One of my favorite solos on a KISS tune is on one of the studio cuts from KISS Alive II: All American Man. It’s one of my (many) favorite KISS tunes, and guitar sounds too. I should also mention that I’m a huge Ace Frehley fan: He is THE reason I and many other guit-slingers [...]

Wayne Charvel Suggested an Ash Body to Ed?
Here are some more Edward Van Halen “back in the day” tidbits, though not as far back as last week’s article. We’ll go from farthest back to most recent. As with all Ed-related info, it’s best taken with a grain of salt because there’s been so much mis- [...]

One Man’s Recollections, Anyway…
And: Why Ed Used a Variac and Greenbacks?
[A quick request: Please do not copy and paste this entire post somewhere else. Thanks!]
Not too long ago I had the pleasure of connecting with a guy who grew up with Eddie Van Halen. Ed went to the same high school, they both played guitar [...]

Too Nervous to Meet Clapton?!

George Lynch is a gain maniac. Always has been, WAY before the Mesa crowd stormed the gates of rock. He was using solid state Randalls before anyone even heard about Dimebag Darrell (RIP, bro).
So I read with interest recent comments he made in a Guitar Center interview. In it he also [...]

Seems like someone at Guitar Center had the common sense to grab a videocam and get Joe Satriani to talk about his pedals. And talk Satch does. He says why he likes each one, what settings he uses, what the pedals can do, even the order (a little) of his signal chain. Sweet!
And through it [...]

Calling Ronnie Montrose!

Are you a diehard Les Paul collector with a spare $300,000 or more? Then you’re in luck! A ‘58 ‘burst les Paul, once owned by Gary Moore (but NOT now owned by him), is for sale on eBay.
Here’s some info from the listing:

Even though my roots are in the shredder ’80s – but guys like EH, Randy Rhoads and George Lynch, not the ‘wanna-bes’ – it’s been a while since I’ve bashed on a Floyd or gotten excited about a guitar from a Japanese guitar company. I guess I’ve mellowed into the vintage scene…dude.
Don’t get me wrong: [...]

We’re finally seeing sun here in Jersey for the first time in about 15 years, so it’s inspired a “head into the weekend with Van Halen” post. It’s Friday – I’ll keep it light.
Three vids: the first a short convo between Jimmy Page and Les Paul in which they discuss EVH; then a KILLER live [...]

Does Angus Channel Koss?
Almost 40 years since it was released in 1970, and still one of the all-time classic tunes: Do I need to say more?
You know the riff, you know how to play it (or think you do, sorta) and you might even think you know what Paul Kossoff used gear-wise: a ‘59 Les [...]

Apparently you can only buy the Chickenfoot CD at Best Buy, which is distributing the disc, because I must have tried everywhere else on Friday and Saturday (didn’t pass any Best Buys). Luckily amazon.com was offering the whole disc for a $3.99 download. Sold! – and incidentally, this is the first time I bought an [...]

It’s cool that Joe Bonamassa is a pretty regular participant on the forum at his website. Maybe that’s because, at 32, he’s a little younger than most guitar heroes. Or maybe it’s because he’s jazzed about gear and wants to share what he’s learned – and is still learning.
Whatever the case, the fact that he shares [...]

It’s generally accepted that, rock star-owned guitars possibly excepted, the priciest guitars in the world are 1959 ‘burst Gibson Les Pauls. Apparently they sound great, feel great, play great, and they’re old and rare – all amounting to guitars worth a few hundred thousand dollars each.
At times I’ve seen prices quoted in the half-mil range [...]

Leaving the Allmans Soon?
Lots of slide typically doesn’t do a whole lot for me. But I do love what Duane Allman, Sonny Landreth, Derek Trucks and a few others can do with a slide. They are truly expressing themselves, not just playing the guitar. And they’ve got TONE – of a Woody nature, of course.
The [...]