Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2021 i Total Guitar

Epiphone has finally unveiled its new version of BB King’s hallowed Lucille - after Epiphone artist Emily Wolfe premiered the guitar on Instagram back in February. Now, as you might know, BB actually owned a number of ebony Gibsons including ES-335s, ES-355s and Blueshawk, and he gave the name Lucille to every one of his main guitars after 1949. However, this model is based on the most common: a Gibson ES-335. Unlike regular 335s though, BB favoured his tops without F-holes, which arguably helps to cut down on feedback. So, what we have here is a five-ply, maple-bodied semi-acoustic. Running through the centre of the body is a maple centre block, and the neck is also cut from maple too. The rosewood fingerboard is 22 fret, with the classic Gibson…

Simon is well known for using Fender Stratocasters and a combination of Fender and Marshall amps to create a rich, heavy, biting tone – a single coil pickup in the bridge position is a key part of recreating that bite. Experiment with enough gain to create a heavy sound, but back it off slightly to allow the notes to sound clear. AHIYHis played in D standard tuning (DGCFAD from low to high), which means all six strings are tuned down by two semitones (i.e., two frets). A heavier set of strings would be a good choice for tuning stability.…

1 TRIGGER GRIP Finding a comfortable grip is essential. For a ‘trigger’ grip, place the pick on the side of your index finger. Drop your thumb on top to hold it in place. 2 PAD GRIP A variation on the trigger grip, here the pick is pinched between the pads of thumb and forefinger. 3 PAD-SIDE GRIP Kind of halfway between pad and trigger, the pick is on an angle. Use whichever of these methods feels most comfortable and in control. 4 THREE-FINGER OR MIDDLE FINGER It’s fine to use thumb and two fingers (like James Hetfield, shown here) or thumb and middle finger (like Eddie Van Halen).…

“FROM THE BEGINNING WE SAID NO BOUNDARIES” HESTER CHAMBERS Hester Chambers laughs when she is reminded of a recent headline in the NME: “Wet Leg: ‘We Want to be recognised as guitar heroes’”. It’s funny, she says, because she and Rhian Teasdale – the other half of Wet Leg – are pretty much the exact opposite of the guitar hero archetype. “I’m not really sure how that got to be the headline because we’d actually talked about how neither Rhian nor I are confident guitarists in the slightest!” she begins self-effacingly. “I don’t expect to get to the status of guitar hero. I think it might have come more from the fact that we love guitar music. It definitely sparked something in us seeing bands like Big Thief, and just…

The new Super Deluxe edition of The Beatles’ final album Let It Be kicks off a bonanza of unseen and unheard material, including a brand new stereo mix of the original album, 27 previously unreleased session recordings, a four-track Let It Be EP, and the never released 14-track Get Back mix by engineer Glyn Johns from May 1969. Alongside this treasure trove comes the 3-part documentary The Beatles: Get Back, directed by Peter Jackson, and a tie-in hardback book. Here, we pick ten great previously unreleased moments from the box set that shed new light on the guitar music of the greatest band of all time. Can You Dig It? (Jam) On the original Let It Be album, we got a 51-second snippet of a Beatles jam called Dig It,…

All three guitarists in The Beatles were fine players, but their impressive individual musicianship and unrivalled writing prowess is often overshadowed by the sheer enormity of the group’s success. Here, the aim of our lesson is to apply some of the tried and tested harmonic concepts used by John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison during their eight-year run at the top. That means we’re focusing on chords, progressions and songwriting methods. With a catalogue so iconic and influential it’s fair to say that studying and learning some of the band’s nuts and bolts will benefit your overall musicianship. More importantly, much of what you’ll learn here was so influential that it’s been absorbed into the canon of rock music – so it applies to almost any style of music.…

Welcome to the GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome*) Station! Every issue, TG scours the market for the hottest new gear and brings you transparent reviews that you can trust. From the smallest of accessories that make your life easier, to big investments, such as brand new guitars, amps and effects pedals – if it’s worth your attention, you’ll find it here! HOW WE TEST CURATION Our product selection is driven by our love of gear. We select the most exciting products on the market every month to bring you opinions you can trust. FACE-VALUE REVIEWS We’re not gear snobs here at Total Guitar. We judge it on whether it looks good, sounds good and plays well – not by the name on the headstock. NO SNAKE OIL You won’t find us…

Fender’s refreshes and new lines come thick and fast; you need to give serious thought about buying a new Strat or Tele because the choice is now expansive; over 50 Strat and 40 Tele models – the differences between them often significant. Now there’s more; the Player Plus represents an upgrade to the hugely popular Player Series (the contemporary Mexican ‘standard’). These are not a replacement but an additional range with higher spec to help justify the price. With hum-cancelling pickups, expanded control circuits, locking tuners, block steel saddles for improved sustain and 12-inch fingerboard radius, these specs are significant. A Mexican-made take on the Ultra or even more recent American Professional II? What is clear is just how far the Tele and Strat continue to evolve - beyond body…

