slug sizes!
We had necks and pickups flying backwards
and forwards for ages. It just went on and on!”
So this is far from just a production guitar
with a famous name on the headstock?
february 2015 83
 iNterview
HugH Manson

The neck, and particularly

the truss rod, was a real
labour of love for Hugh

finish, and the pickups, every aspect. But I’m
a guitar-maker, he’s a musician, so I’d interpret
his comments into guitar making terminology
to give to Cort, so it was quite challenging.”
The MBC-1 has a built-in What about the matt black finish?
kill button for creating “The finish was a whole other thing. The
cool stutter effects
trouble with matt black finishes is that, if you
hang them up in a shop and 10 people play it,
“We spent a long time working on the neck, before the 11th person buys it, they’re probably
particularly the truss rod. I didn’t want the going to buy it as a second-hand guitar because
typical aluminium and steel bar in there, matt finishes mark very easily. So we spent ages
because the neck is completely crucial to the researching matt finishes, and came up with
way the string vibrates and resonates and a firm in Holland who make the perfect finish,
sustains. If you make a neck out of the most which has a completely different application to
lovely piece of maple, then get a bloody-great guitars. If you get a pick and try and scratch the
10mm router bit and route out front of it, you’ll find it’s extremely difficult to
a 10 by 10 slot, then fill it with do! I’m very proud of that finish.”
a piece of aluminium and steel
which is 40 per cent air, you’re
destroying any potential for
resonance. The truss rod
“I wanted to make a simple
adjuster – I’m a tech and I’ve
tech’d on the road for years – to
take the neck off to adjust the
guitar that has good versatility”
when we come to it. I’m sure a lot of
people will want to put the Fuzz Factory and
the Sustainer in it, I’m not sure the screen will
fit because of the bridge. This guitar would suit
the Sustainer because of the positioning and
routing of the pickups, but that would double
the price. I want the kid – wherever he is – to get
a good guitar that relates to one of his idols.”
Did you always plan for the guitar
to be £500?
“Yeah, that’s what we always had in mind.
I think it’s great value at £500, I’m quite
fortunate that I own a guitar shop, so I’m aware
of what is available at £500, and I think this sits
really well in there as a musical instrument
– you play it and it rings like a piano. I was
looking to make it airy, that’s the word I’d use,
organic and airy. It’s very open,
not compressed in any way. It’s
got lacquer on, but it hasn’t got
a quarter of an inch of polyester,
and we’ve chosen our timbers
very carefully.”

truss rod is not ideal, so that’s why the
thumbwheel adjuster is at the bottom of the
neck. You can just put a bar in there and turn it
real quick. One thing I was worried about was
not having dots on the fingerboard, but do you
really ever look at the front of the fingerboard
when you’re playing? You look at the side. You
might look at the other guy’s to find out what
key you’re supposed to be in! So we went with
no dots. It’s got side-markers, you’d be
snookered without those!”
Was Matt involved at every stage?
“Oh yeah, totally. Every prototype, he got to see
and play. His input was really good about the
It also features a kill button…
“Fitting a kill button is a very easy piece of
wiring, it just shorts the live signal to earth, it’s
quite basic. We couldn’t put the effects in it
because it would have put the price up too high,
so a kill button is a very economical way of
producing an effect without shoving another
£500 on the price.”
Is there likely to be a retro-fit option for some
of the effects?
“I think we’re looking into that, and the custom
hardware; the round machineheads and
aluminium knobs. We’re a bit concerned about
quantities on that, but we’ll cross that bridge
So is it a guitar just for Muse fans, or was it
important to make something for any style?
“Yeah, exactly, that was another thing. I don’t
want it to be limited to Muse fans. It’s
a perfectly open guitar for anybody, you can
play whatever you want on it. It does have to be
very specifically ‘Matt’, because it’s a signature
guitar, but it should be useful for other
musicians as well. In the same way that the Eric
Clapton Strat with the mid-boost presumably
gets used by people playing something other
than Layla. I wanted to make a simple, resonant
guitar which has really good versatility and
tone. I’m really happy with what’s come out,
the reaction has been amazing.”

