Features archive

November 2021

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66 articles

November 30
- Loser’s Tim and Will Maxwell: “We were brought up on blues, but I always leant towards more of your Gary Moore sort of shred”
- The War On Drugs’ Adam Granduciel: “I’ve never strayed too far from having the amp shake the room and playing simple chords with some cool sounds”
- Carlos Santana: “When I play guitar, I’m a kid with a first-class ticket to Disneyland, and I can go on any ride I want”
- Joe Bonamassa: “Being semi-retired for a year and a half has given me a new lease of life”
November 27
- The story of the Gibson SG: the first two decades of the Les Paul's double-cutaway successor
November 26
- CBS Fender Telecasters: what you need to know
November 25
- Sam Fender: “When you write a melody, it’s like your soul talking – you’re finding it through pure feeling”
- Nick Beggs on his best (and worst) bass albums
November 24
- Jerry Cantrell: “I’m a guitar player who loves kickass riffs. I grew up on them, so I knew to write something, you’d need the riff...”
November 23
- Moaning Lisa’s Ellen Chan: “In a band, you’re always working towards the same goal, and you’re all trying to service the song”
- Richard Fortus: “When I landed on Gretsch, it really came together. There’s a magic to that sound that fits perfectly around what Slash is doing”
- Martin Gordon looks back on Sparks, jamming with the Rolling Stones, and working out Chris Squire’s “astonishing noise”
November 22
- Stay in tune all night with D’Addario’s innovative Nexxus 360 rechargeable headstock tuner
- Witherfall's Jake Dreyer: "We don't sit down and say, ‘We've got to make this the hardest thing to play ever.’ It just happens to sometimes come out that way"
- Jackie Venson: “Texas blues players have a way of commanding the entire room and just melting your face off”
- Bullet For My Valentine: "We’ve already proven we're a dynamic metal band. This time, it’s more aggressive and technical"
November 19
- 10 essential Gibson SG albums
- The secrets behind Randy Rhoads’ guitar tone on Ozzy Osbourne’s Crazy Train
- Wata: “Even when I’m recording, I’m always imagining the live shows in my head when I’m playing”
November 18
- Constant Motion: 10 incredible John Petrucci guitar performances
- Kirk Hammett's 8 favorite unsung guitar heroes
- Khemmis: “If our riffs sound like Iron Maiden trapped in a tar pit, then we’ve done them right!”
- Klaus Voormann: “John Lennon gave me all the freedom in the world... The Plastic Ono Band lineup of Ringo, John and me is my favorite of all time”
- Steve Howe on his greatest guitar gear hits and misses
- Meet the American Dream Series
November 17
- Download and stream the audio from Total Guitar 352
- Rickenbacker guitar pickups: what you need to know
- Yngwie Malmsteen: “I’ve never practiced in the true meaning of the word. From the first time I picked up a guitar when I was 7, in my head I was a performer”
November 16
- Mod Con’s Erica Dunn: “The dynamic is two thirds drinking beer, eating yummy dinners and talking rubbish, and one third making weird songs”
- Knifes' Ben Young: “We have great day jobs, but if the new EP takes off, maybe our own band can be more than just a hobby”
- Jimmie Vaughan: “There’s nothing as cool as a Stratocaster. It’s like the coolest car you’ve ever seen”
- Cradle of Filth’s Dan Firth: “With such busy music, you need to really pick your spot... There’s a lot to be said for being really deliberate with your basslines”
November 15
- Geezer Butler: "It was always magical playing with Tony. We never had to discuss anything – it just seemed to happen. To me, he’s the greatest guitarist ever"
- Nergal: “You don’t want to hear me play Behemoth songs with my Me and That Man setup – it would sound like someone farted!”
November 12
- We need to talk about boomer bends: why the backlash to Tim Henson's technique preference represents more than just a generational divide
- Classic gear: Rickenbacker 4001
- Download and stream the audio from Guitar Techniques 329
November 11
- Tom Morello: “I’ve tried to create this alloy between two worlds – you don’t know where the guitar ends and the EDM begins. That feels like an exciting future for the electric guitar”
- The Tragically Hip’s Gord Sinclair: "Find the holes in the melodic dialog with the guitars and the vocals – that’s when you find your moment as a bass player"
- Seth Lee Jones on the reinvention of electric blues and why he took guitar building into his own hands
November 10
- Satellite Citi: "It’s hard to ignore all that's happened during these past two years. We've been absorbing everything, and it’s come out in our music"
- Brian Setzer: “For guitar players, rockabilly is the best music you can play. You can do anything with it – you can inject jazz, country, blues into that style”
- Jerry Cantrell dissects Alice In Chains' self-titled album in this classic 1996 Guitar World interview: "I've never been a big soloist – I just do what fits the part"
- The Black Crowes’ Chris and Rich Robinson on 30 years of Shake Your Money Maker
- The Meters’ George Porter Jr: “My note choices may have gotten better... In a trio, there’s room for me to be busier”
November 9
- Parcels’ Jules Crommelin and Patrick Hetherington: “I think we felt a collective desire to break out from what people expected from us”
- Courtney Barnett: “I used to hide behind the noise I made with pedals. Now I'm using the guitar more like a paintbrush, finding what's needed”
November 8
- Jeff “Skunk” Baxter looks back on his experience playing alongside Les Paul
- Naia Izumi: “The most important part isn’t about the chord voicing, it’s about the melody and bassline”
- Jonathon Long: "I like to get crazy and shred, but in the studio, it needs to be clean and understandable"
November 5
- The Guitar Center holiday gift guide: everything you need to treat yourself this holiday season
- Chris Mike: “Going back and forth between styles and trends won't help you achieve a personal sound. You have to be committed to who you are"
- Gary Holt: “Making this album, we were under no time constraints. It was a perfect breeding ground for creativity”
November 4
- The 50 greatest guitar effects moments of all time
- The Omnific’s Matt Fack and Toby Peterson-Stewart on how two basses give their sound an unmatched low-end power
- Josh Klinghoffer talks touring with Pearl Jam, his relationship with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and his ambitious quest to make a solo album every year
- Mark Tremonti: “The balance I’m always searching for is finding things that are fun and exciting to play, but carry emotive melodies that mean something”
November 3
- Ariel Posen: “If you’re playing something great all the time, it has a lot less impact – if you play sparingly then you really notice what is going on”
- John Petrucci: “When you solo, you’re the vocalist in the band... In that way, I’ve always been influenced by guys like David Gilmour, Neal Schon and Gary Moore”
- How DevilDriver’s Mike Spreitzer ended up with a hand-built guitar from the hedge fund manager depicted in The Big Short
November 2
- Quicksand’s Walter Schreifels: “I felt more comfortable on this record than I did on ‘Interiors’, because I had gained more confidence from playing as a three-piece”
- Yola: “It's unfortunate that patriarchy plays a big role in the story of guitar playing. But the guitar, to me, means freedom”
- Twisted Sister's Jay Jay French takes us through his 6 favorite guitars from his collection
- Jinjer’s Eugene Abdukhanov: “For me, bass is not about how many notes you pick, but how well you pick every single one”
November 1
- Liz Phair: “I really got into alternate tunings... I’m almost trying to trick myself into thinking the guitar is a new instrument to me”
- Joe Robinson: “I definitely come from the same school as Tommy Emmanuel, which is influenced by Jerry Reed, Lenny Breau, Merle Travis and Chet Atkins”