68 Guitarist January 2013

Thomas Blug InterviewInterview Thomas Blug

January 2013 Guitarist 6968 Guitarist January 2013

Guitarist has an audience with the Strat King of Europe. Of course, when we mention this regal title – awarded to Thomas Blug after a Fender-

organised shoot-out in 2004 – the German wizard gives the sort of flattered-but-awkward groan that you might expect from Tom Jones when discussing airborne knickers. “I was like, ‘Oh f**k, I hate competitions,’” he recalls, “but the guy who ran my webpage said I had to enter. There’s some pressure, of course. I just say, ‘Yes, I’m the Strat King… so what?’”

Forgive his modesty. As we’re reminded by his new Best Of album, Blug fully deserves the accolades, pulling off the rare combination of blazing technical prowess, push/pull dynamics, melodies that the milkman could whistle and a playing personality that means these instrumentals unfold like stories. Add to that the roaring tones of his self-modded ’61 Strat and co-designed Hughes & Kettner TriAmp, and we can’t see many rivals to his throne. He gives us the royal treatment, sharing his tips on how to set up Strats to perfection and improvise bigger, better, faster solos.

What we can expect from the compilation?“It’s the first half of my musical life. You get early recordings and newer recordings, so it has all of my faces, but I put live stuff on it, too, because I like myself more in a live situation. I kinda like to be thrown in the water and see what happens. When I was young, I was afraid of that, but it’s a

kick, like other people do bungee jumping or whatever. Forget about the plan. The outstanding moments are usually what happens out of the chaos.”

Your speed and precision are quite scary – don’t you make mistakes?“Oh sure, tons. But I mean, it’s more the question: what is a ‘mistake’? Is it a note you didn’t want to play? It’s like, if you’re making a speech and maybe you don’t use the perfect word to describe something but the message still comes through, it’s right. For me, the question is about how much brain is involved. I’m thinking a lot, but not when I’m on stage!”

What advice would you give to players who want to solo more fluently?“Most people have a switch in their brain: one side says, ‘Now, I’m a rhythm player,’ the other side says, ‘Now, I’m a solo player.’ My advice would be, try to connect both. When I was young, I would instinctively be playing a groove, then I’d do fills, like a drummer, with my solos. For me, there’s no difference between rhythm and solo guitar, and I think that’s also one of the secrets that makes me fluid, because it’s all one. I was influenced by Ritchie Blackmore, and I can hear Ian Paice’s drumming in Ritchie’s guitar. He was playing drum fills, y’know? That concept inspired me to do similar things.”

Do you compose your solos or improvise?“Improvise. I constantly have melodies in my head, and again, the best parts happen

when I don’t think about it. You have to free up your mind. Y’know, you learn guitar by doing patterns, and that’s okay for the first step, because it’s like walking. But to get to the next level, you need that mental change that says, ‘Okay, now leave the pattern, think about the bigger dimension.’ If I’m travelling, I can think about all the details, or I can just think, ‘I’m going to Berlin.’ The rest will just happen. Let it flow. So, I’ll establish a groove by playing some rhythm guitar, maybe look out of the window, keep on playing, don’t think about it. I tape all that s**t, and I found out the best stuff is when I wasn’t thinking about anything. But this requires some mental s**t!”

Some people have an, er, axe to grind about instrumental guitar music…“Most people think of music as somebody singing and some other guys playing. On the other hand, I try to make the guitar sing. So, if those people are that stupid that they say, ‘I need a human voice,’ then… I’m fine with that, but they’ll never be my fans. If you’re a little more open-minded, you’ll find out that my guitar tries to sing, at least. That’s my thing, because I’m a lousy singer. I can sing a little bit, but there are too many great guitar players who are lousy singers, so I don’t go down that road!”

How much has your rig changed over time?“Well, I’ve actually been using the same amp for the last 10 years: the Hughes & Kettner TriAmp MkII, which I co-designed. It’s a very expensive and

Throne Tone

Thomas Blug’s new heavyweight Best Of double album reminds us why he richly deserves his ‘Strat King’ moniker. Guitarist met the instrumental ace to talk about hot mods for Strats, how to solo with lightning-slick fluency,

live howlers, and why Beck rules Words Henry Yates

70 Guitarist January 2013

Interview Thomas Blug

flexible amp, with all-tube, old-school technology. I think the most important thing is that you know your amp, so if you buy a new amp every month, that’s not a great solution.”

