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Interview: Alex Lifeson talks Rush's Clockwork Angels track-by-track

Fri, 25 May 2012 06:20:00 GMT

"We wanted something that was bold and stripped down," says guitarist Alex Lifeson of Rush's Clockwork Angels. "The goal was to make it real in your face and very much the sound of a three piece – a hard rock record in the classic sense. I'm happy to say that it really did come out the way we anticipated and hoped for."

Prior to recording the bulk of the album, Lifeson and his Rush mates – bassist-vocalist Geddy Lee and drummer-lyricist Neil Peart – got together with co-producer Nick Raskulinecz (whom they collaborated with for 2007's Snakes & Arrows) in Nashville and knocked out a smashing pair of teasers, Caravan and BU2B, both of which make the full set in remixed form (the latter song has a previously unheard intro).

Six Of The Best: Full-sized guitar amp heads

Thu, 24 May 2012 10:34:00 GMT

The trend of late may be towards mini amps, but sometimes full-on wind-in-the-hair power is the only way to go. Here Guitarist magazine presents its pick of the latest and greatest…

IN PRAISE OF: Ovation bowl-backs

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:05:00 GMT

Charlie Kaman of Ovation Guitars was the Leo Fender of the acoustic. Like Leo, Charlie used his vast experience as an engineer to solve what he saw as flaws in contemporary guitar design.

His company actually made bits for helicopters before he diversified into guitar building when the arse fell out of the chopper business.

Disgruntled with the flat backs of traditional acoustic guitars that he felt didn't project sound efficiently, Charlie had his team of engineers design and build an acoustic with a 'parabolic' (or 'rounded') back made from a glass fibre-like material patented as Lyrachord.

The result released in 1966 was christened the Ovation Balladeer, an acoustic guitar with incredible sustain and projection. Charlie wasn't done revolutionising the acoustic guitar just yet.

Believing that a traditional single soundhole weakened the guitar's top and compromised its tone, the Kaman team came up with the concept of using 22 smaller holes.

This unusual construction was first seen on the 1977 Adamas model, a guitar that further broke the acoustic mould with an immensely strong carbon fibre and birch sandwich 'Fibronic' top that helped prevent feedback when amplified.

That's an important point. As impressive as the acoustic tone of an Ovation guitar is, the brand is best known for its high-quality amplified sound. The company was one of the pioneers of under-saddle piezo pickup technology, evolving from simple volume and tone knob clusters to sophisticated onboard preamps with three-band EQs, feedback busters and electronic tuners.

While the most important early convert was country artist and session guitarist Glen Campbell, the brand was immortalised forever when Richie Sambora played Wanted Dead Or Alive on his twin and triple-neck Ovations onstage with Bon Jovi in the late 80s.

The big-name affiliations don't end there. Slipknot's Mick Thomson, Mötley Crüe and Sixx:AM leader Nikki Sixx, and Swedish note festival Yngwie Malmsteen all have signature models in the current catalogue.

It's a testament to the late Charlie Kaman's vision that the cutting-edge guitars loved by Nikki, Richie and Yngwie, and any Ovation you happen pick up, are almost identical in construction to the first Balladeer.

Bowl-back timeline

1966: The Ovation Balladeer round back makes its debut

1977: The Adamas six and 12string models unveiled

1983: Supershallow bowl offered for the first time

2012: Yngwie Malmsteen YM68 and YM63 signatures released

Ed Sheeran on The A Team's Ivor Novello success

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:10:00 GMT

You might expect award-winning, million-selling singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran to be doing the rounds in arenas and on festival stages these days. However, yesterday saw the star take to the stage in the intimate surroundings of Bristol Fleece in aid of the One25 charity.

We caught up with Ed for a forthcoming issue of Total Guitar magazine and asked him how it felt to win best song musically and lyrically for his hit single The A Team at last week's Ivor Novello awards.

"That's the one award that as an artist I've always chased," Sheeran admitted. "I expected to get it a lot further down the line in my career, so to get it for the first song I released was a fantastic feeling.

"It's a room full of people that I admire and look up to who voted for me to win it… it's the perfect award for any artist. I'm honoured to have it."

For much more from Ed Sheeran, pick up Total Guitar magazine issue 230, on sale 9 July. Total Guitar is now available on Apple Newsstand (US readers click here).

COMPETITION: Win tickets to Soundgarden at Hard Rock Calling!

Wed, 23 May 2012 12:58:00 GMT

Chris Cornell and Kim Thayil of Soundgarden in October 2011 © Jason Moore/Zuma Press/Corbis

Thanks to the good people at Roadrunner Records (home of Black Stone Cherry and Kids In Glass Houses), we've got two pairs of tickets to the Friday (13 July) of Hard Rock Calling festival in London up for grabs.

