Fresh off the announcement of his Marshall endorsement, Jared James Nichols is taking it back to his roots – and by that, we mean the very reason he decided to ditch the pick and play fingerstyle exclusively, in a journey that took him from rural Wisconsin to world stages.

“I remember the first guitar I picked up, I picked it up, and I wanted to play it like a lefty. The first real guitar I got, though, the guy at the store was ‘Dude, flip the guitar, you're holding it wrong,” he says in his new Gibson documentary, The Long Road: A Jared James Nichols Documentary.

“He was like, ‘If you want to be a real guitar player and play really good guitars, you got to play righty. They don't really make great left-handed guitars.’”

Nichols was 15 at the time, and while he quickly got used to his newly purchased right-handed guitar, one thing that felt unnatural to him was playing it with a pick.

“It was fucking me up,” he says matter-of-factly, “and I needed to feel the strings under my fingers. I started to play without a pick, and I distinctly remember people telling me, ‘Man, it's never gonna work, you're never gonna be a great guitar player without a pick.’”

Discovering “guys like Jeff Beck and Mark Knopfler and Derek Trucks,” was the epiphany that he needed to stick to his own unique brand of fingerstyle playing.

“I was like, ‘Well, they do it,’ and then I just started to kind of do it my own way. No one taught me how to do it. I just said I don’t care. I’m just gonna try and see what happens. And what ended up happening was, I started to develop my own sound and technique with it, and I’m so happy now that I did.”

In one of his Guitar World columns, Nichols broke down his one-of-a-kind fingerstyle technique and waxed lyrical about the players who inspired him.

“Fingerpicking felt like the most natural approach. I use my thumb for downstrokes and my first three fingers for upstrokes,” he wrote.

“There was one player in particular who inspired me the most in regard to playing fingerstyle, and that was blues legend Hubert Sumlin, who was known most notably for his work with Howlin’ Wolf.

“When I heard Hubert play, it changed the way I approached the guitar. Then I heard Albert King, Derek Trucks, and Mark Knopfler, all fingerpickers. All these players demonstrated the incredible range of sounds available when fingerpicking.”

Paul Gilbert may be a virtuoso shredder, and he may have been Eddie Van Halen’s pick to teach guitar to his son, Wolfgang. However, he’s also very much aware of the importance of quality songwriting and the idea that, sometimes, less is more – and it all goes back to Todd Rundgren.

“I remember being about 22. I was teaching every day at GIT [L.A.’s Guitar Institute of Technology] and having a blast, and every day I'd come up with a new 16th note phrase,” he says on the No Cover Charge Podcast.

“Every time I'm a 16th note genius, every day I get something new, and what I realized, [is that] they all sound the same emotionally. They're the same. They're all some version of [the same time thing].”

However, his obsession with mastering 16th notes and virtuosic technique soon abated when he went to a concert that wholly changed his perception.

“With an eight-minute song, [it] completely changed my life,” he says matter-of-factly. “So Todd Rundgren [was] doing a song called Hawking. It was almost like a gospel song, a really slow tempo – all these harmony background vocals and horns, two keyboard players – and there's Lyle Workman [renowned session and touring guitarist] playing guitar.”

Although Gilbert admits that Workman “was great,” it wasn’t the guitar that truly moved him. Rather, “it was the song and the vocal and this arrangement”.

He remembers, “I was sobbing for eight minutes, and after that I was like, ‘I don't care so much about guitar solos anymore.’

“I want to write something that follows that beacon of emotion, whatever it is,” he continues. “It didn't have to be that emotion all the time, or everything I do be a crying festival, but just something moves myself and hopefully some other people.

And, speaking of stepping back from crazy guitar solos, earlier this year, Gilbert released his first album in 10 years featuring vocals, WROC, which stands for “Washington’s Rules of Civility.”

“To me, that is actually a courageous thing to do, to not go crazy all the time, and rely on the fact that it works for the song – and not have to prove yourself every single second,” he told Music Radar about practicing restraint when it comes to shredding.

Elsewhere in that same interview, he talks about the universal need for guitar players – even ones as established as himself and Joe Satriani – to prove their skills with every album.

When guitar players hear the words “blues power,” they will usually cast their minds back to the late Sixties and early Seventies, when trailblazers like Albert King and Eric Clapton were using such terms to convey the emotional gravitas as well as the historic and humanistic weight deeply encased within the music.

All these years later, out of the younger generation, it’s Jared James Nichols who has been using the phrase to carry that legacy on, telling stories and hitting people in the heart with every strum and bend.

The singer/guitarist’s latest album, Louder Than Fate, carries many of his signature trademarks, while also surprising listeners by exploring new sonic ground that crosses the line past southern rock and into country.

That’s not the only way he’s chosen to step things up this time round – part of the album was recorded at Studio 606, the private facility and creative hub owned by Foo Fighters, with super producer Jay Ruston (Corey Taylor, Anthrax, Steel Panther) bringing his many years of expertise behind the desk.

Then there are the external producers and songwriters that Nichols enlisted to help avoid some of the common trappings and obstacles that almost every blues player faces in this day and age.

All in all, this is the most well-rounded Jared James Nichols album to date, taking us on a journey unlike anything he’s released before.

What did you learn from working with writers and producers like Roger Alan Nichols and Skip Black?

I think it was Brad Paisley who said how guitar players often cater their songs towards the solos or the riff. It’s a hard habit to break, because you make a structure and then play the shit out of it. I’ve been trying to prove myself constantly because when you get billed as some hotshot player, people will stand in front of you with their arms crossed as if to say, “Prove it”.

There’s this whole stigma around being the guy who can show everyone he can play. This time, I was rubbing elbows with people who had worked with some of the world’s greatest musicians. And not only that, these people just want to write songs.

They’d be like, “Oh yeah, another guitar player”. They didn’t care. Walking into those rooms gave me a completely different mindset. It was a challenge because I was working with people more experienced than me.

This record feels like a huge learning curve for you.

Dude, I got to do a huge chunk of it at Studio 606. Our drummer was using Taylor Hawkins’ kits. I was playing through Dave Grohl’s cabinets. We were going through the Sound City board. There was such a vibe in there. I felt like I was getting schooled the whole time.

One thing I learned is that you don’t need as much gain as you think you need for riffing. I started playing with my gain decked and thought it sounded cool. But when I walked into the control room, Jay was like, “Have you got a pedal on?” and told me to turn it off.

I was a little scared at first, but when I did, I could hear more of an old school vibe. Like if you listen to the classic stuff from the ‘60s and ‘70s, those Plexis aren’t as gainy as you might think. The tones were defined and muscular, but not washed out with overdrive and reverb.

So how did all of this affect how you actually play?

I remember working on a song called Looks Like That Felt Good. The Drop D riff is super easy, we kept it simplistic because I imagined myself in a venue playing with the drums.

Roger was the producer for that one and he kept hitting the spacebar, telling me to stop sliding into everything. Sometimes there are these things we do as guitar players – sliding makes things sound more slurred and bluesy, but some riffs need to hit straight. He told me to stop that and lose the vibrato.

Again, I was a bit unsure, but lo and behold his advice made sense. You learn things like that, which go a bit deeper than the big licks. It’s the little stylistic elements that fly under the radar, but when you pay attention, you’ll be glad you did.

Songs like Bending Or Breaking, Killing Time, and Show Me seem to showcase this whole different side to you.

That’s the thing about being in a room with people who aren’t into what you’re into. You learn more. It ended up being the perfect sauce. As an artist there comes a point where you have to let go of your insecurities. I did a lot of that on this record.

At one point I had to ask myself, ‘Am I going to be able to do this?’ It was like showing a whole other side of music that I love but have never had the guts to do.

Those dudes exist big-time in the country world and pushed me into finding my footing in stuff I wouldn’t have taken on without them. We’ve been playing these songs in the set and it’s great to see the change of pace. People have been like, “Damn, Jared’s not just ripping my head off for 80 minutes”.

There are, however, moments on this album where you still do. The first song, Let’s Go, has some Richie Kotzen-style barred pentatonic ideas.

I love Richie’s playing so much. I was lucky enough to tour with him in The Winery Dogs and we ended up hanging out a lot. I remember listening to him when I was 20 years old and thinking, ‘What the fuck?!’ And it’s the same with other legends like Paul Gilbert or Michael Schenker.

Whenever I tour with people like that, some of their licks end up in my playing. I just can’t help it. Even John 5, who is someone I’ve done over 100 shows with, ended up creeping into my playing because it was like we were drinking the same water.

Which of the new solos are you most proud of?

Nothing on the record was really contrived, it was all still from a shoot-from-the-hip mindset. But the solo in Killing Time was a first pass. I was listening to the backing track the night before, it’s this crescendo build in E Minor, just this basic thing. I started humming ideas that felt almost more like David Gilmour territory.

In the end, I played it through a 1969 Plexi with my Klon, using my Dorothy guitar, which is my really old Goldtop from 1952. The Klon was on with zero gain but I went to the amp and turned the volume all the way up.

I love solos that have some composition, these little waves of writing, but they also feel like they’ve been improvised. That’s where this one lives. It has the fiery spitball of “Cmon guys, let’s play”, but you can still hear how it follows the changes nicely.

What else are we hearing on this album? You tend to be quite minimal when it comes to gear.

It’s not a long list beyond the cable (laughs). I had the Plexi and this special amp from Blackstar that’s a one-of-one point-to-point handwired Series One. I was told they’d made it for Jeff Beck but for some reason they never got it to him. It’s more aggressive than the Plexi, like an old JCM800.

I used my Tube Screamer for a couple of things. For Runnin’ Hot, I borrowed this [Electro-Harmonix Small Stone] big box phaser from the early ‘80s. It gave some rhythms a bit more movement. The main guitars were Dorothy and this Korina Futura I got from Gibson for all the big-ass humbucker parts. I didn’t have to search much when it came to tone. It’s funny, I remember doing this track with Joe Bonamassa and he brought his whole rig over, saying to use whatever I needed.

I brought my Marshall head, Dorothy and my Klon and started testing out tones with my stuff before asking him what I should try. His answer was “I think you should stay there”. That was it. I try not to overcomplicate things.

Speaking of Joe, you recently went to his house to film a video on Gary Moore’s 1989 Soldano SLO-100 head, which he’d recently acquired.

Joe must have balls of steel because when we got there, the amp hadn’t been serviced or even turned on. It literally just showed up in a shipping crate. It was a bit like finding a classic muscle car, sticking some gas in, and firing it up. Joe was cranking it right away with a 1959 Les Paul.

In the video you can see the power sizzle down, shut off, and then come back. It did that a few times. It’s like we were feeling Gary Moore’s spirit in the room. I feel pretty spoiled when I think about all the cool shit I get to be around.

I also did a video on Gary’s JTM45 Bluesbreaker, which another friend got at auction. I own Gary’s original Guv'nor pedal, so we used that with a 1959 Les Paul. Here’s the crazy shit, the power went out four times, which has never happened before. Then this horrible rainstorm came. Something weird and energetic happened. I got the chills and remember saying, “Dude, I think Gary Moore’s here.”

You posted a picture not long ago of yourself as a teenager wearing a Sabbath Bloody Sabbath shirt, proudly holding your first Les Paul in front of your bedroom Marshall rig. That kid has come a long way.

I wouldn’t change a thing. Every time I screwed up or took a wrong turn, from bands breaking up and me getting depressed or whatever, it’s all led to this path of understanding. Everything boils down to hard work. To be honest, I’m still that kid in a Sabbath Bloody Sabbath shirt holding the Les Paul in front of the Marshall.

If I was able to put in the work and get to where I am today, then so can anyone. There were times were I was crashing on floors, living on 10 bucks a week with no gigs booked. I would walk around streets late at night trying to listen out for bands just to see if I could jam with them.

It’s easy to get discouraged. You might not be as fast as you like or have loads of followers online. But it just comes down to how bad you want it. Are you prepared to go through all of the shit to come out the other side? I stuck to my guns, playing the music that I love.

• Louder Than Fate is out June 6 via Frontiers
• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Jared James Nichols has left Blackstar to join the Marshall family, and he says he believes his playing is better for it.

The blazing blues-rock guitarist has had a long-standing relationship with the British amp firm, which was founded in 2007 by two former Marshall employees, Ian Robinson and Bruce Keir.

The announcement was made on the No Cover Charge podcast that Nichols co-hosts with Tyler Larson, AKA Music is Win, and with it, it brings an end to one of Blackstar’s most endearing artist partnerships.

“I’ve switched over to Marshall amps,” he confirms, with Larsson thrilled by the news: “It’s like everything is in its right place in the world,” he returns.

“I’ve had a faithful relationship with Blackstar Amps for about 15 years,” Nichols continues. “About a year ago, I started supplementing my rig with different amps. I was trying everything: Fenders, Supros, even some old-school Sunn and EVH amps.

“But a friend of mine gave me a 1968 Plexi on permanent loan, and that was the sound. When I played, it was almost like I made every note count even more. It was rejuvenating; I could still feel my fingers, no matter how much gain I stacked on top of it. Marshalls are the heartbeat of rock n' roll and the sound that I love.”

Nichols can be heard revving his Plexi on his forthcoming solo album, Louder Than Fate, which releases on June 5. And it sounds like the Blackstars have been sidelined outright.

Nichols and Blackstar made the surprise move to announce his signature amp, the JJN 50, and its sister plugin software on the same day in 2024, following a practice amp collab in 2022.

Whether Nichols is due for a signature Marshall release, like Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, remains to be seen. He joins a long, illustrious list of Marshall artists either way.

Blackstar, meanwhile, just made a serious splash in the mini amp market, with the game-changing BEAM Mini.

Aside from carving out a space for himself in the contemporary blues-rock scene, Jared James Nichols also has a side hustle as a podcaster, with the No Cover Charge Podcast, co-hosted with Tyler Larson, promising guitar aficionados and gearheads an “all-access backstage pass to the world of guitar.”

And, one of Nichols’ most memorable episodes is having Joe Bonamassa test out one of Gary Moore’s most prized amps – his 1989 Soldano SLO-100 head – which the Nerdville owner recently acquired at the Final Encore auction last year.

“Joe must have balls of steel because when we got there, the amp hadn’t been serviced or even turned on,” Nichols tells Guitar World in an upcoming interview about the experience.

“It literally just showed up in a shipping crate. It was a bit like finding a classic muscle car, sticking some gas in, and firing it up. Joe was cranking it right away with a 1959 Les Paul.”

As Nichols explains, in the actual video, “you can see the power sizzle down, shut off, and then come back. It did that a few times. It’s like we were feeling Gary Moore’s spirit in the room.”

The podcast – and Nichols’ own reputation – means he gets to test out some pretty epic (and iconic) gear.

“I feel pretty spoiled when I think about all the cool shit I get to be around,” he says matter-of-factly. “I also did a video on Gary’s JTM45 Bluesbreaker, which another friend got at auction. I own Gary’s original Guv'nor pedal, so we used that with a 1959 Les Paul.

“Here’s the crazy shit: the power went out four times, which has never happened before,” he divulges. “ Then this horrible rainstorm came. Something weird and energetic happened. I got the chills and remember saying, ‘Dude, I think Gary Moore’s here.’”

Guitar World’s full interview with Jared James Nichols will be published in the coming weeks.

In related news, Nichols recently revealed why he stopped obsessing over acquiring more gear – and homed in on his playing instead.

Last month, I discussed some of the advantages of playing in a power trio, such as the open harmonic canvas that it affords me as a guitar player. Threw Me to the Wolves is a song of mine that presents many opportunities to explore and exploit the creative freedom that the three-piece ensemble allows.

With the song’s solo section, my mindset is that we’re at the start of a musical journey, and it’s my mission to “tell a story” that will take the audience from one place to another. In this lesson, I’d like to share how I go about doing that.

Let’s first look at the solo section’s chord progression. As shown in Figure 1, we’re in the key of A minor, and the progression begins with the bVI (flat six) chord, F(sus2), which moves to the bVII (flat seven) chord, G5, then resolves to the tonic, or root, chord, Am. Each chord lasts for two beats, so the first bar is Fsus2 to G5, and the second bar is Am to G5. This two-bar pattern then repeats throughout the solo.

For the F and G chords, no 3rd is played, which gives me more melodic freedom when soloing. This sense of “open harmony” allows me to hold long, sustaining notes over all three chords, and then travel through the progression with melodic freedom, in my quest for memorable, singable solos.

Figure 2 illustrates how I get into the solo. Taking an Eric Clapton/Albert King-inspired approach, I begin with a whole-step bend from D, the 4th, up to E, the 5th, which I hold and shake, after which I slowly move back down to the A root note via the notes D and C, as well as the 2nd, B. The overall scale I rely on here is A minor hextatonic (A, B, C, D, E, G), which is A minor pentatonic (A, C, D, E, G) with the note B, the 2nd, or 9th, added.

Another thing I love to do here is reference the chord progression with double-stops, specifically 6th intervals, or 6ths. Figure 3 has me sliding into a C-A double-stop over Fsus2, a D-B double-stop over G5 and an E-C double-stop over Am.

Figure 4 demonstrates a neat little trick I picked up from Joe Bonamassa: when playing a 6th or 10th interval as a double-stop, instead of fretting the higher note normally, play it one fret lower then bend it up a half step and add some vibrato, to make it really sing.

Another cool way to elaborate on 6ths is to create a “pedal tone”-type melody. In Figure 5, I begin with straight 6ths over Fsus2 and G5 then use the lower note as a rearticulated pedal tone against a melodic line played on higher strings.

I also like to reference each chord with simple triad arpeggios. In Figure 6, I play F, G and Am triads on the top three strings while adding vibrato in an Otis Rush-type manner.

Figure 7 and 8 illustrate a tremolo strumming technique I picked up from Stevie Ray Vaughan: Figure 7 shows Am, Bm, Csus2 and Dsus2 triads played on the top three strings. In Figure 8, I create a tremolo effect by lightly strumming the strings with the tip of my pick-hand index finger as quickly as possible.

This is the last installment of Hardwired for now. I hope you’ve been able to incorporate some of my ideas into your own playing and hope to see you at a show soon!

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Like a lot of aspiring players, I grew up chasing my guitar heroes. I listened to everyone, but the ones who really stayed with me were the players who played fiery blues licks with melodic phrasing that made every note feel alive.

When I finally dug into who influenced them, everything pointed back to the same source: the British blues explosion of the late ’60s and early ’70s. Clapton, Page, Beck, Green, Kossoff and Hendrix (despite being American, Hendrix was so tied into the London scene that you can’t separate him from it).

The guitarists from that era were influential because they reshaped what the electric guitar could be. British blues took the soul of American blues and turned it into something heavier, grittier and unhinged.

Suddenly, the guitar wasn’t just a clean supporting instrument. It became a voice that could cry, sing, scream, whisper or set the world on fire. These players’ phrasing had emotion, their tone was otherworldly and their attitude gave the instrument a voice that still resonates half a century later.

Today, we have a new generation of players – Samantha Fish, Zach Person, Philip Sayce, Jared James Nichols, Marcus King and others – who grew up on the sounds of that era and aren’t afraid to show it.

After years of playing guitar, at some point I realised that most of your tone comes from your hands and your soul. The great British blues guitarists proved this long ago and musicians such as Philip Sayce and Marcus King agree. Philip tells me: “You can have the same guitar and amp, but it’ll never sound the same in two people’s hands. Tone is who you are.”

