Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 154 i Australian Guitar

NEWS Ryan Siew, guitarist with Australian metalcore band Polaris, has died aged 26. The Sydney-based band announced the news with a moving post on social media, describing Siew as a man who “loved music, more diversely than you could ever imagine, and spoke its language in ways that only the rarest among us do.” “Our hearts are with his family first and foremost, but also with all those whose lives he touched,” read part of the statement. “We ask that you please respect the wishes of Ryan's family for privacy at this time, and likewise that you give us, our team and family the space to grieve & attempt to heal from this immeasurable loss. We know that you will be grieving with us and that we, and our community,…

BLAKE WILLIAMS So, where are you from? I grew up in Penrith. I know this is not exclusive to one place, but nostalgia of making lifelong friends and playing music for the first time will always stay with me. Plus having a premiership-winning NRL team doesn't hurt. What's your latest drop? In February I released my single ‘You Probably Won't Care’. If you feel irrelevant and want to just scream into your pillow and/or at a random stranger in the street, then I think you probably will care about this. How would you sell your sound? Imagine jumping on a trampoline, feeling like you can reach the sky and touch the stars. Meanwhile, you're bumping into everyone else on the trampoline, thriving off everyone's adrenaline and screaming in each other's…

INTERVIEW It's only natural that Vinnie Moore has been making instrumental albums ever since Mike Varney discovered him back in the mid ‘80s and immediately signed him to Shrapnel Records. After all, the first melody Moore remembers figuring out on his own as a budding teen guitarist was Jeff Beck's “Blue Wind.” “At that point I couldn't even bend notes,” Moore recalls. “I didn't know what a bend was. I played everything straight.” But like any rock guitar virtuoso who started playing in the mid to late ‘70s, Moore was also profoundly affected by guitar acts with vocals — everyone from the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Robin Trower to Bad Company, Mountain and Michael Schenker–era UFO, the iconic German heavy rock band Moore has played lead guitar for since 2003.…

THE BEATLES ULTIMATE BEATLES TONE GUIDE NO BANDS HAS had more pages written about them than the Beatles. There are books that examine every day of the band's history, large volumes about their recordings and books devoted entirely to their gear. Yet for all that has been written about them, there is still much mystery about the finer details, such as what exact guitars and amps they used to record specific songs. We set out to answer that last question by closely examining a select group of songs spanning the Beatles’ entire recording history. A big part of the challenge is that a great amount of conflicting info exists, even among the experts. Even the members of the Beatles, producer George Martin and engineers like Geoff Emerick have provided conflicting…

THE BEATLES ULTIMATE BEATLES TONE GUIDE MOST BEATLESo fans who play guitar obses ver the electric guitars and s amps that the band members played through various stages of their career. However, with the exception of the Gibson J-160E acoustic-electrics that were seen throughout the entirety of the band's existence, the acoustic guitars that they played don't get as much attention, even though they played equally important roles in the acoustic songs they recorded, as well as those where acoustic and electric instruments were blended together. Harrison and Lennon purchased a pair of brand-new J-160E guitars in 1962, and Lennon replaced his with a new 1964 model after his was stolen. Although a J-160E doesn't have the most stellar acoustic tone (the Beatles used theirs amplified as often as they…

OPETH SINCE THEIR formation in 1990, Swedish metallers Opeth have been no strangers to wild experimentation and unexpected detours into the creative leftfield. Even their 1995 Orchid debut showcased a bunch of musicians who simply refused to exist within the usual confines of death metal - borrowing elements from long-distant worlds such as jazz and classical and then fusing it all together into something greater than the sum of its parts. But even the band themselves would admit that 2003's Damnation album — a 43-minute love letter to their vintage progressive rock influences — was something they never quite saw in their own destiny. After breaking out of the underground and making their mark internationally with the Steven Wilson-produced Blackwater Park in 2001, the Stockholm-based quartet now had the world's…

The sound and playing style of AC/DC's Angus and Malcolm Young is legendary and constantly emulated. The core elements, though rarely complex, are harder to master than you might imagine, however. Malcolm's open shapes and powerchords are delivered with unrelenting, rock solid groove. And Angus's leads? Well, his phrasing and vibrato are instantly recognisable – which, while making him the icon he is, does mean you'll be aping quite an individualistic style. Tonally, the AC/DC sound epitomises the idea that less is more. A Marshall amp is a core ingredient, as is the combination of Gretsch G6131 Jet and Gibson SG guitars with bridge pickups selected. Assuming you're not in a position to crank your amp to stadium-ready volume levels, Young brothers style, we recommend keeping the gain low for…