Soundgarden are headlining ahead of the release of their brand new studio album (due later this year) and Iggy And The Stooges, The Mars Volta, Black Stone Cherry, Skindred and Kids In Glass Houses are also appearing throughout the all-dayer.

Hosted in central London's Hyde Park and having formerly played host to the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and Bon Jovi, Hard Rock Calling is one of the capital's biggest annual music events. A couple of tickets to the Friday event would usually set you back £110, but we've got two pairs to give away.

Black Stone Cherry, one of the bands supporting Soundgarden at Hard Rock Calling 2012

How to enter

To be in with a chance of winning just head to www.futurecomps.co.uk/hardrock2012 and answer the following question correctly…

What was the name of Black Stone Cherry's last album, released in 2011?

A Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea
B Black Stone Cherry
C Folklore And Superstition

Click here to enter the Hard Rock Calling 2012 competition

CLOSING DATE: 5 June 2012

Rockschool launches version four guitar syllabus

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:27:00 GMT

Tens of thousands of students every year take Rockschool exams and on the 1 May 2012, Rockschool launches the eagerly awaited new Syllabus for guitarists. Building on the global success of its current exams, Rockschool talked to students and teachers, listened to what they had to say and used their comments as a guide to develop the all-new fourth Syllabus.

The new material for the exams features Grammy award winning legendary guitarist Larry Carlton, Haken's guitarist Charlie Griffiths and Stuart Ryan from Guitar Techniques, Total Guitar and Guitarist to name just a few!

This new Syllabus represents an accumulation of over twenty years experience in the design and delivery of graded examinations in popular music all around the world. The format of the new curriculum will be very familiar to students with a number of new features and refinements that will enhance the total learning experience.

Rockschool has recognised that performers often want to concentrate on a particular musical genre and the new Syllabus has been built to allow a high degree of flexibility in musical choice. All the supporting tests and exercises will support your musical skills enabling you to approach the performance pieces with confidence as well as providing many of the tools needed for improvisation. As you move through the grades, a greater degree of choice and specialism is available now, reflecting the realities of how musicians learn, perform and progress.

To recognise and support this choice of musical paths, Rockschool has commissioned bespoke pieces, from specialist writers that allow you to demonstrate your mastery of a particular style as you advance. In addition, great care has been taken in the recording of the grade pieces to ensure they are of album quality.

The services of eminent producer Nick Davis (Genesis, XTC, Deep Purple, Bjork) were employed at Farm Studios (Genesis' own studios). Nick's experience and pedigree helped achieve stylistic authenticity using top session musician's including horn sections and other instrumentation. The overall final result is commercial quality recordings that deliver the best production values and tracks to learn and play along to.

Rockschool has used top musicians to record the tracks and these include Charlie Griffiths, guitarist with Haken and also teacher at London based the Institute. Joining him is Stuart Ryan, regarded at one of the UK's finest guitarists and regular contributor to Guitar Techniques, Total Guitar and Guitarist. Other contributors include guitarist extraordinaire, Kit Morgan who has worked with Curved Air, Vanessa Mae and Ian Anderson, and head of guitar Syllabus development as well as long-term contributor, Deirdre Cartwright.

The new version four Syllabus represents a milestone in the development of Rockschool's graded exams making them more accessible, more appealing and more straightforward to learn. Looking forward, Rockschool can also announce they will be making the arrangements of the Debut, One, Two, Three, Six and Seven grade tunes available digitally in due course.

Rockschool is Europe's No. 1 Rock Music Exam Board and offers Graded Music Exams, Diplomas and Vocational Qualifications that are practical, flexible and fun. Founded in 1991 they run qualifications for thousands of musicians in the UK, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia. Rockschool has been independently and fully accredited by the UK government through Ofqual, DCELLS and CCEA since 2002. Their graded qualifications are also accredited by SQA Accreditation in Scotland. In 2010 all its qualifications were successfully re-accredited on the QCF. Further information about Rockschool's independent public accreditation is available here. In the UK Rockschool has over 500 exam centres and more than 4500 instrumental teachers registered.

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Information taken from official press release, for more visit Rockschool.

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Albert Lee announces one-off UK guitar masterclass

Tue, 22 May 2012 12:39:00 GMT

Anderton's Music has revealed that it will be hosting a rare UK guitar masterclass with British guitar legend Albert Lee in Guildford on 6 June.

The event will be hosted in conjunction with the Ernie Ball Music Man brand at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel at 7.45pm and tickets, priced £6 (including a goodie bag with some Ernie Ball strings), are available now from the Anderton's website.

Albert Lee made his name playing with the likes of The Everly Brothers, Emmylou Harris and Eric Clapton (who famously once dubbed him the "greatest guitarist in the world").

