Total Guitar 2014-05.pdf

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Vox MK III ‘teardrop’

Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, The Cure! Vox’s sub-£300 retro rocker

play better now! #253 may 2014 £5.50

Gear 

exclusive

Mesa RectoVerb 25

Combos just got HEAVY!

the final guitar interview Kurt’s guitars and rig in detail with rare photos

Tosin Abasi

The new king of shred

Brand new interviews   rig tour 

black stone cherry

Kentucky Fried Lickin’

Bringing Sexy Back! Nuno returns to the UK

Protest The Hero Rival Sons The Safety Fire Joe Satriani may 2014

PRINTED IN THE UK

£5.50

editor’s letter

Welcome…

Future Publishing 30 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2BW Tel: 01225 442244 Fax: 01225 822763 Email: [email protected] 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 Senior Art Editor Mark Thomas Art Editor Leanne O’Hara Senior Music Editor Jason Sidwell Music Editor Chris Bird Music Co-ordinator Natalie Smith Editor At Large Neville Marten Contributors Steve Allsworth, Owen Bailey, Simon Bradley, Phil Capone, Richard Chamberlain, Neil Crossley, Trevor Curwen, Charlie Griffiths, Nick Guppy, Jamie Hunt, Andy McGregor, Richard Hood, Kit Morgan, Matthew Parker, Robert Power, Adam Rees, Christopher Sutton, James Uings, Bill Weaving, Henry Yates Music Engraver Simon Troup Audio Mastering Duncan Jordan Video Production Martin Holmes Photography Joe Branston, Adam Gasson, Neil Godwin, Kevin Nixon, Gavin Roberts, Joby Sessions Advertising Phone: 01225 442244 Fax: 01225 732285 Advertising Sales Director Clare Coleman-Straw Sales Manager Amanda Burns, [email protected] Account Sales Managers James L’Esteve, [email protected] Alison Watson, [email protected] Advertising Sales Executive Simon Rawle, [email protected] Marketing Marketing Manager Sarah Jackson Direct Marketing Executive Alex Moreton Circulation Head of Trade Marketing James Whitaker Trade Marketing Manager Daniel Foley, [email protected] Direct Marketing Executive Alex Moreton Print & Production Production Manager Mark Constance Production Controller Frances Twentyman Prepress Future PreMedia Licensing Senior Licensing & Syndication Manager Regina Erak, [email protected] Tel: +44(0)1225 732359 Fax: +44(0)1225 732275 If you would like to purchase the images featured in this publication, please visit www.futuremediastore.com or email [email protected] Future Publishing Ltd Head Of Music Rob Last Group Art Director Rodney Dive Creative Director Robin Abbott Editorial Director Jim Douglas Managing Director, Future UK Nial Ferguson Subscriptions For orders and enquiries phone our UK hotline on: 0844 848 2852 For international order and enquiries phone: +44 (0) 1604 251 045 Subscribe online at: www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk Next issue on sale 12 May 2014 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

While we were researching this month’s cover feature, I found a bootleg interview with Nirvana from 1993 on YouTube. At this point, Nirvana were promoting their third and final studio album, In Utero. Famous for their dislike of interviews, the band’s answers are often polite but short. Then, the interviewer asks Kurt about being a left-handed guitarist. Kurt explains the problems he used to have finding lefthanded guitars and that he smashed a lot of his gear years before. He goes on to namecheck his famous Jaguar, enthuses about a ‘special’ guitar he’s designed with Fender that’s a mixture of a Mustang and a Jaguar, and laughs as he explains how he stuck two pictures together to show Fender what he wanted the guitar to look like. The point is, Kurt Cobain may not have been a ‘guitarist’s guitarist’, but he clearly loved the instrument. This month, with the help of his tech, Earnie Bailey, we’re celebrating Kurt’s love for the guitar by taking a detailed look at his simple yet considered gear choices – the instruments he used to change music for a generation. We’ve also managed to bring you Kurt’s final guitar interview, conducted weeks before his death. We’d like to thank the kind folks at Fender, Proud Galleries Camden and the EMP Museum in Seattle for supplying us with some of the awesome content for this month’s cover feature. We hope you enjoy it!

The ABC combined print and digital circulation for Jan-Dec 2013 is: A member of the Audited Bureau of Circulations

19,262 Print:16,774 Digital:2,488

Stuart Williams, Editor Zillah Byng-Maddick

© Future Publishing Limited 2014. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. Future Publishing Limited (company number 2008885) is registered in England and Wales. The registered office of Future Publishing Limited is at Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2BW. All information contained in this magazine is for informational purposes only and is, to the best of our knowledge, correct at the time of going to press. Future Publishing Limited cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies that occur. Readers are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers direct with regard to pricing. All submissions to Total Guitar magazine are made on the basis of a licence to publish the submission in Total Guitar magazine, its associated websites and all world-wide licensed editions of the same. Any material submitted is sent at the owner’s risk and, although every care is taken, neither Future Publishing Limited nor its agents shall be liable for loss or damage. We encourage you to recycle this magazine, either through your usual household recyclable waste collection service or at a recycling site.

We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from well managed, certified forestry and chlorine-free manufacture. Future Publishing and its paper suppliers have been independently certified in accordance with the rules of the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council).

making this month’s mag: Chris Bird This month, Chris caught up with Luke Hoskin and Tim Millar of prog-metal five-piece Protest The Hero for a twin-guitar lesson. The guys blasted through riffs from Underbite, Clarity and Sex Tapes, blowing us all away by showing us just how tightly they have their stuff down. Check out the tabs on p48.

Michael Brown We’ve been spoiled by a pair of gorgeous signature models this issue: Jim Root’s none-more-black Fender Jazzmaster, reviewed on p78, and Tosin Abasi’s ultra-bling Ibanez TAM100, which appears in First Look on p8. Of course, if you like your gear un-signed, tasty offerings from Vox, Mesa and DigiTech will satisfy your cravings.

Rob Laing Rob has been up to his eyeballs in nostalgia writing about his first guitar inspiration, Kurt Cobain. It took him all the way back to halcyon teenage days of playing Polly and Aneurysm on a red Marlin Slammer. But he’s not just been looking back, and he interviews a very modern guitar hero, Tosin Abasi, on p68. may 2014

5

contents monitor First Look Ibanez TAM100 Tosin Abasi���������������������� On The Road Extreme������������������������������������������������������� Riff Of The Month Pantera – Becoming����������������������� Scale Of The Month Natural minor����������������������������� Guitar Shop Ammo Thrash-metal guitars����������������� In Praise Of Line 6 DL4����������������������������������������������������� Splurge, Save, Steal Gibson Les Pauls ����������������������� WTF? / Bring The Noise! ����������������������������������������������� Sound Advice Auto-wah�������������������������������������������������� In The Loop Classic Rock harmony������������������������������� In The Studio Rival Sons��������������������������������������������������� On The Up Neck Deep, Cage The Gods,  

Amber Run������������������������������������������������������������������������������

Albums This month’s best guitar releases������������������ Five Minutes Alone Joe Satriani ����������������������������������� Rig Tour Black Stone Cherry������������������������������������������� Feedback �������������������������������������������������������������������������������

008 010 012 014 016 018 020 024 026 028 029 030 032 034 037 042

Features Round Table: Progressive metal with Protest The   Hero and The Safety Fire. PLUS! PTH show us their   favourite riffs, complete with tab and video����������������� 044

Cobain 052 Kurt his legacy, his gear, his final guitar interview

029 6

  may 2014

RIVAL SONS

018

in praise of…

Animals As Leaders Tosin Abasi talks us through  

052

the guitar album of 2014 so far�����������������������������������������

068

Steal Their Style Play like Stevie Ray Vaughan,   with this Texas flood of gear to suit any budget����������

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068

animals as leaders

Cover/photography © Charles Peterson , Rob Monk

Cover feature: 20 years on from his death, we   look back at Cobain’s lasting legacy as a guitar   player and songwriter����������������������������������������������������������

issue 253

first look: ibanez tam100

mAY 2014

008

Gear Fender Jim Root Jazzmaster���������������������������������������������� Mesa Engineering Recto-Verb Twenty-Five���������������� Vox Mark III�����������������������������������������������������������������������������

fix your guitar

092

044

Prog round table

Round-up Godin Richmond Series������������������������������� DigiTech RP360��������������������������������������������������������������������� Yerasov GTA15�����������������������������������������������������������������������

Jim Root Jazzmaster

078

097

guitar workout

Pedal Round-up Red Witch effects������������������������������ TC Electronic Ditto 2/Boss DS-1X����������������������������������� Accessories�����������������������������������������������������������������������������

Fix Your Guitar Truss rod adjustment �������������������������

078 080 081 082 086 087 088 090 091 092

techniques Guitar Workout: Octaves ������������������������������������������������������ Guest Lesson: Alex Skolnik ����������������������������������������������� Ear Training: Minor thirds �������������������������������������������������� Get Your Grades! RGT ������������������������������������������������������� Get Your Grades! Rockschool������������������������������������������� Tab Guide�������������������������������������������������������������������������������

097 101 105 106 107 110

Subscribe now & get a gift Subscribe to Total Guitar – save money and get a free pedal! p108

may 2014

 7

first look…

Super Eight Brace yourself for the Ibanez TAM100 – Tosin Abasi’s eight-string squeeze

W

ith instrumental prog-metallers Animals As Leaders, Tosin Abasi has rewritten the guitar-hero rulebook, and as such, he needs an instrument to match – enter the Ibanez TAM100, an eight-string beast kitted out with killer specs. For starters, there’s an HSH-configured trio of DiMarzio Ionizer 8 pickups, which includes a coil-split You’ll find a wenge ’board on the wenge/bubinga neck, which is bolstered by KTS titanium rods to support the tension of the eight strings, tuned E B E A D G B E (low to high). A touch of opulence comes courtesy of gold hardware, showcased on the doublelocking FX Edge III-8 fixed bridge, and a Blue Wash finish adorns the basswood body’s quilted maple top. A lot of thought has gone into this guitar, and it ain’t cheap: the price tag reads £3,279. However, Ibanez has just launched the TAM10 for a comparatively mere £869 – see more from Tosin on his signature models on p68, and look out for a review very soon…

The FX Edge III-8 handles the tension

Photography: Joby Sessions

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  MAY 2014

first look

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“Tosin Abasi has rewritten the guitar-hero rulebook – and his Ibanez TAM100 is an eight-string beast, kitted out with killer specs”

MAY 2014

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on the road…

04 july

09 july

“IfIcouldget VanHalentodo thewholefirstor secondalbum,I’d showupforthat.So Isaid,‘Let’sdoit’”

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may 2014

on the road

Extreme

Nunoandcoinviteyoutotheirveryown Pornograffittiparty

E

xtreme may be playing 1990 hit album Pornograffitti in full when they reach the UK this summer, but guitarist Nuno Bettencourt is adamant that this won’t just be a nostalgia trip for fans and a quick buck for the Boston rockers. “I don’t want it to be just based on Pornograffitti,” he says. “I’m not interested in cashing in. I want to still have new music to offer. We are in the process of doing a new record as well. Whatever new music we have done by then, we will put out, whether it’s two songs, four or a full album. This is like going to a Halloween party with a Pornograffitti theme, so it’s great to revisit it.” Bettencourt notes that playing successful records from top to bottom on tour has become something of a trend, but it’s one that creates a must-see event for long-time fans as the band play the record in full, followed by more hits and a batch of new material. “You tend to be against the novelties, but I figured from a fan perspective, if I could get Van Halen to do the whole first or second album, I would show up for that, so I said, ‘Let’s do it.’” But he also admits that playing the album in sequence brings some obstacles with it. “To start a show and do More Than Words so early,

it’s such a different live perspective to stay true to the album. Doing it this way is crazy – it almost goes against nature in terms of what you would normally do live. We’ve been doing live shows forever – if we’re not going to do it in order, then why bother at all?” Fans eager to hear some of Pornograffitti’s deeper cuts will be in for a treat, as there are one or two that have barely been played since the record’s release almost a quarter of a century ago. “There’s When I First Kissed You and a song like Money, which I don’t think we’ve ever played live outside of clubs in Boston. Both of those songs take me back to our club days. I’m looking forward to playing the obscure stuff, and new songs as well.” Nuno is also combining new and old with his rig, using his tried and trusted Randall NB King 112 amps and a new carbon-fibre-necked version of his Washburn signature guitar. “I’ll be bringing that guitar on tour. The neck is super fast, there’s no wood there to slow you down. It’s almost like you’ve been running with ankle weights and then you take them off. It’s crazy.”

Extreme’s Pornograffitti Live tour starts in Manchester on 4 July 2014. www.extreme-band.com

Fans will hear new, unreleased tunes on the Pornograffitti Live tour

monitor

riff of the month

Pantera

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o celebrate the 20th anniversary of Pantera’s album Far Beyond Driven, we’re looking at the main riff from Becoming. The tuning is E b standard (E b A b D b G b B b E b ), but the guitars on the album are tuned down a further quartertone (a typical Pantera tuning). This song is mid-paced and heavy as hell. After the intro, Dimebag launches into the chunky main riff. He bases it around the lowest few notes on the sixth string, but moves up an octave to make one note jump out. He also stamps on the Whammy pedal to shoot the note up two more octaves. The trickiest part is playing the pedal sweep so you hit the high note and return to standard pitch in time to continue the low riffing. If you don’t have a whammy pedal, a similar high squeal can be achieved with an artificial harmonic, as shown in this month’s video.

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ideally, you need a guitar with a high-output bridge-position humbucker to achieve Dime’s heavy, vicious sound. If your guitar has single-coil pickups, add more gain and bass on the amp. A modern high-gain valve amp is best to get close to Dime’s Randalls. If your amp isn’t suited to scooped heavy metal tones, use a distortion pedal and run it into your amp’s clean channel. If you have a Whammy pedal, raise the pitch by two octaves in the ‘toe down’ position. VideO leSSONS All our Video Lessons are online at totalguitar.co.uk. to see the video for this lesson, type www.bit.ly/tg253rotm into your browser.

OF THE MONTH

Natural minor scale

in association with

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line shows possibilities available in the lower half of this scale shape. Ideally, use strict alternate picking for consistent tone and timing; alternatively, use a mixture of picking and legato. Practise slowly and gradually build speed.

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this month’s licks inspired by Paul Gilbert, Joe Satriani and Steve Howe.

natural minor scale simply adds two extra notes to the minor pentatonic

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elements of Joe Satriani and Steve Vai’s playing. The idea is to repeat the root note as the chords change. Notice how the shape changes on the second and third strings because they are tuned four frets apart.

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Guitars: Charlie Griffiths 14

Howe-style prog-rock approach here. Start the lick on the first string with your first finger, followed by hammer-ons with your second and fourth fingers. Repeat the technique on the next string, maybe using your third finger.

may 2014

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Thrash T

he Jackson Randy Rhoads model guitar has blazed a trail for thrash metal since the 80s. Yes, it is impractical to play when sitting down (who plays thrash sitting down anyway?) and a nudge from that pointy lower bout could take your bass player’s eye out. Still, you should find this pointy axe ideal for the typical thrash fodder of raucous Phrygian solos, tight palm muted riffing and semitone powerchord shifts (E5 to F5 for example).

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These chords form a progression that works as an accompaniment to this month’s tabbed lick, so break up the lead line and try jamming both rhythm and lead ideas.

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key players: Kirk Hammett, Matt Tuck, Andreas Kisser, Dan Spitz key techniques: Phrygian licks, downpicking, alternate picking, semitone and b 5th chord shifts

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This lick uses the E Phrygian mode (E F G A B C D), which contains the vital semitone interval between the root note and the 2nd (E and F). Thrash solos often cover many lead techniques; use strict alternate picking in bar 1, followed by fluid legato in bar 2 and pinched harmonics in bar 3.

may 2014

Photography: joby sessions

in praise of…

Line 6 DL4 We pay tribute to a versatile delay with a model existence

B

ack in the year 2000, delay pedals didn’t offer a whole lot of options: you made your choice of digital or analogue, and that was about it. The Line 6 DL4 delay modeller shook things up, boasting models of 16 classic delay effects that you’d struggle to get hold of without a formidable overdraft. The defining tones of the Roland RE-101 Space Echo, TC Electronic 2290 and Maestro EP-1 Echoplex were all available at the twist of a knob, alongside Line 6 originals, such as sweep echo, auto-volume echo and lo-res delay. Most importantly, the sound quality was there, too, and the DL4 quickly found its way onto the ’boards of countless pro guitarists, who loved the ability to instantly access three presets and tap tempo, not to mention the 14-second looper. Since the DL4 was introduced, Line 6 has used its sounds as the basis for other effects units, including the Echo Pro rack delay, Echo Park compact pedal and the M series stompbox modellers, but its functionality and modelling ethos is something you’ll find a tribute to in just about every digital delay pedal on the market today. (MB)

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Line 6 unveils the DL4 delay-modelling multi-effects unit

2002

The Echo Pro rack unit is released, featuring the DL4’s models

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Line 6 releases the DL4 model-loaded Echo Park

2008

All of Line 6’s DL4-derived delays appear in the M13

MAY 2014

Gibson Les Paul

20

MAY 2014

All three of these Les Pauls are the American dream, but how far will your wallet stretch?

basics

Recording an acoustic Mic’ing your acoustic guitar for a good tone is all about basic principles

R

ejoice! For we guitarists now have the wonders of nine-string electrics, profiling amps and self-tuning guitars – we can even make multi-track demos on our phones. But some things are still old-school at heart. And when it comes to recording an acoustic guitar, the old way really is still the best. Acoustic recording is not just for acoustic musicians – plenty of heavier bands will record an acoustic track to act as a ‘bed’ for the rest of the song, making for a lusher rhythmic sound. Or you might even just want an acoustic interlude in your track. Whatever your aim, the art of mic’ing your guitar isn’t some mystic voodoo that only studio engineers can wield: but there are different variations you can try, and with some basic planning and know-how, you can get the recorded tone that you need in your own home.

“Mic’ing your guitar isn’t some mystic voodoo only studio engineers can wield: you can get the tone you need in your own home” go digital

To demo acoustic ideas, digital audio recorders are a great quick option, and are available for a variety of budgets, with some options (like the Olympus LS-100, below) approaching condenser-levels of audio detail. Placement should follow the basic rules set out opposite, but you may want to try getting some lo-fi sounds in unusual ambient spaces this way, too. Some new digital recorders have great, usable audio fidelity

Five essential recording tips Plectrums matter. If it’s a strumming part, consider a thinner plectrum for a mellower vibe, as it directly affects tone.

1  Pick carefully 

New strings will squeak when fretting – not good. Bed them in before recording, or consider longer-life coated strings (Elixir Nanoweb and D’Addario EXP are options).

2  Kill squeaks 

Phat bass is ace, but it often gets lost in the band mix – especially when it creeps into the actual bassist’s territory. Try rolling off frequencies below 100Hz to begin with.

3  Big Bottom? 

Consider the space you’re recording in – sounds will reflect off hard surfaces back to the mic. This isn’t always bad – the natural reverb from reflections in the bathroom or kitchen can be great – but be aware of the effects when tracking.

4  Watch That Space 

Try a second acoustic for a different tone – a second smaller acoustic with more mid attack, or a jumbo for a bit more bottom-end boom.

5  Something Borrowed 

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may 2014

basics

monitor

 hear these albums  Nick Drake Pink Moon (1972) Mostly just one man and his guitar, Drake’s startlingly advanced fingerstyle techniques and experimental tunings are laid bare here. But there are other factors crucial to his tone; older, fatter strings make for a darker tonality, with his nails providing attack.

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Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago (2007) Justin Vernon’s acoustic tone isn’t about wide-panned ‘perfection’, it’s more earthy and intimate, with the human element of string noises, too. He used a Shure SM-57 dynamic mic in a remote Wisconsin cabin to capture the tones at the heart of this.

Three Ways To Record 1. One mic, two ways The simple approach. Place a single condenser mic 30 to 50cm away from your guitar and pointing towards where the neck joins the body. This is a good overall balance of the sound coming from the guitar’s body and neck. Then, it’s a matter of tweaking; move it closer to the soundhole for more bass, towards the headstock for less; further from the guitar to capture any natural reverb in the room (eg a bathroom), or closer for a drier sound. You can also try positioning the mic over your shoulder if you want to capture a sound similar to what you can hear yourself.

Jimmy Eat World Damage (2013) JEW are no strangers to using acoustic rhythm

Jim Adkins: sometimes a lo-fi acoustic works best

© WireImage

underneath shimmering electric tones, especially on this most recent record. But closer You Were Good finds Jim Adkins using a scratchy lo-fi acoustic recording for the first time to create a distinct vibe.

2. Two mics Adding a second condenser offers a bigger sound. Experimenting with positioning and listening for the change it brings is always good, but try placing this second mic in line with the lower bout of your guitar, pointing back slightly towards the bridge. Then you can mix the sound of the two mics to what suits you, or even pan them for a wide sound. Be aware of the risk of something called phasing through. Phasing can occur when the mics are placed at an uneven distance from the guitar, so the sound reaches each mic at a different time to produce an inconsistent and

Three Condensers Sontronics STC-2 £159

This is a popular mic choice for a reason; it offers fantastic quality for the price. For versatility when recording, it features a low-cut filter and -10dB pad switches to avoid over-saturation.

Behringer C-3 £75

The C-3 is a good budget choice. It even has omnidirectional (ie picks up sound all around mic), cardioid (in front of mic) and figure-of-eight (in front and behind mic) polar patterns.