84 february 2015
 REVIEw
CORT MansOn MBC-1

video
www.bit.ly/tg263cort

86 february 2015

Cort Manson MBC-1
Matthew BellaMy
signature £499
The Muse frontman finally gets his own signature guitar –
and it won’t leave a supermassive black hole in your wallet
For a guitar made for such
an extraordinarily
talented musician, Matt Bellamy’s
latest signature model is a bit, well,
ordinary. Those of you expecting
onboard effects and MIDI
controllers to emulate the Muse
man’s custom Hugh Manson-made
axes best look elsewhere. At £499,
the MBC-1 is designed to hit a
completely different price point,
and although still designed by
both Matt and Hugh, it’s made in
Indonesia by guitar-making giant
Cort. Price aside, a quick strum lets
you know this is a Manson through
and through: it rings like a bell, the
sort of acoustic response you’d
expect from a quality guitar, but
not always at this price. Game on.
In style, the MBC-1 is a pretty
accurate repro of the instruments
used by Matt. That big upper
shoulder won’t be to everyone’s
taste, but in playing position, it’s
not only lightweight (3.52kg) but
with forearm and ribcage
contours, it fits like a glove. And
the bolt-on maple neck feels
superb, too, with a deep C profile
and sloping shoulders that tell
your hand it’s thinner in depth
than it actually is. Unusual at this
price, too, is the compound radius
fingerboard, which flattens out as
you move up the neck; with tidy
jumbo – but not over-tall – frets, it’s
a fast, fluid player, as well.
While the Gibson-style bridge
setup is common enough, the
Cort-logo’d rear-locking tuners are
above average, and with staggered
height posts, there’s no need for
string trees. It’s not rocket-science,
simply good guitar making.
Similarly, the Cort-made,
Manson-designed pickups are
intended to create “a good
smattering of the sounds Matt
would use,” says Hugh. So, what
we have is a fairly hot Alnico-
gear COrT MansOn MBC-1 MaTTHeW BeLLaMY
Tuners
YoU don’t really need
locking tuners on a
non-vibrato guitar, but they
make restringing very fast.
these Cort rear-lockers
have staggered height posts,
dispensing with the need for
string trees
powered humbucker at the bridge
and a single coil at the neck. Along
with a master volume, tone and
at a glaNce
Body: Basswood
three-way pickup selector, the Neck: Maple KiLL BuTTOn
upper shoulder also holds a kill Scale: 648mm (25.5”) A key feature for the modern
rocker, this kill button is very fast
button for stutter effects. FiNgerBoard: Rosewood in use: essential for those on/off
Most of us probably won’t FretS: 22 staccato effects
ascend to the stadium stages of Mr
PickuPS: 1x Manson humbucker
Bellamy, but if you did, you’d be
well equipped with this Cort. That (bridge), 1x Manson single coil (neck)
ringing sustain means that, coNtrolS: 1x volume, 1x tone,
plugged into a cranked Fender-like 3-way toggle pickup selector
clean amp, you have a huge switch, kill button
foundation-shaking sound. Yes, Hardware: Tune-o-matic bridge,
the bridge pickup has strong, thick
midrange and crisp highs, but all
stud tailpiece, Cort locking tuners
in a good way. The lower-output – all chrome
single coil can sound weedy in leFt-HaNded: No PiCKuPs
contrast, but through a decent FiNiSH: Matt black only MAtt’S own guitars use
valve amp with a little gain, coNtact: Proel International Ltd a variety of high-end and
expensive pickups. here,
switching from the power of the 0208 761 9911 www.cortguitars.com Manson has created its
bridge humbucker to the neck own, which put you in the
Bellamy ballpark with a
pickup cleans up the front-end of beefy bridge ’bucker and
your amp nicely – great for rhythm more classic single coil
parts and dense, effected
soundscapes. The mixed position
is less hollowed than many a
Fender, but works well in context.
While it does classic rock very well,
this guitar’s home is gained-amp
tones, where that bridge pickup
really kicks but retains a musical,
organic presence – loads of fun,
especially with that kill button.
There’s little doubt if you have
the chops, the MBC-1 will get you
into a Muse tribute band. But it’s
far more than that. Bellamy,
Manson and Cort have created one
of the finest rock axes at this price.
Let’s hope this is just the beginning
of a significant partnership.
Dave Burrluck
Features
SUMMArY
sound quality
Value For money
Build quality
playaBility
oVerall rating
february 2015 87
 reView
LAney A1+
MuTe
the front panel also has a
master mute function – very
handy for guitar changes or
breaks between sets
GriLLe
Laney’s TuffStuff coating
doesn’t tear like vinyl; the
speakers are protected by a
metal grille behind the foam
front. It also has a recessed
pole mount for bigger gigs
Laney A1+ £279
Why not just plug into the PA? Laney’s latest wonderbox explains…
It’s not often we delve into
the acoustic amp
market, but the new, redesigned
A1+ is unique among its peers,
with a front-mounted control
panel and handy upright- or
tilted-back cabinet design, not to
mention a weight of just 12.5kg.
You get two identical channels
with a heap of tone-shaping
abilities, while combi-jack/XLR
inputs enable you to use a
microphone in either channel
(for singing or mic’ing your
guitar), though only channel two
has phantom power.
Whatever kind of pickup’s in
your guitar, the ‘shape’ switch
offers a mid-scoop curve with
bass and treble boost; think of it as
a ‘hi-fi’ switch for a more
crystalline, ‘modern’ sound. Bass
and treble controls boost or cut
low- and high-end respectively,
while the parametric mid section
manages frequencies from 200Hz
to 9kHz – a huge sweep to tune the
midrange ‘speaking’ voice of your
88 february 2015
guitar. For example, one of our test
guitars has a slightly dominant
lower midrange, another has a
nasally sound in the upper mids,
while many piezo pickups often
have that higher ‘quack’ sound: the
Laney fine tunes it all. The dual
channels enable you to deal with
a split signal from a dual-source
system, too; treating undersaddle
The Laney A1+ is a no-brainer
for any gigging acoustic player
and soundhole pickups separately
at the amp end gives you far
greater EQ and level flexibility
than doing it on the guitar itself;
it’s the same if you want to mix
a pickup and a microphone.
If you’ve ever played loud with
an electro-acoustic, you’ll know all
about body resonance feedback,
so Laney has tuned the onboard
feedback killer over 30Hz to 3kHz
to help get it under control – it
works. It’s also worth trying the
phase switch for certain feedback
types, not to mention a quick and
simple fix for a tone that isn’t
working right in a particular room.
Elsewhere, the onboard delay,
reverb and chorus effects are
useful for adding ambience and
space to your guitar and/or vocals,
but while it’s unlikely you’ll ever
want them completely off, they’re
not up there with what you’d find
in something such as AER’s
Compact 60 3. However, in terms
of volume, you can use the A1+ as
electro-acoustic backline in a pub
band, or as sound reinforcement
for an intimate solo performance
with guitar, vocals and simple
backing tracks. No, it’s not as big in
aT a glanCe
Type: Acoustic guitar
combo amplifier
OuTpuT: 80W
Speaker: 1x 8” bass driver,
1x 1” tweeter
COnTrOlS: Shape switch, gain,
bass, sweep, mid, treble (x2 for
two channels); anti-feedback level,
aux in level, effect select, effect
level, effect send, master volume
SOCkeTS: 2x XLR/mono jack
input headphone out mini-jack,
aux in mini-jack, DI out XLR, FX
send and return, line out
WeighT: 12.5kg
DimenSiOnS: [HxWxD]
348x387x312mm
COnTaCT: Headstock Distribution
0121 508 6666 www.laney.co.uk
ins & ouTs
a mini-jack aux input allows
you to play music from your
mp3 player, while a headphone
jack mutes the speaker
spread (or size!) as a larger PA, but
you may well be surprised by what
it puts out.
Acoustic amps don’t exactly
have a big ‘want’ factor, but that’s
crazy if you’re an electro-acoustic
performer, because a good one can
turn a mediocre performance into
something more rewarding. You
can hear yourself, you’ll probably
like the tone, and you can turn it
up or down without hassling the
soundman! The Laney A1+ is
a highly capable amp that offers
a bucketload of performance-
inspired features and sterling
sound quality, at an impressive
price. That makes it a no-brainer
for any gigging acoustic player.
Mick Taylor
Features
sUMMaRy
sound quality
Value For money
Build quality
usaBility
oVerall rating
 gear ePiPhone Ltd ed Lee maLia LP custom

epiphone Ltd Ed LEE MaLia

LEs PauL CustoM £599
Bling me the horizon with this finely kitted-out LP
The latest addition to
Epiphone’s growing
list of signature models is a Les
Paul created for Lee Malia,
guitarist with metalcore
heavyweights Bring Me The
Horizon. You’d be forgiven for
expecting a high-octane blacked-
out metal machine loaded with
active pickups; instead, Lee has
opted to base his signature on the
Les Paul Artisan, an ornate LP
produced by Gibson for a short
period of time in the late 70s and
known best for its banjo-style
fretboard inlays, affectionately
referred to as ‘hearts and flowers’.
What’s such a pretty guitar doing
in the hands of a metal guitarist,
then? Well, Malia says he wanted
and down the neck with graceful
ease. Those over-the-top fretboard
inlays also serve as an accurate
GPS for your fingers.
Unusually for an Epiphone,
this model features USA Gibson
pickups, and even more unusually,
a single coil in the neck position.
Tinkering with age-old designs is
usually risky business, but the
sound benefits from such a quirky
appointment. The neck pickup
doesn’t lose much of the power
and creamy tone you’d normally
associate with a Les Paul’s neck
position, but in addition we
now have a punchy, snappy
characteristic at play, which works
brilliantly for percussive rhythm
playing and funky solos. As you
AT A GLANCE
BODY: Mahogany w/ maple top FretBoard
NECK: Mahogany FeATURing the
SCALE: 628mm (24.75”) hearts and flowers
inlays found on
FINGERBOARD: Rosewood Gibson’s Les Paul
FRETS: 22
artisan, you’ll never
lose your way on
this fretboard
PICKUPS: 1x Gibson USA 84T-LM
humbucker (bridge), 1x Gibson USA
P-94 single coil (neck)
CONTROLS: 2x volume (bridge
volume w/ coil-tap), 2x tone neck PickuP
HARDWARE: LockTone ThAT’S right… a single
coil! Far from being a
Tune-O-Matic bridge, gold novelty, it provides a warm
yet snappy sound. the
premium die-cast tuners with bridge humbucker can
also be coil-tapped
metal ‘tulip’ buttons
LEFT-HANDED: No
FINISH: Walnut only

You’d be forgiven for expecting

CONTACT: Gibson Brands
goLd
0800 4442 7661
The gold
www.gibson.com

a high-octane metal machine

hardware isn't
particularly
metal, but hey, it
sure looks fancy

to create a guitar that “appeals to would expect from a metal player’s

anyone who plays any genre of
music”. With its vintage-style
Walnut finish and bling-tastic gold
hardware and pickups, he’s
certainly achieved that – this is one
of the last guitars you’d expect to
find in a metal player’s hands!
This Epiphone has been crafted
in the company’s Indonesian
custom shop. Some may scoff that
this branch of Epiphone couldn’t
possibly warrant the same level of
respect as its American HQ, but all
but the most pernickety of
guitarists will be impressed when
appraising the build quality, since
– aside from the dodgily aligned
rhythm/lead switch label – its
construction is almost flawless.
Strapped on, the weight is
perfectly proportioned, and the
signature model, the bridge
humbucker has been voiced for
higher-gain styles, but it feels
equally at home delivering
hard-rock tones or metal brutality.
As signature models go, Lee
Malia’s Les Paul stands out from
the metal crowd with ostentatious
fretboard inlays and gleaming gold
hardware. However, plug in and
any aesthetic preconceptions are
negated by the more-than-capable
rock and metal sounds produced
by an extremely well-constructed
guitar from a custom shop that’s
deserving of serious recognition,
especially at this price point.
Darran Charles
Features
SUMMARY

sound quality
neck’s ‘1959’ carve feels familiar Value For money
and playable, with the 305mm
Build quality
(12-inch) radius and flat frets
facilitating a pretty low action, playaBility
allowing your fingers to flow up oVerall rating

february 2015 89
 round-up
guild newark st

Guild Newark St
ColleCtioN rouNd-up
With its Newark St Collection, Guild reanimates a carefully curated range of
50s and 60s electrics, offering today’s player a vintage taste of yesteryear’s class
Words: Jonathan Horsley
Photography: Joby Sessions

The Newark St
Collection offers
a real flavour of Guild’s storied
history. Its name references the
address of the legendary
Hoboken factory in New Jersey,
where up until the company’s sale
to avnet in 1966, Guild had seen
the good times roll.
These Newark St guitars have
been drawn from Guild’s most
successful models of the 50s
and 60s, and spec’d to offer
a vintage-authentic performance,
but a Korean build keeps them
affordable. Given the inflationary
market for vintage guitars –
especially for uSa-built ones –
the Newark St Collection offers
most of us our only chance of
being able to own, and acquaint
ourselves with, guitars such as
the a-150 Savoy, Ce-100D Capri
and the X-175 Manhattan; or,
indeed, this month’s round-up
trio of the M-75 aristocrat, S-100
Polara and Starfire IV.
yes, these guitars are Korean-
built, but their heart and soul
lies in the uSa, and those retro-
accoutrements are not just a
meticulous tribute to Guild’s
golden era but a bold
statement that Guild is
back on the scene with
a series of pro-quality
guitars for jobbing and
serious players who
know the classics never
go out of style.

