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 the greatest – also not the worst, compared to some modern metal stuff – but classic metallic hard rock nonetheless. Great tunes, great drumming and some great playing by Vivian, who was 20 at the time.

Let’s start with a quote from Viv’s website: “When I joined Dio in 1982, I had a very direct setup of a Les Paul through an overdrive pedal into a Marshall.” For tone-heads, that’s only marginally helpful. So with further investigation, here’s what he appears to have used:

Guitars

> 1977 Les Paul Deluxe (purchased new in Belfast in ‘77), wine red, sanded down and painted black (by Viv), jumbo frets, brass nut and DiMarzio pickups. The guitar meant so much to him he memorized the serial number, which I won’t put here in case some Far East LP-replicating troll runs across it.

> Re: pickups, it appears Viv never specified exactly what was in the guitar during the sessions. The DiMarzios were black with 12 shiny pole pieces, which likely means they were Dual Sounds (four-wire version of the Super Distortion) – Super Distortions were only available in cream. He then apparently changed to a Dimarzio X2N and then to a Seymour Duncan Full Shred – obviously he was into higher-output pickups.

> A few years on in his Dio stint, Viv got “LA”d and used Charvels with Floyd Rose bridges. Presumably he stuck with higher-output pickups.

L2R: DiMarzio Dual Sound, DiMarzio X2N, Duncan Full Shred.

Signal Chain

> Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 or a Boss GE-7 7-band graphic EQ (either, not both, to boost his signal) into a stock Marschall JCM800 (not sure if 2203/100w or 2204/50w), bought for him by Ronnie. No info on the speakers/cab, but a safe bet is that it was a stock JCM800 cab which I believe likely had Celestion G12T-75s – 75w speakers.

> One user on the Harmony Central forums quoted an old interview in which Viv apparently said his Marshall(s) had Groove Tubes rated at #1, for quickest break-up.

Also

> Passed on from Viv to his guitar tech to a poster on a forum is that at the time Viv also had “fast-as-f*ck fingers, Marlboros and a lot of coffee.” [What, no booze?!]

And there you have it. Another mostly successful tonal investigation.

Dio, Rainbow in the Dark, Rock Palace, 1983
> Here Viv has an X2N in the neck position and an unknown one in the bridge.

Notable

> Later in his career he used Randall solid-state heads (end of Dio), Marshall JCM900s, and for many years now has been using a Marshall JMP1 preamp into power amps/rack setup. On his website he said: “My setup with Def Leppard has remained basically unchanged for the last several years and consists of Marshall JMP preamps, various rackmount effects units, and Marshall and Mesa/Boogie power amps all being united though a Bradshaw switching system. This amount of equipment and the versatility of a midi-programmable switching system is very necessary in a band like Leppard, as our music is multi-layered with many delay-dependent program changes…” Lots of info about his current rig on the web.

> Re: his Dio work, he said: “Although I was unconvinced at the time, upon listening to my early work on the first two Dio albums recently, I can finally appreciate the fire that I played with. I didn’t have a lot of technique compared to most of my peers, but that’s not what music always calls for. Try telling me that at the time, however!” He added: “I didn’t get the chance to record with Whitesnake, with the exception of one guitar solo on “Give Me All Your Love Tonight.” I did have my favorite spots during the live show and one of those was playing the solo on “Is This Love,” which was a particularly melodic solo as recorded by John Sykes.

Dio, The Last in Line, Philadelphia Spectrum, 1984

Fund Drive

Since everyone doesn’t read every post, appending posts with this for a bit. C’mon fellas!

Doing a “keep the lights on and do more cool sh*t” fund drive. If you dig and look forward to WoodyTone, and find the info fun and valuable, please donate. Gracias!

$10 one-time

Carlos with his main live guitar, a stock Gibson Flying V (click to see it bigger).

Part 2: Gibson V > Tube Screamer > Soldano, Blackstar

Part 1 of this WoodyTone interview with former Quiet Riot and current Ratt guitarist Carlos Cavazo was about Carlos joining the band and writing the new album. Here in part 2 it’s all about the gear details – interesting because Carlos’ Ratt tone is quite different than his QR tone.