Guitarists rightly idolise the country-style player for his amazing hybrid picking (a technique that combines both plectrum and finger-picking) and his imposing speed, as demonstrated in the likes of Lee's hit Country Boy (video below).

Buy tickets for the Albert Lee guitar masterclass

VIDEO: Albert Lee plays Country Boy with Chas and Dave

VIDEO: Lostprophets We Bring An Arsenal live

Tue, 22 May 2012 10:49:00 GMT

The good folks at O2 Academy have put together this interactive Lostprophets video, captured during the Welsh rockers' performance of We Bring An Arsenal at London's O2 Academy Brixton on 4 May.

You can choose to watch the gig from three different view points: in the crowd, in the pit, or in the VIP area on the side of the stage. The more eagle-eyed among you will even notice an option to try and blag your way backstage.

We Bring An Arsenal (out 4 June) is the latest single from Lostprophets' fifth studio album, Weapons, which was released earlier this year.

Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees dies at 62

Mon, 21 May 2012 08:21:00 GMT

Robin Gibb, singer and songwriter with the Bee Gees, has died aged 62 following a battle with cancer.

"The family of Robin Gibb, of the Bee Gees, announce with great sadness that Robin passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery," said a statement.

"The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time."

The Bee Gees were famed not just for their own hits - including the hugely popular soundtrack album from the film Saturday Night Fever - but also for songs that they wrote for other artists, including Diana Ross (Chain Reaction), Dionne Warwick (Heartbreaker) and Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers (Islands In The Stream).

Robin Gibb's twin brother Maurice died in 2003 following complications from a twisted intestine.

Bee Gees - Night Fever

MusicRadar Deals Of The Week

Sun, 20 May 2012 13:19:00 GMT

Killer guitar, tech, amp or drum bargains from our recommended retailers

How to play Metallica – Just A Bullet Away riff

Sat, 19 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

This video lesson for the main riff from Just A Bullet Away, the second track on Metallica's 2011 EP Beyond Magnetic.

The song is in drop D tuning (DADGBE), which means you have to detune your sixth string by a tone (two frets). The track begins with a two-bar count in on the hi-hat followed by the whole band delivering this monstrous riff.

Keeping tight with the rest of the band presents a challenge because both guitars and bass play the same rhythm. Listen out for the hi-hats and drum fills to help you keep the pulse and come back in perfectly sync'd with the rest of the band after each pause.

Guitarists Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield use downstrokes throughout the riff. You can use 'down, up' style alternate picking if you prefer, but a constant downstrokes approach has more power and drive.

Start off by playing slowly, making sure that your timing is consistent and that you've memorised all the fingerings. As you gain confidence gradually, you can build up the tempo.

Get the sound

Select the bridge pickup to get bite and clarity when playing these distorted rhythm parts. Use a fairly thick pick for maximum control and definition of your downstrokes.

Palm-mute the strings during every rest. This keeps the pauses extra quiet and creates a tight, abrupt ending to each sequence of notes. Turn your reverb to zero: you need a completely dry sound for maximum clarity and impact.

For more guitar lessons, interviews and reviews pick up Total Guitar magazine. Now available on Apple Newsstand (US readers click here)

In pictures: Tony Iommi's Black Sabbath Laney touring rig

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:36:00 GMT

Tomorrow (19 May), guitarist Tony Iommi joins bassist Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne and a yet-to-be-announced "substitute drummer" for Black Sabbath's first live performance since 2005 at the O2 Academy Birmingham.

And it's in the band's hometown of Birmingham, England where they're currently warming up. We can't tell you the rehearsal venue, but we can offer you a sneaky preview of Tony Iommi's new tour rig, which consists of six of his new Laney TI100 signature heads and eight of his new TI412 cabinets.

If you're lucky enough to have tickets for tomorrow's show, you'll see these on stage. Next stop will be on the main stage at the Download Festival on Sunday, 10 June.

Competition: Win an Orange Micro Crush amp with the Metal Hammer Golden Gods

Fri, 18 May 2012 12:56:00 GMT

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Metal Hammer Golden Gods, we are giving you the opportunity to win an Orange Micro Crush PiX amp.

2012 looks set to be the biggest Golden Gods award ceremony yet. Chris Jericho will be the host for the evening, as well as playing on the pre show party boat HMS Hammer with his band Fozzy.

Along with the usual debauchery, that sees fans rubbing shoulders with the bands, there will also be live performances from Anthrax, Ghost and Biohazard with more to be announced.

Orange Amplification is the headline sponsor for 2012 and we have two of their Micro Crush PiX practice amps to give away to two lucky readers.

These compact amps pack plenty of punch with classic Orange style and tone, and come complete with headphone out socket, volume, tone and overdrive controls.

