Table of contents for March 2024 in Total Guitar

It’s been my utter pleasure in recent years to have interviewed the legendary Queen guitarist Brian May, the man you see on this very cover, on several occasions. Previously, Brian has topped Total Guitar polls such as the greatest guitarist and the greatest solo. There’s no public accolade this month, but Brian and I did get together to chew the fat and discuss 13 of Team TG’s favourite Queen songs. As ever, Brian’s insight is fascinating – and we’ve printed almost every word of the interview, occupying a huge 20 pages! If there’s one thing I think every guitarist can take away from this feature, it’s that Brian, arguably the most famous guitarist alive today, and a man who has been rocking some of the Queen repertoire for over 50…

If the last 26 pages of royal finery have left you itching to try your hand at a few Queen tunes then read on as we take a look at some of Brian May’s finest guitar parts. We’ve created three bite-sized video riff lessons, taking you through a short section of each song, Tie Your Mother Down, Stone Cold Crazy and It’s Late. TG tutor Jamie Hunt takes you note by note through each riff so you can be sure you’re getting all the details down. So plug in your guitar and head to the link shown above – you’ll be playing along in no time! 01 TIE YOUR MOTHER DOWN This is a Brian Maypenned, good old-fashioned shuffle-feel rock ’n’ roll tune with a riff based around an open…

REVIEW The latest in a long line of cut-price Les Pauls, the Modern Lite, which for 2024 replaces the Les Paul Tribute and Les Paul Special Tribute models in the Gibson USA line-up, certainly lives up to at least 50 per cent of its name: at just 6.67lb it’s the lightest solidbody LP we’ve ever encountered! But Modern? Offered in five far-from-vintage solid colours it’s hardly vintage-style, but unlike the other guitars in the Modern range it keeps things old-school when it comes to wiring and sounds, and indeed its build. Also unlike the full-fat Les Paul, the new Lite is all mahogany but its body depth drops to an overall 45mm, approximately 33mm at the edge, although thanks to the carved top and its slight rib-cage contour on the…

REVIEW In 2016, Ernie Ball Music Man unveiled a guitar that was unlike anything else on the market – one so radical it’s often cited as one of the most exciting guitar innovations of recent memory. That was the St. Vincent signature guitar, masterminded by Annie Clarke [aka St. Vincent herself] and debuting a new body shape. A more affordable version arrived from Sterling by Music Man soon after, but when an updated $3,000-priced Goldie was released in 2021, guitarists began to dream once again. Enter the equally radical but comfortably more affordable Sterling by Music Man Goldie, which – at least on the surface – carries all the aesthetic flair and tonal appointments of its pricier sibling… There are some tweaks worth stating for the record. Here, nyatoh has…

CLASSIC TRACK Queen’s 1986 album A Kind of Magic was written as the soundtrack to the classic movie Highlander, with its famous tagline, ‘there can be only one’ – a lyric from this Roger Taylor-penned song. Ironically though, there are actually two versions of the track; the movie version and the album arrangement, which was reworked by Freddie Mercury. Our transcription here is of the better known album version, which features some iconic playing by Brian May – but do watch out for the tricky 16th note licks in the outro solo. These are a challenge even for Brian himself. Finally, note that in areas of the song where the guitar is absent we’ve added parts based on how Brian fills out the song live. SOUND ADVICE Everything you need…

What is tab? Tab is short for tablature, a notational system used to give detailed information as to where notes should be played on the fretboard. Tab appears underneath conventional music notation as six horizontal lines that represent the strings of the guitar, from the sixth (thick) string at the bottom to the first (thin) string at the top. On these lines, numbers represent which frets you place your fingers. For example, an A note on the 2nd fret, third string, will be shown as a number ‘2’ on the third line down on the tab. Unfretted strings are shown with a ‘0’. The key and time signatures are shown in the notation. TG also includes a timestamp to tell you where in the original track you’ll find each example…