90 february 2015
 GEAR RouNd-up

february 2015 91
 round-up
guild newark st

Guild Newark St
Starfire iV £1,029
Brighter than a thousand suns
used by the likes of
Buddy Guy, the
Starfire was one of Guild’s most
popular models in the 60s. At
first blush, its aesthetic puts it in
competition with Gibson’s ES-335.
But make no mistake: the Starfire
has a voice all of its own. Looking
past the double-cut, semi-hollow
body, it has a quite different
construction, too: the Starfire has
a pressed laminate mahogany
build, with a three-piece
mahogany-maple-mahogany
sandwich neck, and a maple
centre-block for ballast.
Acoustically, the Starfire IV is
bright and bold, and the pair of
Guild Anti-Hum Dual-Coil pickups
that grace the neck and bridge
positions are a natural fit. Consider
them reluctant humbuckers:
a low-output option that’s happier
teasing every bit of brightness
out of the Starfire IV. In the bridge
position, it has a gentle snap and
snarl, coruscating but never shrill,
and while the neck pickup rounds
off some of that sharpness, it never
gets lost in the clay.
The Starfire articulates that
middle ground between rootsy
blues and roughhouse rock ’n’ roll
jangle, rewards note-heavy jazz
and blissed-out fingerpicking and,
thanks to that unpinned rosewood
bridge piece, it is a little punishing
when really choking the bejeezus
out of your bends, knocking the
tuning a little off-base. But, when
you consider the Starfire’s soft
U-profile neck, jumbo frets and
ultra-comfortable ride, that’s
a minor foible.

Guild Newark St
M-75 ariStocrat £929
urbane legend

The M-75 Aristocrat is so

refined, you’ll want
to put on a suit before playing it.
You might even consider strapping
it on a little higher. But no matter
how you wear this vintage single-
cut, it’s designed to complement
the human condition – spiritually
and physically. It’s more than
sympathetic to your sciatic nerve,
as its chambered mahogany body
with laminated spruce top lends
itself to a guitar that feels compact
and as light as balsa.
The spiritual fillip comes from
plugging it into an amplifier,
wrapping your hands round
its vintage soft U-profile neck
and wondering how such a
comfortable guitar could sound
so beautiful and, moreover, so
substantial. The Aristocrat has
a pair of Guild’s Frequency-Tested
single coils in neck and bridge that
confound expectations.
With a clean tone, the neck
pickup is all warm and woody
cream, but where a solidbody
would be layering it on thick,
there’s a lightness, an aerated
quality that might be weight-
relieved but never sacrifices depth.
In the bridge position, the clean
tones could convince you that your
suit should be brightly coloured
with a wide trouser; the Aristocrat
specialises in the sort of clearly
enunciated bright-pop and bell-
chime tone that would be right at
home on Soul Train: 100 per cent
jazz, funk and soul. Turning up the
gain finds a yowling, chewy rock
voice hidden beneath the finery,
too – a reminder that a guitar’s
looks can be deceiving, and its tone
is whatever you make of it.

92 february 2015
 GEAR RouNd-up

Guild Newark St
S-100 Polara £779
Kim’s slim
The S-100 Polara debuted
in the late 60s, a time
when the hippy movement was
dying out. Free love gave way to
cynicism, and the S-100 Polara
reflected that. A stripped-down,
double-cut slab of mahogany, with
two Anti-Hum Dual Coils in neck
and bridge, the Polara feels like a
utilitarian riposte to ostentatiously
spec’d guitars.
That the nickel-plated
stop tailpiece sits at an angle
underscores the Polara’s position
as an iconoclastic take on the
Gibson SG, a position in sync with
the body’s symmetric cutaways.
It comes fitted with no frills but
super-steady Grover Sta-Tite
tuners. It shares the history, build
quality and immaculate finish of
its siblings, but it has the density of
tone you’d expect from the series’
only solidbody.
And it feels timeless: modern
then, and still so now. That it is
Kim Thayil from Soundgarden’s
guitar of choice tells us a lot
about its capabilities. Slightly
uncomfortable played seated, it
comes into its own when strapped
on, with a playing experience and
sound that makes it an ideal – not
to mention £300-odd cheaper –
alternative to, say, an American
SG. That those ’buckers are not
red-hot never put Thayil off.
There’s a bright clarity and punch
to the Polara’s tone, like a post-
pubescent Tele Deluxe, which can
handle overdriven rock riffs, with
just enough mahogany to thicken
up your sound when opening your
amp up full.

Starfire IV M-75 Aristocrat S-100 polara

at a glaNce
Body: Mahogany
Neck: three-piece mahogany & maple, set
Scale: 628mm (24.75”)
FiNgerBoard: indian rosewood
FretS: 22, narrow jumbo
PickuPS: 2x Guild anti-Hum dual-Coil
coNtrolS: 2x volume, 2x tone, 1x
3-way pickup selector
Hardware: Nickel-plated
Guild adjusto-Matic bridge
w/ rosewood base, nickel-plated
‘harp’ trapeze tailpiece,
Grover Sta-tite tuners
leFt-HaNded: No
FiNiSH: Cherry red only
coNtact: Selectron
uk 01795 419460
www.guildguitars.com
at a glaNce at a glaNce
Body: Chambered mahogany Body: Mahogany
w/ laminated arched spruce top Neck: Mahogany
Neck: three-piece mahogany Scale: 628mm (24.75”)
and maple, set FiNgerBoard: rosewood
Scale: 24.75” FretS: 22, narrow jumbo
FiNgerBoard: rosewood PickuPS: 2x Guild anti-Hum
FretS: 22, jumbo dual-Coil
PickuPS: 2x Guild Frequency coNtrolS: 2x volume, 2x tone,
tested Single-Coils 3-way pickup selector
coNtrolS: 2x volume, 2x tone, Hardware: Nickel-plated Guild
3-way pickup selector adjusto-Matic w/ stop tailpiece,
Hardware: Gold-plated Guild Grover Sta-tite tuners
Floating adjusto-Matic bridge, leFt-HaNded: No
gold-plated ‘harp’ trapeze FiNiSH: Cherry red only
tailpiece, Grover Sta-tite tuners
leFt-HaNded: No
FiNiSH: Black, Sunburst (shown)