Orange Amps are used by 2012 Golden Gods awards nominees Black Spiders, TRC (Best UK Band), Skindred (Best Live band), Heights, The Defiled (Best New Band), Cancer Bats, Ghost, While She Sleeps (Breakthrough Artist) and Mastodon (Video of the Year).

The Metal Hammer Golden Gods will be taking place on Monday 11th June at the IndigO2 in London's O2 Arena. Voting is open at http://goldengods.metalhammer.co.uk until Monday 21st May.

For more information on Orange Amplification visit their site.

The competition

To be in with a chance of winning one of two Orange Micro Crush PiX CR3 practice amps, simply answer the following question...

Which of the following Orange acts is nominated in the Best UK Band category of the 2012 Metal Hammer Golden Gods?

A. TRC
B. Skindred
C. The Defiled

Enter here

Competition closes next Friday 25 May

Voting in 2012 Golden Gods closes 21 May

Giles Martin on George Harrison's Early Takes, track-by-track

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:11:00 GMT

In the library of Friar Park, George Harrison's Victorian neo-Gothic mansion in Henley-on-Thames, sits shelf after shelf of unheard music. Shortly after buying the property in 1970, the late Beatle installed his own state-of-the-art studio where he would work on song ideas or invite friends round for a jam, and now those formidable archives are receiving a public airing.

Early Takes Volume 1 is the first fruits of a series of releases making Harrison's home recordings available to fans, lovingly curated and tenderly teased into sonic shape by Giles Martin, son of the Fab Four's legendary producer George Martin. It's the third Beatles-related project Giles has worked on, having assisted his father on the Anthology documentary series and Love, the Cirque Du Soleil extravaganza still playing to a packed house in Las Vegas after six years.

Adele wins two Ivor Novello awards

Thu, 17 May 2012 14:50:00 GMT

Adele has won two Ivor Novello awards at a ceremony in London this afternoon. The singer was named songwriter of the year, while Rolling In The Deep, the first single to be taken from her second album 21, was confirmed as the most played work of 2011.

The Ivor Novellos are designed specifically to recognise songwriting achievements. Other winners at the 2012 ceremony included Ed Sheeran for The A-Team (best song musically and lyrically) and PJ Harvey for Let England Shake (best album).

Also taking home prizes were Lana Del Rey and her British songwriting partner Justin Parker for Video Games (best contemporary song), Take That (outstanding contribution), Spandau Ballet's Gary Kemp (outstanding song collection), Siouxsie Sioux (Ivors Inspiration) and Mark Knopfler (lifetime achievement).

Jimmy Page offers fine art photo collection for sale

Wed, 16 May 2012 19:02:00 GMT

This great Neal Preston shot of Jimmy Page isn't one of the prints on sale. But in time, you never know. © Neal Preston/CORBIS

Jimmy Page has announced the release of the official Jimmy Page Fine Art Photographic Print Collection, a collaboration between the iconic Led Zeppelin guitarist and five noted photographers who have captured his image through the years.

The photo set contains three live shot of Page performing with Led Zeppelin, a photo of the guitarist's axes before a gig in 1977, and a 2009 portrait shot. The prints, taken by Neal Preston, Jorgen Angel, Dick Barnett, Baron Wolman and Ross Halfin, are available on Jimmy Page's official website.

According to the website, "This museum-quality collection has been produced to the highest standards to be framed and displayed as pieces of art. Under strict supervision, each silver gelatin black and white photograph has been traditionally printed by hand from negative in a laboratory dark room on Ilford premium quality fibre-based paper, the color photograph is printed on Fuji Crystal archival paper. Jimmy Page and each photographer have worked closely together with the dark room technicians and printer to produce this highly-collectible collection."

The photos will be limited to 50 prints each. Each photo is numbered and signed by both Page and the photographer. The prints are currently available individually or as a Deluxe Portfolio boxset. Only 10 Deluxe Portfolio boxsets have been produced.

The price for each print is £1,000 (approx. $1,600 US) or £7,000 for each boxset (approx. $11,172 US).

Gibson announces new Sheryl Crow Southern Jumbo Special Edition acoustic guitar

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:57:00 GMT

Gibson Acoustic and Sheryl Crow announce their second collaboration with the release of the Sheryl Crow Southern Jumbo Special Edition. This new Southern Jumbo is the most advanced acoustic-electric Southern Jumbo available.

Click here for a gallery of the new Gibson Sheryl Crow Southern Jumbo Special Edition

In 2010, Crow modified her entire live acoustic guitar line-up with the same new and advanced pickup system used in the Gibson Jackson Browne model released earlier that year. After an extensive in-studio comparison of guitars and pickups, the idea for her Southern Jumbo Special Edition was born.

