January 2020

Total Guitar

Total Guitar is Europe’s best-selling guitar magazine

Total Guitar1 min read
Welcome…
We’ll kick things off by marking the fact that TG is 25 this issue! It’s rare these days that a magazine can say that, but thanks to the support of you readers TG has reached the quarter-century landmark. 327 issues in, we aren’t going to slow down a
Total Guitar1 min read
Green Party!
There are a handful of guitarists who appeal to players of all genres - Hendrix, Clapton, Page... One such name that doubtlessly deserves to be counted in that category is Peter Green – his influence cited by everyone from Aerosmith to Radiohead and
Total Guitar3 min read
Steve Morse
“My first guitar was given to me by my grandmother. She’d actually found it thrown out in a case at the end of the driveway, but it was cracked and broken, the neck was bowed. I ended up renting a Gibson LG-0 acoustic for a year. Then I wanted an ele
Total Guitar2 min read
Yvette Young Covet
1 I was at the NAMM Show and I was supposed to do a demo but the guitar I had… I think I didn’t feel confident playing it. It was a six-string Strandberg that I’d never played before. I’m used to more traditional scale-length and neck width. I ended
Total Guitar3 min read
Back Track
Just as punk was a reaction to the increasingly self-indulgent music of the 1970s, post-punk responded to the spartan power chords of its namesake by rejecting the conventions of traditional rock guitar and embraced a new sonic zeitgeist, experimenti
Total Guitar1 min read
The 1975
If you’re listening to this track for the first time, you’re probably wondering what the hell’s happened to famed electro synth-pop stadium fillers The 1975. Unlike anything the Cheshire four-piece have released to date, People features distorted, di
Total Guitar2 min read
Getting Started With… Powerchord Riffs
“Obvious question. What’s a powerchord?” Powerchords are slightly different to the major and minor chords you already know. Hopefully you remember that major chords have a bright, happy sound and minor chords sound dark and sad. Well, by leaving out
Total Guitar1 min read
The FX Files Tg’s Classic Stompbox Guide
Controls the input volume before it hits the main digital pedal circuit. Controls the volume of the dry output. Functions in some ways like a mix knob, allowing you to blend the dry and wet signals. The sub octave is one octave below the dry sign
Total Guitar3 min read
Ehx Pog
Now discontinued and accordingly expensive, the POG was originally the affordable, non-rack polyphonic octave pedal. Pitch-shifting units like the Whammy had been around for some time, although their sometimes erratic tracking and alien warble wasn’t
Total Guitar2 min read
What The F? Harmonising Melodies
Many guitarists spend a lot of time working out how to solo over chords. Well, the opposite is also a common stumbling block. So, instead of starting with a chord progression and figuring out what to play over it, you’d be starting with a melodic lic
Total Guitar7 min read
Volbeat
Those following Volbeat closely might spot some familiar choices in frontman/guitarist Michael Poulsen and lead guitarist Rob Caggiano’s rigs. This tour sees Poulsen favouring his Gibson SG GT and Caggiano sporting a Jackson prototype in vivid purple
Total Guitar6 min read
25 Years Of TG
The one that started it all at the tail end of 1994. In it, there was a bluffer’s guide to Jimi Hendrix (of course), a sweep-picking masterclass, Steve Hackett’s guide to multi-effects and even bass reviews. Back then, we were also calling the Parker
Total Guitar4 min read
Start Playing Now!
Read on as TG’s super easy beginner guitar lesson takes you from tuning your instrument and strumming your first chords through to playing your very first lead-guitar licks BEFORE YOU GET DOWN TO BUSINESS YOU NEED TO TUNE YOUR GUITAR SO EVERYTHING
Total Guitar13 min read
Photography Olly Curtis Townsend
St George’s, Bristol is an unlikely venue to find Devin Townsend - the 19th century former church is more used to playing host to orchestral recitals and polite folk music rather than Hevy Devy. However, tonight it couldn’t be more suitable. Devin is
Total Guitar8 min read
Iron Fist
“ I had the chance to spread my wings a bit more,” says Phil Campbell of the new music that makes up his first solo record Old Lions Still Roar. Truth be told, the man sat with Total Guitar today will always be predominantly known as Motörhead’s long
Total Guitar8 min read
25 Easy Guitar Lessons
Improving your playing isn’t about learning new scales and chords or repeating the same lick endlessly to get one per cent faster. Looking for ways to refine what you already do is a great way to make a noticeable difference to the things you play ev
Total Guitar2 min read
Make Your Gear Work For You…
Over time, strings stretch out and lose some ability to stay in tune. It goes without saying that if the strings are starting to corrode, they need to go! Neatly-fitted strings not only help hold their tension more consistently, but you won’t have to
Total Guitar3 min read
The Rolling Stones Start Me Up
Words and Music by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards Copyright © 1981 EMI Music Publishing Ltd. All Rights Administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, 424 Church Street, Suite 1200, Nashville, TN 37219 International Copyright Secured All Rights Reser