Features Features Features

suMMARY

suMMARY

suMMARY

sound quality sound quality sound quality

Value For money Value For money Value For money
Build quality Build quality Build quality
PlayaBility PlayaBility PlayaBility
oVerall ratinG oVerall ratinG oVerall ratinG

february 2015 93
 REVIEw
matrix elements VB800
ValVes
two high-quality JJ
12aX7 valves help the
Vb800 produce a great
range of authentic brit-rock
valve overdrive sounds
extras
fan cooling is a very
useful pro feature, while
the series effects loop
has a level control and
doubles as a line out,
using the send socket
Matrix ElEmEnts
VintagE british 800 £549 & £336 (caB)
Heavyweight tone from one of the world’s lightest 100-watt rigs
Matrix was
founded
in 2010 by audio designer and PA
expert Andrew Hunt, who saw
a gap in the market for guitar-
friendly power amplification to
partner the new breed of high-end
modelling preamps from the likes
of Kemper and Fractal Audio,
along with very efficient and
lightweight speaker cabinets – and
plugged it superbly. After much
success with its ultra-light power
amps, the logical next step was for
Matrix to build its own integrated
guitar amp, and here it is: the
Vintage British 800 head.
Drawing sonic inspiration from
a similarly named 80s product
that’s ruled heavy rock more or less
ever since, the VB800 is housed in
a small and neatly finished
aluminium chassis, with a black
top and gold control panel,
marking another respectful nod to
its heritage. It’s this and the lack of
heavyweight transformers found
in valve amps that helps the
94 february 2015
mighty Matrix achieve its almost
unbelievable weight of just under
two kilograms – not bad for a head
capable of punching out up to 150
watts into 16 ohms. The compact
1x12 Neolight speaker cabinet that
partners the VB800 has similar
anti-gravity properties, thanks to
a highly efficient rare earth
loudspeaker magnet and
this type of design is all about
plugging in and going for it
lightweight timbers that keep it
down to just under eight kilos.
Lurking behind the VB800’s
control panel is a very high-quality
printed circuit board that holds all
the main components, including
a pair of 12AX7 preamp valves,
which get lit up by orange LEDs
when the power is on. It’s all built
to Matrix’s typically high standard
and will handle non-stop touring.
The VB800 is a simple single-
channel head, with a pair of high-
and low-gain input jacks, and
controls for gain, master volume
and EQ. Around the back, there’s
a series effects loop with a level
control and a pair of speakers –
and thats pretty much it. This type
of design is all about plugging in
and going for it – you want the
sound to be there the instant you
switch on with no mucking
around, and the VB800 does just
that, with a refined and idealised
take on that classic 80s British rock
and metal sound. There’s plenty of
aggressive grit and harmonic filth,
without the ear-splitting treble,
nasal mids and non-existent bass
that afflicted some of the originals.
Matrix hasn’t put too much gain
aT a glanCe
Type: Hybrid valve preamp,
solid-state power amp head
OuTpuT: 150W into 16 ohms, up to
450W into 4 ohms
Speaker: Neolight NL12 cabinet
(£336 – as reviewed): 1x 12” rare
earth magnet driver
ValVeS: 2x 12AX7
COnTrOlS: Gain, volume, bass,
mid, treble, effects loop send level
SOCkeTS: High-gain input,
low-gain input, effects send,
effects return, 2x speaker out
WeighT: VB800: 2kg; NL12: 8kg
DimenSiOnS: [HxWxD]
VB800: 80x304x185mm;
NL12: 455x400x300mm
COnTaCT: Matrix Amplification
0845 108 5449
www.matrixamplification.com
Volume
a USefUl signal
level indicator tells
you how hard the
Vb800 is working.
When the light’s on
all the time, you're
gonna be loud…
into the preamp; as a result, it
sounds like the real deal, with
touch-sensitive dynamic response
and plenty of power to spare. The
clarity of Matrix’s clever ported
cabinet does a good job of masking
its power, too – it wasn’t until after
we switched off that we realised
just how loud the VB800 had been.
If you need power, tone and
portability, then Matrix’s VB800
could be right up your street. We’d
like to see a proper side-chain
effects loop and speaker-emulated
direct output, but even without
those features, the VB800’s light
weight and huge tone is a dream
come true for many players.
Enough talk, let’s rock!
Nick Guppy
FEatuREs
SUMMarY
sound qualIty
ValuE FoR monEy
BuIld qualIty
usaBIlIty
oVERall RatIng
 gear TC FlashbaCk Triple Delay

ConneCTions subDivision
TC has thought of everything: stereo inputs and outputs, ThErE are the usual
expression pedal input, and even MiDi control – plus, quarter notes, dotted
there’s the obligatory Usb port for Toneprints, although eighths and 16ths, but
you can use the smartphone app to beam ’em in as well the Triple also offers
four additional dual
delays, each with its
own rhythmic patterns

FooTsWiTChes
a singlE press activates
each delay, while holding a
footswitch for two seconds
allows you to save a preset to
that slot. The tap tempo
switch dials in the tempo for
all active delays, too
aT a glanCe
Type: Digital delay pedal
ConTrols: Delay type, time,
repeats, mix, subdivision, delay
selector switch, series/parallel
switch
soCkeTs: 2x input, 2x output,
expression pedal, power, USB,

TC ElECTroniC Flashback
MIDI in, MIDI thru
Bypass: True or buffered bypass
power: 9V power supply

Triple Delay £235 (included)

ConTaCT: TC Electronic
0800 917 8926
Who gives you extra? TC does the triple www.tcelectronic.com

Flash back to early

2011, and TC
Electronic was just unleashing its
now-signature delay unit on
unsuspecting guitarists – the
combination of classic delay types,
pristine audio quality and
downloadable TonePrint presets
made it an instant hit. Now, five
incarnations later, the Triple Delay
goes where no Flashback has gone
before, allowing you to run three
delays at once.
The Flashback Triple Delay
features three separate delay
engines, activated via individual
footswitches – you select one of
three delays for adjustment using
a toggle switch, while a tap tempo
footswitch allows you to input the
delay time for the selected delay.
The Triple’s trump card is the
serial/parallel switch: parallel
Why run multiple delays at
once? Aside from the obvious
post-rock potential, Joe Satriani
runs two delays for reverb-like
ambience, while Brian May
uses several at once for self-
harmonising. Then, of course,
there are Edge-style syncopated
repeats – and that’s something of
a speciality for the Triple Delay.
The Flashback Triple Delay
features three delay engines
The detailed subdivision knob –
a mere toggle switch on previous
Flashbacks – allows you to dial in
rhythms for each delay.
The delay sounds are as brilliant
as ever, but the ability to run three
parallel mode – or switch over to
serial for a wall of sound that’s ripe
for tremolo picking. It’s easy to get
lost in the minutiae of delay time
adjustment – the resultant
rhythms can inspire entire songs
with just a handful of notes,
especially when you dial in the
dreamy modulated Space and
2290 Mod settings.
With three delays to keep track
of, it’s easy to get lost in the Triple’s
controls; you may find yourself
activating delay one, but forgetting
to switch the control toggle over,
thus losing your carefully
toggle-selected delay, not what’s
active. As much as we love TC’s
keep-it-simple philosophy, we can’t
help but feel a few more controls,
or even a screen, could help here.
The latest entry in the Flashback
line retains the effect’s much-
lauded sound quality, but it’s also
the most involved yet, and requires
a fair amount of knob twiddling to
implement it into your playing.
Our main concern is the price: at
£66 more than the X4 – which also
includes a looper – only the most
hardened echo nuts will opt for
this over its keener-priced brother.
However, if you enjoy repeating
yourself, the Triple will have you
appreciating delay in a new light.
Michael Brown
Features
sUMMarY

sends your signal to all delays at
once for defined rhythmic repeats,
series sends your signal to delay
one, then two, then three, which
results in huge, cascading echoes.
at once opens up new realms of
sonic exploration. Dial in a basic
eighth note, and combine it with
a dotted eighth and triplets, and
you have a guitar symphony in
sound quality
programmed settings for another Value For money
delay while wondering why your
Build quality
current sound isn’t changing.
Similarly, the tap tempo LED usaBility
flashes in time only with the oVerall rating

february 2015 95
 REVIEw
Mooer/loog

MooEr ShimVerb Pro £109

Shimmer and sway with this space-ready reverb
if you’ve yet to experience the
majesty of shimmer reverb,
let us explain: the ’verb trail is
pitch-shifted – usually up an
octave – to create an ethereal haze
behind your guitar, a little like
a synth pad. A variety of reverb
pedals can do this, but Mooer’s
ShimVerb is one of the most
affordable – and the Pro takes it to
another level.
Where the original ShimVerb
featured only an unusual 5th-up
shimmer, the Pro offers a choice of
five intervals, which can be
combined with octave-up shifting
using a small button. The shimmer
function is assignable to all five of
the pedal’s reverb types, activated
mammoth reflections, which are
highly customisable thanks to the
ShimVerb’s handy low cut and hi
cut controls. It’s the shimmer we’re
here for, though, and while we
weren’t expecting Eventide levels
of tracking, we didn’t think it quite
stacked up to shimmers from
DigiTech or Zoom, either – to our
ears, lower notes sounded a little
out of tune. That said, the
adjustable intervals are
inspirational, while dropping the
wet signal and cutting the highs tyPe: Digital reverb/pitch-shift pedal
keeps things from getting cheesy. coNtrolS: Shimmer interval, reverb type,
With its wide array of controls,
the ShimVerb Pro covers all the
dry, low cut, hi cut, pre delay, decay, wet,
reverb bases. If your guitar sound octave button, trail switch Features
is based on shimmer, it’s worth SocketS: 2x input, 2x output, power

using a separate footswitch, while
holding both footswitches allows
you to save a preset, too.
Heading straight for the church
’verb, there are the requisite
SUMMArY
sound quality
comparing it with the competition, ByPaSS: True or buffered bypass Value For money
but for anyone looking to dabble in Power: 9V power supply only Build quality
regular and pitch-shifted
coNtact: Strings And Things usaBility
ambience, this Shim’s a win.
Michael Brown 01273 440442 www.mooeraudio.com oVerall rating