Marcus adds: “Those old players had nothing to hide behind. Just their hands, their feel and the truth coming through the speakers.”

What always amazes me about the British blues era is how much emotion lived inside the phrasing. They didn’t need fast runs. They could make a single bend feel like a whole conversation.

Jared James Nichols sums it up: “Those guys could bend one note and it would just stop you. It wasn’t speed, it was the feel. You can’t really copy players like Clapton or Beck. You can play the notes, but getting it to sound right? That’s a whole different thing.”

This was also the era when the limits of the electric guitar were broken wide open and the songwriting became timeless snapshots of the moment. Built on emotion instead of formulas, classic songs like White Room, Purple Haze, All Right Now, Heartbreaker and Black Magic Woman still hit with the same impact today.

Zach Person says he grew up “listening and trying to mimic all the sounds, tones and techniques that Page and Clapton built their songs around”.

For Samantha Fish, the British blues wave wasn’t just about guitar, it opened the door to the deeper roots: “Two of my biggest influences were Jimmy Page and Keith Richards,” she says. “That era of rock guitar, influenced by the blues, was my gateway. It introduced me to Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf because those were the heroes of the British guys. Once you start digging back, you realise how interconnected it all is.”

US-based Marcus King is the most direct about his songwriting roots: “I always go back to Eric Clapton,” he says. “Not just for his playing but his ability to evolve as an artist, especially becoming recognised as both a singer and songwriter.”

Philip Sayce agrees: “Clapton was the guy for me. He wasn’t just a guitar player; he sang great, wrote great songs and played beautifully. That’s what I aspire to be.”

Jimmy Page stopped Philip in his tracks, too: “Page’s approach to songwriting and production had a big influence on me. Watching how Zeppelin built those records showed the level those guys were operating at. And Jeff Beck’s phrasing was fearless. He just used his hands, volume and tone knobs and his imagination.”

Foundational Tone

Gear also played a huge role in defining the era. The setup was simple: a Gibson Les Paul into a cranked Marshall. Clapton, Beck, Page, Kossoff and Green built their tones on that foundation, while Hendrix forged his own identity with Fender Strats through Marshalls.

Effects were minimal by today’s standards, but early fuzz pedals, wahs and treble boosters, such as the Dallas Rangemaster, helped push those amps into the thick, singing overdrive that became the sound of classic rock. The first time I dimed an old Marshall Super Lead, I quickly realised why those classic tones became legendary.

Marcus King’s current rig continues to reflect that heritage: “I was infatuated by the aesthetic of Marshall stacks and captivated by the clarity of Fenders,” he says. “When I was young, I was lucky to have early Fender Super Reverbs and a Marshall ‘Plexi’ around the house.”

In fact, King’s signature Orange MK Ultra amp nods directly to that era: “It’s like a traditional British tube amp but with elements of American amps. It’s hand-wired and non-master volume, so you crank it up all the way just like those old amps.”

Zach Person proudly keeps carrying the torch for the classic Les Paul into a Marshall formula: “My favourite amp is the Marshall JTM45, which is basically a hot-rodded Bassman. It’s the perfect sound for me… Clapton’s tone in Cream is by far my favourite.”

Sayce’s approach to gear is rooted in the same spirit: “I mostly play old Strats and I’ve settled on high-headroom Fender or Marshall-style amps. Turn them up and hit the front-end with a pedal.”

Talking with these modern players reminds me how deeply the British blues influence runs. The phrasing, tone, soul and songwriting all trace back to an era that changed guitar forever. Music and players have evolved, but the British blues influence is still unmistakably intact. I think we all have a little British blues DNA in our playing, whether we realise it or not.

Three to get ready: Retro Vibes For Your Rig

Marshall Studio Vintage Combo $1,599/£999

The all-valve SV20C packs 20 watts of real Marshall ‘Plexi’ DNA, with a pair of EL34 valves and a 10-inch Celestion V-Type speaker that you can crank without blowing your eyebrows off.

Compact, affordable and dripping with Clapton-era mojo, it’s the perfect gateway ‘Plexi’ for players who want that vintage Marshall roar without the vintage-amp price tag.

Fulltone Custom Shop Ranger $249/£259

The Fulltone Custom Shop Ranger pedal resurrects the classic treble-booster formula with six Rangemaster voices via a rotary switch, all powered by a warm germanium transistor. It tightens lows, lifts highs and kicks your amp into tonal bliss. One stomp and even the most polite, well-behaved amps bark, growl and bite with tone straight out of 1968.

Bare Knuckle The Mule Humbucker from $448/£350

If your guitar needs a crash course in vintage mojo, the Bare Knuckle Mule set should do the trick. Hand-wound with Alnico IV magnets, these pickups deliver woody mids, crisp highs and open dynamic response that Patent Applied For pickups are known for. They’re touch-sensitive, super musical and perfect for chasing the tones of Clapton, Green and Kossoff.

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

As I stated in my last column, my favorite band lineup is the guitar-bass-drums power trio. With the guitar being the primary chordal and melodic instrument in the ensemble, there are challenges inherent in the role.

But with those challenges come great freedoms to direct the music however I might feel like doing at any given moment on stage. This is something I strive to take advantage of in just about every song I play with my trio.

A great example of what I’m talking about here can be found in the title track to my 2022 EP Threw Me to the Wolves, which features both electric and acoustic versions of the tune.

Threw Me to the Wolves is a song that I play at just about every live show, and in that setting I like to stretch out and explore the song dynamically, from quiet, unaccompanied fingerpicking to full-on power trio Mountain-style soloing.

Essential to the song is the fingerpicked rhythm part during the verse sections. As shown in Figure 1, I play all 1st-position chords here, starting with Am to C to G5.

At the chorus, illustrated in Figure 2, the progression moves from Fsus2, sounded with the open G string, along with a thumbed-fretted low F root on the 6th string, to G5 then back to Am.

The primary rhythm part is built around a fingerpicking technique known as “dead thumb,” wherein thumb repeatedly strikes an open string in a steady rhythm, with a little bit of palm muting, while the fingers pick melody notes on the higher strings.

As shown in Figure 3, I pick the notes on the G, B and high E strings with my index and middle fingers in a syncopated manner over the thumbpicked open A string.

The verse moves to a C chord and is performed with the same thumbpicking technique (see Figure 4). Figure 5 focuses on the switch from Am to C.

Figure 6 illustrates the complete Am - C - G progression, with each chord presented in essentially the same fingerpicking style. The only difference is, for the G chord, I change the pattern to bring in a C note, sounding a Gsus4 chord. The chorus is made up of Fsus2 - G5 - Am played in the same manner.

The “dead thumb” technique provides a self-accompaniment, so once you have it down, you can explore playing a variety of improvised melodies along with the steady bass pattern, as I demonstrate in Figure 7. This is a great way to expand on the basic approach in a freely melodic way.

The solo section of Threw Me to the Wolves is wide open and lets me “breathe,” musically. With all of the sonic space afforded by the trio, I can really lean into what I’m doing. I like to take my time, use a lot of sustain and allow the music to blossom in a natural way.

As shown in Figure 8, I begin over an implied Am chord with a whole-step bend from D to E, followed by the minor 3rd, C. I then drop down to B, which is the major 3rd of the G chord. Throughout the remainder of the line, I alternate between the notes B, C and E over the F and G chords, which creates a great sound.

There’s something really special about how the song becomes a journey for both the band and our audience. As the guitarist in a power trio, it’s always an adventure to steer the journey down a new musical path.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Jared James Nichols got the shock of a lifetime when rock royalty gatecrashed his band’s jam session – and ended up with him hanging out with Aerosmith.

The blues rock guitar ace doesn’t specify when this happened exactly, but after one of rock’s most iconic frontmen came to watch his band jam, he found himself welcomed into Aerosmith’s ranks.

“My band is jamming, and the door cracks open, and I hear, ‘Who the hell are you, man?’” Nichols tells the Playback Podcast. “And Steven Tyler walks in. He's like, ‘Play that again.’ And he starts getting all crazy, and the band's jamming.

“I was like, ‘Whoa, this is insane.’ Steven goes, ‘Hey, man, you kick ass. We're making a record in the back. Why don't you come hang out?’ So I walked back there. Joe Perry's back there. All these guys are back there. And I'm like, ‘Holy smokes, this is happening.’”

Perhaps buoyed by Tyler’s compliments, Nichols didn’t need a second invitation, and he quickly discovered how the other half live.

“They had a spread of food back there,” he adds, a little flabbergasted. “He's like, ‘Grab some food, man. Grab a beer.’”

His hosts were more than welcoming, and when Tyler told him, “We're gonna be here for a while. Come back whenever you want,” he did exactly that.

“The next day, I went back,” Nichols admits. “And then the next day I went back. It got to the point where I was hanging out so much, Steven would be like, ‘JJ, what do you think of this mix? Let's go listen to it in your car.’

“He would burn a CD, and we'd go into my friend’s Subaru Outback and listen to it, drive around, and he'd be singing along.”

It's unclear whether this was when Aerosmith were recording their last album, 2012's Music From Another Dimension!, or their surprise EP with Yungblud. Either way, it paints a fantastic image – and gave Nichols a lasting memory.

Nichols – who is also a GW columnist – recently explained why playing in a trio can improve your guitar solos and how to express yourself with your bends.

If you’ve seen recent footage of Eric Steckel in action, you’ll probably have noticed that his take on the blues is an aggressive one. It’s a new thing for him, he tells GW, having started his live career two-and-a-half decades ago at just 11 years old.

Months later, he was invited on stage to join John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, who ended up asking him to guest on their next album. It’s the more fiery fretwork on Steckel’s newest recordings, however, that have seen him build a formidable fanbase as a solo artist.

“Getting heavier brought a ton of people into my realm,” he says. “It started well because my dad convinced me to do a live album when I was 11, which was a great idea because you can’t fake something like that. Things slowed down for a while, but since the pandemic, I’ve seen a lot of growth with some of my videos going viral.”

It was the music of Gary Moore that convinced Steckel to play harder and with more gain. Given the Belfast titan’s background in Skid Row and Thin Lizzy, he certainly had a way of intensifying the blues with a surplus of potency and authority.

“Gary sits at the top of the pyramid,” Steckel says. “His style was like, ‘Fuck the rules, I’m going to play what I like!’ If people didn’t care for it, too bad for them. I wasn’t always like that myself.

“My Polyphonic Prayer album from 2018 is when I decided to go high gain. I remember the engineer asking me, ‘Are you really going to use that Diezel Herbert overdrive on your blues record?’”

It was around this time that Steckel invested in his first Knaggs six-string. The company was so impressed by online footage of his playing that he was soon approached to collaborate on a signature model, which also led to the manufacture of his own amp by Italian specialists Mezzabara.

Steckel, who has a new label deal for an album due later this year, is the first to admit that it all played out like any guitarist’s dream scenario.

“My signatures have that Tele/Paul singlecut thing going on,” he says. “My pedalboard is just a Boss DD-200, CAE wah and ISP Decimator. That’s all I need. I’m just playing blues, but I throw in extra notes to spice it up.

“Every modern guitarist from Joe Bonamassa to Jared James Nichols gets the same kind of haters who say, ‘Everything you play is pentatonic.’ But in reality we aren’t just playing five notes. People are so used to hearing Dorian and Mixolydian in blues; they’ve become the new pentatonic.”

• Eric Steckel tours Europe in April. See Eric Steckel Tour for dates and ticket details.
• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

My favourite ensemble to play in is the power trio. With only three instruments – electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit – there’s so much freedom to explore concepts like space, time and dynamic range.

There is something really special that can happen when three musicians are playing off of each other and interacting in real time.

Think of all the adventurous, exciting moments you’ve heard in the recordings of the great rock guitar/bass/drums lineups, such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, Mountain, Rush, Led Zeppelin, the Who, Free and others.

One of the ways I like to take advantage of what the power trio lineup affords me as a guitar player is when we are in improvisation mode, expanding away from an established song structure in order to venture into uncharted musical territory.

A perfect example of this can be found in my song Threw Me to the Wolves, which is built from a simple progression and arrangement that includes sections where we freely vamp over an A chord.

During these sections, the bass player is pedaling on an A note; because there is no minor or major 3rd provided by another chord instrument, I’m free to move between major and minor phrases at my discretion.

We like to make these sections as dynamic as possible by starting out quietly and reserved and then slowly build up the intensity as the improvisation develops.

Oftentimes, I’ll start out with a motive that alludes to an A7 sound, as in Figure 1. The initial lick is based on the A minor pentatonic scale (A, C, D, E, G), and in bar 2 I repeatedly slide into a two-note A7 voicing.

Once that’s established, I can develop the phrases a little more, as in Figure 2, where I hammer-on from the minor 3rd, C, to the major 3rd, C#.

Laying this A dominant 7 groundwork allows me to move to ideas based on the A Mixolydian mode (A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G), like the phrase shown in Figure 3.

I’ll then elaborate a bit more in this direction with lines like those in Figure 4, taking advantage of the sweet sound of the major 3rd.

What’s really cool is when you then bring in some different harmony, moving from A7 to Am7, as demonstrated in Figure 5. I might play four bars over A7 then change my whole mindset to focus back on the minor 3rd and the sound of Am7.

Figure 6 begins with four bars that revolve around an A7 sound, with the major third, C#, accentuated in the phrases. I then switch at bar 5 to lines that target the minor 3rd, C, by moving into licks based on A minor pentatonic (A, C, D, E, G), played in a bluesy Eric Clapton/Leslie West/Mick Taylor style.

Harmonically, I have the complete freedom to explore wherever I’d like to go. As is standard practice in blues-influenced music, I like to move back and forth between parallel major and minor licks, as these two sounds complement each other so well.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

We live in a world where almost every guitar player will tell you how they are ‘old-school’ in some way, shape or form. But very few live up to that term as sincerely as Wisconsin-born, Nashville-based blues dynamo Jared James Nichols.

By his own admission, he’s a man of simple pleasures – give him a guitar with only one pickup, an overdrive pedal and an amp that responds in a similar way to his signature Blackstar JJN 50, and he’s ready to hit the road for months on end.

Now in his mid-30s – and a decade into his career as a recording artist – Jared has become a true successor to those legendary sonic minimalists who electrified the world by wrangling magic out of the guitar. And he’s more than aware that it’s uncommon for players of his generation to be quite so vintage-minded and spirited…

“Just the other day, I met a kid who wanted to get a picture and talk about gear,” Jared tells Guitarist, not long before embarking on an extensive European and UK tour to promote new single, Ghost.

“After a few minutes, he admitted he’d never actually played through a real amp. That made me feel old, man, even if I’m still pretty young for the blues scene. I’ve always been old-school, but I’m heading more and more that way these days.”

Your signature models all have a single P-90 pickup in the bridge position. How does that affect what you play?

You almost have to think of your guitar as a singular tool. It’s like being handed a hammer and then being asked to build a whole house. You need to get crafty with it.

Funnily enough, people that have never played a Les Paul Junior usually think it’ll only make one sound. But then they’ll notice that they can control way more than they thought by attacking harder or softer, changing where they pick or backing down the volume.

So having less to work with inspires you to get even more creative?

It’s like living out of a duffle bag. You make the most out of what you have and ultimately that helps you realise what’s important. All the dynamics and variations are important for blues, jazz, country, rock and even metal.

Simplicity helped me find my voice. I’m not reliant on anything. I could pick up anyone’s guitar and still know how to sound like me. Needing less gear sets me free. I’m not chained down. It’s all a means to an end.

Have you always been like that?

When I first started touring, I’d build pedalboards with a wah, tuner, fuzz and various drives on there. Things would go wrong, probably down to my own stupidity. So that pedalboard got smaller and smaller.

By the end of the tour, it would be just a Tube Screamer into the amp because I knew I could play a whole set without any problems. I didn’t need all the extra crap. Just give me a single-P-90 guitar and a Tube Screamer and I’m ready to play the Royal Albert Hall. It’s like sink or swim.

I’ve started backing off the dirt because you get extra clarity with more volume and less drive. Some players don’t realise that – they stack a bunch of pedals, which is cool and I’ve done that myself, occasionally. But sometimes a good guitar and amp pushed to the limits will get you the fattest tones.

Speaking of amps, you’ve been very loyal to Blackstar over the years.

It’s crazy how good that stuff is. I sometimes get the impression people scoff at me, like, ‘Oh Jared, you still using those Blackstars?’ And the answer is ‘yes’ because I love the company and they’ve been so supportive, but more importantly there’s never been a point where I’ve wanted to play anything else.

At home, sure, I have a 1968 Plexi and Leslie West’s old Sunn amp, which Joe Bonamassa gave me, but there’s never been a time where I was playing through my Blackstars and wished it was a Deluxe.

Joe’s a big fan of the Silver Jubilee. Have you ever tried one?

Richie Faulkner from Judas Priest lives close to me and he’s got loads of Marshalls. I haven’t tried many, so I asked if I could come over. One of them was the Jubilee, which is an amp I’d never played before.

I never understood why they were so highly rated, especially when you have people like Bonamassa swearing by them. And after plugging in, I instantly got it. That amp is super-good and actually a bit different to the other amps Marshall is known for.

Even the guitars you play – from the 1952 Goldtop you named ‘Dorothy’ and the refinished 1953 Goldtop you named ‘Ole Red’, to your three Epiphone signature guitars – are very classic designs. There’s no special circuitry or push/pulls…

When I was younger, I’d watch videos of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Hendrix, any of the old blues guys, and I could see they had basic setups. I quickly realised the difference was in how they were playing. I was inspired to learn all those little nuances through touch.

I dipped my toes into pedal land, but I never went far because I’d feel like the pedal was controlling me, rather than the other way round. To this day, I cannot use a delay pedal. I just can’t set them right. I don’t like it when the emphasis shifts from the notes I play to the gear I’m using.

There’s been a lot of rumblings about a new signature to follow on from your 2023 Epiphone ‘Blues Power’ Les Paul Custom in Aged Pelham Blue.

Yeah, there are a lot of rumblings right now. The main one is a new version of my first signature, a single-pickup Les Paul Custom in black, a replica of the 2008 ‘Old Glory’ Custom I modded myself.

Apparently, people keep asking for it. So I had a meeting with Gibson and they suggested putting it back out, maybe starting with a run of Custom Shop models because that’s something that’s never been done. There’s also the 75th anniversary of the Les Paul, which isn’t far off.

I have ‘Dorothy’, which is one of the first Les Pauls ever made. One thing I’m noticing about Gibson/Epiphone right now is that they’re fearless. I was trying one of the [Epiphone] Inspired By [Gibson Custom] models the other day, and I could not believe how good it sounded.

If Epiphones were like that when I was 15, my God, I would’ve been a happy kid. But in the early 2000s, you didn’t know what you were getting.

You also tend to be relatively minimalist in terms of note choices – but then again, a lot of players would struggle to get the same amount of mileage as you from the pentatonic scale!

I wanted to learn how to sing through my guitar. What helped was listening to people like Gary Moore and Albert King, and trying to soak up their simplicity. When I think about my favourite solos, sure, shredding is cool, but it’s more about that personal thing where you’re crying through that guitar.

