Upgrade Your Original Guitar or Buy a New Ax? What You Need to Know By Richard Murdocco published 3 June 19 Is it worth upgrading your first instrument with brand-name tuners, pickups and other items? Or do you ditch it altogether in favor of a newer, shinier model?
Adding Tension to the Minor Jazz-Blues Progression By Jimmy Brown published 3 June 19 Learn some cool variations of this progression that feature added chord changes and spicier harmony and voice-leading.
Melodic Phrasing and Playing Over Blues Changes By Alex Skolnick published 24 April 19 Learn some more about melodic phrasing from Testament's Alex Skolnick!
Review: Peavey 6505 Piranha Micro Head By Chris Gill published 21 December 16 “Want a little head” is not only the punch line to a bad sex joke about Amazonian rain forest tribes;it also is apparently the phrase on a motivational poster in the Peavey amp design laboratory.
Avenged Sevenfold's Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance Talk 'The Stage' By Brad Tolinski published 20 December 16 “My grandpa always said, getting old ain’t for pussies, and that is soooo true,” says a laughing Synyster Gates, co-guitarist in the hard rock force of nature known as Avenged Sevenfold.
Review: Electro-Harmonix Wailer Wah Pedal By Chris Gill published 19 December 16 There are so many wonderful wah-wah pedals on the market these days that one is probably prone to ask, “Does the world need yet another wah?”
Blues Shapes, Part 2: More on Using Triadic Forms as Soloing Templates By Andy Aledort published 19 December 16
Review: Gretsch G5422TG Electromatic Guitar By Chris Gill published 14 December 16 Usually when marketing materials describe a product as “no-nonsense,” the phrase usually means the same thing as “austere,” “stripped-down,” or “plain.”
How to Create Independent Polyrhythms By Mike Dawes published 12 December 16 Back in my October 2016 column, I detailed some of the concepts I utilize in the song “The Impossible,” from my album What Just Happened.
Review: Jackson Guitars Monarkh Pro Series SC and X Series SCX7 By Chris Gill published 9 December 16
Blackberry Smoke Push Their Southern Sounds to the Edge of Classic Seventies Metal By Peter Hodgson published 8 December 16 Blackberry Smoke The Georgia Southern rock outfit’s fifth album reads as an unspoken tribute to those who came before, from musical heroes to family to classic vintage guitars.
How to Play Revocation's “Theater of Horror,” Part 2 By Dave Davidson published 7 December 16 Last month, I introduced the intro and primary riffs to the song “Theater of Horror,” featured the latest Revocation album, Great Is Our Sin.
Gustavo Santaolalla’s Acoustic Minimalism By Dale Turner published 29 November 16 Gustavo Santaolalla (pronounced: San-ta-oh-lie-uh) is one of a handful of accomplished guitarists whose career began by playing in rock bands before “stumbling” into a career as a film composer.