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The Latest Breaking News from Total Guitar

The Last Editor: The musical life of Chris Bird, the final Editor of Total Guitar

The musical life of Chris Bird, the final Editor of Total Guitar

Guitar World

“Everyone who met him will carry Chris’ enthusiasm and love for music of all kinds. It was impossible not to be affected by it”: Chris Bird, Guitar World Lessons Editor and former Total Guitar Editor, has died aged 48

Our friend and colleague first joined Total Guitar in 2007 and spent nearly two decades sharing his passion and knowledge for the craft with readers

Guitar World

“Whole Lotta Love was clearly the track that everybody would go to. That riff was so fresh — and it still is”: A classic interview with Jimmy Page

The Zeppelin legend spoke to Total Guitar's Chris Bird in 2020

MusicRadar

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Chris Bird, MusicRadar Lessons Editor and former Total Guitar Editor has died, aged 48

Gifted guitar tutor rose through the editorial ranks

MusicRadar

“He went into this trance state as he played. I’d be sitting there at the console and he would lean on me while he was playing. And it was kind of weird – it was like it was coming through me”: A close encounter with the genius of Eddie Van Halen

The insider's view of how EVH reinvented himself on the 5150 album

MusicRadar

"It's a little over-heroic. But it's fun. It's colourful. And there is also a little undercurrent of something deeper in the lyrics”: Brian May reveals the inspiration for one of Queen’s greatest hits

It was the movie theme that almost got rejected

MusicRadar

“It was that fusion of funk and rock. It gave birth to Michael Jackson doing his incredible stuff!”: Brian May on a killer Queen song that blew away the King of Pop - and Kirk Hammett!

“It was designed to be uniquely a dance track"

MusicRadar

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“I irresponsibly generalized that the reason people don’t learn theory is because they are lazy. There is another, better reason to not learn it”: That time John Frusciante wrote in to Total Guitar magazine to share his thoughts on music theory

It was 2006, one hot summer, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers guitar hero had some things he needed to get off his chest about theory, and why he had learned “immensely” from reading Total Guitar

Guitar World

“When you start with a crappy guitar it gives you a level of appreciation because you started with humble beginnings”: Kenny Wayne Shepherd on why starting out with a budget guitar is the best way to go

Shepherd now plays some of the most desirable boutique gear money can buy, but his own personal guitar journey started with a cheap Yamaha

Guitar World

“Shredding is an amazing thing to be able to do, but when you can really write a feeling with a melody, like Johnny Marr did so well, that’s the goal”: Conor Curley of Fontaines D.C. on his love of Deftones and why he’s writing riffs like a beginner

Romance is the sound of self-confessed “guitar culture nerd” Curley expanding the Fontaine D.C. sound with elemental reasoning, pure instinct, and occasional Mellotron – and if he ever gets stuck for inspiration, he has a pile of Total Guitar back issues to reference…

Guitar World

“If you’re faint of heart and can’t stand some blue exclamations from time to time, it’s probably not very peaceful to be with me in a studio”: Jerry Cantrell admits he can't help cursing when he’s recording solos

The Alice In Chains man says his explosively expletive approach is a necessary weapon in the “battle” of tracking his lead lines

Guitar World

“The Metallica guys were the first ones I heard about using those live. I was like, ‘Man, what are you playing through?!’” Jerry Cantrell shares his thoughts on digital modelers – and why he’s “not there yet”

The Alice in Chains icon uses a Kemper while tracking demos, but he’s not ready to take them into the studio – and onto the stage – just yet

Guitar World

“I wanted Alice In Chains to be a guitar duo band - because of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Aerosmith”: Jerry Cantrell on his love of classic guitar harmonies

His new solo album is inspired by the heroes of his youth

MusicRadar

“As far as guitar playing goes, go to the old school - Randy Rhoads, Tony Iommi, Eddie Van Halen”: The wisdom of Dimebag in the final issue of Total Guitar

The famous guitar mag closes after 30 noisy years

MusicRadar

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Guitar World

“Probably the broadest, most accessible guitar mag in the world... It has been an absolute privilege”: Total Guitar to close after 30 years in print

It was once the biggest-selling guitar magazine in Europe. Now Total Guitar is set to close after its latest issue. Here’s what its first and last editors have to say...

Guitar World

“I handed him the guitar at the end saying, ‘You can keep that!’ And the next day it had millions of views”: Yungblud explains why he’s been giving away his new Epiphone signature models at shows

The punk-rock superstar says the idea to hand out guitars to fans came about by accident, after a clip of a fan playing his guitar on stage went viral

Guitar World

“You put a Flying V next to a Les Paul, next to a Strat, on the floor, it won’t do anything. It becomes something with the person who picks up the guitar”: Michael Schenker reveals the story behind his longstanding love affair with Flying Vs

The UFO guitarist recently signed with Gibson and revealed that a Michael Schenker signature guitar is in the works

Guitar World

“I was literally sat backstage playing it through a Twin Reverb and it sounded exactly like Pretty Vacant”: Yungblud on what it was like to play Steve Jones’ Sex Pistols Les Paul

The iconic punk axe was also recently played by Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong

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Guitar World

“The first time I went to Jeff Beck’s house, he sat me in front of a ton of amps and gave me a guitar… he wanted to see if I could get my tone no matter what”: Carmen Vandenberg recalls Jeff Beck’s ultimate tone test

Vandenberg discusses the invaluable lesson she learned from Beck about achieving your tone no matter what equipment you have at hand

Guitar World

“I don’t think bad guitar solos even exist anymore. Everyone is just so much better than they used to be”: Kirk Hammett doesn't pay attention to solo trolls – and thinks “bad” solos are a thing of the past

The Metallica guitarist's lead effort in Lux Æterna came under intense fire from online commenters upon its release, with some even recording their own 'improved' versions

Guitar World

“People often laugh, telling me I’ve chosen to play the biggest guitars possible”: Morgan Wade explains her love of oversized acoustics and why they're great for country music

The country star names the artists who inspired her to adopt Gibson Jumbos and Super Jumbos as her go-to guitar models

Guitar World

“When I hear a heavy metal guitar player there is that raw emotion that can maybe sound a little angry… I feel like bluegrass is more friendly competition”: Bluegrass virtuoso Molly Tuttle on the differences between metal and bluegrass shredding

Tuttle also shares the key technique that aspiring bluegrass guitar players need to master before they get on a stage

Guitar World

“You hear two notes and you know who it is. What a unique thing he created. Without singing a note in his entire life – what a voice”: The life, times and twangin’ tones of rock ’n’ roll pioneer Duane Eddy

The good-humoured architect of twang died on 30 April, but his legacy is a guitar tone for the ages, forever evoking greasers, flick knives and hot-rods

MusicRadar

“I think Leo Fender sort of got it wrong, and Jimi Hendrix corrected it”: Richard Fortus explains how Hendrix and Joe Perry improved the Stratocaster’s tone by flipping it upside down

Back to front or upside down, whichever way you look at it, Fortus says Hendrix's reverse approach is the secret to “piano-like low-end” and Aerosmith's Perry was paying close attention

MusicRadar

“I’ve played some new Gibson and Fenders that really nail it”: Joe Perry says guitar making is as good now as it was in the golden era – and explains why you don’t need to spend $7000+ on a vintage Klon

The Aerosmith guitarist has a formidable stockpile of vintage gear but argues you that the new gear is just as good, and more affordable too

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