TG 2021 - 05

GOJIRA EVA CASSIDY ED SHEERAN
ANOTHER WORLD SONGBIRD AFTERGLOW

*Video riff * Rockschool version
AHOY THERE!
WRITE YOUR
OWN SEA SHANTY
+ WELLERMAN
TABBED
THE NEW
GENERATION
STARRING
Ben
PLUS
Howard
JOHN SMITH
TASH SULTANA MOLLY TUTTLE
STEVE CROPPER
THE OFFSPRING & JON GOMM
RY MOORE
H
How th he Irish rocker
ttook the blues up to 11 REVIEWED
CLAS
C SSIC SRV TAB ! SHEERAN BY LOWDEN
M Had
Mary H A Little Lamb PRS SE CUSTOM 24-08
+ Mode
ern blues lessons BOSS RC-30 LOOPER
EDITOR’S LETTER
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MAY 2021 TOTAL GUITAR

#344
Contents
04
44
THE NEW
ACOUSTIC
GENERATION
TOTAL GUITAR MAY 2021
CONTENTS
MONITOR
06 In The Picture
08 Scene
HOWTO
12Riff Of The Month
Gojira– AnotherWorld
14Get Started With...
Powerchords
FEATURES
16TashSultana
20SteveCropper
26The Offspring
COVER FEATURE
30 BenHowardand John Smith
40 JonGomm
44 TheNewAcousticGeneration
52 Lessons In Looping
LEARN TO PLAY
68Classic Track
05
16
Stevie Ray Vaughan
– MaryHadALittleLamb
76Rockschool
TASH SULTANA EvaCassidy– Songbird
82Open-Mic Songbook
Ed Sheeran – Afterglow
THE GAS STATION

84StartMeUp
86PRS SE Custom 24-08
90SheeranByLowdenW03
92Cort Core-OC Blackwood
94 Boss RC-5
SPOTLIGHT
98 Ruben Wan
26 Download or stream
THE OFFSPRING your audio files at:
bit.ly/tg344audio

MONITOR
PEOPLE ✪ NEWS ✪ NOISE
06

IN THE PICTURE
Words Jonny Scaramanga Photo Jack Robinson/Getty
BEAUTY IN
TENSION ome of the greatest albums
S
of all time turn 50 years old
in 2021 – among them The
Rolling Stones’ Sticky
Fingers, Marvin Gaye’s
What’s Going On, Led
Zeppelin’s fourth, and Joni Mitchell’s Blue.
The latter has long been acclaimed as a peak
of Joni’s career, and in terms of her guitar
playing it was just the beginning of her
tuning adventures. 07
Blue features extraordinary choices: DADAAD
on Carey, Open A major 9 (E-A-C#-G#-B-E)
on California, and open Ab (Ab-Ab-Eb-Ab-C-Eb)
on This Flight Tonight. They allowed extended
chords that are inaccessible in standard tuning.
Joni resented the ‘folk music’ label; her use of
harmony was far more expansive. Despite her
complex chords, it wasn’t jazz either—Mitchell
compared her use of harmony to Debussy. She
found beauty in musical tension, balancing
dissonant sounds to reflect the complex
emotions in her songs. Her fingerstyle
technique, developed because she couldn’t
play like blues pioneer Elizabeth Cotten,
viewed the guitar as an orchestra, treating
the top strings like a horn section and the
low ones like viola, cello, and bass.
While writing Blue, Joni backpacked around
Europe with a dulcimer, an Appalachian folk
instrument normally strummed with a quill.
Joni instinctively slapped and beat the
dulcimer, and when she returned to guitar,
she brought this slapping technique with her.
50 years on, Joni’s percussive approach is still
reverberating in the techniques of modern
slap-n-tap acoustic guitarists.

MONITOR
PEOPLE - NEWS - NOISE
SCENE
YOUR NEWS IN GUITARS
08
ALBUM
“A REAL BUZZ!”
MASON HILL JUST HAD THE NUMBER ONE ROCK ALBUM IN THE UK – AND AS
GUITARIST JAMES BIRD EXPLAINS, IT NEVER WOULD HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT TG
S
cottish rock band and as the band’s guitarist James The band is now preparing for its stage with Zakk Wylde and Black
Mason Hill scored Bird tells TG: “It’s been an absolute Ľuvw#khdgolqlqj#wrxu#lq#Vhswhpehu/# Odeho#Vrflhw|1#Dv#Mdphv#whoov#lw/#
a major kxjh#hļruw#iurp#doo#lqyroyhg/#iurp# with dates across the UK and “I was a Total Guitar subscriber,
breakthrough last the band, everyone behind the Ireland. “The sweaty small venues, and I entered a competition called
month when with band and the fans. It’s superb.” wkh#vwlfn|#ľrruv#dqg#wkh#frog# Guitar Hero. I went to that and won
their debut album Against The Wall The album’s success is good nights unloading the van, all that it.” From there he was asked to
hqwhuhg#wkh#XNġv#RĿfldo#Urfn#)# news for the UK rock scene and for vwxļ#Ğ#zh#ghĽqlwho|#plvv#lw$Ĥ#kh# demonstrate for amp
Metal Album Chart at #1. And this guitar music in general. It follows says. “If this can go ahead in manufacturer Carlsbro, where he
achievement is all the more an uncertain 2020, when Mason Vhswhpehu#lwġv#jrlqj#wr#eh#d#uhdo# was spotted by Wylde’s manager:
remarkable for a band on an Hill’s future looked in doubt. buzz. In the past people maybe ģKh#vdlg#]dnnġv#wrxulqj#zlwk#EOV/#
independent label. The last new “All this time trying to work on thought they could catch us again and to come along. I just got
British independent act to achieve this album, all these years that anytime. I think we all realise now pushed on, started playing, and
this feat was Lonely The Brave have gone by, and then COVID that might not always be the case.” that was it. That was the spark that
back in 2014. comes along and we truly thought James formed Mason Hill with has caused me to never stop
Against the Wall also landed at it was going to put the brakes yrfdolvw#Vfrww#Wd|oru#dw#vfkrro#lq# playing guitar, and it all came
#19 on the main UK album chart, on it,” says James. 2013, and at just 14 he guested on down to that competition.”

SCENE
PEOPLE - NEWS - NOISE
objects of desire
From left: The Double
Neck Marauder,
the Custom Burled
Redwood Strat
and the Sugar
Surprise Strat
09
GUITARS
POP ART
FENDER UNVEILS ITS 2021 CUSTOM SHOP PRESTIGE
COLLECTION, FEATURING “GUITARS WITH NO BOUNDARIES”
I
q#mxvw#wkh#Ľuvw# The result is the Prestige the idea of artwork having two Uhgzrrg#Vwudw#wdnlqj#lqvsludwlrq#
few months of Collection, consisting of one glļhuhqw#orrnv1#Zkdw#orrnv#olnh# from woodworking and resin
2021, we’ve electric guitar or bass creation per simple and beautiful scrolling art on social media and using
already seen Master Builder. This year’s lineup art turns into a sugar skull with techniques more associated with
some features mouth-watering models ľrzlqj#kdlu1#Wkh#hqy|#ri#dq|# furniture and home decor. The
ridiculously with enticing names like Leaves froohfwlrq/#frpsohwh#zlwk#MrvhĽqd# resin top is a new feature for guitar
sweet six-string releases from ri#Whduv/#Vxjdu#Vxusulvh#Vwudw#dqg# hand-wound pickups. builders, and is one of McMillin’s
Fender, including the Mike Tapestry Telecaster, among others. Elsewhere in the collection, favorite aesthetic features along
PfFuhdg|#4<93#Vwudwrfdvwhu/#4<9<# Wkh#diruhphqwlrqhg#Vxjdu# Carlos Lopez’ Double Neck with the inlays which ties the look
Irug#Pxvwdqj#Uhvwr0Prg#dqg#wkh# Vxusulvh#Vwudw#zdv#lqvsluhg#e|# Marauder was inspired by the of the guitar together. Flashy and
Vsdun0R0Pdwlf#Md}}pdvwhu1#Exw# LA-based artist Pamelina, who possibility of combining two of exotic guitars have always been
the company may have outdone approached approaching Paul Lopez’ favorite guitars, the Electric a love of McMillin’s in guitar
itself with the new Prestige Waller with a project of a guitar XII and the Marauder. The guitar making, and he set out to create
Collection, an annual exercise that lights up. The idea was to was designed in collaboration with something that had never come
whereby the Fender Custom create something that would Paul Frank, who shares a very rxw#ri#wkh#Fxvwrp#Vkrs#ehiruh1
Photos Fender
Vkrsġv#Pdvwhu#Exloghuv#duh#jlyhq# wdnh#rq#d#glļhuhqw#ihho#rqfh# similar taste in guitars with Lopez. For more information on all the
a challenge to “build a guitar looxplqdwhg1#Wkh#Vxjdu#Vnxoo# Meanwhile, Kyle McMillin Prestige Collection models, visit
with no boundaries.” theme of the guitar ties together created the Custom Burled www.fendercustomshop.com

MONITOR
“I FEEL
LIKE I’VE
COMPLETED
MY TONE
MISSION”
DREAM THEATER GUITARIST
JOHN PETRUCCI ON HIS NEW
ALBUM WITH LIQUID
10
TENSION EXPERIMENT,
AND HOW HE HAS REACHED
A “PERFECT PLACE” WITH
TRIED-AND-TRUSTED GEAR.
he last couple of years have experimented with different mic combinations direction with the right chord. It’s definitely
T
arguably been the most just for fun, but we’re always able to capture it something all guitar players should focus on
prolific of John Petrucci’s perfectly. I mostly used the Purple Nebula plus and explore.”
career to date – with Dream a basswood Kinetic Blue Majesty, and the
Theater’s 14th album seven-string was my Ember Glow. Those And it’s interesting how you react with the
Distance Over Time followed guitars through the signature Boogie is my other members of Liquid Tension
by his first solo album in 15 years and now the sound. I don’t have to search anymore, Experiment on this album...
long-awaited return of instrumental project it’s just right there!” “Music is a big communication. It’s about
Liquid Tension Experiment (featuring ex-DT listening and knowing when it’s your time
drummer Mike Portnoy). By John’s own You made a playful yet dissonant prog- to shine. Sometimes it’s your job to let other
admission, the studio he works from – which metal opera in a version of George people shine. Just playing over everything isn’t
also serves as Dream Theater’s HQ – has Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue! really the answer. In the case of LTE, there’s
started to feel like a second home... “That Gershwin piece is one of the most definitely a baton that’s being handed from
recognisable pieces of music in the world. Those guy to guy, from instrument to instrument
On this new album, Liquid Tension melodies are so familiar to us. He was a genius – whether it’s the drums, keyboards, bass
Experiment 3, we’re guessing you stuck and used music to be playful or gritty or or guitar that’s being featured at any given
with your signature guitars and amp… ominous. There’s a brilliance in how he did moment. It’s important to be a team player,
“Yes. After all these years of developing the that. Obviously I can’t take credit for the to be in that setting and know when to sit back
guitars, amps and pickups with Ernie Ball Music writing, but knowing which chords conjure and when to step up front. With my playing,
Man, Mesa/Boogie and DiMarzio, I’ve gotten to which emotions is really important. With one I don’t know if it’s a maturity thing or just
this perfect place. Starting with my solo album chord you can make something sound beautiful, a musicality that develops over time, but it’s
and then moving onto this, I feel like I’ve ominous, foreboding, dark, mysterious, certainly become more and more important.
completed my tone mission. I just plug that questioning... Chords elicit that. You can use Thinking like that makes music more dynamic,
guitar into that amp and it sounds unbelievable. them to manipulate the listener, taking people giving it an ebb and flow that also makes it
I’m able to get all the tones that I need. We’ve on a journey by pointing them in the right more emotionally gratifying too.”

SCENE
ALBUM
“I CALL IT O
n the debut album by
Scottish four-piece The
Snuts, lead guitarist Joe
MODERN POP
McGillveray is adding
new pages to the indie
guitar rulebook.
BLUES”
AS LEAD GUITARIST FOR
Influenced first by his father’s record
collection and then by plenty of indie rock
from the early 2000s, this largely self-
taught guitarist has a knack for catchy
lead lines and layered riffs.
THE SNUTS, JOE MCGILLVERAY In describing his style, Joe says: “I call it
modern pop blues”. As he recalls “The
HAS A STYLE BOTH natural thing to do when I was younger
was to put blues licks in every single
CONTEMPORARY AND CLASSIC. space”. Nowadays his relationship with
AND WITH HIS FAVOURITE the genre has matured into an ability to
interact with Snuts frontman Jack
STRAT, A SCREWDRIVER Cochrane’s vocals in a way that evokes
classic call and response, but with added
COMES IN HANDY... pop catchiness and a very modern feel.
Sensitive to compositional dynamics, he
says: “I try and play in the same way that
someone would sing - leaving the gaps
you would need to breathe.”
When it comes to guitars, Joe is
predominantly a Stratocaster man and has
two he relies on: one American and one
Mexican Deluxe with a chunky 70s style 11
headstock. The latter is a particular
favourite, with a maple fingerboard,
locking tuners and comfortable neck
profile. He removes the tremolo arm,
leaving the bridge floating but still usable
for “big feedback reverb-y type noises”.
He laughs: “Every time I get it serviced
they stick it down and then I get the
screwdriver out almost straight
away and lift it up again.”
The album, W.L., is richly varied in
tonality, but much of what you hear
doesn’t come from a hefty pedalboard.
Explains Joe: “The key sound throughout
the album was from going straight into
a Neve console and blowing it up to the
point that it’s spitting and hissing.”
Out of the studio, and without the Neve
at his fingertips, he’s been on a quest to
bring these tones to a live environment,
and uses a Hudson Broadcast and a JHS
Crayon to do so. Both are designed to
emulate classic consoles of the 1960s, and
sit beside an EHX Superego Synth Engine
and an Ibanez Tube Screamer on the board.
As for amps, Joe has long depended on
a Blues Junior but recently acquired
a Victory Duchess and Victory Copper.
Once let loose to gig again, he plans to
run two in tandem - with one for
reverb and another for dirt.

HOW TO WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
Hammer-ons and pull-offs
Natural minor scale
Hand synchronisation
Get the tone CHANNEL DISTORTION

5
7 6
8
0
GAIN BASS MID TREBLE REVERB
Joe Duplantier uses Charvel

guitars, whereas Christian Andreu
opts for Jackson – and both have
signature models. A humbucker-
equipped guitar is vital for the
punch and sustain of the Gojira
sound. The Gojira amp of choice is
the EVH 5150iii and they also have
a dedicated Gojira amp and effect
DAW plugin by Neural DSP. For
a tight, clear sound, experiment
with using slightly less gain to
allow the notes to come through
and add a Tube Screamer-type
overdrive pedal to control the
U RO
low end.
YO E
Bridge humbucker
ON I D
riff of the month
CD
V
GOJIRA
Another World
A
12 nother World#zdv#wkh#Ľuvw#vlqjoh# dqg#lv#sod|hg#rq#wkh#irxuwk#dqg#Ľiwk#vwulqjv1# dqg#nhhs#wkhp#dw#d#vlplodu#yroxph1#Dv#hyhu/#
uhohdvhg#iurp#Jrmludġv# D#sdlu#ri#wzr0qrwh#fkrugv#+F#plqru#dqg#Eb zhġyh#uhfrughg#d#vorz#sod|#wkurxjk#lq#rxu#
iruwkfrplqj#hljkwk#vwxglr# pdmru#gldgv,#irup#wkh#pdlq#sduw#ri#wkh#ulļ/#exw# ylghr#iru#|rx1
doexp Fortitude1#Jxlwdulvwv#Mrh# |rxġoo#eh#sod|lqj#wkhp#dv#kdpphu0rqv#dqg#
Gxsodqwlhu#dqg#Fkulvwldq#Dqguhx# sxoo0rļv#wr#wkh#rshq#vwulqjv/#qrw#dv#vwdqgdug# CHEAT SHEET…
duh nqrzq iru wkhlu wljkw/#srzhuixo#ulĿqj#vw|oh# fkrugv1#Lw#wdnhv#d#olwwoh#sudfwlfh#wr#exlog#xs#wkh# Appears at: 3=3303=55
gudzlqj rq lqľxhqfhv#olnh#Wrro/#Vhsxowxud#dqg# wlplqj#exw#lwġv#d#vlpsoh#sdwwhuq=#grzqvwurnh/# Tempo: ;8#esp
Phwdoolfd/ dqg wklv ulļ#lv#d#eohqg#ri#kdpphu0 kdpphu0rq/#sxoo0rļ/#uhshdw$# Key/scale:#F#qdwxudo#plqru#vfdoh
rqv/ sxoo0rļv dqg rshq#vwulqjv1# Ilqdoo|/#h{shulphqw#zlwk#oljkwo|#sdop#pxwlqj# Main techniques: Kdpphu0rqv/#
Wkh ulļ lv lq G vwdqgdug#wxqlqj#+GJFIDG,# wkh#vwulqjv#dw#wkh#eulgjh#wr#frqwuro#wkh#qrwhv# sxoo0rļv/#sdop0pxwlqj
C D Eb C
G Bb C G
This riff is played in D standard, so you’ll need fourth and fifth strings and can be viewed as second part uses Bb and D. In each case
Photo Getty
to tune the strings down by a tone to DGCFAD two pairs of two-note shapes. The first part you’ll be pulling off from the fretted notes
from low to high. The entire line is played on the of the riff uses the fretted C and Eb notes; the to the open strings.

HOW TO
GETTING
STARTED WITH…
POWER
CHORDS
Slay everyone with rock,
metal, and punk riffs using
just one chord shape
TEN OF THE BEST
These classic riffs show you
what powerchords are about
1 The Kinks – You Really Got Me
F5 and G5 make up the intro riff in this
breakthrough hit from the Davies brothers.
2 Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
Tricky position shifts make Cobain’s era-defining
mega-hit a good ‘next step’ for beginners.
3 Black Sabbath – Iron Man
Of course the inventors of heavy metal used
powerchords. In this case, exclusively...
14
4 Green Day – American Idiot
Like Teen Spirit, the speed and position shifts
make this a challenger. Just practise slowly!
5 The Cars – Just What I Needed
After the intro, you’ll hear dry palm-muted
powerchords backing up the vocal in the verse.
6 U2 – Vertigo
He may be better known for his delay FX riffs, but
this is a badass powerchord riff from The Edge.
7 Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak
The chords are easy enough, but the palm-muting
and offbeat rhythms make this a good workout.
8 Dio – Holy Diver
This is a slow “gallop” style powerchord riff.
9 Ramones – Blitzkrieg Bop
Nearly everything the New York punks played was
based on powerchords or barre chord shapes.
10 Megadeth – Symphony Of Destruction
There’s a short melodic phrase in the mix here, but
the two powerchords are F5 and E5.
eginner guitarists, because powerchords are neither
3
1
3
X X X X
3
X
3
X X X
B prepare to have your life

changed! You can play
any powerchord you like
with just one shape. It’s
easier than most open chords and
with a distorted guitar tone it
actually sounds better.
major nor minor, you can use one
shape for almost everything.
Pdq|#srzhufkrug#ulļv#duh#
played with palm-muting, which
creates a chunky, percussive
sound. To do this, place the side of
your picking hand on the strings
Regular major and minor just where they leave the bridge
chords contain three notes: a root saddles. Keep as close to the
G5 C5
note, a 3rd (which can be major or bridge as possible: too far and
plqru/#lh/#d#glļhuhqw#qrwh,/#dqg#d# you’ll hear an unmusical clunk.
These are the two (very similar) shapes you need to
know. For a fatter sound, try fretting the fourth 5th. A powerchord leaves out that In the right place you’ll hear the
string with your fourth finger on the G5 chord. 3rd interval -the most colourful usual notes, just with a tighter
note- leaving just two notes. So, attack and less sustain.

TECHNIQUE CHECK…
Get your fingers in prime position and your powerchords will rock!
1 ‘CLASSICAL’ 2 ‘COLLAPSED’
THUMB POSITION THUMB POSITION
Keep your thumb Players like Billie
centred on the Joe Armstrong who
back of the neck wear their guitar
roughly opposite low prefer this
on of your fretting thumb position
fingers for for powerchords,
maximum strength which can enable
and stretch. a more relaxed
wrist.
3 STUBBING 4 PALM-MUTING
If your low E string This is where your
keeps ringing out, hand should be for
you can ‘stub’ the palming muting:
tip of your index resting against the
finger against it bridge saddles for
to mute it out. the strings you
want to mute.
15
1 HARD ROCK POWERCHORDS TRACK 07
q =100
A5 G5 C5 A5 G5 A5 G5 A5
.. ..
T . .
B
. 7 5
5
3 7 5 7 7 7 5 7
.
5 3 5 3 5 5 5 3 5
This is a classic hard rock style powerchord riff, but you could apply it to punk and metal, with a bit of sonic experimentation. Try to maintain the powerchord ‘shape’ with
your fingers all the time, so when changing chords you just drop your hand into position.
2 GRADUAL PALM-MUTES TRACK 08
q =110
E5 A5
.. ..
PM PM
PM PM PM
T . .
B
. 9
7
9
7
9
7
9
7
9
7
9
7 7 7 7 7 7 7
.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 5 5 5 5 5
≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ cont. sim.
This riff will help you develop the skill of switching quickly between palm-muted and unmuted picking – essential for punk and metal rhythm parts. Palm-muting is fairly
easy – you just need to find the right spot for your hand. Gradually releasing the palm-mute is more of a challenge, so practise slowly.

