Category Archives: Electric guitars

Lick No.1: Peter Haycock, “Rollin’ Home”

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If you have not listened to The Climax Blues Band before, then you are in for a treat. Whilst they had just one song that would classify as a 'hit', "Couldn't Get It Right", they crafted a string of excellent albums, and, in the late '70s and early '80s, seemed on the verge of breaking into the big time.

Peter Haycock, who very sadly died at a young age just a few years ago, was a gifted guitarist. Apart from his brilliant playing, he will probably also be remembered for his Veleno guitars, those all-aluminium creations of John Veleno. Several of Pete's were gold-plated, which presumably is what inspired the title of their excellent 1976 album...'Gold Plated'.

Apart from "Couldn't Get It Right", the album features some excellent tunes with terrific blues guitar work, such as "Mighty Fire" and "Rollin' Home", from which I chose my 'Tasty Blues Lick' No.1. The lick comes just into the second verse, straight after Pete sings that memorable line, "...sometimes I feel like a monkey". We could call it the 'monkey lick', I suppose, but whether we do or not, it's a beauty.

Check out the instructional video I've posted on YouTube HERE or by clicking the "Tasty Blues Lick" image below, where I break it down. And if you haven't already got 'Gold Plated', treat yourself to a copy on CD or vinyl. You'll be doing yourself a big favour, and, if you buy it via one of my links, you'll be helping to support the site and the free guitar lessons 🙂 because for each sale from a link, a small commission will be generated - at no extra cost to you.  You'll find both UK and USA links to buy the album, HERE.

Enjoy the Monkey Lick and the rest of Pete Haycock's wonderful guitar playing.

Garageband settings for HIDEAWAY

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When Eric Clapton picked up his guitar to record what would become the definitive electric blues guitar album in March of 1966 there was no such thing as 'Garageband'.  Instead, he plugged into a 30w Marshall 2x12 combo.  Before that time, he'd been using a half stack, a JTM 45 and matching 4x12 cab, the stuff that amp collectors' dreams are made of.

The engineer struggled to record any usable sound at all from the 30w combo.  Eric played at full volume, throwing a 'hand-grenade' into blues-rock history and forcing the engineers to rewrite the rule books.  The sound levels must have literally been deafening, as anyone who has played through a non-master volume amp with this sort of power can imagine.  But the sound of the electric guitar would never be the same again, and countless guitarists have since sought to emulate that stinging, biting and bluesy, magnificent Beano tone.These days, there are many great amps that will get you in the ball park of that sound without breaking your hearing.  And you can even get a passable and usable approximation directly from your computer.

For the cover version and lessons of 'Hideaway' I have uploaded to YouTube I played a 2010 RO Gibson Les Paul.  I used the bridge pickup with the volume on around 6 and the tone about 2.  I ran it via a curly lead into an iRig interface, straight into the computer and thence to Apple's great recording program, 'Garageband'.  The main setting in Garageband was 'Crunch Guitar' and the sub-setting, 'Heartbroken'.  I have attached here a screenshot of all the settings, so you can see what was on, and what was off, and where the dials were set.

The tone is a little more distorted than is ideal for emulating the Beano sound, but it's hard to get around that problem without compromising the power and sustain that we need in some of the parts, especially the bends in the high register.  In conclusion, it's not perfect, but it's workable.  I am a big fan of Garageband.

Tune your guitar, especially when it matters

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What's the first thing you should do when you pick up your guitar? Well, you don't need me to tell you, because you know. You should check the tuning. It's a rule that I broke most of the time back in the day when I was first learning. I'm sure I must have made more of an effort when I was playing with a band or jamming with friends. But for sitting around in front of the TV, just practising licks, bends and scales, I would give the tuning just a cursory check.

These days, I try to be more disciplined. After doing five or ten minutes of hand and finger stretches (more on that later) the first thing I do when I take my guitar from its stand is grab my little clip-on tuner, attach it to the headstock and start tuning. It's a good habit to develop on a number of levels, not least of which is that it trains your ear to appreciate what your guitar should sound like when it is in tune. And the more you do it, the more attuned you'll become to a well-tuned instrument, and the more you'll recoil in horror when you hear one that isn't. With so many tuners available for all tastes and budgets, it's an essential piece of equipment that you can't afford to be without.

One of the more versatile types of tuners on the market today is the clip-on variety. With a strong spring and a lever they can be quickly attached to and detached from, your guitar's headstock. And they are small enough carry around in your pocket in case you suddenly find yourself in a situation where you have no choice but to play. Urged on by your friends to join a Sunday afternoon blues jam at a pub far away from your home is the kind of thing that springs to mind.

So, if you have a tuner, please use it; and if you don't, please get one as soon as you can. Get tuning. You'll thank yourself for it later.