You can solo over any section of the song fairly safely using the A minor pentatonic scale should you wish. The main vocal melody uses notes from the A natural minor scale (A B C D E F G), so for an extra challenge you could try playing a version of the vocal melody on the guitar by ear using this scale. The end lead guitar sections use ringing first and second strings (E and B) and this provides a bit of extra body to the sound.…

Cole Clark has been in business since the millennium flip and is probably most associated with Hawaiian superstar Jack Johnson's acoustics. They ceased making electrics in 2012, and have recently focused on manifesting the perfect fusion by blending advanced electronics with easy playability. Noticing the trend of players adding magnetic pickups to their acoustics, Cole Clark launched a range of dual-output thinlines with built-in humbuckers in 2019. Their popularity led the company to dig deeper into the hybrid concept, ultimately releasing three models that truly straddle the acoustic/electric fence. The True Hybrid range features Cole Clark's three-way PG3 acoustic system augmented by their three-way electric system consisting of either three single-coils, a pair of humbuckers or the HSS configuration on this review model, the True Hybrid TL2EC-BLBL-HSS. This True Hybrid's…

From the homemade guitar to the treble-boosted AC30s to the old six-pence-piece he uses as a pick, Brian May's tone is quite literally the stuff books are written about. So, imagine if you could distil all of that into a tiny headphone amp and minicab. That's exactly what Vox did when it set about creating the latest in its long-running line of amPlugs. You've probably seen these before – the amPlug plugs directly into your guitar with a swivelling jack, loaded with controls and a headphone socket for the most portable practice possible. Now, Vox's amPlug has been issued as a signature Brian May edition and it comes in two guises. First is the lone amPlug Brian May, but perhaps of more interest to Queen fans will be the amPlug…

NUNO ONCE UPON A TIME When Nuno Bettencourt appeared on the cover of our sibling mag Guitar World, in December 1992, they declared the then 26-year-old phenom the “new boss.” At the time, Bettencourt had turned the six-string universe on its ear with the excessively funky and fiery guitar acrobatics he packed into every groove (or, given the smash acoustic hit “More Than Words,” almost every groove) of Extreme's smash sophomore album, Pornograffitti. Here we are more than three decades later, and while Bettencourt has continued to push the creative and technical limits of rock guitar — on successive albums with Extreme; in his own solo work and projects like Mourning Wid-ows; with superstar bands like Satellite Party; alongside pop superstar Rihanna; and with Yngwie Malmsteen, Zakk Wylde and Tosin…

Though the Sex Pistols blazed the trail for late-70s British punk-rock, The Clash came to represent a more musically and lyrically adventurous style. 1979's London Calling album marked a change in musical direction for the band, featuring a broader palette of styles, including reggae, ska, jazz and hard rock – more post-punk than punk, then. And, in keeping with the more experimental vibe, the title track that we're looking at here features a lot more than mere thrashed out powerchords – in particular, its unconventional Phrygian modal tonality. This is demonstrated during the intro, where Em and F chords (which are a semitone apart, remember) are played at the same time, creating a tense, ‘outside’ feel, yet somehow without seeming to, er, clash! It's masterful arranging – and tough to…

LESSON CLASSIC TRACK This month we're looking at the RHCP anthem Otherside, one of the band's most successful singles. The track was recorded live in the studio with no click track so the original tempo ranges from 123 to 127bpm. In terms of harmony, Otherside is in the key of A minor, with the main guitar riffs being built out of the notes of this scale. Only two actual chords are played – G and A – with the latter marking a brief foray into A major and brightening up the end of the verses. Still, Frusciante's guitar lines harmonise with Flea's bassline, implying chords as the song progresses. We've shown chord names over the tab to help you navigate our full transcription. FULL TAB OTHERSIDE Words and Music by Anthony…

MARK YOUR SPOT Once you've found your ideal mic placement, mark the amp with tape or chalk so you can find it again if the mic gets knocked or moved. CONE HOME Not sure where the speaker starts or finishes? Take a look around the back if your cabinet is open-back or shine a torch through the grille to see its outline. USE SMALL AMPS Getting a great amp sound from a valve amp means cranking it up. Do this with a 100-watt stack and you'll end up with sirens on your recording! Instead, try a low-wattage amp to minimise the volume, and give a more usable result. GAIN KILLER Careful with that gain knob. When you're recording, it's easy to go overboard with the drive, but when you stack…

REVIEW By the early 1970s, the Telecaster had already been around for more than 20 years. Five decades on and this seems like nothing at all. But back then it made Fender, still under relatively new management, feel that a change of direction was needed in order to refresh the range and perhaps chime better with the tougher music scene that was emerging. The company was experiencing a dip in popularity, since everyone from The Stones’ Keith Richards to Wishbone Ash, Aerosmith, Mick Ronson with Bowie, Phil Manzanera with Roxy Music, Adrian Fisher with Sparks, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Martin Barre with Jethro Tull and, of course, a still massive Led Zeppelin were all mainly toting Gibsons. So perhaps those once all-conquering single coils had become the problem? Enter the Thinline (the…