You’re a decent engineer, too, aren’t you?“Yeah, my first hobby was electronics at 11, but when I was 14, I started to play guitar, and that was stronger. But I’m still excited about technology as well. With Hughes & Kettner, I could bring my musicianship, plus the TriAmp concept and some technical background. This was a six-channel all-tube head, and at that time, in 1995, there was a Mesa/Boogie Mark IV, but there weren’t really the Bogners, so this head was really advanced, but still using classic old circuitry, because tone-wise, I’m coming from the classic stuff.”

What’s happening on your pedalboard?“I have my little toys, because even though the amp sounds great, I’m constantly evolving the sound. I start with a George Dennis wah, which doesn’t sound as screamy as a Cry Baby. There’s nothing wrong with a Cry Baby – it’s the most intense wah – but I like my wah a bit sweeter, more like a sweepable filter to voice the guitar. I also have an Electro-Harmonix Small Stone. Then, I have a pedal called a Reußenzehn [Daniel-D Tubebooster]: very strange name. It’s just a tube, and I’m not using it as overdrive or anything, but as a buffer. It doesn’t do much – nearly nothing – but it’s a little twist, and transforms the signal a bit to a more old-school sound.

“I’m a delay freak, so I have an old [Electro-Harmonix] Memory Man to fill up the low-end with a little mud and make my Strat fat and dirty. Then, I have the [Hughes & Kettner] Replex, which is a tube tape echo. This was also my idea. I came up with a concept for a pedal that nails that old Echoplex sound, not just one of those 100 delay sounds. I have to have a

Replex with me. Even when I go to Asia, or somewhere I can’t take my pedalboard, I’ll still have that pedal.”

What is it about Strats and you?“Before I was even thinking about playing guitar, my mother had a tape with Hank Marvin on. I didn’t know who Hank Marvin was, or what a Strat was, but I liked the sound, y’know? Aesthetically, I’m more attracted by the Strat. If I look at a Les Paul, I always see a classical orchestral instrument, like a violin. For me, the Strat is like a car, with those 50s-style wings.

“And then, my influences, like Ritchie Blackmore, Jeff Beck, Hendrix: they all played Strats. On the other hand, there was Zeppelin and AC/DC, who had great sounds, but didn’t play Strats. So, my concept was always, ‘I want to play one guitar, and I want to play a Strat.’ But then, to make the Strat as flexible as possible, for this other classic-rock sound.”

How have you modded your favourite ’61?“20 years ago, I put in this dummy coil, because single-coil pickups do pick up noise. This is not the biggest secret, but you can use an extra coil, and I have a ’bucker switch to bring it in. I was experimenting with different coils, and found out that it’s actually a benefit for that classic-rock tone. If you have a glassy Strat tone, it’s a problem for overdrive to handle this much high-end. But if you have this extra coil, you have kind of a humbucker; you lose some super-high-end, and you have a more focused midrange, which gives punch and clarity in an overdrive situation. The other thing is, I have a capacitor on the volume control, so if I reduce it, I still have the high-end.

“My Vintage signature model basically has the same features. The first signature guitars had a lighter wood – poplar or something – and I didn’t like it that much, so now we have an American alder body. It’s super quality for that price. I still have

my ’61 with me, and one of my signature models as the spare, and on the Blug Plays Hendrix tour I played one of the Vintage guitars, because I don’t have a real old Fender painted in Hendrix style. It’s cool.”

Who would you crown as ‘Strat King’?“Jeff Beck, and I’ll tell you why: he plays the way he is. And you know, we were talking about patterns, and maybe he’s stuck in his patterns, but at least it’s his s**t. Do I rate any younger guitarists? Bonamassa is definitely a great player, but sometimes I miss his personal message. He’s got all the chops of everybody – including more and more of his own. But, I mean, he’s got another 20 years to prove he’s got something super-personal. That’s what I’m interested in as a guitar player – that’s why I do this. ”

Thomas Blug’s The Best Of is out now on Stunted Records.

Strat’s The Way I Like ItThe Strat King on how to set up your Fender to fly

“Most players are afraid of doing something to their guitar, but you have to spend time with the instrument, and get a feel for what it does if you put the strings higher or lower, or have more tension on the neck. Of course, if you’re a beginner, you should go to a shop. I was always interested in watching what the guys did and learning the reaction. If I have a new Strat, it takes at least a week to find the sweet spot for everything. I have 15 Strats – old, new, vintage, reissues, and my signature guitars – but I’ll adjust everything differently. On my ’61, I raised the string tree to reduce the pressure on the nut, I looked at the tremolo [vibrato] system… you have to look at the details.”

Blugged in: Thomas’s pedalboard encompasses boutique, vintage and budget effects