Rode M3 £89.99

Smaller-diaphragm cardioid mics are great for multiple purposes in recording, because they’re better suited to louder sources; including close vocals, amps and as an overhead for drums.

3 unbalanced sound. A good way of getting a fuller tone that’s also balanced is the X/Y technique – using two identical smalldiaphragm mics, stacked one on top of the other and pointed at the neck joint. 3. Blended and direct The piezo pickups found in many affordable electro acoustics aren’t going to give you a great acoustic sound recorded alone, but you can always add to the sound from the mics for an extra, very different, layer if you have an audio interface with multiple inputs. But there is another option to use your pickup when mic’ing isn’t viable (eg when other people in the house are making noises that a mic can pick up). Fishman’s Aura preamp system is available pre-installed on some acoustics, and also as a retrofit option, but the company also has a range of pedals with the technology. Fishman call it ‘imaging’, and it’s primarily for live use: it’s based on the idea of blending your guitar’s pickup sound with a matched image (that you can upload to the pedal via software) of a similar guitar and mic from a range of options, for a sound that simulates that of a mic’d acoustic. The results can be surprisingly authentic. may 2014

23

What the ∫?

  Theory for lazy b*st*rds 

This month… Diads and doublestops

‘D

iads’ and ‘doublestops’ are chords formed of only two notes. Simple! If you truly are a lazy bastard, stop here; you have read enough. Commit to memory the fact that ‘diads’ and ‘doublestops’ are one and the same thing, and we’ll see you next month! The actual difference between the terms is that a diad can use any two notes on the fretboard; ‘doublestop’ is a

This is the well-known two-note powerchord shape.

This is a powerchord, but the root is the higher note, not the lower.

traditional term relating to the technique of playing two notes on adjacent strings on stringed instruments such as the violin or cello. You don’t need to learn any special techniques to do this on the guitar, but the term has stuck around regardless, and is generally used without any distinction from ‘diad’.

This shape is easy to play using just one finger. Any finger.

Think of this shape as two notes from an open D chord.

video lesson

bring the noise!

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ise

Coax crazy sounds from your axe

#54: Shergar’s Revenge

T

his month, TG takes the reins and saddles up our vibrato arms, ready to harness some harmonics and produce a thoroughbred whinnying horse sound. This effect has been used by the likes of Steve Vai, Dimebag Darrell and Mattias IA Eklundh. The 3rd-fret harmonic can be tricky, so home in on finer elements of the technique, such as working out the best hand position and which part of your finger makes contact with the string. Practise the steps one at a time before playing them together in one smooth motion… and they’re off!

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Step 1 Place your thumb over the top of the fretboard and mute the fourth, fifth and sixth strings. Rest your first finger on the first and second strings: keep them muted. This leaves the third string open.

Step 2 Pick the third string using a fret hand pull-off, then push your whammy bar down as far as possible to slacken the strings. Bring the bar back to a resting position, and touch the string above the 3rd fret to produce a clear harmonic.

Step 3 As the harmonic is ringing, pull the bar up as high as possible and then gradually bring it down as far as possible. At the same time, wobble your hand so the pitch goes up and down in small increments on the way.

TRACK 16

1

Pushing the envelope… Set the gain to around seven on an overdrive channel. It’s best to go easy on the distortion, as it can get very fizzy when combined with the wah. Auto-wah also works well with a clean tone.

 step one  Gain

2

 step two  Sensitivity or threshold  The sensitivity control determines how much effect your guitar’s volume has on the auto-wah. The higher the setting, the more obvious the wah sound will be. How hard you play also has a bearing on the effect.

3

There are up to three filter options. Select ‘Band Pass Filter’. This simply means a ‘band’ of frequencies is allowed to ‘pass’ through, while everything else is ‘filtered’ out. In this case, it leaves the midrange – a key part of the wah sound.

 step three  Filter mode 4

sound advice

You need to select the frequency range that you want the wah to emphasise. Higher frequencies make the sound more nasal; lower frequencies make the sound more vocal. For our lick, a vocal, ‘wow wow’ sound is what you’re looking for, so select a ‘low’ range.

 step four  Range 

Auto-wah

Use an auto-wah to add a little ‘waka-waka’ to your guitar playing

5

Auto-wah helps you get the most out of every note while giving tired feet a rest

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What I Am and Dire Straits’ he auto-wah effect, also Industrial Disease, among known as an envelope many other songs. The great filter, is an effect that thing about auto-wah is that re-creates the sound of a TGR253.mon_sound.fig01.mus when you dig in, the traditional wah-wah pedal auto-wah digs in; if you lay without having to physically File Date: 16:32 12/3/14rock back, it lays back, too. This thePage pedal1toofcontrol the tone. 1 makes it fantastic for Auto-wah can be heard on Badly Notes: [Description] expressive leads, funky riffs Drawn Boy’s Once Around The Block, the solo on Edie Brickell’s

track 17

The ‘Q’ (or peak) boosts the middle frequency of the range you selected in Step Four. The more you boost, the more pronounced the wah effect. Don’t mess around here; turn the dial up to seven or eight.

 step five  Q 

6

Filter FX Sound Advice An auto- wah responds to howJames hard you Contributor: Uings play. You’ll get a sharp, cutting peak if you Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com play hard, and a mellower, less aggressive

 step six  Play dynamically

sound when you play softly.

and dynamic chordal parts.

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The auto-wah responds to dynamics, so this lick mixes notes played hard and held for a long time with short, staccato notes. The final phrase builds from quiet to loud.

in the loop…

Classic rock

Loop 1:

Want to play dual lead lines? Don’t have a second guitarist? Use a looper pedal instead!

