The band discuss the retro-fabulous sound of their forthcoming LP, using Jack White’s old amps, and seeing how many fuzz pedals you can stick on a guitar at once.
After two albums of stark confessionals that cut to the core, Julien Baker faced a dilemma over whether to repeat a winning formula or expand her sound. Her decision making is as astute as her songwriting, it turns out.
Stuart Braithwaite finds his voice on the cinematic post-rockers’ 10th album, with the Glaswegians still sounding fresh 25 years on from their first release.
With its terrifying stories of murder, vengeance and grotesque brutality, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds’ ninth album is tough going. Yet, 25 years ago, it became a million-selling commercial success thanks in part to an appearance from the princess of pop.
Many players replace their pickups before they’ve even experimented with the way their heights are set. Knowing how to do this could save you some money and unlock some authentic shoegaze tones into the bargain.
In the second part of our Paul McCartney lesson we head into a world of moving basslines and slash, seventh and diminished chords as a songwriting genius broadens his horizons.
In the first of a new series, we examine how this simple and common system for learning the guitar contains hidden depths that could be the key to unlocking your potential as a musician.
Continuing our look at the chord shapes and sequences used by The Beatles, we get inside the head of Paul McCartney and find a songwriting genius with an enthusiasm for minor chords and chords from outside the key.
The band discuss the retro-fabulous sound of their forthcoming LP, using Jack White’s old amps, and seeing how many fuzz pedals you can stick on a guitar at once.
After two albums of stark confessionals that cut to the core, Julien Baker faced a dilemma over whether to repeat a winning formula or expand her sound. Her decision making is as astute as her songwriting, it turns out.
Stuart Braithwaite finds his voice on the cinematic post-rockers’ 10th album, with the Glaswegians still sounding fresh 25 years on from their first release.
With its terrifying stories of murder, vengeance and grotesque brutality, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds’ ninth album is tough going. Yet, 25 years ago, it became a million-selling commercial success thanks in part to an appearance from the princess of pop.
Many players replace their pickups before they’ve even experimented with the way their heights are set. Knowing how to do this could save you some money and unlock some authentic shoegaze tones into the bargain.
In the second part of our Paul McCartney lesson we head into a world of moving basslines and slash, seventh and diminished chords as a songwriting genius broadens his horizons.
In the first of a new series, we examine how this simple and common system for learning the guitar contains hidden depths that could be the key to unlocking your potential as a musician.
Continuing our look at the chord shapes and sequences used by The Beatles, we get inside the head of Paul McCartney and find a songwriting genius with an enthusiasm for minor chords and chords from outside the key.
Only a year separates these two Gibsons, but the sonic and structural changes are significant. Find out what happens when single and double-cut Les Paul Specials from 1958 and ’59 go head-to-head.
This ash-bodied 1959 Jazzmaster sports a gold anodised pickguard and a blonde finish, making it one of the rarest and most collectible offsets in the Fender canon. Although its price tag that places it firmly in the wheelhouse of collectors and rockstars only, we wonder about the impact that ash has on vintage Jazzmaster tone.
Finding a vintage reverse-body Firebird without a headstock repair is hard enough, but when custom colours are thrown into the mix, they’re scarce indeed.
If you’ve ever wondered whether vintage tone is in the wood or the pickups, this pair of custom-colour pre-CBS Fender Stratocasters may help settle the issue.
Some of Gibson’s more affordable archtop models offer the best bang for your buck on the vintage market. We check out one such example, purchased new back in ’63 just 160 miles west of Kalamazoo.
The ES-175 was introduced as an affordable jazz guitar, but its popularity has endured because it can do so much more – just ask Steve Howe. We check out a 1956 ES-175D with a brace of P-90s and the early-style tailpiece.
With its spectacular faded flametop and double-cream pickups, this 1959 Les Paul is a fire-breathing rock monster with a storied past. Time to meet the Richrath Burst.
We have The Beatles to thank for the popularity of the sunburst Casino, but this custom-colour model from the psychedelic era is a collectible delight.
The Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster is regarded as the first commercially available electric guitar with three pickups, and this example from 1957 is loaded with original PAFs.