MusicRadar - Total Guitar

Opinion: Forget flash gear – do what you can with what you have

Matthew Parker — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:02:00 +0100

In the first of a (probably sporadic) series of blog posts, TG's staff writer, Matt Parker, explains how new bands can benefit from doing things the hard way.

There's a phrase in film-making circles, "If you want to make a film. Make your film." On the surface it's a fairly idiotic statement, but there's some wisdom in it. Essentially, what its saying is that, if you hang around waiting for some kind of funding or endorsement to appear out of thin air, you'll be waiting a very long time.

Instead, think about how you can be creative with the things you have at your disposal and avoid letting yourself get put off by small excuses. A crap amp for one guitarist could become another's signature sound.*

"A crap amp for one guitarist could become another's signature sound."

Book the toilet venue tour, rehearse in any room you can, pick up the toy acoustic with the missing string if you have to, at the end of the day it's all experience. You'll meet people and you'll have something to show for your efforts, so that when and if a good opportunity does come along, you'll be ready for it.

"You need something to show for your efforts before you can progress to the next stage."

It's a principle that can be applied across almost any music career. Whether you're a band, a journalist, a promoter or an A&R guy in-the-making, you need to have something to show for your efforts before you can progress to the next stage.

"The idea is as applicable to a pub band as it to a career musician."

For some TG readers, playing is purely a hobby, but the idea is as applicable to a pub band as it is to someone for whom music provides a primary source of income. So the next time you're gazing dreamily through a shop window at that Gibson Goldtop, remember it's about starting with small successes and building upon each one.

Now go forth and D.I.Y.

* My first amp picked up French radio, it still does in fact, but it made practice more fun.

© David Waldorf/Corbis

Online guitar tuning guide

Matthew Parker — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:14:00 +0100

Here's some guitar tuning sounds to help you ensure your instrument is playing at the right pitch.

Why not bookmark the page? You never know when you might get stuck without a guitar tuner!

E

A

D

G

B

E

Beginner Guitar Lessons: String bends

James Uings — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:03:00 +0100

You know how to play a few chords, but what's next? TG's beginner guitar lessons are here to walk you through the essentials. Here we look at string bends.

Target notes

Open the 'Bending to hit a target note' tab (Right-click to download)

Pushing a string up or pulling it down raises the pitch of the note you're playing. This is called string bending. The technique can be used to create singing, vocal-like phrases that other instruments find difficult to recreate.

You'll know when to bend a string when you see a 'BU' (bend up) symbol in the tab. You'll also notice two numbers: the first number is the fret you'll bend from; the second number is the 'target note' or the note you want the bend note to sound the same as.

Tip: Play the target note before attempting the bend. This will make it easier to hit the right note. Be warned: this will take a few attempts to get right!

Reinforce your bends

Open the 'String-bending lick' tab (Right-click to download)

You may have noticed that string bending can be pretty tough' It takes a little while to master (so be patient), but using your other fingers to your bending finger out will make it easier to hit target notes. You could also follow the greats like Jimi Hendrix and use your thumb to get extra leverage when you're executing string bends.

Tip: This simple lick bends a note up and then you release the bend back to its starting position. Note: the release actually makes the lick easier to play.

Blog Of The Week: The Classical Guitar Blog

Matthew Parker — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:40:00 +0100

We appreciate that not all of you will embrace classical guitar, but there's a whole world of brilliant guitarists out there. The Classical Guitar Blog's author Christopher Davis does a good job of highlighting some of the genre's key players.

The Classical Guitar Blog is also used to instruct and Christopher has recently completed a Master's Degree in Music (check out his recital). "I wrote a ton on online guitar forums and was always quick to offer advice for beginning players, so it seemed like a good idea to start my own site on which I could do the same thing," he told us via email.

"Since then the CG Blog has turned in a major vehicle for my own career as a guitarist. I sell an ebook of arpeggio studies and I use the connections I've made and knowledge I've gained to book recitals and lectures. The biggest thing I get out of it is codifying my ideas. Something happens when you write on a topic – it has to be extremely clear in your mind."