I want all the emotional shit to come out. The pentatonic scale is the simplest language for that. I might bring in other notes occasionally, but it’s better to be patient and tactile. I see great players every day online who make me think, ‘This person just played more notes than I have all week!’

I was playing Come Together with Paul Gilbert recently and he did this insane solo. The solo I chose to play was literally the vocal melody, but I did it in a way that sounded disgusting and made me people pay attention. Paul looked at me as if to say, ‘You fucker!’ Sometimes in music, it all comes down to that human touch.

You don’t lean too heavily on pedals, but your Klon and Tube Screamer usually travel wherever you go.

I’ve had that 1982 Tube Screamer since I was 15. The great thing about those pedals is they’re all cool. You can pick up a TS9 from GuitarGuitar and it does the job. Even Bonamassa will tell you that. A Tube Screamer is a Tube Screamer. It’s one of the great cons of the guitar industry. Basically, they got all these dirt boxes right the first time around.

The Klon is its own beast – there’s something slightly different in the sauce. Something nobody talks about is the floor noise. If you have the drive past halfway with your volume down, you get all this unwanted noise. I ended up taking the Klon off.

Sure, I could throw a noise gate on there, but I shouldn’t need to. And taking Klons on the road isn’t fun. I always have to pull it off the ’board after soundcheck and bring it with me because a Klon sitting in a club is an easy nick. But nobody is going to steal your Tube Screamer, you know?

You just released a new single, Ghost, co-written with Tyler Bryant. Tell us about that.

The plan is to keep pumping out singles until the album comes in May. Before my last record, the self-titled one from 2023, I noticed people would say, ‘Man, you sound incredible live, but I don’t like the sound of your records – it just doesn’t translate!’

It was like a backhanded compliment that made me go, ‘Thank you… I guess!’ So I was hell-bent on making an album that was just three dudes in a room cut to tape at Blackbird Studio in Nashville, which is what we did on that self-titled one.

I love how it came out, but one thing about that record – and it was my own fault – was that I was trying to find a hole in the sky in terms of all the shit I loved. I was trying to capture lightning in the bottle.

So how exactly does this next album differ?

This time I’ve dipped into the community of songwriters here in Nashville because the level and list of talent is insane. I know some mega-successful songwriters that have written tons of hits. Tyler Bryant is a good friend [and] every time we hang out, we can structure a song within minutes.

In Nashville, it feels like everyone is collaborating all the time. For this record, I wanted to emphasise the songwriting. I’ve been playing tracks to Zakk Wylde and Bonamassa, friends who have a good idea of what to expect, and they’ve all told me, ‘Damn, I really like this song.’ It’s almost like ‘Wait? A guitar player actually putting out a good song?!’ That’s where my head was at.

What other insights have you collected over the last decade of touring?

Dynamics are so important. When I started playing, I thought I could take my guitar and beat people up for 90 minutes. By the end, everyone would be exhausted. But if you curate a setlist that ebbs and flows, you can make your show feel like a great movie. There’s drama, anger, happiness – you name it.

One of the worst feelings on stage is when there’s no connection. People start walking out to get a beer, which leaves you thinking, ‘Shit, that’s not the point!’ You want everyone in the palm of your hand. Even if people don’t know the song, you have to keep them entertained to the point where they want to know the song.

Finally, if you could have a lesson with anyone, living or dead, who would you choose?

Leslie West was one of my biggest heroes. We were forming a relationship right as he passed and I even got to jam with him. I still find those records he made all those years ago so inspiring. They leave me wondering how he played those licks or dialled in those tones. He’s someone who was jamming with Hendrix back in the day.

Jeff Beck is also on top of that list. Not long ago, I got to sit down with Tommy Emmanuel. He was two feet away, playing guitar and hanging out. It was like a religious experience – I’m not religious, but he put me in a trance. That’s the power of music. I can only imagine what it was like when Hendrix was playing. It must have felt like something from another world.

• Jared James Nichols' self-titled album is out now via Round Hill Records.
• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

An essential technique all electric guitarists should strive to master is the art of string bending, which can be used to create personally expressive, vocal-like sounds in unique ways.

String bending first grabbed my attention when I heard Iron Man by Black Sabbath. Guitarist Tony Iommi begins the song by bending his open low E string behind the nut, raising then lowering the note’s pitch to create a spooky moaning sound. When I heard that, my first thought was, “well, you can’t do that on a piano!”

My next pivotal encounter with string bending was hearing Eric Clapton’s solo in Cream’s Sunshine of Your Love. When I heard those opening notes, I thought, “that sounds like a voice!” It’s so soulful!

My awareness of string bending then snowballed through listening to such great blues-rock guitarists as Jimi Hendrix, Leslie West, Robin Trower and Johnny Winter. The takeaway was that, even though all of these players were utilizing the same bending techniques, each was able to create thoroughly unique sounds with them.

A good initial approach to string bending is to first play two separate notes that are a half step, or one fret, apart, then bend the lower note up to match the pitch of the higher one, as demonstrated with the notes E and F in Figure 1.

In bar 2, I then play E and F#, which are a whole step (two frets) apart then proceed to bend the E note up a whole step to F#. In bar 3, I then do the same thing with E and G, bending the E note up one and one half steps, the equivalent of three frets. Listen carefully as to strive to match the “target” pitch of each bend. Let your ears guide and control your fingers.

In Figure 2, I play a two-bar phrase based on the B minor pentatonic scale (B, D, E, F#, A) and bend E, the 4th of B, up a whole step to F#, the 5th. Then, in bar 2, I bend D, the minor 3rd, up a half step to the major 3rd, D#. In Figure 3, I liberally bend several notes, yielding even more of a “vocal” sound.

I take this approach a little further in Figure 4 by starting with a half step bend from D to D#, followed by hammer-ons to D# and E then a whole-step bend from E up to F#. Bar 1 ends with A# bent up a half step to B, and in bar 2, I combine unusual half- and whole-step bends to produce a unique sound and melody.

A great note to bend up to is the b5 (flatted 5th). Sticking with the key of B, that would be an F note. In Figure 5, all of the notes are fretted; in Figures 6 and 7, I use half- and whole-step bends from the 4th, E, to sound the 5th, F#, then the flatted 5th, F.

Great masters of string bending to listen to for inspiration are Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and Albert King. Figure 8 is played in Buddy’s style, featuring a big two-step bend, the equivalent of four frets, and a gradual release. Figure 9 is played in Albert’s style, with five distinct pitches sounded from a single fretted D note on the B string’s 15th fret.

Bending strings may cause your fingertips to hurt a little, but it’s worth it to discover the many expressive sounds that can be attained via this highly expressive technique.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Modern blues maestro Jared James Nichols handed his electric guitar to a beloved pedal maker in the crowd during one of his recent shows – and the unsuspecting guest star nailed his cameo.

Chris King Robinson is the brains behind UK firm Pedal Pawn, whose builds have been championed by the likes of Eric Gales and Philip Sayce. He's also something of an authority on Stevie Ray Vaughan's tone, having released his “Tube Screamer on steroids pedal”, the BluesPrint Dual Overdrive.

Robinson's guitar chops are all over Pedal Pawn’s video content, and he even recently featured on Andertons' YouTube channel. So, when Nichols spotted him in the crowd at a recent UK show, he was eager to get his friend and fellow blues fan in on the soloing action.

Nichols unfurls fiery licks aplenty, dishing out some very mean one-finger vibrato. He then passes the baton over to Robinson, who makes Nichols' Gibson Explorer his own. We do note a small tone knob tweak from Nichols at one point, though. Teamwork makes the dream work.

“Still buzzing from last night,” Robinson says on the Pedal Pawn Instagram. “In the middle of the epic show, Jared stepped off the stage, walked into the crowd, and handed me his guitar. Moments like that don’t happen in real life.

“He’s not only one of the modern greats keeping real guitar playing alive,” he adds, “he’s also genuinely one of the kindest, most down-to-earth humans you’ll meet. I’ll be holding onto this feeling for a long time.”

Firing back gleefully in the comments, JJN says, “Dude! You ripped! I wished we could have hung, my schedule had other plans.”

Regular GW columnist Nichols recently detailed how he takes inspiration from Jimi Hendrix in the utilization of his pick-hand index finger, and has previously discussed how to make your solos sing.

Elsewhere, Nichols also explained to Guitar World why his signature Blackstar amps are a cut above the many vintage gems he has in his collection.

Aside from owning an authentic Klon Centaur, Jared James Nichols has a few other vintage gear picks up his sleeve.

However, despite having access to an impressive array highly sought-after tube amps, the blues rock ace admits he still has a penchant for Blackstars, which he's been repping for years now.

“It’s crazy how good that stuff is," he raves in a new interview with Guitarist. “I sometimes get the impression people scoff at me, like, ‘Oh Jared, you still using those Blackstars?’

“And the answer is ‘yes’ because I love the company and they’ve been so supportive, but more importantly, there’s never been a point where I’ve wanted to play anything else.

“At home, sure, I have a 1968 Plexi and Leslie West’s old Sunn amp, which Joe Bonamassa gave me, but there’s never been a time where I was playing through my Blackstars and wished it was a Deluxe.”

It's not the only piece of elusive vintage gear that Nichols has received as a gift from Bonamassa. Recently, Nichols revealed that JoBo had also gifted him his Klon Centaur – which he had to take extra care to protect while on the road.

As for his amps, Nichols’ relationship with Blackstar has expanded into signature model territory, with the brand introducing a new signature JJN guitar amp head and matching plugin just last year.

“Blackstar amps define my tone. It really is the sound in my head. It’s simple; Blackstar inspires me to play at my best,” he said at the time of the launch, which explains why he's stayed loyal to the company after all these years: the Blackstar sound is his sound.

The two had previously collaborated on various products, including the limited-edition JJN-20R MkII amp back in 2020 and the JJN 3 practice amp two years later.

For more from Nichols, plus new interviews with Wolfgang Van Halen and Kiki Wong, pick up issue 531 of Guitarist from Magazines Direct.

Last time, I demonstrated my approach to soloing over the song Hard Wired, originally released on my 2023 self-titled album. We began with the breakdown section, over which I play simple lines over the D - F - G chord progression before moving into the heavy D minor pentatonic-based (D, F, G, A, C) “theme riff,” over which the main solo is played.

Once that riff is established, I begin the proper solo with some Jimi Hendrix-inspired dominant 7 triads that are tremolo-picked and slid up and down the neck, à la Voodoo Child (Slight Return).

In this lesson, I’d like to discuss what I play next and why. After that, I love to utilize unison bends, which are inspired by players like Ted Nugent, Pat Travers and Johnny Winter.

As shown in Figure 1, I play a series of unison bends on the B and G strings by fretting the primary note on the B string and bending up to that same pitch from a whole step below on the G string, two frets higher.

The initial unison bend is performed by fretting an A note on the B string’s 10th fret while bending a G note up a whole step to A at the 12th fret on the G string.

I then move the unison bend shape down a whole step – two frets – to sound a G unison bend, followed by a move up two and a half steps to a C unison bend at the 13th and 15th frets. Be sure to add some hearty vibrato on the G string to any unison bend that‘s allowed to sustain.

After this series of unison bends, I like to move into sequences, which are phrases that ascend or descend in a specific manner, that I will move to different areas of the fretboard.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, over a Dm chord, I like to move up and down the D minor pentatonic scale (D, F, G, A, C) with the inclusion of the 2nd, or 9th, E, articulating the line with an abundance of hammer ons, pull offs and finger slides.

The solo section is played at a slow tempo with a heavy feel, so it sounds great to ramp up the intensity by playing these sequences in a rhythm of 16th notes, as shown in Figure 4.

With a fast phrase like this, a little bit of palm muting is very helpful in cleaning up the articulation and making each note sound more distinct. I’ll often jump up an octave to play the same phrase, as shown in Figure 5.

I think of these phrases as being “efficient” because the contour of the melody is so specific, which is something I learned from listening to Johnny Winter.

In Figure 6, I play a similar phrase, also based on D minor pentatonic with the inclusion of the 2nd/9th, E, but played here in a slower rhythm of eighth notes and in 10th position.

In Figure 7, I double it up by playing the phrase in 16th notes.

Phrases like these, which are so specific melodically, work very well against more aggressive, off-the-cuff playing. It’s like a game of “cat and mouse,” where each approach compliments the other very well.

Any “country-style” sounds will work great here, too. Since we-re tuned to drop D, I’ll strike the open low D string and play two-note Figures, 3rds apart, adding subtle bends, as in Figure 8.

Licks like these add a raunchy flavor with a great bluesy undertone.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

The Klon Centaur is one of the most sought-after overdrive pedals ever created. If you're lucky enough to own one, taking it out on tour – or leaving it lying around a venue waiting to be stolen – is probably not the best idea.

That's why Jared James Nichols – who was gifted a Klon Centaur by Joe Bonamassa – takes appropriate measures to ensure his prized pedal remains in his possession.

“The Klon is its own beast, there’s something slightly different in the sauce,” Jared James Nichols – a proud Klon owner – says in the latest issue of Guitarist.

“Taking Klons on the road isn’t fun,” he continues. “I always have to pull it off the ’board after soundcheck and bring it with me because a Klon sitting in a club is an easy nick. But nobody is going to steal your Tube Screamer, you know?”

Nichols' prized Klon was a gift from another blues titan – Joe Bonamassa. Nichols initially borrowed a Klon from a friend for around two years, but, lo and behold, someone tried to steal it while he was out on tour.

After that incident, Nichols didn't want to tour with a borrowed Klon, so he embarked on a quest to buy his own. After hitting the Nerdville owner up for some advice on whether a Klon he was eyeing was the real deal or not, the veteran guitarist offered to sell him one of his own.

Shortly after, one of Joe’s friends dropped off a Klon at Nichols’ doorstep – and it turns out Bonamassa wasn’t expecting any payment.

“I was about to go on the road myself, and he goes, ‘Hey, dude, listen, the money that you'd spend on a Klon will do better for you actually having your tour be a success,’” Nichols recalls in an episode of the No Cover Charge podcast. “‘The Klon is a gift from me.’ And I couldn't believe it. What a guy. So I love you, Joe, thank you, Joe.”

In his recent Guitar World lesson, Nichols gives the lowdown on how to use open strings and Drop D tuning to bulk up your blues fingerstyle.

For more from the blues rock guitarist, plus new interviews with Kiki Wong and Joanne Shaw Taylor, pick up issue 531 of Guitarist from Magazines Direct.

Last month, I talked about how I devised the primary riffs in the title track to my 2023 album Hard Wired, which is played in drop D tuning (low to high: D, A, D, G, B, E). I’d now like to share some of the varied approaches and techniques I use in the song’s breakdown and solo sections.

One of the cool things about the breakdown section is that I take the opportunity to interpret the chord progression in different ways. The first thing I do is switch things up by establishing a progression of D - G - F. But instead of playing straight major chords or root-5th power chords, I like to bring in the sound of open strings to help broaden the harmony, as well as the timbre.

One way I accomplish this is to keep an open D string in the mix for all of the voicings. As shown in Figure 1, I play a G chord by fretting the low G on the 6th string’s 5th fret, played along with the open 4th string and a B note at the 4th fret on the G string.

I then slide this shape down two frets to sound F on the 6th string’s 3rd fret along with the open 4th-string D and an A note at the 2nd fret of the G string. I end with a D chord sounded by the open low D along with the notes F# and D on the D and B strings, respectively. Be sure to allow all of the strings to ring throughout.

While improvising over these sections, I like to emphasize the sound of F#, the major 3rd of D, moving to the minor 3rd, F, which then becomes the root note for the F chord. To me, there ‘s something beautiful about messing with those double-stops of D and F# over the D chord and then C and F over the F chord.

As shown in Figure 2, I slide into fretted F# and D notes, sounded along with the open low D, then move to G followed by a single-note riff that’s based on the D blues scale (D, F, G, Ab, A, C).

In bar 3, over D, I freely move through the D Mixolydian mode (D, E, F#, G, A, B, C) with hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides, followed in the next bar with reference to F then more D blues scale riffs. Bars 5 and 6, are played with the same approach, with all of the riffs freely improvised, as are bars 7 and 8.

By playing two-bar phrases like these, initially establishing the chord changes and then moving into solo lines, I’m replicating the tandem approach of rhythm and lead guitars, as the leads effectively “answer” the chords.

The solo section then kicks off with a heavy riff that sits right on the D chord. As shown in Figure 3, I repeatedly play C and D notes over the open low D and resolve at the end of each bar to an F note that I proceed to bend up a half step to F#.

I then flow into the solo with triads played on the top three strings, either moving chromatically downward, as in Figure 4, or upward, as in Figure 5. In Figure 6, I use my pick-hand index finger to tremolo strum the triads in a Jimi Hendrix-like way.

Next month, we’ll take a deeper dive into the techniques I used to develop the solo section of Hard Wired. See you then.

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In this column, I’d like to go over the namesake song of my column, Hard Wired, which appears on my self-titled 2023 album. I wrote this song with my good friend Tyler Bryant, and it grew out of a jam session, as many songs do. It’s played in the key of D and in drop-D tuning.

Tyler and I had this idea to write a bluesy “stomp” type of song, like the old traditional blues of Howlin’ Wolf, but for it to have an intensity and energy that would make it heavy. The main riff, to me, has that classic Mountain/Leslie West, Nazareth/early Blue Öyster Cult vibe.

Figure 1 shows the opening riff, which starts with a pick-up on a low G note, followed by the initial phrase, which is based on the D minor pentatonic scale (D, F, G, A, C). Notice the slight bends on the C and F notes. When playing this lick, be sure to use an aggressive attack, to attain that heavy, “mean” quality. I fingerpick everything, so I’ll snap the strings here.

Figure 2 illustrates the entire main riff. Following the opening two-beat phrase, I answer it with a descending line on the 6th string that’s based on the D blues scale (D, F, G, Ab, A, C). To button up that riff, I end with a chromatically ascending figure built from ascending octaves on the 6th and 4th strings, which are rhythmically syncopated and reinforced by the bass and drums.

As shown in Figure 3, bar 2, beats 3 and 4, I begin with an E octave at the 2nd fret then move up one fret at a time to F, F# and G.

I was sure to leave lots of space in this lick, because, once you start adding fuzz, overdrive and sheer volume, it can be challenging to control the focus. The most important thing to me is for there to be clarity combined with the raunchiness and bite.

All of my favorite players, such as Paul Kossoff, Leslie West and Jimi Hendrix, play with tonal perfection, but it also often sounds like they’re hanging on by a thread! And that’s what gives the music that exciting edge.

For the song’s verses, I was thinking of a Stone Temple Pilots vibe, with the rhythm guitar less as a melodic instrument and more as a “pulse” that’s driving the riff.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, I simply hit big open Dsus2 power chords on all six strings. Figure 6 includes the single-note phrase that falls in bars 2 and 4.

Figure 7 depicts the pre-chorus chords, which consist of just three notes each but sound huge: in bar 1, I play a Bb voicing on the 6th and 3rd strings, including the open D note on the 4th string. I then move that two-finger shape up two frets to C, while still including the open D note, which creates a Cadd2 chord.

The chorus riff, shown in Figure 8, is very Free/Bad Company-esque, as C5 slides up to D5.

As shown in bar 3 of Figure 9, I vary the riff by playing the major 3rd of each chord instead of its root – E and F#, in place of C and D.

