Total Guitar - August 2014

O
T
N
R
A
LE AY
PL
PLAY LIKE
JEFF BECK
FIVE MODERN BLUES MARTY FRIEDMAN
ROCK RIFFS
GUEST LESSON
PLAY BETTER NOW!
#256
AUGUST 2014
£5.50
PLUS
DAN
JACK
AUERBACH
WHITE
WHO HAS THE BIGGEST RIF
FS
THE GREATEST TONE
Master
Jack &
Dan’s
guitar
styles
THE HOTTEST LICKS
RIG TOUR
INT ERVIEWS
Ditch your
bassist!
Start a duo today
Brody Dalle
Royal Blood
Nick Mulvey
Mastodon
JOHN
BUTLER
AUGUST 2014
PRINTED IN THE UK
£5.50
EDITOR’S LETTER
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EDITORIAL
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Welcome…
One thing struck me while reading
through this month’s TG, and that’s
the sheer amount of inventiveness in
the guitar universe at the moment. Put
aside the beef between the two men on
our cover and explore the music – just as
we have in our cover feature – and you’ll
discover plenty of originality.
Likewise, we took a tour of Aussie/
American guitarist John Butler’s
unique touring rig. A complex setup
involving multiple amplifiers, signal chains
and processing, it’s a far cry from the rig your average singersongwriter gigs with!
Finally, we sat down to have a chat with one of the hottest
new bands on the scene: Royal Blood. A guitar-less duo, Royal
Blood’s bass player/singer Mike Kerr apes the sound of an
electric guitar using an equally intricate series of splits, pitchshifting and loops. While many of these artists are using similar
basic methods to get their sounds, the results are all totally
different, and that’s what’s so inspiring.
Don’t know any other guitarists? Can’t find the right band
members? Don’t let it stop you from writing music and starting
a band. With a little imagination and manipulation of some fairly
inexpensive gear, it’s possible to get going straight away. Don’t
believe us? Check out our tutorial on how to get started on p22.
The ABC combined print
and digital circulation for
Jan-Dec 2013 is:
A member of the
Audited Bureau
of Circulations
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Print: 16,744 Digital: 2,488
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world-class content and advertising solutions for
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(Interim) Simon Poulton
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© Future Publishing Limited 2014. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used or reproduced without
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Stuart Williams, Editor
MAKING THIS MONTH’S MAG:
CHRIS
BIRD
THIS month,
Chris has been
getting all shreddy with Jackson’s
Chris Broderick signature Soloist 6
for TG’s 90-second video review.
Continuing on the thrash theme,
Birdman has also spent an
afternoon chatting to another
Megadeth legend, Marty
Friedman, for our guest lesson.
MICHAEL
BROWN
IN honour of
this issue’s
cover stars, we’ve reviewed three
retro electrics, which – unlike Dan
and Jack – you won’t have to raid
pawnshops to get your hands on.
For the less blues-inclined, two
signature models from Chris
Broderick and Kurt Cobain also
go under the TG microscope.
ROB
LAING
HAVING
returned from
the Download festival wide-eyed
and full of tales, Rob now has a
clutch of new Me And My Guitar
interviews to run on the TG
website; including Richie
Sambora’s original ’59 Les Paul,
and the Quo’s iconic Teles. No
wonder he’s overexcited.
AUGUST 2014
5
CONTENTS
First Look Schecter Production Series ........................
On The Road Anathema ..................................................
Riff Of The Month Aerosmith – Walk This Way ......
Scale Of The Month Dorian mode ..............................
Guitar Shop Ammo Eight-string metal ......................
In Praise Of James Trussart Steelcaster .....................
Splurge, Save, Steal Killswitch guitars ......................
Basics Playing in a two-piece band ..............................
WTF? / Bring The Noise! ...............................................
Sound Advice Tremolo ....................................................
In The Loop Massive Riffs ..............................................
In The Studio Lower Than Atlantis ..............................