Crow's new Southern Jumbo is built for power and projection with wider X-bracing on the red spruce top. With mahogany back and sides, the combination of wood and pattern bracing gives this SJ a dynamic and responsive tonal range unlike any Southern Jumbo Gibson has built. The acoustic-electric version of this guitar has the same incredible stereo pickup system used in the highly-acclaimed Jackson Browne Model.

Traditional appointments like Ivroid Waverly tuners, vintage Gibson script logo and banner decal, a hand-beveled pickguard, bound fingerboard and a custom classic sunburst finish, result in a beautiful guitar with a classic appearance. The onboard electronics unleash a new level of acoustic performance capability never before achieved in an acoustic pickup.

"Having tested many internal pickup systems on many guitars," said Robi Johns, project director with Gibson Acoustic, "we've discovered a new realm we never thought possible for live performance natural sound. This guitar, combined with this pickup system, can change the way players interact with their instrument on stage. It's very exciting. Our goal is to get to the point where, as a player, you forget that you're plugged in."

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Information taken from official press release, for more visit Gibson Acoustic

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Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess: the 10 greatest prog-rock albums of all time

Tue, 15 May 2012 23:24:00 GMT

"I was in high school and had been going to Julliard, studying classical music, so I was only somewhat aware of anything going on in the rock world," says Dream Theater's keyboard master Jordan Rudess. "Classmates of mine used to show up in the school auditorium with albums by Genesis and Gentle Giant, and they tried to show me what they were listening to. That was probably how I first noticed something new was going on in music."

According to Rudess, his first true introduction to prog-rock occurred when a friend came over to his house and put on a copy of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's seminal 1970 album, Tarkus. "It electrified my thinking," he says. "Suddenly, I became super-aware of new sounds and possibilities. In fact, there were even parts on it where I went, 'Wow! I've got some pieces that are kind of similar, but they sure don't sound like that' – because I was just playing them on piano. The record really changed my life."

Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess: the 10 greatest prog-rock records of all time

Tue, 15 May 2012 23:24:00 GMT

Scott Weiland says he's rejoining Velvet Revolver

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:51:00 GMT

Scott Weiland (center, with Duff McKagan and Slash) says he's back in Velvet Revolver. © Karl Larsen/ZUMA/Corbis

Things have been quiet on the Velvet Revolver front for a couple of years - until now. The other day, ex-lead singer Scott Weiland, who famously quit the band in 2008, announced that he had found his replacement: himself.

"We've all grown a lot," the singer said about the past rocky relations within the group. "We're able to put egos and differences and old … conflicts aside and so that's really cool."

What's more, Weiland said that he was already working on new material with some of the members. "They gave me a couple of songs, and myself and Dave [guitarist Dave Kushner] and Duff [bassist Duff McKagan] are gonna be getting together for a song writing session next week."

The singer also said that the reunited group would be hitting the road for a short tour before the end of the year. "Slash's solo album gets released [on 22 May] and so he's gonna do some touring on that and then we're gonna go and do some [Velvet Revolver] shows in the later part of summer into early fall."

All of which was news - big news - to Slash himself. During an interview with a Minnesota radio station yesterday, the guitarist, when told of Weiland's statements, said, "[Scott's] out of his mind."

Later, he did say that he would have to check in with his former GN'R and Velvet Revolver bandmates. "Maybe [Weiland and drummer Matt Sorum] know something I don't."

Guitar Guitar City Blues Jam announced

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:20:00 GMT

PRESS RELEASE: Fender Custom Shop, retailer Guitar Guitar and ACS Custom have teamed up to bring you an event that puts budding musicians up on stage.

The Guitar Guitar City Blues Jam will provide guests with an opportunity to perform with the session-musician-packed house band, Pacifico Blues. Frustrated rockers are actively encouraged, coaxed and occasionally cajoled into taking the limelight in front of their work colleagues, friends and a supportive audience.

Dinner guests will have the opportunity to jam with the band using a Fender Custom Shop guitar in the exquisite setting of Boisdale of Canary Wharf. A selection of Fender Custom Shop guitars will also be available for purchase on the night.

Would-be participants can choose from a back catalogue of blues and rock classics from a list which includes songs by artists such as Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Credence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, BB King and Eric Clapton.

Former banker and bandleader Paul Pacifico said "I worked in the City for ten years before giving it up to follow my dreams in music. It's fantastic to have the chance to come back to the City and play music with all the guys that used to be in bands but now just don't have the opportunity to play."

Guitar Guitar City Blues Jam

Tuesday 12 June 2012, 8:00pm at Boisdale Canary Wharf.

Admission is free, go here or call 020 7715 5818 to reserve your space.

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Information taken from official press release, for more visit Guitar Guitar.