The chorus wraps up with the low chords shown in Figure 10, which double the vocal line, a la Leslie West.

Next time, I’ll share my approach to soloing in the song. See you then!

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An essential element of playing music is being aware of “where” you’re playing in the beat and how it relates to the groove being laid down by the rhythm section. This concept can be broken up into three approaches: playing behind the beat, playing ahead of the beat or playing squarely on the beat.

How a guitar player chooses to interact with the beat, or pulse, will have everything to do with the feeling of the music and the expression being communicated to the listener. This is, of course, true for all instrumentalists, regardless of musical style.

When I was first learning to play the music of my biggest hero, Mountain guitarist Leslie West, I was thinking, “Why does it sound different when I play the Mississippi Queen intro, as compared to when he does it?” I’d be playing right “on the click,” meaning that I was following metronomic time. We’ve been taught to practice with a metronome, and develop solid time at different tempos.

That said, I eventually discovered that many of my biggest heroes often played “behind the beat,” meaning that they’d play just a little bit slower, or “late,” so that the riffs would sit “back” in the pocket.

Another great example is Paul Kossoff’s rhythm playing on the Free classic All Right Now. Figure 1 is played in this style, as I alternate between A5, Dadd4/A and D/A chords.

If you were to measure that against a click, when I’m playing a riff like that I’m deliberately pulling back on the beat just a little bit to change the feeling of the music.

If I’m playing a lick like Figure 2, which simply moves between the notes G and E in the key of E, I’m thinking in my head about slowing down a little, so that the notes are falling just a hair behind the quarter-note pulse.

When you’re playing against the groove of the bass and drums, you can really hear the difference, and this approach is very effective.

You can also play “on top of the beat,” which means playing either squarely on the beat or a little bit ahead of it (“early”), which will give your playing a sense of urgency.

Some of the greatest examples of hearing how a guitarist can manipulate the way to relate to the beat are in the live recordings of the band Cream, featuring Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.

Spoonful is a great example, and Figure 3 is played along these lines. The feeling is that the band is a little bit ahead of the beat and Clapton is pulling back against the groove.

In Figure 4, I play a repetitive lick that moves between G, A and E, and I can subtly “warp the time” – speed up or slow down – to create tension in the music.

Figure 5 is another example of this approach: though I’m not changing the notes much, I am changing how the phrases “sit”in the beat, which has a distinct effect on the feeling of the music.

It’s like driving a car – you can speed up or slow down while traveling through the musical landscape to discover a variety of expressions.

In Figure 6, I start by playing on the beat then switch to playing way ahead of it in bars 2-3 then pull the phrases back behind the beat for dramatic effect.

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One of my biggest musical influences is the king of blues power, Albert King. There are so many things that define his unique approach to playing, and I think about these things every time I pick up my guitar.

The first thing is that, like me, Albert didn’t use a pick. He fingerpicked his strings aggressively, mostly with his thumb and index finger, snapping them against the fretboard and creating a distinctive and deeply expressive sound. Albert also played the guitar “upside down.”

With the instrument strung conventionally for a right-handed player, he flipped it over and played it left-handed, with the order of the strings being reversed: the lowest string was closest to the floor while the highest string was closest to the ceiling.

He also played in an unorthodox tuning, which is still a mystery; the prevailing wisdom is that he tuned down one-and-one-half steps, to C# standard (low to high: C#, F#, B, E, G#, C#).

I was first exposed to the “Albert King” sound through the playing of Stevie Ray Vaughan, for whom Albert was a major influence. One of the greatest examples of Stevie emulating Albert’s phrasing is SRV's playing on the title track of his debut album, Texas Flood.

Figure 1 offers an example of a lick played in Albert’s style, with a nod towards the way Stevie would express King’s influence in his own playing. The phrase is based on the G minor pentatonic scale (G, Bb, C, D, F), and I pick the strings with my index finger and thumb, snapping them against the fretboard, and add wide finger vibratos to any held note.

Other signature Albert King elements here are the half-step bend from Bb to B at the end of bar 1, and the half-step bends from B to C in bar 2.

When I first heard this type of playing on Texas Flood, I thought, “How is Stevie getting that sound?” Then, when I heard Albert for the first time, it struck me as more of a “silky” kind of sound, such as the phrase shown in Figure 2. After playing the initial G note, I fret Bb and then perform an array of different string bends from that one note to sound D, C#, C and B.

Once I saw Albert King on video, I could see that he was a master of playing on one string and was able to perform expressive solo lines from a single note at a single fret.

Figures 3 and 4 present great exercises in this playing approach. First, play the chromatic row of notes Bb, B, C, C# and D on the B string then move back down chromatically to Bb, as in Figure 3.

Then, as shown in Figure 4, fret only the Bb note at the 11th fret and proceed to bend up to each of the other notes from it, starting with a half-step bend, then a whole step, then one-and-one-half steps, then two whole steps. Figure 5 offers another example of bending in stacked half-step increments.

The magic of Albert’s playing is that he was able to nail each of these bends at will. Figures 6, 7 and 8 offer more examples of phrases built from this technique.

Snapping the strings in this way sounds especially cool in the guitar’s lower register. Figure 9 offers an example played down in 3rd position.

Licks like these are a staple of Albert’s style, as well as Stevie’s, and can also be heard in the playing of Jimi Hendrix.

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One of my favorite sounds in blues and blues-rock soloing is utilizing the “blue note.” I’m talking about the flatted 5th, or b5, which is located one half step below the 5th of the root note of whatever chord you’re relating to.

Let’s use the key of G as our point of reference: Figure 1 begins with a G5 chord, establishing the “home base” sound of the I (one) chord. I follow this with the single notes G, then the minor 3rd, Bb, then the b5, Db, which I proceed to bend up a half step to D, the 5th. I then play these same notes an octave higher, followed by a phrase that descends through the G blues scale (G, Bb, C, Db, D, F).

Notice in the last bar that I mphasize the b5, Db, before ending the phrase with the notes C, Bb and G.

When I was first learning the guitar, I found that when playing the G blues scale, as shown in Figure 2, the inclusion of the b5 in this scale added a really cool, bluesy sound, one that we all know and love. It’s a tried-and-true sound that we’ve heard in the soloing of all of our favorite players, from Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter and Leslie West to Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads and Zakk Wylde.

I discovered that using the b5 as a landing note added suspense and drama to my melody playing. One of the things I would suggest to everyone is to get that note “in your ear” and try using it as more than as just a passing tone.

Let’s take a simple riff like Figure 3: I begin on the G root note, then walk up the G blues scale with the notes Bb, C, Db, and D, then walk back down. A neat, twisty way to add expression to this phrase is to bend up to the b5, as demonstrated in Figure 4.

After playing G, Bb and C, I bend the C, which is the 4th of G, up a half step to Db then proceed to bend it up a whole step to the 5th, D. I then partially release the bend back to Db, followed by a vibrato-ed C note.

Another cool thing to do is, instead of bending all the way up to the 5th, just bend up to the flatted 5th, Db, as your final destination, as demonstrated in Figure 5.

I like to isolate the b5 within a phrase to make the note stand out. In Figure 6, the phrases played in each bar emphasize Db as a target note, which results in a very distinct sound.

Using the b5 in this way changes one’s perception on where to start and stop within an improvised phrase. Figure 7 offers a longer, nine-bar example that emphasizes the b5 throughout. Bar 2 begins on a low Db, followed by Db an octave higher. In bars 3 and 4, I repeatedly play F, D and Db as triplets as I approach the end of the phrase in bar 5.

Bar 7 offers another angle, with the emphasis of the repeating Db-Bb-G triplets. Bar 8 brings us back to a more straightforward blues-rock style phrase, followed in bar 9 with another targeted Db note.

Emphasizing the b5 is a great way to put a fresh spin on a sound we already know and add some flair to our improvised solo ideas.

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This month, I’d like to discuss some of the approaches I use to create solid, memorable riffs that I can then build upon when writing songs. So often, as most guitar players do, I’ll noodle around ’til I hit on a riff and say, “That’s pretty cool.” You know you have something special when you find a riff that you can feel inspired to build an entire song around.

For all of the material I write for my band, I always begin with a nucleus of an idea that I can then expand into a solid and effective song. A good example is Honey Forgive Me.

Writing this tune’s riffs was all about using my open G string along with every note of the G minor pentatonic scale (G, B, D, D, F). In Figure 1, I ascend through each note of the scale in 1st and 3rd positions while additionally sounding my open G string.

I wanted to come up with a hypnotic riff and had the Rolling Stones’ Miss You in mind. Figure 2 illustrates a phrase along the lines of that tune. I was also thinking about ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, who has written a bunch of great songs built around open drone strings, such as Jesus Just Left Chicago.

Figure 3 shows the motif that formed the basis for the main riff in “Honey Forgive Me.” I added the open G string to each note in the phrase, resulting in Figure 4, which became the tune’s chorus riff.

The “bread and butter” for me is honing a riff like this and figuring out where to go with it in order to put the pieces together to write a song. To me, if a riff is too “busy,” it will make it harder to come up with a vocal melody that will work over it.

Simple is always a better way to go. For example, I find that a good way to devise a verse riff is to simplify my initial idea and boil it down to something basic and groove-oriented that will support a verse vocal part without overshadowing it.

Figure 5 shows the verse riff in Honey Forgive Me, which is built from a repeating F-to-G pattern played in sync with the open D and G strings.

I was very fortunate to have recorded this song with legendary recording engineer Eddie Kramer, who said to me, “Jared, with guys like you, it’s all about the riff.” I showed him a few tunes, including this one, the way I had originally written it, which was a bit busier.

He said, “All of your songs have too many riffs! Give me a great riff, then cut it down for the verse and then we can see where to go for the chorus. Take something small and try to get as much out of it as you can.”

For the chorus, I came up with a slight variation, shown in Figure 6, which nicely matches my vocal melody, in a Jimi Hendrix kind of way.

When you have a rock-solid riff, it’ll give you a great springboard for a solo section, so that the two parts will balance well against one another. Figure 7 shows the riff for the tune’s solo section.

And for the solo, I jump up to the next higher octave and constructed the phrase depicted in Figure 8, which I built from a simple melody played on the B string in tandem with the open G and D strings.

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In this lesson, I’d like to delve deeper into what I feel are the advantages of fingerpicking. There are so many sounds to be discovered when one gets away from using a pick.

I like to incorporate “chicken pickin’” sounds, as well as snapping the strings against the fretboard, to give my playing some “snap, crackle and pop.”

To me, an important determining factor in the sound and feel of a riff is which pick-hand finger I use to attack certain notes.

For example, Figure 1 shows a bluesy riff based on the G minor pentatonic scale (G, Bb, C, D, F). I begin on a high Bb note, which I pick with my index finger, snapping the string against the fretboard while bending it up a half step to B.

My thumb then picks an F “ghost note” on the B string, followed by a snapped and vibrato-ed G root note on the high E string.

On beat 4 of bar 1, after bending C to D on the G string, I incorporate a “chicken pickin’” sound by alternately picking the G string with my thumb and index finger: the thumb picks the fret-hand-muted notes (indicated by Xs), and the index finger picks the open G note.

Players that come to mind in regard to this technique are Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Albert King and Albert Collins.

Figure 2 presents a lick played in Collins’ distinctive style. Here, I move from a low G root note to an aggressively snapped and vibrato-ed high G. I begin by alternately picking with my thumb and index finger, and the last four notes are all thumb-picked.

A good exercise is to take a pentatonic scale and snap every note. In Figure 3, the index finger picks every note in the G minor pentatonic scale.

Ultimately, you don’t want each note to have the same articulation, so it’s important to experiment with the amount of pressure you apply to a string when snapping it. In Figures 4 and 5, I change my fingerpicking attack slightly for each note.

It’s really about an attitude adjustment! This is a great concept for spicing up a simple riff.

Figure 6 offers a longer phrase, in which I vary the intensity of my pick attack to add feeling and musical expression.

Another of my favorite fingerpicking techniques is the “banjo roll,” which involves successively picking three adjacent strings with the thumb and first two fingers, rolling from the low to high.

Figure 7 is played in the key of E on the top three strings and consists of the notes G#, B and E, picked in this manner.

In Figure 8, I use the same fingerpicking technique while moving the notes on the G string from G# to A to B and back.

In Figure 9, I add Bb to the mix, moving from G# to A to Bb to B and then back down, and in Figure 10 I move all the way up to the 12th fret and back in a quicker rhythm.

Alternating between snapping the strings against the fretboard and incorporating banjo rolls is a great way to get your playing “out of the box,” especially when you add some speed to the rolls.

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Almost 70 years since it was usurped by the humbucker, the P-90 pickup seems to be staging a comeback. The surge in P-90 interest among fans of guitar pickups has been buoyed by the Warren Haynes signature Les Paul. In a new interview with Guitar Player, Haynes explains why he made the switch from humbuckers.

"When I switch back and forth from my first signature model guitar, which has humbuckers, and I then plug in the new guitar with the P-90s, it instantly is the tonal change I’m looking for without turning knobs," raves Haynes.

It's not that Warren is unhappy with the humbucker tones he is known for. "As much as we’re all happy with the sound that we work on through the years and get dialed in, I think most guitar players are also looking for other sounds to be equally inspirational," he clarifies.

He says the P-90 pickups in his signature guitar offer "different sounds that inspire me to play differently."

"It kind of started [with] me wanting to find some tones that were different from my normal go-to sounds," he explains. "When I started experimenting more with the P90s, I was like, 'Oh, this adds to my tonal range!'"

Diving deeper, Haynes adds: "You definitely get options that aren’t there with humbuckers. Most of the sounds I enjoy come from the guitar anyway. I’m not depending on pedals for the majority of the sounds that I use.

"I like to change the volume knob on the guitar to get a lot of different sounds that way, and P90s are definitely great for that."

Haynes is one of many rock and blues players who are looking to P-90s for an alternative to thick humbucker tones. Joe Bonamassa, Phil X, and Jared James Nichols are also P-90 champions.

Phil X's forthcoming signature Gibson SG will feature the hot single coil pickups, and he has long used his Arcane PX-90 signature pickups on tour.

Joe Bonamassa has made his love of the pickups well known, and can often be found waxing lyrical about the differences between P-90s and PAFs.

Jared James Nichols launched his signature Seymour Duncan Silencer P-90 back in 2023, with its triple coil hum-cancelling design.

After seven decades of humbucker dominance, perhaps the P-90's time has come.

Joe Bonamassa certainly makes a case for why you should try them. If you're not sure, check out our deep dive on P-90s vs humbuckers, or our history of the dog-ear P-90.

A great way to accompany yourself while playing a melody on the guitar is to simultaneously play a repeating low bass note, usually on an open string, which can add rhythm and harmony to what you’re playing.

This is a technique that has been used to great effect by some of my biggest blues heroes – everyone from Lightnin’ Hopkins and Guitar Slim to players like John Fogerty, Lindsey Buckingham and Dan Auerbach.

With this technique, which many refer to as dead thumb, as it’s typically performed with the pick hand’s bare thumb and palm muting, which muffles, or deadens, the sound, you can almost sound like a one-person rhythm section.

As a fingerstyle player, it’s natural for me to use this technique to self-accompany licks.

To demonstrate, Figure 1 presents the vocal melody to my song Easy Come, Easy Go, which I play with a swing feel and repeating thumb-picked open low E notes.

I palm-mute the open low E string throughout, in order to produce a tight, thumping rhythm and prevent the bass notes from over-ringing and overpowering the melody.

I begin with a quarter-note pickup for my first open low E bass note then proceed to thumb-pick quarter notes through most of the 16-bar passage, which establishes a steady rhythmic pulse, as well as an E tonality.

While keeping the open low E bass notes going, I pick the melody on the higher strings with my first two fingers. The melodic line is based on the E minor pentatonic scale (E G, A, B, D), played primarily in 12th position.

In bars 1-3 and 5-7, the melodic phrases begin each time on beat 1, followed by the next note falling on the upbeat of beat 2. This creates a nice syncopation between the low-E quarter notes and the melody notes.

In bars 9-16, the melodic accents switch to quarter-note downbeats primarily, which changes the vibe of the line while also emphasizing the thumping quarter-note pulse.

Let’s look at some other ways to use dead thumb. Figure 2 is an eight-bar melodic line based on the E major pentatonic scale (E, F#, G#, B, C#). As with the previous example, I thumb-pick palm-muted quarter notes on my open low E string here and kick off the phrase with a pickup on beat 4.

The melody enters on beat 2 of bar 1. Again, try to maintain a steady quarter-note rhythm with the thumb while fingerpicking the melody notes.

Start out slowly and tap your foot as you play. The goal is to train your brain to isolate the two elements – the steady quarter-note bass line and the more rhythmically complex melodic figures – similar to the way a piano player uses two hands at once.

Figure 3 is an exercise that will help develop your dead thumb technique. Here, the thumb down-picks the open low E string in steady eighth notes while simpler, sustained melody notes are performed above the bass line on the higher strings.

Playing in a power trio, with bass and drums, I find that using low drone notes can help fill out the sound of my guitar parts while also adding to the heaviness of the overall sound.

One of the most important soloing approaches I rely on is “call and response.” The concept involves phrasing development: I’ll start with a simple melodic idea and then develop it and try to get the most musical mileage out of it.

For me, it’s not enough to play an idea once and then move on to something else. I’d rather develop my initial phrase and then morph it into 10 different, thematically connected ones.

Using call-and-response phrasing can help give a solo balance, direction, focus, and clarity of intent. I think of it as a way of having a musical conversation without abandoning the script.

Figure 1 offers an example of how to start with a simple idea and then develop it via subtle variations.

Using notes from the E blues scale (E, G, A, Bb, B, D), I start with a two-bar phrase that moves from 8th position on the B and G strings down to 5th position on the A and D strings. In bar 3, I present a melodic twist on the opening phrase introduced in bar 1, and in bar 4, I resolve the idea with a melodic “response” to the previous three bars.

In Figure 2, I twist the melody by starting on the upbeat of the pickup bar, so that by the beginning of bar 2 we’ve already established the direction of the line. On beats 3 and 4, I shift from 16th notes to eighth-note triplets, as the change in syncopation offers another aspect of musical development.

In these examples, I start off with the “call,” as shown in Figure 3, which is played on the B and G strings. The “response” is delivered via the phrases on the D and A strings that follow.

As these phrases develop, I try to make them more melodic and vocal-like. Once I’ve gotten these musical ideas in my ears and head, my intention is to continually morph them in the most natural way possible.

Figure 4 offers another example of this approach. Like Figure 1, it’s a four-bar phrase built from consecutive two-bar ones. The “call” is now the initial two bars, and the “response” occurs in bars 3 and 4.

Figure 5 demonstrates how I’ll take these ideas and continue to develop them in new melodic and rhythmic directions. Here, I start with an emphasis on even eighth notes before continuing with variations played in a combination of eighth and 16th notes.

After hanging out between 8th and 5th positions for all of those licks, it feels natural to then move up to 12th position, as shown in Figure 6. These higher phrases add intensity to the solo as the lines become higher in pitch and also more rhythmically complex, with emphasis on wide bend vibratos on the top two strings.

Once the sound and vibe of these phrases has been established, they become themes that I lean into in order to get the most out of them.

