Ellie Rogers
Since graduating university with a degree in English, Ellie has spent the last decade working in a variety of media, marketing and live events roles. As well as being a regular contributor to Total Guitar, MusicRadar and GuitarWorld.com, she currently heads up the marketing team of a mid-scale venue in the south-west of England. She started dabbling with guitars around the age of seven and has been borderline obsessed ever since. She has a particular fascination with alternate tunings, is forever hunting for the perfect slide for the smaller-handed guitarist, and derives a sadistic pleasure from bothering her drummer mates with a preference for “f**king wonky” time signatures.
Latest articles by Ellie Rogers
![Jared James Nichols](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/G5S5cj6EEHHy3R9QENU6fb-320-80.jpg)
Jared James Nichols: “I’m super-proud of Easy Come, Easy Go... if you listen to that solo, it almost feels like the amp’s about to explode!”
By Ellie Rogers published
The Les Paul wrangler extraordinaire on why he's a fingerstylist forever, how he strong-armed the gnarly blues-rock sounds on his explosive new album, and what it was like to play through one of Eddie Van Halen's Marshalls
![Brutus guitarist Stijn Vanhoegaerden](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ZUX4pUH94Lph4SARdH9vxg-320-80.jpg)
Brutus guitarist Stijn Vanhoegaerden: “I used to make my sound thick – now it’s the opposite”
By Ellie Rogers published
How Belgian post-hardcore power trio Brutus found a new focus with the help of fresh tunings, a cavalcade of delays and a White Penguin
![Jared James Nichols](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BQYY3BavHKg3bDCgiiiuX5-320-80.jpg)
Jared James Nichols argues tone comes from the fingers – and recalls the time he played through Eddie Van Halen’s own amp as evidence
By Matt Owen published
“It comes down to your hands, the way you hold the guitar, the way you strike the strings. Your touch is everything,” Nichols told Total Guitar
![L.S. Dunes](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ww4RTxSFAb6iMjfeb46yXk-320-80.jpg)
Frank Iero and Travis Stever on the tapping, harmonized solos and gear change-ups that fueled post-hardcore supergroup L.S. Dunes' debut
By Ellie Rogers published
The My Chemical Romance and Coheed and Cambria guitarists talk their newfound chemistry, favorite Klon clones and an all-new Ernie Ball Music Man design that's still under wraps…
![Alter Bridge](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YKba3LWqWMwPWsGcvA2PHg-320-80.jpg)
Alter Bridge: “One of the hardest dances to do is to make something heavy and technical and still emotional at the same time”
By Ellie Rogers published
Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy on making Alter Bridge's heaviest album yet with a PRS Tele-a-like, an impossible number of guitar picks and not one but two Dumble amps
![Dan Estrin](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/siXg6TwDzbzjMiKsyGKJte-320-80.jpg)
Hoobastank's Dan Estrin names the 10 guitarists (and one bassist) who shaped his sound
By Ellie Rogers published
The Hoobastank guitarist on getting hold of Rage Against the Machine's first demo tape, how Dave Navarro broke his heart, and why he'd rather watch Victor Wooten than Eddie Van Halen
![Elizabeth Moen](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/wpJBHEs8amh8KKBwzrLwJA-320-80.jpg)
Elizabeth Moen on what makes her ’68 Gibson ES-340 her Excalibur, why she gets anxious when she's away from the guitar for too long and the pedal she will die with
By Ellie Rogers last updated
She's a hired gun with Kevin Morby and Squirrel Flower, and taught slide guitar for Fender, but the Chicago singer-songwriter capitalizes on her self-taught skills on new solo album Wherever You Aren’t
![Amon Amarth: Olavi Mikkonen (left) and Johan Söderberg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/52QSknJbq5fAJHnMqM4xaC-320-80.jpg)
Amon Amarth on what drew them to baritone tunings over 7-strings and why no amount of pimping can polish a turd of a riff
By Ellie Rogers published
The Swedish Viking metal stalwarts' Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg unpack the particulars of a brutal sound that has taken a turn for the dark on their latest, death metal-inflected epic, The Great Heathen Army
![Mark Tremonti](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2Zhib2VPLy4kRUj98xEQYn-320-80.jpg)
Mark Tremonti embarked on a quest to “try every pick ever made” in a bid to improve his tone – and reveals the one that “made a huge difference”
By Sam Roche published
“The pick is the thing that you’re interacting most with on your guitar,” the Alter Bridge man muses
![Minnie Marks](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9EZGKbfVJsJYZgzgF5SGSW-320-80.jpg)
Minnie Marks on mastering the dance between guitar and drum for a solo sound that takes retro styles in bold directions
By Ellie Rogers published
The Aussie multi-instrumentalist breaks down her approach to guitar, and how she augments slide guitar with pedals and sets it to the beat of her own drum
![Chris Alderton](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ApgV8yR4V2sbVrAvYLjE7P-320-80.jpg)
The Amazons' Chris Alderton: “Is it boring if I go with three distortion pedals? I do like things quite loud!”