TASH SULTANA
oing into 2020, Tash Sultana
G
was riding high. The
singer-songwriter and
multi-instrumentalist, who
lv jhqghu0ľxlg#dqg#xvhv#wkh#
pronoun ‘they’, had sold out
three nights at Brixton Academy before their
debut album even landed. Then Flow State came
rxw/ zlwk lwv uhjjdh0lqľhfwhg#klw#vlqjoh#Jungle.
Tash sold 100,000 concert tickets in their native
Australia, racked up a billion streams across
multiple platforms, and headlined the
legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater just a year
diwhu Ľuvw dsshdulqj wkhuh#dv#d#vxssruw#dfw1#
And then... you know what happened.
Tash, though, did not spend 2020 sitting on
their hands. “I just went full-blown crazy with
being creative. People were literally checking on
me, like ‘Are you okay? Because you’ve been in
the studio for a really long time. Have you
eaten? Have you slept?’ I just vanished.
There’s nothing that I love more than
being alone making tunes.”
The result is Terra Firma, 14 tracks of jazz and
vrxo lqľxhqfhg srs1 FRYLG#vfxsshuhg#Wdvkġv#
16 plans to work with a band, so this album again
sees them playing all the instruments and
producing. You might think guitar takes a back
seat, then, but you’d be wrong. “I always think
there is never enough guitar on records to be
honest. For a period of time I was just hearing
vwxļ rq wkh udglr wkdw grhvqġw#kdyh#jxlwdu#lq#lw1#
I found that really strange. I’m all for the guitar
layering and layering and layering...”
This is the paradox of Terra Firma1#Rq#rqh#
hand, it is all lush production and epic layers
(“My sessions get up to 250 multi-tracks”).
Rq wkh rwkhu/ lwġv sdfnhg zlwk#lpsurylvdwlrq=# roasted maple necks) that are loud and already
ģL mxvw ľrz zlwk zkdwhyhu#Lġp#ihholqj1# sound good before processing. Tash uses
Sometimes it was just a full and utter one-taker GlPdu}lr#Fuxlvhu#dqg#Fkrsshu#slfnxsv/#udlvhg#
and it’s like ‘What the f*ck did I just do?’ I love close to the strings for more volume, and small
to harmonise the guitar. That can be hard if it’s frets “so that I can seamlessly travel up and
improv. I’ve got to dissect what the hell I’ve just down the fretboard.”
played and think of it in harmony positions.” The guitar tones on Terra Firma#duh#ehdxwlixo=#
Tash is a self-confessed perfectionist, at one ultra-clean, but warm and lush. “I’m always
point recording 74 consecutive takes of the going for a really wide neck pickup tone.
same drum track. “My arms were sore and my I like the rhythm guitar with a lot of three-
ears were ringing.” Somehow, though, the dimensional stereo width. The rhythm guitars
record retains a spontaneous vibe. are as clean as possible. I could achieve it better
Such a massive production could be when I moved into digital amps because the
a nightmare to mix, but Tash has qrlvh#ľrru#lv#vlohqw#dv#i-fn1#
a straightforward recording philosophy. ģL#uxq#d#frxsoh#ri#glļhuhqw#vwhuhr#fkdqqhov#
“You want it good before you even have to mix rxw#ri#wkh#jxlwdu1#Rq#wkh#uhfrug#L#glg#p|#hļhfwv#
lw1 L khdu d orw ri shrsoh vd|#wklqjv#olnh#ģzhġoo#Ľ{# dv#soxjlqv#lq#Sur#Wrrov1#L#oryh#wkh#Fkruxv#
it in post”. That’s a band-aid solution. You Brigade plug-in. We’ve got a guitar going
want everything sounding good before it wkurxjk#wkh#hļhfwv#fkdlq#lqwr#dq#D{h0I[#dqg#
hits the console.” then I’ve got it also coming out of two separate
Lwġv wkh vdph dwwlwxgh zlwk#jxlwdu#wrqhv=#vwduw# Nhpshuv1#Wkhuhġv#d#uhdoo|#fohdq#GL#vrxqg#iurp#
with guitars (mainly relic Strats and Teles with wkh#D{h0I[/#qrw#surfhvvhg#uhdoo|/#wkhq#zhġyh#

INTERVIEW
“I WAS
HEARING
STUFF
ON THE
RADIO THAT
DOESN’T
HAVE GUITAR 17
IN IT. I FOUND
THAT REALLY
STRANGE...”
With a billion streams and counting,
singer-songwriter Tash Sultana mixes
jazz, soul and pop on a brilliant new album
– while playing guitar in a style rooted in
classic rock and blues. An artist who
defies categorization, Tash tells TG:
“I just flow with whatever I’m feeling...”
Words Jonny Scaramanga

TASH SULTANA
got one amp emulation coming from “It’s actually two tons worth of weight
each Kemper. I’ll track like that and that I tour with.” Tash has separate
18 then pick one or two. Everything is loopers on each side of the stage, so
always stereo. For Kemper Profiles they can move anywhere and create
I use a lot of Twin Reverb and Princeton, loops as inspiration strikes.
Vibrolux, or Vox kind of tones. Nothing Their secret to great guitar tone,
too fancy, just a present, clean amp. though, is playing well. “Even if you’re
Bit of grit though in it because if I’m not the most technical person it doesn’t
playing live I’ll solo. When I kick on matter. It’s just trying to play clean,
that distortion pedal and wah, always to the click, trying not to fluff
that’s from the Kemper.” up your strings and stuff like that. As
Although the songs have funk and a guitarist sometimes that sh*t takes
hip-hop vibes, the guitar approach is ages. You’re rolling into the studio
still rooted in the blues. First single sometimes and you’re a bit cloudy in the
Pretty Lady opens with a John Mayer- head, and that’s in your guitar playing
esque riff. Tash’s guitar influences as well. I get really frustrated with the
are the classics: “I really love Lindsey guitar when I’m playing it like sh*t.
Buckingham, Jimi Hendrix and John I’m just like “I’ve been playing this
Mayer, and I like the fusion of that. since I was three years old! Why the
I love The Eagles as well, and it’s a little f*ck am I finding this C chord hard
bit of everything. I don’t really know to do today?!”
what my style of playing is or even Even having made such an
the style of music.” accomplished album, Tash is humble.
Although the influences are retro, “I make mistakes all the time. The
Tash is a distinctively 21st Century thing I’m really loving at the moment is
artist: none of what they do on stage learning. I’m enjoying just putting my
would have been possible before that, hand up and saying I don’t understand
from the all-digital guitar rig to what that is, can you explain that to
a custom looper, developed specially me?” This commitment to improving
above over several years, that makes it is all over Terra Firma, showing an
Tash’s debut album, possible to pull off these songs live. artist who is still growing.
Terra Firma
“I GET REALLY FRUSTRATED WHEN I’M PLAYING LIKE SH*T!”

STEVE CROPPER
20
ICON
Steve
Cro er
Words Grant Moon
Photos Michael Wilson
HE’S THE MAN WITH THE MAGIC TOUCH, THE TELE-WIELDING GROOVE MASTER
WHOSE SIGNATURE STYLE SHAPED THE SOUND OF SOUL MUSIC FROM GREEN
ONIONS TO THE BLUES BROTHERS AND BEYOND, AND WHOSE FANS INCLUDED
THE BEATLES. “RHYTHM IS MY THING,” SAYS SOUL SURVIVOR STEVE CROPPER. 21
“I LIKE TO GET PEOPLE DANCING AND ROCKING...”
A
s a member of Booker T & The MG’s, the man they our own. But it can be good to have
call The Colonel helped define the classic 60s a sheet [music chart], even when
‘Memphis Soul’ sound. His oft-imitated Telecaster overdubbing solo licks and fills. I like
sound powers countless hits on the legendary Stax to have that to think what I would
label, he co-wrote classic tunes including Sitting do off of the chord changes. It all
On The Dock Of The Bay with Otis Redding and In depends – for some songs you know
The Midnight Hour with Wilson Pickett, and as the key, so you go to that position on
a producer and player went on to work with greats the neck where you play those solo
such as John Lennon, Jeff Beck, John Prine and Rod Stewart. Now 79, licks in that key. For other songs,
Cropper’s back with new album Fire It Up, and offers TG a few pearls like Soul Man and Dock Of The Bay,
of wisdom gleaned from nearly six decades at the top... you like to follow the changes when
you’re playing the licks. Going back
Keep it simple, and play what I do?’ He said, ‘Just play what you to some of the early jingle sessions
you feel. feel, if they don’t like it they’ll tell I did, I’d be sitting in a room with
When I do a project, I try to keep ya!’ They liked it, so I continued on. 40 or 50 other musicians – string
everything as simple as possible, These days if I’m playing [lead] on players, timpanists – and I’d open
and it’s the same when I write. I try somebody else’s music, they set the up the guitar music and it’d just be
to keep it as close to ‘a long time groove and I just I play by ear to one giant clef in the middle of the
ago’ as I can, too. Usually I’m what I’m hearing. That’s what paper where they’d written, ‘Play it
playing single notes or two strings at I’ve always done. Steve!’ I got a kick out of that, and
a time. On [Sam & Dave’s] Soul Man, so did the session musicians. I think
I just play those first two notes and Reading music is useful they realised after a while that
the audience gets it immediately – (to a point...) I wasn’t reading what they’d
they know what song’s coming. Sure I used to read band charts real quick written for me, I’d just play what
it’s simple, but it’s got an identity. but I haven’t done it in years. At Stax I was gonna play no matter what!
I always go back to what [Stax we were lucky, we got successful
producer/engineer] Chips Moman with our own hit records so we Leave room for spontaneity.
Photo Getty
told me to do. I said, ‘Chip I’ve got all didn’t have to learn a lot of other I like hearing a song for the first
these sessions to play on, what do people’s music, we just kept playing time, I don’t like having to work

ICON
No second guitarist? No problem!
I have really listened through the years
to the Stax songs when they’re on the
radio, and when I was doing solo licks
you don’t really feel the rhythm drop
out. That’s because [MG’s drummer]
Al Jackson was so good at what he did,
but I played the licks melodically, still
within the rhythm, even though I’m
playing fills. Sometimes I’m stepping
on the singer, but I’m really playing
with him at the same time – in the mix
I’m just under the vocals, almost as if
the singer was playing another part to
themselves. The other thing I do is,
when a singer gets through I complete
his melody with the guitar. If you listen
to those records when I play a fill it’s
usually in a hole where there’s no vocal.
I’ll put something in, but drop what I’m
playing rhythm-wise to do it.
Always keep listening.

I do listen to the radio a lot. I listen to
[country star Jimmy Buffett’s station]
something out, I really don’t. I like for shake their booty in their chair! Out Radio Margaritaville, they’ve got a lot of
it to surprise me. If I try to work out playing with Booker, our drummer was reggae; Bluesville, which is BB King’s
[a guitar part] the day or week before always watching the dancers, then on station, and Bluegrass Junction too.
a session usually I can’t play it, or Monday morning in the studio he’d be Whatever they play I’m up for, and if I
22 I forget it. I’d rather be spontaneous. setting the tempo to match what he saw don’t like it I push the button and go
Hearing something for the first time the kids dancing to on the Saturday somewhere else – there’s a lot of
makes me play something I wouldn’t night. That’s where we went, and it channels to pick from. I’m not as up on
have thought of otherwise. worked. Some guitar players want to the pop stuff as much as I could be. I still
play over the top and impress people like listening to the older stuff, I guess
Get rhythm! with that. Me, I want to play a groove, ‘cos I’m older and that’s what pleases
Rhythm is my thing. I like to get people I want to play the same thing over and me most.
dancing and rocking. You can’t do that over, for three hours if I have to! I get
playing all over the place. I just like to off on it, I think it’s fun. Beware of getting pigeonholed.
see people get up and dance. Even if Not long ago I did a bluegrass song [with
they’re too old to dance they can still Always keep the audience in mind. singer Irene Kelley] called Anything To
Good players are good players, and they Help You Say Goodbye, and I’m really
bubble up to the top. There’s a lot of proud of it. I grew up listening to that
SOUL MAN guys who had a lot of lessons, have

a lot of dexterity and can do a lot of
kind of music in Missouri, but I didn’t
play it. I moved to Memphis when I was
stuff, but that doesn’t necessarily very young and then listened to R’n’b
Three simple ideas to get you up mean it’s going to go over to the public. and church music. Bluegrass was
to speed with Cropper’s style Some of them think it’s boring to play different groove for me, but that song
the same thing even twice. Well, get became a hit. I’m kicking my butt for
a hit record and play it different, and years because I know I can write songs,
1 16TH-NOTE 2 TWO-NOTE 3 STACCATO
see what the audience’s reaction is! but when DJs see my name on a record
STRUMMING ARPEGGIOS STABS
Instead of Take a look at the Listen to Wilson You better play it similar to the record and it’s not In The Midnight Hour or
a stream of fast A/C# and G/D Pickett’s In or they’ll never forgive you. I’ve been [Eddie Floyd hit] Knock On Wood, they
‘down-up-down- chords in our The Midnight to some concerts where the artist don’t want to play it. I shot myself in the
up’ 16th-note Chord Cropping Hour and you’ll hasn’t played their hit. You want to foot – it would’ve been better if I’d used
phrases, try boxout. Steve hear Steve’s grab them by the collars and shake and a pseudonym, called myself Joe Shmoe
using shorter maps these staccato chops. a say, ‘Man, that’s why these people or something!
fragments, Hold shapes out Strum firm are here! You’ve got a thousand people
On, I’m Comin’ across the downstrokes who’ve paid a hundred dollars apiece It can be tricky to identify your
style. It’s still fretboard for then immediately to be here, to hear you do your song’. own style.
16ths, but the a melodic release pressure
It’s okay to play new stuff, but not The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do
space is as approach. Soul in your fret hand
important as the Man is a great to each chord just the new stuff. Mix it up, play is duplicate myself – I can’t do it. For
strumming! example. short. the old hits too, until the new everybody else to copy my style, or
stuff starts hitting. think they were, that didn’t seem to

STEVE CROPPER
CHORD
CROPPING
Learn Steve’s
signature shapes…
X X X X
1
5
2
A/C#
Get Steve’s clarity and groove with
doublestops, ie, using just two
notes of chord. These are the 3rd
(C#) and root (A) of a standard
E-shape A chord.
X X X X
3 4
7
23
G/D
As on Soul Man, Steve uses these
two notes of a standard open D
shape. Try sliding in to it at the 7th,
then 12th and 14th frets for a
G-C-D progression.
X X X
5
1
2 3
F#m
A6
From Knock On Wood, this simple
embellishment to an A chord adds
a funky edge to your E-shaped
major chords.
X X
1 1 2
4
F#m
B/D#
Played in Dock Of The Bay, this
handy shape is a first inversion
(it starts on the 3rd of the chord,
D# here). Hendrix loved this
one, too...

STEVE CROPPER
be a problem. They were playing from

their hearts but they were being
inspired by somebody else, which is
good. The Beatles told me they listened
to a lot of Stax records, but I don’t
recall ever hearing a Beatles song that
sounded like a Stax record, or a Motown
record. I was listening to them too, but
I didn’t write any songs that had Beatles
changes or harmonies. John [Lennon]
had one of the first jukeboxes, and he
told me I had three songs on there out of
about 15 – Green Onions, In The Midnight
Hour and (Sitting On) The Dock Of The Bay.
I was very proud of that.
Sometimes one finger and a great

ear is all you need.
When Otis wrote (Sitting On) The Dock Of
The Bay, he wrote it with one finger, the
guitar tuned to a chord [open E]. I played
acoustic guitar on the original session
On that particular song I was tuned
standard, not to a chord, though on a lot
“The hardest thing

of the songs I was. I’d tune to a chord to
duplicate the way he would play it. Otis
wasn’t a musician, though he did have
a great ear.
I’ve ever had to do is
24 On Teles, Peaveys, pickups and FX...
All the sessions I did with a Fender- duplicate myself –
I can’t do it!”
made Telecaster I’d have the pickup
switch in the middle position, using
both pickups. But I’ve been playing this
Peavey [custom, Tele-type guitar] for 10
years now, and the bridge pickup was so Be creative when mic’ing guitars Above but I think he just got better and better
bright that when I put it in the middle – Jeff Beck would approve. Close up on Cropper's as a guitar player. And he’s one of those
Peavey T-style
position the brightness would take over. In most cases, guys’ll take a Shure mic guys who gets in off the road, throws his
So I started playing off the neck pickup and point it at the amp’s tweeter. As guitar in the corner and doesn’t pick it
only. I even froze the switch with a producer, I like it pointed down to the up again until he goes back out. I’m the
a piece of cardboard so I didn’t knock it. speaker paper, cos that’s where the same way, but I’m not as good a guitar
I couldn’t move it back now if I wanted sound is for me. I don’t like it real player! It was so long between shows
to without a hammer! On most guitars bright. Sometimes we’d put a mic in with Booker T and the Blues Brothers
the neck pickup’s so boomy, but this front of the amp and one behind – the that I’d have to relearn the songs each
one really bites. I tried FX when it was back’s muffled with almost no highs time. But it’s like an actor rehearsing
the thing, and it didn’t work for me. – and then you get a balance between a monologue – once you get the first
The only thing I used years ago was the two to come up with the right line, the rest comes real easy.
a noise gate, because if you use an old sound. We did this with Jeff [on Jeff Beck
Fender and there’s a hum in the Group, 1972]. He used my old Gibson You get old, if you’re lucky…
lighting system it’ll pick it up. My Switchmaster, which is still in my Some people say ‘I wish I was young
Peavey doesn’t. I just plug into garage, and we made a good album, again’, or ‘I wish I was this age or that
the amp, no noise gate at all. age’, but I don’t really care about all
that. I love my age, but I wish my hands
A great tip for choosing your next
electric guitar...
GREEN WITH ENVY... were a lot younger! They won’t do what
I ask them to do any more – there’s no
“I
People ask me about this a lot, and it’s see bands doing Green Onions, and I would dexterity like there used to be, and it
real simple: take the guitar and play venture to say that 90 per cent of guitar players bothers me some. It’s on my mind
it acoustically. If it sounds good play an upstroke [on the percussive parts of the constantly, but I still try. I just do what
unplugged it’ll definitely sound good intro], but it’s a downstroke. It’s in the way that you hit I do, and the simple stuff is still simple,
if you get the right amp and plug it up.
it and mute it to get the sound. I’ve seen great guitar still easy to do. If I had studied like a lot
players do the same thing – they want it bright so they
If it doesn’t sound good acoustically of musicians do I’d probably be more
play it up. I play it the other way. It’s IV to I [Bb to F],
it’s probably never going to sound real quick, in the key of F.” frustrated than I am, but since
good electrically. I didn’t, I’m fine...

INTERVIEW
26
Words Jonny Scaramanga Portrait Daveed Benito
SUPER NOODLES
On the long-awaited new album from punk rock stars The Offspring,
guitarist Noodles has used a ton of gear – new and vintage – while
channelling the Ramones, The Who and AC/DC. But even for this
battle-hardened punk hero, playing fast downstrokes isn’t easy.
As he admits to TG: “It hurts!”
B
esides Green Day, no band nine years between albums is not very Coming back with fresh ears helps. We just love
did more to take punk into punk rock, is it? making music, man! We love playing together,
the mainstream in the 90s Guitarist Noodles, talking from the band’s love listening to music. All that helps us keep
than The Offspring, whose Huntington Beach studio where Let The Bad doing what we what we do.”
breakout hit, 1994’s (Smash, Times Roll was recorded, explains the delay. This raw enthusiasm means Let The Bad Times
became the world’s “I think part of it was we didn’t want to put Roll sounds like the work of a significantly
best-selling album on an independent label. In anything out until we knew we had something younger band, not only because they were
a career spanning 37 years, the band has now good,” he says. The band’s enthusiasm for significantly younger when they began
sold more than 40 million records. So perhaps touring also interrupted sessions. “We go our recording it. It sees them working for the third
they’ve earned the right to take it easy. But still, separate ways and then revisit what we got. time with producer Bob Rock. Best known for

NOODLES
27
his work with Metallica and Mötley Crüe, Rock of mindset. You know, very exacting and that’s the guitar we’ll use. Some single-string
is not an obvious choice of pop-punk producer, everything has to be right. The way Bob puts riffs will use the Junior, but sometimes we’ll
but The Offspring bonded with him over his it with us is: ‘this is going to be great’, which bust out a vintage Gretsch Sparkle Jet. We
punk roots. “We met with Bob and it just means two things: it means we’re on the have a Malcolm Young Gretsch on there
clicked. He really came up in the in the right track, but we’re not there yet.” somewhere, too.”
Vancouver punk scene, in the Payolas. He The road to making things great included The amp selection is even bigger. “For one
toured and played all over in punk clubs. We a lot of messing around with new gear. “Bob is guitar track we’ll mic three different amps and
love a lot of the same music. He’s just a cool a guitar player, he’s always got new gadgets. kind of blend the different sounds. The AC30
f*ckin’ dude. When Bob was working with Sometimes it works, or sometimes we spend will add some stringiness where one of the
some bands back in the day they were like half a day just jerking around and playing Marshalls or the Mesas will add the grind to it.
gangs. It’s like the new guy in a jail yard. You guitar, but we learned some shit and had fun For this album we went back and got the Mesas
walk in and have to take a swing at the biggest making noises for ourselves. Bob knows so out, a Mark IV and a Mark III. For Marshalls we
guy in the yard to prove yourself. We’re not much and he just loves experimenting.” have a JCM2000, a Plexi, and a JCM800. We
like that. Hanging out with us is like visiting That experimentation resulted in a small have a Diezel, and there’s a Hiwatt in the mix.
the Teletubbies!” avalanche of guitars appearing on the album We also have Kempers and Fractals. We use
While some bands have struggled with – “Les Pauls, Strats, Telecasters, a couple of those if we’re getting some clean chorus-y
Rock’s notorious demands for songs to be Gretsches”—but Noodles’ primary weapon is thing. If you want some kind of dirt on it you
rewritten until they are perfect, Noodles and a mid-60s SG Junior, with single P90 pickup. gotta go with a real amp and real tubes.”
co. had the answer in the form of their own “It just sounds great. It’s the same model Pete For live work, though, Noodles is entirely
perfectionist, singer Dexter Holland. As Townshend played on Live At Leeds. If we’re a digital convert. “All the effects are built into
Noodles explains: “Dexter has that kind going for barre chords with some grunge,
“I JUST LOVE GUITAR FOR GUITAR’S SAKE!”

NOODLES
the Fractal. The main thing is the sound

doesn’t change from night to night.
When you have a big amp, it’s always
different, sometimes disastrously so,
whereas this always stays the same.
It may not be the best sound I’ve ever
had, but it’s pretty damn good and it
never falters.”
It’s refreshing to hear a guitarist still
so enthusiastic after 37 years, and all of
Noodles’ experiments with gear are in
service of songwriting. “I still struggle
with delays. How much do I need on
every knob? You play with it until it
becomes unlistenable, then you dial it
back. I’ll have a thought, like ‘I want
this clean guitar with delay to sound like
the riff from this Ramones song.’ You
start experimenting and a lot of times
you end up with something completely
different. That’s where most of our
creative stuff happens.”
Creativity is one thing, but how the
hell does he keep up that constant
barrage of downstrokes? “You wanna
try LAPD off Ignition! Oh my god, by the
end of that one I’m dying. I think it’s
just a matter of doing it a bunch until
you break through and you can kind of
28 loosen up, and not you’re not so tense.
I’ll spend 10 minutes just as much as I
can until it hurts, and then shake it off
and play something fun.”
Guitar is clearly still Noodles’ passion,
and he listens to everything. “I just love
guitar for guitar’s sake. I don’t spend
a lot of time listening to Steve Vai or
Joe SatrianI but I have those records
and I do appreciate them.” If this is
unexpected, his choice of practice
material may also surprise you. “I’m
trying to learn Raining Blood by Slayer!
It’s so fast and it’s really kind of a silly
Photo Kevin Nixon
song, but it’s super fun. I think

Pantera’s Cowboys From Hell will
be the next one...”
“I’M TRYING TO LEARN RAINING BLOOD BY SLAYER!"