This is a great way to build and develop a solo – gaining traction through repetition and familiarity – and one that will really hook and captivate the listener.

I’d like to discuss a topic that’s very near and dear to my heart. Whether I’m improvising guitar solos or writing riffs for songs, I’m always envisioning the phrases I play as being like vocal parts. For me, this approach imbues a part with the most effective sound and feeling that can connect to the listener.

The first thing I think about is intent – what am I trying to say, musically? There are so many different ways to express something when you play. The listener will sit up and take notice when it comes across in the right way. They hear it and decipher it, and the musical statement becomes more than just a simple guitar riff.

Let’s start with the riff in Figure 1, which is played in the key of E, or E minor. After the initial E5 chord, I play a one-bar phrase based on the E minor pentatonic scale (E, G, A, B, D), with the inclusion of the 6th, C#. When playing this riff, I think about altering its character by articulating the phrase in as many different ways as possible.

One way is to back off my guitar’s volume and play more delicately, as I do in Figure 2. In Figure 3, I have the volume knob cranked up and change the phrase a little bit, adding the slide down the G string, from Bb to A, followed by a pull-off to G.

Likewise, I’ll sometimes utilize my tone knob to make a phrase “speak” in a completely different way. I can play a lick with the tone on 10, which yields a sharper, more intense sound; I can also roll it back to zero, creating a warm, mellow sound.

It’s all about finding what works best for each riff and making the vocal qualities shine through via the tone and the feel of how the riff is presented.

Figure 4 illustrates another riff in E, this time initiated with hammer-ons and slides up the low E string. When playing a lick like this, I’ll ask myself, “How can I make the notes on the low strings not sound so ‘guitar-y’ and sound more vocal-like?”

As shown in Figure 5, one way to achieve this is to add a little vibrato in the spots where there’s a pause. Another option is to purposely not pick every note, using hammer-ons and slides to create more of a smooth, breathy, vocal-like quality.

The concept is to phrase like a singer when playing single-note riffs. Figures 6 and 7 are based on the C# blues scale (C#, E, F#, G, G#, B), and in both examples I follow the 3rd-finger whole-step bend on the B string , from B to C#, by catching the G string under the fingertip, producing a half-step pre-bend and release from G# to G. This is a lick made famous by Jimi Hendrix.

Figure 8 offers a simple C# blues scale phrase, and in Figure 9 I add microtonal bends for a more vocal-like effect.

The first time I heard microtonal bends like this was from Eric Clapton. Figure 10 illustrates how to employ subtle half-step bends to yield a more vocal-like feeling. This is a great exercise to take your playing from sounding very “straight” to musical phrases that are funkier and express more emotion.

One of my biggest influences is the great Paul Kossoff from the band Free. Paul had a guitar riff that changed rock radio in the early ’70s, All Right Now. Like Leslie West, Kossoff wrote incredible songs that were larger than life, transcending the world of three-piece guitar rock.

The distinctive ways in which Paul bent notes and voiced chords exemplified the feeling of freedom as a guitarist.

For example, when he played an A5 power chord, he wouldn’t just play the typical three-note voicing shown in bar 1 of Figure 1. He would expand it to include notes barred across the top two strings, as shown in bar 2. Broadening power chords in this way gives them a unique, powerful sonic punch.

We can apply the same approach to an E5 power chord, as illustrated in Figure 2. Here, an E-B-E note stack played on the bottom three strings is topped with a fretted B on the G string’s 4th fret, along with the open top two strings. Figure 3 has us moving from A5 to E5 using these octave-doubled voicings.

Another nice twist Paul would do is drop a power chord's high root note down a whole step to the dominant 7th. In bars 1 and 2 of Figure 4, I substitute D at the 3rd fret on the B string in the E5 power chord, resulting in E7(no3). In bar 3, I substitute G on the high E string’s 3rd fret in the A5 chord, resulting in A7(no3).

Kossoff also liked to voice the 3rd of the chord as its lowest note, or “in the bass.” For example, in Figure 5 I begin with a B5 chord, voiced B, F#, B, low to high, but then substitute the major 3rd, D#, for the low B root, resulting in B/D#, voiced as D#, F#, B.

In Figure 6, I utilize both B5 and B/D#, as well as F#/A#. Paul would use this approach to craft catchy rhythm parts, not unlike Figure 7. Notice the use of inversions to create chromatic movement.

Kossoff also had one of the greatest finger vibratos of all time, which he used to convey so much feeling and attitude in his single-note lines. Played in the key of B, Figure 8 presents a simple phrase based on the B minor pentatonic scale (B, D, E, F#, A). Figure 9 demonstrates how Paul might have played this riff, with a fast, wide vibrato and more intricate phrasing.

Paul also loved to use oblique bends, where one note rises while another remains stationary. In Figure 10 and Figure 11, the notes E and A are played together, with a whole-step bend and release on the G string.

Figure 12 and Figure 13 illustrate some high-register B minor pentatonic licks in Kossoff’s style. Figure 12 moves between the notes E, D and B, and FIGURE 13 elaborates on the approach with more complex phrases played on the top three strings, all accentuated with the Kossoff-style fast, wide vibrato.

For this month's column, I’d like to talk about my biggest guitar hero, Leslie West from Mountain. Leslie was the king of heavy, and the king of tone, phrasing and nuance.

There are a ton of things I took directly from Leslie, such as my preference for guitar pickups. Leslie is famously revered for the incredible tone he got from the single bridge-position P90 pickup on his signature guitar, a Gibson Les Paul Junior.

I remember being a kid, looking at the pictures of Leslie’s guitars on Mountain’s Twin Peaks album and realizing there was something different about his guitar as compared to a Les Paul Standard, which is fitted with humbucker pickups.

My friend told me. “No, Leslie uses a Les Paul Junior with a P90 pickup.” I was blown away by his tone, as he was able to make each note sound so big. Years later, when I formed my first trio, I thought about where I wanted the guitar to sit, sonically speaking, and the first place my mind would go was the sound of Leslie West’s guitar.

Leslie is most famously associated with his classic track Mississippi Queen, which is a benchmark for tone and feel. One of the things that influenced me on that track was Leslie’s approach to chords.

Figure 1 shows a series of standard two-note root-5th power chords played on the A and D strings: starting with E5, I then move up three frets to G5 and then alternate between the two chords.

Leslie would fatten the sound of these power chords by octave doubling each note. As shown in Figure 2, the index finger barres the bottom two strings to sound B and E, and the ring finger barres the D and G strings to sound the same two notes an octave higher.

Octave doubling notes in this way serves to make each chord sound huge. The first time I ever heard Leslie’s use of these voicings was on Don’t Look Around, similar to Figure 3.

Another technique I copped from Leslie was his use of volume swells. In a live performance, he would often play unaccompanied solos before the song Dreams of Milk and Honey, as he does on Flowers of Evil.

As demonstrated in Figure 4, with the guitar’s volume turned all the way down, Leslie would hammer onto a note then slowly turn up the volume.

In Figures 5 and 6, the initial note is bent up one and a half steps and then released and vibratoed. The sound produced is akin to that of a bowed note played on a violin or a cello.

Figure 7 demonstrates another way to use swells, as each note is fingerpicked with the volume off and then swelled.

Lastly, Leslie also influenced me to lean on major pentatonic licks along with minor pentatonic licks.

Figure 8 begins with E minor pentatonic (E, G, A, B, D) and then switches to E major pentatonic (E, F#, G#, B, C#). FIGURE 9 offers a longer example of how Leslie might stick with major pentatonic to weave long, beautifully melodic phrases, offering a great, warmer sounding alternative to minor pentatonic-based phrases.

Hello, and welcom to my new column for Guitar World! Over the course of these lessons, I'll discuss everything from my pick- and fret-hand techniques to my approaches to rhythm guitar and soloing, as well as some of my biggest influences.

The first thing I’d like to address is that I’m exclusively a fingerstyle player, and in my case it stems from the fact that I’m left-handed. Everything I do in life is left-handed, except for guitar playing. I think this is part of the reason why using a plectrum never felt comfortable in my right hand.

I realized early on that I needed to come up with my own way to play, and fingerpicking felt like the most natural approach. I use my thumb for downstrokes and my first three fingers for upstrokes.

There was one player in particular who inspired me the most in regard to playing fingerstyle, and that was blues legend Hubert Sumlin, who was known most notably for his work with Howlin’ Wolf.

When I heard Hubert play, it changed the way I approached the guitar. Then I heard Albert King, Derek Trucks and Mark Knopfler, all fingerpickers. All these players demonstrated the incredible range of sounds available when fingerpicking.

Figure 1 offers an example of a simple blues riff in G, based on the G minor pentatonic scale (G, Bb, C, D, F) played in 3rd position. While playing this lick, I use my fingertips to accentuate specific notes as I move through the phrase.

I use my thumb to strike the initial D note on the A string, and then my index finger to sound the F note, followed by the middle finger to sound G. I pull up on the string and snap it against the fretboard, which provides a percussive attack.

Snapping a string in this way serves to make a note really pop. Though the phrase is fairly simple, fingerpicking the notes allows me tremendous range in how they sound and feel. I can move my pick hand down by the bridge for a sharper attack and tone, or up by the fretboard for a warmer, mellower sound, and all points in between.

In Figure 2 I switch to E minor pentatonic (E, G, A, B, D) and demonstrate a “rolling” technique, in which I move across the top three strings picking thumb-index-middle consecutively.

As I repeat the three-note sequence, I gradually increase speed, moving from eighth-note triplets to 16th-note triplets.

As shown in Figure 3, I also utilize a little bit of palm muting (P.M.) to produce a more percussive attack. In Figure 4, I begin with the basic phrase and then expand on the idea.

Figures 5 and 6 present longer phrases based on G minor pentatonic, for which I vary my pick-hand attack throughout, to add an expressive musical contour to the lines. As you play through these examples, try doing this to achieve different tonal qualities.

Blues rock guitarist Jared James Nichols has established himself as a high-energy pick-less guitarist. Wielding a variety of P-90-loaded Les Pauls, Nichols has developed an intriguing technique that enables him to achieve the same kind of attack he would get with a pick – albeit with an added, distinctive flair.

Speaking about how he developed his fingerstyle technique in the first place, the blues player tells Guitar World that being left-handed led him to approach the guitar in a slightly unconventional way. “Now, I don't mean I hold the guitar like a lefty where I would flip it. It's that everything I do in life is with my left hand,” he clarifies.

“When I picked up a guitar, I held it righty, but the pick never felt right in my hands, so I started to make up my own technique for how to play, which was essentially very simple.”

In his early days, he would use his thumb as a downstroke, while his index, middle, and ring fingers functioned as upstrokes. After discovering Albert King, Derek Trucks, and Mark Knopfler, he decided to take a page from their playbook and hone his own version of the fingerstyle technique.

“I'm [now] using my thumb as a down, pulling up with my index finger as well as my middle finger. Now playing that slowly, you can hear I'm sliding into that and I'm snapping up on the string. It gives it a percussive attack,” he explains while playing a blues riff in the key of G.

“There's a lot of snapping going up. It's almost as if my string is hitting the frets. And that gives me a certain tone that has a little bit more of, not only a shimmer, but a snap and a sparkle to it that I really like for sitting out of the mix."

Nichols also mentions how his technique allows him to pay more attention to dynamics. Essentially, the harder he snaps, the louder the volume.

“As hard as I pick with my fingers, I can feel all the notes underneath my fingers; it’s almost all about the pressure,” he says. In addition to dynamics, his fingerstyle technique enables him to manipulate tone depending on whether he plays more toward the bridge or the neck.

“So for instance, if I go near the bridge more and I get [plays the riff] more towards the neck, as you can tell by the bridge, it gets a little bit more bright. It gets a little more snappy. And as I move up the neck towards the frets, it starts to get a little bit warmer. So that's one of the big things using my fingers that I do.”

To further bolster his tone, Nichols recently teamed up with Blackstar on a new signature guitar amp head and corresponding plugin.

Blackstar has teamed up with Jared James Nichols for a ground-breaking product launch that sees the simultaneous release of a new signature guitar amp head and corresponding plugin.

It's a significant move from the British amp builder, with the firm writing in a statement, “We believe we are the first brand to launch both an artist’s signature hardware and software product on the same day.”

Now, Laney did something similar earlier this year by dropping its BCC Ironheart tube amps and a matching plugin on the same day, but, unlike Blackstar's new JJN collection, those weren't artist models – meaning this particular launch is the first of its kind.

As well as blurring the boundaries between its physical and digital product lines with this new signature launch, Blackstar's new offerings also promise to set “a new benchmark for guitar amp plugin performance in the live and studio and recording worlds”.

Both the new JJN 50 amp head and matching plugin were crafted by the R&D team behind Blackstar's Artisan, ID:Core, and St. James ranges, and further augmented by the blues rock guitarist’s sonic requests.

The “state-of-the-art, low-latency plugin” delivers all the tonal power of the real thing in a digital format, and comes stacked with pre- and post-effects pedals aimed at mirroring Nichols' on-stage pedalboard.

On the pre-effects side, users will find a “transparent, smooth, and warm” overdrive, a distortion with “a creamy-mid boost”, and an OctoFuzz.

They weave into a two-channel amp that looks to provide “vintage clean tones” and “bluesy mid-gain” flavors in equal measure. The plugin has been designed to stand as a direct copy of the amp proper.

Nichols-driven changes include an extended top-end, while his two signature 4x12 and 2x12 cabs combine Celestion G12T-75 and Celestion Zephyr speakers.

In addition, there are two switches – one for Nichols' custom Blues Power boost circuit, and a second for switching between 50 watts of power and an alternative SAG stage.

The plugin also comes with CabRig, Blackstar’s next-generation IR-based DSP speaker simulator. Seven Blackstar cabs and six industry-standard mics can be found lurking within, allowing for scrupulous tone tweaking.

Two of Nichols’ signature cabs – the JJN 412 and JJN 212 VOC – are exclusive to the plugin.

There are also a suite of post-effects pedals on tap, including a versatile tape delay, a swirling and psychedelic Vibe pedal for chorus and vibrato, a rotary speaker emulator, and two studio reverb IRs.

Beyond that, there's an emulation of an analog EQ with four semi-parametric EQ bands, Low Cut and High Cut options, and an individual band bypass.

“I first plugged into a Blackstar amp in 2010, and I knew immediately it was the sound I’d been chasing,” says Nichols. “Fast forward 14 years, and I’ve developed my entire sonic identity with Blackstar. The JJN 50 is the culmination of that journey – a powerhouse amp that delivers everything I need on stage and in the studio.

“We put heart and soul into this,” he continues, “and I’m beyond stoked for you to experience it. It’s built to inspire, empower, and take you on your own musical journey.”

Jared James Nichols’ JJN 50 head will be available for $1,399, while its matching plugin will set you back $129.

Head to Blackstar to learn more.

Jared James Nichols is no stranger to restoring storm-destroyed Gibson Les Pauls to their former glory, having previously embarked on the high-profile restoration of Dorothy – a 1952 Les Paul, which had been ravaged by a horrific tornado.

Now, the blues rock maestro has shared details of his latest rescue mission, which will see him bring a battered-and-bruised 1975 Les Paul Custom back to life.

As Nichols explains on social media, this particular LP had once belonged to an individual called Joe Thompson, whose father had sadly died while playing this exact electric guitar.

“He was electrocuted by being barefoot and completing the circuit between an ungrounded amplifier and an electronic heat grate in an old farmhouse,” Nichols explains.

After the incident, the guitar was placed in Thompson’s sister’s storage shed for decades, until it was disturbed from its slumber by hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Despite the fact it had been caught up in the devastating storm, the Les Paul Custom survived “against all odds”. Thompson – who may or may not have been aware of Nichols’ penchant for restoring battered Les Pauls – then reached out to Nichols, who has since acquired the guitar.

And, in true JJN form, he has every intention of bringing the Custom back to the stage as soon as possible.

“Against all odds, the guitar seemingly survived,” Nichols says of his newest acquisiton. “Fast-forward to today, I have just become the new custodian of this very, very special Gibson Les Paul Custom. It sounds absolutely incredible as it looks.

“She is gonna need some TLC, but soon will be right back to her Rock & Roll glory days, and back on stage. I have the chills.”

In a follow-up post, Nichols took the Custom Shop model for a tone test: “Here are the FIRST NOTES w/ my 1975 Les Paul Custom,” he writes. “This was the other night, right after pulling it out of the box! Imagine the dirtiest LP on the planet, but even WORSE!!

“It wouldn’t even fret above the 12th fret.Rusty strings/frets/pots…it was ROUGH! But listen to that sound…it’s STILL alive!!!

“I’ve been slowly cleaning and getting her tweaked up, it now plays on every fret and rings like a bell. It’s gonna be KILLER!!! Still a long ways to go before it’s stage and tour ready.”

Nichols added that he hopes to have the guitar – which has been appropriately christened “Katrina” – restored and ready for his upcoming shows with Queensryche.

Judging by Nichols’ pictures, Katrina’s injuries don’t seem to be anywhere near as bad as Dorothy’s, and as such the restoration doesn’t seem like it will be as extensive as Nichols’ previous miracle job.

Indeed, Dorothy’s neck had been snapped off the body in a rather grisly injury, while its hardware had also been completely ravaged.

By comparison, Katrina has been completely stripped of its glistening white Custom finish, but still has its neck attached. That will certainly speed up the restoration process.

Other than that, it looks to be a case of wrestling with waterlogged electronics and, as Nichols notes, some general TLC to get it back in full working order – a refret, perhaps some new hardware, and, of course, a very deep clean.

We don’t expect Nichols to restore the white finish, though. Indeed, the natural undercoat serves as a reminder of Katrina’s storm-riddled history, and will help it look right at home next to Dorothy.

Head over to Jared James Nichols’ Instagram account to keep up to date with Katrina’s restoration.

Jared James Nichols might have been labeled as “one of the true guitar heroes of our generation” by Youtuber Music Is Win – AKA Tyler Larson – but that doesn’t mean he’s immune to the odd guitar gaffe. 

The blues rock ace recalled some of those gaffes in a recent interview hosted by Larson, during which he reflected on how a trip to Guitar Center when he was a youngster almost ended in utter disaster when he attempted to play a high-end electric guitar.

“I used to get dropped off by my mum and they knew I was coming, like, 'Oh it's that kid again,'” he recalls of his trips to the guitar store. “I think I was about 15, right when I first started playing. I would try every guitar on the wall – the good, the bad, the ugly. I had no problem grabbing expensive custom shops!” 

One day, a Flying V caught his eye on the very top rack of the store. He had to play it. 

“No one would help me after a while because they knew I wasn't gonna buy anything,” Nichols continues. “There was a small amp and I'm like, 'You know what, I'll just put a foot on the amp.'

“But I lost my footing with the guitar off the hook, had it come down on my other foot... I totally rolled my ankle and the Flying V hits the ground.”

The young guitarist feared the worst: “No one saw it. I get up thinking, 'I've probably broken the guitar, I'm gonna have to pay for it,' and I couldn't believe it – it was fine. I remember when my mum picked me up and I'm walking on one leg, she asked me what had happened and I said, ‘I don’t wanna talk about it.’” 

While it may have been one of his first musical mishaps, it wouldn't be his last – the guitarist was forced to cancel shows in 2021 after breaking his arm picking up a roadcase. 