ElEctric Loog £169

Meet the guitar with the shortest scale of all Body: Alder

WE’vE seen some
small guitars,
but the Electric Loog takes the
biscuit: it’s an electric incarnation
of a Kickstarter-funded three-
string guitar, aimed at aspiring
learners and children, although it
offers diddly bow-style thrills for
seasoned players, too. With a ‘My
First Danelectro’ vibe – enforced by
a lipstick-style single coil straight
from Dano itself – it certainly looks
the part. The three strings are
tuned to B G D – the idea is that by
doing away with the extra strings,
you learn faster; after all, three
notes are all you need for a chord.
When you open the box, you’ll
find the Loog in pieces. Not only
attaching the tuners, and affixing
the neck, bridge and strap pins to
the body – and string up, using the
straightforward instructions.
Once assembled, the Loog had
us exploring ukulele and
mandolin-inspired playing; while
adding a dose of crunch and a slide
instantly conjures dirty Jack White
blues. For existing guitarists,
adapting chords to just three
strings is a bit of a mind-bender,
but the handy included chord
charts are a big help. Aside from
a few build-quality niggles on our
review model (a loose-fitting neck
pocket and slightly off intonation),
the Electric Loog has us convinced.
It’s not the cheapest starter guitar,
Neck: Maple
Scale: 540mm (21.26”)
FiNgerBoard: Rosewood
FretS: 18
PickuPS: 1x Danelectro
lipstick-style single coil
coNtrolS: 1x volume
Hardware: Rosewood bridge,
bone saddle, bone nut
leFt-HaNded: No
FiNiSH: Blue, Pink, White,
Yellow, Green (shown)
coNtact: Loog Guitars
www.letthekidsrock.com
Features
SUMMArY

sound quality
does this keep costs down, but the but if you’re seeking inspiration for Value For money
designers reckon it helps to a younger player or yourself, this
Build quality
develop a bond with the could be the most efficient way
instrument. It took us around 25 to get it. playaBility
minutes to put together – Michael Brown oVerall rating

96 february 2015
 Gear acceSSorieS

Positive Grid BIAS DeSktop aPoGee JAM 96k

Next ’top modeller Sweeten your recordings
You’ll find Positive Grid’s iOS apps in the studios of the likes of Misha Mansoor increasinGlY, You’re
and Jeff Loomis, but its latest software puts its BIAS amp modelling tech into probably making music across
a computer app, ripe for use with your DAW. The core package comes with 36 amp different platforms – computer,
design models, ready for intense tweaking (you can change the valves, preamp, tablet, even your phone – so
transformer, tonestacks, cabs and mics), while you can download thousands more you need an interface that can
from Positive Grid’s ToneCloud, and sync your presets with BIAS on iOS devices. handle ’em all. Apogee’s JAM
Invest in the Professional package (£126) and you even get Amp Match Technology 96k is one such unit, and aims to
to nail the tones of your real-life amps, too. maintain consistent recording
(£63, www.positivegrid.com) quality across all devices, thanks
to its discrete Class A input and
PureDIGITAL circuit design,
which promises low-noise
operation. The interface itself
keeps things simple, with just
a gain wheel and multi-coloured
LED meter to indicate the
recording level, but it’s compatible
with GarageBand, Logic and all
Core Audio apps.
(£105, www.apogeedigital.com)

tc electronic
polytune 2 MInI
Tiny tuner take two
When the PolyTune 2 hit last year, we were
keeping our fingers crossed that TC’s boffins
could cram the updated version into a Mini GraPh tech RAtIo
enclosure – and they did! Like its big brother,
the Mini packs a strobe tuner accurate to
MAchIneheADS
a minuscule 0.1 cents, which means you Got a machinehead, better than the rest
can use it to set your guitar’s intonation,
while the new ultra-bright display one of the frustrating things about tuning guitars is the
ensures you can see it on any stage. way you’ll almost always overshoot the G string, yet getting
The only thing missing is battery that top E to pitch takes ages. The guitar hardware experts
operation, but you still get the same at Graph Tech have noticed, and come up with the Ratio
polyphonic tuning tech and true tuned machineheads – the idea is that the gear ratio for each
bypass switching that’s made the machinehead is fine-tuned to ensure every string responds
PolyTune the industry standard in the same to tuning adjustment. Not only does that mean
stompbox tuning – only smaller! easier tuning up, but since one turn equals one tone, you can
(£62, www.tcelectronic.com) access alternate tunings more quickly, too – genius!
(£79.99, www.graphtech.com)

fEBRuARy 2015 97
 techniques

complete
your worKout in
12 mins
guitar workout
tracks 92-95

Artificial Harmonics
Your 12-minute
Workout guide…
1. CHOOSE AN EXERCISE…
EX 1 Basic harp harmonics
Three minutes
EX 2 Moving position
Three minutes
Open up a whole new world of sonic horizons with the lush,
EX 3 Harmonics in chords
Three minutes chiming sounds of artificial harmonics
EX 4 Cascading harmonics
Three minutes For this month’s Workout specific point (don’t press down artificial harmonics 12 frets
we’re looking at lush-sounding – just touch the string) to create a higher than fretted notes will
2. SET YOUR METRONOME ‘artificial harmonics’ as used clear bell-like tone. The strongest ensure success. Picking can be
This Workout isn’t necessarily
focused on speed, but your most famously by Tommy harmonic point is found over the tough, as your pick hand has to
practice will be enhanced by emmanuel and Chet atkins. 12th fret – simply touch the string pick and touch the harmonics
playing to a metronome at When combined with fretted over the fret as you pick. while your fret hand stays on
different tempos. We’ve notes this technique can be used ‘artificial harmonics’ is an fretting duties. The best method
suggested beginner,
intermediate and expert to create cool-sounding melodies umbrella term for harmonics on is to use your first finger to touch
tempos for each exercise. and runs. first, it helps to know a fretted strings. Techniques range the string for the harmonic, while
little about harmonics in general. from squealing ‘pinched’ thumb and third finger take
3. START THE STOPWATCH…
On the guitar, ‘natural’ harmonics to ‘tapped’ and picking duties. Work slowly
All of the exercises are suitable
harmonics are played by gently ‘touch’ harmonics. Similar to through the exercises to get up to
Words and guitar: Steve Allsworth

for all players except absolute

beginners to attempt. Either dip touching an open string at a natural harmonics, targeting speed with this technique.
in and try the exercise that
interests you most, or for a
tougher challenge mix and guest lesson: grades: rocK grades: tab guide:
match any or all of the
exercises. Make sure you don’t ola englund p104 school p106 rgt p107 p110
stop before three minutes have
elapsed, though!

february 2015 101

 techniques |
artificial harmonics
TGR263.workout.fig01.musx Artifical Harmonics
File Date: 15:25 15/12/2014 Guitar Workout
Page 1 of 1 Contributor: Steve Allsworth
ex 1
Notes: Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com track 92
Kick off your practice session with this ‘harp’ harmonic idea

‚ œ ‚ œ ‚
#4 œ œ
q =110

‚ ‚
& 4 .. œ ‚ œ œ ‚ œ ..