Chords

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Next up is a melody line played on top of the chords. With classic rock, the simpler the melody, the better it will sound. We’re staying inside the G major scale (G A B C D E F#), starting on the root note and using vibrato, legato and string bends for rock attitude.

~~~ ~~ . .5 574 75

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Loop 2:

No looper pedal? We’ve included audio files on your TGCD for you to import into a DAW, such as GarageBand

Loop 3: meLody 2

G5

j j j j # œ & 44 .. œœœ ‰ œœœ œœœ ‰ œœ œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœœ œœœ ‰ œœœ œœœ ‰ œœœ œ œ œ œœœ œœ œ œ œ

We’ve laid out the chord changes with open voicings in G major. We’ve stuck to the I-IV-V progression, which, in the key of G, is G, C and D. Including neutral-sounding ‘5’ chords allows you to add more colour in the lead line.

his month, we’ve written a classic-rock harmony arrangement in the vein of bands like The Allman Brothers and Thin Lizzy. These bands use two guitar players to play powerful dual parts, and you can mimic this by layering lead lines with a looper. It’s fun to play around but a little scale knowledge helps to find the best harmonies. Adding intervals such as 3rds, 5ths or 6ths works really well, especially while staying inside the structure of a particular scale. This approach is called ‘diatonic harmony’.

traCk 18

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1

Here, we harmonise with melody 1. We’ve used ‘3rd’ harmonies, which is another way of saying ‘three scale notes apart’. Melody 1 starts on G (the first note of the scale), so the harmony note is B (the third note). Keep this system in mind throughout, and match nuances like vibrato and string bends. 28

May 2014

.. . .

in the studio

monitor

In the Studio Scott Holiday: “We wrote every day and never put our heads up”

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scoTT HolidAy – RivAl sons Cali foursome add some craft to their organic blues rock As A bAnd that usually works off a 20-day recording schedule, Rival Sons treated themselves to a full five weeks in producer Dave Cobb’s Nashville studio as they worked on Great Western Valkyrie, the follow-up to 2012’s Head Down. “There’s more craft on this record, so there may have been a few extra takes,” guitarist Scott Holiday tells TG. “But we’re catching a great portion of this record live off the floor.” a little more finessing of ideas doesn’t mean that riffs are worked to death before hitting the studio, though. No, the Sons are still going the write-as-theytrack route. “I go into the studio with a bunch of ideas stockpiled, and so does Jay [Buchanan, vocals], and we get in the room and throw them at the wall. For me, there’s always a key word, phrase or idea before we go in. If you’re looking for another Head Down or Pressure And Time, that is not what I intend and it’s not what we’re going to give you. “We wrote every day and we never put our heads up. We wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote. Instead of just working on 12 tracks, we wrote 20 songs and then decided who should live and who should die.”

Scott tracked with his trusty collection of Gibson Firebirds as well as a ’62 Jazzmaster and one or two Kauer creations. He is particularly enthused about a Gretsch White Penguin/Firebird hybrid put together for him by Kauer. He plugged into a ’63 Vox aC30 once owned by Brendan Benson. Well, for a while he did, at least. “It blew up halfway through, so we had to stop using it,” he laments. “But that was one of my main amps for the first half of tracking.” With one amp wilting under the pressure of recording the band’s heady mix of hip-shaking classic rock and earthy blues, Scott turned to a pocket rocket to dig him out of an exploded amp-shaped hole. “I used a ’30s Supro, a little tiny thing. It looks like a piece of trash, but it sounds like a little treasure. It takes a fuzz pedal like no other and records beautifully.” With the album set for a June release, many bands would already be imagining the heights a new album could take them to. Scott, it seems, is content to count the blessings that he already has. “I think to myself, ‘This is my job?’ all of these people are coming to see me for the night of the week, of their month, of their year? and I can do it again tomorrow? I’ve found the key to a happy life.”

Great Western Valkyrie is released 9 June through Earache.

o n

© Alex Gregory

t h e

Neck Deep

u M p

Breaking America, or their van – whichever comes first ost British bands spend years of their lives and vast quantities of label cash to gain a foothold in America. Wrexham pop-punks Neck Deep have managed it almost without trying. “We leave for America for our first proper tour in a couple of days, and some of the shows have already sold out,” enthuses guitarist Lloyd Roberts, when we speak in February. “It’s crazy really – we’ve never properly been over there!” His surprise is understandable, especially given the band began life as little more than a casual side project for Lloyd and vocalist Ben Barlow. “We were just writing these songs and sticking them online, and then when people liked them, we kind of had to make a band,” he explains. “It wasn’t going to be anything serious, but all of our minds changed quickly on that one…” Having gathered a Facebook following – a significant chunk of which was based across the pond – Neck Deep discovered that these were real fans when they visited Florida on a last-minute holiday deal. “We were like, ‘Why don’t we try and book a show?’” says Lloyd. “We managed to arrange with a band out there to use all their gear, and we turned up at this house show and just thought, ‘There aren’t going

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to be many people here, but who cares?’ Suddenly, we had maybe 100, 150 people in this tiny little room. We were all looking at each other like, ‘Right, this is actually becoming a reality.’” Now signed to Hopeless Records, they’re the latest in a long line of British bands to have absorbed American influences from a pan-Atlantic position – something rather neatly represented by their gear choices: British tone, courtesy of Orange Rockerverb amps, married with US(-ish) guitars in the form of a Fender Jim Root Strat for Lloyd, and a Frankenstein’d Jaguar for co-guitarist Matt West. With thoughts all on the tour, Lloyd says gear hiccups are rare; it’s just the vans that bother them. “Whatever vehicle we’re travelling in, will break,” explains the guitarist. “It’s 100 per cent. I’m not sure what kind of curse we have on us, but I’m hoping it’s not gonna continue once we’re in America. Especially when you’ve got a nice 36-hour drive to do!” Catch Neck Deep at Hit The Deck festival and on tour in the UK throughout April. For fans of: All Time Low, New Found Glory, Blink-182  Hear: Losing Teeth

on the up

monitor

Cage The Gods Riff messiahs in the classic-rock garden

D

n-dn-derrr. Dn-dn-dernerr! Deep Purple – we owe you so much. Smoke On The Water may be the most over-played riff in rock history, but how many of us owe our playing roots to those fertile four chords? Jam, the mononymous guitarist for skeez-rocking Londoners Cage The Gods, counts himself among that number. “One of my mates from school had got a guitar,” recalls Jam of his start. “He’d learned to play Smoke On The Water – surprise, surprise – and once I saw that, I was jealous, so that’s what influenced me to pick it up.” With the dam busted open, Jam’s spent the intervening years bathing in rock’s dirty waters and studying Messrs Page, Young and Slash. “All of those guys brought something in, a sound, that wasn’t

out there at the time,” reckons Jam. “They all play through similar setups, but they all sound different to each other.” It’s almost a given, then, that Jam favours a 1970s Marshall JMP paired with a Gibson Les Paul Custom to power his classictinged licks. With the band treading a path similar to their ancestors, TG can’t help but ask if they’ve developed a taste for the same lifestyle. “The millions of dollars is rare these days,” says Jam. “But in terms of the excess, I think that’s very much still possible. Some of the things that you read about guys doing in the 70s are done by most people on a Saturday night now!” For fans of: Skid Row, Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC  Hear: Favourite Sin

Amber Run

Panoramic pedal pushers getting the green light

M

Panoramic, delay-laden anthems such as Heaven showcase their talents, and anyone that’s lost hours tweaking repeat settings will understand Will’s special bond with his Eventide Space and Strymon TimeLine pedals (complementing a Gretsch Power Jet and Fender Hot Rod Deluxe). This territory is ruled by The Edge, so it makes perfect sense when Will name-checks the beaniebonced guitarist, and the likes of Explosions In The Sky and Sigur Rós, as major influences. “I just can’t get enough of reverbs with 20-second decays,” enthuses Will. “I like it where you only have to play three notes in a song, and then you don’t have to do anything else!” For fans of: Mumford & Sons, Coldplay, The Temper Trap  Hear: Sparks

may 2014

© Andrew Whitton

uch like, err, evolution, guitar playing takes all types. Will Jones – guitarist with Nottingham’s widescreen indie-types Amber Run – is an effects man. “When I discovered reverb and delay, that changed the whole way I played,” he tells TG. “I realised I didn’t have to play scales as fast as possible… it’s more about the song’s sound, and the textures.” Formed to serve childhood friend/rhythm man Joe Keogh’s cinematic songwriting, the band have signed with RCA and have an album in the can with Mike Crossey (Foals, Arctic Monkeys), due Autumn. “It really took off quickly for us,” admits Will. “But people respond to good songs, and they always will do. You won’t get anywhere if you’ve got bad songs. It’s quite basic advice, but it’s important.”

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albums Devil You Know The Beauty Of Destruction

With the somewhat suspicious circumstances of his exit from Killswitch Engage still to see the light of day, it’s unsurprising that Howard Jones’ new band will be met with anticipation more than expectation. The man himself is on immense form, with his both fierce and powerful vocals all over Devil You Know’s debut, but it’s the musicianship that’s most interesting on the album, with former All Shall Perish six-stringer Francesco Artusato combining a mix of melancholic tones on It’s Over and some reserved deathmetal riffing on the likes of Seven Years Alone. Adam Rees Download: A Mind Insane

Black Stone Cherry Magic Mountain

 

A NERGAL

the last album i bought… Dead Soul In The Darkness “A band I saw support Ghost in Sweden recently. Somehow they remind me of 16 Horsepower. They’re bluesy, and there are a lot of guitars, but there are other things going on as well. They’re just a great band with a great vocalist, and I really dig them.”

exceptional

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  |  excellent

t the beginning of their ascent, Black Stone Cherry were a hard-working young Kentucky band who discovered a way of balancing the classic with the modern – and their brute force and Skynyrd swagger have made for a winning combination the UK has taken to its heart. For album number four, it sounds like Tool producer Joe Barresi has helped spike the Cherry’s southern comfort a little more, following the more Nickelbackian sheen and multiple songwriters on 2011’s Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea. Holding On… To Letting Go flies out of the traps, with Chris Robertson and Ben Wells shovelling their trademark thick down-tuned groove riffs, but they’ve always had lead finesse to match – and the bluesy tradeoffs in Peace Pipe and Blow My Mind find them refining their craft with confidence. Notably, the surprise that the mellowest song here – the hauntingly raw Sometimes – is also one of the strongest, shows just how high these freebirds are flying again.

Rob Laing Download: Never Surrender   |  good

  |  for fans of

  |  poor

Nick Mulvey

First Mind

One of the most unique acoustic players TG has heard, Mulvey is a thoroughly modern singersongwriter – using subtle effects and a vast musical palette to craft hypnotic, dream-like and nuanced compositions. While his technique never overshadows the songs, delays and clever picking allow him to channel his beloved Sub-Saharan guitarists and balance rhythm and melody in a thoroughly satisfying way. We’ve watched Mulvey go from tiny club dates to headline act in the space of a year – and, without doubt, his first full-length record will accelerate that ascent. Matt Parker Download: April

albums

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reissueS

The Afghan Whigs

Lesser Key

LostAlone

Pantera

The alt-rock legends’ first album in 16 years showcases a band reinvigorated and excited to explore new sonic territories, encompassing everything from electronica to country and grunge in their travels. Whigs guitarists Greg Dulli, Dave Rosser and Jon Skibic provide the bulk of the dark, driven tones, but contributions from the likes of QOTSA’s Alain Johannes and The Raconteurs’ Patrick Keeler add to the weighty textures. From the scuzzy riffery of Parked Outside to The Lottery’s U2-esque delayed melodies and Can Rova’s delicate phaser-infused picking, Do To The Beast is a powerful, career-affirming return. Michael Brown Download: The Lottery

Tired of the seemingly interminable wait for a new Tool album? This EP may tide you over for a while, and features bassist Paul D’Amour – who played on Tool’s first couple of releases. Vocalist Andrew Zamudio is more Daniel Johns than Maynard, but the dark, rhythmic mid-tempo shifts of Intercession and Parallels should please fans of Tool’s Undertow and Aenima. The anthemic choruses help to maintain the necessary equilibrium, but the choice cut on the album is In Passing Through, when they stretch the dynamics to greater effect, and rise to a zenith of riffery. Rob Laing Download: In Passing Through

LostAlone continue their quest to resurrect epic, almost ridiculously grand rock on album three. Opener Crusaders has a stadium-sized Biffy vibe and power-pop hooks, while The Bells! The Bells!! is a distorted slab of My Chemical Romance-ish rock. Elsewhere, leader Steve Battelle and co channel Muse (Hostages) and Queen (Mental Health) with varying degrees of success. It’s certainly an ambitious record, and Battelle’s playing is fantastically varied, but whether it’s one that will take LostAlone to the heights that they’ve consistently been tipped for remains to be seen. Rich Chamberlain Download: Crusaders

20 years on, this remastered reissue (with a live show from 1994) is still Alpha Papa to today’s young metal bucks; Dimebag’s role as the heroic steel foil for Phil Anselmo’s hardcore chest puffing never sounded as commanding as here. Their chemistry is lightning in a whisky bottle, on the self-aware Becoming, and 5 Minutes Alone and I’m Broken have riff calibre we just don’t seem to hear now. But Pantera were never just about onslaught: Shedding Skin has expert pace, and dare we say it, closer Planet Caravan actually tops Sabbath’s original. David Hands Download: I’m Broken

Manchester Orchestra Cope

Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band

Miss May I

John Wesley

In contrast to 2011’s all-encompassing Simple Math, the latest effort from the Atlanta indie foursome is an unrelenting assault, with the band opting to leave softer material off the tracklisting. Guitarist/frontman Andy Hull lays down a foundation of palm-muted powerchords for lead guitarist Robert McDowell to howl over in tracks such as opener Top Notch, before spitting almost Sabbath-esque riffery on the title track. But while it’s the most aggressive, least diverse album in the MO canon, Cope is still littered with enough hooks to keep you coming back. Michael Brown Download: Every Stone

Celebrated Louisiana blues-rocker Kenny Wayne Shepherd presents a sprawling selection of tracks that inspired him as a young player crouched over a tape deck, learning licks – and it’s required listening for electric blues lovers. What elevates it above many of its ilk is the varied cast of guest talent, ranging from Robert Randolph to Ringo Starr; the ‘live’ feel of the recording; the tasteful repertoire; and Kenny’s Strat wrangling, which still channels SRV but is faultlessly executed and springs plenty of surprises. Bill Weaving Download: Still A Fool

After the success of 2012’s At Heart, there have been hints about the band taking a new direction. In practice, it seems they’ve gone back to the well of early metalcore for some more diverse influences. That’s no bad thing – the intricate lead and melodies of Gone call to mind early Atreyu, and there’s plenty of Lamb Of God-esque palm-muted rhythm. Echoes suggests 2003-era Thrice has been on the MMI stereo, while Levi Benton’s raspy screams have something of the Kensrue about them. While not reinventing the wheel, this is an enjoyable gestalt of screamo/metalcore influences. Josh Gardner Download: End Of Me

Porucupine Tree’s touring guitarist, and indeed Steve Wilson’s six-string studio tone guru, offers much for fans of that band’s records. Disconnect and Take What You Need have a Pineapple Thief-style grandeur, with a feast of wonderful guitar sounds and breaks, plus stunningly expressive extended solos on the former song and Any Old Saint. Much like Wilson, Wesley is skilled at taking a more traditional, melodic rock composition (Window, Mary Will) and keeping it sonically interesting without losing the emotional feel that anchors it. David Hands Download: Disconnect

Do To The Beast

Lesser Key

Goin’ Home

Shape Of Screams

Rise Of The Lion

Far Beyond Driven

Disconnect

MAY 2014

33

Says Joe:“I’m a completely emotional player, and I lose myself in the moment”

the most beautiful emerald sunset job I’d ever seen in my life. That guitar was so beautiful-sounding too. Incredibly low output, so it had a lot of sustain and beautiful harmonics. But at some point, I really did need the funds to put into building my own Strats, so eventually I sold it to one of my students. I hope he’s still got it!”

Learn to fly “I’ve played with Sonny Landreth a few times on the same bill, and he’s one of those players who sounds so beautiful and elegant. I’ve stood right next to the guy and I just can’t figure it out. I look at him and I go, ‘I see your fingers and you’ve got six strings and you’re plugged into the same amp that I am – so how come you sound like heaven?’”

5 minutes alone

Joe Satriani As he prepares to reissue his studio catalogue, Satch talks sunburn, naked stage invaders and why he doesn’t “have it” like Steve Vai… I got my first real six-string “My very first guitar was a Hagström III. White finish, black pickguard, three pickups, shallow neck, with some sort of proprietary vibrato bar, so I started trying to imitate Jimi Hendrix right from the beginning.

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the amp, the flexibility is just ridiculous. I wouldn’t be happy, though. No women? No friends? I’ve been to desert islands, and they don’t call them that for nothing – they’re just deserts. So you’d better like fish. Plus, I’m a very pale-skinned Italian, so I’m not very good in the sun.”

Just a castaway, an island lost at sea-o “Well, that’s actually really easy. I’d take a tried-and-true Ibanez JS1000 to a desert island. Then I’d take a Vox Time Machine delay pedal and my Marshall JVM410. I mean, between the guitar and

Strange brew “When I first moved to California, I purchased a very unusual 1954 hardtail Stratocaster. The body and all the hardware was original. Two of the three pickups were original. And at some point, the owner had stripped it and applied

“You’d play and there’d be 20 people naked onstage, having sex. There’s good naked, and there’s bad naked”

It’s getting hot in here “I’ve played shows where there were violent fights onstage. I’ve had machine guns pointed at me by the army in Malaysia. Back when I was in the Squares [Satch’s pre-solo band], we used to do a gig called the Exotic Erotic Ball once a year, and those were the strangest gigs ever, because you’d be playing and there’d be 20 people naked onstage, having sex. There’s good naked and there’s bad naked, and most of the time, it was pretty off-putting. There are many times as a professional musician where you ask yourself, ‘What am I doing here…?’” Sony Music/Legacy Recordings releases Joe Satriani: The Complete Studio Recordings on 21 April.

© Redferns via Getty Images

Sonny Landreth: Satch can’t figure out how he does it

It was Hendrix who inspired me to play, without a doubt. In the late 60s, my sister’s boyfriend started bringing over what was really the beginning of rock music, like Hendrix, The Who – every band with a crazy guitar player. I was the little test kid, and they’d wait to see my reaction.”

Flying in a blue dream “I think my strength is the same as my downfall, which is that I’m a completely emotional player and I lose myself in the moment. It’s great for creativity, artistic expression and connecting with your audience, but it’s the worst thing for being a pro. My other weaknesses? One of the things that’s so interesting about the G3 concerts is you come face-to-face with that very concept. I stand next to John Petrucci or Steve Vai and I realise that my picking and my scale runs up and down the neck… I just don’t have it like those guys have it.”

rig tour

Black Stone Cherry words: Matt Parker

photography: rob monk

From wailing Banshees to ominously labelled ‘Death Boxes’ – the hard-touring, hard-rocking Kentucky crew talk TG through their roadworthy weapons of choice

may 2014

37

“This Les Paul Classic is my own, and it’s been road-worn. It’s my workhorse, and I’ve used it on all of our records. I love this guitar”

2

Ben’s Inverness Green Les Paul Traditional

The Palmer DIs send amp signal straight to the house desk

1

ben wells

T

heir new album Magic Mountain isn’t even on the shelves yet, but Black Stone Cherry are already blazing a tarmac-melting trail across Europe. Steering this crushing Southern juggernaut are guitarists Chris Robertson and Ben Wells, a guitar duo who – in an age of Axe-Fx and MacBooks – represent all that is righteous within the world of tube amps, stompboxes and roadiewrecking rigs. TG popped in ahead of the band’s recent headline gig at London’s KOKO for a poke around their pedalboards, and to talk tone, talk boxes and taking a guitar as your wife…

38

may 2014

3 Gibson Les Paul Classic

was the first Les Paul that I bought. 1 I“This got it in 2004 from a guy back home, and it’s very special to me because it was my first. It’s a Classic, so it’s got a skinnier neck, which I prefer, plus high-output pickups – a 500 and a 496 – so it’s super-loud and awesome. The only other thing that I’ve done to it is to put a bit of extra bracing under the saddle, because I hit so hard that I would bow the bridge and the saddle area. “Everything else is pretty standard, except for the cosmetic damage that I’ve done to it, but that’s kind of what’s cool about it, too – it’s my own, and it’s been road-worn. It’s my workhorse, and I’ve used it on all of the records we’ve done… I love this guitar.”

Gibson Les Paul Traditional Pro

“This is one of my other guitars that I play a lot live. It’s the newest one that I have. The finish is Inverness Green, which is one of the closest I could find to Seafoam in a Les Paul. I’ve always wanted a Seafoam Green Les Paul, so this is what I found. It’s got a little bit of a bigger neck – it’s a ’50s neck – so it took me a little while to get used to compared to the skinny necks; but I’ve grown accustomed to it now. What’s also cool about it is that it’s got push/pull switches, so I can make it single coil on the bridge or neck humbuckers, if I want to. It’s also got a 10dB boost, so it can kick out a little extra, which is fun. I normally just leave that out.”

2

black stone cherry

5

rig tour

You haven’t made it until you’ve modded your cabs like this

No gain, no pain – and the Peavey 3120 has plenty

4 Palmer DIs

only other thing is that 3 “The behind this amp, we use Palmer DIs. We don’t use any microphones on the cabinets for guitars, we go straight in, and our front-of-house guy mixes that sound. We try to keep it pretty clean [in that respect].”

Peavey 3120 amplifier

use different amps in 4 “IEurope to the States, but they’re all Peavey amps. The 3120 is a high-gain head, which is kind of my sound – I prefer a chunky, heavy sound. It’s all-tube, it’s got three channels, lead, rhythm and

clean, and I’m mainly running on the lead channel. I do use the rhythm on a couple of the new songs, but I set it as more like an overdrive, where it sounds like a quieter guitar, and then I kick on to the lead if I want it to be superheavy. I’ve used these over here for several years now.”

Peavey 6505 cabs

“The white screens look awesome – we’ve got our logo on one side and we picked a different logo [for the other cab]. They wouldn’t let me put Elvis on there, because of copyright, so I just found a cool skull and cross bones online.”

5

7 8 10 6

9 Peavey 3120 footswitch

is my amp footswitch. We call my 6 “This main heavy sound ‘gas’, and then the overdrive is the Peavey rhythm channel that we run as a quieter sound.”

Rocktron Banshee II Talk Box

is a pretty sweet pedal – it allows 7 “This me to have the Talk Box signal and the amp signal at the same time, and if I don’t want that I just click a button and it goes to

just the Talk Box. I use it on White Trash Millionaire and Me And Mary Jane.”

Boss OC-3 Super Octave

“This is linked up to the Banshee II, so every time I click the Talk Box on, the Super Octave [engages] with it.”

8

Jim Dunlop Hendrix Cry Baby

9

“I use a Budda wah in America, and it’s a sweet wah, but when we got new

pedals to duplicate our boards over in Europe, I wanted to try the Hendrix wah. I was just hoping it sounded good! And [fortunately] when I got it in, it was perfect.”

Electro-Harmonix Micro POG

“This is probably one of my favourite pedals on the ’board. We have it set to do an organ-style effect, and it sounds incredible. I could play it on every song, but I don’t want to overuse it.”

10

may 2014

39

“There’s a Star-la, waiting on the stage…“

Chris’s SC-245 has 5708 pickups, and a picture of his wife

1

Chris Rober tson PRS SC-245

Rack ’em up – and the King himself looks on in approval

40

may 2014

started playing Paul Reed 1 “ISmith guitars in 2011, and this was the first guitar I played of theirs. It’s American-made, and originally it had the Tremonti pickups in it, but they were just too much for me, so I changed them out for a set of [lower output] 5708s. Then it’s got a picture of me and my wife from Chicago, several years ago. She stuck it in my suitcase when I was going through a pretty hard time and I found it and took it to my guitar tech and asked him to put it on the back for me – and it’s been

2

“The SC-245 is my special guitar, it’s kind of like my wife when I’m away from home”

there ever since then. So this is my special guitar, it’s kind of like my wife when I’m away from home. I love this one. To me PRS are the best guitars being made today.”

PRS S2 Series Starla

