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Ron Thal, also known as Bumblefoot, is one of the most respected guitarists ever. This is evident from the guest list on his new album: Guthrie Govan, Steve Vai and Brian May.

The album is titled …Returns!

It’s a heady cocktail of quasi-industrial, futuristic-sounding instrumental metal with hints of sublime guitar playing.

And it will be released on January 24, 2025.

Bumblefoot is, of course, best known for his time in Guns N’ Roses during the long period when Slash was out of the band. He worked with singer Axl Rose on the album Chinese Democracy and is responsible for contributing to each of the 14 tracks on this album.

Right off the bat, he tells MusicRadar that he doesn’t like to talk about his time in GN’R – but he eventually does, with a little gentle prodding.

He’s much happier when he talks about his new album, his guitar heroes and the pure joy of playing…

Which guitar did you learn on?

“It was a no-name, kid-sized practice guitar with nylon strings. After that I owned a copy of a Pace Les Paul. I have never seen a Pace guitar on this planet since! I don’t know where this thing came from or who made it, but it looked like a sunburst Les Paul. I got it when I was eight and it was my guitar!”

Which guitar was the game-changer for you when you were starting out?

“It was a 1983 Ibanez Roadstar. I finally had a guitar that I could play Van Halen and Ozzy songs on. I had previously bought a Fender Stratocaster, but it just didn’t have the balls I was looking for. I was an old school metalhead, so I needed something with a (tremolo) bar that was really harder. I think I put a Floyd Rose on the Ibanez and toured and recorded with it for about 13 years.

Which guitarist is your biggest influence?

“There’s Hendrix, Brian May and all the other cool bands from the 60s and 70s. Definitely Angus Young and Yngwie (Malmsteen) of course. But my main influence has to be Eddie Van Halen. Before him there was the guitar, and after him there was the guitar.

“There are periods of time that you can measure, and before Van Halen there was a lot of reckless, bluesy playing from Angus Young. Then Van Halen experimented and there was a lot of unconventional things they could do. It was exploratory.”

When it comes to technology, what was the last new trick you learned?

“Many of my tricks are old! But on my new album (…Returns!) there is an acoustic intro where I do my shitty version of flamenco because I can’t play flamenco. I do something that’s kind of like a banjo roll, I take my fingers off, pull on the open string and quickly hammer it back down.

“So you pick the fourth string, pluck the second string with your second finger, quickly pluck the first string, and then lift your fretting finger, which is on the second string, to drag it to the open string and strike the note back down. You get these five grades.”

What was the last piece of gear you were looking forward to?

“There are two. The first is the DigiTech JamMan (Solo) HD looper. It has a lot of storable loops; You can loop for hours with this thing. It has excellent audio quality, making it an excellent looper. The other is the DigiTech FreqOut (Natural Feedback Creator). It simulates amp feedback, like if you just go up, look at the amp and hold the note. It starts by integrating it with feedback and has all these settings that let you control the harmonics, or they could be random, and you control the jumps in the level. You can also use it as a momentary switch.”

How much are you practicing now?

“My guitar is always within reach. I spend 10 hours a day in front of the computer mixing albums for a band when I’m producing and I’m like, “Okay, in five minutes I’m going to take a break and play something.” And then 10 hours go by and you’re like, “Okay “I’ll play tomorrow.” I might spend weeks without touching a guitar.

“It’s really shameful. That has to change. I really need to play more. It doesn’t help my hands anymore.

“I used to spend every free minute playing guitar. I would take lessons, I would practice, I would write. And then I dropped the needle on an album and played along until I figured it out. This gave me a good sense of where a song would go.”

Do you have any bad habits as a player?

“Oh, lots of them! I sit down too much. When I play standing up, my wrist isn’t used to it and everything in my fingers feels weak. I have to play standing up more.

“If you sit down and lean over the guitar, it’s comfortable. But when you stand up and the guitar is in your step, you have to grip it completely differently. I’m losing a lot of dexterity so I need to practice this because I don’t do it often enough.”

Is there anything you can’t play that you would like to play?

“Basketball! But definitely half of Jeff Watson’s solos from the Night Ranger songs. People don’t realize how unconventional he was. His finger picking and tapping was just crazy. He showed me a lot of solos and I can do them Still not playing after all these years!”

What technique did you have to learn the hardest to master?

“Economy picking. It took me a while to get comfortable with it. But once it’s part of your game, it comes naturally. So it was just a matter of getting used to it – and singing and playing at the same time.”

What song or performance are you most proud of?

“My last album, Little Brother is Watching, was one where I was happy with everything. The songs, arrangements, recording and production were exactly what I wanted. And now, with my new album “…Returns!”, I’m happy with the sound. I have no complaints about anything.”

What is your favorite song on Chinese Democracy?

“The song I’m most proud of is Shackler’s Revenge. I feel like I contributed a lot more to this song than some of the others. From the crazy guitar solos to the tapping noises at the end of the last chorus, this song had a lot on my mind. And it was a lot of fun playing live, especially coordinating the backing vocals and all the crazy tapping patterns at the end of the song. It’s a lot of fun to play the song.

“But I have to say that Shackler’s Revenge was already written – and Buckethead (another Chinese Democracy guitarist) was already out of the band. I believe he’s the one who wrote a good portion of this song, so I put the icing on a cake that already existed when I joined the band.”

How did you come up with the riffs and solos with GN’R?

“By experimenting with different ideas in the studio. I was with Caram Costanzo, who was in charge of engineering and production and was very active in the studio every day. We spent a good 14 hours a day just trying different directions and approaches until the vision fit best.”

Was it inspiring for you to work with Axl?

“I won’t talk too much about Guns N’ Roses. And especially not about Axl. It only leads to turmoil and torment for me.”

Have you ever felt like you failed as a player or were embarrassed by a performance?

“I feel that every time I’m on stage! I really do. Every time I play I usually walk off stage depressed, feeling like I let myself down, let the audience down, that I could have done better, that I wasn’t focused and that I didn’t No connection to music. And the more shows I do, the more suicidally depressed I become. So pretty much everyone!”

And any final words to the guitarists out there?

“What I can’t play is pretty much infinite. And this applies to everyone, because there is an endless path ahead of you. You can learn, practice and discover what lies ahead. You are always an eternal student. And that’s exciting…”