It starts simply enough. A clean, isolated fourpowerchord riff demands full attention before the most iconic drum fill of all time turns the song on its head with one of the finest examples of alt-rock’s quiet/loud dynamic. Few albums have ever begun with such a powerful statement of intent as the once-unknown Seattle band Nirvana accomplished with Smells Like Teen Spirit, though neither the band or their label DGC were quite prepared for the world-conquering success of the group’s second album Nevermind. While Teen Spirit is often considered the crown jewel of Nirvana’s career – a song that allowed them to sell 300,000 copies a week of Nevermind in early 1992 – it’s far from the only highlight on an album that, 30 years later, is rightly considered among the…

Reggae perhaps isn’t a genre known for its guitar heroics, but when you choose to pay tribute to one of the most popular artists of all time (of any genre), one is probably all you need. That’s exactly what Guild has done with its new A-20 Marley. Based on the Guild Madeira A-20 acoustic which Bob used to write many of his hits, this dreadnought features a solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides, mahogany neck and 25.5” scale Pau Ferro Fingerboard. The Guild logo lovingly recreates the 70s script vibe of Bob’s Guild, and the great man’s signature is etched into the scratchplate. It comes with a deluxe gig bag, and case candy including a booklet detailing the history of Bob’s own Guild, custom picks and a classy-looking poster…

We’ve never had it so good when it comes to getting great sounds via plugins and modelling in the studio, and IK Multimedia has been at the forefront of this tech since it first launched AmpliTube around two decades ago. But now, the software giant that also brought us the means to play our guitar through our phones has turned its attention to the floor, with four new multi-mode pedals that incorporate its stellar modelling technology in a pedalboard-friendly format. The X-Gear range includes Drive (including fuzz and distortions), Vibe (modulation effects), Time (delays) and Space (reverbs), all with a 100 per cent analogue dry-through signal path, and switchable true/soft bypass settings. Each colour-coded pedal contains 16 algorithms from within its category, offering up an arsenal of classic and contemporary…

60 years ago, Gibson introduced the SG as a new alternative to the company’s Les Paul models. Early examples still bore the Les Paul signature, until Les himself expressed a disdain for its radical design and the instrument was renamed SG (short for Solid Guitar). The SG is a thinner, narrower and lighter guitar than the Les Paul, with easier access to the higher frets, and, though long sitting in the shadows of its esteemed sibling, the SG has inspired an army of loyal users – and it’s a versatile beast... While legendary rockers like AC/DC’s Angus Young and Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi chose it for its stinging leads and powerful rhythm tones, the SG is equally comfortable filling out The Roots’ layered hip-hop tracks courtesy of Captain Kirk Douglas…

1 BOSS RC-600 LOOP STATION Alongside the tabletop-based 505 mkII, Boss is expanding its flagship floor Looping Station at the end of the year. It’s a unit so full of features it could be a one-stop tone shop for some players. Including; six stereo phrase tracks and nine assignable footswitches to controls them; 49 Input FX and 53 Track FX types; over 200 built-in rhythms in styles ranging from pop, rock, latin, jazz, acoustic and electronica. Available December, £527 www.boss.info 2 HARLEY BENTON MINISTOMP EFFECTS If you’re eyeing up that small space you have left on the pedalboard for something, the prices of Harley Benton’s new mini pedal range might be just the excuse you need to fill it. at just 20mA, they won’t take a toll on your power…

We think that both these pedals come into their own on a pedalboard, utilising the FX loop for time-based pedals, and the XLR out to go to the mixing board at gigs. But you could even use it in your amp’s FX loop. It’s startling to hear these pedals runs at 200VDC internally like Blackstar’s valve amps, via an internal boost circuit, despite using a 9V power supply. Unlike the original HT pedals that needed a 22V supply. But take heed, because although pedal power supplies aren’t the most exciting topic, investment is vital. Blackstar provide a power supply but if you want to add it to your own it has to be able to power a 9V pedal at 500MA. Not all pedal power supplies offer this but the…

Both the Ultra and American Pro II Series have helped to usher in the expanded idea of Fender’s classic models; where features such as enhanced circuits and Noiseless pickups aren’t special edition features but becoming... Dare we say it, cornerstones? That’s really something for a brand that has to tread carefully between updates and tradition. These features feel like very strong options in the catalogues for all kinds of players priced out by the Pro II and Ultra guitars. While the enhancements here are significant for playability and tone, it would be nice to see some modernity elsewhere; Fender’s ‘Deluxe’ gig bag included with these guitars isn’t really fit for the name now. We’d like to see a case with enhanced internal and shoulder strap padding from the brand now…