Words Jonathan Horsley Photos Allan Wilson / Elly Lucas / Olly Curtis
“THE GUITAR IS SUCH

A HUGE PLAYING FIELD.
PEOPLE GET THEIR KICKS
OUT OF IT IN SO MANY
DIFFERENT WAYS...”
Ben Howard and John Smith are kindred spirits, new-school
folk artists and leading exponents of progressive acoustic
guitar. In conversation together, they reveal how their
search for new sounds has led them from drop tunings 31
to an “endless” array of effects, and explain why the

best guitarists don’t always make the best songwriters…
F
or all the aesthetic Smith married a contemporary folk them to stylistically adventurous
distance between delivery with a stunning acoustic arrangements, with effects-driven
their new albums, guitar part that could be exported to textures broadening the guitar’s remit.
there is a trip-hop setting. “It blew my mind,” It was not wholly acoustic.
undeniably Howard says, “and opened my eyes to Neither was The Fray. Produced
a sense of creative the idea that you could do anything by Smith and Sam Lakeman, it was
kinship between with the guitar.” Howard would tracked in Peter Gabriel’s Real World
Ben Howard and develop this ethos throughout Studios, Bath, with a number of
John Smith. They are at the vanguard his own career. collaborators – Sarah Jarosz, Courtney
of a new generation of singer- The two men have known each Hartman, The Milk Carton Kids,
songwriters who have helped shatter other for ten years, and have much in Bill Frisell, Lisa Hannigan – sending
the open-chords-and-capo paradigm common. As children, they both grew in parts remotely. It was only fitting
that had hitherto been the dominant up in Devon, and now both live in rural that The Fray opens with Friends; it is
folk style on acoustic guitar. settings. And in an odd coincidence, an album that finds strength in its
Smith’s percussive style and use of their new albums were released on the others, chipping away at the hard
alternate tunings – a feature of his same day of this year, March 26th. Yet times to let a little optimism in.
debut album from 2006, The Fox And the recordings are coming from quite For their conversation with TG, Ben
The Monk – might not have been as different places. speaks from his home in Ibiza, John
controversial as Bob Dylan going Howard’s Collections From The from North Wales. They begin with
electric back in the 60s, but it similarly Whiteout was recorded with The a little catching up. John has recently
upended the art form. And just as National’s Aaron Dessner in New York become a father, while Ben talks of
Smith was influenced by the great City and takes a channel-surfing finding peace among the almond trees
John Martyn – with whom he also approach to observational poetry, on Mediterranean. They both say that
toured – so Howard was inspired by drafting vignettes of lives less ordinary they miss travel, even hungover
what he heard in Winter, the key song – Richard Russell, a Russian fraudster, flights across Europe. Those will
from The Fox And The Monk, in which a gruesome murder – and scoring return, some day. But for now,

“There is no point in
there is much else to discuss, trying to be anyone
beginning with how each has found else. It is about doing
something that is
the perfect working environment...
either serving
the song or your
You’ve both moved out to the own satisfaction”
country. There’s some pandemic JOHN SMITH
necessity to that, but how is that
sense of peace working for
you creatively?
Ben: I think that sitting around,
not pressing the issue is quite
a comfortable zone in terms of
writing. I definitely felt that the
move out here was driven by the
desire to write freely.
John: Part of it is practical. I disturb
my neighbours. When I was in
Brighton, trying to make a record, you
start off at three in the morning. You
come up with an idea, get out of bed to
record it, and you are waking up the
old lady next door. I just wanted to live
somewhere where I wouldn’t disturb
anyone. My nearest neighbour is now
a half-kilometre away, and that’s
a great feeling. Then there is the
emotional thing of living among
nature, the rhyme and mystery
32 of the natural world.
Ben: It is one thing playing an acoustic “The best piece of advice I ever got was
guitar in a flat, but as soon as you want
to turn it up, it is a big problem. We
when my guitar teacher just said, ‘Make
had a very small apartment in Paris,
neighbours above, next to you, and
sure that every note sounds like music’”
underneath, and I was trying to make
these very electrified noises, with John, you’ve turned that gaze Writing about the self can be a gift
a pedalboard, running everything inwards. Was that the nature for others who see themselves in
through my Fender Deluxe. But the of the material? your experiences.
French don’t mind the noise! It was John: Absolutely. It was songwriting John: I think as soon as you start
my inhibitions, and feeling very as self-help. In the past, I have writing really honestly about yourself,
self-conscious. always looked to nature and it becomes universal.
John: You don’t want to be heard mythology. I have always wanted Ben: It’s being comfortable with being
when you are at that stage of to write introspective characters, able to explore your feelings, from the
coming up with ideas. and remove it from myself, and very basic to the cosmic, and then
Ben: No, because a lot of it contextualise it with mythology and realising that no two people are that
is nonsense! characters. With this record, we went far removed from each other. You are
through a lot last year, and as soon as constantly searching for these
Isolation is great, but as we’ve I picked up a pen, the songs came universalities.
learned, only so great. Watching flying out. Perhaps for the first
people, observing, that’s fertile time, they were all be about me... Listening to both of your records
ground for ideas… As a songwriter, you feel egotistical side by side, it sounds like you are
Ben: I always try to strike that putting all this on the line, that all coming from different places.
balance. The countryside, having the this is self-indulgent. John: With this one, I wanted it to be
time and space to be an observer, and Ben: We are allowed to be a collaborative effort. I was inviting
the moving around. Your job is just self-indulgent! friends to sing and play on the tracks,
to observe and to be present and John: But as it was going by, it felt but I couldn’t have them for obvious
accepting enough to write down these quite natural. The songs felt as if they reasons. In the first two days of
little ideas. It doesn’t really matter might be relatable because so many a seven-day session, we recorded all
– the countryside or the city. The most of us have been going through the of my parts, guitar and vocals, and
important thing is there is a balance same sort of thing in the past year. then sent out rough desk mixes to
between the two. I am always trying Feeling distant from our friends. everyone that we wanted involved.
to thread between people and nature. Feeling isolated. Just me on guitar and vocals to Bill

story combine, and it goes way back to
percussive guitar, and me seeing you
play when I was a lot younger, and you
played with John Martyn. That led
to working with drum machines,
working with keyboards and synths.
Fiddling and tinkering, always trying
to find new, interesting sounds,
almost trying to get away from
the guitar.
It sounds like that percussive

guitar was all about getting more
out of the acoustic, transcending
it almost.
John: I only realised that later. When
I was leaning really heavily into that
style of playing.
Ben: Well you were bloody good at it!
John: Thanks! It just had to serve the
song. Anything like that has to be part
of the song, and if it isn’t part of the
song then you shouldn’t be doing it.
Ben: Yeah, it gets to the point where
it starts detracting from it. We are
probably in the same boat. It was
a spectacle. Your song Winter was
the cornerstone for a lot of people
to realise where the guitar could go
in a song. Erik Mongrain was another 33
one. Jon Gomm... Beautiful, incredible
guitarists, beautiful parts, but it is
very difficult to get a song out of
these things.
Frisell, and then he would send his That’s interesting. You’ve got to be Is that something you want to
part back – he actually sent eleven able to listen out for the best idea, get away from?
different parts. All the different to be open to surprise? John: It can get overwhelming very
flavours of Bill Frisell! Ben: Anyone who plays the tiniest quickly. If I watch a whole gig of that
Ben: It is beautiful, Bill’s part. It’s part on a record, writes a record. The stuff... I was just obsessed about being
a really special moment on the record. whole melting pot and the fusion is absolutely the best guitar player
John: It really is, man. He is one of my where the ideas come from. You don’t I could be, and compared myself to
favourite players. He is a hero of mine. just stand there naked and play the other people. You very quickly realise
He sent this hour of music to get song, and ‘Oh yeah, that’s the song.’ that doesn’t go anywhere, because
through. It was the same with Sarah The inspiration is picked from so there is always someone who is going
Jarosz sending her vocal part. You many different places. to be more proficient. Did you ever see
know what it’s like, Ben. You hear Johnny Dickinson, the slide player
someone singing something, it can And it can be from gear, from from up in the Borders?
take the song in a different direction a tone, from anywhere… Ben: No. I didn’t
because you want to preserve what Ben: I don’t really consider myself John: He passed away a couple of
they’ve done, not crowd it, or maybe a guitarist. I obviously am, and I play years ago, but he was on tour with
you want to orchestrate something the guitar, but I am always searching a very famous pyrotechnic guitar
that supports it. We were letting these for little avenues that inspire a song, player – whose name I won’t mention
little collaborations steer the so whether you find it on a keyboard – and I went to see Johnny play, and
direction. or a drum pattern, I am just looking after his set we were watching the star
Ben: I totally agree. You are looking for anything that will give that little act, and Johnny whispered in my ear,
for those little triggers. They don’t sparkle of inspiration that a song ‘I can only hear so much before I want
necessarily come from yourself. will roll out the back of. to hear a f*ckin’ song!’ I thought,
Someone can put down a vocal, and John: Absolutely. It sounds like we ‘That’s it!’ I am always looking for the
off the back of that you will hear both discovered the 808 around song, and it was only after years of
a harmony, you will hear a vocal part, the same time. playing percussively, [I learned] how
or you will remember a poem that Ben: Yeah! Drum machines, it was to hold a pick and how to play in
you had, or a guitar part. funny, because your story and my standard tuning. Then I found that,

COVER FEATURE
34

“It is difficult to find
that peace and quiet
and find where you fit
in, finding your craft
and working at it”
BEN HOWARD
35
“I swear by Johnny Marr’s theory that every

guitar has a certain amount of songs in it”
Do you both use Strymon?
John: I’ve got one of those Volante
actually, there are a lot of songs to patterns. I found myself playing echoes. That is all over the record. You
be written. upside-down guitar. That was can just squish it just a little, so that
Ben: I think I went in the other probably the same as the percussive a chord just sounds kinda bendy, like
direction at that point. Finding drop thing. All your picking was it is going through an old cassette.
tunings at an early age, realising that upside-down. I love that. That’s magic.
I would never go back to standard Ben: I love a soft chorus or a rotary.
tunings, and just going down the But effects made it possible? I am forever playing around with
wormhole of drop tunings and Ben: All of a sudden, I was touring them. Strymon? My go-to is the
delay pedals. with two Echoplexes, a chorus, delay, Deco, for the saturation, and I use
John: Yeah, delay pedals, man. all analogue gear, and a load of the slap-back as a delay. I think the
The tape delays on this record upside-down guitars, wondering what combination of pedals is endless.
sounds gorgeous. the f*ck I was doing! I made a world of That is the next wormhole. My thing
Ben: Thanks, we experimented hell for myself. Steve, my guitar tech, is a Timeline through a Big Muff
with it live. We had Echoplexes he is a true professional. Nothing – very Martyn-inspired. As soon
live. We had all-sorts. fazes him. as I got out of that little flat in Paris
John: I remember trying to and I could make noise, I was playing
Those delays are really integral to soundcheck at the Barbican, when through a Moogerfooger and a delay.
your sound now… I was over with John Martyn. It was It sounds ridiculous talking about it
Ben: On my last record, I was playing the biggest gig I had played by a long now! Aaron (Dessner) was the only
an upside-down Silvertone – the foil way, and I didn’t get a soundcheck person who said, ‘You know what?
pickups sounded incredible. I had it in because they were onstage trying to We could work with that.’
really simple drop-D tuning, and unf*ck his tape echo. It was one of the John: Is that what is going on in the
I realised that with a delay pedal you big, original Space Echoes and there first track [Follies Fixture], because
Photo Getty
don’t have to do that much to make was smoke coming out of it. I bought there is a synth arpeggio that sounds
quite complex, interesting rhythmic myself a Strymon in the end. to me like fingerstyle going through

both of which are Fender, but neither
were built by Fender. They are just bits
of guitars stuck together. That is a ’74
neck. I bought the body on eBay for
about 20 quid. All the slide guitar
work on the record is on the Strat.
Those Lollar Gold Foils, you play slide
on them and the note just hangs in
the air. I have that classical guitar
I mentioned, and I have my
Fylde acoustics. This Fylde has
a [Mike Vanden] Mimesis pickup,
and I have that going into an amp
through the chorus effect on the
Strymon Blue Sky.
Ben: It’s so funny that we have both
ended up in the same boat with
guitar pickups after all these years!
He’s cracked it. Finally.
John: He’s nailed it. I have another
output and there is a little LR Baggs
microphone pickup as well, so I have
the Mimesis going through my
pedalboard and the Baggs going clean
into the house, and the engineer can
do whatever they want with it.
Ben: I had a 20s little parlour guitar,
a Little Martin, a Martin 12-string, and
then I think my go-to has been this
36 old 70s D-28, but other than that,
tons of electrics. I have a Fender
“This is the metaphysics of the guitar

Jazzmaster from the 60s. I was
limited as to how much gear
world. I am always looking for randomiser I could take to New York.
effects that make something special” Finally, you speak of percussive

guitar becoming this spectacle.
With social media incentivising
grandstanding to the point of
a chain of Star Trek dashboard effects? C on an acoustic guitar. I just get being anti-art, where do you
Ben: That is actually me playing keys this nice feeling. see the future of guitar
through an arpeggiator. The Strange Ben: This is the metaphysics of the playing going?
Last Flight Of Richard Russell and guitar world. I am always looking for Ben: Ultimately, the guitar is such
Finders Keepers, that’s a guitar the randomiser effects that make a huge playing field. People get their
through a Moogerfooger. I am giving something special. Drop-C is one kicks out of it in so many different
away all the secrets now. But the of them. I swear by Johnny Marr’s ways. You only have to do a bit of
thing is, you’ll never be able to find it. theory that every guitar has a certain travelling in Indonesia and realise
I am really worried about the time amount of songs in it. I religiously that everyone can play flawless Jimi
I am going to have to recreate it. believe that. Hendrix. There is no right or wrong.
John: There is something to that, for I think it is difficult to find that
It’s extra, though, couldn’t you sure. I bought a nylon-string for the peace and quiet and find where you
take it all away and the song first time in my life, and I picked it out fit in, finding your craft and working
would work? of the case and wrote two songs in at it. I turn on the Moogerfooger!
Ben: That’s the theory. This record is a day that made it to the record. But that’s me.
the first time where I have started to Sometimes you do just need John: There is no point in trying to
have a bit of trouble with that. But a new tool. be anyone else. It is about doing
that is the writing process. I didn’t Ben: Perhaps that’s where pedals something that is either serving
write as much on guitar. I wrote come in, just to give you that little bit the song or your own satisfaction.
to loops or drumbeats, random of excitement and get over the edge. The best piece of advice I ever got
sections of poems. was when I had guitar lessons. I was
John: I really like the moments when What guitars did you use on the about 20. I was learning scales and
Photo Getty
it drops back to the guitar, though. albums? my teacher just said, ‘Make sure
Especially whenever I can hear a low John: I have two main electric guitars, that every note sounds like music.’

Need some acoustic inspiration? Look no further! Ben Howard
and John Smith are amongst the most inventive out there
en Howard and compositional tool. Both are John Martyn, Richard Thompson two from unexpected production
B John Smith are

great examples of
modern acoustic
singer-songwriters
who elevate the role of the guitar
from a simple accompaniment
device to a sophisticated
expert players who write technical
acoustic parts that seamlessly
integrate with their vocals and
lyrics. It’s a rare mix of virtuosity
with songwriting chops.
Zlwk#lqľxhqfhv#udqjlqj#iurp#
classic songwriter/guitarists like
and Joni Mitchell to more niche
exw#uhyhuhg#Ľqjhuslfnhuv#olnh#
Eric Roche, both Howard and
Smith provide a masterclass in
how electrifying an acoustic guitar
can be in the right hands. There
is so much to learn from these
techniques like delay and
Ľowhulqj#wr#shufxvvlyh#vodsslqj/#
altered tunings, challenging
picking parts and rich, deep
chord voicings. We’ll take you
through the most important
parts here.
1 DELAY-SOAKED CHORDS TRACK 09

q = 91
D5 D Dmaj 7 Dmaj 9 D5
# .. ..
38 T GB
E
. 3 7 2
0
2 3 3 .
B
D
A
. 2 7
0
2
0
2 2
0
2
0
0
.
D 0 0 0 0
We’re in drop D tuning here, so don’t forget to tune your guitar’s sixth string down a tone. Rich chords and progressions are a hallmark of both these players but you’ll also
find unexpected effects like delay on acoustic guitars. We’ve added an ambient delay effect set to a dotted eighth note pulse (494 ms) in our example.
2 LEADING WITH THE LOW STRINGS TRACK 09
A7 Bm7 Gmaj 7 A7 Bm7 Gmaj 7

.. . .. .. .. ..
.. .
.. .. . ..
. . . .
T
E
. .
¿¿ ¿¿ ¿¿ ¿¿ ¿¿
B
G
. 57 ¿¿ ¿¿ .
¿
D
¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
5 5 7 7 7 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 7 7 7 4 4 4 4
B A
D 7
7 7
7
9
9
9 9
9
5
5
5 5
5
5
5
5 5
5
7
7
7 7
7
9
9
9 9
9
5
5
5 5
5
5
The chords in this example are played on the bass strings for a thicker sound and there is picking hand slap against the strings marked ‘X’ in the tab. Slap the heel of your
picking hand onto the strings near the bridge to get this percussive sound in place.
3 ROLLING FINGERSTYLE TRACK 09
Asus 4 Bm D5 G5
..
let ring throughout
T .
B
. 7
0
7
0
7 9
0
9
0
12
0
12
0
5
0
5
0
5
7 7 7 9 9 9 12 12 12 5 5 5
1

3 ROLLING FINGERSTYLE (cont’d) TRACK 09
# Gmaj 7
..
T .
B 5
0
5
0
5 5
0
5
0
5 5
4
5
4
5 5
4
0
4
5
.
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
3
Ben Howard often employs ‘rolling’ fingerstyle picking patterns across three adjacent strings. Use the thumb, index and middle fingers on the sixth, fifth and fourth
strings respectively, aiming for solid timing throughout. The drop D tuning lets you move simple chord shapes along the neck but ensure the fretting is clean.
4 HARMONIC MOVEMENT TRACK 09
Bm Aadd 11/C # D Aadd 11 G
# ..
let ring throughout
T
E
B .7 0 0 0
B
G
D
A
. 0
7
0
9
0
11
0
6
0
6
0
4
0
4
0
D 9 9 11 12 7 7 5 5
1
D/F # Gadd 9 D5
# ..
39
T 0 0 3 3 .
B
2
0
2
0
2
0
2
0
2
0
2 0
0
2
0 .
4 4 5 5 0 0 0
3
John Smith has spent a great deal of time studying fingerstyle masters like Eric Roche, Martin Simpson and John Martyn, and his own approach to part writing involves
beautiful chord voicings and loads of smooth harmonic movement around the fretboard. These wide-interval two-note shapes sound especially tuneful.
5 FINGERPICKING AND FINGER-STRUMMING TRACK 09
D5 Dsus 2 D/F # G 6sus 2
# ..
T
E
. 32 0 0 ¿¿ 0 0
¿¿ 0 0
¿¿ 0 0 ¿¿
¿¿ ¿¿ ¿¿ ¿¿
B 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
G
.0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
D 0
B A
D 4 4 5 5
0 0
1
Aadd 11/C # D5 Dsus 2
# ..
T
0 0 ¿¿ 0 0 ¿¿ .
¿¿ ¿¿
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
.
¿ ¿
0 0
B 4 4
3
Moving basslines and percussive parts are at the heart of this John Smith style example. Play the chords on the ‘& a’ of beats 1 and 3 with a finger-strummed downstroke/
upstroke pattern. Keep this finger relaxed so you are brushing down/up on the first, second and third strings.

COVER FEATURE
The Man with

Two Brains
For Jon Gomm, one of
the modern masters of
percussive fingerstyle,
the possibilities for
acoustic guitar are
limitless. He reveals the
secrets of his jaw-
dropping techniques to
TG, and explains how
the magic happens
40 when “two brains
materialise...”
Words Amit Sharma
Photos Tom-Martin / Elizabeth Giomm

n recent years, Blackpool-
I
born singer-songwriter Jon
Gomm has taken his
dazzling acoustic techniques
to new creative peaks. His
no-holds-barred approach is
one that borrows from a smorgasbord
of tapped harmonics, tuning peg
bends and two-handed percussive
ideas, and combinations thereof
– fuelling a rare gift that can transform
one instrument into what feels like
an orchestra. 2020 saw the release
of Jon’s signature Ibanez JGM10,
designed to enhance all the nuances
ri#prghuq#Ľqjhuvw|oh#whfkqltxhv#dqg#
meet the demands of those who swear
by them. He is the man once described
by Stephen Fry as an “all-round
genius” for “playing the guitar in a
way I’d never seen before”. If anyone
knows how to get the most out of an
acoustic guitar, it’s Jon Gomm...
With your Ibanez signature, how

exactly did you ensure it would be
perfectly suited to the modern
percussive fingerstyle player?
We’ve all seen this new playing style
grow, from songwriters like me using 41
tapping and percussive techniques,
ru#zkdwhyhu#frpelqdwlrq#ri#glļhuhqw#
“If you want to play percussion on your techniques. But to me, the word
independence really misleads people.
guitar body, then you do it gently” They end up thinking you need two
brains. You learn part A, then part B,
then you try to do them together like
to people playing incredible solo I was a kid so I had the fast playing patting your head and rubbing your
acoustic versions of covers on surface and the cool inlays. I was belly. But that’s not how I learn at
YouTube. So Ibanez wanted to make actually at their booth at a guitar show all. I learn it all as one, taking each
d#jxlwdu#vshflĽfdoo|#ghvljqhg#iru#wkdw# in Germany, shredding happily on moment of music one at a time, seeing
style, and they approached me to a Joe Satriani model when we talked zkdw#hyhu|#Ľqjhu#rq#hdfk#kdqg#lv#
help create it. They’ve been amazing about how great it would be if Ibanez doing in that one moment. Then
throughout, very open-minded. It has could innovate for modern acoustic I move on to the next moment. It’s
a huge range of features to that end techniques the same way they had for slow, but it works so it saves time in
– a new bracing pattern to bring out electrics, developing that incredible the long run. Then, once I can play it,
bass and harmonics, ergonomic roster of signature electric artists. To those ‘two brains’ actually materialise,
shaping in various places, an be a part of that actually happening is dqg#L#Ľqg#wkdw#L#fdq#vzlwfk#p|#irfxv#
incredible custom pickup system and just surreal. I think perceptions about to my right hand, or back to my left
so much more. It sounds stunning and the brand will change. I have no doubt. hand, or to my vocal or my cat
ultimately makes various techniques elwlqj#p|#ihhw#ru#zkdwhyhu$
a lot easier to play, because trying to Let’s get into the nuts and bolts of
sod|#prghuq#Ľqjhuvw|oh#rq#d#jxlwdu# your technique. What are the most For those hoping to turn their
that’s not built for it is really hard. challenging aspects of modern acoustic into a drum kit, what
fingerstyle? advice can you offer?
Being a company more renowned L#Ľqg#vlpsoh#vwxļ#fkdoohqjlqj$#Wkdwġv# Play softly. If you want to play
for fast and furious electrics, it zk|#L#sod|#frpsoh{#vwxļ#lqvwhdg$#Exw# percussion on your guitar body, then
certainly feels like acoustics have for normal people, it tends to be you do it gently. That way you can
long been the unsung heroes of independence they struggle with eulqj#rxw#wkh#pdq|#glļhuhqw#wrqhv#ri#
the Ibanez catalogue... – which might mean tapping wkh#glļhuhqw#sduwv#ri#wkh#jxlwdu1#Dovr#
Photo Getty
I love Ibanez electrics too, I even put a bassline with your left hand and it balances with the guitar part much
a Jem neck on my cheap guitar when plucking harmonics with your right, better. If you drum with the same

