How to Play Guitar Like Bernard Butler

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Listen to the Butler Era Suede back catalogue.

   Bernard was the lead guitarist for the band from their inception, but most of their finished material featuring his guitar work was released between 1992-1994.
   
   This includes their debut Suede, the follow-up Dog Man Star, the stand alone single Stay Together, and the respective B-sides and rarities, many of which can be found on the album Sci-Fi Lullabies.
   
   This will give you a good idea of the techniques and styles he uses, and the further you delve into the back catalogue, the more you will notice a common theme and style that recurs in the guitar work.
2. 2

   Step 2: Get to know the equipment used on the records.

   Bernard used a Gibson Les Paul during the band's early years, and regularly live on songs such as 'Animal Nitrate' and 'Metal Mickey'.
   
   He has also utilised a Fender Telecaster, Gibson J-200, Vox Phantom and Fender Electric XII, however, the electric guitar most commonly associated with him is a cherry red 1960 Gibson ES-355TD-SV, which he has continued to use throughout his career.
   
   His primary amp would appear to be a Vox AC30, which has been used extensively throughout his career.
   
   Any of this equipment would be useful in replicating Bernard's guitar sound, but is not necessary.
   
   Brands such as Epiphone offer more affordable versions of the Les Paul and 355, and any cheaper Vox amp would help recreate the cleaner, jangly tones on the Suede records. , Bernard used two distinct guitar sounds for nearly every Suede song he played one:
   The first is a clean-ish, jangly tone, quite similar to Johnny Marr's (one of Bernard's guitar heroes) signature sound, but with a flavour of it's own that is very characteristic of his regular amp, the Vox AC30.
   
   This sound can be hear most prominently during the verses of 'Metal Mickey' and 'Animal Lover'.
   
   The amp settings that I usually use for this tone are Gain
   - 5, Bass
   - 1, Middle
   - 7, Treble 10, Reverb
   -
   3.
   
   The second is a fuzzy, over-driven tone that Bernard often uses to thicken the lead parts, such as the one in 'Stay Together'.
   
   For this he used a Boss DS-2 Turbo distortion, and the settings that I use for this on the pedal are Gain
   - 10, Tone
   - 7 and Distortion
   -
   5.
   
   This, or any similar pedal will give you the distorted fuzz that characterised the explosive Suede choruses. , One of Butler's finest moments is the introduction to 'Animal Nitrate'.
   
   The track begins with eerie ambient sounds, followed a distinctive riff in the key of B minor, which is then boosted by a roaring flanger effect, helping to introduce the song in style.
   
   Bernard seemed to favour using an effects pedal for the introduction of a song, such as a chorus effect on the intro to 'We Are The Pigs'.
   
   Adding an effect can give a guitar part an extra edge that sets it apart from others.
   
   However, a simple crunch tone can embellish an intro, as demonstrated in the raunchy power chords that open Suede's debut single, 'The Drowners'. , Bernard often broke down and embellished chords for many of the songs, a great example of which would be the intro/verse of 'Metal Mickey'.
   
   The chords for the verse are A, G, D, C and A.
   
   However, rather than strumming them freely, he broke down each chord and embellished it by turning it into a series of guitar licks.
   
   If you listen closely to the song, whilst the first A chord is strummed in it's entirety, the following chords are represented with a series of bass notes and fast licks.
   
   This is a recurring style that shows up regularly on the Suede album, and is present in other songs such as 'My Insatiable One' and 'So Young'.
   
   In conclusion, when trying to emulate Bernard's rhythm style, it's best to break things into open chord parts, rather than just hammering out barre chords.
   
   When it comes to his guitar style, the more intricate and interesting sounding it is, the better! , Whilst Bernard gives texture to the verses of a song with jangly rhythm parts, the chorus more often than not features a melancholic, melodic counterpart to the vocal.
   
   Emphasized with a fat fuzzy tone, these parts sometimes copy the vocal part, or simply compliment the vocals with an alternate melody.
   
   Some of the best examples of this would be the over-driven chorus of 'So Young'
   
   which features a minor pentatonic melody, and 'Stay Together'
   
   which departs from the quiet arrangement of the verse with a bluesy, fuzzy guitar part. , Whilst he often used standard pentatonic scales to construct solos, such as those found in 'Metal Mickey' and 'Animal Lover'
   
   in other songs he was prone to experimentation, and literally 'thinking outside the box'
   
   namely the pentatonic scale boxes.
   
   The best examples of this would be the 'Animal Nitrate' solo, which recalls the chorus part, but also ventures into an almost chromatic series of notes, and the solo in 'The Asphalt World'
   
   which favours melody over strict scales to complement the minor sound of the song.
   
   One of his most memorable, the solo in 'We Are The Pigs' combines both methods, by sticking to regular pentatonic scales, but still with a strong sense of melody.
   
   Basically, as long as it sounds interesting, don't worry about soloing within 'the rules': remember, rock music is all about breaking them! , Bernard demonstrated a wide variety of guitar tricks and techniques during his time in Suede, some of which were purely musical, and some of which contributed to his guitar showmanship.
   
   These include, but are not limited to:
   Pick slides (Moving, Metal Mickey) Half step and full step bends Legato (employed in a variety of ways) Trills (Animal Lover) Bending the guitar neck to raise or lower the pitch of a chord (Used memorably just before the Animal Nitrate solo) Tremolo Picking (Stay Together, Moving) Triplets (Stay Together) Arpeggios within a solo (My Insatiable One) Double stops (Metal Mickey) , As mentioned previously, Bernard often used effects to enhance his guitar sound.
   
   Most of the songs on the first album feature only a small handful of effects, compared to the large array that Bernard used on the second, Dog Man Star.
   
   Here are several of the effects he used, and examples/the songs he used them most prominently on:
   Distortion/Fuzz
   - 'Animal Lover'
   
   'This Hollywood Life'.
   
   Flanger
   - 'Animal Nitrate'
   
   'My Dark Star'
   
   'Metal Mickey' Phaser
   - 'My Dark Star'
   
   'Animal Nitrate' Chorus
   - 'Stay Together'
   
   'We Are The Pigs'
   
   'The Asphalt World' Wah Wah
   - 'The Asphalt World'
   
   What sets Bernard Butler apart from other guitarists of his era, is that he epitomized the role of the lead guitarist.
   
   Rather than just strumming chords, he used the guitar as his voice, and his guitar work was as equally important to the early Suede era as Brett Anderson's vocals.
   
   Butler broke the boundaries with the instrument, and was arguably the most accomplished lead guitarist to emerge out of the Britpop movement.
3. 3

   Step 3: Capture Bernard's tone.

4. 4

   Step 4: Create distinctive and memorable intros.

5. 5

   Step 5: Arpeggiate chords.

6. 6

   Step 6: Play soulful

7. 7

   Step 7: melodic leads.

8. 8

   Step 8: Experiment with your solos.

9. 9

   Step 9: Use a variety of techniques.

10. 10

    Step 10: Use a range of effects pedals.

11. 11

    Step 11: Finally

12. 12

    Step 12: be inventive.

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