NEWS: Manson Matt Bellamy MB-1 Standard

Finally! Manson Guitars is producing an official signature model for Matt Bellamy of Muse, and in terms of tricked-outedness this one is giving the Parker Adrian Belew model a run for its money.

The Manson MB-1 Standard is made in the UK. It includes a Manson-designed bridge humbucker, a Fernandes Sustainer in the neck, and a fixed bridge. Most interesting of all though is the optional MIDI control screen. Map it to your effects, your computer, whatever you like. Use it to activate whammy pitch effects, change the speed of modulation effects, whack it for rhythmic stutters, whatever you like. Awesome. Delivery is expected to start from summer 2009 and orders will be fulfilled on a first come, first served basis. There’s a minimum holding deposit of (gulp) £1000. Base price is £3299

Specs-

Alder Body
Birds Eye Maple Neck
Rosewood Fingerboard
MBK-2 Bridge Humbucker
Fernandes Sustainer Humbucking Neck Pickup
Fixed Bridge
Gotoh 510 Machine Heads
Kill Switch
Volume, Tone
Sustainer On/Off Switch
Sustainer – Harmonic/Fundamental Switch
3-way Pickup Selector Switch
Manson Deluxe Logo Hard Case

Check out Guitar Noize’s post about this guitar too.

By the way, CLICK HERE for my ‘How To Sound Like Muse’ lesson from Mixdown magazine.

NEWS: New site address for I Heart Guitar

I’ve finally got around to registering a proper domain name for my blog: http://www.iheartguitarblog.com If you’re linking to I Heart Guitar in your blog roll or links list, pretty please update your link to reflect the new address.

REVIEW: Crate V33 212

There once was a time when Crate amps were considered, to loosely quote Billy Corgan, “The amp your mom bought you when she was too cheap to buy you a real amp.” Those days are long, long gone, with a long list of high profile endorsers including ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, the late great Bo Diddley, Living Colour’s Vernon Reid, Sammy Hagar, Ministry’s Mike Scaccia and Al Jourgenson, and pedal steel virtuoso Robert Randolph. My first real amp was a Crate GT-200H, a very cool hybrid head with 2 valve and 2 solid state channels. Yngwie Malmsteen used to advertise the combo version as his practice amp, so there ya go.

CLICK HERE to see Crate Amps on eBay.

NUTS AND BOLTS

The V33 is a world away from Crate’s more metal-toned offerings. To a certain degree, the V33 might remind some players of another well-known amp with an association to the letter ‘V’. It’s a 33 watt, all valve Class A amp with four 12AX7 preamp valves. One 12AX7 greets the guitar signal pretty much right there at the input jack; two operate on the clean channel, and another is added when you select the overdrive channel. There are two more 12AX7s following the spring reverb and effects loop. The V33 has two 12” speakers fed by a power section running on four EL84 cathode biased output valves.

The EQ section is shared by both the clean and overdrive channels. There’s a Boost button to engage a 10dB boost at 900Hz for adding more guts to the midrange, and a presence button which provides some extra sparkle.

The effects send can be used as a line out, and the effect return jack can be used as a power amp insert, so you can use an external preamp or modeller instead if you wish.

The manual deserves a lot of praise for containing a very detailed article about valves – what they are, how they work, and how to care for them. It’s a great read, and the writer resists the urge to get too techy, without dumbing things down either.

PUT DOWN THE MANUAL, GEEK BOY

Time to put down the manual and crank this baby up. The clean channel has a great sparkle, giving way to a satisfyingly hot chunk when cranked up. The gain level never quite makes it to distortion territory even when pushed. Instead there’s a chimey, almost acoustic character which is ideal for blues, jazz, indie and country styles – especially with a slapback delay in the effect loop. The overdrive channel has a warm, slightly mushy compression which seems to love single coil pickups for a bit of Hendrix growl. Humbuckers give the amp a more fusion-ish tone. The gain never quite gets out of control, but this is an amp for more refined players who need to hear exotic intervals and careful note articulation, rather than a box of doom for metal monsters.

THE BOTTOM LINE

This amp is a great option for those who dwell on the lighter side of rock, the heavier side of jazz, right smack bang in the middle of the blues, or country players who need some meat for solos but require a rhythm channel that can take a spankin’ from a Telecaster.