force you pluck or strum, it’ll sound
like someone playing guitar while
someone else smashes up a shed
with a hammer [laughs]... Which,
admittedly, I would pay to watch.
I think it’s all about learning the
basics first – don’t go in and start
tapping and banging away. It’s
not like you can just play regular
fingerstyle and occasionally slap
a harmonic or hit the guitar to make
it sound modern. Instead, why not
try building the entire arrangement
around your own mix of modern
techniques? I practice scales and
arpeggios every day, all that stuff has
to come first and is often lacking
with younger players. Now with the
Internet, you can learn anything you
want... But it might not necessarily
help you to know what you need.
It’s how you apply it all that matters.
The tunings also play a big part in

you being able to get the most out
of your instrument. Which ones
do you use most?
I’d say I use everything except
42 standard! Different tunings allow “I find simple stuff challenging! That’s
for easy reach to different keys or
tonalities, or certain chords – so why I play complex stuff instead!”
they’re definitely important. Some of
the ones I use are pretty conventional,
like open D or DADGAD. Others are head, and hum or play one-finger that deep sub bass. I was using the
a bit more out there and I look at them piano, you can do it. Then, I pick up OC-3 for a long time, the newer
more like a blank canvas because all the guitar, and now I see myself as an version feels tighter and cleaner...
the dots and shapes disappear. I am arranger, as if I was a session guitarist It tracks even better! I also have my
left with just my ears and my working with a different singer- Zoom MS-70CDR pedal for some
imagination. For example, one of songwriter, and they wanted me to unbelievable pitch-shifted reverbs
my newer songs, Universal Biology, is come up with an interesting acoustic and ‘ice delays’. Both of those pedals
tuned to a Bmadd9 chord, which gives guitar version of their song. That I’d say are the best £100 you could
everything a very particular sound and way, I can get fairly crazy with the possibly spend! I also have a TC
harmonic minor feel. technique, and I never feel that guilt Helicon VoiceLive which I can use for
or conflict of ‘Oh no, I’m being too vocal and guitar, which is very handy!
Speaking of which, your latest technical, this isn’t pure and real That goes into my Blackstar Sonnet
album, The Faintest Idea feels and expressive!’ Because the song is amps – of which there are two,
more song-orientated than already written, everything in my because stereo – in order to make
anything you’ve done before... arrangement is forced to be in things loud in an entirely perfect way.
I’m really proud of it. I’ve developed service to the song anyway.
a particular approach to writing, Which players do you think most
where I see it in two stages: First the What else is in your rig – are there impacted your style and why?
actual composing, which happens any pedals, amps or plug-ins that Michael Hedges is my god. He
mostly in my head. So I’ll usually have are key to your sound? reinvented the steel string guitar. The
melody, lyrics if it’s a vocal tune, and So it’s my Ibanez JGM10 – oh my, techniques, the sound, the tunings,
harmony – the rough chord ideas, or I love saying that [laughs] – with the the entire approach. I am in awe of
a key or mode at least. None of this is Fishman custom Rare Earth Blend and him and love him as an entity. My
set in stone, but by the time it’s done Powertap combo pickup system, into percussive roots go back to my first
I’ll have a vision for the piece – what my MOTU Ultralite, which is a great guitar teacher when I was a kid, who
it’s for, what I want to say and little box you can use as a live mixer taught me a bit of flamenco. But then
express, and the mood and some or as an interface for recording. Then, moving through my life, I’ve always
specific musical flavours. Anyone can I’ve got my Boss OC-5, which is my been a magpie, just fascinated by
do this. If you can hear music in your favourite pedal and secret weapon for anything new to me...

COVER FEATURE
The New
Acoustic
Generation
From bluegrass virtuoso to
fun-loving fingerstylist, from
one-man band to dynamic
duo, from YouTuber to string-
slapper – TG salutes more of
the best acoustic players in
the world right now...
44 Words Chris Bird / Jonny Scaramanga /
Jonathan Horsley Grant Moon / Amit Sharma

Gabriella Quevedo
The YouTube crowd-pleaser
ith an undeniable ear Although she’s famous for covers,
W for a hit and unfailing

rhythmic accuracy,
Gabriella delivers
some of the most crowd-pleasing
repertoire of any acoustic
her gift for interpretation makes her
an artist in her own right, and she nails
dynamics and nuances. Her timing is
killer – metronomic without being
robotic – but it’s the way she
YouTuber. keeps focus on the melody
Unsurprisingly for that makes her so
a Swede, she’s done TG TIP effective.
a number of reworked
Focus on the melody She’ll choose chord
when tackling classic
ABBA tunes, but her covers – it’s the most voicings that keep the
arrangements of important part for most melody note at the top,
Nothing Else Matters, listeners and you can so it doesn’t get
Another Brick In build the harmony buried. Her talent for
The Wall, and Here around it arrangement shows
Comes The Sun have an original musical
all done big numbers. mind at work.
She got chosen to play on stage In late 2019, she released
with Tommy Emmanuel when she Remember and Last Time, her first two
was just 15, and was not upstaged. original compositions. Although she’s
Like Emmanuel, she has a gift for been on the scene for 10 years, she’s
sounding like several guitarists still only 24, and she is still reaching
playing at once. her potential.
“Gabriella was chosen to play on stage 45
Photo Jesse Wild

with Tommy Emmanuel at just 15”
Kaki King
The groundbreaking traditionalist
o think of Kaki King as just an from the guitar. When armed only with
T acoustic guitar player is to sell

her art short. She received
a Golden Globe nomination for
her soundtrack to Sean Penn’s
Into The Wild. King’s
her signature Ovation 1581-KK acoustic
and her imagination, she epitomises the
contemporary acoustic player, using a
cornucopia of alternate tunings,
percussive rhythms and a
groundbreaking theatre TG TIP keen ear for dynamics.
production The Neck Is Kaki has used acrylic Yet, speaking to Guitar
A Bridge To The Body overlays on her Player , King says she
took her technically fingernails for greater still sees herself as
gifted playing style to picking clarity. Greats a traditionalist: “I’m
the stage, using visual like John Renbourn actually not reinventing
arts to elevate the and Clive Carroll have the wheel in terms of my
acoustic’s possibilities. done the same guitar playing right now.
She is also an In fact, I’m being almost
entrepreneur/inventor, conservative... While the visual
creating the Passerelle, a metallic, component informs my creativity, I
moveable second bridge that can be still have a very traditional view of
used to wholly rethink what’s possible composition.”
“Kaki King epitomises the

contemporary acoustic player”
COVER FEATURE
Molly Tuttle
The bluegrass virtuoso
M
olly Tuttle’s picking hand is campfire feeling that you’re being
terrifying. She’s mastered welcomed to join in.
clawhammer technique, Molly’s gift is making subtle rotations
but it’s her flatpicking of her forearm to change the trajectory
that leaves us most breathless. Her of her pick. Fortunately, there’s no
string crossing is effortless. shortage of footage of her doing
Dizzying lines that would have this – although even when
anyone else stumbling for you see how it’s done,
pace or catching TG TIP replicating it is
unwanted strings You’ll live or die by the another matter.
escape Molly’s fingers angle and trajectory of Where most of
easily and with your pick. Slight us would strike an
great tone. adjustments will unwanted open string,
If she’d chosen help you skip over Molly’s pick dances
a different direction she
idle strings over the strings like
could’ve been a Steve a gazelle. She delivers her
Morse or an Yngwie melodies with dynamics and
Malmsteen. But where high-gain great rhythmic feel, and even
shred can scream look at me in an playing blazing single-note lines she
off-putting way, Molly’s Americana and creates a full sound all by herself.
bluegrass stylings always sound inviting The fact she does it all while singing
and musical. Yes, she’s phenomenal, – and that her songwriting is so
but she always retains that effective – is frankly unfair.
46 “If Molly had chosen a different path,

she could’ve been a Malmsteen”
CHAMPIONS OF GUITAR
The future of acoustic guitar is in the safe hands of
these Acoustic Guitarist Of The Year winners
Alexandr Misko Christie Lenée Alan Gogoll

A lex recently put his own unique stamp on
percussive acoustic guitar with an album
of cover versions. It’s fair to say these are
2 019 AGOTY champion Christie Lenée
impresses with spirited fingerstyle
performances and a bit of pedalboard dance
W e can’t begin to describe the depth of
skill Alan possesses. Tracks like Chime
and Otter Rain feature his trademark artificial
outside the traditional canon of fingerstyle as she incorporates live looping with harmonic technique, with beautiful bell-like
Photos Adam Gasson / Phil Barker
guitar – Dick Dale’s Misirlou, Celine Dion’s My a foot-mounted tambourine and Kopf tones coming from Alan’s Åstrand A-OMC
Heart Will Go On and MC Hammer’s U Can’t Percussion ToeKicker for rhythm. She’s not guitar. No one-trick pony, Alan is a fantastic
Touch This all appear. Keep ’em coming, Alex. really a new kid on the block though, with five fingerstylist with several albums to his name.
We just want to hear more! albums to her name to date.

THE BEST IN THE
WORLD RIGHT NOW
The new generation? Well, no, but these well-established
acoustic virtuosos continue to innovate like no one else
Clive Carroll
The Guthrie Govan of acoustic guitar
C
live Carroll is arguably the most With such virtuosity on display, it ought
accomplished fingerstylist in to be impossible to distill Clive’s genius
the world today – not a into practical, bite-sized advice, but there
statement we make lightly. Our is a key fact you should know. Clive often
pals on Guitar Techniques magazine even writes straight to manuscript without
call him the ‘acoustic Guthrie Govan’, a guitar in his hands. What sounds like
which gives you some idea of a massive pain in the backside
the Essex-born virtuoso’s for most of us actually
incredible skills. frees Clive from his own
Where countless TG TIP technical limitations
acoustic players
Recreate Clive’s ‘no (not that he has many!).
guitar’ approach, by
adopt a percussive writing music on a Write on paper first
approach, by different instrument and figure out how
eschewing tippy-tappy before bringing the to play it on guitar
body-beating antics, piece to guitar afterwards – that’s the
Clive is able to focus more idea. The culmination
on complex melodic lines of this method came in 47
throughout the bass, midrange 2016’s A Winter Carol – a truly
and treble. Traditional Irish pieces, unsettling track, comprising two
John Dowland compositions and the melodies in different keys and tempos,
occasional blues tune all get the Carroll but arranged for solo guitar. We can’t
treatment, but the majority of his think of anyone else who could – or
music is self-penned. would – do this!
Tommy Emmanuel
The certified guitar genius
W
hat were you up to when had started out on the road to becoming
you were four? Tommy the absolute guv’nor of fingerstyle guitar
Emmanuel was busying we know today.
himself learning to At the core of Tommy’s
play guitar, accompanying his considerable arsenal of
mother who played lap techniques is Travis picking
steel. By age six, he was
playing in his touring
TG TIP (named after pioneer
Merle Travis) – a
Build up Travis picking
family band delivering technique by technique he was
rhythm partswith practising alternating inspired to develop by
basslines included. bass notes before Chet Atkins at age
Young Tommy didn’t introducing other seven. At its most basic,
know what a bass guitar chord tones the idea is to fingerpick
was and had duly worked chord and melody lines
out how to play both parts over an alternating bassline.
on six-string, assuming this was Typically, you’ll thumb-pick two
how it should be done. And so, with more notes from a chord shape, one at a time,
Photos Adam Gasson
than the basics of fingerstyle already ‘alternating’ between them. Practise for
under his belt at a tender age, Tommy six decades to get up to Tommy’s level!

COVER FEATURE
Will McNicol
The modern classicist
E
qually at home on nylon or steel It’s rare to hear such a strong groove on
strings, Will has a total a track without drums or even guitar-
command of classical and slapping pseudo percussion.
modern techniques, which With Innotet, he released Eric’s Duet, a
allows him to blend traditional and commissioned piece which develops
innovative sounds. improvised ideas taken from
Since winning Acoustic recordings of the late, great
Guitarist of the Year in 2011, Eric Roche. Will’s vision for
he has fulfilled his early the guitar extends into
promise. His use of TG TIP multi-layered guitar
harmonics is stunning, Will is a fiercely talented compositions like
producing a rich,
fingerpicker. For an Emma as well
exercise, try picking
harp-like tone. He is thumb, index, middle, as orchestral
prolifically active, ring fingers on one note compositions.
releasing an original and build speed Will’s solo
solosingle and two compositions display
collaborations with string absolute mastery, though,
quartet Innotet in the first and he’s in demand as a guitar
three months of 2021. demonstrator because amazing
The solo single, Sasquatch cleverly ideas seem to fall out of every guitar
uses a capo on just five of the strings he touches. As his first two albums
and has been described as ‘Rodrigo y sold out, so anticipation is high for
Gabriella meets George Benson’. the next one.
48 “Will’s first two albums sold out.

Anticipation is high for the next...”
Dylan Ryche
The string-slapper
A
t a time when many acoustic of the absence of massive downtuned
soloists have abandoned bass notes. He’s largely not into treating
standard tuning, Toronto’s his guitar like a cajon, but he is an
Dylan Ryche has found excellent exponent of the Nuno
an abundance of fresh Bettencourt ‘slap the strings
material in it. It’s not all he on 2 & 4’ technique. This
uses, but a number of TG TIP means many of his tunes
highlights from his 2021 Sometime simple is come with a near-
release Two Tigers most effective. irresistible urge to nod
make use of the tuning Standard tuning with your head. Titles like It’s
we all know best. It a ‘beats 2 and 4’ A Good Day and Baby I
gives some chord backbeat can Don’t Mind underscore
voicings a welcome
produce earcatching his feelgood vibe.
tunes
familiarity, but because This chipper Canadian’s
it’s rarely used in this genre Twitter bio describes him
now, it ironically helps him as a “Songwriter, musician,
sound original. producer, dad & KISS Fan”, and while he
Ryche tends to create brighter rarely rock and rolls all night, he will make
textures than his peers, partly because you want to party every day.
“Dylan sticking to standard tuning has

Photos Kevin Nixon
ironically helped him sound original”

Maneli Jamal
The wandering spirit
aving lived in Iran, Belarus, Jamal is known for his entertaining
H Germany, the US and Canada,

Maneli Jamal has not had
a shortage of musical
traditions to explore. At their best,
his compositions have a globe
on-stage delivery as well as his playing,
and this ability to tell a story pervades
his compositions. He has a gift for
finding sounds to conjure images,
whether he is evoking the Iranian
trotting expansiveness of revolution in Awakening or
their own, running the summer in the American
gamut of modern South on Southern
techniques, tunings,
TG TIP Magnolia.
Try using exotic scales
and rhythms. such as the Phrygian His 2012 opus
An early success of Dominant mode to The Lamaj Movement
his, Awakening, skips broaden your musical makes use of this gift
gracefully between palette by telling the story of
bars of 3/4 and 4/4, his nomadic childhood
moves through over 12 instrumental
massive-sounding chord tracks. It evokes all the
voicing, and builds to a climax drama of his early life but is
of guitar percussion. considerably less arduous than
Daft Funk, meanwhile, hints at spending your childhood in exile.
what might happen if Nile Rodgers So far in 2021, he’s passed 50 million
dedicated himself to mastering Spotify streams and 5 million YouTube
fingerstyle acoustic. views, and Maneli’s star is still rising.
“Maneli’s compositions have a globe- 49

expansiven ss of their own”
trotting expansive own
Mike Dawes
The fun-loving fingerstylist
urrey-born Mike Dawes is nu-school of virtuoso acoustic guitar. He
S currently the guitar foil for the

Moody Blues’ legendary
singer-songwriter Justin
Hayward, lending his modern style to
classic tunes such as Nights In
peppers his work with percussive hits of
the instrument’s body – emulating kick
drum, snare and hi-hat – and uses a raft
of open tunings, from DADGAD to an open
C#m9 (C# G# D# E B E).
White Satin. Now 31, Dawes Hammering-on chords
TG TIP
started out playing the
Get comfy with your over the top of the guitar
clubs solo, and knows guitar when using neck is a theatrical
how to develop percussive flourish, but it also gives
a quirky, fun rapport techniques. You need those notes a more
with audiences as he to ensure your even attack. Dawes’
metes out his daunting percussive strikes are signature guitar, made
technique, which he has on target, with no by German Luthier
described as ‘the b*stard accidental knocks! Andreas Cuntz, comes
son of fingerstyle guitar’. loaded with four pickups to
Influenced by everyone capture all these nuances, and
from Mike Hedges to Pierre Bensusan, his effects rack adds distortion, pitch
Dawes is a leading exponent of the shift, delay and reverb as needed.
“Dawes has described his technique as

the b****** son of fingerstyle guitar”
AY 2 0211 TOTAL GUITAR
COVER FEATURE
Marcin Patrzalek
The one-man band
A
t only 20 years old, Polish More recently, he’s struck a deal with
prodigy Marcin Patrzalek Sony – who have given him the budget
has already built up an to bring his ideas to life, each tallying
impressively sizeable profile millions of views on YouTube and
online, thanks to his genre-crossing hundreds of thousands elsewhere,
rearrangements of classical blending elements of hip-hop
masterpieces including and electronica with more
Moonlight Sonata. He guitar-led influences.
started out on classical His latest video sees
at 10 years old, winning
TG TIP him tackling Led
Don’t neglect playing
his first competitions dynamics and Zeppelin’s Kashmir
only months later, showmanship. as a one-man band,
before moving onto Marcin’s live delivery exploring every inch
flamenco and is full of energy! of his Ibanez acoustic
percussive fingerstyle. melodically and
In 2019, he appeared in rhythmically with some
front of Simon Cowell and his truly mind-blowing results.
co-judges on America’s Got Talent, “My goal is to show the world
splicing Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony – not only musicians and guitarists
with parts of Toxicity by Armenian- – that percussive acoustic should
American metallers System Of A Down be the next big thing,” he tells TG.
on mainstream television. The clip Whatever he’s doing, it definitely
soon went viral across the world. seems to be working.
50 “On America’s Got Talent, Marcin

spliced Beethoven’s Fifth with Toxicity”
Rodrigo y Gabriela
The dynamic duo
M
oving 5,000-odd miles Five studio albums, three live albums
from Mexico to Dublin and one EP later, it would be fair to say
could very well be the best they overcame the odds. The pair have
decision Rodrigo Sánchez also delved into the world of film
and Gabriela Quintero ever soundtracks, collaborating with
made. It is, after all, where the likes of Hans Zimmer on
the guitar-playing duo Pirates Of The Caribbean,
were first discovered –
TG TIP and became Grammy
Recording two guitar
busking on the streets parts? Vary your tone winners last year for
and building a buzz by using different most recent album
that eventually picking techniques, Mettavolution. As
materialized into changing your strings individuals, both have
record label and or even using excelled in their own
management interest. another guitar. avenues of technique and
“When we arrived, it was phrasing, but together their
pretty scary!” Gabriela noise is even greater than the
Quintero told TG in 2019. “It was April sum of its parts – Gabriela’s rhythmic
and freezing, we couldn’t speak English fingerstyle every bit as mind-boggling as
and ran out of money in one week.” Rodrigo’s machine-gun alternate picking.
Photos Trae Patton/NBC / Joby Sessions
“Gabriela’s fingerstyle is every bit as

mind-boggling as Rodrigo’s picking”
feature
LESSONS
IN LOOP
Who needs the band? Use a looper
pedal and you BECOME the band!
sing a looper to sum of some easy-to-play parts.
U layer guitar tracks

can be a fantastic
way of getting
more out of your
guitar playing. Use it as a learning
tool and stack tracks with a
harmonically ‘correct’ approach or
It’ll also introduce you to the most
important elements of looping,
namely: perfecting your timing
and using dynamics and space
vr#|rxu#sduwv#ľrz1#
And the next step? Well, you’re
limited only by your creativity! Try
free your ears from all constraints incorporating percussive strikes as
and just see what happens! a groove to jam over. Alternatively,
Here, we’ve written an acoustic place your looper after some
guitar piece that’s almost like hļhfwv#lq#|rxu#vljqdo#fkdlq#wr#
a mini-orchestra, but we’re really really broaden your options. Just
only scratching the surface of remember the golden rule to give
what’s possible and hopefully each part its space, with lows,
showing you how a looper can mids and highs overlapping
52 make a piece greater than the and intertwining.
LOOPER LEGENDS…
How the greats use the humble looper pedal
1 Frippertronics 2 KT Tunstall and the 3 Open-mic goes stadium-sized 4 Art-rock and avant garde
Long before loopers became ‘modern’ approach If anyone demonstrates the sheer Merrill Garbus’ output with
pedalboard mainstays, King For a looper masterclass, check out scale of looping’s potential to Tune-Yards features looped live
Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp a live performance of Tunstall’s elevate what is ostensibly a solo drums, vocals and percussion.
played into analogue tape reels 2005 track Black Horse And The open-mic acoustic performance to Tash Sultana’s Jungle is a modern
set up side by side with what’s Cherry Tree. One of the earliest a U2-esque stadium extravaganza, looper guitar classic, with Tash
recorded on one being sent onto artists to popularise loopers in it’s Sheeran. Ed’s Chewie II board is integrating pitch-shifted parts
the other and then returned, what we’ll call ‘the modern age’, MIDI-enabled, driving Ableton Live for the bassline, live looped
creating a delay effect to which Tunstall incorporates percussive and allows him and his live engineer synth drums and chorus-
you can add new layers of guitar. acoustic guitar strikes, vocal to control the loops at all times. drenched chords.
Robert called this influential harmonies, handclaps and
system ‘Frippertronics’. tambourine as a backing for her
lead vocal and strummed guitar.
1 GUITAR 1: THE FOUNDATION TRACK 10
q = 97
Am F
.. ..
T . .
B
. 0 3 2 0 3 2
3 2 0
3
3 2 0
3
.
3 3 1 1
Guitar 1 acts as the foundation upon which everything else is built. Think like a bassist would – melodic but consistent and leaving plenty of space for everything else that
follows. You don’t have to start in the low register, but it does give you scope to start moving higher in pitch with subsequent parts.

