Tabla de contenidos para June 2023 en Total Guitar

I became a huge fan of the blues in the 90s due in no small part to the lasting influence of the man you see on the cover this month, Stevie Ray Vaughan. Alongside a handful of other players – Jeff Healey, Gary Moore – who would follow in Stevie’s virtuoso blues footsteps, his fiery, aggressive style just seemed so relevant to me as an aspiring young guitarist. I was a Pearl Jam fan, too (I still am!), and I would later learn that Mike McCready was also heavily influenced by the Texan blues ace. You can hear it in his playing, I think. Of course, 2023 marks 40 years since Stevie Ray’s debut album, Texas Flood, so what better time to take a look at the musical legacy of…

DIGITAL DELAY Pristine sounds and clean repeats... repeats... repeats Broadly speaking, there are three delay types to consider for any pedalboard: analogue, tape emulation, and, as we’re looking at here, digital, where pristine, hi-fi sounds and long runs of clean repeats are the order of the day. One of the best known examples is the Boss DD-3. Its genesis was in the SDE-3000 rack delay used by Steve Vai and Eddie Van Halen. Roland engineers worked out that the bespoke IC that used in the rack unit might fit in the same enclosure size as the DM-2, resulting in the DD-2. Supposedly, this component dropped suddenly in price, so, in order to avoid a perception of declining quality, the DD-2 was re-badged as the DD-3, and the price was reduced.…

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…

Stevie Ray VAUGHAN GEAR Stevie brought two guitars with him – he brought his ‘Number One’ Strat, that everyone always saw him playing, and he brought the old brown Strat he called ‘Lenny’. That was it for the sessions. He had a Fender Super Reverb and a Vibroverb, but when we got to Jackson Browne’s studio, Jackson said he had this combo that he really loved. He said, ‘Try it out, you might like it!’ And it was one of the early Dumbles. It was this combo with a tie-dye grill cloth. Jackson said, ‘A friend of mine started making these recently and ended up making me one!’ And he persuaded Stevie to plug into it. STRINGS Stevie’s hands were unbelievably strong! If you saw him without a shirt on,…

Stevie Ray VAUGHANERIC GALES Stevie Ray Vaughan’s spirit lives on through the power of his music, and even outside of the blues genre, it doesn’t require much effort to find musicians who will name-check SRV as a primary influence. If you’ve ever listened to any recordings by John Mayer, Joe Bonamassa, Josh Smith, Dan Patlansky or Philip Sayce, you will have definitely heard a line or two, or perhaps even 100, copped straight out of the SRV lick book. It’s something any of those players would happily admit to and have done time and time again. But if there’s one musician who seems to capture the great man’s essence and courageous flair for gutsy improvisation, as well as continually delivering the kind of impeccable tones that leave other players red-faced…

CLASSIC TRACK This classic tune from 1989’s In Step is a great rundown of the Texan guitar hero’s trademark take on blues-rock boogie riffs and pentatonic soloing. It’s a straight-ahead major key track in 4/4 time and will give you oodles of scope for improvising. SRV’s legendary tone is the product of a few key elements. First, are the high output single-coil pickups (with famously heavy strings) which help to drive the amp’s front end into a singing overdrive. Higher, fatter frets on his guitar necks would aid with bending and vibrato. Finally is his use of Fender, Dumble and Marshall valve amps cranked loud with Ibanez Tube Screamer pedals used for extra drive. Our recording is in standard tuning, whereas SRV tuned a semitone down. SOUND ADVICE Everything you…

1 J ROCKETT ARCHER SELECT The Archer was one of the original klones that aimed to deliver Centaurian thrills. So now what? Well, how about seven voicings and a speaker emulated DI out. Tonehounds can sniff through different NOS germanium clipping diodes to find the sonic truffle that makes them… howl? With so much speculation on the actual ingredients in the original Klon’s circuitry (it’s covered so you can’t see inside), the idea is that the player makes up their own mind here. £349 www.rockettpedals.com 2 FENDER AUDIO RIFF The desktop practice modelling amp/Bluetooth speaker market went up a few gears with Positive Grid’s Spark models, and now Fender is throwing its own contribution into the arena. This 60-watter features six custom-tuned drivers behind the grille clothe and the promise…