On The Up Stu Larsen, Honeyblood, George Ezra ...
Albums This month’s best guitar releases .................
Five Minutes Alone Bill Kelliher ....................................
Rig Tour John Butler ..........................................................
Win! A musical enterprise scholarship ......................
Feedback ...............................................................................
008
010
012
014
016
018
020
022
024
026
028
029
030
032
034
037
042
044
FEATURES
Nicky Mulvey The rise of a singular guitarist ............ 046
COVER FEATURE: Jack Vs Dan
Who will emerge victorious as we pit the two
giants of new blues rock against each other? .............
Brody Dalle The former Distiller tells TG why
JACK VS DAN 049
THE TITANS OF NEW BLUES ROCK GO HEAD TO HEAD
she’s more pissed off than ever ........................................
Royal Blood The Brighton two-piece producing
monstrous riffs… without a guitarist .............................
The Vaccines Freddie Cowan on his busy year .........
062
6
STEAL THEIR STYLE:
JEFF BECK
AUGUST 2014
092
FIX YOUR GUITAR
018
IN PRAISE OF...
049
060
066
070
Cover: Amy Harris/Corbis Retna Pictures Adam Gasson Disc: REX/Greg Allen
Contents: Nina Robinson/The Hell Gate/Corbis Joshua Black Wilkins Derick A. Thomas; Dat’s Jazz/CORBIS Jesse Wild Adam Gasson Neil Godwin Andrew Whitton
MONITOR
ISSUE 256
JOHN
BUTLER
008
AUGUST 2014
037
FIRST
LOOK
GEAR
Jackson Chris Broderick Pro Series Soloist 6 ...............
Gretsch G5034TFT Rancher ............................................
Fender Kurt Cobain Jaguar NOS ......................................
GRETSCH
RANCHER
Round-up Retro electrics ..................................................
080
Randall Diavlo RD45H .......................................................
Yamaha NTX700C ..............................................................
Round-up TC Electronic Minis .......................................
Quick tests Vox Soundbox Mini, Hardwire
Supernatural Ambient Reverb..........................................
Accessories ..........................................................................
Fix Your Guitar Replacing tuners ..................................
078
080
081
082
086
087
088
090
091
092
TECHNIQUES
066
BRODY
DALLE
060
ROYAL
BLOOD
Guitar Workout Stretching ............................................
Guest Lesson Marty Friedman ......................................
Ear Training Perfect octaves ..........................................
Get Your Grades! Rockschool .......................................
Get Your Grades! RGT .....................................................
Tab Guide .............................................................................
097
101
105
106
107
110
SUBSCRIBE NOW & SAVE!
Subscribe to Total Guitar and get a Blackstar LT Dist pedal! p108
AUGUST 2014
7
FIRST LOOK…
Born In
The USA
Schecter launches cut-price
USA-made Custom Shop
Production Series guitars
hese days, Schecter is associated
with metallers and hard-rockers, but
since its beginnings as a repair shop
in 1976, it’s had a line in the high end. The
new Production Series brings that quality to
more affordable price points, combining
modern machinery and old-school craft.
Pictured are two of the 11 new models:
the Production Series PT and Hollywood
Classic. PT stands for Pete Townshend, who
played Schecter T-style axes in the 80s, and
this latest incarnation continues the
stripped-back tradition. There’s a chunky
plus two Schecter SuperRock Vintage
humbuckers. The Hollywood Classic is a
maple-topped mahogany body and
matching headstock, although it features a
pair of Schecter SuperRock ’buckers.
The Hollywood Classic comes in at
£2,499, while the PT is a comparatively
affordable £1,599. For a USA-made guitar
replete with 38 years of building
experience, that’s not a bad price to pay.
T
Photography: Neil Godwin
8
AUGUST 2014
“PT stands for Pete Townshend,
who played Schecter T-style
axes in the 1980s”
FIRST LOOK
AUGUST 2014
MONITOR
9