This week’s issue has everything from Joe Bonamassa sharing his secrets, to news about Jason Becker, a legendary Metallica guitar going up for sale, new lessons, and more.

How has your 2021 been going so far? Are you progressing on guitar this year the way you wanted? Whether that answer is yes or no, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to reply to this email and let me know how it’s going.

Alright, let’s get into this week’s guitar links!

Joe Bonamassa: “People Don’t Think I’m Self-Aware” - This is one of the best Joe Bonamassa interviews I’ve heard in a long time. Joe talks about having a lean team while on the road, his massive collection guitars, producing the upcoming Eric Gales album, and what people get wrong about him. We also found out this week what the new Joe Bonamassa signature Tele called “The Bludgeon” will look like. You can check that out here.
The Real Book - 99% Invisible - If you’re into jazz, it’s likely that you’ve had a copy of the Real Book at some point. 99% Invisible is already an amazing podcast, so when I saw they were doing a show all about the Real Book, I was so excited to check it out. They talk about the history about this legendary jazz tome, it’s beginnings, and how it was illegal to begin with. If you’re looking for a great iOS equivalent to this, check out iRealPro.
Jared James Nichols Live at Sweetwater - Jared James Nichols just came out with his second signature guitar, the Gold Glory. To show off how awesome it sounds, JJN did a fun mini gig at Sweetwater. I was able to see Jared open up for John 5 a couple of years back, and he blew everyone away. Go check out his album ‘Old Glory and the Wild Revival’ to get into his type of blues rock.
The new .strandberg* Boden DR - I don’t link to gear demos much, but in this case: 1) the new Strandberg Boden DR is awesome, and 2) Kenny Serane’s playing is so good!
INSANE ARPEGGIOS 😱 'Serrana' - I had to include this amazing cover of Jason Becker’s ‘Serrano’, where Jason Richardson plays it on Becker’s original “Numbers” guitar! It’s incredible we still have Jason Becker with us, as he’s had a decades battle with ALS. We recently heard from Becker’s family that he’s experiencing some pretty scary health related issues and has recently been hospitalized. Prayers go out to Jason Becker family and his family.
Taking a Riff from Level 1-100 - SamuraiGuitarist takes a riff from 1-100 with his “funk meter”. It’s great to see how this simple fuzz riff evolved over a couple minutes. I feel like Cory Wong and Jude Gold would be into this video. There’s lots of slap and popping. If you’re into learning that style, check out Jude Gold’s solo slap guitar book. I got this book a couple of years ago, and really enjoyed trying adding this new technique style to my playing. That link is an affiliate btw - if you buy the book through it, I get a small commission.
Jack Gardiner | 1993 - Jack Gardiner is now an Ibanez artist. His Escapades EP was one of my favorite instrumental albums of 2020. Now that he’s with Ibanez, he just released a new Ibanez version of his song “1993”. It looks like he’s coming out with a deluxe version of the album with tabs, backing tracks, and even Neural DSP presets.
Playing METAL on Omegle for Innocent Pop Fans - Stevie T is a maniac. If you’re looking to laugh, check out him surprising pop fans on Omegle with metal songs. “I just need to go grab my capo”.
Some Notes On My Telecaster - Ross Campbell always writes sweet licks. In his latest video he plays a great solo on his Tele, and includes tab!
Learn 20 essential rock rhythm guitar styles - The majority of playing we do as guitarists is rhythm playing, which is why it’s so cool that Total Guitar got together 20 different rhythm styles for us to get into. Learn everything from pop punk and deep purple-esque rock to palm muted metal and grunge rhythms.
Matt Bellamy announces new album for Record Store Day, featuring Jeff Buckley’s Fender Telecaster - The Muse frontman is coming out with a new collection of music for Record Store Day. Some of the tracks were recorded on Jeff Buckley’s classic “Grace” Tele. It’ll have solo stuff, tracks from Muse and more. Really looking forward to checking this out. RSD is one of my favorite days for new and rare music!
The guitar Kirk Hammett used in Metallica's One music video hits the auction block - A legendary guitar from Kirk Hammett is now up for auction over at Heritage Auctions. It’s Kirk’s ESP Strat copy 400 series that he used in the video for Metallica’s “One”. As of me writing this, the guitar is at 26 grand!
How Gibson Revitalized Heritage Shred Brand Kramer in 2021 - Speaking of shred machines, I really enjoyed reading this interview with Cesar from Gibson and Krista Gilley from Epiphone/Kramer where they talk about how Gibson brought the Kramer brand back to life. I’m really interested to see how Kramer evolves over the next couple of years. With guys like Dave Mustaine signing on, and the prices being really fair, I think the brand has a great opportunity to stick around for a long time.
How Modes Work – and How to Use Them - This is a great primer on learning the modes. Not only does the post explain scale shapes, how to stack 3rds, and it’s alterations, it also goes over how to actually apply the modes and what each mode’s signature pitch is.
The BEST Way To Learn and Practice Scales on Guitar! - What if you want to put all those scales/modes into practice? Ben Eller takes us to the “drone zone” to explain how practicing over a drone allows us to keep the root note in mind.
Listen to AI-generated 'new' songs by Kurt Cobain, Hendrix and Jim Morrison - A mental health project has created a short album called the ‘Lost Tapes of the 27 Club’. It’s looking to bring awareness to mental health issues amongst musicians who died at 27, and global awareness as well. They had an AI program listen to all sorts of soloed out tracks, then they recorded and mixed the tracks to make “new” songs by Cobain, Hendrix and others. This is a weird one for sure. What do you think of these tracks?