Nichols does have plenty of fond guitar store memories, though. Before he was assaulted by the Flying V, Nichols took lessons at Cashmir Music in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, where he got his first guitar: a Washburn X Series. 

“I had the guitar for two weeks and it kept breaking strings and wouldn't stay in tune, so I went into the store for my lesson and looked on the wall and there was a Danelectro Hodad. I remember seeing Jimmy Page on How The West Was Won, so I see the guitar thinking, 'I'm never gonna be able to afford that.'” 

After watching him play the guitar for over an hour, and learning that he didn't have the money to buy his dream Danelectro, the store owner offered Nichols a deal. 

“'I tell you what,'” Nichols recalls him saying. “'We'll take your old guitar back, and if every time you come here for your lesson you take out the trash and clean up a little bit, you can have that guitar.’  

“I still thank him for that because that was a huge moment. When I got home and I had that guitar, it was up to me. It went from one night not wanting to play to just looking at [the guitar] like, 'That's how you make all the music; that's the key.'” 

In an increasingly digitized age, stories like these highlight the value and sense of community that physical guitar stores bring. 

The guitarist who discovered a near-unsalvageable first-year model Les Paul Junior in Kansas has completed its restoration – and the results are a sight to behold. 

Musician and YouTuber Matthew Scott first shared his discovery back in October last year. At the time, he said the build (now confirmed to be a 1954 example) was in “the worst condition I’ve ever seen”, and that was no understatement: the guitar was clinging on for dear life.

Scott traveled to Witchita to inspect the instrument, which has now been restored against all odds, purring with a gorgeously rich, smoky timbre. 

The state of the guitar upon its discovery reads like a horror story: the body had been scorched, its neck heel crudely 'repaired' with four bolts drilled straight through the body and neck, its headstock broken and the machine heads long gone. 

It’s now been carefully re-fretted with Jescar nickel frets and given a fresh set of strings. Impressively, most of the original guitar actually remains in place, including its single P-90 in the bridge. Just some electronic TLC was required to get it back in good working order.

The broken headstock has been glued back to shape, while Scott successfully removed the bolts in the Frankenstein'd neck, re-gluing it back in place using more traditional techniques.

Scott has largely completed the rebuild with vintage parts in keeping with the guitar's heritage as one of the first Les Paul Junior models produced. 

Although its original tailpiece was in good condition, Scott has swapped in a newer alternative that will better accommodate modern strings and intonate better.

The shafts of the guitar's original no-line Kluson tuners have been bent back into shape and host cream tuner buttons. Scott also sourced some original 1954 Gibson Les Paul knobs to accentuate the guitar’s authentic aesthetic. 

It’s a remarkable transformation from a guitar that looked destined for the scrap heap. One commenter on the guitarist’s YouTube video likened the revival to that of rescuing an abused animal. 

Further still, blues titan Jared James Nichols, who Scott describes as a “Les Paul Junior fanatic”, met up with Scott to spend an evening with the guitar and consequently fell in love with it. In fact, he wants to buy it.

“He played the guitar the entire night and it sounded phenomenal,” says Scott. “It really inspired me to go ahead and turn this guitar into a player.” 

Nichols is expected to become the proud owner of the restored guitar in the future, although several commenters on Scott’s YouTube have said they wouldn’t want to part ways with the relic.  

If he does end up purchasing this model, it wouldn't be the first time Nichols has got his hands on a restored early Gibson model.

Back in 2021, he made it his mission to restore 'Dorothy' – “one of the first Les Pauls ever made that was destroyed in a horrific tornado”.

Following an early teaser way back in March, which frankly feels like a lifetime ago, Jared James Nichols has finally lifted the lid on his third Epiphone signature guitar, the Blues Power Les Paul Custom.

The latest iteration is based on the same central construction of its predecessors – Old Glory and Gold Glory – occupying the unique space between a Les Paul Custom and Les Paul Junior.

As such, you get a 1955-style Les Paul mahogany body with seven-ply binding. That’s paired with a ’50s profile neck with an ebony fingerboard, plus custom-style pearloid block fret markers and split-diamond headstock inlay.

The LP Junior juju comes courtesy of the single-pickup setup, which for the first time features Nichols’ own signature design, the Seymour Duncan Silencer JJN P-90B – an upgrade from the regular Seymour Duncan P-90 of his previous models.

Nichols rolled that unit out in August, with the manufacturer promising “all the tone of the classic P-90 pickup without the hum”.

On the control front, you get volume and tone (both using CTS pots), albeit in an offset Les Paul Standard-style position – as opposed to the two-in-a-row positioning of the Junior.

Finally, it’s equipped with Grover Locking Rotomatic tuners, brushed nickel hardware and a Wraparound Lightning Bar tailpiece. 

The finish (Gibson’s classic Pelham Blue) looks particularly stunning on this unobscured canvas and nods to Nichols’ ‘Blues Power’ branding – his preferred description of his beefed-up, flame-grilled take on contemporary blues rock. 

Speaking of which, Epiphone’s promo clip is essential viewing for fans of both Nichols’ tonal gunshow and dramatic ’80s-style action-fantasy footage.

It sees the guitarist cruising down the highway in search of his tonal excalibur, only to discover the Blues Power axe in a mystical desert setting.

What follows is a blues-shred workout complete with fret slides, vitriolic bending and prodigious amounts of lightning. It is the He-Man meets Highlander of guitar promos. 

Even Epiphone’s tagline sounds like something of an ’80s movie poster: “Play it loud and proud; the power is in your hands.”

The price of all this Blues Power? Well, that will be $999. 

For an even better showcase of his playing prowess, check out Nichol’s star-studded live cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd classic Freebird, using Paul Kossoff’s 1959 Les Paul Burst.

For more information on the Jared James Nichols Blues Power Les Paul Custom, head to Epiphone.

Jared James Nichols has a thing for electric guitars in distress. Remember Dorothy? That was the 1952 Gibson Les Paul – thought to be one of the earliest ever made – destroyed in a 2013 tornado, expertly restored by luthier Joel Wilkins. Now Nichols has a new squeeze and it is another spectacular refurb of a 1957 Les Paul Standard.

This guitar has not so much brought back from the dead as it has been rescued from the ‘turd pile’ and all glammed up for its high-school prom with a totally unorthodox but brilliant refurb.

Demoing it on Instagram, Nichols revealed that it is one of the first Les Pauls to be fitted with humbucker pickups – the then-cutting-edge Gibson PAF (‘Patent Applied For’. He is in love.

“Here are the first notes and the unveiling of the new guitar,” he wrote, captioning a video in which he is throttling the guitar with his bear-hug fingerstyle approach. “Here she is, an early 1957 Gibson Les Paul Standard, one of the first humbucker-equipped Les Paul Standards ever. Rocking a set of monster real-deal double-white PAFs – crazy black-over-gold finish by Joe Riggio showing plenty of flame. This is nuts and my jaw is on the floor with how badass this one is. I am in tone heaven!”

We’ll just leave him there to enjoy the moment. 

Nichols duly thanked Riggio for his luthiery, but also John Ladas of Black Magic Guitars who was bringing the instrument into his life. Today, November 9, Ladas shared some of the details behind this epic six-stringed project restoration.

“A few short months ago I got a killer, super early 1957 Gibson Les Paul Standard (Factory PAF guitar) in the shop,” wrote Ladas. “Everything was there parts wise, it was light 8.5lbs, super vibey but had a couple of things.”

Those couple of things would make it player’s grade. Grover tuners had been added. The bridge posts had been moved back. Nonetheless, there was something about it. This was “absolutely special”.

“The face refin could have been better and some phat flame was peeking out so I did the completely mature and sensible thing and immediately stripped the top!” continues Ladas, with a bonkers emoji to underline just how bonkers this whole endeavor was.

There was no shortage of flame on the top, which you can see in his pictures above. But it was asymmetrical. Rather than do what many a player wants, ie, apply a sunburst finish to the top, Ladas decided they needed something more dramatic, and with Riggio has a co-conspirator they decided to refinish it black over gold.

“She comes back looking absolutely Wild!” writes Ladas. “The original cream plastics and softer 57 PAFs aren’t exactly right so the mock ups begin… I have ‘50s parts for days and a collection of the very best sounding PAFs on stand by, so let’s keep pushing!”

They left the bridge, its saddles and the stop-bar tailpiece intact. Likewise, the control knobs, harness, switch and tip, and back plates are all original. 

But Ladas and Riggio would soup-up the sound, too, swapping out those early ’57 PAFs for a pair of ’59 ‘Double Whites’ reading 8.5k at the neck, 9.1k at the bridge, adding black surrounds, removing the poker chip washer for the switch and eschewing the pickguard, all of which made it look the part but as Ladas notes, more to the point it is “sonically perfect”.

“As fully invested, no Fs to give, pot committed guitar dorks, this is the stuff we live for!” wrote Ladas. “Brother Jared, may inspiration continue to flow from you endlessly.”

And that’s the story of Nichols’ latest resurrection. All that’s left is to give it a name. 

Seymour Duncan has debuted its all-new range of Silencer P-90 pickups – a fresh catalog of P-90s that is headlined by a new Jared James Nichols signature single-coil.

However, while the arrival of a new Nichols pup is note-worthy in itself, the wider lineup in general will no doubt pique the interest of P-90 players all over owing to the particular tonal performance it promises to provide.

The clue is in the name: the P90 Silencer pickups vow to deliver a completely silent tone that bears all the visual and sonic hallmarks of a classic P-90 without any of the irksome 60-cycle hum that plagues vintage units.

It’s a pitch that will appeal to many. After all, the best P-90s on the market are considered some of the most well-rounded and versatile pickups available, though the hum – resulting from the single-coil design – is enough to put many potential players off.

It’s important to note hum-canceling P-90s are not a new innovation, and other brands (Seymour Duncan included) have already made efforts in harnessing the true authentic tone of vintage P-90s while eradicating the hum conundrum.

Examples include the DiMarzio Fantom P90, Mojotone 56 Quiet Coils and Lindy Fralin’s Hum Cancelling P-90s, among others.

Nevertheless, while not alone in the hum-canceling P-90 camp, Seymour Duncan’s Silencer range looks to be a genuinely noteworthy addition to the market, boasting a newly innovated design that “retains all the tone and appearance of the classic P90 pickup without the 60-cycle hum”.

Not only that, its generous quartet of options – JJN, Neck, Hot and Vintage – paired with its commitment to faithful P-90 appearances and sounds (there’s no active wiring here, unlike some other close comparisons) will likely strike a chord with traditionalists.

As mentioned, the lone JJN Silencer is the highlight here. “Simply put, the Seymour Duncan Jared James Nichols P90 Silencer is my dream pickup,” the Gibson artist said of his new pup, which has been voiced to “cover everything from sparkling cleans to barking dirty tones”.

In perhaps one of the most extravagant tonal summaries you’ll ever read, the JJN P-90 Silencer is described by its master as “delicate and strong, like a grizzly bear and a paper airplane landing”.

The rest of the range is completed with a sole Neck unit (which can be paired with any other Silencer pickups) as well as Hot and Vintage options. For those latter two categories, full sets or lone bridge pickups can be obtained.

As an added bonus, each of the Silencer pickups – JJN P-90 included – arrives in both Dogear or Soapbar formats, and Cream or Black covers, depending on player preference.

In terms of tone, the Hot units are, unsurprisingly, the hottest set of the lot, “offering a more aggressive sound” that will probably counteract the low output issues of other hum-canceling P-90s.

The Vintage pickups are equally self-explanatory, and are matched to vintage specs for old-school tones. Handily, all Silencers are drop-in replacements for “most” standard P-90 routes.

In terms of price, the sole JJN P90 weighs in at $149, while the rest of the lot come in at $139 for one unit. Vintage and Hot sets are priced at $278.

Visit Seymour Duncan to find out more.

One of today's preeminent blues-rock guitarists, Jared James Nichols has toured with many top bands including Blue Öyster Cult and Zakk Wylde, and he also fronts his own power trio. In addition he has his own signature Epiphone Les Paul with a single P-90 pickup. 

In the video, Jared demonstrates all of the licks in free time so no backing track or click is used. To keep things simple, we have used a 4/4 time signature with all the rhythms being approximate to what is implied. 

The licks are mostly based around A minor pentatonic (A-C-D-E-G) with some colour tones here and there. As the licks are performed with no backing there is no specific harmonic context so for simplicity we have used the A minor key signature. Of course, in the world of blues-rock these licks will work over the A7 chord family as well. 

Jared demonstrates several common rock guitar techniques including string bending, harmonics, palm muting and fast pull-offs. The phrases are all tasteful and well chosen and come from a simple, well-tested framework of fingerings. 

Jared also branches out into more advanced sounds with the use of some fast fingerstyle repeating licks. In fact, all of the licks are played with the fingers and if you are new to this concept do give it a go. There are many notable rock guitarists who have played pretty much exclusively with the fingers including Jeff Beck and Mark Knopfler.

The fingers provide a ‘fleshy’ tone that’s thick and warm, and offer extra facility when plying licks that involve string skipping. 

The notation contains all of the articulations and phrasing from the video performance. It’d be well worth taking a close look at the way Jared picks the phrases. Hopefully there will be a new technique, lick or phrase in here for you to perfect. If you find one of Jared’s that you like, I’m sure he won’t mind you learning and using it in your own solos.

Get the tone

Amp Settings: Gain 7, Bass 7, Middle 7, Treble 6, Reverb 4

Jared used his 1953 Les Paul Goldtop named ‘Old Glory’. He used the bridge pickup and set the guitar’s controls to taste.  Any electric guitar will work well, but go for a dynamic overdrive tone and be prepared to experiment with your own guitar’s controls. Jared uses his fingers to pick the strings, but go for a guitar pick if you prefer, then simply add medium reverb or delay.  

Example 1. Bends galore!

This first lick features an unusual use of string bending. The third string is bent up from the 5th fret and then fretted notes are added on the 6th and 7th frets respectively. As the string is already bent up these fretted notes will sound a semitone higher than fretted. 

Example 2. Bend and slide lick

This second lick features conventional string bends combined with finger slides. The finger slides sound great and add fluidity to the sound. Sliding in and out of the ‘blue’ note (b5 interval, here it is Eb) sounds great and is a tried and tested blues guitar trick. 

Example 3. Harmonics and bend

Here, Jared introduces natural harmonics, which he combines with a fretted note. If the harmonics are left to ring while the fretted note is added, an interesting and ear-grabbing effect is created. It may take a bit of practice to get this one just right. 

Example 4. Emotive bend

This one is a quintessential blues lick and features a double string bend. First the second string is bent up from the 15th to 17th fret. Then an extra semitone bend is added and then released. Getting the intonation of all the notes just right here may also take a bit of practice.  

Example 5. Crazy Hendrix lick

This lick uses the classic Hendrix style clashing bend idea to great effect. The basic technique here is to use the motion of the second string bend to pre-bend the third string. Once the third string is pre-bent it can be sounded and the two pitches will clash, providing that iconic result that Gary Moore also used to love. 

Example 6a. Percussive pentatonics

This final idea across two examples is a great workout for your fingerstyle picking and pull-off technique. The palm mute provides the rhythmic definition and you may need to experiment to get the right amount of muting – too much and you deaden the string, not enough and it rings too much. 

Example 6b. Percussive pentatonics v2

This idea builds on the lick that you learned in 6a. This basic pattern of fingerstyle picking and pull-offs can be adapted to fit various fingerings of the A minor pentatonic scale. Played like this, it provides us with a long, descending line. 

“I was actually born in the same city as Les Paul, a place called Waukesha in Wisconsin. There’s a massive street there called Les Paul Parkway that was named in tribute to him, which has all these street signs with his signature on them. So even before I knew what it was all about, when I was like five years old or whatever, I remember thinking how cool that was. I probably wanted to steal one! 

“Later on, when I started out on guitar, I was playing a lot of Strats because of Stevie Ray Vaughan and even Telecasters, because Jimmy Page often recorded with them. And then after a while I ended up trying out a Les Paul Standard with two humbuckers. The first thing I thought was, ‘Holy fuck, this feels like a Cadillac!’ I knew what I had in my hands was some seriously fancy shit. Then I hit an E chord and felt all this power. It sounded huge, like all the Black Sabbath records I was listening to at the time. 

“I quickly realised the other instruments I had been playing didn’t sound like that. I knew I was holding something truly special. To me, it felt like the guitar was alive. It had this super punch that no other guitar had – and every time I would try out different brands or models, just to see what else was out there and hear how they made me play, I would keep coming back to the Les Paul. Honestly, it just kept calling back to me and I think it was a combination of the weight, the feel and the sound...

“People don’t talk about this enough, but I really love the layout of Les Pauls. It feels so user-friendly to me – you have a volume and tone as a pair for each pickup – and the pickup selector up high, where it makes sense to have one. And the more I started using those controls, the more I realised just how expressive a Les Paul can be. 

“Turning those knobs and fiddling around can really change your tone! So that’s when I started to dig in and try to figure out what the fuck my sound was going to be. How would I take this guitar that we all know and love, which we’ve all heard our heroes play, and find my own voice in it?” 

“Eventually, I ended up with Les Pauls fitted with P-90s and realised a guitar with those pickups could cover even more ground. They can sound super-aggressive, almost like humbuckers, but they can also be very touch-sensitive. Whenever I would manipulate the volume or tone controls, I could dial in so many different sounds, and I quickly realised that was it for me. 

“This was going to be my sound. A Les Paul with just one P-90, which is what I tend to play, can go from a whisper to a scream. It’s funny, most people will look at Les Pauls and think, ‘I’ve seen those things since forever; they’re kinda boring!’ But there’s something about the construction and design that has allowed players to speak over the years. It’s a tried-and-true instrument that has stood the test of time.” 

“Believe it or not, in 2021 I actually got one of the first Les Pauls ever made – a Goldtop with P-90s from 1952 that got destroyed in a tornado back in 2013. I fully restored it and named it Dorothy! That guitar now sounds so good it can pretty much take on anything and win. It’s so expressive and still sounds like a monster. Everyone I know that has tried it gets completely blown away. Richie Faulkner from Judas Priest came round the other day and he started ripping metal on it in ways even I couldn’t have imagined.

“I honestly didn’t know it could sound that heavy! Which proves that a Les Paul with P-90s can be so dynamic – you realise that the more you dig in and tinker with it, the more sounds you will uncover and the more it pays off. Basically, the more of yourself you throw into it, the more you get out! And everyone will have their own sweet spot.” 

“If there’s one guitar that got away for me it was Old Glory, which was an original 1968 Les Paul Custom which I removed the neck pickup from. I’m so gutted I sold it. You know how it is when you’re a kid – you think it’s just another guitar and it’s more important that you pay rent. I used it on the first album I ever made, Old Glory & The Wild Revival in 2015. 

“I played that guitar just because I loved it and people started to really notice it, asking me ‘What the fuck is this Les Paul?!’ and it was literally just a Les Paul Custom with one pickup. It had this quirkiness that really intrigued people. And that’s what eventually inspired my Epiphone signatures. 

“I’ll never forget the day I was hanging out at Gibson and they said, ‘Hey Jared, we want to make you signature Les Paul Custom through Epiphone, so it’s affordable for kids!’ They hadn’t even finished talking and I was like, ‘Yes, 100 per cent, I’m in!’ There was the Old Glory in black, then we did the Gold Glory in gold and soon there will be a Pelham Blue version coming out.