LOOPING
2 GUITAR 2: CHORDS TRACK 11
Am G Am G F C/E F C/E
.. ..
T . 1 0 1 0 .
B
. 2 0 2 0 2
3
0
2
2
3
0
2 .
Develop that foundation by adding some simple chords. The trick is to start to fill things out but not too much or you’ll be playing over a wall of mud – we’ve stuck to some
simple two-note shapes. Never lose sight of the key signature (A minor here). You always want a rough idea of where you can go next.
3 GUITAR 3: SIMPLE MELODY TRACK 12
Am F
.. ..
T . 8
10 8
8
12 10
.
B
. 9 10
.
With the foundation in place, we’re developing a melody, which we’re keeping simple so it’s easy to add harmonies or a more detailed part. We’ve shifted higher in the
register to make the part stand out. A large part of looping is the contrast between the low, middle and high register.
53
4 GUITAR 4: HARMONY LINE TRACK 13
Am F
.. ..
T . 3 5
3
5
3
5 .
B
. 5 5
.
The melody is now harmonised and to begin with, simple harmonies of 3rds, 4ths and 5ths give a good sound, you can experiment with more adventurous harmonies as
you progress. Alternatively, try playing an octave up.
5 GUITAR 5: BUSIER PART TRACK 14
Am F
.. ..
T . .
B
. 10
7
10
7 9 7 9 10
10
7
10
7 9 7 9 10 7 9 7 9 10 9 10
7
7 9 7 9 10 9 10
7
.
Guitars: Stuart Ryan
The space in the previous loops leaves room for us to add this final part which is busier. Adding this type of rhythm changes the feel of the loops and gives everything more
of a feel of urgency. Think of this part as being more of a riff-based idea as opposed to the chords/melody approach.

ird
risB
h
s /C
ikide
rm
n Me
to
s Mil
rd
Wo
PLAYING
IN THE KEY
OF SEA
Six Music
Lessons Of The
Sea Shanty
54

SEA SHANTIES
A
hoy there! In this feature, we’re 19th-century whaling song Wellerman, sparking the melodies, seven-note scales and song
exploring the centuries-old the ‘ShantyTok’ craze and a number one single structures of English, American and
musical style that has enjoyed for Evans. European folk songs.
an unlikely resurgence in 2021: The sea shanty itself is a traditional but broad A vocal-led style it may be, but we’ll show
the sea shanty. Both Bristol and controversially-defined folk genre. you the key musical characteristics and
folk group The Longest Johns and Scottish Pentatonic scales, call and responses structures hopefully inspire you to write and play your
postie Nathan Evans recently experienced viral and work-song principles of Caribbean and own shanties on guitar. Read on and we’ll
success on TikTok with their performances of Afro-American styles can be heard alongside tell you what you need to know.
PIECES OF EIGHT
Lesson 2 Choose one scale
and make it count
W
riting without a six-string not exactly floating your boat?
No problem! Take a guitar-focussed approach and start
off with a scale such as the good old eight-note major
scale. Most shanty tunes follow just one musical scale
and one key, and they’re entirely connected to the human voice in terms
of pitch range, vocal leaps, melodic shape and phrase length. So learn to
play what you can sing. This will help keep range and phrase lengths
HEAVE HO! (keep in mind humans have to pause to breathe; guitars don’t!)
natural and vocal-like.
MUSIC THAT WORKS

Lesson 1: Write your shanty during 4
F# B
4
F# B G#
repetitive tasks and daily routines E A E A
T
hanks to our busy modern lifestyles, most of us think of music C# G# C# 55
as an added pleasure in our lives, but somehow separate from
what we do. Music is recreation! While some sea shanties E A F# B E A D F# B
(known as forebitters) are intended for entertainment, songs
about missing loved ones, tributes to the fallen and hope for better times
(e.g. Leave Her, Johnny, and Don’t Forget Your Old Shipmate), most emerged C# C#
to accompany maritime tasks. They were led by one trusted leader
(the ‘shantyman’) who acted as both musical and workforce director. A major A major scale
In short, the music was necessary in the coordination, physical exertion, pentatonic scale
signalling, and to keep up spirits. Writing a shanty of your own? Put your
guitar down – authentic melodic ideas will come if you sing, hum or F# B B
whistle while you work.
4 4
G C E A G C E A
F
TYPES OF SHANTY E A D F# B E A D B
There are several types of shanty;
directly related to the job at hand: G C F G C
1 SHORT-DRAG (OR SHORT-HAUL) SHANTIES

Tasks which required short bursts of energy and a quick pull A Dorian mode A natural
(like shortening a sail), e.g. Paddy Doyle’s Boots. minor scale
2 LONG-HAUL SHANTIES
These were sung during heavy labour over longer periods of time,
like lowering or raising a sail, e.g. Blow The Man Down.
3 CAPSTAN (OR WINDLASS) SHANTIES ALL HANDS ON NECK!
Employed for a group working in strict rhythmic coordination Navigate the fretboard and sail the high
(e.g. Drunken Sailor). ‘C’s with four swashbuckling scale shapes...
4 PUMPING SHANTIES FOR CLEARING LEAKS,
E.G. SANTIANA. These are the most common (though certainly not all) scales you’ll need.
The typical singing range of the shanty is factored in, though you could
5 WHALING SHANTIES certainly go deeper and play in G, F or E. Choruses and final ‘responses’
Sung to inspire strength and courage on whaling ships, typically end on root notes, while ‘calls’ tend to land on naturally
e.g. Bonnie Ship The Diamond and probably Wellerman. ‘questioning’ scale degrees (usually the 5th, but sometimes the
2nd or other degrees).

FEATURE
“AHOY THERE!”, “AVAST YE!”

Lesson 3: Use call and response, but also
flexible structures
SHIVER ME TIMBRES
T
he Shantyman took the role of soloist, setting up the shanty,
singing unaccompanied parts and signalling the ‘chorus’
where others would join in – an arrangement generally
Lesson 5: Make music with what you have
T
known as ‘call and response’. Though most shanties in their raditional shanties were completely efficient in their use of
original forms are separated into ‘solo’ and ‘chorus’ sections, there’s not musical instruments. While the accordion and other small
exactly a rulebook and song structures vary greatly. Here are three: transportable instruments were sometimes used, the essence
of the shanty is the human voice, stamped feet and the sound
1 Flexible structure of the tools essential to the task at hand. Since the 1960s revival, many
Many shanties have indefinite lengths (as did sailors’ tasks), and might folk bands have performed sea shanties, with acoustic-led full-band
include indefinite repetition and improvised sections. Restrict your shanty arrangements becoming commonplace. In the last couple of decades,
to two, or maybe three short sections with simple chord structures. rock, punk and metal have blended into the sea shanty phenomenon,
2 Verse/chorus model broadening the parameters into the more generic “pirate rock”. Check
Some shanties include verses (‘refrains’) and ‘grand choruses’, rousing out Alestorm and Blaggards.
boisterous sections where everyone sings. Use longer held notes and
pauses to regain energy for a restart.
FOUR WAYS TO PLAY SEA
3 Call and response
Usually, but not always, ‘calls’ come from soloists and ‘responses’ from the
SHANTIES ON GUITAR...
ensemble. Think of the musical phrases as ‘questions’ (call) and ‘answers’ 1 Percussive acoustic rhythm with vocal
(response) and you’ll get a feel for the melodic phrasing. Beat out a steady quarter-note ‘kick and snare’ effect on your steel-string
acoustic for an authentic rhythm to sing over.
CALL AND RESPONSE STRUCTURE 2 12-string acoustic with capo

Use a capo at the 5th fret (or higher) on a 12-string for a mandolin-esque
Follow this bounty of musical treasures and effect. Perfect for a shanty melody with a folk vibe.
make your own shanties shipshape! 3 Strummed chords
56 Acoustic guitar is often a strong rhythmic presence in folk. Strum firmly
and outline the changes. Nothing else is needed.
4 Rock out
If the rise of pirate metal tells us anything, it’s that any rules are there to
be broken. Plug in and rock out with your favourite shanties, we say!
NEW WAVE
Lesson 6: Collaborate and make
music that connects
T
he recent wave of ‘ShantyTok’ might feel completely
unprecedented. However some suggest that the recent
extended lockdowns have created a sense of isolation which
the shanty seems to connect to. There is a deep human
connection made by singing together which the shanty addresses. But
it also emerged out of another type of necessity. With real-time online
music making near impossible, the call and response structures of the sea
shanty are ideally suited – particularly with TikTok’s ‘duet function’ - for
online collaboration. And that makes it a genuine, unpretentious style
which invites participation by all as equals, not as separated ‘artists’
GET ON BOARD WITH CHORDS and ‘audience’. And perhaps there is the real treasure.
Lesson 4 Simple chords and the I-IV-V progression rule
T here’s no magic ‘sea shanty chord progression’ for instant nautical

tones, however, there are a handful crucial chord sequences to
understand. Apply these changes to our Call And Response Structure
charts and you’ll be in the right ballpark, or, er, harbour!
1 Major I-IV-V 2 Minor I-IV-V 3 Harmonic minor I-IV-V 4 Minor to major change
ADE Am Dm Em Am Dm E Am F C Am
A is the root chord so start there Same as the major chord Swap Em for an E for a slightly If you’re in A minor, experiment
and change to D and E around progression, but with minor more pirate-y sound. with F and C major chords in your
your melody. chords. Simple! second section.

Find Your Perfect Tone
n h u
w
Also available to order online at www.magazinesdirect.com/guitarist-magazine

FEATURE
SOON MAY THE

WELLERMAN COME
Sail the seven seas of rock with TG’s guitar
version of this 19th century sea shanty!
ow, admittedly, we can’t new trend it may be, but this traditional
imagine that guitar, amp tune has endured thanks to its strong,
and pedalboard featured instantly memorable melody line. As
too highly in most 19th with What Shall We Do With The
century sailors’ luggage Drunken Sailor or a trad. folk tune like
– we’ll concede that. The Wild Rover, one listen to Wellerman
Still, we’re not going to let that stop and it’s in your head for good!
us from plugging in and rocking out So, here we present our own version
with our own version of Wellerman, the of this traditional tune. There are only
150+ year-old sea shanty which recently two four-bar sections to learn, but we’ve
became Nathan Evans’ sensational viral let rip during the last eight bars to give
TikTok hit and number one single in the you some ideas for your own version,
UK chart. An unlikely and unfathomable and tabbed it all out for you.
58 SOON MAY THE WELLERMAN COME TRACK 16
q = 110
Am
. .
Dm
. . .
Am
. ~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~
T 9 9 9 9 9 10 7 7 9 10
10
9 9
7 7 9 10
B
1
. .
E
. .
Am
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
j
.
œ
~~~~~~~~~ 3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
T 9 9 9 9 9 9 7 5 7 5 4
5 7 7 9 10 7
B
3
j
F
j .. C Dm
.
Am
~~~~~~~~~~
œ œ
.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Guitars and backing Charlie Griffiths
T 10
12 (14) 12 (14 )
10
10 12 9 9 9 9 10 7 7 7 10 9
BU BU 7 7
B
5

SEA SHANTIES
SOON MAY THE WELLERMAN COME (cont’d)
j
F
j .. j œ
C
. ~~~~~ E
. .
Am ~~~~~~~~~~~
œ œ œ .
~~~~~~ 3
~~~~~~~~~~~~
T 10
12 (14)
10
12 (14 )
8
10 10 (12 ) 9 9 9 9 9 7 5 7 5 4 2 14
BU BU BU
B
7
Dm Am
. . ~~~~~~~~~~ . . ~~~~~~~~~~
. .
~~~~~~~~~~~ 15 17
~~~~~~~~~~~
T 14 14 14 16 17
15 17 17 17 18 15 15 17 18 18 17
B
9
(√)
E Am
. . ~~~~~~~~~~
3
~~~~~~~~
. .
59
~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
6
BU
T 14 14 14 16 17
15 17 17 17 15 17 15 13 15 13 12 13 12 10 12 10 8 8 (10) [10 ]
B
11
~~~~~~~~~
F C Dm Am
œ
j
œ
j ~~~~~~~~~ .
~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
BU BU
T 12 (14)
10 13
12 (14 ) 10 12 12 9 9 10 7 7 9 10 9 7
10 9 7
B
13
F C E Am
œ
j
œ
j .. j ~~~~~ œ
j
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
œ œ
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
T 12 (14 )
10 10
12 (14) 10 10 (12)
8
9 9 9 9
15 17 15 13 12 10
BU BU BU 12 14 12 10 9 7
B
15
The main Wellerman tune is made of two four-bar sections (bars 1-4 and 5-8 here), so work on those parts primarily. We’ve written another eight bars of music, taking the
melody higher up the fretboard and adding a few flourishes. Learn the bare bones of the melody, have a go at our shreddier licks, then try making up your own version.

60

GARY MOORE
Words Grant Moon / Portraits Jesse Wild
“BLUES IS ABOUT
PASSION AND
EMOTION, AND
GARY MOORE HAD
THAT IN SPADES” 61
He was the Irish guitar hero who inspired countless players from
Joe Bonamassa to Kirk Hammett. With extracts from a never-
before-published interview with Gary from 2004, TG profiles
the career of a legendary figure whose influence lives on
I
f you play high-gain, uptempo blues these days, a thrilling listen. Opener I’m Tore Down hometown, Belfast. He would regularly
chances are the late, great Gary Moore is one of your was popularised by the imposing blues share a stage – and guitars and amps
go-to guys. That’s certainly true of Kris Barras, genius Freddie King, and in Moore’s – with another upcoming player, Rory
a leading name among the modern generation of hands it’s a roaring blues in D, one he Gallagher. Clapton’s new sound hit
blues rock guitarists. “Gary loved traditional blues,” would sometimes belt out at gigs such Moore hard. “I’d been playing for five
Kris tells Total Guitar, “but his blues style was very as Montreux Festival back in ’99. His years when that came out,” he told this
much rock-influenced, and that’s what drew me to facility for slide guitar is clear from his writer in 2004, “and I heard Eric using
him. The blues police are always there – to them if excoriating take on Done Somebody that Les Paul/Marshall combination. He
you weren’t around in the 1960s, don’t just play 12-bar stuff Wrong, an Elmore James song famously kind of invented rock guitar as we know
and turn your gain up above four, then you’re not real blues! tackled by the Allman Brothers on their it – playing the blues with that edgy,
But for me blues is about passion and emotion, and Gary classic live LP At Fillmore East. And aggressive tone. Then I heard Jeff Beck
Moore had that in spades. It was the power and passion in his among the ballads and forward- and Peter Green, and that’s where it
notes. His style was aggressive – with his hammer-ons and thinking rockers, perhaps the most all came from for me.”
pull-offs, his trills and vibrato – the attack he had. He’d be historically relevant song present is his He met gifted yet troubled guitarist
soft and melodic then give it a big powerful burst, and I love cover of Memphis Slim’s Steppin’ Out. Green two years later in Dublin, when
those dynamics. I don’t like things being moderate!” This song was given new life on the 1966 Moore’s new band Skid Row supported
Moderation was something that Moore, who died in 2011 album Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton, Green’s Fleetwood Mac. “Peter was such
aged just 58, was rarely accused of, but as shown on his new, aka ‘The Beano Album’. It was the sole a huge influence on me,” Gary said.
posthumous eight-track release How Blue Can You Get, his record Clapton made with John Mayall’s “I’d seen him play at [Belfast rhythm
fretboard talent was undiminished to the end. The album’s star-making group, and it changed the ’n’ blues venue] Club Rado, he was using
title track, a hit for BB King back in 1942, is a 12-bar blues in young Gary Moore’s life. this amazing Les Paul that I went on to
C that drips with bluesy feel; Moore’s cultured facility for In 1966, Gary was just 14, already own, he plugged into a rented Selmer
King’s Chicago-style licks, married to his thicker, hard rock a self-professed ‘blues snob’, and amplifier and the whole place was
tone and fast hammered/pulled pentatonic licks makes for playing guitar in local bands in his vibrating with his sound. The tone

feature
was so beautiful. Peter discovered me in
Skid Row in Dublin when I was 16, and
he persuaded his manager to bring
us to England.”
Wkdw#4<8<#Ohv#Sdxo/#dļhfwlrqdwho|#
nicknamed ‘Greeny’, is now owned by
another Moore super-fan, Metallica’s
Kirk Hammett. It’s the instrument
heard on Fleetwood Mac hits such as
Need Your Love So Bad and Man Of The
World, its uncharacteristically single-coil
sound down to the pickups being wired
out of phase. Moore called it ‘a battleaxe
to play’, but would use it throughout his
career, notably on Blues For Greeny, his
1995 album dedicated to his hero. It’s
also on the new collection, How Blue
<ZgyRhn@^m its unique tone is clear and
present on the self-penned closing
track, Living With The Blues.
After Skid Row, Moore’s career passed
through various phases, and slowly but
vxuho|#klv#lqfuhgleoh#surĽflhqf|#rq#wkh#
electric guitar saw him drift away from
his roots in the British Blues Explosion.
Between 1975 and 1978 he played
jazz-rock in the group Colosseum II.
More famously, his sporadic, turbulent
membership of Thin Lizzy proved his
62 rock chops to millions worldwide. The
classic Lizzy song Waiting For An Alibi
from the 1979 album Black Rose was an
example of his formidable shred-rock
style as he shared dazzling harmony
lines with co-guitarist Scott Gorham.
But, tellingly, Gary would share a room
with Lizzy drummer Brian Downey on
tour, and they would indulge their
mutual love for the blues, playing Young Man's trusty Tube Screamer got cranked way For 1990’s Still Got The Blues, he went
blues
cassettes featuring Mayall, Albert and up. The solos got faster (check out the back to the records he adored. Among
Leading The Gary
BB King, and of course Peter Green. Moore Band on stage E-minor picking/legato workout Speak the no-brainers was Otis Rush’s All Your
As a solo artist, Moore’s early albums at London’s For Yourself, on 1989’s After The War), and Love, a crowning moment from that
showed the sheer conviction of his Alexandra Palace, Moore had more hit singles with power Clapton/Bluesbreakers ‘Beano Album’.
playing, and in 1978 the album Back On August 1973. ballads (Empty Rooms) and rock anthems Oh Pretty Woman was a tune popularised
The Streets gave him his signature hit. (Out In The Fields, with Lynott). by blues great Albert King on his 1967
The UK Top 10 ballad Parisienne Exw#dv#Prruhġv#jxlwdu#udfn#Ľoohg#zlwk# LP Born Under A Bad Sign. King guested
Walkways was sung by Lizzy’s Phil a heavy metal arsenal of Hamers, on the track, and with his Flying V
Lynott, rested on a gentle 6/8 rhythm, Charvels and Ibanezes, he grew tired of somewhat crushed by Moore’s huge
with Moore’s beautifully expressed Les the overblown trappings of 80s rock. By Ohv#Sdxo#vrxqg/#Nlqj#rļhuhg#klv#krvw#
Paul-voiced lead hook wrung from the the After The War tour he was exhausted a valuable piece of wisdom during the
A Harmonic Minor scale, over the song’s creatively, disconnected from what had recording: ‘play every other lick’. This
jazz standard-style chord changes jrw#klp#lqwr#pxvlf#lq#wkh#Ľuvw#sodfh1#Kh# chimed with Moore, who came to once
- Am/Dm7/G11/Cmaj7/Fmaj7/Bdim/E. could usually be found in his dressing again appreciate the value of space and
Moore usually strung his guitars with room before a sold-out show, picking anticipation, of tension and release.
.010-.052s, usually Dean Markleys, and away at the blues, maybe on his trusty Albert Collins, ‘The Master Of The
always used extra-heavy picks. All the 1961 salmon-pink Strat, or even Greeny Telecaster’, joined Gary for a duel on
better to play the hard rock/heavy metal itself. When his bassist Bob Daisley the 1955 Johnny Guitar Watson tune
that won him a large loyal following noticed this he suggested he make BƅfyMbk^], with Moore opting for his ’61
(Kris Barras’ dad among them) in the a blues record next, and Moore laughed Strat. To get that thinner guitar’s output
80s. On the albums Corridors Of Power – he had too much to lose to change nearer that of his Les Pauls, he would
(1982) and Victims Of The Future (1983), tack. But despite some misgivings the often drive it through a Boss DS-1 pedal.
Photos Getty
wkh ulļv jrw khdylhu/ wkh jxlwduv jrw idea stuck, and the next record he He used that guitar again on the upbeat
sxvkhg wkurxjk pruh hļhfwv/ dqg klv made was the game-changer. Texas Strut, a self-penned tune that

GARY MOORE
name-checks two of that state’s great at the time called Th

he
blues players, Billy Gibbons and Stevie Guv’nor [mids and g gain both
Ray Vaughan, but pulled out his ’68 cranked], which was s the
Strat – tuned to open-A – for the slide Ľuvw#Pduvkdoo#ryhuguulyh
guitar of album opener Moving On. of that generation. We’d
W
Greeny itself was uncased for the classic rehearsed the song, 63
Fleetwood Mac tune Stop Messin’ obviously, but we didd it
Around, Moore’s Beatle friend George and recorded it in onne
Harrison even contributed a new song, take. That guitar, the
e
That Kind Of Woman, but the title track solo and everything,,
really told the tale. With its big, clear just came out like th
hat,
Les Paul lead motif in A minor, 6/8 unbelievably. I’ll nev
ver
metre and familiar chord progression forget hearing that guitar
g
(Dm7/G11/Cmaj7/Fmaj7/Bdim/E/Am), in the headphone an nd
Still Got The Blues was a close musical thinking, ‘Let’s just go for
relative of Parisienne Walkways. When it it, show ‘em what yo ou’re
came together in just one take, Gary made of’. We though ht we
knew he was back on the right path. were just doing dem mos,
“It was one of those days when which helped, becau use there
everything went right for me,” he said. was no pressure on you,
y but
“I’d bought another 1959 Les Paul, I’d that version grew on n us and we
had it for a few years by this point but kept it. The same day we did the
had never really played it. We were Albert King track. It was
w a great day.”
trying out the room [Sarm Studios]. Nicknamed ‘Stripe’, that ’59 Les
I had the sound in my head – I took Paul Standard was alll stock except
that guitar and plugged into in this for new Grover tuners and a re-fret
Marshall JTM45 reissue amp [set clean; (Moore favoured jum mbo frets). And
mids up], and they had this new pedal it promptly became Moore’s main
“Eric Clapton,
Beck and Peter
that’s where it
came from for
CHH TAA
GARY MOORE
instrument after the Still Got The Blues

sessions. It was also used by Gibson as
the model for Moore’s signature Les
Paul, produced between 2000 and 2002.
Moore was fiercely proud of having his
name on his own guitar’s headstock,
and these would be his main live
guitars for the rest of his life, which
was redefined by the success of
his new album.
Still Got The Blues hit No.13 in the UK
album chart and was certified platinum
there in 1994, going on to sell millions
across the world. While Moore did lose
some of the more metal-minded
members of his existing audience,
his evolving status as a blues superstar
made him accessible to legions of new
fans, and other players noticed.
Back in the metal world, Kirk
Hammett was galvanised by Moore’s
guitar tone to write the write riff for
Metallica’s The Unforgiven, a song that
appeared on the band’s self-titled 1991
album, a multi-million selling hit. In
the 90s, future blue-eyed boy of the
blues Joe Bonamassa was a teenager,
freshly dumped from his first band
Bloodline, and in the early stages of
64 a solo career. Looking across the
Atlantic, he watched Moore’s
renaissance with interest – clearly
there was an audience in Europe for
robust, gain-up blues. In 2015
Bonamassa told Viennese TV channel
Multaschag: ‘Whereas the US had Stevie
Ray Vaughan, Europe had Gary Moore.
He was this bull in a china shop playing
blues songs on an old Les Paul through
a couple of Marshalls – I’ll give you one
guess where I got that playbook!’ As
his success grew, first in Europe, then
at home, Bonamassa would add Still
Got The Blues’ slow and moody tune
Midnight Blues to his setlist, by way
of tribute. les paul legend other lick’, in honour of the bluesman For Barras and others in the new
Ironically Moore later concurred with On stage at London’s he owed so much. generation of amped-up, high-gain
Hammersmith Odeon
the critics (and the ever-vigilant blues Kris Barras was just 10 when Blues For blues rockers, Gary Moore’s name
in 1979 during Thin
police) who had considered that album Lizzy’s Black Greeny came out. “That album really comes up regularly in interview, and
too overblown and heavy to constitute Rose tour. opened a door for me,” he recalls. “It was Barras for one is fine with it. “I’m not
a pure blues record. Although his some of Gary’s most traditional bluesy ashamed of his big influence! Gary
subsequent catalogue was built on his stuff. Through him I realised what the wrote great songs, his voice is often
winning fusion of blues and hard rock, genre really was, and then I went back overlooked, and his effect on guitar
he thought of ‘95’s Blues For Greeny as and discovered the big blues guys, like playing will be felt for decades to come.
his first blues album proper, as he Albert Collins and BB King. The first CD He was a generational talent.”
strapped on Green’s Les Paul, dialled I ever bought with my own money was How Blue Can You Get is released
down the distortion, and ‘played every Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Texas Flood.” via Provogue on April 30th.
“We recorded Still Got The Blues

in one take – solo and everything”
Photo Getty

GARY MOORE
GOT THE
BLUES
TG takes you inside the playing
style of the guitarist whose
musical rediscovery in the early
90s changed blues forever
ary Moore’s rzhv#d#ghew#wr#Jdu|#Prruh1#Shulrg1#
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Still Got The ri#Jdu|ġv#ohdg#vw|oh#srvw04<<3#Ğ#klv#
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sod|lqj#xswhpsr#eoxhv#wrgd|# edodqfh#ri#vshhg#dqg#ihho111#
GOT THE TONE

The gear on Gary’s classic track, Still Got The Blues
1 59 “STRIPE” LES PAUL 3 MARSHALL GUV’NOR
STANDARD OVERDRIVE PEDAL
Yes, Gary owned Greeny, but his Cranking the gain and midrange
‘Stripe’ Les Paul was used on Still on Marshall’s famed Guv’nor pedal
Got The Blues. The lead guitar intro, pushed the amp hard, giving the
solo 1 and first half of solo 2 are all song its signature fat,
played with the neck pickup, before sustaining tone.
Gary switches back to the bridge
in bar 17. 4 ROLAND SDD-320
DIMENSION D CHORUS
2 MARSHALL MID-60S Perhaps surplus to requirements,
JTM45 REISSUE but if you’re playing the verse
This was a prototype amp that was arpeggios, dial in a light chorus
soon to be released by Marshall. tone with gentle stereo spread
Set mostly clean with a pedal but very little pitch modulation.
providing the drive tone.