“The S2 Series is the new line from PRS that are all 100 per cent American-made, but at a new price-point. The only difference I can tell between this Starla and the two original Starlas I have is that this is a 25-inch scale, not 24.5-inch. It’s still got the licensed Bigsby with the locking tuners and I think it’s got

2

different pickups, but I actually like these better. This one mainly sees action on the song White Trash Millionaire, but I’ve got a feeling that’s going to change pretty soon…”

Budda Superdrive 45 Series II

“They’re your standard tube amps, with power and ‘go/rest’, which is standby on a lot of amps. You’ve got your master volume, bass, mid, treble, drive and clean [controls], but there’s push/pull switches on a lot of them, so the rhythm control has a

3

black stone cherry

rig tour

9 10 8 7

5

6

Dunlop Zakk Wylde Cry Baby

“I use this wah because I like the sweep. I prefer a wah that doesn’t have a button, and that just self activates when you put your foot on it.”

5

Death Box

“I use this on a few of our songs – Change, Ghost Of Floyd Collins and a couple of others. It’s kind of like a fuzz pedal with an octave up. It’s actually a clone of an Ampeg Scrambler that I picked up on eBay for $70.”

6

bright switch, there’s a modern/ classic option on your midrange, and then with the master pushed in, it allows you to use a [channel selector] footswitch. “I really like these amps because they give me everything I need: they have the clean channel, but they also have that classic overdrive built in, because I’m using the tubes for the distortion. They’re not as gain-y as the amps Ben is using, and that’s what I prefer – a more low-output pickup, a low-output gain on amps, whereas he likes a really high, nasty output on everything!”

Jim Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face Mini

“I use this for a lot of my lead work, and also for a lot of the stuff from the new record. Then there are also a couple of [older] songs, like White Trash Millionaire, that I use it on now.”

7

Jim Dunlop Silicon Fuzz Face Mini

is another Fuzz Face, and it’s set 8 “This just for rhythm fuzz for the tracks that we did on the new album. I use it if the amp is feeling a little light, just to give it that extra

they can handle a lot more than some of the cabinets I’ve used in the past. The designs on mine are obviously our logo [on one cabinet] and peace, hope, love and joy – which are four words that mean a great deal to me – on the other.”

4

‘oomph’. I don’t like a really bright guitar sound and a Fuzz Face pulls the highs back.”

Budda Samsara Delay

“If I just want to add that extra bit of wetness – if the room is really dry, or something – I’ll use the Samsara.”

9

Budda Karma Chorus

“I don’t really even use the chorus, but it’s got an extra button for vibrato, so I keep the vibrato on. I use it for songs like Fiesta Del Fuego and Me And Mary Jane, which have this super-fast vibrato on verse parts.“

10

Peace, hope, love and joy – oh, and phenomenal output

3

Peavey 6505 cabs

4

“I like them because they’re a high-output speaker, so

Budda’s sonically versatile Superdrive

may 2014

41

Feedback letters

Man? I feel like a woman

I’m a subscriber so I’ve handled all the changes you’ve made, with a little time, but there’s one thing I don’t understand. Where are the women? I know if you look at the rock music industry there are more beards and bum fluff than boobs and ankle boots, but I’d just love a little balance in my favourite magazine. You’ve included a few reviews of bands with female players (Vulkano, Band Of Skulls) and of course you used to have regular sections with women who rock. But I miss having people of both genders to admire and learn from. How about Lindsey Way, Haim, Kelley Deal, Laura Jane Grace, Kaki King, Paz Lenchantin… Hayley, via email Hey Hayley, we try to feature as many female guitarists in TG as possible – check back next month for Taylor Momsen.

No-way-sis!

I play guitar because it’s the coolest instrument ever, plus in the movies it helps you to get a girlfriend! At my mate’s house party the other night, he got his electric guitar and amp down. I thought, here we go, a bit of the old Wonderwall and Teenage Kicks, and his sister would be all mine. I had the room in the palm of my hand – people thought I was a rock god just from a few easy chords! Then his sister asked for the guitar, and proceeded to smash out the intro to Sweet Child O’ Mine. She nailed the solo, too, and I was relegated to ‘drumming’ on the coffee table! She was fantastic, and it was refreshing to see a girl kick ass on guitar. I later learnt she has a boyfriend anyway, but she’s lent me some bongos, so it’s not all bad. Mark Richards, via email

emails

pics

HotShots Send us your pics and win an orange amp worth £193!

etc

STAR LETTER!

“Afghan gigs…”

This month’s winner charles burton, camp bastion Jay Freeman’s back on the fretboard after his Strat was cruelly stolen

Return of the mag

I was an avid reader of Total Guitar way back when you published your very first issue. Armed with a ’73 USA Strat, and a handful of issues, my playing reached new heights. That is until my beloved Strat was stolen. I was devastated – I had no insurance and couldn’t afford to buy what I lost, so I gave up the guitar. Speed forwards 15 years… My wife caught me flicking through your magazine in Tesco, the content still as new and fresh as it was when I first picked a copy up. She mentioned that I should start playing again, so off we went to a music store. An hour later, I was a proud owner of a 1970s reissue Strat that plays and feels as good as the original. I just need to convince my wife that I need a few pedals now. Thank you Total Guitar (and my wife) for putting me back on the path to guitar heaven. Jay Freeman, via email It’s great to have you back, Jay! We hope your new TC Electronic PolyTune is the gateway drug to a lifetime of blissful pedal addiction…

star prize!

TC Electronic Polytune Tuner worth £75

No more tuning one string at a time – the PolyTune lets you tune all six strings at once! www.tcelectronic.com

write to us! [email protected] “Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrgh! Length is the ONLY attribute of a cable you’re going to hear.” Mike Humphrey, Facebook

42

MAY 2014

“Thanks for the awesome issue, I haven’t stopped reading the tone fest, just what I’ve been waiting for!” Glenn M, YouTube

Email your shots to totalguitar@ futurenet.com with your full name and address. The best will win an Orange Crush PiX CR35LDX amp. www. orangeamps.com

Bass in yo’ face

I’m currently recording a few tracks on a home studio that I’ve set up, and only being able to play guitar and vocals, I find myself struggling to find a decent backline sound. I’ve recently installed EZ Drummer, a great piece of kit, but my problem is finding a decent VST to take the place of the bass and keyboards. Any ideas? Jon Pittham, Derby To sound like a bass player, you need to think like one, Jon! Try paying attention to note length, velocity and voicing. Make sure your bass parts work with your kick drums, too. It’s possible to create convincing programmed bass parts by running them through an amp modeller, which should give better results than a raw sample. facebook.com/totalguitar twitter.com/totalguitar youtube.com/totalguitar

“Wankaty wank.” David Evans, Facebook

“Didn’t know D’Addario made johnnies!” Stephen Baillie, Facebook

Four forward-thinking guitarists, one interview: progressive metal champs Protest The Hero and The Safety Fire cosy up for a lively discussion about their scene, their gear and their jaw-dropping playing

Words: Rob Laing Photography: Rob Monk

progressive metal

round table:

round table progressive metal

mAY 2014

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round table progressive metal

H

ave you noticed progressive metal is everywhere? The genre first ignited by Dream Theater at the tail end of the last century has spent the new one reforming the world in its own image. Canadian fivepiece Protest The Hero are one of the scene’s most respected bands, so much so that on 2013 album Volition, they were able to shirk label backing and raise $340,000 via IndieGoGo. Meanwhile, London-based tour mates The Safety Fire are fast gaining a reputation for their own brand of tight tapping, rhythmic tricks and clever composition Who was the first player you heard that ignited that progressive spark in you? Derya ‘Dez’ Nagel (The Safety Fire) : “I’m going to say Adam Jones, because Tool were probably the closest ‘new’ band that I listened to before I learned to play guitar.” Joaquin Ardiles (The Safety Fire) : “Tom Morello made me want to play guitar and make crazy sounds and, again, it was Adam Jones that was my segue into the prog world.” Tim Millar (Protest The Hero): “For me, Dream Theater were the first prog band I ever heard. Train Of Thought was a groundbreaking discovery for me. Petrucci is obviously a virtuoso player, but at the same time, it was the composition that really got me. There wasn’t really any structure: they were writing songs that weren’t limited.” Luke Hoskin (Protest The Hero): “I’m Petrucci as well – Acid Rain, man! It blew my mind. I think it was in our bassist’s parents house…” Tim: “Downloading one song at a time on Napster!”

about approaching interesting guitar music. Then – to a much lesser extent, there was Protest The Hero.” Luke: [Laughs] Dez: “Hardly at all!”

Dez and Jo, what have you learned from being on tour with the Protest guys? Dez: “Err, how to charge your friends money to get yourself a beer. That’s number one!” Luke: “It was 50p!” Dez: “But, in all honesty, it was seeing how they function as a band. When we tour with bands who we’ve looked up

to, it’s nice to know they’re not complete arseholes.” Jo: “I remember when [Protest debut] Kezia came out – no one was doing that shit. You think ‘they’re doing something different’, so you want to do something different.”

Does anyone here still sit down and try and develop new techniques? Luke: “Occasionally, but I see all of us on tour asking each other, ‘What are you playing there?’ and picking each other’s brains, all of the time.” Can you ever be too technical in your writing? Luke: “If I learn a new technique, I’ll want to get it in a song. It will typically be like, ‘How can I take Dez and Jo’s amazing double-picking and make that my own – without them knowing?’” Jo: “I also think what’s helped us is that – within both of our bands – we’ve all been friends for a while, so we’re not trying to ‘out-technical’ each other.” What’s the thought process behind your gear choices? Tim: “Usually, it’s simplicity. My first head was a Peavey

Has anyone come in since who’s had a bigger impact on your playing? Dez: “The first two Sikth records jumped in at one point and changed everything for me

46

  may 2014

Tim Millar (left) and Luke Hoskin of Protest The Hero are converts to the portability and sound of Fractal Audio’s Axe-Fx – they’re far from alone

5150 and I stuck with that because it was simple to dial in and it always sounded decent. Now, we’ve converted to digital, so I’m toying around with the Axe-Fx II and I’m adding effects to tones that I would probably never do with a pedalboard, but otherwise, it’s ‘keep it simple’.” Dez: “We’ve been using Axe-Fx for about six years now. For us, it’s got the sounds we want for our songs.”

What do you look for in your guitars? Luke: “Now these guys are just gonna talk about Wirebird for 50 minutes!” Dez: “We’ll get to the girls!” Luke: “Is that because your guitar is purple? I had a purple guitar, no girls though.” Jo: “You just weren’t using it right. You needed it higher up.” Luke: “That’s probably what it was! It was a Parker.” Jo: “Yeah, you’re getting no girls with that!” Dez: “I’ve got something that works for me with the Wirebirds, which is basically a simple-looking guitar, which plays like I need and has the comfort I want, in terms of modern playability.”

round table progressive metal

“The first two Sikth records jumped in at one point and kind of changed everything for me about approaching interesting guitar music”  dez nagel 

Tim: “The most important thing for me has always been the neck. I like a bit of chunk to it. One of my first guitars was an LTD MH1000, and I got an ESP version of that about a year and a half ago. It brought back memories – the mahogany body, Seymour Duncan pickups and that neck have all worked best for me.” Luke: “I’ve been using Ibanez guitars for coming up on eight years. When I was a kid that’s what I always wanted to play, because I liked the look of them, but I could never afford them, so when I got endorsed by them it was dream. I started with lower models and now

I play the highest-end stuff – and I get to create my own custom models.”

What do you go for when you’re creating a custom model? Luke: “Well, all of mine have been experiments, because I don’t know what I’m doing! I think the successful custom guitars have been when I’ve stuck to a mahogany back and maple top. They make these Jade Custom guitars, which I think are Japanese handmade, and I always try to stick to the specs of that guitar because that’s my favourite. I’m using one on this tour.”

Onto business… It’s been a year since PTH’s hugely successful IndieGoGo campaign. Do you feel like it’s a sustainable model for bands like yourselves? Luke: “It’s hard to say. This whole thing was a big experiment, and we’re still dealing with the work that went along with it. We expected it going in, but didn’t realise it would be this giant a project. But I think if you do it right, it’s sustainable. It just depends how many people try to capitalise on it, I guess.” Tim: “It’s definitely an option for bands. The big question mark in the industry has always been, ‘Where does my money go when I buy a record?’ And people at least know that, this time, it goes directly to the band. That was the thing that blew me away: as soon as we launched the [fan-funded] IndieGoGo campaign, the funds were in my PayPal account.” As a less-established band, do you guys in The Safety Fire see fan funding as a viable option? Dez: “I don’t know… The difference between ourselves and Protest is that we’re trying to grow our fanbase, whereas Protest have a much more developed fanbase that allows something like that to work. It’s the same with Protest

keeping their publishing rights – it’s something that we would love to have, but it’s not what we’re going to fight over at this stage. I’m very interested to see what happens with these guys on the next album – to see how that develops over a length of time.”

Finally, the prog-metal scene’s in rude health at present, but are you concerned about what will happen when trends change? Luke: “If you look at some of the shows we just played in the US, I don’t think you can get any worse, to be honest with you! There are eight to 10 shows a week that are all pushing prog or metal, and the kids have to decide where they’re going to go.” Tim: “It’s very competitive. We’ve watched so many bands come and go because they’ve capitalised on a new style or what’s cool, and it comes for a year and then it’s all over, and those kids move onto the next thing. We’ve survived a lot of popular genres and have been slowly increasing the fanbase, so I think it’s about consistency.” Jo: “It’s really about sticking with what you’re doing. Obviously, expanding your ideas, too… but your fans like you for a reason, so you need to stay true to that. The scene bands will come and go!”

mAY 2014

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round table progressive metal

RIFFS

Protest The Hero

video lesson

w w w.bit .l

PTH’s Luke Hoskin and Tim Millar show TG some of their favourite riffs, with tab and video

F

y/tg 2 53 h

e ro

‘Volition’ and ‘Scurrilous’ – The Complete Guitar Transcriptions

ollowing their Round Table they always know exactly what they’re playing, right down to the last detail discussion, we were lucky to sit down with Luke and Tim of – there’s no room to improvise here. With that in mind, make sure you look Protest The Hero and ask them to demonstrate some of their closely at the tabs of their riffs. Accuracy favourite riffs. They happily obliged, is vital, so practise slowly, focusing on choosing to play Underbite and Clarity producing clean notes at all times. If from 2013’s Volition album, and Sex you come across a technique or lick you Tapes from Scurrilous. can’t manage, then break it down into Of course, Luke and Tim blew us short, bite-sized pieces and hone in on TGR253.guest_protestthehero.fig01.mus away with their technique and tight the troublesome element. Expect to File Date: 17:40 13/3/14 If there’s one thing to take away spend time building up to nailing these delivery. from a lesson with these guys, it’s that riffs. It’s challenging, technical stuff! TGR253.guest_protestthehero.fig01.mus

Complete with all the main guitar parts and overdubs, plus personal notes from Tim Millar and Luke Hoskin, these are the definitive, authorised Protest The Hero guitar tab publications. Available from : www.sheethappenspublishing.com

Underbite Protest The Hero Underbite Contributor: Protest The Hero Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com Contributor: Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com

Page 1 of 1 File Date: 17:40 13/3/14 Notes: [Description] Page 1 of 1 Notes: [Description]

UNDERBITE VERSE (LUKE) B5

# 4 & # 4q =178.. Bœœ5 œ #0:02 44 .. œ # & . œœ T A 0:02 . 44 2 B . 4 T A . 42 B q =178

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4 4 PM 2

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† j œ œ œ œœ N.C. œœ œ œ œ †œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Bœœ5 œœ œj œ œ † œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œœœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ4 œœ4 œ4 [ 4 ] 7 11 12 0

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4 4 2

4 4 2

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4 4 2

4 2

4 2

† tap-slide [ 4 ] 7 11 12 0

4 4 2

4 4 2

† tap-slide

1

4

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4

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œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œœ 7 & # N.C. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ J Dmaj œ † † œ œ ## œ œ œ œ œ œ & œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ J œœœ7 T [ 4 ] 7 11 12 0 14 6 Dmaj 7

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B5

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7

14

14

0

0

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4

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7

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14

7 6 7 5

j œœ œœ j œœ œœ 7 6 7 5 7 6 7 5

4 4 PM

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G6

5 3 0 0 4 5 5 3

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6 7 5 7 6

j œœ œj œœ œ j œœ œœ j œœ œœ

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7 5 7 6

7 5 7 6

7 5 7 6

7 5 7 6

Luke’s tricky tapped line in bars 2 and 5 presents the biggest challenge in this riff. The 11th fret notes are all ‘tap-slides’, ie, you tap the string using the second finger of your pick hand, then slide this finger up one fret to sound the next note. Practise slowly and methodically for best results.

48

  mAY 2014

round table progressive metal Underbite

TGR253.guest_protestthehero.fig02.mus File Date: 18:17 13/3/14 TGR253.guest_protestthehero.fig02.mus Page 1 of 1 File Date: 18:17 13/3/14 Notes: [Description] Page 1 of 1

Protest The Hero Underbite Contributor: Protest The Hero Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com Contributor: Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com

Notes: [Description]

UNDERBITE VERSE (TIM) q =178

# 4 & q# =4178B.. 5 œœ œ # # 0:02 4 .. œ & 4 œ .œ 4 T A 0:02 . 42 B . 4⇥ T A . 4

B5

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Page 1 of 1 Notes: [Description]

Contributor: Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com

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Page 1 of 1 Notes: [Description]

Contributor: Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com

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Tim’s melody is based on common octave shapes (check out this month’s Guitar Workout on p97 for more help with nailing octaves). The knack here is shifting between the octave shapes and those fast, muted strums (marked X in the tab). Tim plays these aggressively, so mute all six strings.

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round table progressive metal

RIFFS Protest The Hero continued… TGR253.guest_protestthehero.fig05.mus File Date: 21:48 13/3/14 Page 1 of 1 TGR253.guest_protestthehero.fig05.mus

Sex Tapes Protest The Hero Contributor: Sex Tapes

Notes: [Description] File Date: 21:48 13/3/14 Page 1 of 1

Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com Protest The Hero

Notes: [Description]

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This riff is a mixture of tapping and legato (hammer-ons and pull-offs) – so you need to play with plenty of force to make sure every note rings through loudly. A high-gain tone can help, but distortion also hides those small mistakes, so practise with a clean tone before raising the gain.

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.. . . . .

Play 8 times

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Tim’s part here is very much complementary to the steady groove laid down with Luke’s tapped riff. Watch the video and you’ll see that Tim carefully plays each note and chord strum with feel and good timing, so make sure you take the same approach.

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Play 8 times

Kurt

C o ba i n A Legacy Two decades on from his death, Kurt Cobain – guitarist, frontman and songwriter – continues to inspire

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© Charles Peterson

M

uch has been made of Nirvana’s timing – in particular, how the divebombing and strutting hair-metal din that had wailed from LA since the second half of the 1980s was so decisively silenced by 1991’s Nevermind. That was a great story for music journalists covering the impact of the band’s second album and the emergence of Seattle’s grunge scene as a whole at the time, but the deeper truth for many guitar players offers something more than merely pitting subgenres of rock against each other. For a generation of players, Kurt emerged as a worldwide star at a crucial point in their development. When you’re first getting to grips with the guitar, the sheer enormity of possibilities can be the very thing that drives you away. Kurt’s songs offered accessibility for budding guitarists, with an energy and force we could aspire to, and be inspired by. And his intense live performances with bassist Krist Novoselic, drummer Dave Grohl – and later, second guitarist Pat Smear – proved the point. He was not an overnight sensation. How many guitar players ever are? The instrument takes time and dedication. From the first tentative steps in his bedroom in Aberdeen Washington with the electric his uncle Chuck had given him for his 14th birthday, to a month of guitar lessons and learning his first riff

(AC/DC’s Back In Black), through roughing it in a freezing van in North America touring Nirvana’s debut Bleach, Kurt served his time. It was the pursuit of a dream to communicate his music to others; the same one many of us have. But misconceptions about his guitar playing remain. Kurt Cobain didn’t kill off the solo, and he wasn’t guitar’s revolutionary anti-hero. Instead, the energy and immediacy of his talent brought an integrity back to the mainstream that cut to the very heart of what makes rock ’n’ roll such a visceral force. “His playing was misunderstood,” notes Earnie Bailey, the guitar tech who worked closely with Kurt through much of his Nirvana touring career. “He was more advanced than he revealed, and his minimalist playing was more about subtracting the notes and clichés he disliked, and working with what’s left.” That remainder adds up to a compelling legacy. Just as Cobain was inspired by everyone from Buzz Osborne to Ace Frehley and Black Francis, there are countless players Kurt inspired, and there continues to be. 20 years after his passing, that influence resonates as much as every powerchord and discordant lead on Nirvana’s records. Join us as we celebrate Kurt Cobain with a look at his gear, his songwriting, and the last guitar interview that was ever conducted with him. Read on…

may 2014

  53

The final guitar interview

Words: Chuck Crisafulli 

Kurt Cobain on record about guitars and guitar playing for the last time… In the months before his death, Kurt Cobain shunned doing interviews, weary of the constant prodding regarding rumours surrounding him, his health and his band at that period. However, a few weeks before he tragically took his own life, with Nirvana on tour in Europe, Kurt consented to a rare one-on-one with journalist Chuck Crisafulli for Fender Frontline magazine. The idea was to get away from the rumours and hearsay that surrounded the biggest band in the world at that point, and let Kurt talk about his music, his guitar playing, and the Jag-Stang guitar he was in the process of developing with the Fender Custom Shop. 20 years after his death, TG presents Kurt Cobain’s final guitar interview…

Is it always a pleasure for you to crank up the guitar, or do you ever do battle with the instrument? “The battle is the pleasure. I’m the first to admit that I’m no virtuoso. I can’t play like Segovia. The flip side of that is that Segovia could probably never have played like me.” With Pat Smear in the touring line-up, has your approach to guitar changed? “Pat has worked out great from day one. In addition to being one of my closest friends, Pat has found a niche in our music that complements what was already there without forcing any major changes. I don’t see myself ever becoming Mick Jagger, but having Pat on stage has freed me to spend more time connecting with the audience. “I’ve become more of a showman. Well, maybe that’s going too far. Let’s just say that 54

  may 2014

having Pat to hold down the rhythm allows me to concentrate on the performance as a whole. I think it’s improved our live show, 100 per cent.” On In Utero and in concert, you play some of the most powerful ‘anti-solos’ ever hacked out of a guitar. What comes to mind for you when it’s time for the guitar to cut loose? “Less than you could ever imagine.” Krist and Dave do a great job of helping to bring your songs to life. How would you describe the role of each player, including yourself, in the Nirvana sound? “While I can do a lot by switching channels on my amp, it’s Dave who really brings the physicality to the dynamics in our songs. Krist is great at keeping everything going along at some kind of an even keel. I’m just the folk-singer in the middle.” You’re a very passionate performer. Do you have to feel the tenderness and the rage in your songs in order to perform them? “That’s tough because the real core of any tenderness or rage is tapped the very second that a song is written. In a sense, I’m only recreating the purity of that particular emotion every time I play that particular song. While it gets easier to summon those emotions with experience, it’s a sort of dishonesty, in that you