WoodyTone: In every photograph I see you’re playing a V now – why? You played them some in Quiet Riot, but is this a tribute to Robbin Crosby in a way?

Carlos: It was purely accidental. I came down one day to the rehearsal studio and was using [a V], and [the band] said, ‘That sounds great. It’s different from Warren.’ I was bringing in some Jackson Charvels – I love them. But it just so happened [the band] liked [the Vs]. It’s a different sound than what Warren has, and makes a good blend.

As far as a tribute to Robbin, I think that’s great if people make that connection. I think that’s cool. I actually used to hang out with him before any of other guys knew him.

What’s your favorite V?

With his favorite Flying V.

Definitely a Gibson Flying V, a white one I’ve had since the ’80s. I use that once in a while. It’s an early ’80s – I think it’s an ‘81 – Gibson Flying V with block inlays.

Will we see the return of the Washburn A-5s you used in Quiet Riot? Do you still own them?

They were actually A-20Vs and I do still have them. I use them sometimes in the studio, but those particular ones I had in the ’80s, my friends pretty much talked me out of them. You know, ‘You’re not using that anymore so….’

Your sound now is a lot more raw than it was with Quiet Riot and Big Noize [an all-star '80s cover band]. What’s changed and why?

I just do a different thing. Ratt is all about a street kind of vibe – the guitar straight into the amp. In other bands I had a signal-processing unit, and [Ratt] thought it was a little processed. Ratt wanted to go with more of a natural sound, and I agree. I like that sound.

What’s your signal chain?

In the QR days with a Washburn A-20V.

The guitar [a new Gibson Flying V] with an Audio-Technica wireless, then I have an Ibanez TS808 [Tube Screamer], a Boss delay [probably a DD-3] and then into a Soldano SLO-100. I used those amps on the record as well – a Soldano and a Marshall JCM 800 that was modified. Elvis, the producer [Mike Baskette], owned it, and I hooked into it and loved it. It’s a hot-rodded amp. On the record I used Elvis’ cabinets – I think they were both Marshalls.

I’ve been using Soldanos on tour and some Blackstar amps, the 200-watt ones.

What do you like about the Blackstars?

They have a good natural sound, they’re made very well, the people running the company are very nice and they take care of us very well.

Some people say that the SLOs have too much treble. Has that been your experience?

I actually turn the treble almost all the way up. Maybe it’s the pickup I’m using or the type of guitar, but it’s not very trebly at all. I don’t like too much treble either – it burns your ears out.

How about your cabs?

They’re Marshall cabs with 25- or 35-watt speakers [Celestions]. I have two stacks of cabs at my house, but I’ve been using Warren’s stuff [at the practice space] so it’s whatever he has in his. I think they’re 25s or 35s – they’re stock speakers.

Strings and picks?

I use Rotosound Yellows, they’re 10s, and 85 to 96mm picks. I like a heavier pick for some reason.

Do you modify your guitars at all?

On a lot of tracks on the album I used a Gibson Flying V with a DiMarzio Super Distortion in it, and for other guitar work I had a Jackson Soloist with a DiMarzio Super Distortion also in that. Live I use a red [Gibson] Flying V that sounds great the way it is – I don’t need to change anything.

Are you chasing any tones or are you happy with what you have?

I love what I have going. I think it sounds great and works great with Ratt. I can’t see doing anything different.

One last question: What’s your desert island guitar and amp, and why.

I guess it would be a classical guitar because I couldn’t have an amp – on a desert island there’s nothing to plug into (laughs). I love playing classical and flamenco. I’ve been doing that all my life. But let’s see: I guess it would be a Flying V and a Blackstar HT-5 mini amp. I love the sound of that amp.

- Part 2 of 2 -

After two albums with Ozzy, Jake took a break – then came back with Badlands, a GREAT blues-rock band fronted by NJ’s own Ray Gillen (yes, I saw them in Jersey!). Ray’s death played a role in the breakup of the band, which released two albums (Bandlands and Voodoo Highway) before they broke up, and one after (Dusk). All three are great.