SPECS:

33 Watts RMS
Class A, 4 x EL84 output tubes, 4 x 12AX7 preamp tubes
2 x 12" speakers
Two channels
Spring reverb

NEWS: News for April 29, 2009

A bit of news today so it’s time to reinstate the news summary format I was messing with a few weeks ago. I like doing these but sometimes there’s just not enough news out there to justify it. Today though there seems to be much afoot in the world of guitar.

New Fear Factory line-up
Remember the recent news that Dino Cazares and Burton C Bell had formed a new band with Gene Hoglan and Byron Stroud? Well that new band has a name: Fear Factory. That’s right, Dino’s in, and Raymond and Christian are out (but they have their own band called Arkaea).
Source: Blabbermouth.net

Alice Cooper to tour Australia
Lennard Promotions, in association with Music Max, announces the forthcoming Alice Cooper's Theatre Of Death Australian Tour in August 2009 - 
Tickets on Sale from usual outlets on Monday 4th May.
TOUR DATES
Tuesday 18th August - Win Entertainment Centre, Wollongong (Theatre Mode) 
Wednesday 19th August - Gold Coast Convention Centre (Theatre Mode) 
Friday 21st August - Newcastle Entertainment Centre (Theatre Mode) 
Saturday 22nd August - Brisbane Convention Centre (Theatre Mode) 
Monday 24th August - Sydney Entertainment Centre (Theatre Mode) 
Wednesday 26th August - Royal Theatre, Canberra 
Friday 28th August - Palais Theatre, Melbourne 
Saturday 29th August - Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide 
Tuesday 1st September - Challenge Stadium, Perth (Theatre Mode)
Ticketek 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au
Ticketmaster 136 100 www.ticketmaster.com.au 
www.alicecooper.com
Source: Riot Act

Creed reunion
Okay, regardless of what you think about Creed (personally I’m not a fan, there I said it), Mark Tremonti is a heck of a guitarist, and hey, maybe this Creed reunion tour will boost attention for Tremonti and his instructional DVD, ‘The Sound And The Story,’ which features appearances by Michael Angelo Batio and Rusty Cooley.
Source: Creed.com http://www.creed.com/
Buy: Mark Tremonti’s ‘The Sound And The Story’ from eBay stores. 

Tony MacAlpine returns to Planet X
Yep, T-Mac has returned to Planet X, the prog band featuring Virgil Donati and Derek Sherinian. The band is heading to the studio later this year for a new album, to be followed by a tour. Rad. Tony is also selling two of his main guitars, a Carvin T-MAC VI 6-string and Carvin T-MAC VII 7-string. Go here for details. http://www.tonymacalpine.com/guitars/index.html
Source: http://www.tonymacalpine.com/

NEWS: B.C. Rich 40th Anniversary editions

I first became aware of B.C. Rich guitars when I was a kid. A local music store (Don Jefferson Music or something like that, colloquially known as “Jeffo’s”) had some lower-priced models in their catalogues, which would be stuffed into the local paper before Christmas every year. It wasn’t until much later that I learned B.C. Rich did so much more than just white Warlocks with a recommended retail price of $699. But still to this day whenever I see a white Warlock I think about being about 8 or 9 years old, thumbing through these catalogues, which I would keep for months) dreaming about the day when I could plug in a real electric guitar. Whoa.

Anyway, the point of this post is: look! 40th anniversary limited runs of original B.C. Rich models!

B.C. Rich Marks 40Th Anniversary With Limited Run Of Original-Spec, Handcrafted Guitars
April 24, 2009

Commemorating its 40th Anniversary as America's premier builder of uniquely shaped, lifestyle-driven electric guitars, B.C. Rich proudly announces a new series of handcrafted instruments to mark the milestone. The special guitars are a tribute to models originally developed by company founder Bernardo ("Bernie") Rico and are limited to a production run of 40 guitars per model.

The four Handcrafted Anniversary Guitars represent the first original designs offered by B.C. Rich: the Seagull, Eagle, Mockingbird and Bich. Each will receive a 40th Anniversary commemorative logo on the back of the headstock, a special serial number and certificate of authenticity.