can never recapture the emotion of a song completely each time you play it.” It must be a very off feeling for Nirvana to be performing in sports arenas these days. How do you get along with the crowds you’re attracting now? “Much better than I used to. When we first started to get successful, I was extremely judgemental of the people in the audience. I held each of them to a sort of punk-rock ethos. It upset me that we were attracting and entertaining the very people that a lot of my music was a reaction against. I’ve since become much better at accepting people for who they are. Regardless of where they were before they came to the show, I get a few hours to try and subvert the way they view the world. It’s not that I’m trying to dictate, it’s just that I am afforded a certain platform on which I can express my views. At the very least, I always get the last word.” You’ve made it clear that you’re not particularly comfortable being a ‘rock star’, but you’re certainly a heavyweight when it comes to rock songwriting. You may have a tough job sometimes, but is the writing process pleasurable and satisfying to you? “I think it becomes less pleasurable and satisfying when I think of it in terms of being part of my ‘job’. Writing is the one part that is not a job. It’s expression. Photo shoots, interviews… that’s the real job part.”

© Charles Peterson

Nirvana has become a Big Rock Story, but the music still seems to be the most important part of that story. How proud are you of the band’s work? “It’s interesting, because while there’s a certain selfish gratification in having any number of people buy your records and come to see you play – none of that holds a candle to simply hearing a song that I’ve written played by a band. I’m not talking about radio or MTV. I just really like playing these songs with a good drummer and bass player. Next to my wife and daughter, there’s nothing that brings me more pleasure.”

Kurt on his Jag-Stang

Michael Paget Bullet For My Valentine

“The first song I learned was P olly by Nirvana. It w as on a Spanish guitar that I bor rowed from sch ool. Nirvana started it all for me. I learned a lot of their songs bac k in the day. A lot were easy to learn, which was good.”

Shortly before his passing, Kurt worked with the Fender Custom Shop to develop a new guitar that came straight out of his imagination – the Jag-Stang. A clever combination of Jaguar and Mustang, Kurt took the prototype out on tour in 1994. “Kurt always played both guitars,” says Fender’s Larry Brooks. “He took photographs of each, cut them in half, and put them together to see what they’d look like. It was his concept, and we detailed and contoured it to give him balance and feel. “He was really easy to work with. I had a chance to sit and talk with him, then we built him a prototype. He played it a while and then wrote some suggestions on the guitar and sent it back to us. The second time, we got it right.” The guitar features a Mustangstyle short scale neck on a body that borrows from both designs, There’s a DiMarzio humbucking pickup at the bridge, and a Texas Special single coil at the neck, tilted at the same angle as on a Mustang. Cobain was quite satisfied with the guitar. “Ever since I started playing I’ve always like certain things about certain guitars but could never find the perfect mix of everything I was looking for,” Kurt said. “The Jag-Stang is the closest thing I know. And I like the idea of having a quality instrument on the market with no preconceived notions attached. In a way, it’s perfect for me to attach my name to it, in that I’m the anti-guitar hero – I can barely play the things myself.”

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Lounge Axe

The rundown on Kurt’s key guitars, with insight from his former guitar tech, Earnie Bailey

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Univox Hi-Flier fragment and Fender 1991 Endless Nameless Strat photos courtesy EMP Museum

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The Hi-Flier was the first guitar Kurt smashed onstage, at the Evergreen State College in 1988

1. Univox Hi-Flier Kurt’s approach to gear was frequently utilitarian, especially early on. He used a variety of guitars through 1988 and 1989: frequently, these Univox Mosrite copies – a model called the Hi-Flier, right-handed and strung for left – as well as an Epiphone ET-270, Hagstrom II, Washburn Force 31 and Greco Mustang copy. “I preferred the humbucker/wraparound tailpiece version, both structurally and sonically,” says Kurt’s former guitar tech, Earnie Bailey, of the Univoxes.   may 2014

3. Vandalism Strat Earnie: “Nic Close was guitar tech during this guitar’s lifespan [during some of the Nevermind tour], in which it saw at least three necks. It was in around seven pieces after its final smashing, and given away after that. The Japanese Strats were inexpensive, easily replaced, and typically given to the fans if the bodies were broken in two.” Earnie further confirms this guitar had a Seymour Duncan 59 neck model, which was in the bridge spot. And the combative sticker from which it takes its name? From Arizona punks The Feederz.

“You can hear the Strat’s dying wails on Endless Nameless”

Vandalism Strat © LFI/Photoshot Martin D-18E 2004 Getty Images

2. Endless Nameless Strat Kurt reportedly had to go guitar shopping out of necessity after he smashed this guitar during the tracking of Nevermind’s final (hidden) song, Endless Nameless. You can hear the Strat’s dying wails on the record, suggesting that was his only humbucker-equipped guitar at the time. It was eventually fixed, but another black Strat had already surfaced by then… “The Vandalism Strat shows up at this time,” says Earnie. “So I’m speculating that they bought it to replace the Endless Nameless.”

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4. Martin D-18E There were two acoustics in contention for Kurt to use for Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged recording; the Epiphone Texan with ‘Nixon Now’ sticker was also set up by Earnie in the week prior to the show, as well as this adapted right-hander. “The Texan was easily the sonic superior,” he reveals. “There wasn’t much of a challenge, since the D-18E’s spruce top was weighted down by a trio of volume and tone potentiometers, a toggle switch and a Bartolini soundhole pickup mounted between a pair of hefty [stock] 1950s DeArmond Dynasonic pickups [these ended up being bypassed in favour of the retrofit Bartolini].” But, often the contrarian, despite the Texan’s superior resonance and playability, Kurt was firmly in favour of the Martin. 5. Mosrite 1968 Mark IV Gospel One of Kurt’s favourite guitars, and another that underlines his attraction to surf-style designs, this right-handed Gospel is notable for a number of reasons. Unlike many of his Univox Mosrite copies, this original was never smashed onstage (and he only ever owned

one other Mosrite). A good thing, too, as it was incredibly rare. Earnie fills us in: “I would easily put this guitar in his top-five favourites, and after a good deal of research, an educated guess would suggest that Mosrite built less than 10 of these guitars. Kurt and [Melvins drummer] Dale Crover went out guitar shopping and bought the Mosrite Gospel from Real Guitars in San Francisco. At first, he wouldn’t play it, as the stock frets made it difficult for him to play, so they took it to Valdez Guitar on Sunset Blvd to have bigger frets installed in the neck. This guitar appears in the time just prior to recording Nevermind, and is believed to be one of a very small number of instruments he owned while writing material for the album.” It was also used at two infamous shows for the band; the chaotic set at the Motorsports Garage on September 22, 1990 (with Mudhoney’s Dan Peters filling in on drums) and the OK Hotel gig in the city on April 17, 1991 when Nirvana (now with Dave Grohl) aired Smells Like Teen Spirit for the first time. It sold to a private bidder in 2006 but is now on display at EMP Musuem’s Nirvana exhibition. may 2014

Mosrite Gospel photo courtesy of the Karsh Family

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7 Earnie Bailey believes part of the Mustang’s appeal for Kurt was its ’underdog’ status

Fender Mustang Competition Series photo courtesy of Private Collection Stella 1960s Harmony 12-String photo courtesy Charles Peterson Fender Mustang Sonic Blues photo courtesy EMP Museum

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6. Fender 1969 Competition Series Mustang This guitar featured in the Smells Like Teen Spirit video, but it wasn’t Kurt’s first Mustang. “He had at least two other Mustangs before acquiring the Competition Mustang,” confirms Earnie [one was a right-handed 1970s Sunburst model, used and eventually destroyed live in 1989]. “This one received a Duncan Hot Rails and a tune-o-matic type bridge. I also removed the springs under the tremolo, added washers to the posts under the plate, and flipped the tailpiece to utilise it like a Gibson stop tailpiece, making it stable, tuning-wise.” Kurt was fond of this guitar, and along with the Stella acoustic (which was actually used live on rare occasions) he’d ask Earnie to send it home for him to use. 7. Stella 1960s Harmony 12-string Here’s perhaps the defining example of Kurt crafting classic moments from the most humble and battered of instruments. He   may 2014

picked up the $30 Stella from a junk shop, and used it to track Polly and Something In The Way for the Nevermind sessions, warts ’n’ all – it only had five strings on it at the time, and they were nylon. “For Polly, I’m certain it was used as is,” Earnie tells us, “with its few ancient strings and missing tuner buttons. For the recording of In Utero, I had repaired the tuners and replaced the strings before sending it out.” 8. Japanese Fender Mustang Kurt once described the Mustang as his favourite guitar design, but it wasn’t until the In Utero tour they became a mainstay live. Earnie: “In 1993, he abandoned both his Univox and Jaguar at the arrival of his Japanese Mustangs. I think he liked the diminutive scale, and its underdog status in the Fender family, and after being modded, it became a reliable guitar.” These mods included cutting the nut to take heavier strings, shimming the neck for improved bridge angle and installation of a Gotoh tune-o-matic bridge. Earnie also had to block the vibrato for Kurt, and flip the tailpliece to allow the strings to feed directly through.

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“Being a young guitar player, Nirvana was the first band who w ere expressing complex emotio ns, on the darke r end of the spec trum. I could lear n to play it and I w as emotionally being impacted .”

block the vibrato for Kurt, and flip the tailpliece to allow the strings to feed directly through.

10. Fender 1993 Telecaster Custom Kurt’s last significant guitar acquisition when Fender sent it to him at the turn of 1994, this Sunburst, bound Tele was his favoured guitar for songwriting at the time. It was even used for the, as-yet unheard recordings Kurt made in his basement with bandmate Pat Smear and Hole’s Eric Erlandson during March, 1994. Earnie adds: “It was tuning-stable, but the stock pickups shrieked at his stage volume, so he initially chose to keep it as the bus, backstage, and hotel-room guitar. In early 1994, I replaced the pickups with a full-sized Duncan JB and a Gibson PAF reissue, and was under the impression it would become his main stage guitar when touring would resume later that year.” The guitar was later sold by RockStarGuitars.com, to a private seller. See the Experiencing Nirvana exhibition by Charles Peterson and Steve Double at Proud Camden, 27 March to 11 May 2014. www.proud.co.uk 60

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Fender 1965 Jaguar REX/Ian Dickson

Tosin Abasi Animals As Leaders

This Telecaster Custom was modded in 1994 and readied for stage use later in the year

Fender Telecaster Custom photo courtesy of Steve Gullick

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9.Fender 1965 Jaguar “The Jag first appeared live three months after the album was finished,” notes Earnie. “So it’s hard to tell when it was procured. My guess would be between August 16–20, 1991.” The origins of this guitar, that became a favourite on the Nevermind tour, has intriguingly murky provenance. Kurt told Earnie he picked it up from an ad in the LA Recycler, but information about its previous owner is non-existent. It had its own custom flight case, a left-handed neck with a Strat headstock and a 50s-style spaghetti headstock decal. It had two humbuckers (a DiMarzio Super Distortion installed in the bridge position and a white DiMarzio PAF in the neck), black chrome bridge, three control knobs and a toggle switch. It’s a unique guitar, one that became Kurt’s mainstay after the obliteration of the Vandalism Strat.

Radio Friendly Volume Shifters The Cobain live signal chain, circa 1993

Fender Japan 1993 Mustang The Mustang became a mainstay in 1993 in place of the 1965 Fender Jaguar onstage, but Kurt wasn’t the first North West punk rocker to be charmed by its diminutive curves. “It was also a warhorse in the North West punk rock scene,” says Cobain’s guitar tech, Earnie Bailey, “with players like Tom Price of the U-Men and Steve Turner of Mudhoney using them shortly before Nirvana.” Fender provided Kurt with a Fiesta Red model first (Bailey fitted a Seymour Duncan JB Hot Rails in the bridge position). Two Sonic Blue Japanese models would follow for touring use, all similarly modded by Earnie (see Lounge Axe, p56). Fender produce signature models of not just the red and blue models, but also one based on the 1969 Lake Placid Blue Competition series Mustang Kurt used in the Smells Like Teen Spirit video. Mesa/Boogie Studio .22 preamp The Boogie’s hot output would reportedly blow the Crown power amps the band used early on in the Nevermind tour. In the Bleach era, Kurt would sometimes use a solid-state Randall Commander RG120PH, before switching to a solid-state Ampeg or Sunn Beta Lead head driving Peavey 4x12s as the venues got bigger. Kurt would often use rental amps later, including Fender Bassmans and Vox AC30s. “I recall the mids being scooped on the [Boogie’s] EQ,” Earnie tells us. “But I don’t recall if we routinely used it. Kurt would seldom adjust settings. I believe it was depending on the stage or ear fatigue. It was run as clean as possible; the gain came from one of two distortion pedals.” Tech 21 Sansamp Classic The amp-simulating stomp was used on the In Utero tour as the main source of distortion. BOSS DS-2 Turbo Distortion Pedals were still where Kurt’s gain grunt came from (watch footage of Reading 1992 for evidence of what a huge sound it was), and he switched to the son of DS-1 on the Nevermind tour after using a Rat and Big Muff for recording the album. Kurt often maxed the 62

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level and distortion levels on the original DS-1 that this replaced. The DS-2 was also used for MTV Unplugged (specifically on Bowie cover The Man Who Sold The World). Again, with the DS-2, the level was usually all the way up, and distortion similarly high, live. EHX Small Clone Chorus This is most famously known as the Come As You Are chorus (depth setting high) – oh, and don’t forget Drain You’s interlude,  and Smells Like Teen Spirit, too. EHX Polychorus Although his choices were vital to Nirvana’s sound, Kurt’s pedalboard was pretty modest, making a chorus/flanger/double-tracking stompbox almost extravagant by his standards. Both an Echoflanger and Polychorus were used at points during the   In Utero tour (the former is the older version of the latter, with very similar circuitry), earning their place in the studio and onstage for In Utero songs Scentless Apprentice and HeartShaped Box’s solo; and with the ‘width’ and ‘tune’ dials cranked for Radio Friendly Unit Shifter’s gnarly discordance. Crest 4801 power amps This replaced the Crown preamp, and Bailey dubbed it ‘the amp that wouldn’t die’. “It had several layers of protection that saved us a lot of replacing them,” Earnie recalls. “We eventually lost one of them to failure, after it had endured quite a bit.” Marshall Cabs Four-to-eight 4x12 cabs would be used, depending on venue, but never Marshall heads. “I doubt he was able to get a clean sound he liked,” suggests Earnie. “But more importantly, I think, his guitar and amp choices were in protest of the LA hair-metal culture.” In a strange twist, Kurt ended up using a JMP 50 at Nirvana’s last official recording session at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle, in January 1994.

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The 10 lessons that Kurt’s playing style and songwriting taught us – complete with four video-riff lessons

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fill space and add tension by using chromatic notes Mr Moustache (Bleach) The Bleach album has a raw, high-energy punk-rock feel as delivered in this song via Kurt’s constantly aggressive pick attack, developed with chromatic passing notes and palm-muted single-note riffing. ‘Chromatic’ simply means that some of the riffs are semitone-based runs, taking in notes from other keys and thus sounding less centred around the root note. Chromatics are a great way to generate a feeling of unease and unpredictability in your riffs.

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Use softer dynamics to put focus on the vocal Lithium (Nevermind) Nevermind is full of dynamic shifts, often using clean guitars and a thinner arrangement during verses. This puts the focus on the vocals and leaves plenty of room for overdriven, powerful choruses. Lithium establishes this in its opening four-chord progression that ascends for the first three chords and descends on the last one (a pattern also used on Polly). Drain You and Smells Like Teen Spirit are similar but the third chord descends, instead of the fourth.

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Double the bassline Dive (Incesticide) This song features a riff that doubles the bassline. This approach adds significant

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weight and depth to the riff without resorting to the wall of sound that overdriven powerchords can often create. Another advantage to doubling a bass phrase on the guitar is that it enhances the groove, and the listener gets drawn into the phrase, creating a hypnotic hook for the song.

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Let the bass play the busy bit Lounge Act (Nevermind) This song starts with the bass, playing an energetic opening phrase. During the verse, the bass phrase continues, while the guitars take on a more laid-back strumming pattern. This leaves space for the vocal line, while the underlying pace continues throughout the section. By doing this, the listener is left in anticipation of a change where the guitar and

Employ dissonance to grab attention Serve The Servants (In Utero) The intro to this track sets the tone of angst and unrest that permeates In Utero, thanks to the grating dissonance in the guitar and bass. This puts the listener on edge at these points and leaves a sinister undertone when returning to the more conventional verse and chorus sections. For an additional jarring effect, Cobain often ends phrases of the vocal melody with a note that clashes with the guitar chord he’s singing over.

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Simple things done well Molly’s Lips (Incesticide) With this The Vaselines cover version, Cobain hits home with the ‘less is more’ approach to guitar playing. The whole song is made up from the simple chord change of G to C, which builds the upbeat verse and chorus vocal-melody hooks. Thanks to the bright, optimistic vibe that the two major chords create, and the simplicity of the harmonic structure, there is a commercial pop/rock feel here that would seep into Kurt’s own writing style.

‘Milk It’ perfectly demonstrates how silence can create a dramatic impact drum phrases step up to match the energy level of the bassline.

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© FilmMagic, Inc Getty Images/ 2012 David Livingston

Silence speaks volumes Milk It (In Utero) This song is the perfect demonstration of how silence can create a dramatic impact. During the clean verses and the overdriven choruses, the whole band drops out for brief pauses. This silence grabs the listener’s full attention, and creates an unsettled groove. To continue the angry, unhinged vibe, Cobain uses layers of clean, dissonant guitars in the instrumental sections of the track. It’s that well-known Nirvana trick of ‘quiet in the verse’, but with those dissonant notes sounding darkly ominous.

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Dynamic chord changes Breed (Nevermind) Breed is a driving rock song, but the feel changes depending on how frequently the chords change. In the verses, the drums and bass drive the song along, while the rhythm guitar stays strumming on a single chord. This grounds the section and gives plenty of room for Kurt’s vocal. This changes in the chorus, where Cobain changes chord every two beats.

Kurt often let Krist Novoselic play the busy parts, leaving more space for the vocal lines

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Sweetness followed by intensity works Heart-Shaped Box (In Utero) Here, Cobain establishes an almost ballad-like feel by playing clean arpeggios that outline a sweet-sounding chord progression. This is underpinned by a contrasting and unnaturally busy eighth-note bassline, which keeps the mood intense and sinister. To add a dynamic shift to the chorus, Kurt switches to aggressive powerchords and doubles the ‘Hey, Wait’ vocal line on guitar to focus attention onto the lyrics.

Use Eastern scales to spice up rock riffs Love Buzz (Bleach) On this cover of a Shocking Blue track, Kurt gives the sound an up to date alternative vibe using a number of 70s rock motifs. The main riff (played first on bass guitar) uses the Phrygian Dominant scale to establish an Eastern vibe, which is used to similar effect by Ritchie Blackmore on Stargazer by Rainbow. Cobain also includes a fast, challenging mixture of pull-off sequences in the riff to add further energy. The solo has an improvised feel with highly effected guitars panning left and right in the mix, creating a psychedelic vibe.

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“Where you almost have to outshred other people, or outshred yourself at least, that seems like a pretty worthless motivation” 68

May 2014

animals as leaders

interview

Follow The Leader Words: Rob Laing 

Photography: Larry DiMarzio

Tosin Abasi is the driving force behind the instrumental guitar album of the year with Animals As Leaders’ The Joy Of Motion. He tells TG how he faced down internal pressure to raise the bar with his eight-string again

W

e hear a lot of talk about guitar heroes being a dying breed: that those scaly Les Paul-wielding beasts that once stomped across the earth firing out extended solos through their claws are now greying and sad. Times change, and so do heroes and the nature of hero worship. Shred is not dead; it’s just got smarter. YouTube has blown the gates wide open, for both learning and showcasing talent. The world of progressive metal is inspiring players to learn and evolve at a remarkable rate. One of the guitarists aspiring players are looking to as an inspiration is Tosin Abasi, the creative force that drives US instrumental trio, Animals As Leaders. He’s influential for a reason. The band, completed by fellow guitarist Javier Reyes and drummer Matt Garstka, have a new third album, The Joy Of Motion. It’s equal parts

technical, tuneful and inventive: the trinity TG searches high and low for. The potential of the eight-string guitar is being fulfilled here, and talking to Tosin about what drives him reveals an inspiring musician eager to share and credit his own influences, while explaining exactly what he’s doing on some of these jaw-dropping compositions. What did you want to achieve as a player on this album? “With my playing, one thing I wanted to do was… acknowledge the position that comes with being a quote/unquote ‘shred guitarist’. Where you almost have to outshred other people, or outshred yourself at least, that seems like a pretty worthless motivation as far as producing quality music is concerned. So I definitely had to battle internally: ‘Oh, man, do I have to play faster than I did on the last may 2014

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interview

album? Do I need to incorporate more than I did before?’ And what I did is actually a total 180. This album has the least amount of shred [compared to the others], and I started listening to guitar players that were playing R&B, gospel and neo soul… this really lyrical, stylised mix of blues, country and jazz. A lot of doublestops, a lot of chromatics, not in the jazz sense per se – it’s definitely more rooted in kind of a blues. So I spent a year obsessing over guys like Jairus Mozee, Isaiah Sharkey and Jimmy Herring. I feel like my playing actually transformed in between the year I demo’d the tracks, and subsequently started doing the final recording process nine to 10 months later. A lot of the lead work is different from anything you’ve heard from me. I focused on bends and vibrato, things that most players use – but for me, it wasn’t a focus [before]. So I’m pretty proud of the development.” It sounds like your percussive thumb and fingerpicking technique has developed significantly on this record. How conscious have you been of that? “The slap technique is interesting, because when I first learned it I was really obsessed

“The lead work is different from anything you’ve heard from me” with fleshing out all the potential, and I’ve used it on all the Animals As Leaders albums. But it’s not something I hyper-focus on. It’s one of those techniques that, once you’ve got it, you can just do it. You’re hearing some progression on this album because this is the first one where I’ve incorporated my ring finger. So before, I was doing these number combinations based on my thumb and first two fingers. Then I was able to start incorporating my ring finger and a plectrum. Now, I’m doing these groups of seven and five. It’s still slapping, but instead of using my

Peripheral Visions

Periphery duo and collaborators Misha Mansoor and Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood on Tosin’s art of progression When it comes to Tosin’s playing, Periphery’s guitarist and bassist Misha Mansoor and Nolly Getgood have a privileged perspective, as producer/collaborator and engineer/mixer on The Joy Of Motion respectively. Misha: “Tosin has always been a very creative musician, and I think now that he’s established himself as a virtuoso, I think he’s writing parts that tend to serve the song more, as opposed Team Tosin: Misha (background) and Nolly

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to parts that have inherent ‘shock value’. When we did the first album, he was still unproven, and a lot of the parts had those ‘How the hell is he doing that?’ moments. In contrast, this album sounds a bit less in your face, but serves a very strong musical purpose, and a lot of it actually happens to be very tricky from a technical standpoint.” Nolly: “I think one of the most striking evolutions in Tosin’s playing has been the shift in his lead playing towards a very melodic and improvisational style. We spent a long time on the solos for the album; as a general process, Tosin would improvise a whole string of phrases until he found something he liked, then we’d sit together and piece together a ‘story arc’ for the solo based off his improvised ideas. I think it’s awesome to hear him embracing more traditional vibrato and bending techniques, as well using a lot of gospel-style doublestopping in the lowerintensity solos.” Misha: “I just like that the technicality is not the first thing that you notice. I think he has really matured as a musician in that aspect, and is getting a better sense of creating a unique and all-encompassing vibe with the parts he writes for the songs.”

