Jenna Scaramanga
Jenna writes for Total Guitar and Guitar World, and is the former classic rock columnist for Guitar Techniques. She studied with Guthrie Govan at BIMM, and has taught guitar for 15 years. She's toured in 10 countries and played on a Top 10 album (in Sweden).
Latest articles by Jenna Scaramanga
Devon Eisenbarger plays with Chappell Roan and Katy Perry – but still jams covers in amusement parks
By Jenna Scaramanga published
The session pro discusses the skills needed to hold down gigs with pop icons – including playing on top of a giant mushroom with pyro shooting out of your guitar...
From Joe Strummer’s Tele to Johnny Ramone's Mosrite, here are the iconic guitars behind the sound of punk rock
By Jenna Scaramanga published
The filth, the fury, and '80s Fernandes Strat copies – these guitars, amps, and effects defined the sound of some of rock's greatest, and most rebellious, bands
The 16 most expensive guitars of all time
By Jenna Scaramanga last updated
Fenders owned by Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan, Martins belonging to Kurt Cobain and David Gilmour, and one independently made axe headline the list of most profitable guitars sold at auction
Featuring a Joe Bonamassa wah and an overdrive gifted by Jeff Beck, Carmen Vandenberg’s pedalboard is a tour de force of tone
By Jenna Scaramanga published
The Bones UK and Morrissey guitarist is one of the most exacting tone connoisseurs in the game, with some quietly radical picks and some familiar favorites
Rosie Bones on her guitar chemistry with Carmen Vandenberg, Corgan co-writes – and why Bones UK doesn’t need a bassist
By Jenna Scaramanga published
Augmenting the rock with electronic elements, Bones UK are dragging it into the future, but as frontwoman Rosie explains, they have one foot in the past, with an old-school blues cat playing lead
Bones UK’s Carmen Vandenberg on going hard to make Soft – and the Jeff Beck pedal that won’t leave her ’board
By Jenna Scaramanga published
Vandenberg is making guitar sounds you’ve never heard before. In a brilliant new album from Bones UK, she’s also blues, Hendrix and her mentor Jeff Beck – all in the pursuit of authenticity…
10 licks that prove the acoustic guitar can handle anything from folk to metal
By Jon Bishop published
Become an acoustic polymath and be comfortable in any musical company with this lesson in styles spanning boygenius to Genesis
21 ways to get more from your acoustic guitar
By Jenna Scaramanga published
Acoustic guitars are arguably simpler than electrics, but there’s still a wealth of details involved in playing like a pro…
Molly Tuttle on bluegrass inclusivity and her search of speed, feel and acoustic guitar virtuosity
By Jenna Scaramanga published
One of bluegrass's most gifted guitarists, Tuttle checks in to discuss the evolution of her style, and why it pays to subvert received wisdom and practice flat-out as fast as you can go
Carmen Vandenburg recalls Jeff Beck’s ultimate tone test
By Janelle Borg published
Vandenberg discusses the invaluable lesson she learned from Beck about achieving your tone no matter what equipment you have at hand
The 20 greatest guitar cover versions (as voted for by you), ft. Hendrix, Johnny Cash, LedZep and more
By Jenna Scaramanga published
We asked, you voted, and the results are in, with a top 20 covers list featuring Guns N' Roses, Aretha Franklin, SRV and Joe Bonamassa. But who was voted number one?
Bluegrass virtuoso Molly Tuttle on the differences between metal and bluegrass shredding
By Janelle Borg published
Tuttle also shares the key technique that aspiring bluegrass guitar players need to master before they get on a stage
Here’s how to sound like Joe Perry, by our man on the inside, guitar tech Darren Hurst
By Jenna Scaramanga published
54 guitars. 8-gauge strings. A semi full of amps. Joe Perry's live rig is a changeable, often untameable beast, and Hurst has been in charge of it since 2019. With the Aerosmith juggernaut ready to pull in for good, he spills all of its secrets, from string gauge and intonation to a heck of a lot of gain stacking...
“We’ve also embraced the jangly, the twang”: Idles’ Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan talk Tangk tones
By Jenna Scaramanga published
Tankg is a another tour de force of electric guitar provocations with Idles' dynamic duo finding wilder ways to take their sound to the edge of disaster then hold it there, just for kicks
Heart’s Nancy Wilson on their long road to the top – and that cover of Stairway to Heaven
By Jenna Scaramanga published
The band might have landed in the ’70s, but Nancy Wilson is inspiring more players than ever in 2024 – just glance at Instagram
St. Vincent on returning to real amps, stealing Josh Homme’s secret weapon – and how she overcame her fear of Strats
By Jenna Scaramanga published
St. Vincent’s new album, All Born Screaming, sees her teaming up with two Foo Fighters, using Prince’s favourite pedal and embarking on a prog odyssey. It also sees her return to real amps played real loud…
10 things every beginner guitarist needs to know
By Jenna Scaramanga last updated
Chords and scales, rhythm and lead: these core skills set you up for success in any style
From thefts to being gifted a 1960 Stratocaster aged 13 – Tyler Bryant on his remarkable Strat stories
By Jenna Scaramanga published
He's one of the hottest young exponents of Texas blues. So of course he plays Strats…
Heart's Ann Wilson on how she managed to get Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains to jam together
By Janelle Borg published
Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson recount how they were embraced by Seattle’s music community after the band experienced a dip in popularity
Tash Sultana talks Strats and blowing Nile Rodgers’ mind with a rare vintage example
By Jenna Scaramanga published
The musical polymath reveals what the future holds for their signature Strat, and why jamming with Nile Rodgers, Mateus Asato and Tom Morello was just what the doctor ordered
Heart's Nancy Wilson says this “Clapton-type shredder” is her favorite contemporary guitarist
By Janelle Borg published
Nancy Wilson explains how the young guitarist has impressed her with her distinct conversational-type shredding
Phil Collen on how Def Leppard accidentally reinvented rock guitar on classic album Pyromania
By Jenna Scaramanga published
Pyromania is 40 years young this year is still fresh as a daisy. Collen explains how tones, solos, Mutt Lange and the art of recording one string at a time forged a pivotal moment in rock
St. Vincent discusses channeling Neil Young, and embracing a less-is-more approach on her new album
By Janelle Borg published
St. Vincent took inspiration from one of Neil Young's “one note” solos on her new record, All Born Screaming
How a gift from Mike McCready helped change St. Vincent’s relationship with the Strat
By Janelle Borg published
Listen to the song that St. Vincent reveals begged for a Strat moment
“When I'm not playing online, I love to blend with the band. I'm not the one who wants to stand out. But online, that's what it's all about”: April Kae is on a quest to inspire new bass players – and it starts with making bass sound good on phone speakers
By Jenna Scaramanga published
From social media to the stage, the new face of Fender basses is broadening horizons for who can play the instrument. She reveals her secret to getting good bass tone on a phone, how she deals with trolls, and what it's like to jam with “the greatest drummer of all time” in Fever 333
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