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Wednesday October 28, 2009

Upgrade: get your ideas in TG!

Afternoon, readers! I'm brainstorming some ideas for a special themed issue of TG and would love to hear your ideas on the topic. It's all about upgrading. It could be about upgrading your technique, your gear or any aspect of your life as a guitarist.

Okay, I'll kick things off... I would upgrade my picking because it's the weakest part of my playing and I could do so much more with a wicked picking technique!

Over to you, guys. Remember, this isn't just techinque-based. It could be ANYTHING to do with being a guitarist!

Posted by Stephen Lawson
Wednesday October 28, 2009

News | Permalink | Comments [27]

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Comments:

Amplifer Upgrade:
I have a Marshall V65R. I am currently planning a upgrade to a small valve combo. Suitable for home use, reording and small gigs (it could always be mic'ed up for bigger gigs).
I have shortlisted my choices down to (in no particular order); Vox AC15, Orange Tiny Terror combo, fender blues junior (tweed with jenson), or even a Marshall Class 5.
with so many of these small amps about- and never all in the same shop to try them side by side.
A comparision review would be ace!
What do you think?

Posted by stephen paxford (127.0.0.1) on October 28, 2009 at 05:25 PM GMT #

Not exactly an upgrade but as a beginner I had to make a choice of what would be my first electric guitar.
Settled on a sunburst Yamaha Pacifica 112V. Got a second hand Fender frontman 15G to go with it.
Seems ok to me but then again I wouldn't know any different.

Posted by Terry Nathan (127.0.0.1) on October 28, 2009 at 09:28 PM GMT #

I need to upgrade my general practice.
I'm married with two small children and by the time they get to bed I knackered. I rarely practice or I just doodle around with scales and songs I already know. My playing is going nowhere fast!

Posted by Enda Brady (127.0.0.1) on October 29, 2009 at 09:48 AM GMT
Website: http://www.foolfighters.co.uk #

Thanks, guys. This is weird, but I already had answers to at least two of your questions written down or commissioned for the issue we're planning. I'll let you know as soon as we've decided which issue specifically this will run in and on sale date...

Posted by The Editor (127.0.0.1) on October 29, 2009 at 09:56 AM GMT
Website: http://www.totalguitar.co.uk #

I would love an issue that sings the praises of unsung heroes of guitar like Paul Westerberg, Ryan Adams, Tommy Stinson

like a proper rock n roll issue

Posted by Michael (127.0.0.1) on October 29, 2009 at 05:15 PM GMT #

I would upgrade my songwriting ability and musical knowledge- i can write riffs but can't put them in the context of a song without it all sounding the same and generic. would also upgrade my ability to solo as you get into habits and use the same licks so everything sounds roughly the same!

Posted by Tom O'Rourke (127.0.0.1) on October 30, 2009 at 11:30 AM GMT #

i think you should do a special about upgrading guitars in terms of using more strings or a longer scale length for those of us who are into that kinda thing because 7 strings don't appear in you mag

Posted by chris (127.0.0.1) on October 31, 2009 at 02:47 PM GMT #

i think you could do a review on essential gear such as different guitar strings, guitar cables etc etc. Also including some 'small' parts of famous riff's or solo's that use a specialsist technique would also be fabulous.

cheers

Posted by sam (127.0.0.1) on November 02, 2009 at 01:51 PM GMT #

Upgrading Song Writing?

Posted by Dans (127.0.0.1) on November 02, 2009 at 04:32 PM GMT #

How about... 'upgrade your sound'?

As guitarists we're all obsessed with the quest for 'ultimate tone'. You already do a lot of features on riffs, licks and the like, but the difference between great guitarists and those of us who can just play notes very fast is, of course, tone. you could do a range of articles on how to play faster, cleaner, improve vibrato and 'rhythm', fingering and sustain, and daring to play with less distortion... and perhaps intersperse with more hardware-based upgrades, from the simple and cost effective to more wallet-exhausting - strings, leads, pickups (electronics mods are rarely discussed!), to amps and tone-heavy guitars... you see where I'm going! Perhaps you could intersperse with vignettes about particular guitarists, their set-ups, and their technique idiosyncrasies... something along the lines of, what makes their playing unique and identifiable...

I'd pay for that... :)

Posted by Dom (127.0.0.1) on November 03, 2009 at 03:09 PM GMT #

I think that the hardest job of any aspiring musician is finding inspiration. an interview or just article on finding inspiration and putting it into music would be great.

Thanks guys.

Posted by Cam (127.0.0.1) on November 04, 2009 at 11:57 AM GMT #

Once again, thanks guys. There really are some great ideas in here!

Posted by The Editor (127.0.0.1) on November 04, 2009 at 05:46 PM GMT
Website: http://www.totalguitar.co.uk #

I would upgrade my motivation. Usually after a gig or whatever I'm really motivated to play, but other times I just can't make the effort to practise :( I'll noodle, but not really do anything focussed.