"The CG Blog also acts as my person journal of progress, and, as I look back on the last few years of it, the blog reflects what I was working on at the time. During the spring and summer of 2009, for instance, I was very interested in practicing and wrote a ton on the subject. Now I've been working quite a bit on technique, and I'm posting more frequently on that after avoiding it for a while."

"Over the coming years I plan to continue doing what I'm doing now, and expand in different ways. The interviews I do are going to be published via podcast as well as video, and I hope to bring in more guest posters and authors. And of course, as I gain more influence in the classical guitar world, my interviewees will be bigger names."

Check out The Classical Guitar Blog and make sure you head back this way for more of TG's Blogs Of The Week.

TG204: Nail your scales with our (genuinely useful) pull-out!

Matthew Parker — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:43:00 +0100

We've developed a 'Seven Modes Of The Major Scale' pull-out, which comes free with Total Guitar issue 204.

OK, we're not going to beat around the bush here: learning scales can be dull. This we know. But it's also the thing that will most dramatically improve your playing.

Inside the pull-out we've tabbed each mode, examples of the kind of music you can play with it and explained how they fit together and the best way to learn each one. All of the modes and examples are supported with audio on the TG204 disc.

We think this is one of the most useful freebies we've put together, so if modes are still a mystery to you, pick up TG204 and become enlightened!

Free Track Fridays: Free MP3 downloads from Villagers and The Vaselines

Matthew Parker — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:53:00 +0100

This week we've got free MP3 downloads from Villagers, The Vaselines, The Lines, The Heebie Jeebies and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. If you don't like at least one of these, then there's probably something wrong with you.

Track of the week

Villagers – Becoming A Jackal

You might have heard of Villagers aka (Conor J. O'Brien). He plays an advanced kind of indie-folk music and he's recently been nominated for the Mercury Prize. Most importantly though, he impressed the crap out of TG at Latitude festival and now he's giving away our favourite track for free! *Does victory dance*

Get the rest

The Vaselines – I Hate The 80s

These guys became DIY indie-pop legends because Kurt Cobain once labelled them his "favourite songwriters in the whole world", despite the fact they only put out one studio album. Well, all that's about to change, because soon they'll have TWO studio albums. The next one is called 'Sex With An X'.

Disturbed – Asylum

"Oh we're so Disturbed, we have to rap about being in an asylum and suffering, because people will probably like that." It's still fun to bop your head along to – but what does it MEAN!?

The Heebie Jeebies – African Bathroom (Demo)

Well aren't these guys just a bucket full of crazy? Probably the best Afrobeat indie tune about watching someone take a bath that we've heard since lunchtime. We look forward to hearing the proper recording.

Some Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Sink/Let It Sway

Winner of Free Track Friday's Most Unashamedly Indulgent Band Name Of The Week award, SSLYBY are very much in the American college rock fold, but without the idiocy. Apart from the name of course.

Best Wah Pedals: Five of our favourites

Stuart Williams — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:06:00 +0100

Every pedalboard deserves a decent wah. It's the ubiquitous sound to which countless washing machines have been 'repaired', crimes in the 70s were solved, and Jimi Hendrix chopped down mountains. If your pedalboard deserves a little funk, check out our pick of the best wah pedals.

Opinion: What makes a good cover song?

Chris Bird — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:02:00 +0100

TG204 (on sale now) features the full tab for Santana's iconic Fleetwood Mac cover 'Black Magic Woman'. Here TG's Music Editor, Chris Bird, sets out his ideas on the formula behind successful covers.

Check out the Chris' favourite cover songs YouTube playlist

I love playing cover versions. Whether you're performing in bands or jamming at home there's satisfaction in mastering a piece of music you love.

TG204 cover star Eddie Van Halen covered The Kinks' 'You Really Got Me' on Van Halen's debut album. A couple of issues back we transcribed the supremely awesome Cancer Bats' cover of Beastie Boys' 'Sabotage'. It seems to me a lot of bands do pretty well out of cover versions.