. .
AH 17 AH 17 AH 17 AH 17 AH 17 AH 17 AH 17
5 5
T
. .
5 5
A 5
5
5
5
5
5
5
B 5
5 5
5

Position your pick hand carefully so that your third finger picks the normally fretted notes and
tg tips
Notice that the
your thumb picks the harmonics; extend your index finger and use it to touch the strings over the harmonics are 12 frets
17th fret to generate the harmonics. Use a fret-hand finger to barre across the 5th fret. higher than the
fretted note on the
your worKout routine… same string

1 70bpm 60 seconds
2 90bpm 60 seconds

© Larry Marano/Getty Images

3 110bpm 60 seconds

Check out the

20-sEcond challEngE harmonics in Eric
TGR263.workout.fig02.musx Adapt the lick by moving to a different Artifical Harmonics
Johnson’s ‘Manhattan’
fret position
File Date: 15:26 15/12/2014 Guitar Workout
Page 1 of 1 Contributor: Steve Allsworth
ex Notes:
2 Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com track 93
Take your harmonics to the next level with this variation on the first exercise

# ## 4 ‚ œ ‚ œ ‚
œ œ
& # 4 .. œ ‚ œ ‚ ‚ œ ‚ œ
..

. .
AH 17 AH 16 AH 16 AH 16 AH 16 AH 16 AH 17
5 5
T
. .
4 4
A 4
4
4
4
4
4
4
B 5
4 4
5

BarrE across the 4th fret with your first finger and hold down the 5th fret on the first and sixth
strings. With the chord shape sorted remember that your pick hand must outline the same shape tg tips
Leave out the
12 frets higher to sound the harmonics. Pick with your thumb and third finger.
ordinary fretted notes
and practise the
your worKout routine… harmonics on
their own
1 70bpm 60 seconds
© Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

2 90bpm 60 seconds
3 110bpm 60 seconds

Chet Atkins was a

20-sEcond challEngE master of ‘harp’ style
Change the 4th fret to the 5th (and the artificial harmonics
harmonic) on the second string

102 february 2015

 TGR263.workout.fig03.musx
techniques guitar workout
Artifical Harmonics
|
File Date: 15:29 15/12/2014 Guitar Workout
Page 1 of 1 Contributor: Steve Allsworth
ex 3 Notes: Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com track 94
This clever lick makes the guitar sound a bit like a music box. Awesome!

‚œ ‚œ ‚œ ‚œ ‚œ ‚œ
# # # 4 . ‚œ ‚œ ‚œ ·˙ œ‚ œ‚ œ‚ ˙· ..
& 4 .
AH 19 AH 21 AH 19 AH 21 AH 19 AH 21 AH 19 AH 16 AH 18 AH 16 AH 18 AH 16 AH 18 AH 16

T . 9 9 9 5 5 5
.
. .
7 7 7 7 5 5 5 5
A 7
9
7
9
7
9
7 4
6
4
6
4
6
4
B

this lick sounds the harmonic and fretted note at the same time for a stunning, other-worldly
tg tips
Work out the chord
result. To sound the harmonic, touch the relevant fret with your first finger and pick with your
thumb. This leaves your third finger free to pick the higher strings.
shapes before you
start. Your fret hand
shouldn’t move your worKout routine…
until bar 3
1 70bpm 60 seconds
2 90bpm 60 seconds
3 110bpm 60 seconds
© GAB Archive/Redferns

From jazz to country,

Lenny Breau was an
20-sEcond challEngE
TGR263.workout.fig04.musx innovator on guitar
Play the same string pairs, but using a Artifical Harmonics
chord shape of your own choice
File Date: 15:04 15/12/2014 Guitar Workout
Page 1 of 1 Contributor: Steve Allsworth
ex 4 Notes: Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com track 95
Round off your workout with this challenging cascading C major scale idea

‚ œœ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚
4 œœ œœ‚ œœ œœ‚ œœ œœ‚ œœ œœ‚ œœ œœ‚ œœ œœ‚ œœ œœ‚ œœ.
& 4 .. .
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
AH 17 AH 17 AH 17 AH 17 AH 17 AH 17 AH 17 AH 17 AH 17 AH 17 AH 17 AH 17 AH 17 AH 17 AH 17 AH 17

T . 7 5 7 5 7 5 7 5 7 5 7 5 7 5 7 5
.
. .
6 5 6 5 6 5 6 5 6 5 6 5 6 5 6 5
A 5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
B

Wa harmonic as part of a descending scale run. The rhythm may feel odd at first
tg tips
Break the lick down
this idEa uses
thanks to the six notes per beat arrangement, so practise slowly until you get a feel for it. Notice
that there are only six notes; they are repeated to form the two-bar long lick.
into two three-note
phrases and practise
each on its own your worKout routine…
© Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

1 60bpm 60 seconds
2 90bpm 60 seconds
3 110bpm 60 seconds

Tommy Emmanuel
is a true master
20-sEcond challEngE
of harmonics
Change the 7th fret pull-off to the 6th
fret for a cascading F major lick

february 2015 103

 guest lesson
video

Ola lesson
w w w.bit .l
y/tg263o
la

Englund
Swedish metal overlord Ola Englund demos
his approach to seven-string chord playing
This monTh Ola englund simply barring across your
demonstrates some epic chords guitar’s three lowest strings with
using all seven strings of his your first finger.
signature Washburn. He uses In this lesson Ola shows that
drop a tuning which means that the remaining four strings of the
the six highest strings are tuned guitar can be used to add higher
as a standard six-string notes, or ‘extensions’ to the
(eaDGbe from low to high), but powerchord to produce more
the lowest string is tuned down colourful sounds. When playing
TGR263.guest.fig01.musx Ola Englund
to a. Dropping the sixth string rich-sounding chords in metal
File Date: 12:55 17/12/2014 down to a makes a 5th interval you may have to tweak Guest Lesson
your tone
Page 1 of 1 between the two lowest strings Contributor:
to allow Charlie
all the notes to beGriffiths
heard.
Notes: a and e. This is particularly be sparing
Engraved bywith the gain and
DigitalMusicArt.Com
suited to heavy metal because it bottom end, and boost the mid
makes powerchords playable by frequencies for best results.

Basic powerchord

& b 44 ww
D5

ww
w
E
T B
G
A D 7

B
A 5 5
E 5
A 5

TGR263.guest.fig02.musx Ola Englund

File Date:a12:57
Playing 17/12/2014
powerchord in standard tuning requires at least two fingers to fret the root and 5th intervals. In drop A tuning, the root, 5th and octave are Guest Lesson
all accessible
with a first-finger barre. When playing on the low strings, you must also mute the treble strings with the underside of your finger to prevent them from ringing out.
Page 1 of 1 Contributor: Charlie Griffiths
Notes: Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com

Big Feared-style chord riFF

q = 68
Dsus 2 Dsus 2
˙˙˙ ˙˙˙ ˙˙˙
Dm

4
&b4 ˙˙ ˙˙ ˙˙ Ó
Words and transcription: Charlie Griffiths

˙˙ ˙˙ ˙˙
E 5 5 5
T B
G
5
7
6
7
5
9
A D
A
7
5
7
5
7
5
B E
A
5
5
5
5
5
5
1

C # m7 Dsus 2

# œœ œœ .. œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœœ œœœ .. œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ
& b n # œœœ œœœ ... œœ
œ
œœ
œ
œœ
œ
œœ
œ
œœ
œ
œœ
œ
œœ
œ
œœ
œ œ œ .. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œœ œœ .. œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ
104 february 2015

#œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
 4 ˙˙ ˙˙ ˙˙
&b4 ˙˙ ˙˙ ˙˙ Ó
˙5 ˙5 ˙5
˙57 ˙67 ˙59
T
A
B
T
E
B
G
D
E
A
B
E
G
7
5
5
7
7
5
6
5
7
7
5
5
9
techniques guest lesson |
A
A 5 5 5
1 D 7 7 7
A 5 5 5
B E 5 5 5
C#m
A 57 5 52

œœœ ..
Dsus

#œ œœ .. œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ

1

C #œm7
& b n # œœœ œœœ ... œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œ
Dsus 2
œ ... œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
## œœ œœœ .... œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœœ œœœ . œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ
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œœ5 œœ5 ... œœ5 œœ5 œœ5 œœ5 œœ5 œœ5 œœ5 œœ5
# # œ454
œ œ45 . œ45 œ45 œ45 œ45 œ45 œ45 œ45 œ
T œ4 . œ4 œ4 œ4 œ4 œ4 œ4 œ4 4
5
4
œ 5
9 9
5 5
9
5
9
5
9
5
9
5
9
5
9
5
9
5
9
A 6
4
6
4
6
4
6
4
6
4
6
4
6
4
6
4
6
4
6
4
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
B
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
T 5
4
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
5
9
5
9
5
9
5
9
5
9
5
9
5
9
5
9
5
9
5
9
A
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
3 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7