Though there are ostensibly four pedals in this reissue series, it’s best to consider the three second-issue pedals as a group. As reissues, they’re true to the originals to the point of having the same idiosyncrasies and even frustrations. While they sound very good, it’s also the case that some basic shortcomings could have been addressed, like true bypass. Given that Marshall apparently opted for different pots and jacks on the reissues, it doesn’t seem like that much of a stretch to change the bypass pattern. Tone purists might argue that some element of the original design would be lost by doing so, but this isn’t a Klon with a legendary buffer scheme. For players looking for a Tube Screamer or Timmy alternative, the Blues Breaker is now more accessible…

Stevie Ray VAUGHAN When the legendary Jeff Beck passed away in January, he was remembered as a player who epitomised ‘feel’ in just about every conceivable way. Summarising the profound sense of loss for the guitar community, TG noted how Beck was truly in a class of his own. The same is true of another player we lost more than 30 years ago: Stevie Ray Vaughan. SRV had that same magic touch that all guitarists strive for, never running out of ideas that could amaze the listener at every turn. As with Beck, you got the sense that this was a musician speaking through their instrument, conveying deep emotions and telling stories via the means with which they were most at ease – a rare gift in being able to…

Stevie Ray VAUGHAN Many artists would have struggled to follow a debut album as game-changing as Texas Flood. Not SRV, however, who showed no signs of second album syndrome on 1984’s Couldn’t Stand The Weather. Its opening track, the fiery instrumental he named Scuttle Buttin’, is arguably the most technically demanding piece of music he ever put his name to. An up-tempo 12-bar shuffle delivered in fast and furious style in under two minutes, in which he ripped through the open position of the Eblues scale at 162bpm, demonstrating his ferocious alternate-picking skills with flickers of legato and glissando to round it all off. But it was far greater than an exercise in clinical repetition, instead typifying a gift most natural indeed – the kind very few are born with.…

Stevie Ray VAUGHAN Stevie Ray Vaughan has reference-quality blues god tone, but don’t let that stop you from trying to recreate it at home. Huge heart and a ferocious picking hand are essential. So too a Stratocaster. This was the foundation. Famously preferring heavy strings – as heavy as the fingers will allow – his playing was physical. His amps were bruisers, too. Vintage Fender for dynamics and headroom, then later Dumbles, such as the 150-watt Steel String Singer. He near single-handedly popularised the Tube Screamer, owned Hendrix’s Vox wah, used various fuzzes, but here we’re thinking budget so let’s look at some essentials to get started. THE ‘YOU CAN’T SPELL SUPER SAVER WITHOUT SRV’ RIG SQUIER AFFINITY STRATOCASTER £219 Get the 3-Color Sunburst, Surf Green or Honey…

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…

You need a specialised instrument when you are in Jim Root’s line of work. Slipknot demands a certain kind of sound. But just because Root needs extremity in his electric guitar tone, doesn’t mean he wants to go extreme with the aesthetic. His latest of many signature guitars, the San Dimas Style 1, reflects his tastes of classic designs rendered monochromatically. The Stratocaster headstock here is on license from Fender, who own the Charvel brand. The doublecut body shape is instantly recognisable, and with that bolt-on maple neck, it’s clear the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree. The differences are largely practical. Root is more conservative than many when it comes to his guitar’s aesthetic, with this being offered in Satin Black with a maple fingerboard, and Satin White…