"So what are the ingredients of a decent cover? Is there a set of rules or can you just rip the hell out of any old song?"

So what are the ingredients of a decent cover? Is there a set of rules or can you just rip the hell out of any old song? What makes Hendrix's version of 'All Along The Watchtower' a classic? Ditto Jeff Buckley's 'Hallelujah'? And why do some covers fail to make a lasting impression on the public consciousness? Van Halen's 'Dancing In The Street' and Korn's 'Another Brick In The Wall' are big songs by huge bands, but probably not in most people's lists of top covers.

"The most iconic cover versions tend to be complete re-workings of the originals."

The most iconic cover versions tend to be complete re-workings of the originals. Muse's cover of 'Feeling Good' doesn't bear much resemblance to the original version - it's a re-working. Harmonically, California Guitar Trio's version of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is extremely similar to Queen's original, but played on three acoustic guitars it acquires a new life of its own.

Sometimes people say that certain songs shouldn't be covered. Possibly true - I've yet to hear a cover of 'Stairway To Heaven' that stands up to the original. Blues however seems to thrive on cover versions. Santana covered Fleetwood Mac's 'Black Magic Woman' (we've transcribed Santana's cover in TG204) and each version is as iconic as the other.

Check out the Chris' favourite cover songs YouTube playlist

Total Guitar issue 204 (on sale now) features the full tab for Santana's iconic Fleetwood Mac cover 'Black Magic Woman' and part one (of three) of the tab for Van Halen's 'Eruption'.

Tenacious D Blog: John Konesky - The D's gear

John Konesky — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:09:00 +0100

In his third guest blog for TG, Tenacious D's lead guitarist John Konesky gives us a video walk-through of his favourite bits of gear, a brief look at his well-guarded pedalboard and a sneak preview of a rather special custom D guitar, made for the guys by EA Games...

By the way, you can see 'Kones' in action in this rather splendid solo montage and make sure you check out his previous blogs for TG. You can find links to them in the menu bar on the left.

Blog Of The Week: I Heart Guitar

Matthew Parker — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:49:00 +0100

The third site to be chosen as TG's hallowed (it is too!) Blog Of The Week is another Australian site, I Heart Guitar.

Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised, given its rock heritage, that Australia seems to be one of the world's most guitar-savvy countries, but that's not to take anything away from the hard work of Peter Hodgson, I Heart Guitar's founder.

Peter, who lives with his wife and four year-old son in Melbourne, was already a freelance writer for several Australian music-making magazines when he started the blog in 2008.

"I've been lucky to get some great interviews like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Dave Mustaine, Zakk Wylde, Ace Frehley, Bob Taylor, John Petrucci and Paul Gilbert (who wrote a guest post about one of his Ibanez Fireman customs)," says Peter. "But the most enjoyable (and time-consuming) part is writing gear reviews."

"I also write the occasional off-kilter opinion piece to satisfy my secret dream of being a comedy writer! I try to keep the site a positive place and I hope my enthusiasm for the guitar and the music it produces comes through."

He's no slouch as a player either and Peter was crowned Melbourne's Best Shredder in 2004 (sponsored by awesome Aussie radio station Triple M), not to mention gigging with his own band The Upperhand and playing as a session musician.

Check out I Heart Guitar and make sure you head back this way for more of TG's Blogs Of The Week.

Foo Fighters' new album "in rehearsals"

Stuart Williams — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:10:00 +0100

© Kirsty Umback/Corbis

Guitarist Chris Shiflett has revealed that the Foo Fighters' new album is currently being put together in the rehearsal studio, with the band starting the latest practice sessions for the follow-up to 2007's 'Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace' today.

We spoke to Shiflett about his band's newly released, self-titled album, 'Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants', and we couldn't resist asking him a couple of questions about his day job in the Foos, too…

"We're supposed to start really recording at the beginning of September," says Chris. "We did about a week and a half of rehearsals already, we're about to do another week or so starting tomorrow, then we have a couple more weeks of rehearsals and demos starting in August. Then in September we'll start recording it for real."

