Matthew Parker

Justin Hawkins and co picked as main support for the pop star's 2012 'Born This Way Ball' dates

The man, the myth, the legend: Dr Jim Marshall OBE, founder of the Marshall Amps brand has died, aged 88. TG's editor, Stuart Williams, pays his own respects.

This month's cover star on his axe of choice

This month we look at Eddie Van Halen's new composition 'The Trouble With Never' from recent album 'A Different Kind Of Truth'.

Master the basics of both rhythm and lead playing with RGT's Preliminary Grade track 'Look Out!'

Influence of D12's 'Purple Hills' apparent

Originally unveiled at NAMM 2010, the Peavey Butcher head is finally set to arrive in the UK after a spate of delays.

Solos aren't all about flashy phrases – find out why long, sustained notes can be the key to a great lead.

Anyone that had the fortune to pick up the guitar in their teens will have had the occasional run-in with a parent, but were yours ever worse than the mum in this video?

For the last few years TG has sponsored a scholarship at London music school, The Institute (formerly ICMP and The Guitar Institute). Now our spy reports back from inside!

Jack Black and Kyle Gass have lifted the lid on the forthcoming Tenacious D album 'Rise Of The Fenix' in a star-studded video for new track 'Be The Best'.

Brutal Leeds-based riff fanatics Hawk Eyes release their new full-length 'Ideas' today. We strong-armed guitarists Rob Stephens and Paul Astick into picking their 10 favourite riffs for us.

The organisers of last year's London BluesFest have announced the first names for the 2012 event (among them Ronnie Wood and Van Morrison) and an expansion to Manchester venues.

You want 'em, you got 'em! Dream Theater's John Petrucci and Periphery's Misha Mansoor talk tone, technology and technique in issue 226 of Total Guitar. See what else is inside right here!

Remember that summer where you played that big Swedish gig? Exactly.

The guys at Blackstar must have done a little dance when they got this news: Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora has signed up to a worldwide endorsement deal with the Northampton-based amp-maker.

Stream of '95 Reading performance sets tongues wagging

This month we're looking at new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer's funked up intro riff on Red Hot Chili Peppers' latest single, 'Look Around'.

Wake up your 12-bar blues by learning the chords and you'll find it will help you choose the perfect licks to play

Lukather plays two super-cool licks: one in E minor and one in E major. The first is a pedal tone lick and the second is an intervallic lick – both showcase useful techniques for any guitarist.

Take your two-handed tapping technique a stage further with Stanley's unison and octave-based licks.

A five-note scale and some one-finger powerchords will get you most of the way through RGT's Preliminary Grade track 'Boom At Noon'.

The promotional machine surrounding Slash's second solo album 'Apocalyptic Love' (due 22 May) is warming up as the guitarist announces plans to present six shows on Radio 2 this April.

Laney Amplification has announced that both Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel of Killswitch Engage will be using its Ironheart range for live appearances.