About the title of this post: Do you think Jake’s tone is woody? Though I still admire him as a player, I never have dug his tone. Just wasn’t “wide” enough (in an early EVH or Back in Black-era Angus way) nor distinctive enough for me personally, though his style definitely was distinctive.

I looked into his Badlands-era gear, and though there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly solid for the first album (point me to it if you have a reference), here’s what he told Guitar World magazine in 1991 about recording Voodoo Highway:

> Guitar – His white “Charvel,” actually a repainted mid-’70s Fender Strat (not sure if alder or ash) with a maple neck/rosewood board, and a Seymour Duncan Allan Holdsworth prototype pickup in the bridge (nearly identical to the Duncan JB) and two DiMarzio SDS-1 single coils.

> Effects – “I run into a Boss Overdrive [OD-1], but the drive is always on zero because I don’t use it for the distortion. I use it for the bass cut – it tightens up the bottom end.” But he also said, “The overdrive…in the studio, it varied between 12 o’clock and 8 o’clock, depending on how much distortion I wanted.”

> Amps – “I used three different Marshalls on the album. I had two 100 watts – a ‘69 or a ‘70 with the metal face, which got a grungier sound, and a ‘68 plexi-face one which is a little smoother-sounding. I also used an old 45-watt with the plexiglass logo, which is like a combination of the other two: dirty but smooth.”

> Cabs – 4×12 Marshall cabs with Electro-Voice EVM-12L speakers. “I like my EV speakers because they’re nice and clean when I play soft, but they get woofy when I turn it up. So whenever I play loud I hit the Boss and it cuts out some of the real low end and tightens it up.” [These are the same speakers Joe Bonamassa uses.]

To me, the combination of the Holdsworth/JB – a very high-output pickup – and the Boss OD-1 knocks his tone down a few pegs on the woody scale. Too compressed, too much bzzzzzzzzzzzzz in there. But my opinion hardly counts: Jake was awesome.

Is he still awesome? Lots of rumors, possibly more than rumors, on the ‘net about drug use. All I can say to that is, I sure hope not.

Here’s some cool footage of Jake and the band.

High Wire, rehearsal
> Not the greatest vid quality, but you can hear Jake loud and clear.
> Search for “Badlands rehearsal” on YouTube for many more.

Devil’s Stomp, studio?
> Short clip, but great close-up stuff.
> Can you tell what pedals Jake is using? Let me know!

Devil’s Stomp, live

Jake Jamming in the Studio

I still love Molly Hatchet’s tune “Flirtin’ With Disaster”…and I know I’m not alone! A great song, fast tempo, some great guitar-playing, multiple leads – separated by the southern lead singer whistle which means “c’mon and play something” – harmony leads, it’s all there.

Tone of the woody variety also is there. It’s a little more distorted than vintage, but not buzzsaw-like. So I got curious: What was the gear – and specifically, what did Dave Hlubek (who seemed like the main guy, and who I believe came up with the Flirtin’ riff) play?

Turns out that with the possible exception of some old Guitar Player magazine interviews, precious little was written about Hatchet’s gear. And with the Guitar Player website being so lame and the lack of “unofficial” Hatchet fansites on the web, that means I’m piecing together hardly any info to form a coherent picture.

Guitars

Dave is probably best known for using Hamer “Explorers,” which were just known as Hamers – the only model was the Gibson Explorer shape – or Hamer Standards, a name Hamer still uses. (As a testament to the lack of Hatchet info on the web, I spent way too long trying to track down a decent photo of Dave with a Hamer. Couldn’t find one.)

But as you will see from the 1978 or ‘79 video below, it looks like he started out using a Gibson Explorer – and it looks in that video like he has the bridge pickup uncovered (since that pickup is black it can’t be a DiMarzio Super Distortion, which at the time only came in double-cream) and the neck pickup removed.