Dave Grohl has already stated that he intends the new album – which will be produced by Nirvana's Nevermind producer Butch Vig - to be "the heaviest yet" and according to Chris, this is looking likely. "We've done about 9 or 10 songs so far – it's all really rocking! I think that's where Dave's songwriting is right now. He wants to make a rocking record, so that's what it'll be."

Meanwhile, Shiflett's country/Americana-tinged album is available now, featuring guest appearances from pedal steel icon Greg Leisz (Wilco, Smashing Pumpkins, Avenged Sevenfold) and country-twanger Eddie Perez (Dwight Yoakam, The Mavericks).

Keep your eyes peeled for our full interview with Chris in a forthcoming issue of Total Guitar.

2010 Mercury Prize nominations announced

Matthew Parker — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:44:00 +0100

The Barclaycard Mercury Prize nominations have been announced and there are a couple of great guitar bands in the running. The winner will be announced on 7 September during a live broadcast on BBC2.

TG is chuffed to see Biffy Clyro getting a well-deserved tip of the cap. They're a good old-fashioned slow-burning success story and could well pull an "Elbow" (not in the muscular sense) if they win it.

In addition, the nu-folk stylings of Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons and Villagers also make up a significant chunk of the nominees.

Bookies William Hill have proclaimed it the closest race ever, with favourites The xx (and Dizzee Rascal) on 4/1. Biffy's in joint-third with 8/1, whereas new act Villagers represent a good wildcard bet, on at 10/1. Check out the full list of nominees below.

Barclaycard Mercury Prize nominees

Biffy Clyro 'Only Revolutions'
Corinne Bailey Rae 'The Sea'
Dizzee Rascal 'Tongue N' Cheek'
Foals 'Total Life Forever'
I Am Kloot 'Sky At Night'
Kit Downes Trio 'Golden'
Laura Marling 'I Speak Because I Can'
Mumford & Sons 'Sigh No More'
Paul Weller 'Wake Up the Nation'
The xx 'xx'
Villagers 'Becoming a Jackal'
Wild Beasts 'Two Dancers'

Latitude Festival 2010: Day three

Matthew Parker — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:26:00 +0100

Total Guitar headed across the country to Henham Park, Suffolk to review Latitude festival 2010. Sunday's bands included Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Mumford & Sons and Vampire Weekend.

Following what was a brief (but ultimately uncalled-for) downpour on Saturday morning, Sunday was a completely different matter and in a sunny disposition, TG staggered from the campsite to the Arena in order to catch Spectrals.

We saw these guys supporting Frankie & The Heartstrings at the 100 Club back in June and were impressed by their Cribs-gone-surfing approach to indie music. We reckon they won't be everyone's cup of tea, but if they keep writing blissful tunes like 'Leave Me Be' that could all change.

After Spectrals, it was straight to the Obelisk Arena to setup (read: go to the bar) ahead of Mumford & Sons arrival. On bafflingly early in the day and, annoyingly, at the same time as The Big Pink, their set was a good example of the poor scheduling of this year's festival. The fact that they drew almost as big a crowd as headliners Vampire Weekend, cemented this in TG's mind. Still, they played a fantastic set, even unveiling a new song, which evidenced their new Americana direction.

Later, this year's most likely to "pull an Animal Collective" word-of-mouth hit, Yeasayer,played a rapturous set in the Word Arena, Anand Wilder's delay-soaked guitar sound allowing them to get their hooks in any of those still to make their mind up.

Back at the Obelisk Arena in early evening Rodrigo Y Gabriela proved the perfect warm-up for the night's festivities. TG thought that, given this was the second time we had witnessed the Mexican's mind-boggling acoustic skills, we wouldn't be as floored. We were wrong of course and by the end of the set, voices were hoarse and hands sore from cheering.