B
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
3 #4
C m7
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5
A madd9
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

# œ œœ ..
C #œm7
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& b n # œœœ œœœ ... œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ n œœœ œœœ ..
..
œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ
œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œœœœ .. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
A madd9

## œœ œœ .. œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ
& b #n # œœœ œœœ .. œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ n œœœœ œ ...
œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ
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T
# 45œ œ6 .. œ5 œ œ5 œ5 œ5 œ5 œ œ5 œ5 œ5 4
5
œ œ0 œ05 . œœ00 œœ œœ00 œœ00 œœ01 œœ01 œœ01 œœ01
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4
A 6
4
6
4
6
4
6
4
6
4
6
4
6
4
6
4
6
4
6
4
2
0
2
0
2
0
2
0
2
0
2
0
2
0
2
0
2
0
B
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
T 5
4
4
6 5
4
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
0
5
0
5
0
5
0
5
0
5
1
0
4
1
0
4
1
0
4
1
0
4
A
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

B
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

For each chord you will need to barre across all seven strings with your first finger and use your remaining three fingers to form each chord shape. Practise slowly at
TGR263.guest.fig03.musx
first, making each chord change as smooth and quick as possible, while keeping your strumming hand moving in constant 16th notes. Ola Englund
File Date: 12:59 17/12/2014 Guest Lesson
TGR263.guest.fig03.musx Ola Englund
Page 1 of 1 Contributor: Charlie Griffiths
File Date: 12:59 17/12/2014 Guest Lesson
Notes: Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com
Page 1 of 1 Contributor: Charlie Griffiths
clean chords
Notes: Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
& b 44 Dsus2 œ œ
Dsus 2 Dm Dsus 2

œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ
& b 44 letœ ring throughout œ œ
Dm Dsus 2

œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ
T
E
B
G
œ 7
5
5
œ 7
6
5
œ 9
5
5

A D let ring throughout

5
7
5
7
5
7

B
A
E 5 5 5
T E
B
A
G 5
5
7
5
5
5
7
6
5
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A1 D
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C # m75
E 5 5 5
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#œ œ
1

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# 7
# œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ
Dsus 2 A madd9

# œ #œ œ œ
& b #œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ ˙
œ #œ œ œ
œ
œ œ œ œ
#œ œ œ œ ˙
#œ œ
4 5 0
T 4
5
9
5
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0 0
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B
7 4 5 5 0 0 0
T 4
4
4
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9
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0 5
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7 5 0 0
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4

check ThaT every note of each chord is sustaining cleanly by fretting the full shape and playing each string. Fret buzz may occur if your fingers aren’t correctly
positioned; press the string down as close to the fretwire as possible for a clear tone.

february 2015 105

 get your grades!
rockschool / grade five / lesson six

Soloing
video
lesson
w w w.b it .l
y/tg 263 ro
ck

Following last month’s primer on lead guitar themes, we’re

turning our catchy phrases into a full-length solo
Last month, we looked at how opening. If your theme was low in provided you don’t stray far from
catchy themes can provide a hook in pitch, you might make these bars the original theme, you can vary it.
your solos. This time, we’re looking higher. If your theme has long, This is by no means the only method Grade Five Book
at how you can use these simple extended notes, consider using you can or should use to create
Buy the Rockschool
themes to give longer solos shape. short, punchier phrasing. solos. However, it is a good starting
TGR263.grades_rock.fig01.musx Grade FiveWhole
book to Solo
after you have ‘stated’ your initial The final part of the solo is where point and virtually assures your solo get the rest of the
File
theme, Date: 09:47of11/12/2014
TGR263.grades_rock.fig01.musx
the middle the solo is you can restate your theme. It’s will have continuity and shape. RockSchool
Whole
syllabus. Go to: Solo
Page
where
File 1
you
Date:of 1 look
should
09:47 to provide
11/12/2014 perfectly acceptable to repeat it as For more information, go to Contributor: James
www.musicroom.com Uings
RockSchool
TGR263.grades_rock.fig01.musx Whole Solo
some kind
Notes: of contrast with the solo’s you originally played it, but, www.rockschool.co.uk Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com
Page 1 of 09:47
File Date: 1 11/12/2014 Contributor: James Uings
RockSchool
Notes:1 of 1
Page Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com
Contributor: James Uings
Theme – conTrasT – Theme
Notes: Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com
on your tgcd
j 3

q q =q q
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B
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5

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12
15 12 12 J ‰ 12
15 12 12
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A 14 12
14 12 14 12
14 14 12
14 12 14 12
14
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A9 14 12
14 12 14 12
14 14 12
14 12 14 12
14
T
B 15 12 12 15 12 12
A9 14
14 12 14 12
14 14
14 12 14 12
14
B
9

The FiRsT four bars are one of the themes outlined in last month’s lesson. The middle four bars develop the theme with a staccato phrase in a higher register. The final
four bars restate the initial theme, but an octave higher, bringing a natural-sounding conclusion to the solo.

106 february 2015

 |
techniques gET YOUR gRadEs

RgT / PERfORmancE awaRd / LEvEL TwO

Rock Lead
video
lesson
w w w.b it .l
y/tg 263 rg
t

Plug in a distortion pedal and play a heavy rock solo

for your Level Two Performance Award
For the lead guitar playing
section of rGT’s Level Two electric
guitar Performance award, you
must play a solo over a track from
rGT’s book: Improvising Lead
Guitar: Improver Level. This month’s
sample track is an ideal chance to
use the a natural minor scale to
a naturaL minor scaLe
Performance
Awards
create a fluent, melodic-sounding note in the scale if you don’t like
solo. If you mainly use the minor what you hear. you might also like RGT is the UK’s only
specialist guitar
pentatonic scale for your solos, the to try using hammer-ons and examination board.
extra notes in this scale may take pull-offs for a more fluent sound. You can download a
practice. Some scale notes may remember that this is heavy rock, free Performance
sound better against certain so play with energy and conviction Awards syllabus and
chords than others, so listen – and don’t forget the distortion find a registered guitar
carefully and move to a different pedal for an authentic tone. tutor to help prepare
you for RGT exams at
www.rgt.org.

1
1 2 4
1 2 4
1 3
1 3 4
TGR263.grades_rgt.fig01.musx Heavy Rock
1 3 4
File Date: 13:06 08/12/2014 RGT
Page 1 of 1 Contributor: Tony Skinner
This monTh’s chord progression is in the key of A minor, so the A natural minor scale is a logical choice to build your solo from. Compared to the A minor pentatonic
Notes: scale the extra notes in this scale will help you to create a stronger sense of melody to your solo. Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com

LeveL two Lead chart On YOUR Tgcd

44 Heavy
Am
rock

’ ’ ’ F ’ ’ ’ Dm ’ ’ ’ G ’ ’ ’

Am ’ ’ ’ F ’ ’ ’ Dm ’ ’ ’ Em ’ ’ ’

TheRe ARe some distinctive rhythmic features on this track, so try to reflect these elements in your phrasing if you can. Mimicking the choppy rhythms of the backing
in your solo will help your solo sound more focused and coherent. We've used a mixture of hammer-ons, pull-offs and string bends, too.

february 2015 107

 blackstar fly 3
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february 2015 109

 techniques tab guide |

Tab Guide
Get more from TG by understanding our easy-to-follow musical terms and signs

What is taB?
Tab is short for tablature, a the sixth (thick) string at the Unfretted strings are shown
notational system used to give bottom to the first (thin) string with a ‘0’. The key and time
detailed information as to at the top. On these lines, signatures are shown in the
where notes should be played numbers represent the frets traditional notation. TG also
on the fretboard. Tab appears where you should place your includes a timestamp to tell
underneath conventional fingers. For example, an A note you where in the original track
music notation as six on the 2nd fret, third string, will you’ll find each example.
horizontal lines that represent be shown as a number ‘2’ on Finally, a tempo marking is
the strings of the guitar, from the third line down on the tab. expressed in beats per minute.