At some point in 1979, I’m guessing, he started using the Hamers. Here’s some info on Hamer Standards of that era from vintageguitar.com and hamerfanclub.com:

Hamer’s first catalog, dated Fall, 1975, showed only Explorer-shaped instruments. With no model name, they were referred to only as “the Hamer guitar,” and their handmade construction using the finest materials was stressed. This first production guitar, later named the Standard model, had a suggested list price of $799 without case. They had one-piece bodies of select British Honduras mahogany, available with or without a bookmatched, curly maple top.

The one-piece, set-and-glued necks were “carved from the same choice mahogany,” with a six-in-line “hockey-stick” headstock. The Inbound rosewood fingerboards had 22 frets, with pearl dot inlays, and were available in a variety of shapes and sizes. Scale length was 24 3/4. Grover Deluxe tuning machines were used, as was a tune-o-matic style bridge with stop tailpiece.

By the time the Sunburst appeared in ‘77, bound rosewood fingerboards with crown inlays were offered as an option, and these appointments begin appearing on some Standards. Custom orders were accepted, so there were also a few Standards with bound ebony fingerboards and block inlays.

Early Standards had Grover tuners, though these changed to Schallers in ‘79 or ‘80. In September of ‘78 a Standard would set you back $1,199.95, list.

The earliest pickups on Hamer Standards were actual Gibson PAFs obtained from Gibson. However, PAFs were designed for jazz players in the ’50s. By the ’70s, guitar players were cranking up much larger amps in large arenas. In order to better balance the pickups in this environment, Hamer began to de-wind the neck pickup to decrease the output slightly.

Very soon the supply of Gibson pickups was gone [and by 1978] Hamer gave its specifications to the young pickup maker Larry DiMarzio, who began making versions of his own DiMarzio PAFs to Hamer’s spec, with a de-wound neck pickup [hmerfanclub says some of these were also wound by Seymour Duncan]. This differed from the approach favored by most others at the time, which was to leave a PAF at the neck and add an even hotter DiMarzio Super Distortion to the bridge. Eventually, Hamer began to stamp its name into the baseplates of the pickups, and these would come to be known as Hamer Slammer pickups (they don’t rhyme!).

Early Hamers had black bobbins on the lead pickup and cream bobbins on the neck pickup. They quickly made a transition to zebra bobbins (one black, one cream) on the lead pickup.

A 3-way pickup-selector toggle switch, two volume controls, and a master tone control completed the electronics.

Standard finishes included tobacco or cherry sunburst, natural wood grain, or opaque black or white. Ebony fingerboards, Les Paul Standard-style “crown” inlays, and decorative fingerboard and headstock binding were available for an upcharge. By around ‘80, the Hamer Standard was also offered without the flamed maple top and in a variety of opaque colored finishes.

> Note that several custom Hamers also were made during this period and thus might have different specs.

Amps

Live, Dave used Peavey amps – apparently Peavey Mace amps, just like Lynyrd Skynyrd used. Performances in 1978 (or ‘79) on Don Kershner’s Rock Concert (Gator County here and Flirtin’ With Disaster below) clearly show the distinctive black and white of Peavey amps onstage.

What he used in the studio is anyone’s guess as small amps and, of course, Marshalls were sort of the rage back then. It’s also likely that Hatchet used the same or similar stuff that Skynyrd used as per this anecdote told by Dave in an interview. Although it’s about Hatchet’s first album (Flirtin’ was on the second album) it’s interesting:

“When Skynyrd’s plane went down, that wrote our ticket. It did. Also, more importantly than that, what people don’t know…Skynyrd had a hell of a following. If that accident hadn’t have happened, they would have been the Zeppelin of the South. Street Survivors was a great record. When you had Steve Gaines on it, he went in and replaced Ed King. They needed that Street Survivors record because their career had taken a lull like a lot of ours….