Dashing to the Word Arena to catch some of Sigur Ros' mentalist frontman Jónsi's set also proved to be an excellent decision. The waiflike Icelandic singer stuck primarily to eery-vocal duties, but occasionally could be seen strumming an acoustic guitar or two. Drawing from his second solo album, 'Go', TG was surprised by how much we enjoyed his new brand of (slightly camp) atmospheric pop.

Finally it was back to the Obelisk Arena to catch final headliners Vampire Weekend. You would have thought the responsibility of their first festival headline slot (with only two albums' material to draw from) might have weighed heavily on VW's shoulders, but if it did, they didn't show it. Taking to the stage 20 minutes late (their equipment was delayed coming in from Portugal) frontman Ezra Koenig was in excellent spirits, coaxing the audience into more movement that they'd seen all weekend and impressing TG with his chromatic runs and afrobeat guitar style.

All in all Latitude 2010 was a success and, despite some bizarre scheduling, it featured the best musical line-up yet seen. However, the extra capacity nearly ruined the festival as atmosphere was sacrificed for footfall and, after all, it's the atmosphere that makes Latitude fans return. TG reckons they'll have to pull something fairly special out of the hat in 2011 to encourage them back.

Latitude Festival 2010: Day two

Matthew Parker — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:22:00 +0100

Total Guitar headed across the country to Henham Park, Suffolk to review Latitude festival 2010. Saturday's bands included The xx, Frankie & The Heartstrings, Chief and First Aid Kit.

As TG awoke to Saturday at Latitude, things were considerably hazier than the previous day. Sleep deprivation, hangovers and wallet-abuse had all combined to create a slight sense of melancholy remorse.

In an attempt to battle whatever it was from the previous night that was giving us a headache, TG once again headed to the shady confines of the Sunshine Arena for another acoustic(ish) act, Lupen Crook. Unfortunately his new songs have lost the dangerous-edge we loved and his new family-friendly pop is not of the same quality. Even Crook's totally-over-the-top Slash wannabe guitarist and his 12-string electric couldn't perk us up.

Later it was on to new Domino Records act, Chief, who did a much better job of soothing our beer-sweats. Breezy harmonies, chilled out Americana guitars and an awesome combination of beards, sunglasses, hats and hair uplifted us no end.

Next up was John Grant, who was given the unenviable task of trying to keep the Obelisk Arena entertained. He soon had the crowd on his side though, telling everyone that the first song was "For anyone that's had their heart trampled on by some asshole." With analogue synths, acoustics guitars and piano lines, Grant came across like a tongue-in-cheek Elton John.

Early evening saw the folkies among us head back to the Sunrise Arena for some aural treatment from two-piece First Aid Kit. These Swedish sisters made their name with an enchanting YouTube cover of Fleet Foxes' 'Tiger Mountain Peasant Song' (recorded in a forest with just an acoustic guitar) and they proved just as spell-binding in Latitude's own woodland setting.

Next up was one of TG's most anticipated bands of the festival Frankie & The Heartstrings. Writing intelligent pop songs with a traditional band set-up these days is almost unheard of, but these guys manage to seem classic and fresh all at the same time. Guitarist Michael McKnight struggled through the show, thanks in no small part to his battered Epiphone Wilshire's tuning problems (it was literally held together by tape!), but still pulled off his choppy riffs and lead lines with aplomb. Perhaps our favourite band of the festival, charismatic frontman Frankie Francis had no trouble converting passers by into true-believers and, providing someone gives McKnight a new guitar, they're bound for bigger things. Check out TG204 (on sale now) for a Those About To Rock piece on the band and Free Track Friday for a free download.

Saturday night headliners in the Word Arena, The xx, turned a lot of heads this past year and rightly so, having pretty much invented a new genre. However, despite a certain understated charisma and an awesomely atmospheric entrance, the band couldn't sustain the momentum required of a great headliner off the back of only one album. Occasional foot shuffles and hand-stares aside, there was plenty to admire, not least guitarist Romy Madley Croft's otherworldly guitar tones.

