Entertainment
Total Guitar
Johnny Marr - “It's My Sound. I F*cking Invented It. I Can Use It As Many Times As I Like!”
Johnny Marr is an inspiration to countless guitarists. In a major new interview he discusses his entire career – from The Smiths to his latest solo masterpiece. And also included in this 20-page TG special: how to play like Marr, with three classic Smiths riffs to learn, plus exclusive interviews with the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ John Frusciante, Manic Street Preachers’ James Dean Bradfield and The Killers’ Dave Keuning on the genius of Johnny...
10+ min |
April 2022
Total Guitar
Writing a Guitar Solo Is Like Writing Another Song
Joe Newman has led alt-J to worldwide success, but has always focused on songwriting first-guitar playing second. Until now...
10 min |
March 2022
Total Guitar
Writing a Guitar Part that Ends at an Irrational Point Is Quite a Challenge!
Yard Act are the most talked about new band in the UK. Guitarist Sam Shjipstone and singer James Smith reveal the origins of their unconventional post-punk sound
5 min |
March 2022
Total Guitar
Everyone's Personality Is in Their Phrasing
He plays heavy with Black Label Society and Ozzy, but Zakk Wylde is inspired by the emotion in blues and "pentatonic insanity" of jazz fusion
4 min |
March 2022
Total Guitar
“WE BUY EACH OTHER PEDALS FOR BIRTHDAY PRESENTS!”
The Lazy Eyes are Australia’s next great psych-rock band. Guitarists Harvey Geraghty and Itay Shachar reveal the secrets of their mind-bending sound...
6 min |
April 2022
Total Guitar
“MY JOB IS TO SING, PLAY GUITAR AND MAKE THE AUDIENCE FEEL SOMETHING”
Blues sensation Joanne Shaw Taylor loves being back on the road. She only gets nervous when she plays for friends – like Joe Bonamassa...
6 min |
April 2022
Total Guitar
“WE LOVE MAKING WEIRD NOISES WITH OUR GUITARS!”
Masters of the seven-string, architects of nu-metal, Korn guitarists Munky and Head are still finding new ways to play heavy...
10+ min |
April 2022
Total Guitar
“HE'S VERY UNORTHODOX”
How the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ guitarist John Frusciante found a kindred spirit in Johnny Marr...
2 min |
April 2022
Total Guitar
JOHNNY MARR - SONG-SMITH
Learn three classic riffs from the band that made Johnny Marr an indie guitar icon in the 80s
4 min |
April 2022
Total Guitar
“A NEW KIND OF GUITAR HERO”
How Johnny Marr re-articulated the guitar for a whole generation, by the Manic Street Preachers’ James Dean Bradfield.
5 min |
April 2022
Total Guitar
Jason Pierce
HE CREATES COMPLEX, EPIC SOUNDSCAPES WITH SPIRITUALIZED, BUT CALLS HIMSELF AN “INEPT” GUITARIST. “IT'S ABOUT THE SOUL,” JASON PIERCE SAYS, “NOT THE ABILITY...”
9 min |
April 2022
Total Guitar
Killing It
Nova Twins' second album Supernova
1 min |
March 2022
Total Guitar
Appetite for Instruction
TG takes a look at the cat in the hat's greatest riffs with GN'R and more
3 min |
March 2022
Total Guitar
Framus Diablo Supreme
German efficiency meets affordability with this no-fuss six-string
3 min |
February 2022
Total Guitar
'95 Per Cent of Tone Is in the Player'
How Eric Gales is taking one of electric guitar’s oldest art forms and reimagining it for a new generation
7 min |
February 2022
Total Guitar
Robben Ford
HE'S A MASTER CRAFTSMAN WHO HAS PLAYED FOR LEGENDS SUCH AS MILES DAVIS AND JONI MITCHELL AND CREATED A SERIES OF BRILLIANT SOLO ALBUMS. FOR ROBBEN FORD, ONE GOLDEN RULE APPLIES: "TONE HAS ALWAYS BEEN NUMBER ONE TO ME."
8 min |
March 2022
Total Guitar
THE FORGOTTEN GEAR
If you thought he only played Les Pauls, check out these amazing highlights from Slash's $2 million guitar collection
4 min |
March 2022
Total Guitar
IF WE LIKE IT, IT MUST BE GOOD!
After their surprise, the top 5 debut album, Black Country, New Road delivers a more melodic follow-up. But as guitarist Luke Mark says: "I insisted on being louder than everyone else!"
7 min |
March 2022
Total Guitar
I WANT TO STICK TO WHAT EXCITES ME RATHER THAN CONFORM TO WHAT'S POPULAR AT THE MOMENT. I'D RATHER KEEP IT ROCK 'N' ROLL.
Slash made his new album with Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators in just five days. He's also working on the long-awaited new Guns N' Roses record. But the guitar hero admits: "I'd be lying if I said I don't feel the pressure in this age of technical expression and fluidity..."
10+ min |
March 2022
Total Guitar
“I've Never Been Interested in Being Technically Good!”
Tom Dowse of art rockers Dry Cleaning plays by his own rules. His specialities: improvisation and guitar abuse
4 min |
February 2022
Total Guitar
'The Thought of Playing on Stage Can Intimidate Me...
When Biffy Clyro made a triumphant return to the stage, frontman Simon Neil felt that he had rediscovered the meaning of life. Now, as part of TG’s 2022 Guitar Workout, he presents his guide to the art of rock guitar. How to make a Strat sound heavy. How to write in odd time signatures. How to prepare for playing live. And why there is still one pedal he can’t live without...
10+ min |
February 2022
Total Guitar
“Some people might see my Hydra guitar and think, ‘Vai, what a joke!'”
Steve Vai reveals all about his three-necked Hydra, how he invented a new technique he calls “joint-shifting”, and how he made a track from his new album using only one hand...
8 min |
February 2022
Total Guitar
'A Legato Workout Changed My Life'
Mark Tremonti of Alter Bridge on the secret to fast picking, and the best fretting-hand exercise he ever learned
4 min |
February 2022
Total Guitar
Andy Summers
From Jazz roots to worldwide fame with The Police, he developed a signature style that defined the post-punk era. “being a guitar player,” says Andy Summers, “is who I am.”
10 min |
February 2022
Total Guitar
Icon of 2021 - Billy Gibbons
In a year when many legendary guitarists made fine music – from Steve Cropper to Carlos Santana – TG salutes Billy Gibbons, who dug deep in ZZ Top’s darkest hour
2 min |
January 2022
Total Guitar
“I Feel More Like a Guitarist Than a Singer”
Courtney Barnett is the singer-songwriter who doesn’t identify as one. Her secret weapon: “My ‘guitarmonies’...”
7 min |
January 2022
Total Guitar
“I Don't Believe in Perfection”
The power of Volbeat comes from Michael Poulsen’s mighty riffs. But as a self-taught player, he admits: “I’m pretty terrible at solos!”
4 min |
January 2022
Total Guitar
'I MAINLY PLAY A JAZZMASTER – AND THAT'S IT!'
Singer-songwriter Nilüfer Yanya on beating the lockdown blues – and why one guitar can be enough.
3 min |
February 2022
Total Guitar
'INSIDE PICKING WAS A BIG DISCOVERY FOR ME'
Dream Theater’s John Petrucci on game-changing exercises and creating a solo that “feels like you’re floating”
4 min |
February 2022
Total Guitar
GUILD A-20 MARLEY
Bob Marley’s songwriting tool reinvented
3 min |