Tosin with his original Ibanez Custom Shop model

thumb, I’m using my pick. I’m building phrases by hammering on maybe three notes, and then completing the phrase by picking two notes. “It’s not like alternate picking, where you’re fretting each note and using your pick to produce the note. This is separated; either you’re hammering on [with your fretting hand] or picking [with pick and fingers]; I call it selective picking.” The way slapping is used to create the groove in Physical Education is especially interesting; it fills a very percussive role. Is that just one guitar part in the intro? “Yes, it actually is. That’s cool that you like the song, because we were actually nervous [about it] as it’s quite different to your typical prog-instrumental track. With that song, we just wanted a heavy groove, and it’s actually the most moderate tempo in a song that we’ve used. So it’s one guitar you’re hearing, multitracked on the album, left and right. It’s one guitar part, and it’s the first time I’ve done this with slapping: I’m using a defined sound with the slap and the open strings, so it gives you like a kick-drum sort of element. And I’m doing muted harmonics, so it almost sounds like a kick-and-snare sort of phrase built together. It’s the first time I’ve done that muted harmonic thing, and that is such a moderate tempo. So that song is definitely one of my favourites on the album, too.” There’s a wide range of moods on this album, and it feels like your modal vocabulary has become even wider…

The Ibanez TAM100’s DiMarzio Ionizer pickups can be coil -tapped for tonal versatility

“I’m pretty abstract with creativity, and the diversity you’re hearing melodically and rhythmically is because some of that material is years old, and some of it’s quite fresh. So you’re hearing a span of my focus over multiple years. Harmonic content has been something I’ve been more focused on, because at the beginning of my playing I could only learn by watching other guitar players’ fingers. So I’d be like, ‘Okay, cool, what’s that shape?’ And I’d try to emulate it just by what my ear can understand. “And I ended up going to a music school that taught me how to construct chords and how chords function in a family called a key, how you can use substitutes in chords in that key to create different effects… I started to gravitate towards really interesting chord voicings and non-diatonic harmony – how I can force key changing with different chords. “There’s some songs in there, like Another Year, that were a case of me working specifically on inversions of major-seventh chords. All of a sudden, through that practice, I end up with a tune. If you listen to Lippincott – I named it after this guy called Tom Lippincott. He had this online masterclass that focused on melodic or harmonic major, one of the two – they’re closely related scales. I’d been familiar with melodic minor, but melodic major was definitely a new sound for me. So, through watching this guy’s tutorial on the whole diatonic family of chords in this kind of tonality, I wrote this song that incorporated some of that harmony. And the augmented scale was part of that as well, so if you listen to Lippencott, you’re hearing the augmented scale as well as the harmonic-major tonalities.”

© Jonathan Weiner

Was your signature Ibanez TAM100 the main guitar for tracking? “Primarily, everything we used was my signature guitar, but I have a Strandberg that has a set of [DiMarzio] Ionizers, my signature pickup, in it too. The Strandberg guitar is semi-hollow, so for certain things we found the clean tones had a bit more of an acoustic quality. So we used the Strandberg for some, and we used the Godin Multiac Grand Concert

Animals As Leaders: Tosin with Matt Garstka (left) and Javier Reyes

7 for the nylon-string track [the Javier Reyes composition Para Mexer]. For Physical Education, the tuning for that is quite a bit lower than even the standard eight-string. It’s down to Db, or C#. It’s almost like five-string bass range. So I have a Strandberg that actually has two extra frets. It has an extended neck for the last two strings. I also have a Rick Toone guitar [a Blur model] that has the same sort of weird baritone extended range just for the last two strings. So for Physical Education, we used the Rick Toone to get that low tuning. The scale length on it is 30 inches, or something like that. So that note you’re hearing is a C# on a 30-inch neck. Everything that’s rhythm guitar, lead guitar and clean is my signature guitar.” You’re a player who has showcased the potential of the eight-string guitar. What do you think about what others are doing with it – do you feel extended-range guitars are often used merely as a path to lower tuning? “There are all these companies producing extended-range guitars, and I think it’s really awesome. I think it attracts people that want

“There are more players wanting to know music theory and technique”

to do heavy music because it’s really effective at doing that. A lot of bands who are popular in heavy music right now are using extendedrange guitars, so guys think, very rationally, I should just buy the instrument my favourite band is using, and then I’ll sound like that. “So that’s fine, but I think there’s a healthy number of guitar players wanting to know about music theory and technique – more than, say, in 2000. I don’t know who was popular then – say Papa Roach or something like that; Limp Bizkit or whatever, you know what I mean? So extended-range guitar seems to be sort of parallel to the kind of guitar player who wants to do a three-octave arpeggio, or wants to do a chord melody. Someone who really wants to understand the fretboard. “There’s a percentage of guitar players who just want to utilise the lower strings, which is fine too, but in my experience, I’m encountering a lot of players who are asking me about my musical education – who did I study? What harmonic concepts am I interested in? These are teenagers. I wasn’t really asking these questions when I was a teenager. I was obsessed with speed, and things that were obvious to me; that I could look at and translate. But these kids are wanting a deeper understanding. I think progressive music promotes this yearning to understand music on a more complex and deeper level. The extended-range guitar seems to live in that arena, too. I see a lot of cool stuff on YouTube, and I think there’s a lot of creativity, so I think we’re in for a new wave of future guitarists.” may 2014

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STEAL THEIR STYLE

stevie ray vaughan a solid pub argument that no scene has ever needed a guitar hero like the blues needed Stevie Ray Vaughan in 1983. With the US originators dying out and the British enfants terribles growing up, this genre had the faintest of pulses when the man in the Stetson applied the defibrillator with Texas Flood. SRV was a Strat man to the bone. His most famous model was the ‘Number One’ hybrid (with ’62 body, ’61 neck, ’59 pickups and left-handed vibrato), while in 1980, his wife – our kinda lady – organised a whip-round to secure him the iconic ’65 that he named ‘Lenny’ in her honour. His Strat’s strings were heavy (0.013 to 0.058s), the tuning dropped a semitone, and his touch so hard he frequently tore his fingernails. Amps played a part in that raunchy roadhouse tone, too, with a pair of ‘blackface’ Fenders typically blended with Marshall and Dumble heads. SRV wasn’t shy of a stompbox, either, with the bedrock of an Ibanez Tube Screamer and 60s Vox wah spiced with a Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, Octavia and Uni-Vibe. Wide-brimmed hats off.

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© WireImage

THE TECHNIQUES & TONES OF YOUR HEROES there’s

STEAL THEIR Style

stevie ray vaughan

Stevie’s gigbag If you’re after Stevie’s tone, you’re going to need the right gear. Check out TG’s rig rundowns for your best options

The ‘SRV – ASAP!’ rig ➊ Squier Affinity Stratocaster £145 Insist on a Sunburst finish – then scuff it to bits with sandpaper ➋ Fender Champion 40 £145 No valves in sight, but it’s cheap, punchy and full of blues-friendly tones ➌ DigiTech RP500 £180 This multi-effects unit packs in Tube Screamer, wah and a rotary-pedal simulation – plus more ➍ GHS Nickel Rockers Low Tune SRV set £10 The heavy gauge isn’t the easiest to handle – but it’s essential to Stevie’s sound ➎ Sandpaper £4 Alternatively, simply gig the roadhouses of Texas for 10 years…

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The ‘Pride And Joy’ rig

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➊ Fender Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster £1,630 It has to be a Strat, and if you’ve got the sheets, the SRV model is the pick ➋ Fender Blues Deluxe £629 This reissued all-valve pocket-rocket gets in the Super Reverb ballpark ➌ Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer £105 Stevie’s erstwhile pedalboard mainstay, for his raunchier moments ➍ Vox V847 Wah £80 The man himself favoured a 1960s Vox – good luck finding one ➎ GHS Nickel Rockers Low Tune SRV set £10 No matter how expensive your guitar, without these strings you’ll struggle to nail SRV’s tone ➏ Novelty cowboy hat £1.99 For instant cowboy kudos – you can get yours from partydelights.co.uk

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Total: £2,455.99

(approx based on web prices)

Get the sound

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Stevie Ray Vaughan 17 Contributor: Steve Allsworth Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com 8

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SRV had a strong appreciation for Albert King’s lead playing, and here we see a similar phrasing style. Notice how we’ve repeated the opening phrase again at the end of bar 2, varying it by approaching the 10th fret from the 9th fret – an approach Stevie used regularly.

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This funky rhythm idea is based mainly around a C7 barre chord and other passing notes from the C minor pentatonic scale. The secret is keeping the momentum going in your pick hand with constant, seamless 16th notes. Practise at a slower tempo until you get a feel for the rhythm.

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Fender Jim Root Jazzmaster

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Mesa Engineering Recto-Verb 25

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Vox Mark III

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ROUND-UP: Godin Richmond Series

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DigiTech RP360 XP

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Yerasov GTA15

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ROUND-UP: Red Witch pedals

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Quick Tests

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Accessories

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Fix Your Guitar

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The latest sig from the Slipknot/Stone Sour man...

Huge Mesa sounds from a compact 1x12.............. Return of the teardrop................................................... Richmond Empire, Richmond Dorchester w/ Bigsby, Richmond Belmont w/ Bigsby............. Updated multi-effects with tons of tones..............

A low-cost valve combo from Russia......................

Empress Chorus, Synthotron, Violetta Delay, Fuzz God II...........................................

TC Electronic Ditto X2 Looper, Boss DS-1X Distortion...................................................

Korg PitchHawk-G, MusicNomad Fretboard F-One Oil, Ernie Ball MVP Most Valuable Pedal, IsoAcoustics ISO-L8R430 Stand............................. Truss rod adjustment.....................................................

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REVIEw Jim Root Jazzmaster

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gear

Fender Jim Root Jazzmaster £1,719

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Fender Jim Root Jazzmaster

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Matt black finish, black hardware, EMG humbuckers… One thing’s for sure – Jim’s Jazzmaster ain’t for jazz

FIRST

came the Telecaster. The Stratocaster soon followed. Now, Slipknot and Stone Sour axeman supreme Jim Root has landed himself a signature Jazzmaster. Is any Fender model safe from his scrawl? The partnership has bolstered the Fender line-up with a host of EMG-loaded mahogany rock machines – and Jim’s latest squeeze is no exception. This guitar represents the Jazzmaster template stretched to the very limit. Gone are the

small contour on the neck heel. Although Jim’s Jazzmaster plays very differently to your usual Jazz, its tones will be instantly familiar – not to Jazzmaster players, of course, but to anyone who’s played an EMG-loaded axe before. After all, EMG’s 81 and 60 are the longstanding weapons of choice in the signature models of a certain Mr Hetfield and Mr Hammett. So, you can expect the same knifepoint-precise rhythm and cutting lead tones that have adorned countless rock and

soapbar-sized single coils, floating vibrato and alder body, replaced by a pair of active EMG humbuckers, hardtail Strat bridge and hefty hunk of mahogany. In fact, Jim has spec’d his Jazz to be pretty much identical to his Strat across the board – the only major changes are cosmetic, with a 70s-style headstock, Flat Black matt finish and brushed nickel pickup covers. Rock guitars don’t get much stealthier than this – hell, your only controls are a volume knob and three-way pickup selector, and there aren’t even any position markers. It all begs the question: when does a Jazzmaster stop being a Jazzmaster? The extra weight of the mahogany body balances beautifully with the light satin urethane finish on the modern C-shaped neck, which feels silky smooth to the touch and comfortably fills your hand. Playing is a dream at both ends of the ebony fretboard, thanks to the 305mm (12-inch) to 406mm (16-inch) compound radius, which flattens out for solos at the widdly end, further aided by a

metal records, no matter what you throw at them. A guitar like this demands down-tuning, and with the low E slackened to a gut-punishing A, we were spewing filthy yet defined riffery, aided by the impressive tuning stability afforded by the locking tuners. All in all, it’s a seriously satisfying playing experience, bolstered by the chunky neck and jumbo frets. There’s something slightly unsettling about conjuring such deeply heavy tones from an axe beloved by indie guitarists, but considering the mask-brandishing man behind it, you could argue that’s exactly the point. And although the price tag might seem terrifying, you’ll find one for around £1,300 on the street. Now, when can we expect that signature Mustang, Jim? Michael Brown

SUMMARY

Photography: Joby Sessions

When does a Jazzmaster stop being a Jazzmaster?

At A Glance Body: Mahogany Neck: Maple Scale: 648mm (25.5”) Fingerboard: Ebony Frets: 22 Pickups: 1x EMG 81 humbucker (bridge), 1x EMG 60 humbucker (neck) Controls: 1x volume, 3-way pickup selector Hardware: Strings-through-body Strat bridge, locking tuners – black Left-handed: No Finish: Flat Black only Contact: Fender GBI 01342 331700 www.fender.co.uk

Neck The modern C-profile neck is certainly a handful, and proves immensely satisfying for monster riffs and nimble solos

Pickups Don’t be fooled by the brushed-nickel covers: this is still the classic EMG 60/81 pairing, and provides all the heavy tones you could want

Finish The matt black looks fantastic in person, and to our great relief, doesn’t smudge quite as easily as similar finishes

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REVIEw

Recto-Verb TWenty five

Grille The Recto-Verb’s tough grille cloth is fitted to perfection, and like the rest of the amp, it’s built to last

Multi-Watt The ability to switch watts and channels gives the Recto-Verb a huge range of dynamic control

Speaker Mesa’s Fillmore 75 loudspeaker combines the best of American and British characteristics – it’s a great performer

Mesa Engineering Recto-Verb Twenty Five £1,399 Return of the ’verb… in a diminutive but powerful package

We

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identical sets of controls for clean and lead channels – gain, master volume, EQ and presence knobs are joined by a pair of small toggle switches, one for switching each channel between two distinct voicings, the other for pre-setting the channel’s output power. On the rear panel, there are separate channel controls for the Recto-

– clean and pushed on the top channel covers all the classic sugary ‘blackface’ and throaty tweed sounds anyone could ask for, while the lower channel’s vintage and modern tones come straight from Dual Rec central. That famous highly expressive distortion, with its scooped mid, tight bass and harmonic-laden

A truly inspiring combo, that responds almost like it’s alive Verb’s long-pan spring reverb, plus a series effects loop and a jack for an optional footswitch to toggle the reverb effect, while the included channel-changing footswitch plugs into the front. We tested the Recto-Verb with our two favourite guitars – an old Strat, and a PAF-loaded Les Paul. Both channel-voicing switches provide a pair of distinct tones

treble, is devastating in either flavour, spitting out some of the wickedest leads and powerchords we’ve heard in ages. The long-pan spring reverb is valve-powered and sounds unbelievably good, with practically no noise, even at higher gain settings. Meanwhile, the two Multi-Watt toggle switches are a masterstroke, swapping from 25 watts of pentode clarity and punch

to 10 watts of triode warmth and bloom – and you can even preassign a wattage to each channel to sculpt them as you see fit. Mesa’s legend was built on giant-killing small combos, and the Recto-Verb continues the tradition, combining classic looks, simple but expressive controls and killer tones – all with possibly the best spring reverb you’ll ever hear in a 1x12 combo. It’s not cheap, but it will keep you playing into the early hours every night, for ages. It’s a truly inspiring guitar amp, which responds almost like it’s alive, challenging you to play your best. The famous Boogie black magic is still alive and kicking. Nick Guppy

SUMMARY

guitarists can never have too much of a good thing – after pestering the good folks at Mesa for a small version of the mighty Rectifier heads, we asked: ‘Great, now can we have it in a combo with reverb?’ Well, after much tweaking and fine-tuning, here it is – the new mighty mini from Mesa, the Recto-Verb Twenty Five. Like every Mesa product, the Recto-Verb is built to exacting standards – from every angle, the amp looks superb. Mesa’s attention to detail is legendary, and the Recto-Verb gets the full treatment; it’s a stunning example of how to mass-produce without sacrificing quality. The vinyl is so perfect it looks sprayed on, while inside the aluminium chassis, you’ll find Mesa’s familiar circuit board, with the same custom resistors and capacitors it’s used for over 25 years. The friendly double-decker control panel features two

At A Glance TYPE: All-valve preamp and power amp w/ solid-state rectifier, 2-channel combo OUTPUT: 25W or 10W, channel assignable SPEAKER: 1x12” Fillmore 75 VALVES: 6x 12AX7, 2x EL84 CONTROLS: 2x gain, 2x treble, 2x mid, 2x bass, 2x presence, 2x master, 2x reverb; clean/pushed switch, vintage/modern switch, 2x 25/10-watt (pentode/triode) switch SOCKETS: Guitar in, channel footswitch, reverb on/off, effects loop, 3x speaker outputs WEIGHT: 18.5kg DIMENSIONS: [HxWxD] 432 x 485 x 280mm CONTACT: Westside Distribution 0844 326 2000 www.mesaboogie.com

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gear

Vox Mark III

Vox Mark III

£289

This tear-shaped British icon of the 1960s is back to turn heads, in affordable form

As

a brand, Vox has a special place in the heart of British guitar heritage. Its amps, which provided The Beatles’ backline and went on to power the subsequent British Invasion, are its best-known legacy, but Vox was no slouch in the guitar department, either. Brian Jones was a fan early in his Stones career, playing a custom Vox that introduced the public to the Mark III’s strange ‘teardrop’ shape. He made quite an impression – the likes of Tom Petty, Robert Smith of The Cure and Sergio Pizzorno of Kasabian have since been spotted wielding one – and now Vox, in all its wisdom, has reissued the Mark III. In its soft case, the Mark III looks about the size and shape of

engaged, the treble turned right up and a little bit of gain thrown into the mix. It just feels… right, somehow, like you’re playing at the Crawdaddy Club in 1963. The neck might feel strange at first, owing to its short scale, but once you settle in, it’s a comfortable playing area with plenty of highfret access – another advantage to that quirky body shape. Vox has clearly spent time nailing that vintage, vibe-y look certain players go for. The little details help complete the picture: the retro tone and volume controls, the white machineheads, the bold headstock shape – it all gives the impression that the guitar was discovered in a dusty Denmark Street basement. Given

The Mark III is really light, and gets the 60s flavour just right

Neck The scale length here is 610mm (24 inches) – that’s the same as, say, a Fender Mustang, so it might take a slight adjustment, but rest assured, the Mark III can rock with the best of them

Pickups The three Vox single coils do a pretty thorough job of replicating all the tones you’d want from this setup, and the retro knobs are a nice touch

Body The Mark III is an unusual shape, but a deliciously retro one that both looks the part and feels incredibly light. It’s impossible to resist if you’re a sucker for all things 60s

that, it’s a little odd that Vox didn’t put more effort into the logo, which looks like it was drawn by a toddler with a felt tip pen. Logo gripes aside, the Mark III has been well put together, and gets the 60s flavour just right. The teardrop shape won’t be for everyone, and it presents some interesting challenges – you can play it sitting down, but we found ourselves adopting a classical-style playing position, with the guitar on the lap and neck in the air. But overwhelmingly, this is a guitar that’s a lot of fun to play, and you’ll look – and sound – good while you’re doing so. Rob Power

SUMMARY

a banjo, or possibly some kind of lengthy frying pan. Turn up to a gig with this, and other guitarists will be wondering what you’re packing before you even open the case. When you do, you’ll reveal what a man of wealth and taste you truly are. Well, sort of – the Mark III is incredibly well priced, but you catch our drift. It’s a striking instrument, and that streamlined body shape and trim 610mm (24-inch) scale length – the same as Fender’s Jaguar – mean it looks a hell of a lot smaller than, say, a Strat-style electric, but don’t let that put you off. Pick it up, and the first thing you’ll notice is that it’s really light, and it looks bloody great strapped on. Jonesy knew what he was doing… Plug in, and you’re straight into familiar single-coil territory. The pickups are perfectly capable of replicating S-type tones, but the Mark III seems best suited to playing with the bridge pickup

At A Glance Body: Basswood Neck: Hard maple Fingerboard: Rosewood Frets: 22 Scale: 610mm (24”) Pickups: 3x Vox single coil Controls: 1x volume, 1x tone, 5-way pickup selector Left-handed: No Finish: White, Seafoam, Salmon Red, 3-Tone Sunburst (shown) Contact: Korg UK 01908 304601 www.voxamps.com

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godin richmond series

Godin Richmond Series round-up

A new range from Canada that mixes unashamedly retro curves with modern construction – we mount up and check ’em out

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Round-up

Words: Simon Bradley Photography: Simon Lees

GODIN

may not be the most familiar brand, but it’s among the most diverse. Its high-quality instruments are often available at prices that belie the lofty standards of construction – the catalogue includes traditional solidbody electrics, semi-acoustic jazzers and, with the Multiacs, instruments at the very cutting edge of technology. There’s even an 11-string fretless electro-acoustic, the Glissentar, to drool over. The company’s new Richmond range comprises designs with differing degrees of retro stylings. Built in the Great White North to exacting standards of quality,

while the look and vibe may be straight from the golden ages of rock ’n’ roll, the performance is certainly bang up to date. For anyone who’s struggled with a vintage Mosrite, where unstable tuning can seriously impair any Johnny Ramone fantasies, this is great news. Each model on test has a partner in the series that offers slightly different specs. Both the Belmont and Dorchester are available as hardtails, while the Empire also comes loaded with a humbucker and single coil rather than a pair of P-90s. Let’s see if they play and sound as good as they look.

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godin richmond series

Godin Richmond Dorchester w/Bigsby £849 Retro a go-go

it’s

the Dorchester that perfectly sums up what the Richmond range is all about. It couldn’t be any more retro, mixing classic Mosrite and Gretsch curves with modern construction. The offset body and angled neck pickup immediately catch your attention, and it positively drips with chrome. In short, it’s exceedingly cool. Made from poplar, it’s mostly hollow save for a solid central half-block of silver-leaf maple, which the pickups and hardware are mounted upon. Nothing says vintage like a Bigsby, and the flat-mounted B50 unit is kept stable by a chunky yet practical bridge array enclosing six roller saddles, which dissipate friction

godin Richmond Belmont w/Bigsby £849 The ultimate mix of retro chic and sheer power

the

Belmont makes a valiant attempt at cramming anything a player would realistically need onto a single guitar. The Bigsby vibrato is mounted on a solid mahogany body with attractive contouring and compact cutaways. As with all three guitars on test, the two-piece neck is slinky with a rosewood ’board, pre-worn in a process Godin calls ‘Ergocutting’. It’s eminently playable, and the mahogany’s flawless finish increases the overall comfort. Godin has opted for an interesting combination of pickups, with a pair of Seymour Duncan lipstick-tube single coils sitting rather self-consciously alongside a covered ’59 Duncan humbucker. On plugging in, the mismatch between the subdued

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output of the lipsticks and the roar from the ’59 is immediately apparent, which can be offputting. That said, you can clean up your sound at the flick of the selector switch and if you set the amp gain just so, this could prove a useful tool when playing live. For funky clean chops, the lipsticks are just the ticket, with the glassy combination of the two sounding the most convincing. The intrinsic jangle is beefed up by the body mahogany to give a genuinely impressive tone that works well either dry, or with a touch of echo and chorus. Although the Belmont doesn’t quite have the palpable vibe of the other two models, it ticks a number of boxes few other guitars do. From jangle to all-out rock? You got it.