Latitude Festival 2010: Day one

Matthew Parker — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:06:00 +0100

Total Guitar headed across the country to Henham Park, Suffolk to review Latitude festival 2010 – the fifth incarnation of the thriving arts event. The first day of music saw sets from The National, Laura Marling and Everything Everything.

Arriving on site, it was immediately apparent that much had changed since TG's last Latitude (2007). The arena area practically groaned under the expanded capacity and queues abounded for most of the smaller tents and concessions stands.

Starting the day, rather appropriately, in the beautiful Sunrise Arena (a large canvas-covered clearing in the woods) TG caught local boy Matthew P opening the stage for the weekend. While not a bad songwriter, it was very much your usual common or garden one-man acoustic pop fayre, but he's still starting out, so we'll let him off.

Musically, Villagers (in the Word Arena) offered a lot more to write home about. Frontman Conor J O'Brien melding bile, anguish and, occasionally, wolf howls into beautiful folk song and proving junior-sized nylon-string guitars are the ultimate songwriting tool.

Over on the Lake Stage (the festival's new bands epicentre), Yu(c)k (who recently appeared in Free Track Friday) appeared to be thriving in the dust-strewn sunshine, mixing their Dinosaur Jr guitar-styles with vocals that sounded like they were filtered through a household plumbing system.

Following Yu(c)k, TG was pleasantly surprised by new act Y Niwl. This refreshing Welsh four-piece play an updated brand of instrumental surf-pop, drawing on the likes of The Surfaris and Dick Dale and peppering it with modern flourishes. We'll tell you right now that there aren't many credible new acts out there playing this kind of guitar music.

Shifting on to the rather massive Obelisk Arena stage, folk starlet Laura Marling struggled to fill the space with her acoustic guitar. While her playing, singing and performing were all endearing, it was somewhat undermined by the poor sound and lack of atmosphere that a day-time slot on a main-stage can bring.

TG's first 'great' band of the weekend was Everything Everything, headlining the Lake stage, the appropriately-named Manchester group take in a wide-variety of influences (rock, disco, pop, hip hop) and turn it into something new. New and infectious. Accordingly, they caught most of the audience off-guard and people seemed to find dancing the best recovery method. You will be hearing more from these guys.

Given a choice of Florence & The Machine and The National as headliners, TG opted for The National and was not disappointed. The veteran American indie stars have worked their introspective nuts off to get the kind of attention they're now receiving and they don't plan to screw it up anytime soon.

Drawing mainly from new album 'High Violet', their hour long set also pulled tunes from earlier full-lengths 'Alligator' and 'Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers', before closing with one of TG's favourite songs 'Mr November'. Intense doesn't cover it, but few audience members will have felt that the band don't deserve their recent success.

Free Track Fridays: Free MP3 downloads from The Sword and The Black Angels

Matthew Parker — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:02:00 +0100

The new music cup overfloweth this week with free MP3 downloads The Sword, The Black Angels, Chapel Club, Orphan Boy and Alex Winston.

Make the most of it, according to Prince "the internet is over", so it's only a matter of time before we're all sat round the record player again. Not that it would be a bad thing.

Track of the week

The Sword – Tres Brujas

If you enjoy Iommi-styled riffage then you're gonna love these classic metal devotees. 'Tres Brujas' is the first full track on their new album, 'Warp Riders' and it's sounding suitably huge and awesome. Even if they do think they're on Star Trek.

Get the rest

The Black Angels – Bad Vibrations

Sometimes, you just need a bit of psych-rock to perk up your otherwise dreary existence. The Black Angels, unsurprisingly, peddle a particularly dark, droning brand of it. We bet they wear sunglasses at night.

The Chapel Club – The Shore

Bright young things The Chapel Club have been working their skinny-jeaned butts off throughout 2010. Drawing on the likes of Jesus & Mary Chain, Cocteau Twins and other 80s indie alumni, this is one for the musos.