All Anniversary instruments utilize Neck-through-Body Koa wood construction, a feature rarely seen before B.C. Rich came on the scene back in '69. This method maximizes sustain and helps maintain the long-term structural stability of the instrument. Bodies are crafted of solid Koa with Maple accent stripes ("stringers") on two models and utilize DiMarzio Dual Sound pickups.

Additional design details include the classic B.C. Rich Diamond fingerboard inlays (Snowflake design on the Seagull), Grover Super Rotomatic tuners and vintage Cal Rad knobs.

"The 40th Anniversary Series lets us pay tribute to our original designs with these retro-inspired models," said Rock Clouser, product manager for B.C. Rich. B.C. Rich Anniversary Series instruments each have a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of $4,200.00.

For more info, visit http://www.bcrich.com/.

CLICK HERE to see B.C. Rich guitars on eBay, and make sure you CLICK HERE too to see any that are misspelled as BC Rich (the dots matter, eBayers, the dots matter).

NEWS: Megadeth and Slayer tour together

Megadeth and Slayer haven’t had the friendliest of relationships over the years (especially Dave Mustaine and Kerry King, the latter of whom actually played some early gigs as a fill-in member of Megadeth). Back in the day they brought along Anthrax and then little-known opening band Alice In Chains for the Clash Of The Titans tour. Now Slayer and Megadeth will put their differences aside to get all metal on a whole bunch of lucky Canadians. Here’s the press release.

MEGADETH AND SLAYER TO CO-HEADLINE
"CANADIAN CARNAGE" JUNE TREK

Monday, April 27, 2009 -- Talk about a mind-blowing line-up. Slayer and Megadeth - two of the bands that defined the thrash/metal genre - will perform together for the first time in more than 15 years when they co-headline four shows in Canada in late June. The tour, dubbed "Canadian Carnage," will also feature Machine Head and Suicide Silence, and will see Megadeth and Slayer each closing two of the four shows. Tickets will go on sale Saturday, May 2, and will be available at all Ticketmaster outlets and at Ticketmaster online.

Few bands come close to matching the intensity that Slayer brings to its live shows, having been named "Best Live Band" by numerous media outlets including Revolver, SPIN, and Metal Hammer. Slayer - guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, vocalist/bassist Tom Araya and drummer Dave Lombardo - is currently in Los Angeles recording its as yet untitled tenth studio album with Greg Fidelman producing and Rick Rubin executive producing. Fans were given an early taste of the brutal new Slayer material when "Psychopathy Red," a song inspired by the heinous Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, who confessed to savagely murdering 56 children, was recorded last October and then leaked online. Attendees of "Canadian Carnage" will be treated to Slayer performing "Psychopathy Red" live on stage. Plans are to release the new album in July, in tandem wi th the Mayhem Festival tour Slayer is co-headlining with Marilyn Manson.

With over 20 million albums sold worldwide, the icon that is Megadeth culminated earlier this month, with Dave Mustaine’s acceptance of the highly coveted “Golden God” accolade and the band's headline performance at the inaugural Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles. Megadeth – lead guitarist/lead vocalist Dave Mustaine, lead and rhythm guitarist Chris Broderick, bassist James Lomenzo and drummer Shawn Drover – is currently recording their 12th studio album in Los Angeles with Andy Sneap. The disc is scheduled for release later this summer to coincide with a full scale world tour. Known for their ferocious live show, Megadeth will once again bring this intensity to their loyal throng of Canadian followers.

Bay Area titans Machine Head add to the carnage as main support. Machine Head - vocalist/guitarist Robb Flynn, guitarist Phil Demmel, bassist/backing vocalist Adam Duce and drummer Dave McClain - are currently touring in support of their critically-acclaimed and Grammy nominated The Blackening. Since its release, the band has been awarded both Best Album at the Metal Hammer Awards and Album of the Year at Kerrang's annual ceremony that same year. And with a fan base so rabid, they've actually been banned from certain U.S. venues, Machine Head will bring with them the relentless stage show they are renowned for.

