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.
There’s been a lot of stuff written about, said about and speculated about regarding Edward Van Halen’s mind-blowing, world-altering Van Halen I setup. Was he running “slaved” amps (one amp into another), was he using some sort of boost and/or distortion pedal, etc. If you read hard and don’t fall prey to speculation (which is […]
Do Some Players Think So? I’ve always used my left-hand pinky while at the same time being acutely aware that many of the great players don’t – or not much. I’m talking riffing and soloing, not chording, obviously.
The September 2009 issue of Vintage Guitars magazine has Mick Mars of Motley Crue on the cover. My first thought was: Another guy who makes a lot of dough and buys a bunch of vintage stuff. But after reading the interview, I was surprised to find out that Mick actually uses this stuff, in the […]
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 […]
He’s Also Winding the Pickups Himself George Lynch, aka Mr. Scary, is now creating scary-artistic versions of his signature ESP Super V guitar, as noted by the good folks at PremierGuitar.com. On George’s website, the guitars are billed as being “100% tricked out” by George, and for sure they are. They look cool and probably […]
Good Show…but Sorta Strange I remember when the Kenny Wayne Shepherd buzz first started, this kid who idolized SRV and apparently wanted to sound just like him too. Even his name was similar (Kenny Wayne – Stevie Ray). Then we lost SRV (we still miss you down here, man!), and we, or at least I, […]
(Note: Check out Ace’s redone website! Sweet!) Just like every other guitar player playing covers in the 1970s, Eddie Van Halen was familiar with the KISS catalog and thus Ace Frehley’s stuff. So whenever the topic of “did Ed right-hand tap first?” comes up – in my opinion a pointless debate (Ed took all previous […]
If you’re a regular, or semi-regular, reader of WoodyTone.com, you will have seen the post (here) that postulates that Edward Van Halen may have learned “tapping” (right-handed hammer-ons) from Brian May, who said he learned it from someone who saw Billy Gibbons do it. However, Eddie has said he got it from watching Jimmy Page […]
Isolated Solo Track Below! I really didn’t want to do a Michael Jackson-related post because I hate being around a herd, but here I am doing it. Why? Because it encapsulates all the reasons why a) it’s nearly impossible to know for sure what Eddie Van Halen used on any song on any album and […]
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 […]
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 […]