“When our first album came out…what people don’t know is that it is not by chance that Molly Hatchet’s first album sounds a lot like Skynyrd because we used their equipment in the studio. What you also haven’t heard is that Ronnie Van Zant was our original producer. He had arranged and gone ahead and rehearsed us. We cut our original tapes for that first album in Skynyrd’s studio, in their 8-track studio in Jacksonville. We were going to be Ronnie’s first project other than Lynyrd Skynyrd.

“I grew up with Ronnie. The only thing that he made us promise him is that we would give him gold and platinum [albums], like his band. What happened was, he said, ‘I’ll see you when I come back from this tour. We’ll finish the record and put it out there and see how it goes.’ That was 1977. What happened was that Ronnie never came back.”

Interesting, eh? I never knew that!

Well, that’s about it, except for this entertaining story Dave tells in the same interview about how he came up with the idea for “Flirtin’ With Disaster:”

“The song is about me almost being killed in a car wreck. “When the pedal’s to the floor and you’re lives are running faster…” That’s about a girl driving me to Atlanta to a mid-day talk show. We were headlining the Omni. This guy almost broadsided us. She was in her little Vega with four cylinders, probably firing on three. This guy in an El Dorado almost ran into my passenger door.

“She was taking a short cut through this neighborhood. I said, ‘Step on it.’ Her name was Lynn Hyland. She went ahead and put her foot to the floor. She was trying to get me to this television studio. They had wanted me there at 11:45 and my time slot was at 12:30. At 12:05, we’re in the suburb of Atlanta and this guy broadsided us. She wound up hitting the porch of somebody’s house. Her name is mentioned in the credits on the album. She was good looking! I wanted to f*** her so bad.

[The interviewer asks, "And did you?"]

“Of course! She was the one who gave me the title “Flirting With Disaster.” What she did was get us out of harm’s way. Both of us were kind of numb. She looked at me and said, “That son of a bitch is flirting with disaster. I’ll kick his ass. I’d never heard that term before. I said, “I’m going to title a song after that.” She said, “Son of a bitch?” I said, “No. Flirting with disaster.” She said, “Yeah, anything to get in my pants.” Well, it worked. That’s a true story.”

Notable

> Hatchet has a cool website in the vein of their album covers, but unfortunately not much is on it.
http://www.mollyhatchet.com

“Flirtin’ With Disaster” Live in 1978 or 1979

Yeah, he has been conceited over the years, but that seems to have mellowed. And you could argue that his ultra-fast Classical-inspired runs are a bit over the top. But he CREATED that genre, still has the chops, and has the talent, nerve and balls to SING Hendrix tunes. Plus it ain’t exactly easy to play a scalloped fretboard, and he has WoodyTone to the max.

Yes Yngwie has some obligatory professional rack stuff between his guitar and amp, but his sound is all Strat + Marshall. You can hear it, and he’s no doubt as good without plugging in or even with a completely dry sound.

Here are a few vids I ran across recently, but first his signal chain:

> Guitar: 1972 (or other ’70s) Fender Strat, alder body (I believe), maple neck/fingerboard, scalloped board, 21 super-jumbo frets.
> Pickups: DiMarzio HS-3 (bridge), DiMarzio YJM (neck and middle)
> Pick: 1.5 mm Dunlop
> Strings: Dean Markley or Fender Yngwie strings the following sizes: .008, .011, .014, .022, .032, .046 (.048 in the Dean Markley set).
> Cable: DiMarzio YJM Signature cable “tuned for Yngwie’s sound,” according to DiMarzio. Gold-plated DiMarzio/ Switchcraft plugs, Ferrari-red braided jacket double-shielded to reduce hum, interference, and noise.
> Effects: Various, including a Cray Baby, analog delay, Boss chorus and, most importantly, the Boss YJM3 overdrive.
> Amps: vintage Marshall 50-watt 1987 metal-panel MKII and 100-watt 1959 plexi heads; Marshall cabs with 75-watt Celestion speakers.

Now on to the vids. Props to Yngwie for keeping his chops up.

Yngwie “guitar tour” (drool) – Check out the way he treats those things!

Yngwie playing

Putting on a show doing Purple Haze