Category: Explorer
[Part 1 of this post is here.] Have to borrow a line from Homer Simpson: Ahhhhhhhhh, gear. Anyhow, some tunes – like “The Needle and the Spoon” and “Simple Man” – sound like period-correct gear and tones, whereas tunes like “Saturday Night Special” sound a lot more modern. I wanted to know – we all […]
Even though Ronnie Van Zant wrote and sung the line “Handguns are made for killin’, ain’t no good for nothin’ else,” his younger bro Donnie started a band that ended up being named after a handgun. And that band (.38 Special) produced some great stuff tunes in the ’80s, not all of which were the […]
Wow! Anyone here in the U.S. catch the recent airing (re-airing?) of Cheap Trick live on Austin City Limits? Couple quick observations after watching: > Cheap Trick is a ROCK BAND. Lots of big guitar tone, great classic rock/Beatles-esque tunes, good singing – a real freakin’ band! Great to see and hear they’re still doing […]
Part 1 I love Lynyrd Skynyrd. One of the greatest bands ever IMO. I never got a chance to see the original band live, but was days away from going to a Rossington-Collins Band show
I dig this version of The Who tune. It’s another simple Scorpions tune, somehow executed with AC/DC-like perfection. And when I heard it recently, I dug the crunchy guitar tone. Only question is, What the heck was it?
And Why Hatchet’s First Album Sounded Like Skynyrd 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 […]
Part 1: Blackfoot and Skynyrd Gear I love Blackfoot. One of the best bands ever to be on a stage, period. If you missed ’em, I feel for you. It was all good ‘ol rock ‘n’ roll: loud, fast, Les Pauls and Explorers through Marshalls, hitting the skins hard. No BS, no ballads – during […]
Fair Warning Tone Ain’t All the Same
Got it in my head to figure out which Van Halen song tones – not album tones – I liked the most. Started with Fair Warning, whose balls I just can’t get enough of…which doesn’t sound so good but you get what I mean. Listen to it cranked in my car because that’s the only […]
Pondering VH’s Fair Warning Tone
LOVE the first four Van Halen albums. Always have, always will. Love the rest too, including the Van Hagar years (oops, forgot about VH III…), but those first four vinyl donuts are to me and many others just the nads. The nadliest of nads. They’re a band kicking the world’s butt in every way, and […]
Recently I was ruined yet again by a good amp. This time a bud’s Bogner Shiva, EL34 version. Let’s call him Sean – because that’s his name…. He’d been talking about how awesome it was for a while, and even though I know he has good ears, wasn’t too motivated to go try it. I’d […]
The Gene-EVH-Ace-Joe Perry Connection
Have you picked up “Guitar World Presents 40 Years of Van Halen” yet? Zactly – I didn’t even know it existed until I saw it in a bookstore (remember those? lol). Anyhow, I’m always amazed at how I think I’ve memorized every word ever written about Ed and his gear and then I read something […]
More On the YMI5150 Model-A Guitar
Few weeks ago I posted a brief “review” (outdated word) of Kevin Holbrook’s YMI5150 Model-A guitar. As a brief reminder, what got my attention were the following things: > A good wood combo: swamp ash, maple/rosewood. > An interesting and unique combo of components resulting in a Strat-shaped and -scaled guitar with an ABR bridge […]
Did You Read the Esquire EVH Piece Yet?
We’re going to have to wait yet another week for the interview with Kevin Holbrook of YMI5150 guitars because we have yet another newsworthy event. This time it’s the recent Esquire interview with Edward Van Halen. Now before you EVH fans get to getting your hopes up, let’s bear in mind the same ol’s: 1. […]
Show ‘Review’: Van Halen at the Garden
Took my 10-year-old son to see Van Halen at Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 1. I think he was more excited to see them than I was – not that I wasn’t, but this was the mighty Van Halen whose tunes the both of us have copped, jammed to and listened […]
