Gear: Tom's Guitars and Amps
Tom walks you through his signature guitars and trusty amps and shares the story behind each.
Topics include: Tom's First Guitar • Gibson Explorer • Arm the Homeless • Black Telecaster • Whatever It Takes • Ovation Breadwinner • Soul Power • Creamy • Black Spartacus • "Guerrilla Radio" Guitar • The Music Man Amp • The Marshall Cube Amp
Teaches Electric Guitar
In 26 lessons, Grammy-winning musician Tom Morello will teach you the guitar techniques, rhythms, and riffs that define his signature style.
And now, let's take a journey through my peculiar collection of guitars, my amps, and why they're here and why they're important to me. It's kind of an island of misfit toys with six strings. This is my first-ever guitar-- the $50 K Special from Ragoni Music in Libertyville, Illinois. I remember going to the shop. I wanted the Ovation Breadwinner. That was far too expensive. My mom said $50 is the budget. And this was the one $50 guitar in the store. It's a knock-off of a Gibson SG. And I remember very, very-- they say that no great art is ever made without a chip on the shoulder. And I remember very clearly, at 13 years old, when I walked into Ragoni Music, I couldn't get the guitar I wanted. They gave me this one. At the time, the action of this guitar-- the action means the height of the strings off the neck. It makes it easier to play if it's a lower action, and a particularly high action making it more difficult to play, that high action. And the man behind the counter jokingly said to the room, well-- well, this guitar probably won't work for him, because of all the extensive guitar solos he's going to be playing. And I remember sitting there at 13 going, you have-- you don't know that I'm not going to play extensive guitar solos. I didn't say that at the time, but I thought it at that time. And then later on-- [GUITAR MUSIC PLAYING] I'm not sure that's an extensive guitar solo. But I showed that son of a bitch. [GUITAR PLAYING] When I moved from the K guitar, the only guitar I wanted was the Gibson Explorer that you see here. It was on sale for 500 bucks that I spent so much time saving for. And then I missed the sale, and they raised it to 1,000 bucks. And I went in there, like, on knees-- on my knees. And I begged. Can I have it for the sale price, man? And I said, I need that shark fin. I need that shark fin bad, because it's metal. It looked like I was in The Scorpions. And it felt right. And they took pity on me and they let me get this guitar. I absolutely ruined the thing by adding a Kahler tremolo to it. Now, a Kahler-- I won't bore you with that. But it's a kind of whammy bar that cuts out the part of the guitar that makes it sound good and ruins it with a whammy bar that you're never going to use. That's the short version of it. But this is the guitar that I spent my 20,000 hours on. This is the one that I took to Harvard. This is the one that I moved to LA with. And this is the fretboard where I did all of my technique and all of my theory and I annoyed the roommates with, and played metal in spandex at Harvard keg parties with, I was looked askance at with. But it has a place that's near and dear from-- near to my heart. And for many years, I made sure that, no matter what project I was doing, that I played this guitar on every song and every record that I played on. At least, a little bit, I snuck it in there. [GUITAR PLAYING] This is my main guitar, sort of ...
Tom Morello is a two-time Grammy winner and one of Rolling Stone's "greatest guitarists of all time." In his first online guitar class, the co-founder of Rage Against the Machine will teach you the riffs, rhythms, and solos that launched his career and sent his music to the top of the charts. Tom will share his approach to making music that challenges the status quo and teach you how to create your own musical style.
I wish more celebrities put together a package like this one...
This class has been great. I have been a huge fan of Tom for years and now I feel like he is my personal instructor. He makes it easy to understand.
Shaun N.
Awesome course, what a humble and talented guy!
Eric P.
great encapsulation of what matters in guitar playing...
Pedro I.
Joe K.
I had that very same Music Man amp when I first started playing out. Great sounding amp! My first was an Acoustic 134 self contained 4 x 12 100 watt ...very clean and LOUD LOUD LOUD!! I now run a Marshall Valvestate head through that cabinet. Your MasterClass is helping me in so many ways Tom. Thank you so much for everything you have shared with us in this class. Cheers!
Pisko
Dear Tom, u r a great person, an amazing artist n guitarrist, u r didactic, entertaining n very inspiring; ur Masterclass is outstanding!!! Just wanted 2 know a lil more about ur view of "Sendero Luminoso", I'm peruvian, they killed around 70,000 people here, mostly farmers that wouldn't cooperate with them on attacking the national police n army. A friend of mine's had his house destroyed by a car bomb those terrorists exploded in Lima in 1992 killing 25 innocent people. Like u said, it's important to stand for ur convictions, but it all starts with beign propperly informed. U wnet 2 Harvard, that's why I hope ur guitar has nothing 2 do with terrorists. PLEASE ANSWER
Vickie V.
I don't think I've ever liked the back of anyone's guitar like I like yours XD
Dominic C.
And what about the Talman? I almost bought this class only to hear Tom talk about what was "wrong" with this guitar and what Ibanez did to recreate this "problem" (Ok not only for this reason... ;) )
Great advice! Cheap guitar, bought for its appearance. Tiny, solid-state amp. Hit record. Just do it!
Tom has such a fantastic sense of humour and infectious laugh. "....Bless your heart".
01. Introduction02. Developing Your Creative Voice03. Riffs04. Gear: Pedals and Effects05. Tones and Sounds06. Tom's Noise Chart07. Tom's Influences: Rock, Jazz, Classical, and Folk08. Tom's Influences: EDM, the Blues, and Hip-Hop09. Practice10. Technique: Developing Speed11. Beginner Theory: Pentatonic and Blues Scales12. Theory: Unlocking the Fretboard13. Improvisation14. Solos15. Solo Case Study: "The Ghost of Tom Joad"16. Rock Songwriting Fundamentals17. Riff Rock Writing: Verses and Multitracking18. Riff Rock Writing: Chorus, Solo, and Arrangement19. Lyrics and Melody20. Studio Recording21. Case Study: "Killing in the Name"22. Live Shows: Philosophy and Nerves23. Live Shows: Practicalities and Performance24. Bands and Collaboration25. Gear: Tom's Guitars and Amps26. Conclusion