Category: Gibson
Slash signature Les Pauls must be selling pretty well because word is that the Gibson Custom Shop is working on another one, Slash’s fifth by my count. I believe that would make Slash the guy with the most signature Les Pauls ever: > In the late ’90s the Gibson Custom Shop produced the Slash Snakepit […]
Plus Short Interview With ZT Lunchbox Inventor As any ZZ Top fan will know, the band recently had a “Storytellers” special on U.S. cable channel VH1 (a sister channel to MTV). The format of Storytellers is that a band plays a few tunes before a small crowd, and tells stories in the form of answering […]
The middle and right photos above were recently posted on David Lee Roth’s website. Seems obvious they’re from the Van Halen I photo shoot that gave us Ed and the freshly striped Franky guitar on the album cover (left photo). So for gear heads, this raises some interesting questions:
Didn’t Play Stock LPs, Hated the SG, Tried to Get Zep Back Together? After Les Paul died last week, several sites posted tributes to him. Ultimate-guitar.com had an interesting series of articles, all by Steve Rosen, which are excerpted here but are worth a full read. Les Paul was a brilliant guy, an innovator well […]
Pre-Show Clinic, Bogner Now in Rig Someone got it wrong. Either Chuck Berry misread the divine inspiration he got, or a couple of young parents in upstate New York picked the wrong name for their son. I’m betting Chuck was mistaken because after seeing Joe Bonamassa Wednesday night at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in […]
The tune ‘Outer Space’ from Ace Frehley’s new album Anomaly (out next month) is available for a listen (below), and sounds like classic Ace. It starts out with ‘2000 Man’-like chugging, the vocals of course have Ace’s signature sort of “wavy” style and the lead is backward, like the lead in ‘Speedin’ Back to My […]
With Aerosmith touring and all the pre-tour talk about playing the Toys in the Attic album live, I wanted to try to nail down what gear Joe Perry and Brad Whitford were using on Toys. Well, good luck: This one has been tough to track down.
Before getting into this track-by-track review, I’d like to make three things clear just so you know where I’m coming from. 1. I’m a new-ish Joe Bonamssa fan, so I don’t have in-depth familiarity with his prior six CDs. 2. I’m a classic rock guy, not really a blues guy – although Joe is sort […]
Vid: ‘The Spirit of Radio Lesson’ from Alex Even though I played in bands that copped multiple tunes off Rush’s Moving Pictures album, my favorite Rush album is Permanent Waves. The band was just on fire for that recording. Lots of energy, great parts, great arrangements that are complex yet understandable. Did I say great?
Solid-State Amp; Heartbreaker Guitar Audio Below! Jimmy Page: Les Paul and Marshall plexi. Live, yes – mostly. Studio, no. And for Heartbreaker? Heck no, apparently.
Lots of websites have been jumping on the recently issued, and “lovingly crafted,” Gibson Pearly Gates replica, but haven’t mentioned the most important stuff: specs and pics! So here they are. But first, the MSRPs of the three versions of this bad-boy:
Still Using Peaveys, No Talk of Marshalls GuitarCenter.com just put up a good interview with Chickenfoot, which, while documenting yet again the great chemistry these four guys have, also gets into the gear they use, notably Satch and Michael Anthony. As you will read, Satch only talks about his Peavey JSX signature amps. There’s no […]
Uses Marshall Valvestates on Tour?! Yes, that’s right, Marshall Valvestates – if you can believe it. That’s what the Rev. BFG said (sort of…more below), among other things, in a recent audio interview on MusicRadar.com. Highlights of that interview are below. Hats off to Joe Bosso, who conducted the interview, for asking a few gear-related […]
One Man’s Recollections, Anyway… And: Why Ed Used a Variac and Greenbacks? [A quick request: Please do not copy and paste this entire post somewhere else. Thanks!] Not too long ago I had the pleasure of connecting with a guy who grew up with Eddie Van Halen. Ed went to the same high school, they […]
Calling Ronnie Montrose! Are you a diehard Les Paul collector with a spare $300,000 or more? Then you’re in luck! A ’58 ‘burst les Paul, once owned by Gary Moore (but NOT now owned by him), is for sale on eBay. Here’s some info from the listing:
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 […]