FRet BOXes: chORds, scales and capO nOtatiOn

Hand labelling nut and Fretboard cHord example
2 m o o o o o o o o o
3 1 i a
4 c
1
T p
2 3

G
Here are the abbreviations used for each finger. Fretting hand: 1, 2, 3, 4, (T) This fretbox diagram represents the guitar’s fretboard exactly, as seen in the photo. This diagram represents a G chord. The ‘o’s are open strings, and a circled number
Picking hand: p (thumb), i (index), m (middle), a (annular), c (little finger) This design is used for ease of visualising a fretboard scale or chord quickly. is a fretting hand finger. A black ‘o’ or circled number is the root note (here, G).

capo example capo notation scale example

o o o x o o
CAPO 2nd
FRET >
CAPO 2nd
FRET > 4 1 1 1 1
1
2 2 2 2
1 2
3 3
2 3 3
4 4 4 4 4

A (G)
THe blue line in the diagram represents a capo – for this A chord, place it at the
2nd fret. Capos change the fret number ordering. Here, the original 5th fret now
becomes the 3rd fret, 7th fret now 5th fret, etc.
d (C)
Here the chord looks like a C in the tab, but the capo on the 2nd fret raises the
pitch to make it a D. The 2nd fret capo’d notes are shown with a ‘0’ in the tab as
if they were open strings.
A major scale
THe fret box diagram illustrates the fret hand fingering for the A major scale using
black dots for root notes and red dots for other scale tones. The photo shows part of
the scale being played on the fourth string with the first, third and fourth fingers.

GuitaR techniques: pickinG

down and up-picking tremolo picking palm muting pick rake appreggiated cHord

THe symbols under the tab tell you the eacH of the four notes are to be Palm-muTe by resting the edge of Drag the pick across the strings shown Play the notes of the chord by
first note is to be down-picked and the alternate-picked (down and up-picked) your picking hand palm on the strings with a single sweep. This is often used strumming across the relevant strings
second note is to be up-picked. very rapidly and continuously. near the bridge saddles. to augment a rake’s last note. in the direction of the arrow head.

110 FebrUAry 2015

 techniques tab guide |
FRettinG hand
Hammer-on & pull-oFF note trills slides (glissando) Fret Hand tapping Fret Hand muting

Pick the first note then hammer down afTer picking the first note, rapidly Pick the first note and then slide to the SounD the notes marked with a square X markingS represent notes and
on the string for the second note. Pick the alternate between the two notes shown in next. For the last two notes pick the first, by hammering-on/tapping with your fret strings that are muted by your fret hand
third note and pull-off for the fourth note. brackets using hammer-ons and pull-offs. slide to the next and then re-pick it (RP). hand fingers, instead of picking. when struck by your picking hand.

BendinG and viBRatO

bend and release re-picked bend pre-bend quarter-tone bend Vibrato

freT the first note (here, the 5th BenD up to the pitch shown in the SilenTly bend the string up from the 5th Pick the note then bend up a quarter- your fretting hand vibrates the string by
fret) and bend up to the pitch of the brackets, then re-pick the note while fret (PB5) to the pitch of the 7th fret note, tone (a very small amount). This is small bend-ups and releases. Exaggerate
bracketed note, before releasing again. holding the bent note at the pitch shown. pick it and release to the 5th fret note. sometimes referred to as a ‘blues curl’. this effect to create a ‘wide’ vibrato.

haRmOnics
natural Harmonics artiFicial Harmonics pincHed Harmonics tapped Harmonics toucHed Harmonics

Pick the note while lightly touching freT the note as shown, then lightly afTer fretting the note in the triangle, Place your finger on the note as shown, a PreviouSly sounded note is
the string directly over the fret place your index finger directly over ‘x’ dig into the string with the side of your but sound it with a quick pick hand tap at touched above the fret marked TCH
indicated. A chiming harmonic results. fret (AH‘x’) and pick (with a pick, p or a). thumb as you sound it with the pick. the fret shown (TH17) for a harmonic. (eg, TCH 9) for it to sound a harmonic.

viBRatO BaR / Whammy BaR

wHammy bar bends scoop and doop sustained note and diVebomb gargle wHammy bar Vibrato

THe note is picked as shown, then the ScooP: depress the bar just before a noTe is sustained then the vibrato SounD the note and ‘flick’ the vibrato genTly rock the whammy bar to
vibrato bar is raised and lowered to the striking the note and release. Doop: bar is depressed to slack. The square bar with your picking hand so it ‘quivers’. repeatedly bend the pitch up and down.
pitches shown in brackets. lower the bar slightly after picking note. bracket indicates a further articulation. This results in a ‘gargling’ sound! This sounds similar to fret hand vibrato.

OtheRs
pick scrape Violining Finger numbering pima directions pick Hand tapping

THe edge of the pick is dragged either Turn the volume control down, THe numbers in the traditional any kind of fingerpicking TaP (hammer-on) with a finger of
down or up along the lower strings to sound the note(s) and then turn the notation refer to the fingers required to requirements are shown at the bottom your picking hand onto the fret marked
produce a scraped sound. volume up for a smooth fade in. play each note. of the tab notation. with a circle. Usually with ‘i’ or ‘m’.

FebrUAry 2015 111

 The Final Countdown
Reasons Why
Playing guitaR
is BetteR than DJ-ing
9. Guitarists are far cooler
It’s a question so simple it’s almost rhetorical:
would you rather sink Jägerbombs in The Viper
room with Slash and Johnny Marr, or listen to
David Guetta drone on about his new headphones
at brooklyn beckham’s 21st birthday party?

8. Guitarists get to jam

DJs have ‘battles’: ego-crazed scratch-offs with
a wanker-takes-all attitude. but us guitarists have
jams: sympathetic, call-and-response bonding
sessions where ideas ping back and forth. “It’s
what ronnie [Wood] and I call the ancient art of
weaving,” explains Keith richards. “you don’t even
have to look at each other, almost. you can feel it.”

7. Guitarists can play anywhere

When it’s a sunny day, all we need to go al fresco is
No one has ever set fire to a an acoustic guitar and a tree. Given that he requires
set of decks in the heat of mains electricity, decks, speakers, vinyl, a laptop
musical passion. Fact
and a steady wi-fi connection, the DJ is doomed to
lurk in the darkness. and that’s probably how you You could do the duckwalk
end up with a complexion like Skrillex… while dropping Daft Punk
records, but you’d look weird…
10. Guitarists are
6. Strumming beats scratching…
real musicians On a primal level, there’s something cathartic 2. Because Tom 1. Guitarists get to
every time you run about slamming a plectrum into metal strings Petty says so run amok onstage
“Watch people play

Words: Henry Yates Photography: Paul R. Giunta / Contributor Robert Altman/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
and feeling the amp speakers explode. Gently scrit-
your hands across scrit-scritting a record back and forth, or right- records?” echoed the from Chuck
a fretboard, you’re clicking a file in ableton Live, doesn’t quite cut it. cool-as-hell florida berry’s duckwalk to
songwriter when USA
sparking original music Today asked if he’d ever Tenacious D’s power-
5. …And air guitar is much more fun
from scratch. Whereas by extension, leaping about the house pretending been to a DJ gig. “That’s slide, much of the joy
stupid. you couldn’t
when you mash to play Won’t Get Fooled Again is the best therapy
pay me to go…” of performing with a
around. Nobody air-DJs, because it would look like
Pharrell Williams’s you were tickling the Invisible Man’s balls. guitar comes from the
Happy into right Said sheer kinetic energy.
fred’s I’m Too Sexy, 4. Guitarists have more friends Just imagine how
as a DJ, you’re doomed to wander the earth alone,
you’re just a Doctor so lonely you lose the plot, draw faces on your bored you’d be if you
frankenstein, stitching record bags and start calling them ‘Jimmy’ and
‘Steve’. In a band, you get three mad half-brothers
had to stay rooted to
together the corpses with whom to play naked mini-golf and surf down the spot in your DJ
of existing tunes and the hills of San francisco in a shopping trolley. booth, peering over
giving them a squirt of 3. Guitarists don’t have to go to Ibiza the decks like
musical febreze. and The skinheads. The peroxide. The fights. The vomit. a McDonald’s cashier
If you’re a top DJ, you’ll just have to grit your teeth
that doesn’t sound very and take the next flight to this piss-streaked foam-
awaiting a Happy
sexy, does it? partying hell. fortunately for guitarists, we don’t. Meal order.
Do yourself a favour and
listen to Tom: he knows

112 february 2015

9000