Posted by Matt (127.0.0.1) on November 06, 2009 at 06:29 PM GMT #

I would upgrade my practice schedule, I find it hard to fit in a solid practice session every day

You could do an issue about guitar injuries (tendonitis, repetitive strain injury etc etc), position ( back, standing, hands, forearms),
playing with a floating hand as oppose to anchoring which can cause stress injuries to your fingers, guitar care which is vital this time of year with winter setting in, a guide to warming up which is imperative with cold weather, I'm very knowledgeable in these areas and I'd be more than happy to email you tips and guides about everything I mentioned here, let me know if your interested

Posted by Lorcan Ward (127.0.0.1) on November 06, 2009 at 10:11 PM GMT #

Not really an idea for a whole issue, but can you please do a feature on changing pickups? I'm sure lots of people could do with this knowledge (including me) and I don't want to rely on dodgy internet tips.

Posted by Stu Gibson (127.0.0.1) on November 07, 2009 at 09:40 AM GMT #

I want to be able to upgrade my songwriting as everything i start to come up with just ends up like song i already know.

Posted by Joe Matschy (127.0.0.1) on November 08, 2009 at 04:04 PM GMT #

A section/whole issue on acoustic guitars would be great. Mostly total guitar is electric guitar so it would be good for acoustic players for an acoustic designed issue.

This would be a nice change and even electric guitar players would buy it to see the differences. I play both but notice most of the content is for the electric. =(

Posted by Stpehen Bell (127.0.0.1) on November 09, 2009 at 06:09 PM GMT #

A issue for lefty's,anything to do with hendrix, kurt cobain, tony iommi etc. and reviews on left handed guitars, that would be great!!

Posted by Dec (127.0.0.1) on November 09, 2009 at 08:50 PM GMT #

I think you should expermient with different string types talking about things like, smoothness, how good it is for de-tuning and the overall life of the different brands of strings. You could also rate a group of strings and compare them. You could also think about pick ups comparing pickups for certain styles of music e.g Emg is more metal personally and so on.

Posted by James (127.0.0.1) on November 10, 2009 at 08:46 PM GMT #

I'm quite a young guitarest, proberly at an average level because i've been playing 3 years and my practice sessions are roughly 3 or so hours a day.
I would love if you could explain in detail about things that would really help with my/our tone.
A couple of good examples for me would be explaining amps, what you should look for in an amp to get the best quality and deal, different types of wood that can increase your guitars tone, the types of picks that are best for the music you play and use brands like Dunlop etc.

I love the magazine and I buy it whenever it's out, thankyou TG

Posted by Jake (127.0.0.1) on November 11, 2009 at 06:04 PM GMT
Website: http://- #

Thanks, Jake. That's a great idea. Tone is something we've never really focused on before, probably because it seems more like the kind of thing our sister mag Guitarist would cover, but as you've requested it (and from a beginner/improver level) I think we could do a one-off feature on it.

Posted by The Editor (127.0.0.1) on November 13, 2009 at 12:24 PM GMT
Website: http://www.totalguitar.co.uk #

Could you do a review of the best available guitar courses on DVD?

Posted by Terry Nathan (127.0.0.1) on November 13, 2009 at 07:20 PM GMT #

Possibly a sectio n devoted to getting the "best" tone for different styles of music. I assume there are others like me who are begginners/intermediate and never in a million years gunna be able to be the next satch but dont fully understand the endless controlls on amps and pedals and about picking at differnt parts of the string etc!

Posted by Dan Wilstrop (127.0.0.1) on November 17, 2009 at 09:24 PM GMT #

I lack speed in my palm muting, maybe just a quick section of a page with a couple of "workouts" to improve the speed.

Posted by Christy Bullen (127.0.0.1) on November 19, 2009 at 05:03 PM GMT #

Perhaps something on upgrading the productivity of band practice/jamming sessions. I guess it would come down to setting targets or making plans but what about doing timed/recorded faux live sets to try and clear the dead time/stop the gobby bastard up front talking crap between songs.
I know The Answer had some good tips, but the chances are that they aren't working with a couple of hours a few nights a week!

Posted by Duncan (127.0.0.1) on November 24, 2009 at 10:40 PM GMT #

I would like to see TG upgrade their tabs to include an issue dedicated to BLACK METAL. There has never been a single black metal tab in TG ever!!! I think TG should upgrade to include an issue dedictaed to black metal to rectify this situation.

Posted by Mike Williams (127.0.0.1) on November 28, 2009 at 03:12 AM GMT #

I would like to read something about how to improve your playing when you don't have a guitar sitting on your lap, so you can, as an example, train your picking speed while sitting in class, instead of just being bored.

Posted by Thomas (127.0.0.1) on December 21, 2009 at 07:00 PM GMT #

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