Plus Sammy skull-cracks just about everybody (Dave, Eddie, Slash, Ronnie Montrose, Gary Cherone) – nicely! You may recall that Chickenfoot was the stand-in name, and now looks like the official name, of the Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) super group. They said an album and tour were coming […]
Gibson must be doing well with their reproductions of famous guitars because it just announced another one: the Jeff Beck “blow by Blow” Oxblood Les Paul. Very cool if you’ve got the $$$. Gibson.com has the full story and specs but here’s the story behind Jeff acquiring the heavily modded guitar, which I didn’t know:
Yours truly scrolled through all 700+ Winter 2009 NAMM show YouTube vidoes (and a few others) to find the best vids uploaded so far – WoodyTone-wise, that is – and they are below, in no particular order. Tone-wise, my favorites are the Wizard amps – I believe Wizards are made by Angus Young’s roadie and […]
First the disclaimers: I have nothing against Tommy Thayer, whose band Black ‘n Blue I really liked and who seems to do a good job filling the slot of one of my absolute favorite guitar players, the one and only Ace Frehley. Nor do I have anything against KISS, meaning Paul and Gene, one of […]
Just in case you thought Jimi Hendrix played the entire album version of Purple Haze with a Strat – as if anyone would think differently – apparently he didn’t, at least for the parts on which an Octavia was used. This just in, from an interview of Roger Mayer by the folks at PremierGuitar.com. Here’s […]
Gotta admit, the vid looks pretty cool – in a techy kind of way. What the heck is the Gibson Dark Fire? Until today, I had no idea other than it was a newfangled $3,499 MSRP Les Paul crammed with electronic gizmos, the shipping or QC (quality control) of which caused delays in shipping the […]
Did Edward Van Halen learn tapping from Brian May who learned it from Billy Gibbons? In a recent (and very good) Guitar Player interview of Brian May, conducted by GP associate editor Matt Blackett, the topic of two-handed tapping (aka, right-hand hammer-ons) came up. Rather than paraphrase the whole exchange, I’ll quote it below – […]
Some news clips of the week: Ace’s Album/Space News From Blabbermouth.net and HardRadio.com: Ace Frehley’s new solo album, tentatively due out this spring, will be called “Anomaly.” In an early 2008 interview with Billboard, Ace said about the forthcoming CD: “Basically I’m trying to get back into the mindset I was in when I did […]
Steve Vai said on his website that a new Carvin Legacy amp, the Legacy II, would be announced in a couple weeks at the winter NAMM show. Well, the newest Carvin catalog is available on the Carvin site via PDF, and Vai is on the cover with his Legacy II. One download later, and here’s […]
What’s the bigger crime: ‘Zep’ touring without Robert Plant or Jimmy, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham never touring together again with any singer? First came rumors of the band trying out new singers because Robert Plant didn’t want to tour. Robert said categorically that he would not tour for at least 2 years. Then […]
Stairway on a Tele? In the category of “how the hell did I miss this” is a semi-recent interview published on Gibson.com titled “Jimmy Page’s Recording Secrets.” Say what? Didn’t want to get my hopes up about learning some cool tidbits from one of rock’s masters of recording and composing, but I guess I did […]
Full Wolfgang specs below! It’s almost time for the winter NAMM convention, so details about new gear are starting to come out here and there. One of the hottest items in terms of buzz is of course Edward Van Halen’s new EVH Wolfgang guitar. What Ed said about it to Guitar World’s fawning staff has […]
Want a custom EVH Wolfgang? Buy a car. Edward Van Halen is selling two 1956 Chevy’s at the famed Barrett-Jackson uber-expensive car auction this month, and with each car comes a custom-painted EVH Wolfgang guitar – painted to match the cars. These will of course be one-of-a-kinds, designed and at least held by the man […]
Devoted VH fans may know (should know) that Alex Van Halen coined the “brown” term now famously associated with his brother Ed’s woody guitar tone. Al used it to describe his snare sound, something like “brown, like beating on a log.” If that’s not woody, I don’t know what is. Al has probably the most […]
Kind of a news round-up: New Jason Becker Guitar (and more) If you don’t know who Jason Becker is, do a Google search on him. He went from being one of the hottest six-string gunners on the planet to one of the most enlightened human beings on the planet (which would you rather be?). The […]
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 […]