and allow the string to remain in pitch as you wobble the vibrato. Lace Alumitone humbuckers incorporate chromed aluminium frames and ceramic magnets, and the four-way blade switch gives the three pickup selections you’d expect plus one you may not: the bridge and neck together wired in series, rather than in parallel. Tonally, the setting sounds huge and gives a sparklingly clean amp a boost of low mids. The solo’d bridge pickup is twangy enough to cover surf, country and rockabilly: add a vintage-voiced fuzz pedal to have some real fun. Would we choose this over a Gretsch Electromatic? Well, it plays beautifully, stays in tune and looks amazing. We just might.

GEAR

Round-up

godin Richmond Empire P90 £599 It’s all about tone

There’s

a whiff of the classic Les Paul Special about the Empire, with the single-cut mahogany body, natural finish and wraparound bridge harking right back to 1955. However, the subtle body contouring gives it an altogether more modern twist, and there’s something very tactile about the Empire. Maybe it’s the classic vintage vibe or the sheer woodiness of the natural finish, but we can’t see anything wrong with a guitar that demands you pick it up and play. It’s light in weight, too, and nicely balanced when strapped on. Controls are single tone and volume pots, with the latter peeking almost cheekily through the three-ply scratchplate, and

the pickups are selected via a traditional three-way toggle. The tonal character of P-90 pickups is such that they can realistically be used for jazz, blues, classic rock and, at a pinch, harder rock styles, too. With a touch of amp drive, the bridge pickup mixes depth and grunt with sufficient bite, while the neck unit is soupy and warm. Simple changes of amp setting can give tones the vibe of Keith Richards or even Angus Young and, although probably best suited to blues styles – it makes for a very convincing slide guitar – we’re impressed by the tonal versatility on offer. At a shekel under £600, the Empire represents good value, so don’t let the lack of a certain headstock logo put you off; this is well worth trying out.

Godin Richmond Dorchester w/Bigsby

Godin Richmond Belmont w/Bigsby

Godin Richmond Empire P90

At a glance BODY: Chambered maple core w/ poplar wings Neck: Maple Scale: 648mm (25.5”) Fingerboard: Rosewood Frets: 21 Pickups: 2x Lace Alumitone humbuckers Controls: 1x volume, 1x tone, 4-way pickup selector Hardware: Bigsby vibrato, chrome roller bridge Left-handed: No Finish: Natural, Solid Cream (shown) Contact: 440 Distribution 0113 258 9599 www.richmondguitarscanada.com

At a glance BODY: Mahogany Neck: Mahogany, bolt-on Scale: 629mm (24.75”) Fingerboard: Rosewood Frets: 22 Pickups: 1x Seymour Duncan ’59 humbucker, 2x Seymour Duncan Lipstick single coils Controls: 1x volume, 1x tone, 5-way pickup selector Hardware: Bigsby vibrato, chrome roller bridge Left-handed: No Finish: Laurentian White only

At a glance BODY: Mahogany Neck: Mahogany, bolt-on Scale: 629mm (24.75”) Fingerboard: Rosewood Frets: 22 Pickups: 2x Godin Kingpin P90 single coils Controls: 1x volume, 1x tone, 3-way toggle pickup selector Hardware: Chrome wraparound bridge, chrome tuners Left-handed: No Finish: Natural Mahogany only

Features  sound quality  Value for money  Build Quality  Playability Overall rating 

SUMMARY

SUMMARY

SUMMARY

Features  sound quality  Value for money  Build Quality  Playability Overall rating 

Features  sound quality  Value for money  Build Quality  Playability Overall rating 

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digitech rp360 xp

Interface Digitech offers players three different ways to use the RP360 XP – you can switch by preset, bank or individual effect. We love the flexibility for tweaking, saving and downloading sounds

Expression The built-in expression pedal gives you control over the RP360 XP’s impressive wah and Whammy sounds, but if it doesn’t take your fancy, the expression-less RP360 costs £135

Footswitches this trio of switches activates effects, presets and the built-in looper; you can expand the functionality further with the FS3X footswitch

DigiTech RP360 XP

£179

The multi-effects box with 360 degrees of functionality

multi

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short, there’s not much DigiTech’s new wonderbox can’t do. Of course, just as important as the model list is the interface. The RP360 XP has all approaches covered with three footswitch modes: preset mode, where footswitches A and B scroll up and down presets, leaving C for looping; bank mode, offering

distortion, amp/cab, noise gate, EQ, volume, modulation, delay, reverb, expression and LFO (for modulation at a predetermined rate), then use the edit knobs to fine-tune your sound – simple. Scroll through the factory presets, and you’ll find U2, Led Zeppelin, Metallica et al, plus tones from the likes of Minus The

The RP360 boasts 162 effects – 54 amps, 26 cabs, 82 pedals access to three footswitch-assigned presets; and stomp mode, which allows you to switch three effects on or off within a preset. Plug in, and the RP360 XP’s brilliant LCD screen springs to life – you’ll have no problems reading patch names or choosing effects. Press the select button to access your signal chain, which consists of wah, compressor, overdrive/

Bear, Silversun Pickups and The Black Keys. There’s plenty to like when creating your own signal chains, too: the RP360 XP packs a sterling delay array and authentic Lexicon reverbs, as well as some of the finest modulations we’ve heard from a multi-effects unit. The dirt models are surprisingly accurate, as well, with fine approximations of the likes of the OCD and Big

Muff. And although the amp sounds are hit and miss (the high-gain tones aren’t the most dynamic we’ve heard), the huge range of cabs ensures you can shape tone to your liking – they sit well in a mix, too, and direct USB connectivity simplifies recording. There’s a wealth of multi-effects out there, but the RP360 XP has diversity and ease of use on its side. For complete access to your presets in a gig scenario, you’ll probably want to invest in the external FS3X footswitch (£24), but we commend DigiTech for providing a choice of operation modes – not to mention sounds and presets – to suit any player. Michael Brown

SUMMARY

- effects have received a facelift in recent years: no longer the bastion of bedroom tinkerers and computer programmers, the do-all box has become a serious musical tool, thanks to muchimproved digital modelling, interfaces and displays. Now, with the RP360 XP, DigiTech has updated its longstanding RP series with a fresh, streamlined look and a new way of working. The RP360 XP boasts 162 effects (54 amps, 26 cabinets and 82 stompboxes), including models of classic stompers from the DigiTech and DOD archives, such as the Whammy, FX13 Gonkulator and FX25 Envelope Filter, while the sounds are controlled using three footswitches and the built-in expression pedal. There’s also a 40-second looper, drum machine, and a USB port for recording with your DAW and editing sounds using the sharp-looking Nexus editor and librarian software. In

At A Glance TYPE: Multi-effects pedal controls: Select, 3x knobs, drums button, system button, store button, back button Effects: 162 (54 amps, 26 cabinets, 82 stompboxes) Sockets: Input, aux in, 2x output, headphone out, control in, USB, power Bypass: Buffered Power: 9V power supply only (supplied) Contact: Sound Technology 01462 480000 www.digitech.com

Features  sound quality  Value for money  Build Quality  USability  Overall rating 

GEAR

Yerasov GTA15

Valves Line input

Two quality JJ EL84s provide the Yerasov’s 15-watt output power, and they sound great when pushed

Now this is a neat touch: a line input specially tweaked to sound great with multi-effects pedals

Grille A tough steel grille protects the Yerasov’s single 10-inch Jensen C10Q speaker

Yerasov GTA15 £319 The Russian-made combo that’s back in beige, and ready to rock Yer-as-ov

While

input from devices like multieffects floorboards. We checked the Yerasov out with a PAF-loaded Les Paul Standard and a regular Fender Strat. The very different tones of these guitars come through with stunning clarity – all you have to do is tweak the tone control a little,

Elsewhere, the line input works great with multi-effects, and although clean headroom is limited, the GTA15 is still plenty loud enough for practice and smaller gigs. Another bonus is that the Yerasov’s hum and hiss levels are practically nonexistent – you have to turn it up well

Its sonic performance floors many other small combos so you can get a nice crisp treble with single coils, or emphasise a little more midrange warmth with humbuckers. Start turning the GTA15 up to more antisocial volumes, and it delivers a fat, meaty EL84-powered overdrive that’s perfect for blues and classic rock – it could be a little fuzzy for some when maxed out, but others will like that aggressive rasp.

past halfway before there’s any audible indication the amp is actually on! This, together with the compressed bandwidth of the 10-inch Jensen speaker, make the GTA15 perfect for recording – we knocked up a quick track with rhythm and lead parts and the Yerasov was immediately in the zone, with practically no EQ and just a little compression.

We reckon the Yerasov is a great ‘stealth’ boutique combo. Depending on your tastes, it may not be the coolest-looking amp out there, but under the skin, it has tone and noise performance to floor many other small combos. And then there’s the price. At £319, it’s way cheaper than most of the competition – but this isn’t a cheaply made amp. The cabinet may be particleboard, but the all-important electronics are better than we’ve seen on some combos costing two or even three times as much. Combine that with the stellar Class A sounds, and you’d be mad not to give the GTA15 a go. Nick Guppy

SUMMARY

sales of bigger amps have flatlined recently, there’s still a healthy market for that evergreen favourite, the small valve combo – and there are plenty of manufacturers after your cash. Any new entry had better be special if it’s going to succeed, and we reckon we’ve found one that could do just that – the snappily named GTA15, from Russian amp and pedal specialists, Yerasov, which is now shipping to the UK. The GTA15 is a compact 1x10 valve combo, with a simple topfacing control panel. The styling may look a little tacky for some, but inside the chassis, everything is very cool indeed. The board layout and wiring is excellent – as good as, if not better than many higherpriced products from the UK and USA. The simple control panel has just two knobs for volume and tone, and two input jacks: one for guitar, the other for a line-level

At A Glance Type: All-valve Class A combo Output: 15W Speaker: 1x10” Jensen C10Q Valves: 2x EL84, 2x ECC83 Controls: Volume, tone Sockets: Guitar in, line in Weight: 10kg Dimensions: [HxWxD] 385 x 385 x 235mm Contact: Yerasov UK 07534 429269 www.yerasov.co.uk

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round-up

RED WITCH pedals

Red Witch £120–£249 round-up

Pedals from a land down under, designed to fill your tone with wonder – the Witch is back with a fuzz, chorus, delay and synth machine

Words: Trevor Curwen

IF

a pedal brand was judged by the number of rock stars who use its products, New Zealand-based Red Witch would be way up there, with the likes of U2, Guns ’n’ Roses and Arctic Monkeys all name-checked on its website. Company owner and pedal designer Ben Fulton says that the pedals come from a longstanding love affair with analogue guitar equipment and a desire to blend art and technology. That’s certainly true with the four pedals on test here: the gnarly Fuzz God II, flexible Empress Chorus, compact Violetta Delay and zany Synthotron. Of special note is the Violetta, which expands on Red Witch’s Seven Sisters, the world’s first pedals to run from a rechargeable lithium ion battery, charged with a standard nine-volt adaptor. It’s an impressive innovation, but can these pedals’ tones conjure the same sense of wonder?

Red Witch Fuzz God II

£159

Master of mayhem A fuzz box with an extra footswitch to ‘incur the wrath of the fuzz god’ promises to go to places others can only dream of, especially if it also has four knobs and two switches to play with – and the Fuzz God doesn’t disappoint. Thick fuzz abounds in conventional use, but you can also invoke sputtering, dying battery artefacts and, for complete sonic mayhem, mess around with the Wrath knob for suboctave burble and screeching feedback. Noise merchants seeking a pedal for sonic destruction take note…

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Red Witch Empress Chorus

£189

A chorus of choruses The Empress Chorus is all about versatility. This isn’t just because it can do both vibrato and chorus, mind you, but because it also has a voice knob that alters the delay time for massive variations in the chorus effect, besides the standard depth and speed parameters. You also get a mix knob to blend effected and dry sounds for very subtle sound shading. If you want modulation of many colours, you can’t go wrong with the great array of spacious tones delivered here.

GEAR

Red Witch Synthotron

Round-up

£249

Guitar meets analogue synth The Synthotron converts your guitar’s signal to voltage for triggering oscillators, thus creating analogue monosynth sounds that you can use on their own, or mix with the dry guitar signal. It also has an envelope-filter section, which can be used independently by the guitar for auto-wah and funky vowel sounds, or combined with the synth section for squelchy notes. With the synth, you can create single-string synth leads and riffs that can be livened up with filter or sample-and-hold action, but you need to play way up the neck for best results. Okay, so it’s not going to appeal to Oasis tribute bands, but proggers and funk fiends may well be tempted by this eccentric beast.

Red Witch Violetta Delay

£120

Rechargeable echo machine Violetta is the first in a new chrome range of pedals, and is the same size and uses the same lithium ion battery power as its Seven Sisters forerunners. With up to one second of delay, it has loads of variation, while analoguestyle voicing on the repeats, plus adjustable modulation, serves up a tasty retro vibe. You can also connect an expression pedal to control the number of repeats and send them off to infinity. It all makes the Violetta one cool and versatile delay for tight pedalboard spaces.

At A Glance

Red Witch Violetta Delay Features  sound quality  Value for money  Build Quality  USability  Overall rating 

SUMMARY

SUMMARY

SUMMARY

Red Witch Synthotron Features  sound quality  Value for money  Build Quality  USability  Overall rating 

SUMMARY

Controls: Fuzz God II: Volume, fuzz, width, sputter, gain doubling, treble boost, internal trim pot for bias Empress: Mix, depth, voice, velocity, vibe/chorus, bright Synthotron: Octave, level, decay (ch1, ch2), trem, velocity, dry, sample/hold, Red Witch Fuzz God II  range, velocity Violetta: Features  Delay, mix, mod, repeat sound quality  Sockets: Input, output Value for money  (except Empress Chorus: Build Quality  2x outs), power, expression USability  pedal (Violetta only) Overall rating  Power: 9V battery, 9V PSU (Fuzz God II, Empress Chorus), 9V PSU (supplied, Synthotron); Red Witch Empress rechargeable ion battery or 9V Features  PSU (Violetta Delay) sound quality  bypass: True Bypass Value for money  Contact: Sounds Great Build Quality  Music 0161 436 4799 USability  www.redwitchpedals.com Overall rating 

maY 2014

89

REVIEws

TC Electronic / Boss

TC Electronic Ditto X2 Looper £145 The effects firm dittos the Ditto

We

Boss DS-1X Distortion

Type: Looper pedal Controls: Loop level, loop store/delete/ backing track level switch, FX switch Sockets: 2x inputs, 2x outputs, power, USB Bypass: True bypass Power: 1x or 2x 9V batteries, 9V power supply (not included) Contact: TC Electronic 0800 917 8926 www.tcelectronic.com

Features  sound quality  Value for money  Build Quality  USability  Overall rating 

SUMMARY

To undo/redo, hold the switch, and double-tap to stop – or use the dedicated FX footswitch. The effects are great fun to use – half-speed slows your loop and transposes it down an octave, while reverse offers huge soundscape potential. Transferring loops is as easy as just dragging and dropping on your computer, although the pedal can only store one loop or audio file at once. TC understands looping: keep it simple, and you’ll want to play more. For crafting song ideas and solos, the X2 works a treat, and the extra stop switch and effects make it a lot of fun for live use, too. If you have the ’board space, the X2 is well worth the upgrade. Michael Brown

SUMMARY

loved the original Ditto, and although the X2 loses the tiny form factor, its raft of new features still retains the Ditto’s simplicity. For starters, you now have a dedicated switch to stop your loop, which you can also use to activate two new effects: reverse, and half-speed. Plus, you can now save your loops and transfer them to and from your computer. The original Ditto’s key features remain, though: five minutes of loop time, unlimited overdubs, plus true bypass and analogue dry-through, which keep your tone intact. The X2 is as easy to use as its predecessor: tap the loop footswitch once to start recording, again to play, again to overdub.

Features  sound quality  Value for money  Build Quality  USability  Overall rating 

£139

X-rated digital dirt

The

DS-1 is one of the most iconic pedals of all time, but let’s be clear: this isn’t the DS-1 mark II; the DS-1X is very much its own beast. As well as the gleaming panel and array of knobs (level, low, high and dist), this pedal packs Boss’s MultiDimensional Processing (MDP), which promises ‘ideal distortion tones in every register’. We’re still not entirely sure how MDP works, but there’s no doubt that the DS-1X offers a playing experience unlike any other distortion pedal. There’s remarkable note clarity, even on heavily distorted chords, with no mud or mush, no matter how high you crank the gain. The same goes for high and low notes at the

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MAY 2014

extremes of the fretboard, which retain even, cutting tones right across the frequency spectrum. Gain-wise, the DS-1X has more than you’ll ever need – we found that anywhere past 12 o’clock was too much for even the heaviest of metal, although you’ll yield some whopping sustain from higher settings. The high control deserves special attention, too, since fizz and sharpness can creep in with hefty gain levels. The guitar world is saturated with distortion pedals, and this is by no means cheap, but if you’re constantly switching between rhythm and lead and can’t settle on a middle ground, the DS-1X could be just the pedal you’re looking for. Michael Brown

Type: Distortion pedal Controls: Level, low, high, dist Sockets: Input, output, power Bypass: Buffered Power: 9V battery, 9V power supply (not included) Contact: Roland UK 01792 702701 www.roland.co.uk

gear

accessories

IsoAcoustics ISO-L8R430 stand   Sound on stand

Korg PitchHawk-G Tuning ’Hawk It feels like a new headstock tuner appears every five minutes, but it’s worth paying attention when it comes from tuning veteran Korg. The PitchHawk-G has a bright, clear display – visible from any angle thanks to a sat nav-like movable arm and ball joint – while the sturdy rubber-cushioned grip ensures it won’t fall off your guitar. We used the ’Hawk with a variety of electrics and acoustics, and it lived up to its lightning-fast tracking promise with +/- one cent accuracy: we were impressed with the capo mode and automatic power off, too. It may not be the smallest headstock tuner on the market, but the PitchHawk is the culmination of years of refinement, and it shows. (£23.99, www.korg.com)

Ernie Ball MVP Most Valuable Pedal Magnificent Volume Pedal This is no ordinary volume pedal; Ernie Ball’s MVP includes a whopping 20dB boost to up your gain for solos, while the treadle allows you to cut the volume back for rhythm playing. It’s a great idea, and the built-in boost works brilliantly, offering an organic way of wringing extra dirt from your amp, as well as full control over your gain levels. You can use the MVP as a regular volume pedal, too, if you like, thanks to the provision of individual controls for the heel-down and toe-down settings. At this price, the Most Valuable Pedal certainly lives up to its name, but plenty of players could find a use for this Ball in their signal chain. (£189, www.ernieball.com)

You might not have considered an amp stand before, but it can make a big difference. This offering has three main benefits: it tilts your amp back (aiming the sound at your ears, rather than your feet), raises it off the floor, and isolates it from other surfaces. The stand is surprisingly sturdy – we wouldn’t put a 4x12 on there, but for combos, it’s ideal. Sound-wise, it imbued our Vox AC15 with less low-end flub and a clearer midrange. There are cheaper stands, but the IsoAcoustics’ effects are worth experiencing. (£79, www.isoacoustics.com)

MusicNomad Fretboard F-One Oil Clean ’boards, Nomad-a what Every now and then, you’ll want to give your guitar’s fretboard a clean to keep it playing smoothly – MusicNomad’s Fretboard F-One Oil is one option for a dirt-free ’board. It avoids commonly used ‘lemon’ oil and works on all unfinished rosewood, ebony and maple fretboards. Although its mixture of ultra-refined tree and seed oils can make your guitar smell like a garden centre up close, F-One Oil cleans and protects your ’board. It certainly brought silky playability back to the guitars we tested it on, and since you only need to use a tiny bit each time, one bottle will last ages, too. (£9.99, www.musicnomadcare.com)

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91

fix your guitar Truss rod adjustment

fix your guitar In association with Haynes

tools required ❑ Allen key ❑ Feeler gauge ❑ Phillips screwdriver

Truss rod adjustment The introduction of the adjustable metal truss rod by Gibson’s Thaddeus McHugh in 1921 enabled accurate setting of ‘relief’ in the fretboard Setting the correct neck relief Electric Guitar Manual by Paul Balmer (Haynes Manuals), priced £19.99, is available now from www.haynes.co.uk.

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MAY 2014

With a new set of light gauge strings set at normal A440 pitch, the neck of an electric guitar should be almost straight, but with a small concave tendency that allows the strings to vibrate freely – this is referred to as ‘relief’.

Recommended neck relief Neck radius

RELIEF

7.25"

0.012" (0.3mm)

9.5" to 12"

0.010" (0.25mm)

15" to 17"

0.008" (0.2mm)

gear

1

2

3

4a

4b

5

1

Check your tuning (which should be at standard A440 pitch or your preferred and consistent ‘custom pitch’). Next, we need to check the neck for relief – is it straight, or bowed either convex or concave? Install a capo at the 1st fret and depress the sixth string at the last fret.

2

With a feeler gauge, check the gap between the bottom of the string and the top of the 8th fret. See the specification chart (left) for the correct gap. This will vary depending on the radius of your particular

fix your guitar

neck type. If the neck is too concave (indicated by too big a gap measured with the feeler gauge) then you may consider adjusting the truss rod. If your truss rod is adjusted at the body end of the neck, check step three. Otherwise, read on.

3

Slacken the strings. On some Strat-style guitars, you'll need to use a No 2 Phillips screwdriver to carefully unscrew the four neck bolts to around 1/8-inch at the top and one inch at the ‘back’ – this should be enough to tilt the neck back for access to the truss rod screw.

4

Adjust the truss rod screw a quarter-turn clockwise. Alternatively, if the neck is too convex (that is, the strings are too close to the fingerboard), turn the truss rod nut a quarter turn anti-clockwise to loosen the rod, and allow the string tension to pull more relief into the neck.

5

Checking that any shims are correctly reseated, replace the neck (if removed) and re-tension the strings to correct pitch. Recheck the relief gap with the feeler gauge and readjust as required. MAY 2014

93

techniques

guitar workout

Your 12-minute workout guide… 1.  CHOOSE AN EXERCISE… EX 1 Playing octaves along the strings Three minutes EX 2 Splitting and

sliding octaves Three minutes

EX 3 Playing across the strings

Three minutes

EX 4 Modern jazz lick

Three minutes

2.  SET YOUR METRONOME This month’s workout isn’t necessarily focused on speed, but your practice routine will be enhanced by playing to a metronome at different tempos. We’ve suggested tempos beside each exercise. 3.  START THE STOPWATCH… All of this month’s exercises are suitable for all players to attempt. Either dip in and try the exercise that interests you most, or for a tougher challenge mix and match any or all of the exercises. Make sure you don’t stop before three minutes have passed, though!

tracks 33-36

Octaves

Supersize your tone and improve your technique with TG’s octave-shape workout an octave is equal to 12 semitones. Play the two notes together and you can fatten leads, or use the driving sound to take your soloing to the next level. Whether you play them clean or dirty, octaves are an essential technique you can’t ignore, whatever style you play. The octave sound is widely associated with jazz guitar; jazz

guest lesson alex skolnick p101

legend Wes Montgomery popularised the technique during the 1950s. The story goes that he used his thumb instead of a pick to play them so that he could practise without upsetting his neighbours, although we can’t verify the truth of this! Such was Montgomery’s far-reaching influence that players as diverse as Jimi Hendrix, Slash, Steve Vai,

ear training p105

Billie Joe Armstrong, Larry Carlton, George Benson and many more incorporated octaves into their technique. Octaves may seem confusing at first, especially when you’re playing across several strings, but if you follow TG’s exercises and routines, you’ll soon be up to speed, and don’t forget to mute idle strings!

Grades: ROCK SCHOOL p106

Grades: RGT p107 MAY 2014

97

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techniques String Bending TGR253.workout.fig01.mus

Octaves Guitar Workout

File Date: 15:52 10/3/14 Page 1 of 1

Contributor: Phil Capone Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com

ExNotes: 1 [Description]

track 33 Start your workout by playing octave shapes along the first and third strings.........................

. .

œ œ

œ œ

8

12

10

8

5

9

7

5

œ œ

7

10

4

7

œ œ

5

8

2

5

.. . .

1

use your first and fourth fingers to form the octave shape here. Angle your first finger so that the tip mutes the fourth string while the side simultaneously mutes the second string. If you can mute the idle strings, you should be able to strum with confidence.

TG TIPS

Focus on the first string rather than following the line on both strings

YOUR workout routine… 1

80 bpm

45 seconds

2 3

95 bpm 110 bpm

45 seconds 45 seconds

4

125 bpm