Total Guitar1 min read
Soundgarden Fell On Black Days
Appearing on Soundgarden’s epic fourth studio album, Superunknown, Fell On Black Days features various musical elements that the band became famous for. Learn the track and you’ll get a better understanding of how Cornell, Thayil and co achieved thei
Total Guitar1 min read
Drop-tuned Prog Metal
If you’re into prog metal, you’re probably already experimenting with extended range guitar parts. And, though players like Fredrik Thordendal (Meshuggah), Misha Mansoor (Periphery), Devin Townsend, Tosin Abasi (Animals As Leaders) and many others wi
Total Guitar2 min read
Walter Trout
Like many blues giants, Walter Trout was playing professionally from a tender age, initially in his native New Jersey area during his late teens, before a move to Los Angeles in the early 70s facilitated his eventual ascent as a solo artist. Early on
Total Guitar2 min read
Stp Go Unplugged!
Stone Temple Pilots have announced their new acoustic album Perdida - a studio first for the band - along with an unplugged tour (no UK dates as of yet). Perdida marks a bold departure for a band known for their heavyweight riffs as much as their ver
Total Guitar3 min read
Christie Lenée
Christie Lenée is the sort of player who makes you rethink your approach to the acoustic guitar. She might well make you rethink the whole instrument. Her style is percussive and kinetic, melodically adventurous, almost neoclassical, and from the out
Total Guitar2 min read
David Bowie Starman
Released in 1972, Starman marked the end of a fallow period for Bowie – well, in terms of hits, at least. Although continuing to release material in the meantime, David’s previous hit had been as far back as 1969’s Space Oddity. As it would turn out,
Total Guitar2 min read
The Gas Station
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
Total Guitar2 min read
Start Me Up!
Germany-based Rombo has unveiled a new series of guitar plectrums, the Eco-Black range, made from 100% recycled waste. According to Rombo, the material boasts “high mechanical strength, excellent impact resistance and superior aesthetic properties”.
Total Guitar3 min read
Framus D-series Panthera Supreme
Incorporating the Seymour Duncan ‘59/ JB set may have added to the overall RRP, but they’re definitely worth it This Bleached Ocean Blue Burst is a great budget alternative to the Lagoon Blueburst options in the Pro-Series Famously used on Gibson L
Total Guitar3 min read
Supro Blues King 8
You don’t get a lot of control, but what you do get is just what you need to coax some brilliant overdriven and bluesy tones The only thing we were left wanting from this amp is a bit of reverb. Plug in your favourite pedal and you’ve got a mini ton
Total Guitar2 min read
Hagstrom Ultra Max
The Ultra Max’s tone control doubles as a master push/pull coil split, and the resulting tones are among the most convincing we’ve tried in recent times Many singlecuts follow the Les Paul tradition of a shorter scale length, but the Ultra Max’s 25.
Total Guitar2 min read
Classic Vibe Starcaster
The flagship in this new line, the Classic Vibe, could very well be the best semi-hollow out there for under £500. Don’t be fooled by the small ‘Crafted in Indonesia’ print on the back of the wonderfully oversized headstock, it’s the kind of weapon t
Total Guitar2 min read
Contemporary Active Starcaster
Just as its name promises, the Contemporary Active Starcaster brings a very classic design into the modern age. The most noticeable changes on these models are the inclusion of Squier’s SQR active ceramic humbucking pickups, black chrome hardware, a
Total Guitar2 min read
Affinity Starcaster
Priced at roughly two-thirds of the Classic Vibe, the Affinity is certainly enticing in terms of sheer value for money. It’s made from the same tonewoods as its bigger brothers and its hardware specs are virtually identical… so what’s the catch? Natu
Total Guitar1 min read
Final Verdict
With this latest line of Squier Starcasters, Fender have done incredibly well to reimagine an old tradition, capturing the spirit of the originals while also modernising and upgrading to various degrees. As per the 70s Starcasters, each of the models
Total Guitar3 min read
Big Muffs Round-up
It may have a childish name, the enclosure may be massive, and sure, it will eat your mids, but the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff is a stone cold classic. We’ve heard it called everything from a ‘guitar army’ to a ‘wall of sound’ to a ‘vacuum’, showing t
Total Guitar4 min read
How To Plane Your Acoustic’s Bridge Height
“I want to lower my action.” Sounds simple enough, right? Sometimes there’s extra steps that totally get in the way of setting your strings’ height a little lower, and sometimes these are the manufacturer’s fault. Dropping the saddle’s height on an a
Total Guitar3 min read
The Playlist
The first song I remember… Daddy Cool – Boney M “My grandpa used to only have two tapes in his car, – Boney M’s Greatest Hits and a Willie Nelson live album. I was just a kid at the time, so I found the Willie Nelson tape so boring. I’d ask for Boney

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