REVIEW Some see Fender as a fuddy-duddy heritage company simply churning out replicas from their past. And while they certainly do that, we’ve seen plenty of innovation in recent years, not least with their Acoustasonic range and the Tone Master digital amps. This new Mexican-made Highway Series duo continue the innovation pioneered by the Acoustasonic designs, but instead of using Fender electric guitar outlines they resort to more conventional non-cutaway acoustic shapes: the larger dreadnought we have here and a smaller parlor model. Both use a large block of mahogany for the back and sides which is machined out to create the ‘chambered’ acoustic space, and you can buy both with either a mahogany or spruce top, and the mahogany necks bolt to the body. While the Acoustasonics use a…

Having been invited to support the likes of Liam Gallagher, Royal Blood and Nothing But Thieves in the space of the last year or so, Hastings quartet Kid Kapichi are fast becoming one of the most exciting rock acts in Britain. “Opening for Liam at the Royal Albert Hall was easily one of the most prestigious gigs we’ve done,” says guitarist and co-vocalist Ben Beetham. “Liam is a legend, we all knew it was a big moment. And touring with Nothing But Thieves taught us how to fill out big stages. We’re finally out of the cage, running around doing Chuck Berry moves!” Latest release There Goes The Neighbourhood is their third album in as many years and once again sees them fusing elements of punk and psychedelic rock into…

ALBUM “MY GUITAR IS MORE LIKE THE ICING ON THE CAKE” NICK JOHNSTON: THE SIX-STRING VIRTUOSO WHO WRITES ON PIANO Nick Johnston has never sounded more poetic than on his latest solo album Child Of Bliss – its title the English translation of his wife’s name. He’s blurring the lines between progressive rock, blues and jazz as he so often has done in the past, but this time boiling his ideas down to their core ingredients. The man whose name appears on Schecter’s best-selling artist model says he’s never felt this content in creativity and tone… Your instrumental music has always had a vocal-like quality to it, but this latest work feels like your most hook-laden yet… A lot of the solos have no rhythm guitar behind them, just to…

Brian May has been rocking Queen’s repertoire for over 50 years now. And, though all four members of the band penned hit singles, it was Brian and original lead singer Freddie Mercury who took the lion’s share of the writing credits. Before we get into the nitty gritty of Brian’s trademark composition and playing techniques, it’s worth taking a moment to think about that other key element of his unique sound: the homemade Red Special guitar. Though equipped with ‘off the shelf’ Burns pickups, its body, neck and sophisticated electronic switching system were all bespoke, designed and built by Brian and his father, Harold. Factor in Brian’s choice of a sixpence piece as a pick and you have a tone that’s near impossible to recreate. That said, diehard Queen fans…

Irish rock band U2’s career is littered with multi-platinum selling albums and legendary concert performances, including Live Aid and live at Red Rocks. One was the third single to be released from their hugely popular 1991 album, Achtung Baby. Often with fingerstyle lines you can simply assign your fingers to specific strings, but things aren’t quite so straightforward here. Take a look at the tab and you’ll see that in bars 1, 2 and 3 alone your first and second fingers move across all of the top five strings. Still, each phrase can be distilled down to a bass note and two higher notes, so use your thumb (p) on the low notes and your first (i) and second (m) fingers for everything else. Just like U2’s original recording, the…

Welcome to the GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome*) Station! Every issue, TG scours the market for the hottest new gear and brings you transparent reviews that you can trust. From the smallest of accessories that make your life easier, to big investments, such as brand new guitars, amps and effects pedals – if it’s worth your attention, you’ll find it here! 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…

REVIEW Never heard of Shergold? Well, don’t worry, we’ll let you off. While this slightly obscure UK brand was once popular in the late ’70s and early ’80s, it never quite became a household name. Now, that’s not to say these British guitars didn’t have their fair share of famous users, with the likes of Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook of Joy Division fame counted among their devoted fans. In 2017, after a long hiatus, the brand was revived by Barnes & Mullins with the help of guitar-builder extraordinaire Patrick James Eggle. The legendary British luthier was tasked with revamping the retro brand’s catalogue for a modern audience and that’s precisely what he did. With a contemporary version of the flagship Masquerader, a bold new take on a T-type with…