GARY MOORE
1 BIG BENDS AND EPIC VIBRATO TRACK 17
j 3
q = 139 q q =q q
D9 ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
nœ
j . œ
j œ
j
.
BU BU ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BU ~~~~~~~~~~~~
T 13 (15 ) 13 (15 ) 15 (19) 15
B ¿ ]
To really get inside Gary’s blues lead playing, you need to study how he played with such fire and aggression, and nowhere is that more evident than in his expressive string
bends and epic vibrato, which you’ll find mimicked in bars 1 and 2 here. Don’t let up when you reach the muted string slide at the end of the tab – it’s a musical ‘punctuation
mark’ that Gary used a lot.
2 ERIC CLAPTON STYLE PENTATONIC RUNS TRACK 18
j
D9
~~~~~~~~~
nœ
n nœ
j
~~~~~~~~~
#
3 3 3
BU ~~~~~~~~~~ BU ~~~~~~~~~~
13 (15 ) 13 10 10
T 13 10 13 (15 ) 13 10
12 10
12
B
We’re in Beano-era Clapton territory here – a huge influence on Gary. Fingering-wise, Gary would use his first and third fingers almost exclusively for licks like this – the
strongest fingers, of course (remember what we said about aggression?!). What set Gary apart was his ability to blast out licks like this either bang on the pulse or
66 deliberately dragging behind the beat, but always under control.
3 POSITION-SHIFT PHRASING TRACK 19
œ
j
D9
n ~~~~~ ~~~~~
3
.
let ring
BU
8
RP ~~~~~~ ~~~~ 10 [10 ]
T 8 (10) (10) 8 6
7
10 [10 ]
5 3 5 7 3 5
B 5
The bends in bar 1 are typical Moore fare but it’s Gary’s swift position shifts that really stand out in licks like this. You’ll be moving from 6th position to 3rd, 5th and 3rd
again in bars 1 and 2 – pin-sharp timing is of course essential. We’re finishing off with another musical punctuation mark here, this time sliding down the treble strings
for a bluesy bite instead of a rawk roar!
4 REPEATABLE LICKS TRACK 20
n .~~~~~~~~ n
D9 j
j j j j j j j j j j œ
nœ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ nœ
#
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
~~~~~~~~~ BU
BU 15 BU 15 BU 15 BU 15 BU 15 BU BU 15 18 15 BU 15 18 15 BU 15 18 15 BU
T 17 (19 ) 17 (19 ) 17 (19 ) 17 (19 ) 17 (19 ) 17 (19 )
15
17 (19) 17 (19) 17 (19 ) 17 (19)
15 17 (18)
B ¿
This repeating lick demonstrates the influence of guitarists like T-Bone Walker, Chuck Berry and, once again, Eric Clapton on Gary. In fact, Moore plays a similar phrase to
this tabbed idea at 3:13 in Oh Pretty Woman. We’ve played ours dead straight but listen out for Gary’s Clapton-esque speed-change trick, shifting from triplets to 16th
notes midway through.

5 PETER GREEN INFLUENCE TRACK 21
q =140
A7 j n j n ~~ . œ
j n # n nœ
j
#
1/4
# œ
j œ œ
BU
10 12
BU BD ~~~~~ BU
12(15) 12 11 10
BU
10 12
1/4
T 9 11
10
11
12 (13) 12 (13) (12 ) 10
11
10 13(14) 14
The third album in Gary’s 1990s blues journey, Blues For Greeny, is a tribute to Peter Green’s work, played, of course, on the iconic ’59 Les Paul that Green sold to Moore. It’s
a more laidback offering, with Gary seeming to come of age in terms of his affinity for blues. Our lick demonstrates the secrets: less gain, fewer notes and plenty of
Green-inspired phrasing delivered, typically, with Gary’s clean, tight timing.
6 TEXAS INFLUENCES TRACK 22
q =125
n .~~
E7
√j j j j j
#
j ~~ 1/4 nœ œ œ j nœ
œ œ
. œ
3 3 3 3 3
BU BU ~~~~ BU
1/4
BU BU BU BU ~~~ 6
17 (19 ) 17 (19 ) 15 15 17 (19) 15 12 12 12 12 12 15 12
T 17 15 (17) 12 15 (17) 12 15 (17) 12 BU 12 15 (17) 12 15 12
14 (16) 14 12
14 12
B 12 10
Though known best for playing Les Pauls, Gary was no stranger to Fenders. He used his red 1961 Strat for a wondrous rendition of Red House at the 50th Anniversary Of
The Fender Stratocaster concert, opting again for the big F to record the Stevie Ray Vaughan and ZZ Top-inspired Texas Strut on Still Got The Blues. This lick starts out
SRV-style before rounding off on a run which could be either player! 67
7 GARY'S INFLUENCE ON JOE BONAMASSA TRACK 23
q =77
Bb5 Bb5
Dm
~~~ .
F
j
G C5 Dm
~~~~~~ F G C5
~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

T 5 7 7 10 9 10 9 7 9 9 7 9 7 3 7 5 3 2
B
1
Gary Moore superfan Joe Bonamassa is the natural heir to Gary’s virtuoso blues throne, delivering fire and intensity with, most often, a soaring Les Paul tone. Our example
homes in on the concept of playing a simple melody on just one string. Gary’s influence can be traced in the kind of ornamentation that both he and Joe would use. Almost
every note has a finger slide, hammer-on or pull-off added.
8 GARY'S INFLUENCE ON KRIS BARRAS TRACK 24

q =105
E5
√j G5
~~~~~~
A5
~~~~~~~
G5 A5
# œ . œ
œ
j
BU
17 (19) 17
BU
17 (19 ) 15
~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
T 17 17 (19 ) 17
14 12
14 12
B 14 12 10
A new generation of blues prodigies are indebted to Gary’s blues legacy – and none more so than Kris Barras. A high-energy, no-nonsense rock ’n’ roller, Kris picks hard,
really digging into the strings. Note the Moore-esque two-string bend in bar 1 of our tab example. There should be a biting, dissonant clash. If you’re not getting the
right sound, try fretting the second string a fret below the first.

CL ASSIC
T R AC K
68
STEVIE
RAY
VAUGHAN
MARY HAD A
LITTLE LAMB
Deservedly held in high regard by the great and the
good of the guitar world, we take a close look at
some classic SRV, with tips on tone and technique
CL ASSIC
T R AC K
B
y 1982, Stevie Ray Vaughan was
already making a name for
himself with Double Trouble,
GET THE SOUND
playing at the Montreux Jazz
Festival, when his career got Everything you need to know before playing ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’
a further boost from none other
tevie was most associated
wkdq#Mdfnvrq#Eurzqh/#zkr#rļhuhg#wkh#edqg#
free studio time – and David Bowie, who asked
him to play on the sessions for his Let’s Dance
Get the tone
5
CHANNEL CLEAN S with Strats – particularly his
battered ‘Number One’
assembled from late-50s and
album. Stevie and Double Trouble also 4 early-60s parts. Though Stevie
7 7 7 was known for using heavy
recorded their debut album Texas Flood – in strings and a high action, the
just three days! The band apparently set up in most important consideration
a circle so they could look at and listen to each is a relatively ‘rattle-free’ action
GAIN BASS MID TREBLE REVERB and firm confident attack. Stevie
other as in a live performance. The result is
would often hook several amps
a document of the instinctive musical together (including Fenders,
interaction which had so impressed Live, Stevie used the neck Marshalls and Dumbles), adding
David Bowie and Jackson Browne. and middle pickups a little extra push and tonal colour
together for most of with an Ibanez Tube Screamer.
We’re looking at album track Mary Had
the rhythm work, usually
: Ebmme^ EZf[ here, a cover of Buddy Guy’s switching to just the
original. Of course, there’s plenty to learn neck during the solo.
from Stevie’s trademark lead work, but don’t EFFECTS
ignore the basics. You can learn a lot of Overdrive
Level: 8
improvisational ideas from his approach to
Drive: 3
chords, and you can see how he follows both Tone: 5
12- and 8-bar blues patterns, too.
CHORDS SCALES
A T
ll but the B7 are three-note triads, interspersed with the main melody and lead hese two shapes cover virtually everything 69
olqhv1#Eh#vxuh#wr#pxwh#dq|#lgoh#vwulqjv/#sduwlfxoduo|#wkh#Ľiwk#zkhq#sod|lqj#wkrvh# – though note that shape 1 appears both in
E7 chords. The alternate A7 voicing appears just once at the beginning of open position for the main melody/intro
Verse 1. Who knows why? Just one of those little mysteries that make live and at the 12th fret for the solo. The shape 2 is
recordings so appealing! also played at the higher register, incorporating
lots of bends and doublestops.
X X X X X X X O
1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1
12
2 1 1 2 3 4
3 2
3 3 3
4 4 4
E7 A7 B7 E minor pentatonic
scale (shape 1)
X X X X X X
1 1 1
1 14
11
2 2 2
2 2 3
Guitars and backing: Richard Barrett Photo Getty
3
3 4
4 4 4 4 4
E minor pentatonic
scale (shape 2)
E7#9 A7

CL ASSIC
T R AC K
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN

MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB
Words and Music by Buddy Guy
Copyright © 1988 Mic Shau Music Company
All Rights Administered by BMG
Rights Management (US) LLC
MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.

Reprinted by Permission of Hal Leonard Europe Ltd.
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB Intro
q =120 E7
# .. ..
. . .
n n
PM
T 3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
B 0 2 0 2 0
3 0
0 2 2 2 0
3
1
A7
# ..
1/4
.
.. .
70
¿¿ 1/4
3 3 3 3
T 3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1 2 3 2 0
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 5 5
B 2 4 0
4
E7
# .
..
n b
œ
T 3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
B 0 2 0 2 0
3 0
0 2 2 2 0 1
7
#
B7 A7 E7 9
# ..
1/4
œœ
. œ
j
.
n
let ring
1/4 rake œ œ
3 0 0 3 3 3
T 2 2
2 3 0
2 4
3
4 2 0
3 3 3
1 2 2 2 2
B 2
2 2
0
0 0
10

FULL TRACK + BACKING (TRACKS 25-26)
This song comes with a full demo track and a backing
track (minus guitar) on your CD. Simply insert the disc in
your player, press play and jam along, guitaraoke style!
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN / MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB Intro (cont’d)
# .
œ ..
. n . n
3
T 3 3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
2 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
B 0 2 0 2 0
3 0
0 2 2 2 0
3
13
# .
A7
..
.. .
n
3 3 3 3
T 3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
B 0
0 2 2 2 0
3
0
16
1/4
# E7
..
œ œ .
n n
1/4
T 0 3 3 3 3 3
0
3 [3]
0 71
0 1 1 1 1
0 2 2 2 2 2
B 0 2 0 2 0
3 0 3
19
#
B7 A7 E7 9
..
1/4
. j .
.
œ
.
1/4
2 2 3 0 3 3 3
T 2 2
0
2
0
2
2 3 0
2 4
3
4 2 0
3 3 3
1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2
B 2
2
0
0 0
22
This combination of the main melody/riff and chords forms the backbone of the track. Keep an ear open for subtleties like occasional palm-muting and quarter-tone
bends. Though Stevie was a very consistent player, be aware that some of the small details like the muted strings in bar 3 are important, but shouldn’t sound too
‘deliberate’. Note the E7#9 is used this time.
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB Verse 1
#
# .
E7 9 A7
. .
E7
.. ..
1/4
.
..
0:47
n œ
3 3 3 3
T 3
12 12 12 2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
1/4
2 11 11 11 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
B 12 12 12 12
3 0
1

CL ASSIC
T R AC K
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB Verse 1 (cont’d)
1/4
B7 A7 E7
# . .. .
.. .. . ..
œ n n œ œ œ
let ring
T 3 3 3 3
2
0
3
2
3
2 ¿¿ 3
2 3 3 3
1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 1/4 2 2 2 1 1 1
2 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 2
B 0
2 2
3
0
3 0 0 0
5
A slightly modified (though not simplified) version of the chords functions as accompaniment during these verses. It’s interesting to note the subtle differences Stevie
puts in to some of the more frequently occurring patterns – it’s also worth checking out live versions of this for similar insights.
E7 A7 E7
# .. .. 1/4
..
. . .
. nœ
1:03
3 3 3 3 3 3 3
T 3
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
1/4
2 2 2 2 2 2
B 0 0
3 0
1
1/4
B7 A7 E7
# . .. 1/4
..
72 .. . .
. n n
let ring
2 3 3
T 3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1 2
0
2
2
2
2
2 2
3
1
3
1
3
1
1/4 1/4
2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2
B 0
2 2
3
0
3 0 0
5
Ostensibly the same as verse 1, though Stevie adds a few little variations. For example, the B7 chord is not approached the same way twice. The ultimate goal from
studying these details is to become just as fluent and free with your own chord playing. Try improvising around the chord shapes before taking a note-for-note approach.
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB Solo
.~~~~~~~~~~~~
E7 A7
j
#
nœ ¿
¿ b œ
j b
.
1:18
BU ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ rake
¿¿ 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
BU BD
T 3
1
15 (17)
14 (15 ) (14 ) 12 13 14 15 14 12 14 14
2 14 12 14
B
1
E7 B7
1/4
.
1/4
j . n #
# 1/4
œ
PB 15
1/4 1/4
1/4 BU 12
T 12 12 12 12 15 (16 ) 12
¿ ¿
12 12 12 14 (16 )
14 12 14 12 14 14 12 12 14 14
B
4

STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB Solo (cont’d)
A7 E7
~~~~~~ ¿ 1/4 1/4
# ¿ œ
œ
~~~~~~~ rake
3
rake
15 ¿¿ 1/4 1/4
BU
T 14 15 17 17
14 14 12
12
12 12 14
14 12 12 14
B 14
7
b n n # n A7
j ~~~~~
# œ
PB 15
12 15
BU
17 (19 ) 15
PB 15
(17)
BD
(15)
~~~~~~~
T (15 )
12 15 (16 ) 12 15 17 17 17
B
9
1/4
n b .
E7
~~~~~~~~~ 1/4
j
# œ œ 1/4
œ
73
3 3 3
15 17
PB 17
(19) 17
1/4
15
rake
~~~~~~~~~~ 1/4
BU BD 1/4 BU
T 17 15
16 15 14 ( 15 ) (14 ) 12 12 12 14 (16 )
14 14 12 12 14
B 14
11
B7
√ 1/4
# 1/4
1/4
j
3
œ
3 3
3 3 3 1/4 3 3
1/4 let ring
1/4
12 14 12 13 12 12 12 15 12 12 BU
T 12 12 15 12 15 12 12
14
12 15
14 (16 )
15
14 12
14
B
13
A7
n E7
#
1/4
3 3 3 3 3 3
PB 14 3
3
1/4
T 12
12
14
14
(15)
(16)
14
14
12
12
12
12
14
14
12
12
12
12
14
14
12
12
14
14
12
12
12
12
14 14 14 12 12 14 14 14 14
B 14
12
15

CL ASSIC
T R AC K
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB Solo (cont’d)
n j nœ
j
A7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ œ
j
# œ
3 3
PB 14
12
BU ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RP
BD
BU
T 14
14
(15)
(16)
14
14
12
12
12
12 14 (16 )
12 12 15 (17) ( 17 )(15) 12 12
14
B
17
~~~~~~~E
7
n œ
j œ
j
n œ j œ
# œ
3 3
PB 15
BD
PB 15
BD
PB 15
BU ~~~~~~~~~ PB 15
BD
BU
T 15 (17) (17) (15) (17) (15) (17) 15 (17) ( 17 )(15 ) 12
14 (16) 14 12
14
B
19
B7
# œ ~~~~~~ ¿
¿ œ
j œ œ œ 1/4
1/4
j
œ
3 3
PB 14
~~~~~~~ ¿ rake 1/4
1/4
74 T ¿ BU 12
12
12
15 12
12
12
15
12
12 15 12 BU
12 14 (16) 12 12 14 (16 ) 14 (16) 14 12
14 12
B
21
A7 E7
. 1/4 1/4
..
1/4
# j œ
j
œ
1/4 1/4 1/4

14
T 12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
14
14
12
12
¿ ¿
14 12 12 12 12 14 14 12
B 14 14 12
15 12
23
The centrepiece of the track, Stevie plays up a storm using just two shapes of the E minor pentatonic scale. Key techniques are accurate string bends – including
pre-bends and quarter-tone ‘blues’ bends, which also occur during the doublestop licks. These are actually simpler than they appear; just push or pull both strings with one
flattened finger. There are also some cool ‘rakes’ across the strings – these may take some time to master, but are well worth the effort and a real SRV trademark.
A7 E7
.
1/4
.. .. ..
. . .
2:05 1/4
n
3 3 3 3 3 3 3
T 2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
14 2 2 2 2 2
B 12
0 0
3 0
1

STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB Verse 3 (cont’d)
B7 A7 E7
.. .. 1/4
..
. .. . .
n n
let ring
2 3 3 3
T 3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1 2 2
0 2
2
2
2
2
2
3
1
3
1
3
1
1/4
2 2 2 2 0 0 2 2 2 2 2
B 0
2
2 2 3
0 0
3 0 0
5
Another chance to hear Stevie adding subtle variations to the chord accompaniment – something that’s even more challenging if you’re singing. Bear in mind that it takes
time to build this skill – and that learning to duplicate the parts should be regarded as a step in the direction of creating similar ones – albeit in the same style.
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB Outro
E7
# .. .. 1/4
. . . .
2:20
n œ n
PM
T 3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1 1/4
2 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
B 0 2 0 2 0
3 0
0 2 2 2 0
3
1
A7
75
# . ..
.. .
.
T 3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
¿ 2 3 2 0
3
2
2
3
2
2
3
2
2
3
2
2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 5 5
B 2 4 0 0
4
E7
# 1/4
. .
œ .. ..
œ œ n œ œ œ bœ
T 3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
1/4
0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
B 0 2 0 2 0
3 0
0 2 2 2 0 1
7
1/4
#
B7 E7 9
.. .
j œœ
n
œ
.
1/4 rake
let ring
2 3 0 0 3 3 3 3
T 2
0
2
3 0
2 4
3
4 2 0
3 3 3 3
1 1 2 2 2 2 2
B 2 2 0
0 0
10
We end as we began, with a repetition of the main riff/melody and chords. Like the beginning, the E7#9 is used at the end. You’ll notice the third string is actually muted,
but the overall effect is still that of a major/dominant chord, due to the context – it certainly isn’t E minor!

