Got sucked into an interwebz rabbit hole the other day. Had it in my head – arguing in my head – about whether I needed another amp, and as a concession to the “no you don’t” side was looking at cheap amps. One such amp is the ’80s Marshall 5010 Master Lead solid state combo. […]
…the new Gravity Storm pickups designed for Steve Vai, and a bit o’ other stuff. Why other stuff? Because the second-best thing to playing guitar is talking guitar. Thanks much to Steve Blucher – DiMarzio’s pickup guru, in case you didn’t know – and DiMarzio for setting this up. So much for the preamble: WoodyTone: […]
Earlier this year I got an awakening, in the form of checking out the YMI5150 Model-A axe. Lots to love there, but the awakening was the DiMarzio Super Distortion. Really a re-awakening because I’d used DiMarzios (Super Distortions and Dual Sounds) for years back in the day. Bang! Was a shot to the ears. Fell […]
[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 […]
First of all, gotta say it takes large cojones to cover a band of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s stature beyond just one tune. It may even take huger ones to get a PR firm to broadcast that to the world. In other words, here in Wood-land, you better nail it or do something truly interesting with it, […]
What a freakin’ great band King’s X is. Just amazing. Often said one of the best bands never to “make it,” which I guess means get too rich for your own good, battle alcoholism, and at least once get divorced and/or issue an album of complete shite. Okay, not in every case, but you get […]
Happened to see a clip of Slash’s band on the Guitar Center Sessions or whatever they’re called, aka MTV Unplugged 2. Personally I find that as boring as I found the Unplugged stuff (hey, let’s take the rock ‘n’ roll out of it – brilliant!), but it reminded me to look into the new Slash […]
A bunch of get-your-hopes-up new music has been coming out lately, or is due out soon. At least one huge disappointment in that pile, but there’s some good stuff, including Steve Vai’s new one, The Story of Light. Before I start yapping about it, here’s the “single” (first release) from that, “Gravity Storm.” That sweet […]
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 […]
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 […]
[Guess I’m back too. Sorry for the hiatus. Life/work intervened!] Now this is interesting. Buddy of mine (thanks Bo!) sends me to Blackfootband.com. I’m doing the eyeroll, thinking the band has missed any and all chances at a meaningful reunion – or three-quarter reunion, what with Rickey Medlocke apparently wanting nothing to do with the […]
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. […]
What can you say about Jim Marshall, other than “thanks.” Thanks for most of the woodiest tones ever heard by human ears. Thanks for cobbling together, and then making, the best amps ever – some of which still are. Thanks for crushing our ears with ridiculously loud organic tone wrenched from wood and metal by […]
You may know I frequent the metroamp.com forum – or more accurately the Edward Van Halen subforum of that forum, simply because that’s hands down the best forum for all things gear related to EVH. Couple months ago one of the regulars there said he was putting together some guitars for sale based on a […]
Seems like Mark Twain, rumors of Jake E. Lee’s demise were greatly exaggerated. At least a little, anyway. Bud of mine hipped me to this a while back, been meaning to share it. He didn’t tell me why I was watching it. And after listening to the ’80s-like (but maybe a little better?) mid-tempo thang, […]
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 […]