REVIEW The Cloudburst is a single-preset digital reverb based on the Cloud machine mode from Strymon’s Big Sky. With tightened player budgets, this streamlining is now a popular formula. Eventide recently released the Blackhole, based on the algorithm of the same name from their flagship Space reverb. The controls are as you’d expect, and it’s a matter of a few seconds to nail the sound in our head. Added to the Cloud machine for the Cloudburst is a polyphonic Ensemble control, somewhere between a synthesized string section and a shimmer reverb. A maximalist approach favours using the forte mode. For a more subtle set of additional harmonics, the mp setting also yields incredible results. The range on the decay control offers a similar choice. Though there are smaller spaces and…

Stevie Ray VAUGHAN In 1982, Stevie Ray Vaughan completed the two recording sessions that would make him a star. The first sessions yielded Texas Flood, his debut album with Double Trouble. The second had him playing lead for David Bowie’s album Let’s Dance. In this adapted extract from Texas Flood: The Inside Story Of Stevie Ray Vaughan by Alan Paul and Andy Aledort, key figures and collaborators reveal how SRV worked his magic on two fronts – lighting up Bowie’s hit record and creating the album that reignited blues music in the early 80s. On November 22, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble arrived in Los Angeles to work at Downtown Studio. The facility was owned by famed singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, who gave Stevie and the boys three days of…

INTERVIEWStevie Ray VAUGHAN “IF YOU STOP GROWING, WHAT GOOD IS IT MUSICALLY?” In 1988, Stevie Ray Vaughan gave an interview to Guitarist magazine as he prepared to record the album In Step. At this time he was in recovery from alcohol and drug addiction, and with sobriety came a new sense of focus and positivity. In a wide-ranging conversation, Stevie spoke of his early years learning to play guitar in the shadow of his big brother Jimmie, his admiration for Hendrix and Clapton, his most treasured guitars and amps, and his hopes for the future. Sadly, In Step proved to be the last album released in his lifetime. But back in 1988, Stevie saw this album as a new beginning… How long does it take you to record an album?…

Stevie Ray VAUGHAN 40 years on from his incredible debut release, Texas Flood, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s jaw-dropping recorded works and high-octane live shows continue to inspire guitarists to play blues. Four decades may have passed, but he can still be considered the archetypal ‘modern’ blues player. Rock ’n’ roll attitude and wicked tone are part and parcel of blues in the 2020s – qualities Stevie had in spades, and at a time when blues had fallen out of fashion. Some call him a pioneer. The bottom line is if you play electric blues today you’ll likely be tracing some of SRV’s line of influence. Here, we’re looking at 20 ways Stevie played the blues, including a breakdown of some of the techniques he used. Though not essential, you’ll get the…

HOW WE TEST CURATION Our product selection is driven by our love of gear. We select the most exciting products on the market every month to bring you opinions you can trust. FACE-VALUE REVIEWS We’re not gear snobs here at Total Guitar. We judge it on whether it looks good, sounds good and plays well – not by the name on the headstock. NO SNAKE OIL You won’t find us getting hung up on hokey mythology or nonsense marketing speak: we aim to bring you bullsh*t-free opinions on the gear you’re interested in. WE CAN’T BE BOUGHT TG review scores are a true reflection of our experts’ opinion on the product they’ve been testing. You’ll never find a rating in our mag that has been bought and paid for. REAL…

Gibson’s 1958 Korina Explorer is perhaps the brand’s rarest guitar ever. Not only do you have to contend with astronomical auction prices, you’ll have to find one first: only a handful were made in the initial run. Reissues haven’t made it any more accessible, either. Nowadays, models list for nearly £10,000. In a bid to make this Holy Grail available to the masses, Epiphone released its own ’58 Korina Explorer. At £1,199, it’s not a budget offering, but in comparison to its Gibson counterparts, it’s basically a steal. Plus, it’s a really great guitar. Made in collaboration with the Gibson Custom Shop, this Explorer pays homage to the original – with a few cost-cutting measures, naturally – but with the result being a guitar that looks and feels like the…