ROCK
SCHOOL
EVA CASSIDY
SONGBIRD
The late singer’s now legendary cover
gets re-imagined by Rockschool for
solo acoustic guitar. TG takes a look...
S
ongbird was originally written It can be challenging to achieve a clear
by Fleetwood Mac’s Christine tone when playing chords and melody
McVie, who described the song together, so try to focus on short
as being “like a gift from the phrases, planning your fretting hand
angels”, having materialised in around Ľqjhulqj#dqg#srvlwlrqv/#dqg#sudfwlvlqj#
half an hour in the middle of the night. the motions with your picking hand
With truly universal appeal, the song before joining the two.
drew more attention following Eva For example, it may take some
Cassidy’s astonishing cover on her suhsdudwlrq#wr#judvs#wkh#sxoo0rļ#lq#
posthumous album of the same bar 1 whilst also sounding a Cadd9
name, released in 1998. chord. Once these techniques are
Rockschool’s Grade Five secure, there is plenty of scope to
arrangement condenses the vocal add ‘sheen’ to the performance,
melody and chord progression into from the dynamics to the
76 one part for solo acoustic guitar. arpeggiated chords.
Words Jono Harrison

Photography Getty
Whether you’re taking your first steps on guitar or
moving into further/higher education, a Rockschool
Grade will improve your playing ability whilst you
learn iconic tracks from the world of popular music.
For more info visit: www.rslawards.com
SONGBIRD
facebook.com/rslawards
Words and Music by Christine McVie
instagram.com/rslawards © Copyright 1977 by Universal Music – Careers
Copyright Renewed
@RSLAwards International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved.
EVA CASSIDY SONGBIRD TRACK 27
q =76
Cadd 9
. . .
P let ring through

5 3 0 3 0 0 3 0
T 3
0
3
5 2
3 3
1
G Am7 G/B
5
T 0 0 3 0 0
0
1 0
2
0
5
8
9
8
0 0 0 5
B 3 3 3
0
7
3

EVA CASSIDY / SONGBIRD
Cadd 9
.
. Œ
8 7 5 7 5
T 9
5
5
8
5
8 8 8
5
G Am7 G/B
..
.
3 5 7 7 5 3 3 5 7
T 3
0
3
0
0
0 5 7
0 0
2
3
7
Am Em
. ..
# .
77
.
8 7 5 3 5 3 7
T 9 7 5 5
5
4 7
5
0
0 0 0
9
Cmaj 7 C
. .
3 3
T 0
0
0
0
1
0 0
3 3
0
2
3 3 3 3
11
G G/B
T 1
0
0 1
0
0
0
0
2
0 3
0
3
0
3
2
0 0 0 0
2
3 3 3
13

ROCK
SCHOOL
D C
% 3
.
. ..
‰ . .
F
2 3 5 2 3 2 0 3
T 3
2
3 3
0
3
0
0
0
0 0
B 3 3
0
15
Em > U
# .
. NH
5 7 7 0 12 7 7 7
T 0
0 0
0 12
12 7 7 7
2 4
B 0
2
0
17
C Dadd 11 To Coda fi
78 ‰ œ
3 3 3 2 0 0 3
T 3
0
3
0
3
0
3
4 4 4
3 5 5
19
G Am7 Gadd 9/B

# ..
..
P
5 7 5 3
T 0
0
0 1 0
0 0 2 0
0 2 0 0 0 2
B 3
0 2
21
T 0 0
1 1 0
2
2 2 2 0
3 3 3
23

EVA CASSIDY / SONGBIRD
G Am7 Gadd 9/B
#
3
T 2 4 2 4 2 0 0 2 0
0 0 2
B 3 3
0 2
25
.
T 0 0
1 0 3
2
B 3 3
27
G/B Am7 G 3 G/B D.%. al Coda fi

.
..
‰ .
79
T 3
0
1
0
0
0 2 4 2 0 0
0 3
0
3
0
3
2
0 0 0
B 2 0
3 3
2
29
fi Coda
G/D Cmaj 7 G
.
... ..
.
P
5 7 5 3 7
T 0
0
8
0
8
9
3 3
0
1 0
0 0 0
B 8 8 3 3 3
31
Cmaj 7 G Am7 Dadd 11 Gadd 9

rit.
# ‰
‰
p
7
T 8
0
8
9
3 3
0
1 0 0
0
1
0
3
0
0
2
0 0 0 4 0
0 5
8 8 3 3 3
34
A fingerstyle approach will help you to tackle the subtleties of this arrangement. For the arpeggiated chords (bars 16 and 36), aim for a ‘rolling’ effect where you hear each
note of the chord in quick succession. However, as there is a ‘ritardando’ telling you to slow down towards the end of the track, you might want to ease off the pace a little
for the last chord.

LEARN
TO PL AY
OPEN-MIC SONGBOOK
ED SHEERAN
AFTERGLOW
This easy four-chord song is perfect for
improving your strumming technique
and building confidence
L
anding in December 2020, d#fdsr#rq#wkh#7wk#iuhw#vr#|rxġuh#lq#wkh#
Afterglow is Ed Sheeran’s most ruljlqdo#nh|1#Qhyhu#xvhg#d#fdsrB#Zhġg#
recent single, and was an xujh#|rx#wr#slfn#rqh#xs$#Lwġv#rq#wkh#7wk#
immediate hit. 2019’s iuhw#khuh/#vr#|rx#fdq#pryh#lw#xs#ru#
Gh'/ <heeZ[hkZmbhgl Ikhc^\m was grzq#wkh#iuhwerdug#wr#vxlw#wkh#slwfk#
a predominantly electronic hip hop ri#|rxu#vlqjlqj#yrlfh1#
dqg U ġqġ E dļdlu/ exw Hgġv edfn rq Ilqdoo|/#wdnh#qrwh#ri#Hgġv#vrolg#
vwhho0vwulqj dfrxvwlf khuh/ shuiruplqj uk|wkp#whfkqltxh1#Afterglow is
wkh nlqg ri iron| srs wkdw Ľuvw pdgh d#eduh#erqhv#vrqj#wkdw#uholhv#rq#|rxu#
80 klp idprxv d ghfdgh djr1 vwuxpplqj#dup#wr#gholyhu#wkh#gulylqj#
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CHORDS X O O X X O
A
fterglow#lv#surri#wkdw# CAPO – 4th fret CAPO – 4th fret
wkhuhġv#vwloo#sohqw|#ri#olih#
ohiw#lq#wkrvh#Phg]^kpZee
fkrugv$#Wkh#wulfn#zlwk#wkhvh#
vkdshv#lv#wr#uhphpehu#wr#nhhs#
|rxu#wklug#dqg#irxuwk#Ľqjhuv#
2 3 4 2 3 4
rooted on the top strings
wkurxjkrxw/#prylqj#rqo|#|rxu#
Ľuvw#ru#vhfrqg#Ľqjhuv#rq#fkrug#
fkdqjhv1#E|#dqjolqj#|rxu# B5 Esus2
vhfrqg#Ľqjhu#vr#wkdw#lw#mxvw# (G5) (Csus2)
wrxfkhv#wkh#vwulqj#deryh#|rx#
fdq#hdvlo|#pxwh#rxw#wkh#lgoh# X X O O O O
Ġlqqhuġ#vwulqj#+pdunhg#[,#lq# CAPO – 4th fret CAPO – 4th fret
wkh#E8#dqg#Hvxv5#fkrugv1#
AFTERGLOW
2 1
Guitars and backing: Phil Capone Photo: Getty
Words and Music by Ed Sheeran, David Hodges and Fred Gibson.

Copyright © 2020 Sony Music Publishing (UK) Limited, 3 Weddings
Music and Promised Land Music Ltd.
3 4 3 4
All Rights on behalf of Sony Music Publishing (UK) Limited
Administered by Sony Music Publishing LLC, 424 Church Street,
Suite 1200, Nashville, TN 37219.
All Rights on behalf of 3 Weddings Music Administered Worldwide
by Songs Of Kobalt Music Publishing.
All Rights on behalf of Promised Land Music Ltd. Administered by F#sus4 G#m7
Universal Music Works.
International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. (Dsus4) (Em7)
Reprinted by Permission of Hal Leonard Europe Ltd.

EE
r lo
Verse 1 F#sus4
B5 In the winter snow Under six inches of white
Stop the clocks, it’s amazing Esus2 F#sus4 G#m7 Esus2
Esus2 So alone in love like the world The radio is playing Iron & Wine
You should see the way the light B5
B5 F#sus4 This is a new dimension
had disappeared
Dances off your head Esus2 Esus2
F#sus4 G#m7 Oh, I won’t be silent and I won’t let go This is a level where we’re losing
A million colours of hazel B5 F#sus4
Esus2 I will hold on tighter ’til the afterglow track of time
Golden and red Esus2 F#sus4 G#m7
B5 And we’ll burn so bright I’m holding nothing against it
Saturday morning is fading Esus2
B5 F#sus4 Except you and I
Esus2 ’Til the darkness softly clears
The sun’s reflected by the coffee
In your hand
Chorus 1 Repeat Pre-chorus
Esus2
F#sus4 G#m7 Oh, I will hold on
My eyes are caught in your gaze
Esus2 To the afterglow
B5 F#sus4 Chorus 2
All over again Esus2
Esus2 Oh, I will hold on
Oh, I will hold on
B5 F#sus4
B5 To the afterglow
Pre-chorus To the afterglow Esus2
811
Esus2
We were love drunk Oh, I will hold on
Verse 2 B5 F#sus4
B5 To the afterglow
Waiting on a miracle The weather outside’s changing
B5 Esus2 N.C.
Esus2 Oh, I will hold on to the afterglow
Trying to find ourselves The leaves are buried
ED SHEERAN AFTERGLOW Verse TRACK 26
q =120
B5 Esus 2
Capo 4th fret
(G5 ) > > > > ( Csus 2 ) > > > >
# .. .. .. ..
. .
0:03 let ring throughout
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
T 0
3
0
3
0 0
3
0
3
0
3
0
3
0 0
3
0
3
0 0
3
0
3
0
3
0
3
0
3
0
0 0
B 3 3
≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥
3 3
1
cont. sim.
F # sus 4 G # m7 Esus 2
( Dsus4 ) > > ( Em7 ) > > (Csus 2 )
.. ..
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
T 2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2 0
3
0
3
0
3
0
3
0 0
3
0
3
0 0
3
0
3
0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B 2
0
3 3
5
Ed Sheeran strums with his thumb and first finger, giving the part a natural, organic feel. Whether you use a pick or your fingers, fret the full shapes and pick out the notes
shown in the tab. You don’t have to be super-accurate to be effective. Strum as indicated. This means you’ll only use upstrokes at the end of bars 2 and 4.

TAB GUIDE
Get more from TG by understanding our easy-to-follow musical terms and signs
Whatistab?
Tab is short for tablature, a guitar, from the sixth (thick) down on the tab. Unfretted
notational system used to give vwulqj dw wkh erwwrp wr wkh Ľuvw strings are shown with a ‘0’. The
detailed information as to where (thin) string at the top. On these key and time signatures are
notes should be played on the lines, numbers represent which shown in the notation. TG also
fretboard. Tab appears iuhwv |rx sodfh |rxu Ľqjhuv1 Iru includes a timestamp to tell you
underneath conventional music example, an A note on the 2nd where in the original track you’ll
notation as six horizontal lines fret, third string, will be shown Ľqg hdfk h{dpsoh dqg whpsr
that represent the strings of the as a number ‘2’ on the third line expressed in beats per minute.
FRET BOXES: CHORDS, SCALES AND CAPO NOTATION
HAND LABELLING NUT AND FRETBOARD CHORD EXAMPLE
2 m o o o o o o o o o
3 1 i a
4 c
1
T p
2 3
82
Here are the abbreviations used for each finger. Fretting hand: 1, 2, 3, 4, (T) This fretbox diagram represents the guitar’s fretboard exactly, as seen in the This diagram represents a G chord. The ‘o’s are open strings, and a circled number
Picking hand: p (thumb), i (index), m (middle), a (annular), c (little finger) photo. This design is used for ease of visualising a fretboard scale or chord quickly. is a fretting hand finger. A black ‘o’ or circled number is the root note (here, G).
CAPO EXAMPLE CAPO NOTATION SCALE EXAMPLE
CAPO 2ND
o o o x o o
FRET >
CAPO 2ND
FRET > 4 1 1 1 1
1
2 2 2 2
1 2
3 3
2 3 3
4 4 4 4 4
A major scale
A (G) D (C)
The blue line in the diagram represents a capo for this A chord, place it at the Here the chord looks like a C in the tab, but the capo on the 2nd fret raises the The fret box diagram illustrates the fret hand fingering for the A major scale using
2nd fret. Capos change the fret number ordering. Here, the original 5th fret pitch to make it a D. The 2nd fret capo’d notes are shown with a ‘0’ in the tab black dots for root notes and red dots for other scale tones. The photo shows part
now becomes the 3rd fret, 7th fret now 5th fret, etc. as if they were open strings. of the scale being played on the fourth string with the first, third and fourth fingers.
GUITAR TECHNIQUES: PICKING
DOWN AND UP-PICKING TREMOLO PICKING PALM MUTING PICK RAKE APPREGGIATED CHORD
The symbols under the tab tell you the Each of the four notes are to be Palm-mute by resting the edge of your Drag the pick across the strings shown Play the notes of the chord by
first note is to be down-picked and the alternate-picked (down and up-picked) picking hand palm on the strings near with a single sweep. This is often used strumming across the relevant strings
second note is to be up-picked. very rapidly and continuously. the bridge saddles. to augment a rake’s last note. in the direction of the arrow head.

TAB GUIDE
FRETTING HAND
HAMMER-ON & NOTE TRILLS SLIDES (GLISSANDO) FRET-HAND TAPPING FRET-HAND MUTING
PULL-OFF
Pick the first note then hammer down on After picking the first note, rapidly Pick the first note and then slide to the Sound the notes marked with a square by X markings represent notes and strings
the string for the second note. Pick the alternate between the two notes shown in next. For the last two notes pick the first, hammering-on/tapping with your fret hand that are muted by your fret hand when
third note and pull-off for the fourth note. brackets using hammer-ons and pull-offs. slide to the next and then re-pick it (RP). fingers, instead of picking. struck by your picking hand.
BENDING AND VIBRATO
BEND AND RELEASE RE-PICKED BEND PRE-BEND QUARTER-TONE BEND VIBRATO
Fret the first note (here, the 5th fret) and Bend up to the pitch shown in the Silently bend the string up from the 5th Pick the note then bend up a quarter- Your fretting hand vibrates the string by
bend up to the pitch of the bracketed brackets, then re-pick the note while fret (PB5) to the pitch of the 7th fret note, tone (a very small amount). This is small bend-ups and releases. Exaggerate
note, before releasing again. holding the bent note at the pitch shown. pick it and release to the 5th fret note. sometimes referred to as a ‘blues curl’. this effect to create a ‘wide’ vibrato.
HARMONICS
NATURAL HARMONICS ARTIFICIAL PINCHED HARMONICS TAPPED HARMONICS TOUCHED HARMONICS

HARMONICS
83
Pick the note while lightly touching the Fret the note as shown, then lightly place After fretting the note in the triangle, Place your finger on the note as shown, A previously sounded note is touched
string directly over the fret indicated. your index finger directly over ‘x’ fret dig into the string with the side of your but sound it with a quick pick hand tap at above the fret marked TCH (eg, TCH 9)
A chiming harmonic results. (AH‘x’) and pick (with a pick, p or a). thumb as you sound it with the pick. the fret shown (TH17) for a harmonic. for it to sound a harmonic.
VIBRATO BAR / WHAMMY BAR
WHAMMY BAR BENDS SCOOP AND DOOP SUSTAINED NOTE GARGLE WHAMMY BAR VIBRATO
AND DIVEBOMB
The note is picked as shown, then the Scoop: depress the bar just before A Note is sustained then the vibrato Sound the note and ‘flick’ the vibrato bar Gently rock the whammy bar to
vibrato bar is raised and lowered to the striking the note and release. Doop: bar is depressed to slack. The square with your picking hand so it ‘quivers’. This repeatedly bend the pitch up and down.
pitches shown in brackets. lower the bar slightly after picking note. bracket indicates a further articulation. results in a ‘gargling’ sound! This sounds similar to fret hand vibrato.
OTHERS
PICK SCRAPE VIOLINING FINGER NUMBERING PIMA DIRECTIONS PICK HAND TAPPING
The edge of the pick is dragged either Turn the volume control down, sound The numbers in the traditional notation Any kind of fingerpicking requirements Tap (hammer-on) with a finger of your
down or up along the lower strings to the note(s) and then turn the volume up refer to the fingers required to play are shown at the bottom of the picking hand onto the fret marked with
produce a scraped sound. for a smooth fade in. each note. tab notation. a circle. Usually with ‘i’ or ‘m’.
MAYY 2021 TOTAL GUITAR

THE GAS
STATION
REAL WORLD REVIEWS OF THE 86
BEST NEW GEAR
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
84 worth your attention, you’ll find it here!
HOW WE TEST BEST BUY AWARD

TGBestBuyAwardsare
reservedforstand-out
CURATION NO SNAKE OIL productsthatearnafive-star
Our product selection is \rx#zrqġw#Ľqg#xv#jhwwlqj# rating.Thisisthebest,most
driven by our love of gear. hung up on hokey mythology excitingnewgearthatyou
need tocheckout
We select the most exciting or nonsense marketing
products on the market every speak: we aim to bring you
month to bring you opinions bullshit-free opinions on the
you can trust. gear you’re interested in.
FACE-VALUE REVIEWS WE CAN’T BE BOUGHT 92

We’re not gear snobs here at TG review scores are a true
Total Guitar. We judge it on uhľhfwlrq#ri#rxu#h{shuwvġ#
whether it looks good, sounds opinion on the product
good and plays well – not by they’ve been testing. You’ll BEST FOR…
Differentguitaristshave
85 START ME UP
the name on the headstock. qhyhu#Ľqg#d#udwlqj#lq#rxu## Five new products you need to check out
differentneeds.Thisbadge
mag that has been bought
highlightsaparticularstrength
and paid for. thataproducthasinaTGTest
orGroupTest,soyoucan
86 PRS SE CUSTOM 24-08
*WHAT IS GAS? REAL WORLD REVIEWS choosewhat’sbestforyou The best SE ever?
Gear Acquisition Syndrome
is the guitar-player’s We test every product under
never-ending urge to acquire
new gear, irrespective of
the conditions that they were
designed for. For example,
90 SHEERAN BY LOWDEN W03
The collaborative brand’s model gets a 2021 update
whether they actually need it. if an amp is designed to be
Don’t pretend you don’t played loud, rest assured BEST
have it – we all do!
that we’ll have tested it at
rehearsal/gig volumes!
FOR… 92 CORT CORE-OC BLACKWOOD
A wildcard electro-acoustic
SUPERB, A BEST BUY EXCELLENT ABOVE AVERAGE KIT SOME ISSUES POOR
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Compact dimensions with expansive features

GAS STATION
03
04 01
02 85
05
START ME UP!
Five awesome new products to get your gear engine revving this month…
LINE 6 HX STOMP XL MXR ERIC GALES GAMECHANGER AUDIO FENDER BEN GIBBARD WAY HUGE PENNY
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That’s the only difference 2
MXRandoneofthe
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The early version wowed us
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When we met up with
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£979 www.fender.com

T H E GA S
STATION
86

REVIEW
PRS SE 1 NECK
PRS’s USA-made
guitars typically use
mahogany for their glued-
AT A GLANCE
BODY:Mahoganywith
CUSTOM 24-08 £899 in necks. The modern SE’s

use maple. What doesn’t
change is the 10” radius
figured maple veneer
over maple top
NECK: Maple, wide thin
The best SE ever? fingerboard with the

trademark bird inlays.
profile, glued-in
SCALE: 25” (635mm)
I
PICKUPS FINGERBOARD:
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2 The ‘S’ humbuckers
are made in Indonesia
Rosewood/10” radius
FRETS: 24, medium
20 years since we saw the ehwzhhq yhqhhu dqg vrolg zrrg1 but closely follow PRS’s PICKUPS: PRS 85/15
Ľuvw SUV VH jxlwdu1 Zkhuh \hv/ wkh joxhg0lq qhfn khuh lv designs. Here, the TCI ‘S’ ‘S’ Treble and Bass
kdyh wkrvh ghfdghv jrqhB Lw pdsoh/ qrw pdkrjdq|/ dqg lv humbuckers, as used on humbuckers
the SE Paul’s Guitar, are
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designed to maximise
wkh| fuhdwhg wkhlu Ġlpsruwġ olqh 0 slhfhv/ qlfho| judlq pdwfkhg iru the humbucker and volume and tone, 3-way
wkhlu Vtxlhu ru Hslskrqh/ li |rx vwdelolw|1 Wkh Zlgh Wklq surĽoh single coil voices. toggle pickup selector
switch, master volume
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and tone, two
VIBRATO
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3 Closely modelled
on the vibrato PRS
mini-toggle coil split
switches
XVD prghov e| txlwh pdujlq1 dw wkh qxw +751;pp, zlwk d vlplodu introduced with their HARDWARE: PRS
Gr wkh pdwkv= d XVD Fruh SUV ghswk dw wkh 4vw iuhw ri mxvw ryhu original Custom back in 1 patented vibrato
Fxvwrp 5703; zloo frvw |rx 53pp wkdw Ľoov rxw wr 551:pp e| 1985, the modern SE (cast), PRS designed
version is cast, not non-locking
durxqg 6/:<<> wkh VH yhuvlrq wkh 45wk iuhw1 Wkh edfn fduyh lv tuners – nickel-plated
machined, from steel.
we have here is nearly three d zlgh F/ fhuwdlqo| qrwklqj olnh As ever, the arm push-fits FINISH: Eriza Verde
judqg ohvv1 d ľdw0edfnhg G vkdsh ri d vkuhg and can be adjusted for (as reviewed),Vintage
Ruljlqdoo| pdgh lq Nruhd/ wkh VH d{h hlwkhu1 Lw pljkw eh wkh wklqqhvw swing tension. Sunburst
olqh lv qrz exlow lq Lqgrqhvld lq d ghswk surĽoh SUV rļhuv exw lw vwloo CONTACT:PRSEurope, 87
vshfldo wlh0xs zlwk Fru0whn zkr ihhov yhu| pdlqvwuhdp qrw ohdvw www.prsguitars.com
dovr pdnh iru qxphurxv rwkhu zlwk lwv 43Ĥ Ľqjhuerdug udglxv dqg
eudqgv dv zhoo dv pdqxidfwxulqj phglxp mxper iuhwv= qrw wr elj>
wkhlu rzq Fruw udqjh1 Qrz/ pdq| qrw wrr vpdoo 0 wkh plggoh jurxqg1
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duh pdgh exw zh vkrxog all care wkh VH jxlwduv olhv lq wkh slfnxsv1
PERFECT FOR THE PLAYER THAT

WANTS TO CROSS GENRES
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Photography Olly Curtis
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prgho zlwk d XVD pdgh FH 57/ d wkuhh0zd| wrjjoh vzlwfk wr