A modern acoustic-cum-electric with an old spirit. Whenever a new guitar arrives for review, the tone is often crisp (sometimes overly so) and bright, with none of the “lived in” depth that will eventually provide the character that we love about old instruments. This is not necessarily a fault or a negative – it's just part of the instrument's journey. This is why players talk about their guitars “opening up” or “breaking in” after some time. Rarely does a brand new model present itself with what seems to be a genuine vintage voice. But the Faith PJE Legacy Earth does exactly that. It sounds like it's been played for years and the tone has a sweet vintage vibe. Make no mistake, there are plenty of modern appointments: jumbo frets, bolt-on…

INTERVIEW On her just-released EP, The Voices (DistroKid), Los Angeles–based guitarist and singer Angela Petrilli comes on like a true original, delivering smart, tough and soulful blues rock that brims with blood-pounding guitar playing on a set of songs that artfully examines the highs and lows of the human spirit without being obvious or overdrawn. The record is a triumph all right, but it's one Petrilli hadn't planned on making. Until 2019, the guitarist was one half of the Americana duo Roses and Cigarettes. On the heels of the release of the group's second album, Echoes & Silence, Petrilli's longtime bandmate Jenny Pagliaro passed away from stage 4 breast cancer. While grieving her friend and musical partner, Petrilli didn't pick up the guitar for months. The very sight of the…

NUNO ROCK FANS WATCHING this year's Super Bowl likely experienced a jolt of unexpected delight when they caught a glimpse of one of their own — Nuno Bettencourt, ever-present Washburn N4 in hand — performing alongside Rihanna during her halftime-show extravaganza. But while his screen time was exceedingly brief — “about 1.5 milliseconds,” he jokes — Bettencourt's partnership with the international pop superstar, as many now know, stretches back more than a decade. If some fans believe it to be a strange place for one of hard rock's most lauded six-string shredders to end up, well, there's precedent (Eddie Van Halen's star turn with Michael Jackson on “Beat It,” for one; Bettencourt's guest appearance on Janet Jackson's radio edit of “Black Cat,” for another). Even so, Bettencourt understands the concerns.…

THE BEATLES MANY guitar ner most impor ds not tant detail of r e that perhaps the eplicating the Beatles’ tones after their guitars and amps is the type of strings that they used. It is generally believed that Harrison and Lennon used flatwound strings in the early years up until late 1965, just after the release of Rubber Soul. After that, from Revolver and beyond, they apparently switched to roundwound strings. This argument seems to make sense from both sonic and historical perspectives. The more balanced and less brilliant tone of flatwounds certainly explains why some critical listeners today are under the mistaken impression that George didn't play an electric 12-string on “Ticket to Ride” (George Martin's handwritten notes indicate that Harrison did indeed use his Rickenbacker 360/12) since…

01 72 SEASONS Blasting out of the gate, the album's title track is a statement of intent, proving that Metallica are still capable of impressive ferocity. The double-time blasts feel like 320bpm, and Kirk cleverly highlights accents from the main riff with a lead line packed with doublestops. The wah-drenched solo is packed with Hammett trademarks and comes out into a melodic lead guitar hook. Kirk Hammett: It has all the elements – fast stuff, bouncy stuff, [a] super strong melody. It's designed to just suck you into the album. We all agree that the middle part of 72 Seasons is one of the most difficult Metallica riffs we have ever played. It's not the choice of notes or how the notes are played; it's all in the timing and…

The five main chords in London Calling are Em, F, Em/G, G and D. There are two voicings of F, with one shape occurring in the intro and the other during the rest of the track. We've shown ‘full’ shapes complete with root notes for guidance but the chords on the original recording are mostly confined to three or four treble strings. Note that a low G isn't played in the Em/G but, seeing as it's played over the bass guitar's G note each time, we've labelled it as a slash chord – just play Em again where you see Em/G. Finally, we've shown an Fmaj7 which you can try out instead of the F chords in the verses. LONDON CALLING Words and Music by Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul…

REVIEW The Jackson brand is not known for its reserve but even for the now-classic hotrodded S-style Dinky this Neon Pink model is pushing it. Perhaps the hi-viz aesthetic is a note of caution, health and safety gone mad because, golly, that reverse headstock, six-in-line like a dagger, could have your eye out. This is one electric guitar you could see from space, as though the Jackson development team consulted with rave culture archivists to find the most lurid Day-Glo colour and apply it to one of the most fast-playing guitars you can find at this money. Now, we'll get to the performance – and spoilers for what's to come, but it's like the Dinky plays you sometimes – but first the spec. What does a tad over a grand…