John 5 - Chop Shop Column - June 2011

Tuition
By published

Watch John 5 perform his 'Ode to Django' column, which originally appeared in Guitar World June 2011.

This is the Player for GW V2.0

Guitar World Staff
Guitar World Staff

Since 1980, Guitar World has been the ultimate resource for guitarists. Whether you want to learn the techniques employed by your guitar heroes, read about their latest projects or simply need to know which guitar is the right one to buy, Guitar World is the place to look.

More about lessons

“There are so many sounds to be discovered when you get away from using a pick”: Jared James Nichols shows you how to add “snap, crackle and pop” to your playing with banjo rolls and string snaps

Don't let chord inversions bamboozle you. It's simply the case of shuffling the notes around

“I suppose I felt that I deserved it for the amount of seriousness that I’d put into it. My head was huge!” “Clapton is God” graffiti made him a guitar legend when he was barely 20 – he says he was far from uncomfortable with the adulation at the time
See more latest
Most Popular
Jared James Nichols plays his gold-top Les Paul onstage, fingerstyle as per his wont, and wears a pained expression as he pinches a note.
“There are so many sounds to be discovered when you get away from using a pick”: Jared James Nichols shows you how to add “snap, crackle and pop” to your playing with banjo rolls and string snaps
Martin Tyler plays a Jazz arch-top onstage. He is wearing a striped blazer (a little like a stockbroker) and fretting a chord.
Don't let chord inversions bamboozle you. It's simply the case of shuffling the notes around
Bassist Flea (L) and singer Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers perform at Allegiant Stadium on April 01, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
How to play slap bass: an essential guide to slapping and popping
Man playing bass guitar and sitting in living room at home
Bass chords: shapes that work on bass guitar – and go beyond the power chord
Jeff Beck performing live on stage during the Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards at The Roundhouse on November 9, 2011 in London
Joni Mitchell described it as ‘fly fishing’ and Jeff Beck was a master of the craft – learn how to use volume swells like guitar legends Eddie Van Halen, Allan Holdsworth and Larry Carlton
Roy Buchanan wears a flat cap and works some Telecaster magic in the shadows onstage.
How to find new approaches to blues soloing – using fingerstyle improv ideas and Roy Buchanan-inspired licks
American songwriter, guitarist, lead vocalist and founding member of Metallica James Hetfield performs at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Pavillion in Chicago, IL on April 5, 1986.
Want to play Master of Puppets the right way? Here's how to get faster at downpicking so you can chug like James Hetfield
Joe Bonamassa [left] wears a deep blue suit and polka-dotted shirt and plays his green refin Strat; the late Irish blues legend Rory Gallagher [right] screams and inflicts some punishment on his heavily worn number one Stratocaster.
“The intensity of Rory’s guitar playing – the emotion, the sound and his incredible attack – was mindblowing for me”: Joe Bonamassa pays tribute to the late, great Irish blues-rock icon Rory Gallagher
Cory Wong playing his signature Fender Stratocaster
“For some players, their approach to rhythm guitar is, ‘Oh, someone else gets to do all of the fun stuff while I do this…’” Think playing rhythm guitar is boring? Cory Wong is here to change your mind
TGR345 How to bend strings
“A few poorly intonated sustained bends in a solo can make the guitar's most emotive technique sound bad”: Learning how to bend strings correctly is one of the quickest ways to make your playing sound better