T H E GA S
STATION
TRUE SINGLE
COIL
What’s under the hood?
P
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zd|v ri vzlwfklqj#wkhlu#
slfnxsv iurp#ixoo#
kxpexfnlqj prgh#wr#vlqjoh#
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iurp wkh mxqfwlrq#ri#wkh#wzr#
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wkdwġv xvxdoo| ixoo| gxpshg lv
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ALSO TRY...
vrxqglqj vlqjoh frlo1 Rq wklv PRS SE
Fxvwrp 5703;/ wkh wzr frlov duh CUSTOM 24
wuhdwhg olnh vhsdudwh vlqjoh frlov Very similar to the
reviewed 24-08, the
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flagship PRS guitar has
frpsohwho| uhpryhg iurp wkh two less sounds but uses
flufxlw zkhq zh vzlwfk wr vlqjoh a three-way lever pickup
frlo1 Ilqdoo|/ wkh 833n rkp selector and pull
yroxph srwġv ydoxh lv Ġwxqhgġ e| switch on the tone
control to voice the
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simple single coil splits.
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wkh kljk hqg1
PRS SE CUSTOM
22 SEMI HOLLOW
Arguably a more
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traditional style
dv xvxdo1 frlo#wkdw#oryhv#hyhq#txlwh#ghqvh#I[# ylqwdjh/#fodvvlf#zlwk#d#elw#ri#nlfn1 semi-solid version of the
Doo |rx kdyh wr uhphpehu#lv# |hw#dovr#vrxqgv#yhu|#fodvv|#dqg# Lpshffdeo|#Ľw#iru#sxusrvh/# Custom 24, but with
wkdw sxvkhg dzd| iurp#|rx#wkrvh# vrxoixo#zlwk#d#fohdq#dps1#D#euljkw# khuhġv#d#jxlwdu#iru#wkh#sod|hu#wkdw# 22 frets like a good ol’
wzr0srvlwlrq plql vzlwfkhv#yrlfh# juhhq#d{h#zlwk#elug#lqod|v#pljkw# uhdoo|#zdqwv#wr#furvv#jhquhv/# Gibson. As on the
Custom 24 it uses
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vzlwfk wkhp wrzdugv#|rx#dqg# fhuwdlqo|#gr#li#|rx#zdqw1#Wkh#vlqjoh# Ľw#iru#wkrvh#ixqfwlrq#jljv#zkhq# with the same circuit.
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Dqg lwġv wklv gxdolw|#wkdw#pdnhv# krqhvw#li#wklv#zdv#doo#zh#kdg#zhġg# lq#Ylqwdjh#Vxqexuvw/#wrr$ CORT G300 PRO
wkh 5703; vxfk d yhuvdwloh#jxlwdu># vwloo#eh#udylqj#derxw#wklv#jxlwdu1 Dave Burrluck A different flavour but
lq idfw zh vwduwhg rxu#vrxqg#whvw#lq# Exw#lw#lvqġw1#Olvwhqlqj#wr#wkh#ixoo# Cor-Tek’s own brand
FEATURES have great specs for
vlqjoh frlo prgh dqg#zkhuh#vrph# kxpexfnhu#yrlfhv/#jrqh#lv#wkh#
SOUND QUALITY the money. Here you get
frlo vsolwv vrxqg wklq#dqg#vkdus# ryhuzrxqg#plgudqjh#forxw#ri#wkh#
SUMMARY
VALUE FOR MONEY a roasted maple neck

zhġuh qrw khdulqj wkdw=#wkh#kljkv# ruljlqdo#SUV#vrxqg1#Wkhvh#duh#yhu|# with a great vibrato
duh fohdu dqg fohdq exw#grqġw#udwwoh# glļhuhqw/#d#pruh#fodvvlf#S1D1I0olnh# BUILD QUALITY
and Seymour Duncan
|rxu Ľoolqjv dv |rx wxuq#xs#wr#jlj# fodulw|#Ğ#exw#djdlq#zlwkrxw#wkh# USABILITY pickups.
ohyhov1 Wkurxjk d Khol{#lqwr#rxu# vkdus#hgjh#dw#wkh#eulgjh#Ğ#zlwk# OVERALL RATING

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‫ד‬ǣɀɀɖƺɀǔȒȸ‫דڡ‬ǔȒȸ0ɖȸȒȵƺƏȇƳ‫ד‬ǣɀɀɖƺɀǔȒȸ‫דگٖדڟ‬ǔȒȸ«áِǔɎƺȸɎǝƺɀƺǣɀɀɖƺɀًɀɎƏȇƳƏȸƳɀɖƫɀƬȸǣȵɎǣȒȇȵȸǣƬǣȇǕɯǣǼǼƏȵȵǼɵِÁǝƺɀƏɮǣȇǕɀƏȸƺƫƏɀƺƳȒȇɎǝƺÈkɀǝȒȵȵȸǣƬƺِ¨ǼƺƏɀƺƏǼǼȒɯɖȵɎȒɀǣɴɯƺƺǸɀǔȒȸƳƺǼǣɮƺȸɵȒǔɵȒɖȸˡȸɀɎɀɖƫɀƬȸǣȵɎǣȒȇǣɀɀɖƺ٢ɖȵɎȒ
ƺǣǕǝɎɯƺƺǸɀȒɮƺȸɀƺƏɀ٣ِ¨ƏɵȅƺȇɎǣɀȇȒȇ‫ٮ‬ȸƺǔɖȇƳƏƫǼƺƏǔɎƺȸɎǝƺ‫ג׏‬ƳƏɵƬƏȇƬƺǼǼƏɎǣȒȇȵƺȸǣȒƳɖȇǼƺɀɀƺɴƬƺȵɎǣȒȇƏǼƬǣȸƬɖȅɀɎƏȇƬƺɀƏȵȵǼɵِIȒȸǔɖǼǼɎƺȸȅɀƏȇƳƬȒȇƳǣɎǣȒȇɀًɮǣɀǣɎɯɯɯِȅƏǕƏɿǣȇƺɀƳǣȸƺƬɎِƬȒȅٖɎƺȸȅɀِIȒȸƺȇȷɖǣȸǣƺɀȵǼƺƏɀƺƬƏǼǼ‫גגڷي‬٢‫׎‬٣‫ِב׏׏׏בבב׎בב‬
nǣȇƺɀƏȸƺȒȵƺȇxȒȇƳƏɵ‫ٮ‬IȸǣƳƏɵ‫ח‬Əȅ‫דٮ‬ȵȅÈkÁǣȅƺȒȸƺ‫ٮ‬ȅƏǣǼ‫ي‬ǝƺǼȵ۬ȅƏǕƏɿǣȇƺɀƳǣȸƺƬɎِƬȒȅِ!ƏǼǼɀɎȒ‫׎בב׎‬ȇɖȅƫƺȸɀɯǣǼǼƫƺƬǝƏȸǕƺƳƏɎȇȒȅȒȸƺɎǝƏȇƏȇƏɎǣȒȇƏǼǼƏȇƳǼǣȇƺƬƏǼǼًƏȇƳȅƏɵƫƺǣȇƬǼɖƳƺƳǣȇɵȒɖȸȵǝȒȇƺȵȸȒɮǣƳƺȸ‫ټ‬ɀƬƏǼǼƫɖȇƳǼƺِ
T H E GA S
STATION
90

REVIEW
SHEERAN BY LOWDEN W03

PREAMP
1 The LR Baggs
Element VTC system
AT A GLANCE
features a treble tone TYPE: Wee Lowden-
size 24-inch scale
The collaborative brand’s control just inside the
soundhole, and has a electro acoustic
£805 special low frequency TOP: Solid cedar
model gets a 2021 upgrade compression circuit. BACK AND SIDES:

Five-piece layered
Indian rosewood
SOUNDBOX
2 BEVEL SCALE LENGTH: 24” /
I
The W03 and W04 610mm
f you’ve been following the George Lowden thinks you offer a bevel for NECK: Mahogany
picking arm comfort. FINGERBOARD: Ebony
Ed Sheeran/Lowden Guitars get a warmer sound from the HARDWARE: Ebony
story so far you may be rosewood and we’d certainly TRADITIONAL saddle, Tusq nut and
wondering why we’re
reviewing a launch model
concur here. The bottom end
is the most impressive we’ve
3 TOUCHES
Lowden still maintain
saddle, chrome tuners
ELECTRONICS: LR
some traditional Baggs Element VTC
from 2019 now – yes the W03 was encountered on a travel-size
methods in (volume and tone
part of the impressive eight-guitar acoustic guitar, and balances with controls)
manufacturing of
line-up that debuted at NAMM a compressed character to give these models; they OPTIONS: Non-electro
that year, but this is the 2021 it beefy presence – and able to carve the inside struts W01 with cedar top /
version. So what’s new? deliver through the kind of with Japanese chisels. walnut b&s, electro
W02 with Sitka spruce
It’s no secret that woods matter physical strain Sheeran puts top / rosewood b&s,
for guitars, especially acoustics, his guitars under on stage. electro W04 with Sitka
and at the start of this year, The mahogany neck here is spruce top / figured
Sheeran and George Lowden comparatively one of the heaviest mahogany b&s
CASE: Gig bag
talked through the updates. we’ve encountered on an acoustic,
CONTACT: Sheeran,
Sheeran must be taken with and we believe it shows in the sheeranguitars.com
them as he used this model in vxvwdlq#wkh#Z036#rļhuv1#Wkh# 91
the video for his most recent playability is superb, welcoming
single, Afterglow. Pretty strong runs across the ebony ’board with
endorsement... But his name a muscular, rounded character
is on the headstock, after all. with a pick. That’s helped by
That fact may still prove a generous 43.5mm at the nut
a sticking point for some who +44pp#vwulqj#vsdflqj,#wkdw#pd|#
would prefer Lowden to be the top surprise anyone who assumes
billing on there, but there was no a short-scale acoustic will feel
doubting the quality of the launch cramped. Fingerstyle can
guitars, made in Northern Ireland thrive here.
by a team of 30, no less, and Sheeran believes these guitars
Sheeran’s passion for George rival the full-fat Lowdens he has,
Lowden’s work actually birthed saying in a recent interview with
wkh#frpsdq|ġv#Ľuvw#vpdoo#prgho/# George; “I personally think it’s
the Wee Lowden that this is based better than anything else in its 1
3
on and is Sheeran’s mainstay. price bracket”. We’d argue that
Here, Indian rosewood is used for only the Taylor GS Mini-E could
the back and sides in the range for contest that claim right now. What
wkh#Ľuvw#wlph/#zlwk#d#qdwxudo#rlo# strengthens the case here is the
Ľqlvk#uhwdlqlqj#wkdw#wdfwloh#zrrg# electro performance from the LR
grain feel. And it feels good. Baggs Element VTC - sensitive
Lowden claim it’s neither solid enough to actually make this
2
or laminate in the typical sense viable for some percussive
– rather than laying higher quality dpsolĽhg#sod|lqj#dqg#d#urdg0
laminate over lower quality woods, assured electro-acoustic.
Ľyh#od|huv#ri#Ľqh#txdolw|#uhf|fohg# Rob Laing
rosewood are bonded together.
FEATURES
That’s still technically laminate
SOUND QUALITY
to us, but that theme of wood
SUMMARY
VALUE FOR MONEY

conservation continues with the

top here, made from reclaimed BUILD QUALITY
cedar (other W models feature PLAYABILITY
Vlwnd#vsuxfh#dqg#Ľjxuhg#zdoqxw,1 OVERALL RATING

T H E GA S
STATION
92

REVIEW
CORT CORE-OC £499

PREAMP AND
1 PICKUP
Surprise! It’s another
AT A GLANCE
Fishman Sonitone TYPE: Orchestral
BLACKWOOD preamp system with

Sonicore undersaddle
piezo here but it’s
good enough for
Model electro acoustic
TOP: Solid blackwood
BACK AND SIDES: Solid
blackwood
Cort of appeal a Gibson Studio

Hummingbird, and
SCALE LENGTH: 25.3”
/ 643mm
NECK: Mahogany
it excels on this 2
T
platform. FINGERBOARD:
here was once a time tuner buttons add a touch of Ovangkol
BONE NUT AND HARDWARE: Water
when an electro-acoustic
with solid back and sides
premium class. This is not
d#kl0Ľ0vrxqglqj#dfrxvwlf#jxlwdu>#
2 SADDLE
Now this is what we
buffalo bone nut and
saddle, die-cast tuners
for £500 would seem the lwġv#zrrg|/#shufxvvlyh#dqg#zdup# like to see! And water with black knobs
vwxļ#ri#jxlwdu#guhdpv/# zlwk#juhdw#vxvwdlq1#Zhġg#vd|#wkh# buffalo bone, no less ELECTRONICS:
nut. It has to take Undersaddle Fishman
an ambition never to be spoken orrnv#uhľhfw#wkh#wrqdolw|#khuh#
some credit for the Sonicore piezo with
out loud. But here we are. dqg#lw#pdnhv#iru#dq#lqylwlqj# Fishman Sonitone
fine resonance we
Qhyhuwkhohvv/#wkh#sulfh#udqjh#wklv# proposition. Chords have mid encounter with soundhole (volume
Fklqd0pdgh#Fruw#Ľqgv#lwvhoi#lq# pxvfoh#dqg#vlqjoh#qrwhv#ulqj#zlwk# the OC. and tone controls)
lv#krwo|#frqwhvwhg#zlwk#vwurqj# vwurqj#surmhfwlrq1#Zh#dfwxdoo|# FINISH: Open Pore
CUTAWAY Light Burst
vkrzlqjv#iurp#d#qxpehu#ri#nh|#
eudqgv/#dqg#vrolg#zrrgv#grqġw#
hqg#xs#suhihuulqj#Ľqjhuvw|oh#zlwk#
rxu#whvw#RF#dv#lw#rļhuv#dq#dgghg#
3 The 112mm body
depth and Venetian
OPTIONS: Core-OC
Spruce with solid Sitka
jxdudqwhh#d#zlqqlqj#irupxod#iru# sensitivity and responds really well cutaway make this spruce top, solid
dq#dfrxvwlf1#Rn/#vsrlohu#dkhdg=#Fruw# wr#wrxfk1#Edvv#lvqġw#errp|/#dqg# an accessible mahogany back and
electro-acoustic for sides with Open Pore
kdv#jrqh#dqg#gholyhuhg#lw#khuh1# zh#zrxogqġw#h{shfw#lw#iurp#dq#RP/#
the stage. Trans Black finish;
Our test model is the closest exw#lw#vlwv#mxvw#uljkw#zlwk#wkh#iron|# Core-OC Mahogany
wklqj#wr#d#zlogfdug#lq#wklv#qhz# Ľqhvvh#khuh1#Soxjjhg#lq/#zhġuh# with solid mahogany 93
three-model series; all solid sohdvhg#zlwk#krz#lw#wudqvodwhv/#wrr1 top, back and sides
eodfnzrrg#lvqġw#d#wrqhzrrg#zh#vhh# Wkhuhġv#sohqw|#ri#orz#hqg# with Open Pore
Black Burst finish
d#orw#ri1#Fruwġv#vhoolqj#lw#dv#d#ehvw#ri# presence (but no bass control (both £499).
doo0zruogġv vfhqdulr> provided by the Fishman preamp) CONTACT: Cort,
www.cortguitars.com
A QUALITY STAGE GUITAR; THE 3
COMFORT OF ITS SATIN NECK WILL

PAY DIVIDENDS OVER A SET...
d frpelqdwlrq frpelqlqj wkh dqg lw ihhov sohdvlqjo| zdup
ģulfk#orz0hqg#ri#pdkrjdq|/# and full for a piezo when tested
wkh#euljkwqhvv#ri#pdsoh#dqg#wkh# wkurxjk#d#Odqh|#D4.#dqg#Srvlwlyh#
ideal overtone of rosewood”. Grid Spark combo. The
Wkdwġv#dpelwlrxv1# shuirupdqfh#ohdyhv#xv#frqĽghqw#
Wkh#Rshq#Sruh#Oljkw#Exuvw# wklv#zrxog#eh#d#txdolw|#vwdjh#jxlwdu#
Ilqlvk#lv#ghhs#lq#judlq#rq#wrs#dqg# and the comfort of its satin neck
ulfk#lq#ľdph#rq#wkh#edfn/#jlylqj# will pay dividends over a set.
wklv#jxlwdu#d#zdup/#hduwk|#dqg# Vr#lwġv#dqrwkhu#dfrxvwlf#zlqqhu#
traditional look for a cutaway. iurp#Fruw#diwhu#odvw#|hduġv#
1
Lwġv#oljkw#wrr#dw#7oev#dqg#wkh#RP# lpsuhvvlyh#Olwwoh#FM1#Dgg#lq#wkh#
vl}h#lv#d#jrrg#rswlrq#iru#vpdoohu# txdolw|#jlj#edj#dqg#zh#wklqn#
sod|huv#zlwkrxw#frpsurplvlqj# this is a very... Solid deal.
rq#guhdgqrxjkw#mdfn0ri0doo0 Rob Laing
wudghv#shuirupdqfh#pxfk/#
FEATURES
dv zhġoo#glvfryhu1#
SOUND QUALITY
Zkhq#Fruw#vd|#wklv#jxlwdu#lv#
SUMMARY
VALUE FOR MONEY

ghvljqhg#zlwk#vlpsolflw|#lq#plqg/#
zh#fdqġw#dujxh/#exw#wkdw#grhvqġw# BUILD QUALITY
mean cheap. The OC knows what PLAYABILITY
lwġv#derxw#dqg#wkh#glh0fdvw#eodfn# OVERALL RATING

T H E GA S
STATION
94
BOSS RC-5 £169

Compact dimensions with expansive features
F
or some, the only controls. The new 32-bit backing tracks to the looper or jam
functionality required processing puts it ahead in sample along and build loops over the 57 AT A GLANCE
from a looper is to track dqg#ghĽqlwlrq#txdolw|#ryhu#lwv# in-built drum grooves with two
TYPE:Looperpedal
chords to jam over at frpsdfw#euhwkuhq#+xqolplwhg# variations for each, customised with onboard rhythms
home, but others will uncompressed overdubs) and is patterns and seven kit types. CONTROLS: Memory/
need far more capabilities as they worth the extra investment for We found it really encourages Loop Level knob,
explore the potential of multiples those who will be layering. The experimentation for solo players Memory button, Setup
tracks and samples onstage. Boss clear LED screen shows you the – just remember to put the RC-5 button, Rhythm On/Off
button, Rhythm Tempo
has earned itself an impressive progress of your loop which is lq#wkh#hļhfwv#orrs#ri#|rxu#dps#li#
button, Pedal switch
uhsxwdwlrq#lq#wkh#Ľhog#+lqfoxglqj# really handy for keeping on top of you’re using its overdrive to avoid
SOCKETS: Input A/
the most famous looper on the timing visually simultaneously adding any unwanted distortion Mono and Input B,
planet thanks to Ed Sheeran using with your ear. etc to the drums. Output A/Mono and
the RC-30 for years). The RC-5 There’s memory for 99 separate The combination of all this Output B 1/4-inch;
pitches itself in a very inviting looping compositions and much mxvwlĽhv#wkh#h{wud#frvw#ryhu#wkh# Stop/Memory control
jack: 1/4-inch TRS; USB
position; compact like the RC-1 more loop time than the RC-1’s RC-1 and is the most impressively
type B port; MIDI In/
dqg#UF06/#exw#rļhulqj#xsjudghv1# 12-minutes with whopping 13 featured compact looper we’ve Out, DC in
It’s the traditional winning Boss krxuv#iru#doo#phprulhv#+418#krxuv# ever used. BYPASS: Buffered
pedal chassis dimensions here for one track). But there’s features Robert Laing
POWER: 9V battery
with that reassuringly-sized area here that are especially useful for (approx two hours life)
FEATURES
for stomping on and activating key home players– you can upload or AC adaptor
SOUND QUALITY
CONTACT: Boss.info
SUMMARY
THE RC-5 JUSTIFIES THE VALUE FOR MONEY

BUILD QUALITY
USABILITY
EXTRA COST OVER THE RC-1 OVERALL RATING

ON SALE
NOW
ALL ABOUT THE BASS

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT
98
Words Amit Sharma
RUBEN WAN
I
f you were to mix George Benson’s As an Ibanez endorsee, Wan stuck to his notes up and down the neck to create and
love for chromaticism with John AZ2204N-PBM and AZ2204B models for the release tension, and a lot of single-fret
Mayer’s most soul-driven licks, you recordings, though decided to pick up his slides as a form of vibrato. “My outside
would end up sounding something Fender Offset Special for the track Happy Sad. scales of choice are always altered,
like Ruben Wan. The young LA-based These were then fed into Neural DSP’s Plini diminished, whole tone and pentatonics
guitarist will be releasing his new EP Chapter and Cory Wong Archetype plug-ins via an from a different key,” he continues. “The
One: Guitar this year, and he tells TG that Apogee Duet interface and Seymour Duncan secret with playing outside is to only give
using only his guitar for the recordings Powerstage 200. For live shows, he alternates the listener a small taste of it, don’t stay
brought a certain amount of creative between a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and Laney too long on these scales but use it as
freedom, but also a fair few challenges... Lionheart L20T-212, using Strymon pedals sprinkles of seasoning...
“When composing music with only one for time-based effects and Chase Bliss Audio “For example, let’s say you’re on the V
instrument, it’s important to write catchy for all his fuzz and overdrive needs. of a chord progression, the first few times
melodies and harmonies that work well “But,” he adds, “when I’m travelling light, around just play it simple and captivate
together without overpowering each other,” my small and reliable Blues Junior is more the audience. After that, you can incorporate
he explains. “You need to figure out how to than enough to get the job done. And I also more altered notes, like George Benson
keep the listener entertained throughout the use the Eventide H9 which has a plethora or Guthrie Govan would. I assure you that
whole song and at the same time make them of modulation options, an Ernie Ball VPJR the audience will thank you for the change
want more, desiring to come see the full band volume pedal, the MXR Talk Box and and surprise, doing it that way will create
live performance. I’m used to playing with a Cry Baby Mini Wah.” a much bigger impact than blasting or
other musicians, so using just my guitar felt Although the majority of his lines are interweaving outside scales into every
very vulnerable at times... almost naked.” pentatonic-based, he uses neighbouring single phrase.”

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GOJIRA EVA CASSIDY ED SHEERAN

ANOTHER WORLD SONGBIRD AFTERGLOW

We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from

MAY 2021 TOTAL GUITAR

THE GAS STATION

MAY 2021 TOTAL GUITAR

TOTAL GUITAR MAY 2021

Words Jonny Scaramanga Photo Jack Robinson/Getty

MAY 2021 TOTAL GUITAR

TOTAL GUITAR MAY 2021

MAY 2021 TOTAL GUITAR

TOTAL GUITAR MAY 2021

MAY 2021 TOTAL GUITAR

Get the tone CHANNEL DISTORTION

Joe Duplantier uses Charvel

TOTAL GUITAR MAY 2021

B prepare to have your life

TOTAL GUITAR MAY 2021

1 HARD ROCK POWERCHORDS TRACK 07

2 GRADUAL PALM-MUTES TRACK 08

MAY 2021 TOTAL GUITAR

oing into 2020, Tash Sultana

TOTAL GUITAR MAY 2021

MAY 2021 TOTAL GUITAR

“I GET REALLY FRUSTRATED WHEN I’M PLAYING LIKE SH*T!”

“I LIKE TO GET PEOPLE DANCING AND ROCKING...”

MAY 2021 TOTAL GUITAR

Always keep listening.

SOUL MAN guys who had a lot of lessons, have

TOTAL GUITAR MAY 2021

MAY 2021 TOTAL GUITAR

be a problem. They were playing from

Sometimes one finger and a great

“The hardest thing

TOTAL GUITAR MAY 2021

Words Jonny Scaramanga Portrait Daveed Benito

TOTAL GUITAR MAY 2021

“I JUST LOVE GUITAR FOR GUITAR’S SAKE!”

the Fractal. The main thing is the sound

song, but it’s super fun. I think

“I’M TRYING TO LEARN RAINING BLOOD BY SLAYER!"

TOTAL GUITAR MAY 2021

“THE GUITAR IS SUCH

to an “endless” array of effects, and explain why the

MAY 2021 TOTAL GUITAR

TOTAL GUITAR MAY 2021

It sounds like that percussive

MAY 2021 TOTAL GUITAR

TOTAL GUITAR MAY 2021

“I swear by Johnny Marr’s theory that every

MAY 2021 TOTAL GUITAR

“This is the metaphysics of the guitar

world. I am always looking for randomiser I could take to New York.

effects that make something special” Finally, you speak of percussive

TOTAL GUITAR MAY 2021

B John Smith are

1 DELAY-SOAKED CHORDS TRACK 09

2 LEADING WITH THE LOW STRINGS TRACK 09

A7 Bm7 Gmaj 7 A7 Bm7 Gmaj 7

3 ROLLING FINGERSTYLE TRACK 09