45 seconds Billie Joe Armstrong plays octaves with Octaves typical punky aggression

20-second challenge Play the lick on the fourth and second strings

TGR253.workout.fig02.mus File Date: 15:52 10/3/14 Page 1 of 1 Notes: [Description]

Guitar Workout Contributor: Phil Capone Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com

Ex 2

© Getty Images

T A B

œ œ

œ œ

œ œ

œ 4 . . &4 œ

q = 80-125

track 34 Split up the octaves and pick the strings separately for a tougher fret-hand challenge....... & 44 .. œ T A B

. 12 .

œ

œ

œ

15

œ

œ

œ

12 12

œ

œ

œ

10

9

9

7

œ

œ

8 7

5

5

1

The notes should ring out separately without bleeding over each other, so make sure that you release pressure from your fretting finger as soon as you’ve picked each note on the first string. This lick can be played using ‘pick and fingers’ style hybrid picking if you like.

YOUR workout routine… 1

80 bpm

45 seconds

2 3

95 bpm 110 bpm

45 seconds 45 seconds

4

125 bpm

45 seconds

20-second challenge Reverse the concept by sliding the notes on the first string

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MAY 2014

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. ˙ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2

. .

TG TIPS

Watch your first finger; it’ll lead your fourth finger into place

Octaves were just a tiny part of Jimi’s awesome arsenal of techniques

© Getty Images

q = 80-125

|

techniques guitar workout Octaves

TGR253.workout.fig03.mus File Date: 15:52 10/3/14

Ex 3

Guitar Workout

Page 1 of 1 Notes: [Description]

Contributor: Phil Capone Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com

track 35 Upgrade your jazz skills as you try out this string-shifting octave exercise............................ q = 80-125

œ œ

œ & 44 .. œ T A B

. .

7

9

5

7

œ œ

œ œ

8

10

5

7

œ œ 8 5

œ œ

œ œ

10

8

7

5

œ œ

.. . .

9 7

1

use your first and fourth finger to fret the octave shapes here. You’ll need to decrease the span of your fingers slightly to form the two-fret shape when playing lower notes on the fifth string. Keep applying the string-muting technique from our first exercise as you move across the strings.

Wes Montgomery is often credited as a pioneer of octave playing

YOUR workout routine…

© Redferns

TG TIPS

1

80 bpm

45 seconds

2 3

95 bpm 110 bpm

45 seconds 45 seconds

4

125 bpm

45 seconds

Use your thumb to strum the octave shapes with a downward motion

Ex 4

20-second challenge Play the lick in a different fretboard position. Don’t change any notes!

TGR253.workout.fig04.mus File Date: 15:51 10/3/14

Octaves Guitar Workout

Page 1 of 1 Notes: [Description]

Contributor: Phil Capone Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com

track 36 Slides and funky rhythms make this modern jazz lick a tough exercise to finish on............ q = 60-105

& 44 .. T A B

. .

j #œ #œ

œ. œ

11 12 8

9

nœ nœ

œ œ

11

10

8

8

7

5

j œ œ

‰

œ œ J

‰

10

j œ œ 9

7

7

œ. œ 8 5

œ œ 8 5

œ œ

œ œ

..

Œ

. .

10 7

1

TG TIPS Select your neck

© Redferns

pickup and roll off the tone for an authentic jazz sound

George Benson is one of the finest jazz guitarists around

This bluesy and funky lick is typical of George Benson’s octave style. Keep the notes short by quickly releasing the pressure from your fretting. As before, use your first and fourth fingers to form the octave shapes, and make sure you’re muting all the idle strings.

YOUR workout routine… 1

60 bpm

45 seconds

2 3

75 bpm 90 bpm

45 seconds 45 seconds

4

105 bpm

45 seconds

20-second challenge Transpose the lick to a different key signature

MAY 2014

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|

techniques gue

guest lesson

Alex Skolnick

video lesson

w w w.bit .l

y/tg 2 53 a

le x

Testament’s Alex Skolnick leads the way from rock to jazz in TG’s three-part lesson

licks using major 7th, minor 7th Alex Skolnick came to and dominant 7th chords. prominence in the 1980s as Each of these chords creates a guitarist with thrash metallers Testament, and was regarded as different atmosphere, which are useful to be able to tap into. Alex one of the leading players of the genre. Throughout the 90s, Alex begins by playing the chords as arpeggios. The arpeggios are stepped away from thrash into Guest Lesson similar, but the seemingly small jazz, and has toured the world note differences actually have a and released acclaimed albums Alex Skolnick huge effect on the sound.Griffiths Add in with the Alex Skolnick trio. Contributor: Charlie a few additional chromatic notes This month, Alex introduces Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com and, as Alex demonstrates, some of his approaches to jazz, you’re quickly in jazz territory. and, in particular, how he builds

TGR253.guest_skolnick.fig01.mus File Date: 07:37 18/3/14 Page 1 of 1 Notes: [Description]

Dm7 Arpeggios œ & b 43

Dm7

T A B

7

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

3

3 5

6

8

5

6

7

œ 12

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

3

3

10

œ

10

13

10

10

œ

12 10

3

œ

œ

7

8

œ 10

3

œ 7

œ 8

œ 10

1 TGR253.guest_skolnick.fig02a.mus TGR253.guest_skolnick.fig02b.mus Guest Lesson File Date: 15:36 18/3/14 File Date: 15:38 18/3/14 Alex Skolnick Here, Alex notes (D1Fof A C) but these three Charlie positions are a Page 1 of 1 plays the notes of a Dm7 chord as different arpeggio shapes. These four Page 1 can be found all over the neck,Contributor: Griffiths good start. Notice that bars 1 and 2 are exactly the same in pitch, but bar 3 is an octave lower. Notes: [Description] Notes: [Description] Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com

Words and transcription: Charlie Griffiths Picture: Tom Couture

Adding chromatic notes & b 44 T A B

4

œ 8

3

nœ 7

2

bœ 6

3

Transportable lick bœ 7

1

˙ 5

1

œ & b 44 4

T A B

8

3

bœ 7

2

œ 6

3

œ 7

1

˙ 5

1

Alex makes the arpeggio sound jazzy by filling gaps between notes with ‘chromatic’ notes. Use one-finger-per-fret starting at the 5th fret.

This lick is the same shape as the previous lick, but starts on the second string. Alex calls this his ‘transportable lick’, and it’s a phrase he uses a lot.

may 2014

101

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TGR253.guest_skolnick.fig03.mus techniques guest lesson File Date: 08:12 18/3/14

Guest Lesson Alex Skolnick Contributor: Charlie Griffiths Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com

Page 1 of 1 Notes: [Description]

Alex Skolnick continued… D minor jazz lick & b 44 T A B

œ

nœ

bœ

8

7

6

œ

bœ

5

7

œ

œ

6

5

œ 7

nœ

bœ

œ

8

7

6

œ

œ

œ

œ

7

5

5

7

w

œ

7

7

TGR253.guest_skolnick.fig04b.mus

1

File Date: 15:39 18/3/14

This lick combines the previous two licks into a longer phrase that will sound great over a Dm7 Page 1 ofchord. 1 Your aim is to play the lick as smoothly and in as relaxed a manner as possible, so practise it in small chunks at a slow tempo until your fingers know what to do.

Notes: [Description]

II-V chords

II-V arpeggios Dm7

A II-V x x progression 1 is when you play 5 1 two chords using the second and 2 fifth notes of the TGR253.guest_skolnick.fig05.mus major scale as their root notes. File Date: 07:46 18/3/14 Dm7 and G7 are the II and Page 1 of 1 V chords in the Notes: [Description] key of C. Dm7

& b 44 œ

œ

T A B

3

x 1

3

1

1

1 1 2

œ 2

G7

œ

nœ

5

4

œ

œ

3

3

Guest Lesson Alex Skolnick Contributor: Charlie Griffiths This lick outlines Dm7 and G chords. Jazz players tend to think of each chord separately, each with its ownEngraved scale options.by DigitalMusicArt.Com 5

1

G7

D minor jazz lick 2 & b 44 T A B 1

œ 5

œ 3

œ

œ nœ

2

5

œ bœ

œ

3

3

4

7

6

œ 5

œ

œ nœ bœ

œ

8

6

5

7

6

œ

œ œ œ

6

5

7

˙.

8

TGR253.guest_skolnick.fig06b.mus

File Date: 15:41 18/3/14 This lick incorporates notes from Dm7 and G7 as well as chromatic passing notes.Page When picking, 1 of 1try moving your pick smoothly from string to string in the most economical way possible. For example, the first three notes can be played with one smooth downstroke. This lick will sound excellent over a Dm7 chord. Notes: [Description]

Dmaj7 chord This chord is the shape Alex bases his arpeggio and lick on. It’s the same as an open Cmaj7 shape moved up two frets and played as a barre chord.

Dmaj7 arpeggio x

x 1

2 3 4

may 2014

1

# & # 44 œ

Dmaj 7

T A B

5

3

œ 4

œ 2

œ 2

3

œ 2

œ 4

˙ 5

1

Dmaj7

102

œ

When you use arpeggios for lead lines, aim to only fret one note at a time. Make sure each note is the right length by releasing pressure on the string.

|

TGR253.guest_skolnick.fig07.mus

Guest Lesson techniques guest lesson Alex Skolnick

File Date: 07:51 18/3/14

Contributor: Charlie Griffiths Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com

Page 1 of 1 Notes: [Description]

D major jazz lick # & # 44 T A B

Dmaj 7

œ 4

œ

œ

4

5

œ 2

œ

œ

2

5

œ

œ

2

3

œ

œ #œ

2

5

Bm7

œ

œ

4

2

5

œ

œ

3

2

œ #œ nœ œ ˙.

Dmaj 7

œ

5

4

4

3

2

4

TGR253.guest_skolnick.fig08b.mus File Date: 15:45 18/3/14

1

Pagehow 1 of This lick uses notes from Dmaj7 (D F# A C#) and also Bm7 (B D F# A) arpeggios; notice the1two chords share three notes. Using two arpeggios gives the lick a sense of movement. Alex plays a G# note in bar 1 that hints at the D Lydian mode (DNotes: E F# G# [Description] A B C#) and sounds great over a Dmaj7 chord.

D7#9 chord

D7#9 arpeggio # D7 9

x

# & # 44 œ

x

Most rock players know this 4 chord as the ‘Hendrix’ chord, 2 but it is also a TGR253.guest_skolnick.fig09.mus very common sound heard in 18/3/14 File Date: 07:54 jazz music.

1 3

T A B

6

œ

œ

3

˙

Guest Lesson Alex Skolnick 1 Contributor: Charlie Griffiths Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com Here, Alex plays the notes one at a time to create the arpeggio. These are

4

Page 1 of 1 Notes: [Description]

#œ œ nœ 3

Dm7

5

4

5

5

4

5

the best notes to play over the chord to make up melodies and licks.

Adding ‘altered’ notes # & # 44 œ

T A B

5

3

4

6

nœ

#œ

œ

bœ

œ

5

œ

3

4

œ

w

6

5

TGR253.guest_skolnick.fig10.mus Guest Lesson 1 File Date: 08:13 18/3/14 Alex Skolnick Page of 1 chord has a tense, dissonant sound – and jazz players love to exploit and enhance the effect. Here, Alex adds b 2nd and Contributor: Griffiths The1 ‘Hendrix’ #5th intervalsCharlie to the D7#9 arpeggio. Both of these intervals are dissonant sounding and serve to increase the tension; jazz players call these tense intervals ‘altered’by notes. Notes: [Description] Engraved DigitalMusicArt.Com

Dominant 7 ‘Superlocrian’ lick # œ bœ nœ #œ œ nœ nœ #œ œ nœ bœ & # 44 œ b œ œ # œ n œ T A B

5

6

4

3

5

3

4

6

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3

4

œ nœ #œ œ nœ bœ œ 3

5

3

4

3

6

˙

5

1

This lick takes the sound of the ‘Hendrix’ chord to its ultimate conclusion using the slightly scary-sounding D ‘Superlocrian’ scale. The theory is complicated, so ditch it for now. Just learn Alex’s lick and try to develop your ear for the sound of this Superlocrian line and how the D7#9 chord fits in.

may 2014

103

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techniques gue

ear training intervals

Learn the sound

Minor 3rds

1. Find minor 3rds in songs you know The first two powerchords of Black Sabbath’s Iron Man riff are a minor 3rd interval apart. As are the first two chords of Smoke On The Water by Deep Purple. 2. Upwards, downwards and together As the sound of the minor 3rd becomes more familiar to your ears, listen out for musical examples where the notes ascend, the notes descend, and both notes are played together.

© Andrey Popov/iStock

In this month’s instalment of our series on the sound of intervals, we move on to the gloomy minor 3rd

the three-fret minor 3rd interval has a dark, gloomy sound, and it is often used for this particular sonic effect. Minor 3rds are also the most important interval in minor chords. For example, an Am chord uses the root note of the scale (A), the vital minor 3rd (C) and the 5th (E). An A major chord uses a major 3rd (C#) instead. Compare the two chords, and you’ll hear how the 3rds strongly affect the sound. The minor 3rd will only cause that dark, gloomy sound when it is the lowest interval of the chord, ie, when it starts on the root note. In fact, an A major chord actually contains a minor 3rd interval between the C# and E notes, but you simply don’t notice it. With thanks to Easy Ear Training. For more, visit www.easyeartraining.com

1

1

1

1

1

1

Minor 3rds on single strings 4 4 4 4 4 4

track 37

3. Build chords using 3rds Try stacking major and minor 3rds on top of each other to construct your own chords (remember, a major 3rd is a four-semitone interval). Try playing the notes in different octaves to make your chord shapes easier to play.

Learn the shapes Minor 3rds on string pairs – single notes and diads

track 38-39

1

1

1

1 2

3 3 3 3 3

Minor 3rds are really easy to play on the guitar. On a single string, a minor 3rd is just three frets higher than its root note, so you shouldn’t have to stretch or change position. Played across two strings, the gap between your fingers is even smaller.

may 2014

105

video lesson

get your grades!

rockschool / lesson two / grade four

w w w.bit .l

y/tg 2 53 ro

Funk ’O’ Meter

ck

You’ve tried the chords, now lock into Funk ’O’ Meter’s rhythm the intro of Rockschool’s Grade Four piece, Funk ’O’ Meter, features the dominant 7th chords TGR253.grades_rock.fig01.mus from lesson, with a File last Date: 09:25played 17/1/14 rhythm that moves away from the Page 1 of 1 beat. It’s important to play these Notes: [Description] rhythms accurately, so you must practise them beforehand.

This lesson shows you a great technique to help you lock into a song’s groove. 16th-note ghost strumming is when you keep your hand moving up and down in constant 16th-note rhythm, yet only strike the strings on particular strums. The silent strums are

called ‘ghost’ strums. Keeping Grade Four Book your hand constantly moving in time with the music means you Rock School Grade 4 Buy the Rockschool keep feeling the rhythm, which Rock Grade Four School book to makes you less likely to strike a get the rest ofUings the Contributor: James chord ahead or behind the beat. syllabus. Go to: For more information go toEngraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com www.musicroom.com www.rockschool.co.uk

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Page 1 of 1 Contributor: James Uings Notes: [Description] Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com 16th-note strumming is a technique where you strum four times per beat (down, up, down, up). Start by strumming muted strings as shown in this example. 1

Adding a chord on every beat F#7

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Contributor: James Uings Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com

This example adds a chord hit at the start of every beat. The 16th note strumming continues; you just press down on the strings to sound the chords.

Funk ’O’ Meter intro F#7

n œ. n b n œœœ

# œœ .. & 44 # # œœ .. T A B 1

7 9 8 9

⇥

j n œœ # n œœ

F7

(

≤)

(

⇥)

E7

‰

6 8 7 8

≤

(

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(

≤)

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5 7 6 7

⇥

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≤)

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⇥)

TRACKs 40–41

Eb7

b œ. n b b œœœ ... .

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4 6 5 6

≤

Db7

D7

(

⇥)

(

≤)

bœ n b b œœœ

3 5 4 5

⇥

(

≤)

Here is the intro to the song with the ghost strumming identified. Be sure to watch the video to see all the steps required to reach this point.

106

MAY 2014

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2 4 3 4

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techniques gET YOUR Grades

rGT / Performance Award / Preliminary Grade

Rhythm playing

video lesson w w w.bit .l

y/tg 2 53 rg

t

Grade Five Book

TG takes a further look at RGT’s Preliminary Level Performance Award At Preliminary Level, the main part of RGT’s electric guitar Performance Award is rhythm playing. For this section of the exam, all you need to do is choose TGR253.grades_rgt.fig01.mus two chord progressions from File Date: 09:33 3/3/14 RGT’s handbook that you want to Page 1 of 1 Once you’ve play through. Notes: [Description] practised the chord shapes, you

RGT is the UK’s only specialist guitar examination board. You can download a free Performance Awards syllabus and find a registered guitar tutor to help prepare you for RGT exams at www.RGT.org.

Preliminary Level rhythm-playing chord chart is provided below. At this level, no complex rhythm playing is expected; a simple fourdownstrokes-per-bar approach Rhythm chord chart (with occasional upstrokes, if you RGT like) would be fine. Check out TG’s audio/video for an example of the Contributor: Tony Skinner Engraved by DigitalMusicArt.Com type of rhythm that could be used.

just need to be able to strum a rhythm and change smoothly from one chord to the next. When your playing is up to scratch, you can then upload either an audio recording or a video recording of your performances or, if you prefer, attend an exam venue and perform live. A typical

Preliminary Grade chord chart 44 ..

’ ’ ’

Slowly

Em

1

D

TRACK 42

’ ’ ’

C

’ ’ ’

B7

’ ’ ’ ..

’ ’ ’

Am

Em

’ ’ ’

This CHORD chart example from RGT’s Preliminary Grade handbook is marked ‘Slowly’, so don’t be tempted to rush your playing. Instead, focus on ensuring that the chords are accurate and clear, and that you are changing fluently between them.

Preliminary Grade chords o o o

o

x x o

x

o

o

x

o

1 1

2 3

2 3

Em

D

o

1 2

2

x o 1

3

4

2

3

3

C

B7

Am

These are the chord shapes for this month’s chart. Avoid striking strings marked with an X; only in the Em chord should all six strings be strummed. Play only the first, second, third and fourth strings in the D chord; play the first to fifth strings in the other chords.

MAY 2014

107

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may 2014

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The Danelectro Cool Cat Drive is a good-looking, retro overdrive pedal that responds just like a valve amp would; low end/mids increase with gain – saturating and fattening the overdrive. Knock back the drive, keep the volume up, and the sound cleans up to a driving rhythm tone that’s good for those nice crunching chords. Beside the usual controls, the Danelectro Cool Cat Drive has an Input Sensitivity trim pot that allows the user to customise the drive to suit their guitar – match it to single coil or humbucker output levels for optimum response. It also has a ‘Lo Fi’ DIP switch so you can choose a second frequency range for an increasingly raw, unrefined drive tone. www.danelectro.com

may 2014

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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 notational system used to give detailed information as to where notes should be played on the fretboard. Tab appears underneath conventional music notation as six horizontal lines that represent the strings of the guitar, from

Unfretted strings are shown with a ‘0’. The key and time signatures are shown in the traditional notation. TG also includes a timestamp to tell you where in the original track you’ll find each example. Finally, a tempo marking is expressed in beats per minute.

the sixth (thick) string at the bottom to the first (thin) string at the top. On these lines, numbers represent the frets where you should place your fingers. For example, an A note on the 2nd fret, third string, will be shown as a number ‘2’ on the third line down on the tab.

FRET BOXES: chords, scales and capo notation Hand labelling 3

2

Nut and Fretboard i

1

m

Chord example

o o o o o o

a

o o o

c

4 T

1

p

2

3

G Here are the abbreviations used for each finger. Fretting hand: 1, 2, 3, 4, (T) Picking hand: p (thumb), i (index), m (middle), a (annular), c (little finger)

This fretbox diagram represents the guitar’s fretboard exactly, as seen in the photo. This design is used for ease of visualising a fretboard scale or chord quickly.

This diagram represents a G chord. The ‘o’s are open strings, and a circled number 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

CAPO 2nd FRET >

CAPO 2nd FRET >

o

x

o

4

1

1

2

2

3

4 4 4 4 4 A major scale

D (C)

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.

1 2 2

3 3

3

A (G)

1 1 1 2 2

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.

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 alternate-picked (down and up-picked) very rapidly and continuously.

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 second note is to be up-picked.

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MAY 2014

your picking hand palm on the strings near the bridge saddles.

with a single sweep. This is often used to augment a rake’s last note.

strumming across the relevant strings in the direction of the arrow head.

|

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 on the string for the second note. Pick the third note and pull-off for the fourth note.

After picking the first note, rapidly alternate between the two notes shown in brackets using hammer-ons and pull-offs.

Pick the first note and then slide to the next. For the last two notes pick the first, slide to the next and then re-pick it (RP).

Sound the notes marked with a square by hammering-on/tapping with your fret hand fingers, instead of picking.

X markings represent notes and strings that are muted by your fret hand when struck by your picking hand.

Bend and Release

re-picked bend

pre-bend

quarter-tone bend

Vibrato

Fret the first note (here, the 5th fret) and bend up to the pitch of the bracketed note, before releasing again.

Bend up to the pitch shown in the brackets, then re-pick the note while holding the bent note at the pitch shown.

silently bend the string up from the 5th Pick the note then bend up a quarterfret (PB5) to the pitch of the 7th fret note, tone (a very small amount). This is pick it and release to the 5th fret note. sometimes referred to as a ‘blues curl’.

Your fretting hand vibrates the string by small bend-ups and releases. Exaggerate this effect to create a ‘wide’ vibrato.

pinched Harmonics

Tapped harmonics

touched harmonics

Place your finger on the note as shown, but sound it with a quick pick hand tap at the fret shown (TH17) for a harmonic.

A previously sounded note is touched above the fret marked TCH (eg, TCH 9) for it to sound a harmonic.

Gargle

Whammy bar vibrato

Bending And vibrato

Harmonics Natural Harmonics

Pick the note while lightly touching the string directly over the fret indicated. A chiming harmonic results.

Artificial Harmonics

Fret the note as shown, then lightly place your index finger directly over ‘x’ fret (AH‘x’) and pick (with a pick, p or a).

After fretting the note in the triangle, dig into the string with the side of your thumb as you sound it with the pick.

Vibrato bar / whammy bar Whammy bar bends

Scoop and doop

The note is picked as shown, then the vibrato bar is raised and lowered to the pitches shown in brackets.

Scoop: depress the bar just before striking the note and release. Doop: lower the bar slightly after picking note.

A Note is sustained then the vibrato bar is depressed to slack. The square bracket indicates a further articulation.

Sound the note and ‘flick’ the vibrato bar with your picking hand so it ‘quivers’. This results in a ‘gargling’ sound!

Gently rock the whammy bar to repeatedly bend the pitch up and down. This sounds similar to fret hand vibrato.

Pick scrape

Violining

Finger numbering

pima directions

Pick hand tapping

The edge of the pick is dragged either down or up along the lower strings to produce a scraped sound.

Turn the volume control down, sound the note(s) and then turn the volume up for a smooth fade in.

The numbers in the traditional notation refer to the fingers required to play each note.

Any kind of fingerpicking requirements are shown at the bottom of the tab notation.

Tap (hammer-on) with a finger of your picking hand onto the fret marked with a circle. Usually with ‘i’ or ‘m’.

Sustained note and Divebomb

Others

MAY 2014

111

The Final Countdown

10

P  op Stars who shouldn’t play the Guitar What a waste: Madge strikes a pose with an ebony Les Paul Custom

9. Niall Horan (One Direction)

There’s nothing worse than a cynically-assembled boy band attempting to bolt on rock credibility with a guitar-toting member. Mind you, TG is a little wary of being too hard on the quiffy man-child, in case we get a sackload of death threats…

8. Jason Orange (Take That)

Listen Jase, there’s no need for you to strum an acoustic on Back For Good: you’ve got the best session blokes behind you for all that. Just sit tight on your little stool, stick to the hip-swivels and handclaps and stop trying to be a proper musician.

7. Gareth Gates

Depressingly, the Pop Idol chump is technically better than most of our heroes, given that he earned his Grade 8 classical guitar at the age of 14. Grudging respect is due, we suppose, but we’d still rather hear Johnny Ramone mishit a power chord any day.

6. Darius Danesh

Every time we see the runner-up from 2001’s Popstars strum an acoustic and make those Bambi eyes, it makes us want to take up violin to disassociate ourselves.

5. Hannah Montana

Miley Cyrus’s alter-ego even has her own threequarter-size Washburn signature acoustic, featuring what Disney describes as “quality tuners, star-shaped fretboard inlays and a great pop-star look”. Try playing that down at The Smashed Glass and see how long you last. Go on, we dare you.

4. The Jonas Brothers

Look at them up there with their earnest little faces, throwing shapes on their Gibson Flying Vs and Explorers. They could almost be real rock stars… were it not for the Disney Channel mouse ears in the top-right corner of the screen.

2. Alvin (The Chipmunks)

Given that rodents don’t even have opposable thumbs, it’s clearly a swizz that the helium-voiced irritant is playing that tapping solo on You Really Got Me. Come on, Dave – put Alvin, Simon and Theodore in a sack, hit it with a spade and drop it into a shipping canal. You know you want to…

3. Jay-Z

Noel Gallagher had previously sneered that it was “wrong” to have a hip-hop headliner at Glastonbury 2008, prompting Jay-Z to open his set by strumming Wonderwall on a white Strat. He’d have got away with it, too – were it not for the oversight that the axe wasn’t actually plugged in. Dave Davies’ iconic solo gets the Alvin treatment

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1. Justin Bieber Is there really a more slappable image than the cover of Justin Bieber’s 2010’s My Worlds Acoustic, with the leatherclad Biebster gazing earnestly down at his fretting hand? Yes, there is, actually – last year’s shots of the pop prince answering the door to his gran buck-naked except for a Gibson acoustic. Expect a TG cover feature and tab for Baby, just as soon as Hell freezes over.

© WireImage Redferns

10. Madonna We’re fine with the onstage nipple flashing. We’re cool about the simulated masturbation. But for us guitarists, there was something deeply offensive about Madge’s noughties Sticky & Sweet tour, which saw the material girl planting hesitant barre chords on an ebony Les Paul Custom. Never has such a drop-dead beautiful guitar been wasted on such a ham-fisted plodder.

The Biebster goes for an earnest look with his Gibson Hummingbird

9000

9015