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All-Star Gear: Steve Morse's Frankenstein Telecaster

Mon, 14 May 2012 21:10:00 GMT

Progressive rock, country, bluegrass, jazz, classical, funk - there's hardly a style of music that Steve Morse hasn't mastered. Starting with his groundbreaking fusion band, the Dixie Dregs, right on through a storied, continuing solo career and now as a member of hard rock legends Deep Purple, the much-honored guitarist has distinguished himself by stretching the boundaries of whatever genre he's working in.

Given such versatility, you'd think that Morse would have relied on dozens of vintage and custom manufacturer models. Although he now exclusively plays a Music Man Steve Morse Signature Model, for the first half of his career - going way back to his early days, in fact, as a pre-teen struggling to emulate his heroes - he used a guitar most musicians would have relegated to the scrap heap.

Twice, to be exact, for the guitar Morse played on such Dixie Dregs masterpieces as Free Fall, What If, Night Of The Living Dregs and Unsung Heroes, among others, is a true Frankenstein - the neck is from a Stratocaster and the body is a Tele. As for the guts, they're a hodgepodge so complex and utterly unique that it would take a mad scientist to make sense of it all.

So we got the next best thing: Steve Morse himself. We caught up with him in Germany, where he's been writing for the past two weeks with his Deep Purple mates. It was midnight, and in just five hours he was due to catch a flight to Spain. Even so, the venerated guitarist held forth, personally sharing the meticulous details of how he constructed his iconic axe. (You can view photos of the guitar on the following pages of this story, with a few extra in our gallery.)

What was the original Stratocaster like?

"I got it in 1967, brand-new. My parents gave me a loan and didn't charge interest, which was nice of them. As soon as I got the guitar, I noticed that I couldn't get the same sounds of a lot of the music I liked. The Beatles' guitar sounds were made on Gibsons, Rickenbackers, Gretsches - some Fenders. This was before Led Zeppelin, although it was still the 20^th Century. [laughs]

"The first thing I modified was the output jack. A friend of mine had one of the first fuzzboxes; it was more like a battery-operated preamp, but it plugged right into the guitar. I couldn't plug it into the recessed jack, so I took a piece of an outlet box that had a hole drilled into it, and I put the jack on that. The fuzz sounded pretty cool, I must say, especially to an 11 or 12-year-old kid.

"Next, I tried experimenting with amps to give me the midrange I wanted. I discovered that the Vox Super Beatle amps had a middle-range boost, so I cascaded all the channels together and used a preamp from a broken tape recorder and a little Fender Princeton, which was better than the Vox, and I made that my signal chain. With that, I could get close to the fat rock 'n' roll sound of Cream or Led Zeppelin.

"For years, that's what I did – plugging the Fender Princeton into the head of the Super Beatle. That was my sound. It made a pretty bad hum, but it worked. I was up for trying anything."

But you still weren't totally pleased.

"No. So a couple of years later, I was helping out a friend in South Carolina, doing a session. Instead of money, I was paid with a guitar – a black Telecaster with a maple neck. It had the regular Tele lead pickup in it and a PAF-type humbucker from a 335 in the neck. There was a lipstick pickup in the guitar case – the previous owner had removed it.

"At the time, I didn't think too much of it. I kind of assessed it like this: The guitar feeds back; it doesn't tune; the maple neck is too slippery to play when my hands are sweaty; and one of the presets on the three-way switch makes no sense – it has a capacitor, which takes away all the high end. I was baffled as to why people thought Telecasters were so great.

"There were a lot of things I could do, though, and I sort of looked at the guitar – all this wide-open space on it – as a blank canvas. Anything was possible."

What was the first thing you did to it?

"The first thing was to put the Strat neck on the Tele body. I was surprised that it worked. I played some gigs with it, but I wasn't totally happy. Next, I stripped the black paint off the body. I used paint stripper and got it down to the natural wood. I put some varnish and shellac on it that I got from a hardware store.

Then I started on the pickups. I clipped out the capacitor, which helped a lot – it allowed me to bring both pickups together with the three-way switch and get some high end. Still, I wasn't getting the humbucking sound you need for rock 'n' roll, so I bought one of the very first Fender humbucking pickups that was available. I figured it would be pretty good because I liked their lead pickups.

"Putting the humbucker in the bridge position took some major surgery, and I realized that I needed a new bridge, so I got a Tune-O-Matic bridge and put that in. It worked OK, but the only problem was I was getting strings scraping on the Tune-O-Matic, so I had to find some new way to attach the strings. In a pawnshop, I got a trapeze 12-string tailpiece. I put that in and it worked the problem out."

Now, you're doing all of this luthier work – did you have any idea what you were doing?