“Honestly, the more I listen the more I appreciate how these blues-rock legends changed the game. Especially with Les Paul players, you can hear exactly what they were trying to say – and some of them were saying things through their guitar that had never been said before!

“Jeff Beck, Gary Moore, Paul Kossoff, Peter Green... you feel like you know them because you’ve heard them speak through their guitars on these game-changing records. At the end of the day, it’s all about expression and the Les Paul is the always best tool for the job!”

Jared James Nichols’ position as a Gibson brand ambassador has afforded him access to some incredible instruments. However, recently he got to put one of Kossoff’s 1959 Les Paul Bursts through its paces on camera and he did not waste the opportunity.

In a new clip for Premier Guitar, the blues-rock firebrand demos the instrument and discusses his love of Kossoff and Les Pauls. Nichols’ confidence in playing it, he admits, is down to the fact that he is friends with owner Kris Blakely and has “spent a lot of time with this guitar”. (Side note: we would also like to be friends with Blakely.) 

Indeed, Nichols seems to have been trusted to play it onstage in his Freebird mega jam (with Richie Faulkner, Zach Myers and Marty Schwartz) back in January – and this latest clip looks to have been recorded on the same day. 

Nichols kicks off with the All Right Now riff, before running through some more of the Free man’s licks and tricks. Not least, a seriously good impersonation of Kossoff’s  vibrato.

Later he turns the volume down a little, noting how little gain you need to drive the original PAF humbuckers.

“You always try as a guitar player to be expressive,” comments Nichols. “But [you want those] ones that push you just a little further... I love – because I play Les Pauls all the time – the ones that vibrate against your body and when you’re playing them, it feels like they’re alive.”

In the clip, host John Bohlinger notes that he’s never seen Nichols play anything other than a Les Paul.

“I always kept coming back to Les Pauls,” responds Nichols. “Funny fact: I was actually born in Waukesha where Les Paul is from. So I remember when I was a little kid, seeing a Les Paul and being like, ‘That's cool, yeah!’ So when I started to play I was like, ‘Of course I'm gonna play [a Les Paul].’”

Kossoff completists will note that this isn’t the guitar the Free icon played during the recording of All Right Now (for more on that, read Guitarist’s in-depth story of Paul Kossoff’s 'stripped top’ 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard). However, this is the Les Paul that was used for most Kossoff’s career – and famously damaged at the end of Free’s final show in 1972, when Kossoff hurled it into the air.

Regardless, we imagine the young Nichols would have been knocked out by the thought he’d one day get to jam on any 1959 Les Paul Burst. Or get his own signature model, for that matter. 

Speaking of which, Nichols recently teased the arrival of a new Epiphone Les Paul Custom signature in Pelham Blue, which might not rival the frills of a Burst, but certainly has its own charms.

Epiphone is readying a Pelham Blue version of Jared James Nichols’ single-pickup ‘Old Glory’ Les Paul Custom, if a recent Instagram clip from the blues power advocate is anything to go by.

“Putting the prototype of my upcoming NEW @epiphone Signature Model in Pelham Blue thru its paces!” Nichols says on a post accompanying the video.

From the looks of it, the signature guitar remains faithful to its original stripped-down spec, with a single P-90 pickup, controlled via sole volume and tone knobs, and strung up with a wraparound "Lightning" bar tailpiece. The combination of that Pelham Blue finish and cream binding really makes that thing gleam.

But wait, there’s more: the guitar also marks the debut of Nichols’ new Seymour Duncan JJN signature P-90 pickup. There will be more info on that soon, apparently.

In the video itself, Nichols debuts the fresh axe with some of his trademark techniques – and we’re not just talking about his signature stank face.

In between the pentatonic flurries, Nichols unleashes some absolutely wild bends – fretboard groaners as wide as the Grand Canyon, behind-the-nut shimmers and wince-inducing neck tweaks. All of which confirm the Pelham Blue Old Glory is built for some serious abuse.

It’s safe to assume the ’50s neck profile and Graph Tech NuBone nut will return on the new model, which has previously appeared in Black Aged Gloss and Double Gold Aged finishes. This Pelham Blue version might just be the pick of the litter, though.

We can expect to see it on stage this year, with JJN promising to take it “out into the wild this fall”. In the meantime, Nichols will be supporting The Winery Dogs on their European tour in June – full dates are over on his website.

Back in January, Nichols teamed up with Richie Faulkner, Zach Myers and Marty Schwartz for an awe-inspiring cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd classic Free Bird.

Jared James Nichols recently invited three guest stars onstage for a shred-heavy rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd classic Free Bird. 

Among the onstage talent was Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner, Shinedown’s Zach Myers and guitarist Marty Schwartz (of the Marty Music YouTube channel). 

The 10-minute set closer is initially relatively faithful to the original, with Nichols showcasing some tasty slide in between vocal lines. The blues rocker then takes the first of the lead sections – with a sharp shred section – before handing over to Faulkner who adds a bit of speed metal flavor. 

Myers and Schwartz are then invited – via the age-old nod of the head – to give their contributions, which land more in the traditional rock ’n’ roll vein, before all four get together for an explosion of unison bends and guitar stank faces. But in the best possible way.

Skynyrd’s original Free Bird solo sections have become some of the most iconic leads in rock history. Guitarist Gary Rossington once told Guitar World that the solo section was partly invented to give vocalist Ronnie Van Zant time off during long sets.

“Ronnie said, ‘Why don’t you do something at the end of that so I can take a break for a few minutes,’” said Rossington, in a 2009 interview.

“So I came up with those three chords at the end and Allen [Collins] played over them, then I soloed and then he soloed. It all evolved out of a jam one night. So we started playing it that way, but Ronnie kept saying, ‘It’s not long enough. Make it longer!’”

Due to its length and challenging nature, it’s also become a long-running joke for audience members to request rock bands play Free Bird – a challenge Nichols and co seem to have met with enthusiasm.

Nothing can slow down the Les Paul-loving blues-rock force of nature that is Jared James Nichols – not even a freak accident caused by picking up a road case “the wrong way” that left him with a broken right arm, now held together by 16 screws and a metal plate.

“It’s pretty raw and there’s a lot of bumps and bruises,” he tells us – referring not to his recent injury, but to his self-titled third LP, which is released in January. 

What was your sonic mission for this album? 

“I base everything I do off of the energy of live performance. People were starting to come up to me at shows and say, ‘Man, the show was awesome – you sound so much better live than you do on your records!’ That echoed in my head and I was thinking about how to get the energy across. Everything was cut to tape in an old-school way – there was no tuner, no metronome, and the only overdubs were vocals and about three guitar parts.”

What’s your favourite moment of tone on the record? 

“I’m super-proud of Easy Come, Easy Go because it’s got this really cool fuzzed-out guitar sound. I remember being in the studio and playing through this ’69 Marshall Super Lead turned all the way up, and using a Klon. I’d kneel in front of the amp to get feedback, and if you listen to that solo, it almost feels like the amp’s about to explode!”

You’re a man of many Les Pauls, but which one starred the most? 

“I cut about 80 percent of the record with my 1953 Les Paul, Ole Red. Then I had a 1956 Junior, and my Dorothy guitar, which is a 1952 Les Paul. It’s one of the first-ever and it’s called Dorothy because it really was in a tornado! It got broken and I had it fixed. I also used a Gold Glory – one of my signature guitars. 

“The electronics in the old guitars are warmer and have a lot less attack, whereas the Gold Glory is super crisp. All the guitars had P-90s. There are no humbuckers on the record, but every guitar has its own sound.” 

What is it you love about P-90s? 

“A P-90 is the perfect middle ground between a sparkly single coil and a humbucker because it retains all the crispness and that snap, but still gets loud and pissed off!” 

In the debate of whether tone comes more from the gear or the fingers, which side are you on?

“Definitely fingers! Two weeks ago, we played this festival and the guy who brought the gear had worked for Eddie Van Halen. He brought me one of Eddie’s personal modded Marshalls from 1984. I plugged in and it was incredible, but I sounded like me. 

“Having a great foundation of techniques – bending, vibrato, phrasing – is something that’s unique to you. It comes down to your hands, the way you hold the guitar, the way you strike the strings. Your touch is everything. When I play with my fingers – I don’t use a pick – I want those characteristics to come through.”

• Jared James Nichols is now via Round Hill.

The “tone is in the hands” debate will probably never be fully resolved, but if recent developments are to be believed, the side supporting the argument has been handed their best piece of high-profile anecdotal evidence in quite some time.

Not too long ago, Jared James Nichols revealed his allegiances lay firmly in the “tone is in the hands” camp, and recalled the time he played through Eddie Van Halen’s own guitar amp in support of his theory.

“Two weeks ago, we played this festival and the guy who brought the gear had worked for Eddie Van Halen,” Nichols told Total Guitar. “He brought me one of Eddie’s personal modded Marshalls from 1984. I plugged in and it was incredible, but I sounded like me.”

It’s not the first time that Jared James Nichols has crossed paths with Van Halen’s gear, nor is it even the best piece of evidence he’s contributed to the ‘tone hands’ argument.

Not only has Nichols also played Van Halen’s own ‘84 Marshall guitar amp, but he’s also played one of Van Halen’s electric guitars, footage of which helps double down on Nichols’ belief that tone truly is in the hands.

Back in 2020, Nichols took Van Halen’s hand-made 1986 Kramer Stryper – one of only five ever made in the Kramer factory – for an 11-minute spin, treating the double-cut’s fretboard to his own unique style of pick-less blues rock.

Unsurprisingly, it just sounds like Jared James Nichols playing Eddie Van Halen’s guitar, and though a few two-hand tapping sequences and whammy bar wiggles are thrown into the mix, there’s no denying that the magic of Nichols’ performance is all in his fingertips.

Sure, he tries on a few Van Halen riffs for size – such as You Really Got Me – but those Chuck Berry-esque pentatonic licks and the gain-drenched tone that comes from the Seymour Duncan Forza and ‘68 Marshall guitar amp is Nichols through-and-through.

And, when Nichols starts jamming a track from his own record, Old Glory and the Wild Revival, he may as well be playing one of his Gibson Les Pauls.

If ever there was a chance for the “tone is in the hands” argument to be irrefutably rebutted, this was probably it: aside from the Frankenstein, the Kramer Stryper wielded by Van Halen is arguably the closest anyone could get to harnessing Eddie’s sound through his gear.

Featuring a custom-profile mahogany neck, 26” scale length, 22 jumbo frets and a sole DiMarzio Double-Black Hot humbucker, the Kramer Stryper was made by Zeke Clark to Van Halen’s exacting specs back in 1986.

Does this put an end to the debate? Probably not, but there’s no denying it’s yet more evidence that tone truly is in the hands. The ball is in your court, gear hounds…

Guitar fans are no strangers to debate – the guitar world is packed with divisive topics and hotly contested conversations that split the guitar-playing community right down the middle.

These include the Fender versus Gibson shootout, whether tonewoods actually make a difference to a guitar’s sound, and – perhaps most divisive of them all – if tone comes from a player’s gear or their fingers.

Whether guitarists will ever reach an agreement on the subject remains to be seen, but that hasn’t stopped players throwing their hat into the ring in an effort to put the debate to rest once and for all.

In the new issue of Total Guitar, Jared James Nichols reveals his own allegiances lie firmly within the 'tone is in the fingers' camp, and explains how he confirmed his theories by playing through a particularly coveted piece of gear: one of Eddie Van Halen’s own guitar amps.

“Definitely fingers!” replied Nichols when asked about his view on the debate. “Two weeks ago, we played this festival and the guy who brought the gear had worked for Eddie Van Halen. 

“He brought me one of Eddie’s personal modded Marshalls from 1984,” he continued. “I plugged in and it was incredible, but I sounded like me.”

As far as controlled experiments go, it doesn’t get much better than that, with Nichols’ anecdotal evidence bearing a striking resemblance to John Petrucci’s own experience when he recently played through Joe Satriani’s rig.

Speaking to Guitar World, Petrucci said, “Once I played through his rig, I didn’t sound like Joe at all – I sounded like me.” It was enough to convince Trooch of the tactile nature of the guitar, leading him to conclude, “Every guitarist sounds different, and that’s because every guitarist is different.”

In his Total Guitar interview, Nichols went on to say that every person has their own unique guitar-playing DNA, and that both macro and micro playing techniques – from bending and phrasing to how you actually hold the guitar – help emphasize the differences that ultimately overshadow the importance of gear.

“Having a great foundation of techniques – bending, vibrato, phrasing – is something that’s unique to you,” Nichols reflects. “It comes down to your hands, the way you hold the guitar, the way you strike the strings. 

“Your touch is everything. When I play with my fingers – I don’t use a pick – I want those characteristics to come through.”

It’s not the first time an A-list guitar hero has helped support the ‘tone is in the fingers’ debate. In August 2021, John Mayer swapped his PRS Silver Sky and Dumble for an Epiphone Les Paul and Roland combo rig, though still sounded exactly like himself.

Likewise, Joe Satriani once performed Surfing With The Alien using a Stratocaster copy, and still delivered a classically Satch sound despite the absence of his signature Ibanez guitar.

Head over to Magazines Direct to pick up the latest issue of Total Guitar, which looks back on the best of 2022 in the world of guitar, including gear, riffs, songs, solos and artists.

Throughout music history, there have been few certainties and even fewer survivors. But when it comes to the Gibson Les Paul, it seems the iconic staple isn't only surviving, but thriving.

The '70s was a decade defined by the earliest wave of proverbial Guitar Gods – giant slayers posturing at the stage's edge, casting their lurid spells over unwitting audiences. And the preeminent choice of magic wand? The Gibson Les Paul.

But as the '80s surged, the Les Paul's fall was steep. Coinciding with that tumble from grace was a rise to prominence for technicolor, hot-rodded rigs. These seemingly mutant creations crafted in presto guitar labs were suddenly slung over the sweaty shoulders of droves of MTV-era icons.

Through synchronized bombast, this new generation of heroes wielded Jacksons, ESPs, haywire B.C. Rich rigs and eye-catching Ibanez JEMs. There was, of course, one notable exception: Slash, who is widely credited as saving the single-cut during the shred era.

The '90s would also prove challenging for the Les Paul, with alternative and indie six-stringers taking to Fender Jaguars, beat-up Stratocasters, twangy Telecasters and 12-string Epiphones instead of the load-bearing stalwart. Now, that's not to say the Les Paul died entirely; of course, it's always had its supporters. But somewhere along the way, it became chic to eschew Les Pauls in favor of various new kids on the block.

In the modern day, there are still plenty of Frankenstein rigs strewn across stages worldwide. But finally, it seems the Gibson Les Paul is experiencing its long-awaited rebirth. With the resurgence of classic rock among young listeners and the resultant forming of "new wave of classic rock" bands, Les Pauls are once again being brandished by the masses.

Though it's sometimes been forsaken, the Gibson Les Paul has never been forgotten. Its symbolic nature, reliability and unmistakable appearance have left it a musical pillar. Some may lean on other guitars or deny the Les Paul's versatility, but in the modern age, many young guns are making the model cool again. What follows are 15 players, all of whom are giving the Gibson Les Paul a new lease on life.

15. Laura Cox

French-born blues-rocker Laura Cox has been wowing audiences as an active musician since around 2008, but it wasn't until her 2017 debut, Hard Blues Shot, and its 2019 follow-up, Burning Bright, that audiences tasted the fruits of Cox's labor. Now, with two albums under her belt, it seems Cox is gaining perpetual steam. 

With roots in the classical realm, it's Cox's habit of strutting her stuff with a dual-pickup, flat-black Les Paul that has defined her image in the present day. What's more, if you're a fan of Laura Cox, we've got good news: she has a new album, Head Above Water, due in early 2023. So, stay tuned.

14. Sam 'Bam' Koltun (Faster Pussycat/Dorothy)

As the successor to the likes of Brent Muscat, Greg Steele and Ace Von Johnson, for young Sam 'Bam' Koltun, taking up the mantle of lead guitarist in Faster Pussycat was no easy task, and while the vintage licks he is asked to perform in Faster aren't always ultra-technical, Koltun has excelled in maintaining the desired aesthetic. With a scuffed, jet-black Les Paul slung over his jean jacket-cloaked frame, Koltun transports fans back to the late '80s of the Sunset Strip each night. 

Lately, Koltun has been pulling double duty, also providing tasty licks as a member of sultry serenader Dorothy's touring band. If you enjoy a good old fashioned rock 'n' roll spectacle, this particular player is a throwback showman who makes the price of admission worth every penny.

13. Blake Allard (Joyous Wolf)

Often adorned in fur, pastels and floral patterns, Joyous Wolf's Blake Allard was seemingly plucked from the late '60s flower power music scene. Allard pulls no punches, making no secret of who his heroes are, and his no-holds-barred approach seems to be paying off in spades. 

Along with a few others, Joyous Wolf is a massive part of a burgeoning "new wave of classic rock" scene. For rock music fans, Joyous Wolf's Place in Time is a monumental moment, which sees Allard providing old-school waves of guitar badassery via his trusty Gibson Les Paul Goldtop. If you're a fan of the Les Paul, old-school cool and rock music in general, feast your ears on Joyous Wolf.

12. Adam Slack (The Struts)

As a member of UK act The Struts, and with a classic Honey Burst Les Paul in hand, Adam Slack has been hovering around our collective consciousness for a decade. While it took a bit of time for the rest of the scene to catch up, it could be said that Slack is one of the earliest players to strap on a Les Paul in the name of its resurgence. 

From his long blonde hair, aviator sunglasses, leather jackets and big 'ol heavy rig, Slack is a throwback to a time when the lead guitarist commanded the stage with machismo and aching bravado. As for his playing, it's meaty, beefy, slick and governed by a soulful fire that burns deep within.

11. Lukas Nelson (Promise of the Real)

As a direct descendant of those that came before him, Promise of the Real's vocalist and lead guitarist Lukas Nelson is a verifiable bell cow amongst the masses. Skewing more toward roots and country rock, Nelson reminds listeners of a time in the '70s when country music, jam bands and classic rock merged into one blissful enigma. 

Nelson is often one for collaboration, but for the unfamiliar, you'd be best served to run through Promise of the Real's eight studio records first. Through his soulful, retro licks, Lukas Nelson is, in many ways, the glue that holds multiple crossing genres together. Plus, his single-pickup tobacco sunburst Les Paul Junior is a simplistic thing of gorgeous majesty – and, accordingly, is available as a signature model.

10. Dane Pieper (Classless Act)

Classless Act has taken the world by storm with the release of their debut record, the aptly titled Welcome to the Show, coinciding with their inclusion as openers for the Stadium Tour – which featured Def Leppard, Poison, Joan Jett and Mötley Crüe – in the summer of 2022. And while Griffin Tucker often gets the lion's share of attention, Classless Act's über-energetic rhythm guitarist Dane Pieper comfortably steals the show. 

Pieper is a full-on ball of fury known to jump and jive while slicing through heavy riffs. He will often execute Eddie Van Halen-inspired kickflips and David Lee Roth-esque mid-air splits while jumping off the drum riser, all while delivering bone-crushing rhythms via his vintage sunburst Les Paul. If you love energy, then Pieper is the perfect visual cue for Classless Act's wild party tricks.

