Features archive

October 2021

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72 articles

October 29
- Doc Coyle: “There were only two solos on each of our first two records… on this album, I did eight!”
- The secrets behind Ernie Isley’s guitar tone on The Isley Brothers’ That Lady
- Enslaved’s Ivar Bjørnson: “Sometimes a bit of chaos is what you need to get things moving when they’re going stale”
October 28
- The Beatles' Get Back gear: a guide to the guitars and amps seen in Peter Jackson’s long-awaited documentary
- Robin Bramlett: “I’ll listen to John Coltrane and transcribe his playing on bass, just so I can think outside of the box”
- Phil Manzanera: “I didn’t really want an incredible technique: I thought that would impede my ability to enjoy music for the whole of my life”
October 27
- The Velveteers' Demi Demitro: “I like cheaper guitars: not having everything be perfect forces you to work and be creative with what you have”
- Alien Weaponry’s Lewis de Jong on leading the Haka for New Zealand metal, broken bones, and why being heavy is still the goal
- Rory Gallagher bassist Gerry McAvoy remembers making the great bluesman's debut album
October 26
- The War On Drugs’ Adam Granduciel: “I think this is the first time I’ve actually been excited to release an album”
- Jerry Cantrell: “The precision and power of James Hetfield's playing is otherworldly – his right hand is really something else”
- Malcolm-Jamal Warner: "For me, bass and acting go hand in hand because of the discipline they share"
- Troy Redfern on how a musical awakening via Marty McFly led to a lifelong fascination with country blues guitar
- KT Tunstall: "Busking was the key factor in learning how to be a rhythm guitarist. It made me transfer to steel-string with a pick"
October 25
- John Mayer in his own words: “That joy and passion and chemistry of just picking up the guitar and playing has never been in jeopardy”
- Chris Buck on his greatest gear finds, buyer's regret and advice on finding the right guitar
- Danko Jones talks longevity, regrets and the evolution of his hard-rocking guitar tone
October 22
- Rabea Massaad: "All the opportunities I've had and the things I've achieved have come off the back of going into the world of YouTube"
- The Police's Andy Summers: "The way I was casting myself was like a sonic experimenter – I was leading the way and everybody was copying me"
- Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith and Janick Gers on Senjutsu, track by track
- The incredible story and decades of dedication that gave birth to Les Paul’s ‘Number One’ Goldtop – the solidbody guitar that changed the world
- Classic gear: 1970s Fender Stratocasters
October 21
- St. Vincent, Ghost, Royal Blood and Rodrigo y Gabriela discuss covering metal classics for the Metallica Blacklist
- Barenaked Ladies' Jim Creeggan: “Geddy Lee was the first guy I was air-bassing to… and his gear is on our new record”
- Haggard Cat's Matt Reynolds: “Riffs are the most joyful thing about playing guitar – there should be more of them, all the time”
October 20
- The history and origins of the iconic Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone
- The Vaccines’ Freddie Cowan and Justin Young on the tones and Tex-Mex inspirations behind Back In Love City
October 19
- Dave “The Snake” Sabo: “I said to Kramer, ‘How about something like a snake coming out of a grave, with my birth date on there?’”
- Carlos Santana: “When I found the guitar, it was like seeing flying saucers and Moby Dick and discovering the spiritual orgasm all at once”
- Why hardware is the key to great guitar tone
- Don Broco's Si Delaney on heavy riffs inspiring angry lyrics and why he wants to be buried with a Marshall JCM800
October 18
- Joan Armatrading: "When Mark Knopfler wrote Money For Nothing, he knew it was a hit. As the creator, if you don’t know, you need to do something different"
- Mike Watt on his best (and worst) bass albums
- Download and stream the audio from Total Guitar 351
October 15
- Every Time I Die on their tag-team guitar approach, no-holds-barred songwriting philosophy and tweeting fans for gear
- Blackberry Smoke's Charlie Starr: "Everybody wishes they could re-record their debut album – unless you're Led Zeppelin!"
October 14
- James Jamerson or Carol Kaye: who played what? Uncovering the truth behind the Motown mystery
- 16 guitar greats name their favorite moments from Metallica's Black Album
October 13
- Paul Stanley on Soul Station: "I got into music for the freedom of it. If it’s not to everyone’s liking, I guess nothing is"
- Dusty Hill 1949-2021: paying tribute to the bearded boss of bass guitar
- Christone "Kingfish" Ingram: "There’s a lot wrong with the blues genre right now – a lot of people don’t think about the history and the significance of the actual culture"
- Wolfgang Van Halen on his bass journey
October 12
- Tracii Guns: “When it came to doing a signature guitar, there was no point in doing something ordinary, you know what I mean?”
- Teenage Fanclub on the art of constructing solos, emulating Robert Fripp, and the pursuit of tone
October 11
- Bill Kelliher: “Metallica practiced for three hours a night before playing onstage for another two. Meanwhile, we were sitting around drinking beer and picking our noses!”
- John Mayer’s 10 best guest appearances
- Styx's Chuck Panozzo and Ricky Phillips share the low-end theories behind the AOR stalwarts' sound
- Dirty Honey's John Notto: “There was no doubt I was going to succeed as a guitarist... failure just wasn’t an option”
October 8
- The mods and myths of Les Paul's 'number one' Goldtop
- 6 signature and artist-favorite guitar picks you need to try
- The secrets behind Robby Krieger’s guitar tone on the Doors’ Light My Fire
- How a Maryland rock band is challenging the stigma around mental health and suicide, one high school at a time
October 7
- How Chuck Berry shaped the sound of rock 'n' roll guitar
- Metallica’s James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett look back on 30 years of The Black Album: "It really was the master key to everything"
October 6
- Tony Iommi and Eddie Van Halen discuss their careers, friendship and the evolution of their guitar playing in this classic 2010 interview
- Pom Pom Squad: "There are varying degrees and styles of how somebody can play guitar. It’s not a one-size-fits-all"
- James Taylor: “All music is reiteration... We just pick stuff up and use it again. I mean, there are just 12 notes”
- Samantha Fish: ”I’m finding modern tones to incorporate with the blues and rock ’n’ roll”
- 12 essential UK instrumental guitar folk albums
- Types of guitar explained: everything you need to know
October 5
- Charlie Parra: “I love tapping so much. The main reason I use a V is because there’s basically no wood between my tapping hand and the fretboard”
- Tony Levin on his best bass albums
October 4
- Gus G on his first-ever all-instrumental solo record: “I wanted to avoid making a boring album that’s 45 minutes of ‘widdly widdly’!”
- John Mayer shares his advice on how to write the perfect guitar solo
- The true origins and evolution of Eddie Van Halen's legendary Frankenstein guitar
October 3
- Spotlight: Emerson Snowe
- Shihad’s Phil Knight: “We wanted to do a heavier album”
October 1
- Asking Alexandria's Ben Bruce: "Recording this album was the easiest time I’ve ever had because I was so excited to hear a raw, loud guitar riff again”
- J Mascis: “I still use the Marshall and Hiwatt stacks... I just like the feeling of the guitar kind of hitting you in the back”
- Angeline Saris walks through her favorite bass tunes, talks heroes and details the gear behind her funk fusion sound
- The story of PRS's short-lived Classic Electric
- Des Rocs: “A whole generation of people are concerned about recording guitars properly – and that's something that needs to go immediately!”