"No, not really. [laughs] I had a motorcycle that I traded a mini-bike for, and I'd work on that, changing the pistons, working on the engine and that sort of thing. I didn't know what I was doing, no, but I was mechanically inclined."

After you put the humbucker in the bridge, what was next?

"I put the lipstick pickup in next to the 335, which was kind of inconclusive. It's a thin-sounding pickup, and it didn't have a lot of harmonics. But when I put it next to the humbucker, it gave me something good that I liked. After that, I got an on/off switch from an electrical supply store and put that in a spot where I deemed it should go. I needed that to work all the combinations on the pickups.

"I still needed something else. At this point, DiMarzio was in business. I met Larry and Steve Blucher, and I told them that the Fender humbucker was good but it kept feeding back. They made me a pickup, which was close. We exchanged ideas, went through a few prototypes, until we wound up with what would become the Steve Morse pickup. That now went into the bridge position.

"I tried replacing the 335 pickup for a time. Somebody gave me a hexaphonic pickup, which I tried in the neck position, but I didn't like it, so I went back to the 335. Before this, however, I decided that I needed to carve another hole in the guitar because, you know, why not? [laughs]

"A friend of mine made a pickguard for me when I had the hex pickup in it, so we put that on the guitar. It's bigger than a normal Tele pickguard. Then I decided that a Strat pickup worked next to the 335, but I had a big gap where the hex pickup used to be, so we had to put this block in there to fill up the space.

"I needed a way to control the Strat pickup, so I put another switch, and right between the volume and tone I put a miniature three-way in. We're getting close to being finished with it now."

What's the story with the wire attached to the tailpiece?

"Whenever I touched the strings, I noticed that I would get some unwanted noise and hum, so I put a grounding wife on the tailpiece and ran it underneath the pickguard to the metal plate that holds the volume, tone and switch."

Any changes to the neck, or were you happy with that?

"I was pretty happy with it, but I did put jumbo frets in it. It wasn't a mod, but as a way to keep the high E from popping out when I hit it too hard, I routed the E string through the string tree where the B string went. The tuners stayed the same – they were OK."

Did you experience any mishaps on the road with the guitar?

"Not really. A few times I had problems with the grounding wire, but I was pretty handy with a soldering iron. I did replace the volume controls a lot because I use the knob a lot for swells. They would wear out."

How long did you play the guitar?

"I used it on High Tension Wires [1989], for sure. Right around then, Music Man said they could duplicate the guitar. They were talking about a signature model. I was a little unsure, because I had been down that road with a couple of companies, but Sterling Ball assured me that they wouldn't stop until they had something I liked.

"I didn't stop playing the Tele until I had the Music Man for a while. I looked at the new guitar and thought, It stays in tune, it does everything I need, it has an extra fret, and the neck is much easier to adjust. Anytime I needed to tweak the neck, it was perfect. Basically, I decided to use the Music Man more and more, and I realized I was just using the Tele for old time's sake."

Was it bittersweet to finally put it out to pasture?

"Well, I didn't see it that way. I never said, 'I'm never going to play this guitar again.' It just happened. The Music Man was more reliable and road-worthy. Every guitar has a sweet spot, and that Tele had a spot that no other guitar had. It's got a clean sound that isn't thin. It had an envelope to the notes, especially when I used distortion."

Was the Tele a better recording or live guitar?

"Either way. It wasn't that good for hammers and pulls, it just didn't have the sustain, possibly because the wood was so light. The first few Dregs records I did with the nylon pieces in the bridge. I switched to metal and it lost some personality, a little roundness. That was my first clue that bridges make a big difference."

You still have a pick tucked underneath the tailpiece. Any significance to it?

"That was one of probably two or three picks that I owned. These nylon Dunlop picks were hard to find. I played with the rounded edge, on the side, and they wore away very slowly. The reason I used the edge, especially with downstrokes, was that I could get some unusual sounds – it would kind of scrape the strings. It would pull a little bit, like a hint of sandpaper.

"I was funny about picks back then: I never changed them and I never gave them away. I had one spare pick and that was on the guitar."

Do you have a particularly fond memory of the Tele?

"It was probably like what I said earlier, seeing it before I did everything to it. When I first played it with the Strat neck, I was just very… happy. [laughs] I saw all that plain wood… it was ready for experimentation. There was so much I could do to it. I had no idea what I was going to do or where I was going to go with it, but I looked down at it and said, 'This is going to be a great guitar.'"

Special thanks to Rod Morgenstein and Rebecca Kamili'iaekaua Erickson.

Win 40 Boss pedals and help raise money for worthy causes

Mon, 14 May 2012 12:31:00 GMT

PRESS RELEASE: From distortion to delay, Boss compact pedals set the benchmark for the industry. They offer incredible quality, intuitive controls and a robust, road-ready build.