9. Sammy Boller

To be sure, Detroit native Sammy Boller owns other guitars, and he even occasionally breaks them out for a solo now and again. But at the end of the day, the blond-haired axeman is most often seen with his beautiful black Les Paul, with the occasional Goldtop sprinkled in for good measure.

Considered one of the most promising young guns in the game today after six years as the lead guitarist of Citizen Zero, Boller delivered on the early praise heaped onto his instrumental record Kingdom of the Sun (2020). 

As one of the most versatile players currently about, there's no telling what Boller will do next. Be it with a new band or through continued instrumental dominance, Boller is undoubtedly one to keep an eye on if the guitar is your muse.

8. Graham Whitford (Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown)

Unfairly, Graham Whitford's claim to fame was most often the fact that his father, Brad Whitford, is the rhythm guitarist for Aerosmith. But all that changed when Whitford met fellow young gun Tyler Bryant.

After joining Bryant's namesake group, the Shakedown, it was quickly apparent that Whitford's Les Paul-wielding ways complimented Bryant's Stratocaster adoration perfectly. And while you might think that joining forces with the likes of Tyler Bryant could lead to Whitford being overshadowed, if the group's latest record, Shake the Roots, is any indication, the pair are in perfect lockstep. 

It's evident that Bryant allowed Whitford's array of Les Pauls plenty of room to breathe on the record. Listening back, one cannot help but have visions of Aerosmith's famous Whitford/Perry duo, from which the young pair surely take influence.

7. Whitney Petty (Thunderpussy)

Seattle native Whitney Petty's glam rock-steeped tradition can only be described as a superstock of molten lava delivered via a Rola guitar amp. With some help from Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, Thunderpussy broke through in 2018 after releasing their self-titled debut record. With tongue-in-cheek camp for days and a gloriously obscene singer/guitarist dynamic between Molly Sides and Petty, Thunderpussy is exactly what the doctor ordered. 

But it's Petty's hair-raising swagger, delivered through her vintage sunburst Les Paul, that defines Tunderpussy's glam-inspired sound. With explosive bluster for days and the chops to back it up, Petty is an icon for female players looking to pick up the instrument and a prescription for those looking for new music.

6. Joanne Shaw Taylor

With a Les Paul in hand at the tender age of 16, Joanne Shaw Taylor caught her first big break. For Taylor, blues-driven stardom was inevitable. Still, her discovery by Eurythmics guitarist Dave Stewart came via an unlikely scenario, which saw Stewart first lay eyes and ears on the young talent at a breast cancer benefit for her mother. 

Stewart knew talent when he saw it and immediately invited the teenage phenom to join his group D.U.P., which Taylor happily accepted. In the 20 years since, usually with any number of Les Pauls in hand, Shaw Taylor has self-managed her solo career to acclaim, with the best most definitely yet to come.

5. John Notto (Dirty Honey)

If there's one guitarist on the scene today who is most associated with the "new wave of classic rock", it's probably John Notto. Still without major label support (by choice), Notto has ascended the the upper echelons of guitardom solely by the merit of his well-worn playing alone. As such, the always self-assured Massachusetts native is no dummy; he knows when to hold serve and leave well enough alone. 

To that end, Notto keeps it simple: slick, blues-inspired riffs, played via a Les Paul seemingly plucked from the hands of '60s-era Peter Green. Be it his style, his vibe or the Marshall stacks behind him, Notto's affinity for retrograde and apparent Jimmy Page worship has served him and Dirty Honey well.

4. Tristan Thomas (Florence Black)

Not every new kid on the block lives to recreate '70s classic rock. Don't believe us? Just ask Florence Black's Tristan Thomas, whose hyper-melodic tendencies will leave fans of '90s alt-rock feeling like they've entered a time machine. Truth be told, Black's sound contains references to every era, with his weighty riffs channeling from his fingers through his sunburst Les Paul and out his classic Marshall stacks. 

When listening to Thomas, it's as if Dr. Frankenstein has harvested the collective talents of Slash, Dave Grohl and Ace Frehley and then masterfully combined them into one super-titan of rock. Sound appealing? We certainly think so.

3. Jackie Venson

With her sleek Epiphone Les Paul in hand, Jack Venson's fretwork is a vision of sage beauty. A native of Austin, Texas, and a graduate of the esteemed Berklee College of Music in 2011, the six-stringer has spent the last decade staking her claim among a male-dominated scene. 

While it might have been easy to secure a foothold in rock alone, across three studio records, several live records and multitudes of EPs, Venson has slayed multiple dragons, logging miles as a road warrior in the blues, soul and pop scenes to boot. Few possess Venson's talent: her exquisite playing pairs with her smoky voice to sublime perfection. 

2. Ally Venable

It's been quite a while since a talent like Ally Venable hit the rock and blues scenes. But if Venable's 2021 record Heart of Fire is any indication, the road ahead for the player Mike Zito lovingly refers to as "Texas Honey" is paved in pure, unadulterated gold. On the surface, you might assume the red-haired spitfire is flaunting yet another run-of-the-mill Les Paul.

But the 23-year-old blues-breaker prefers a magenta-colored rig, which Gibson made in very limited numbers in the '90s. Venable's style is tried and true, but her execution and mindset are unique. If you're looking for a guitarist to watch, take a deep dive into Ally Venable's catalog, and enjoy the ride.

1. Jared James Nichols

At the age of 33, Jared James Nichols is an established name on the rock and blues circuits. Always bursting with energy, Nichols is perhaps best known for his "pick-less" playing technique. But then again, Nichols' guitar lineup – featuring his single-pickup "Old Glory" Epiphone Les Paul and a red 1953 model the bluesman has affectionately named "Ole Red" – make for an alluring aesthetic, too. 

It takes skill to carry the weight of a power trio, but Nichols does so effortlessly. In short, each generation has a handful of players who will be remembered forever. Nearly a decade into his career, it appears that Jared James Nichols is this era's ultimate Les Paul-loving icon.

Welcome to Guitar World’s weekly roundup of the musical highlights from the, erm, world of guitar. Every seven days (or thereabouts), we endeavor to bring you a selection of songs from across the guitar universe, all with one thing in common: our favorite instrument plays a starring role.

Kings of Chaos – Judgment Day 

What is it? Though Matt Sorum's supergroup Kings of Chaos has operated solely as a live project since its inception, the Grammy-winning drummer has announced the band will be releasing its first-ever album late next year – an announcement that was accompanied by the effort's lead single, Judgment Day. Featuring Slash, Duff McKagan and Dave Kushner, the de facto Velvet Revolver reunion is an infectious addition to the group's original repertoire.

Standout guitar moment: It’s a three-and-a-half minute pentatonic workout for Slash, who treats Sorum’s singing to non-stop double-stop bends and swampy licks. The guitar solo gets the nod, though, introducing additional sonic flair by way of some pinch harmonics and tight turnarounds.

For fans of: Velvet Revolver, Guns N’ Roses, Slash

– Matt Owen

Nita Strauss – The Wolf You Feed (feat. Alissa White-Gluz)

What is it? “Hurricane” Nita Strauss whips up a storm of shred in her latest single, The Wolf You Feed, which also sees Arch Enemy leader Alissa White-Gluz lend quite formidable pipes to the task. 

A towering metal anthem, The Wolf You Feed finds Strauss throwing in the proverbial kitchen sink, offering everything from gargantuan electric guitar riffs to an extended passage of dizzying leads, crafted with soaring melodic phrasing, lightning-quick alternate picking ascends and some face-melting sweeps for good measure.

Standout guitar moment: Strauss’s solo from the 2:18 mark is, itself, a standout guitar moment, however we’re going to zoom that microscope in on the insane single-hand legato runs from 2:53, as they surely take the crown here.

For fans of: Arch Enemy, Nikki Stringfield, Alyssa Day

– Sam Roche

Jared James Nichols – Down the Drain 

What is it? The latest single from blues-rock ace Jared James Nichols, whose affinity for the Gibson Les Paul and penchant for speaker-smashing fretboard throwdowns has made him one of the foremost Gibson-toting guitar titans of his age. 

Down the Drain is as Nichols as it gets, featuring some tight riffage and soloing that will have you positioning the fretboard of your air guitar perpendicular to the ground as you attempt to head bang as gracefully as the long-haired lick lord himself.

Standout guitar moment: Nichols only waits 70 seconds before flexing his Les Paul-fueled soloing powers, but it's the effort at the 2:06 mark that is the tastiest of the bunch – plenty of wah, an ample number of bends, blistering licks and a healthy helping of Nichols flair.

For fans of: Joe Bonamassa, Marcus King, Emily Wolfe

– Matt Owen

Pomegranate Tiger – The Cryptographer

What is it? After an agonising seven-year wait, prog-metal genius Martin Andres, aka Pomegranate Tiger, is back with a virtuosic slice of rhythmic savagery that will bend your mind in all the right ways. Andres has been crafting material over the past two years, so expect this to be the first taste of a new jaw-dropping full-length.

Standout guitar moment: There is simply no let-up in the riff onslaught that dominates The Cryptographer, but those cheeky rapid-fire runs around the one-minute mark are Tosin Abasi-level genius.

For fans of: Animals As Leaders, Periphery, Meshuggah

– Michael Astley-Brown

Fucked Up – One Day

What is it? The hard-charging title track and lead single from the Canadian hardcore stalwarts’ first proper full-length album in over four years. With frontman Damian Abraham contributing lyrics once again, One Day finds this band at their cathartic best – philosophical, questioning and, above all, pissed off.

Standout guitar moment: Those unacquainted with the quintet, or even with punk in general, will find comfort and familiarity in the band’s unstoppable two-guitar attack. From the very first bar – when Mike Haliechuk and Josh Zucker execute the song’s nimble, hooky riff in perfect unison – you know you’re in for a hell of a ride.

For fans of: Titus Andronicus, Jawbreaker, Judas Priest 

– Jackson Maxwell

Hedras – Miracles 

What is it? It’s a testament to Hedras’ fretboard knowledge and boundless creativity that his furious fusion style never gets tiresome, and that each track he puts out introduces listeners to yet more nuanced elements of his six-string skills and compositional abilities. 

Miracles is all about the chords – specifically, the oversized strums and the arpeggiated lead flavors that can be wrung out of each extended assembly of notes Hedras lands on. Yes, there’s some dazzling soloing and silky fretboard migrations, but Miracles is so much more than just the technically baffling melodies.

Standout guitar moment: It would be too easy to say the solo. Instead, it’s the graceful verse passages that get our vote, thanks to their effortless arpeggiated movements and off-kilter strumming patterns.

For fans of: Owane, Plini, Jason Richardson

– Matt Owen

Morris Day – Too Much Girl 4 Me (Ft. Billy Gibbons)

What is it? A handful of chance encounters and a shared Prince connection led to this meeting of minds between the eternally cool leader of The Time and the ZZ Top icon. It’s a funky, tongue-in-cheek collab, driven by a pounding electro beat and Gibbons’ hot-sauced guitars, taken from Day’s final album, Last Call, due November 11.

Standout guitar moment: It’s rare to hear the Rev break out a Whammy pedal, but it sure sounds like one during his first solo – normal Texas proceedings return for the second, big-bendin’ lead, however, as Mr G turns to the whammy bar for wobble instead.

For fans of: ZZ Top, Prince

– Michael Astley-Brown

Theory of a Deadman – Dinosaur

What is it? A weighty new single from the multi-platinum Canadian rockers. As frontman Tyler Connolly explains, Dinosaur represents the culmination of a full-circle musical journey for TOAD, after breaking out with heavier, more riff-driven material in their early years, before experimenting with pop- and country-leaning styles on their more recent music.

“Dinosaur takes us back to our roots with this riff-driven rocker,” Connolly says. “To me, it feels like it could fit on any of our albums, but I will say if you like the old Theory Of A Deadman, you’ll love the new Theory Of A Deadman.”

Standout guitar moment: Dinosaur is a straight-up riff-driven rocker, and boy, is its riff solid.

For fans of: Shinedown, Seether, Rev Theory

– Sam Roche

Sgt. Papers – Pérdida Total

What is it? A good old-fashioned hell-raiser of a new single from this Mexican garage-rock duo. Written about a friend who drunkenly crashed his car into a Burger King, fled the scene, then successfully reported the crash to his insurance company as a robbery the next day, Pérdida Total is a classic slice of high-adrenaline rock ’n’ roll. 

Standout guitar moment: Felipe García’s zany, Chuck Berry-by-way-of-a-haunted-house guitar break, which captures the evil glee of the pro/antagonist just as well as the song’s lyrics. 

For fans of: Black Lips, Ramones, Ty Segall 

– Jackson Maxwell

Black Veil Brides – Devil

What is it? The opening cut from The Mourning, the new EP by long-standing theatrical California rockers Black Veil Brides. Like a sonic time capsule, Devil boasts a quintessentially late-Noughties hard rock/heavy metal sound, driven principally by its massive down-tuned and often harmonized electric guitar riffs, uber-catchy vocal hooks and a dose of lead guitar from lead six-stringer Jake Pitts.

Standout guitar moment: Pitts’ brief solo from the 2:18 mark is easily the track’s standout moment, lasting only a few bars, but making the most of the sonic real estate with a rapid alternated-picked ascending line.

For fans of: Falling in Reverse, Escape the Fate, Asking Alexandria

– Sam Roche

koleżanka – Canals of Our City

What is it? A new single from koleżanka, the Brooklyn-based project of singer/songwriter Kristina Moore. A wistful look back at a formative romance, Canals of Our City perfectly bottles how our brains tend to frame memories of our teenage years as we get older, without veering into cornball nostalgia. 

Standout guitar moment: The way Moore’s solo – starting right about at the 2:15 mark – descends, then snaps all the way back up the fretboard for some tastefully discordant upper-register stabs, is a delightful addition to this song’s alluring arrangement. 

For fans of: Mac DeMarco, Real Estate, Soccer Mommy

– Jackson Maxwell

If you’ve never witnessed Jared James Nichols onstage, let us say right now: you’re missing out, big time. 

Usually armed with little more than the heavily customized, even-more-heavily-worn Gibson Les Paul he nicknamed “Old Glory” (or, just as likely, one of his single-pickup Epiphone “Old Glory” and “Gold Glory” Les Paul signature guitars), the singer and guitarist practically strangles his instrument into submission (sans pick, of course), unleashing torrents of incendiary riffs and licks and ripping out howling, hotwire solos jam-packed with blazing note bursts, screaming, vocal-like bends and tasty, blues-drenched phrases.

It’s a sight and sound to behold, and so when it came time to record his most recent EP, Shadow Dancer, Nichols decided to bring that live vibe right into the studio. 

“I’ve always been told, ‘Man, you sound so much rawer in concert than on your records,’ ” Nichols tells Guitar World. Upon entering Blackbird Studio in Nashville with his power trio, he continues, “We said, ‘Fuck it, let’s break some necks. Let’s play how we play. Let’s see what happens.’ 

“We tracked everything live and straight to tape, including the solos – no click, no overdubs, except for my vocals. We turned everything up and left caution to the wind. It was like, ‘Okay guys, tape’s rolling, play one.’ Then we’d take a deep breath and just go for it.”

The result, he says, is “purely raw, unapologetically me: hard-hitting blues mixed with my love of heavy riffs, with grunge overtones.” 

And indeed, one listen to the music – the unrelenting full-throttle chug of Bad Roots; the moody, darkly liquid strains of the title track; the anthemic swell of Skin ’N Bone, the anguished, insistent grind of Saint or Fool – bears this out in spades, presenting Nichols at his most and primal, with his guitar work pushed to the max. 

Just how much to the max? “When we were recording, our producer, Eddie Speer, said, ‘Guys, this is the loudest record I’ve ever made,’ ” Nichols says with a laugh. “I’ll tell you, we were in the room, and man, I swear I have hearing damage.

“I had a Blackstar Artisan 100 and a 1969 Marshall Super Lead 100, both running together and full-on. When I stood in my spot in front of the cabs, it was so loud I couldn’t hear the drums. It was insane.”

Guitar-wise, Nichols says he brought a mix of new and vintage Gibsons with him into the studio. “I had ‘Ole Red,’ which is my 1953 Les Paul Standard Goldtop that was over-sprayed in red, and has P-90s and a wrap tail bridge; my ’56 Les Paul Junior, which is an unmodded, really killer single-pickup guitar, and my Gold Glory signature model,” he says. The combination offered up a wide array of tones. 

“One thing that was cool with this recording is that the older guitars, the magnets in the pickups are so weak,” he says. “When you hit them with those big, loud tube amps, it’s incredible the way they react, the way they distort, the overtones you get – it’s like nothing else. And then when I used Gold Glory, which you can hear on something like Bad Roots, it’s a newer guitar with a newer pickup, and it sounds so much brighter. It’s a nice mix.”

What you also get a nice mix of on Shadow Dancer is the many facets of Nichols’ style. “The big thing for me in my evolution not only as a player but also as an artist is that I continually aspire to grow,” he says. “And I think the only way to truly make progress is to always move forward and not let anything stop you. So with this batch of songs I got out of my own head and I stopped saying to myself, ‘Jared, play blues,’ or, ‘Jared, do a shuffle like Stevie Ray.’ 

“At the end of the day, I had to just be myself and play whatever came out. I was left to my devices to say, ‘I want to express the sound in my head in this power trio format. I love to play in this simple bass-drum-guitar-vocal style, so where can I take it and how can I do it in my own way?’ So it’s me exposing all the different shades and all of the different colors of my music and my inspiration, and delivering it with the energy and the overall sonics of a live experience.”

As for that live experience, Nichols has of late been providing it out on the road as the opening act for Zakk Wylde and Black Label Society on their recent U.S. tour, something of a landmark moment for the 33-year-old from Waukesha, Wisconsin. 

“One of the first concerts I attended as a kid was Ozzfest,” he says. “I was 14 and already in love with rock ’n’ roll. A friend and I were determined to get as close to the stage as possible, and we ended up sneaking to the front row. 

“I’ll never forget the moment I first saw Zakk playing in the flesh with Ozzy – it was beyond powerful. I was mesmerized. I had yet to start playing guitar, but the moment I picked one up months later, I was already influenced and had a lifetime guitar hero in Zakk.”

That Zakk Wylde inspiration is just another ingredient in the Jared James Nichols stew, demonstrating that, while he’s often lauded for his searing blues chops, there’s more to the musician than meets the eye. 

“There’s still huge parts of me that are so rooted in playing that really lowdown blues,” Nichols says. “But there’s also so much more that I grew up listening to, from Black Sabbath and Mountain to grunge to some funky stuff, all of which you can hear on the record. 

“Really, my biggest goal with all of this was to just be me, and to open up and say, ‘This is what I’m feeling, this is what I’m digging, let’s see if we can make it work.’ It was a beautiful experience. And the coolest part is when you listen to the EP, you’ll hear it exactly as it was laid down. There’s no trickery.”

And there’s plenty more where that came from. Even while Nichols continues to support Shadow Dancer on the road, he says there’s more material coming – once again, live and direct – in the form of a full-length record. As for when we can expect that? “Early fall,” Nichols says. “So get ready for full-tilt blues power!”

• Shadow Dancer is out now via Black Hill.