By Ellie Rogers published
The British indie-rock sensation's lead guitarist explains how pedals, pedals and more pedals helped build the sound for their life-affirming new album
![The Bobby Lees](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RxP7ep5ygYrHq4AqLChk9k-320-80.jpg)
The Bobby Lees on how no-holds-barred songwriting and a musical molotov cocktail helped them create primal new album, Bellevue
By Ellie Rogers published
Sam Quartin and Nick Casa dissect the band’s in-your-face, garage rock songcraft and explain why the guitar is just as important as a limb – even if it might not be the most enjoyable to play
![Soph Nathan](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2C3jzk8UXU2xAi7ecvccmS-320-80.jpg)
The Big Moon’s Soph Nathan: “When I first started playing, I thought I should be noodling over everything. But space is really important”
By Ellie Rogers last updated
The indie rock band's lead guitarist explains how motherhood and lockdown helped The Big Moon write Here Is Everything – their most confident album yet
![Greatest Guitar Albums 2010s](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/m2PD9bopqh5e76ZvLmF6eh-320-80.jpg)
The greatest guitar albums of the 2010s
By Ellie Rogers published
A new generation of guitar heroes greets the stalwarts as we look at the decade's best albums from Slash, Ghost, The Black Keys and more – as voted by you
![Momma's Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8r6NjgdGs9avieUwXnhq9S-320-80.jpg)
Introducing Momma, the '90s-inspired guitar duo behind one of 2022's best alt-rock albums
By Ellie Rogers published
They don't own their own amps. They use "crappy" guitars. But together, Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten produce a sweet and sour sound that's audio catnip for Generation X and Z alike
![The Beths](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kA3q2fnurDjaq4rzvLehJC-320-80.jpg)
How The Beths made their latest record with the help of some seriously weird amps – and a strict "more distortion" mantra
By Ellie Rogers published
The New Zealand indie-rock quartet are chasing tone gold in strange old amps and guitars that no-one else plays... and it sounds terrific
![Erja Lyytinen](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cqecAWqDijVKnciPeTeeph-320-80.jpg)
Erja Lyytinen: “I didn’t want to restrict myself to making radio hits. If the song required a longer guitar solo, I let it happen!”
By Ellie Rogers published
The Finnish blues-rock guitarist checks in to discuss the evolution of her style, her setup for slide, and why it pays to double up when it comes to pedalboards
![Tim Henson of Polyphia](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gZGh6oJWJ2UJEXTuJGZ9BJ-320-80.jpg)
Tim Henson: “Between every album, I think: how can I level my s**t up?”
By Ellie Rogers published
The Polyphia virtuoso on going unplugged with a new nylon-string Ibanez signature, taking lessons from Tosin Abasi, and the never-ending search for new ways to augment guitar music
![Madison Cunningham](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Zd3sgvcECTauiQurso5sY-320-80.jpg)
Madison Cunningham: “As guitar players, we should be challenging ourselves and hurting our brains a little bit”
By Ellie Rogers published
The Grammy-nominated songwriter and guitarist tells us “the complexity knob was turned up” for new album Revealer
![Spice band](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mwikbpUaHh73PWv9uthNTi-320-80.jpg)
Spice’s Ian Simpson on how he built a rock-grunge sound around a “tonally juicy” modded Jazzmaster, a well-stocked ‘board and a pop sensibility
By Ellie Rogers published
Carrying the torch for San Francisco’s East Bay DIY rock lineage, Spice augment that urgent tradition with textured guitar tones inspired by post-rock’s “big noise experience”
![Grace Cummings](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GnTvvrQN2JSYHABD5bXrC6-320-80.jpg)
Grace Cummings: “There’s a certain warmth that you get out of an older guitar that’s been played and played and played”
By Ellie Rogers published
The Australian singer-songwriter checks in to talk songwriting, influences and her musical philosophy, and insists from the get-go that she is a guitar player not a guitarist
![Kirk Hammett on David Gilmour](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/AA2vvXvbNMiRdf4oFHShuT-320-80.jpg)
Metallica’s Kirk Hammett on Pink Floyd’s Shine on You Crazy Diamond
By Ellie Rogers published
The metal god discusses the British prog rock icons nine-part epic and watching David Gilmour play
![James Bay playing his Fender Pink Lemonade](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KtVz3T6ZkqeYnE4K2TeK4J-320-80.jpg)
How James Bay made Fender history with his rule-breaking Pink Lemonade Mustang
By Ellie Rogers published
The UK singer-songwriter on his partnership with the Big F for a unique offset, and what to expect from new album Leap
![Kirk Hammett](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zDhL3GbAtpGDSZu46Afdo9-320-80.jpg)
Kirk Hammett: “I was pretty active during Covid, writing a ton of different types of music. I wrote Metallica music, Portals music – all different types of music”
By Ellie Rogers published
The Metallica guitarist on his horror-inspired instrumental solo EP, Portals, the evergreen joy of musical discovery, and why the omens look good for a new album from metal’s biggest band
![Nick Cogan](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TciuFTVKJwDG8MrTxHp5AQ-320-80.jpg)
Drug Church’s Nick Cogan on his alt-rock conversion from Les Paul to Jazzmaster, and the three secrets to his sound
By Ellie Rogers published
Melodic, volatile, concise, and riddled with super-premium guitar tones, Drug Church’s new album Hygiene is “catchy music through the lens of chainsaw guitars”
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