There are 40 pedals in Boss's current range, from the industry-leading overdrive (OD-3) to the unmistakable sound of Fender Reverb (FDR-1). And this is your chance to win all of them - an incredible prize worth more than £4,000.

This incredible prize draw will raise money for Roland's Three Men on a Bike charity event, in which three of Roland's directors will cycle 926 miles from John O'Groats to Land's End in August. Funds raised will be split between Children in Need and the music charity, Music For All.

The prize is a dream for any guitarist. It covers every conceivable effect, plus pin-point accurate tuning (TU-3) and advanced looping (RC-3 loopstation).

For the chance to win, just answer this simple question:

Can you name the famous guitarist?

A. Slosh
B. Slash
C. Slush

To enter, text BOSS to 82727 followed by A, B or C along with your email address before midnight on 31 July 2012.

Texts cost £1 plus your standard network message rate and all money raised after costs will be donated to Three Men on a Bike.

The winner will be the first entrant randomly selected from eligible entries drawn by an independent person and will be notified after the close of the competition.

To find out more about Three Men on a Bike or make a donation, visit http://threemenonabike.org/

Terms & Conditions:

The competition is open to UK residents aged 18 or over.
Only one winner will be selected.
This is a not for profit competition with all proceeds after costs going to the Three Men on a Bike charity fundraising page http://threemenonabike.org/ to be split between Children in Need (registered charity number 802052) and Music for All (registered charity number 1055371).
The prize is non-transferable and no cash or other alternative will be offered.
By supplying your email address you agree that we can contact you. Roland & BOSS will not share your details with any third parties.

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Information taken from official press release, for more visit Boss.

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Win a pair of tickets to the sold-out Black Sabbath Birmingham O2 Academy show!

Mon, 14 May 2012 10:16:00 GMT

The 2012 Black Sabbath reunion has been one of the most talked-about musical happenings of recent years. With the band's first show just days away, anticipation is reaching fever pitch.

19 May sees Sabbath take to the stage at Birmingham O2 Academy as a warm-up for the band's headline slot at Download on Sunday 10 June. Obviously, the gig is completely sold out, and you can't get tickets anywhere, right? Wrong.

In a pretty damn exciting competition, we can offer one lucky winner a pair of tickets to Saturday's show at Birmingham O2 Academy, plus two copies of Iron Man: The Best Of Black Sabbath, a new compilation album set for a 4 June release, and copies of the deluxe editions of every Black Sabbath album from the Ozzy era. Now that is a lot of Sabbath.

Five runners up will receive copies of Iron Man: The Best Of Black Sabbath. To enter, simply answer the question below. The main winner will be responsible for all of their own travel costs and arrangements and will be informed on Friday 18 May. Deadline for entry is midnight on Thursday 17 May so hurry up and get those entries in!

The Competition

To be in with a chance of winning two tickets to see Black Sabbath this Saturday, simply answer the following question...

Which band did Tony Iommi briefly leave Earth to join in 1968?

A) The Yardbirds
B) Jethro Tull
C) Mountain

Enter here

Iron Man: The Best of Black Sabbath is a 14 track collection of classic tracks from across the band's first eight albums – including tracks from 1970s debut Black Sabbath and follow up Paranoid, 1971's Master Of Reality, 1972's Volume 4, 1973's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and 1978's Never Say Die.

The album brings some of the best loved and most influential rock songs of all time together on one disc - including such classics as Paranoid, Iron Man, Black Sabbath, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, War Pigs and Changes.

Full tracklisting (including original albums):

1. Paranoid (Paranoid)
2. Iron Man (Paranoid)
3. Changes (Volume 4)
4. Fairies Wear Boots (Paranoid)
5. War Pigs (Paranoid)
6. Never Say Die (Never Say Die)
7. Children Of the Grave (Master Of Reality)
8. The Wizard (Black Sabbath)
9. Snowblind (Volume 4)
10. Sweet Leaf (Master Of Reality)
11. Evil Woman (Don't Play Your Games) (Black Sabbath)
12. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath)
13. Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath)
14. N.I.B. (Black Sabbath)

Production legend Ken Scott on 10 career-defining records

Sun, 13 May 2012 16:01:00 GMT

In 1968, at the advanced age of 21, Ken Scott sat dead center in what was regarded as the epicenter of the world – Studio Two at EMI Studios in London - when he replaced Geoff Emerick as The Beatles' engineer for the sprawling double album that would become known as the 'White Album.'

A year earlier, the former tape logger and second engineer had his first big break when he manned the console on some sessions for Magical Mystery Tour, an experience Scott calls "daunting. I had never sat behind a board or pushed up a fader before the first session I did with The Beatles. I was terrified. I had no idea what the hell what I was doing."