There is little doubt in anyone's mind that Suicide Silence is one of the frontrunners of the new wave of American metal, a statement further validated as the group won the "Best New Talent" award at the inaugural Revolver Golden Gods Awards, held at Club Nokia in Los Angeles on April 7. The group was also hailed as the event's breakthrough artist by the L.A. Times, but make no mistake that this extreme juggernaut is not resting on its laurels and is about to take things up a notch with their highly-anticipated sophomore release, No Time to Bleed, which was produced by acclaimed producer Machine (Lamb of God) and set for a June 30 release.

Dates for the Megadeth/Slayer co-bill are:

June
24 GM Place, Vancouver, BC
26 Rexall, Edmonton, AB
27 Saddledome, Calgary, AB
29 MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB

"CANADIAN CARNAGE" TICKETS PRESALE
AT THE MEGAFANCLUB TUESDAY, APRIL 28 10AM

There will be a special FAN CLUB EXCLUSIVE Megadeth/Slayer "Canadian Carnage" concert tickets PRESALE held Tuesday, April 28 at 10AM! Fan club members, log in to the fan club Tuesday morning, click on "Tour" then "Tickets". You will be provided with links to purchase your tickets from along with a password emailed to you late Monday. Tickets will go fast! Don't delay!

http://megafanclub.megadeth.com

NEWS: I Heart Guitar mentioned on Talking Metal

So this morning I was riding the tram to work and listening to episode 257 of the Talking Metal podcast by John Ostronomy and Mark Strigl - I had a few weeks' worth to catch up on cos I was on holidays for a few weeks and my morning commute is usually my iPod time - and after a great interview with the very eloquent Duff McKagen, they read out an email I sent them a few weeks ago, and they mentioned my site. I didn't expect them to read out the email on the air (although I'm not gonna lie to ya, I made sure to include site information just in case), and it was a very nice little surprise to start my morning.

My apologies to the lady sitting next to me on the tram, who was probably wondering why I suddenly started grinning like a doofus.

It's been a good couple of weeks for I Heart Guitar publicity, what with the mention in the May 2009 edition of Premier Guitar and my guest post on the Jemsite blog. So it's at this point that I'd like to get all gushy and thank everyone so so much for their support, including my fellow guitar bloggers (you can show them some love too by checking out the blog links to the right).

NEWS: Paul Reed Smith moonlighting as Dr Drew?

This is the second I Heart Guitar lookalike post (remember my suspicions about Satch moonlighting as Bobby on The Kingdom Of Paramithi?). Last night I was watching TV and an ad for Celebrity Rehab With Dr Drew Pinsky came on. My first thought was “Sweet, what’s Paul Reed Smith doing on E! ..?” Don't tell me their latest reality show is 'Woods Of The PRS Private Stock Showroom' or 'Keeping Up With The McCartys.'

So what do you think? Is Paul Reed Smith moonlighting as a celebrity rehabilitation facilitator? That’s Paul on the left and Dr Drew on the right.

CLICK HERE to see Paul Reed Smith guitars on eBay.

REVIEW: Krank Revolution + amp

The Krank Revolution + has a lot in common with the Dimebag Darrell signature model, the Krankenstein – after all, Dime was swayed over to Krank by the Revolution, and it was this amp that he used as the basis for his own model. While the Krankenstein is a savage, mega-high-gain beast fit for the metal mayhem created by Darrell, the Revolution is a more versatile creature, designed to be many things to many players, instead of the ‘two things to one player: ultra clean and mega distortion’ brief of the Krankenstein.

CLICK HERE to buy the Krank Revolution Plus on eBay.

SPEC CHECK

The Revolution + has two channels, ‘Krank’ and ‘Kleen.’ Krank has a 3 band EQ (treble, midrange and bass), two footswitchable master volumes and a parametric sweep control which shifts the focus from bass and treble-heavy metal bite to midrange-thick hard rock. The Kleen channel has a similar 3 band EQ and a volume control, as well as a Boost button which adds grit and sparkle to this otherwise spotlessly clean channel.

