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What did Edward Van Halen really say about his early tone? Did he really mean it? What can we read into it? Following is the remainder of the tone-related excerpts from the November 1978 Guitar Player interview (part 1 is here). Commentary by yours truly.
Part 1 By now no one’s exactly sure what Edward Van Halen really said or didn’t say about his tone and technique over the years. Even though lots of folks on this-here Internet thingy act like they know fo’ sho’, they either don’t or are misremembering. You really have to go back to what the […]
I’d heard of the Canadian metal band Annihilator but don’t think ever heard the band until I stumbled across this cover of the Van Halen tune “Romeo Delight.” The song was on VH’s third album, Women and Children First, and was also played by the band on its last tour. Take a listen. It’s good! […]
Close-up pics of the prototype Slash signature Marshall AFD100 amp were recently posted by user “stoof” at mylespaul.com. Veeeeeery interesting, especially if you’re a Slash fan and maybe an amp builder – or just want to try his knob settings.
Voodoo! I had another satellite radio inspirational moment yesterday when Sabbath’s “Voodoo” came on in the car. What a tune. Great singing and what a frickin’ nasty guitar tone. Sounded like uber-preamp gain with a cocked wah but not too fizzed out or mushy. So I went on the info hunt… …and of course since […]
(In case you missed it, here’s the first part of this review.) Next I set the Output at 1 o’clock and maxed the Sensitivity, while zeroing out the Attack and setting the Trim at 2 o’clock – “Chime Bloom,” per the instructions. The noise increased, but not to a level you’d likely notice on a […]
I’ve always had a soft spot for MXR pedals. A Distortion+ mated to a Boss GE-7 were the key ingredients in making my silverface Twin sound like a Marshall, back in 1986! But over the years I’ve become, well, a snob. A “boo-teek” snob. I thought, Surely some huge company with a team of talented […]
And the Skinny on Robby Krieger’s Rigs So there I am at New Jersey’s infamous Starland Ballroom, in scenic Sayreville NJ, on Friday night. I’m there to see the band Wiser Time, with Jimmy Somma of Sommatone amps on lead guitar. I’m there because Wiser Time is a very cool classic rock, Black Crowes-ish band, […]
This March the Free Forever DVD was re-released in expanded form, this time as a 2-DVD set – which is the first I’d heard about Free Forever. I couldn’t wait to get, watch it and tell you all how it is. Overall, it’s great. GREAT. What’s not to like? The songs are great, the singing […]
If you care about your tone (and I know you do), the Amp Show is an incendiary sensory explosion – and yet, it’s also like meditation. It’s a ride through lollipop fields and gumdrop mountains (or whatever) for tone-fiend, gear-head adults. If there was an F ticket at Disney, this would be it. Get the […]
If you live, I don’t know…8? 6? hours or less one-way from Piscataway, NJ, DO NOT miss the “New York” (like the Giants, it’s really New Jersey) Amp Show. It’s this weekend, June 5 and 6. If you care about, are curious about or aren’t totally happy with your tone and amp(s), definitely go. If […]
I have to say up front that Van Halen’s 5150 is one of my least-favorite VH albums. Naturally the songs and playing are good (truth be told I’m more of a Dave-era fan), but I’m not a huge fan of the buzzy guitar tone and the electronic drums. The VH brothers lost so much wood […]
More Volume, Less Volume Knob… What is Black Robot? If you guessed a Japanese comic book, you’d be…wrong. It’s an LA-based band, a new one but made up of veteran players who wanted to make classic-sounding rock. And they did, thanks in large part to producer Dave Cobb. Dave is a kung fu master of […]
…Including Why He Slagged Gibson Vivian Campbell has definitely left his mark on hard rock history
Long Live Dio! \m/ \m/ As a tribute to the recent passing of Ronnie James Dio (RIP RJD), I thought it would be good to take a look back at the gear a young and fiery Vivian Campbell used on the classic early ’80s Dio albums Holy Diver and The Last in Line. Tone-wise not […]