Alex Winston – Play With Fire

Here's a really eerie cover of the Rolling Stone's 'Play With Fire' from this new singer-songwriter. Genuinely kooky and very atmospheric, it sounds like the arrangement was written by Tim Burton.

Orphan Boy – Remember

A straight forward mainstream chart botherer. This is the kind of thing you can imagine blasting out of a Radio 1 stage in Wales and then becoming secretly quite fond of.

Yamaha Music and Guitar Guitar donate guitars to British Army Recovery Centre

Stuart Williams — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:01:00 +0100

Injured soldiers at the British Army's Personnel Recovery Centre in Edinburgh have recently been picking up the guitar thanks to Yamaha Music and guitar store Guitar Guitar.

The companies have joined forces to deliver a range of Yamaha Pacifica electrics as well as practice amps to the centre - which assists wounded, injured, and sick soldiers in their recovery – for use in the centre's workshops and music tuition.

Through a series of tailor made programmes, the brand new centre aims to expose the soldiers to the thrills of learning a musical instrument, as well as rebuilding their confidence in the process, explains Fraser Dowling, second in command at the centre:

"We are extremely grateful to Yamaha and Guitar Guitar for this kind donation, welfare is an extremely important part of each soldier's recovery."

The initial guitar sessions have been a massive hit amongst the soldiers and the centre is planning a series of back-to-back tuition programmes to help meet the high demand.

Guitar Repairs 101: Coil-splitting a humbucking pickup (part three)

Ed Mitchell — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 10:39:00 +0100

In the third installment of the Guitar Repairs 101 column, Ed talks us through switching options.

By now you should have a humbucker that you can coil-split, a wiring diagram and the tools that we featured in part one of this guide. That's all gravy but there's still one component we need to sort out before we can put this coil-splitting thing to bed. It's time to look at switches...

Choosing the right switch for the job

When it comes to switches for coil-splitting you have a couple of options. By the way, we get our switches and other parts from WD Music... they'll hook you up with the right parts. For this job you could use a DPDT (Double Pole, Double Throw) mini switch. The only problem with mini switches is that you'll have to drill a small hole in your guitar's scratchplate or top to install them. Not ideal.

We prefer to use a push pull potentiometer (or 'pot') with a built-in DPDT switch. The coil-split function is activated when you pull the pot's knob up. The great thing with these pots is that you don't have to permanently modify your guitar to fit them. You can install the push pull pot as a replacement for your volume or tone control. Also note that if you're coil-splitting both pickups in a twin-bucker guitar you'll need two push pull pots - one to coil-split each pickup.

When you're cruising webstore pages you'll notice that push pull pots are available in 250K or 500K formats. As we're working with 'buckers we'll need to use the 500K pot. 250K pots are designed for use with single-coil pickups.

Incidentally, if you have a Gibson Les Paul or a similar guitar with a thick top you might need long shaft push pull pots. Before you order your new DPDT pot measure the threaded part on the old unit to make sure you get the right part.

Next time we'll be looking at the noble art of soldering. Brandishing a soldering iron correctly is an essential skill for any guitar tinkerer and you won't be able to finish this job without it. Stick with us and you'll be soldering like a pro... honest!

See you next month! Ed Mitchell - FixYourOwnDamnGuitar.com

Check out Ed's Shed in Total Guitar issue 204 (a classic rock special) for advice on choosing the right guitar polish/cleaner.

£25,000 break-in at Strings Direct

Matthew Parker — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:23:00 +0100

Strings Direct, the online instrument retail company, was subject to a burglary in which around £25,000 worth of guitar gear was taken from its Rochford guitar store Holiday Music/Lefties on 3 July.

Most of the instruments taken were left-handed and some of them were very valuable. It's not yet understood whether the stolen models were taken at random or selected on purpose. Strings Direct and Essex Police are urging the public to keep their eyes peeled and get in touch with any information regarding the incident.