Last year, Mooer’s mini-pedal expertise culminated in a pair of powerful reverbs with seven algorithms apiece, the R7 Reverb and A7 Ambience. These stompboxes divided reverb users into two camps – traditional or ambient – but now Mooer has united both in the super-charged, 14 sound-strong R7 X2. “CONVINCING ROOM AMBIENCE TO SHOEGAZE SWELLS” The X2 feels more premium than its mini-pedal forebears, with knurled metal knobs and soft-touch footswitches – it adds a second footswitch for infinite/ hold, plus operation and individual high and low-cut EQ knobs. Its 14 sounds are represented by seven LEDs, divided into conventional (yellow LEDs) and ambient (purple), each of which has its own preset: hitting both footswitches together enables you to cycle through the sounds, while you can also operate the unit entirely…

What’s an easy way to make a pedal twice as good? Build two of them into one! Fender’s new Dual/Duel versions of its popular Marine Layer Reverb and Pugilist Distortion pedals do just that, but there’s some added spice sprinkled in too. As well as giving you two of everything (that’s two lots of switchable Hall, Room and Shimmer ’verbs), along with twice the control set, Fender has added an infinite sustain circuit to the Dual Marine Layer Reverb (£199). Likewise, the Duel Pugilist Distortion (£179) gives you two distortion channels with gain, level and tone for each - plus a master high/low EQ and blend control. But what’s more, is the ability to select how the two interact via a Mute/Series/Bypass toggle, allowing for stacking and blending. Both pedals…

Barely a year since Biffy Clyro’s eighth record A Celebration Of Endings dropped, The Myth Of The Happily Ever After, a sister album to last year’s release, has arrived featuring this month’s riff. Consider us excited! A Hunger In Your Haunt is in 6/8 time. Counting ‘1 & a 2 & a’ will help you feel the timing, as guitarist Simon Neil’s single-note riff follows this ‘triplet feel’ tightly. Take care as you reach the third powerchord stab though. While the first two stabs land predictably on beats 1 and 2, the third falls on the first ‘&’ of the bar. And though the fourth stab is conveniently on the 2 again, if the third stab upset your rhythm, it’s easy to fluff the timing here too. Practising slowly really…

Pedals were new in the Beatles’ era, so they weren’t big pedal users. That said, their appetite for experimentation meant they were quick to try the newest gear. Unfortunately, there aren’t clear records of exactly what was used where. Still these three pedals will dish up authentic tones: Electro-Harmonix Satisfaction Fuzz (£49) The Maestro Fuzztone was the first fuzz pedal on the market. Better known for powering The Rolling Stones’ Satisfaction, it also provided the Fab Four with their first fuzz foray. McCartney used a Sola Sound Mk 1 Tone Bender, a variation on the same circuit, on Think For Yourself. The EHX will give you the same vibe. Ernie Ball VP Series Volume Pedals (£143-£275) On Yes It Is, George Harrison used a volume pedal. Well, he tried to.…

ALL RIGHT NOW Words and Music by Andy Fraser and Paul Rodgers Copyright © 1970 Blue Mountain Music Ltd. and Catherine’s Peak Music Copyright Renewed All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission Reprinted by Permission of Hal Leonard Europe Ltd. FREE ALL RIGHT NOW Intro (Guitar 1) TRACKS: BIT.LY/TG352AUDIO This is the most prominent of the two guitars in the mix so the 16th note rhythms in bar 3 stand out. Strum downstrokes in bars 1, 2 and 4, but use downstrokes and upstrokes in bar 3. We’ve added pick strokes under the tab for your assistance. FREE ALL RIGHT NOW Intro (Guitar 2) TRACKS: BIT.LY/TG352AUDIO This part is much the same as guitar 1. Aside from the simpler open A chord shapes, the main difference comes in bar 3 where…

Sword From The Stone is a relatively simple strum-along with just a handful of chord shapes, but it’s worth bearing in mind that the 8th-fret capo places the song in C minor. The chord names in brackets will help guide you. They denote the names of the shapes if you were playing them in open position – which is how most of us remember the shapes.…

Valve preamp pedals are not a new concept – and Blackstar should know. It was there at the vanguard with its HT range back in the year of its launch in 2007. The company’s late co-founder and technical director Bruce Keir playing a key role in the design and development of pedals that harnessed valve technology in a compact, floor-based enclosure. It’s a testament to his legacy that the company has named its new range after the team tasked with continuing the innovative work Keir helped start; Department 10. “FOR TONES, THESE ARE TWO OF THE BEST RELEASES OF 2021” The elephant in the room is that the appeal of valve preamp pedals class valve-based amplification, but here they’re pairing that engineering reputation with their more recently developed cab modelling…

Lots of two-piece bands fall into the trap of being quite bluesy,” says Johnny Healey of the amusingly named John, “whereas we’ve always had a punk, hardcore influence. I don’t want to just play power chords – I want to play nice, pretty chords with sevenths in and stuff, but with loads of overdrive, and really fast!” His duo with drummer/vocalist John Newton, John are a force to be reckoned with. The pair met at college in London and bonded over bands they loved – Metz, Ceremony, Protomartyr, Earth, Isis, Fugazi – and soon started making noise in a room. John’s 2017 debut album God Speed In The National Limit and follow-up Out Here On The Fringes were powerful illustrations of their massive garage-y racket, while their arty twist endeared…