Here's a list of the stolen equipment, if you happen to see any of these models surface (through second-hand dealers/eBay etc.) we urge you to contact PC Nick Morton of Essex Police on 0300 333 4444 (Ext 470264).

Stolen Strings Direct stock:

Tokai SG (Cherry Red) L/H

Godin Exit 22 Mahogany L/H Electric Guitar (Rosewood)

Ibanez AK95L-DVS Semi Acoustic Artcore HH L/H (Dark Violin Sunburst) Gold Hardware (Serial number: S09053796) (Pictured)

Ibanez SA260 FML Flame Top Trans Lavender Burst L/H (Serial number: 2702J090853918)

Gibson 1954 Reissue Les Paul Standard Gold Top L/H (Used) (Serial number: # 42148)

Gibson 1954 Reissue Les Paul Standard Custom Shop Gold Top L/H (Serial number: # 4 9073)

Tanglewood TSB58 Signature 58 Les Paul Type L/H Electric Guitar (Cherry Sunburst)

Ibanez RG370DXL RG Series HSH Locking Trem L/H (Black) (Serial number: 1P03100320972)

Fender Custom Shop 60s Relic Stratocaster L/H (Rosewood) 3-Tone Sunburst (Serial number: R42491)

Fender USA Standard Stratocaster L/H Rosewood Black (Serial number: Z8228504)

Fender Mex Std Stratocaster L/H Electric Guitar (Maple) Black (Serial number: MZ8203871)

Fender Standard Telecaster L/H Electric Guitar Sunburst (Serial number: MX10052837)

Blog Of The Week: Fretbase

Matthew Parker — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:36:00 +0100

TG's second blog of the week (we're old hands at this now) is guitar blog/social network Fretbase.

We think Fretbase is worth a look for the rather unique way it allows its users to interact with the site. Not only can you create your own profile and pick your personal gear lists from their archive (not to mention desired purchases), you can also add your own reviews, photos and videos for each item.

The site is run by guitar enthusiasts Brian Stolte and Dave Mandelbrot. "Dave and I were co-workers at a big internet company that both shared a passion for guitars," Brian told TG.

"We decided our next project should be something that married our passion with our profession and out of that came Fretbase. We wanted to build a comprehensive database of guitars that anyone could contribute to and to build a thriving community of guitarists helping each other."

Brian reckons that Fretbase seems to be getting on its feet now: "It's a growing community that has been a lot of fun to work on," he says. "Hopefully in the future Fretbase will be one of the places you'll stop by for a visit when you're thinking about that next guitar."

Check out Fretbase and make sure you head back this way for more of TG's Blogs Of The Week.

MusicRadar - Total Guitar

Opinion: Forget flash gear – do what you can with what you have

Online guitar tuning guide

E

A

D

G

B

E

Beginner Guitar Lessons: String bends

Target notes

Reinforce your bends

Blog Of The Week: The Classical Guitar Blog

TG204: Nail your scales with our (genuinely useful) pull-out!

Free Track Fridays: Free MP3 downloads from Villagers and The Vaselines

**Track of the week**

Villagers – Becoming A Jackal

**Get the rest**

Best Wah Pedals: Five of our favourites

Opinion: What makes a good cover song?

Tenacious D Blog: John Konesky - The D's gear

Blog Of The Week: I Heart Guitar

Foo Fighters' new album "in rehearsals"

2010 Mercury Prize nominations announced

Barclaycard Mercury Prize nominees

Latitude Festival 2010: Day three

Latitude Festival 2010: Day two

Latitude Festival 2010: Day one

Free Track Fridays: Free MP3 downloads from The Sword and The Black Angels

**Track of the week**

The Sword – Tres Brujas

**Get the rest**

Yamaha Music and Guitar Guitar donate guitars to British Army Recovery Centre

Guitar Repairs 101: Coil-splitting a humbucking pickup (part three)

Choosing the right switch for the job

£25,000 break-in at Strings Direct

Stolen Strings Direct stock:

Blog Of The Week: Fretbase

Track of the week

Get the rest

Track of the week

Get the rest