The ‘plus’ indicates that the Revolution + has a few changes since its first incarnation. A more powerful transformer is the first clue, creating greater grunt and headroom. Gone are the original 5881 power valves, and in their place are four Sovtek 6550 valves, which are often used in valve bass amplifiers for their tight low end response, clear highs, and high headroom. Their use here skews the Revolution +’s gain generation ratio further towards ‘preamp distortion’ than’ power amp distortion.’ You will still get some colouration at higher master volume levels, but the amp is more likely to sound similar whether it’s at bedroom or stadium volume level. This also means the line out will give a more accurate representation of the amp’s sound than some other amps, because the power amp has less influence on the overall tone.

REVOLUTION CALLING

Normally with an amp like this I would go for the throat on the high gain channel straight out of the gate. I guess today I was feeling a bit more low-key, because I started with the Kleen channel using my Ibanez UV777BK 7-string. I was immediately impressed by the clarity and headroom of the channel, and it was ideal for those Metallica ‘One’ clean tones, especially Kirk’s clean solo tone on the intro. Hitting the Boost button immediately smacked me back into the world of guitar dirt, though. This is like a magic button which makes the amp and guitar seem to speak to each other as if they’re a single instrument. The high end was now sharp and angry, and the bass was punchy and tough. The midrange had just the right level of grind, and this channel will satisfy blues and country players as well as metal players who need a clean sound, but not TOO clean.

The Krank channel can cover a huge range of distortion tones, from classic rock to thrashy firestorm, but I pretty quickly zoned in on an almost identical facsimile of the Queensryche ‘Operation:Mindcrime’ rhythm guitar tone, one of my personal favourite rock sounds.

NOW THAT’S A PLUS

If I had to choose between the Krankenstein + and the Revolution +, I’d say ‘Viva la Revolution!’ While Dime’s amp does what it does extremely well, the Revolution just does more, and is more adaptable to individual playing styles. Its ability to handle a wide range of gain levels and to excel at each of them makes this a pretty exciting amp to play through, and one of my favourites of the last few years.

SPECS:

2 switchable channels – Kleen and Krank
Exclusive EQ sweep control on the Krank channel
Separate volume and 3-band EQs per channel
2 footswitchable Master Volume controls on the Krank channel
Master Presence control for both channels
4 – Premium Electro Harmonix 12AX7 preamp tubes
4 – Premium Sovtek 6550 power tubes
Line out
4, 8, and 16-ohm speaker output impedance selector Series effects loop

REVIEW: Seymour Duncan SHPR-1 P-Rails pickup

The Seymour Duncan P-Rails SHPR-1 pickup is one of the latest entries to the company’s increasingly broad pickup offering, and it looks like nothing else the company has ever made. While most pickups tend to look quite similar to each other on the outside, the P-Rails looks like bizarre hybrid of a P-90 style single coil pickup and one half of a mini, single coil-sized humbucker.

CLICK HERE to see Seymour Duncan pickups on eBay.

NOT YOUR ORDINARY PICKUP

The strange visual presentation is a clue that this is not your ordinary pickup. Designed to be wired into either a 2 or 3 way switch, the P-Rails can be either a regular humbucker, a Fender-style single coil, or a Gibson style P-90.

I tested a matched P-Rails set in a Framus semi-acoustic guitar, with two-way mini toggle switches discreetly installed underneath the pickguard, and wired for humbucker and P-90 modes. A 3-way switch would also allow for standard single coil mode using the mini rail-style portion of the pickup. Seymour Duncan says that when this mode is engaged on both pickups, the tone is similar to the ‘quacky’ positions 2 and 4 on a Stratocaster.

In the bridge position, the P-90-inspired portion of the pickup sounds warm and edgy, but not too over the top compared to some other such pickups on the market. Note separation is nice and clear, even with complex chords and a good dose of distortion. In the neck, the tone is full and warm, with pronounced pick attack, and is especially good for blues soloing.

HOW’S IT SOUND?

In humbucking mode, the bridge pickup is not a particularly high gain affair. It’s great for crunchy, supportive barre chords and voice-like solo tones, and the smooth, rounded midrange and slightly muted treble response make it especially good for banging out power chords in a more traditional rock style, rather than a downtuned, chugga-chugga metal way. The neck pickup sounds juicy and lyrical in humbucker mode, with great sustain and dynamics. It sounds especially good when its output is boosted by an overdrive pedal or clean boost.

It’s also a lot of fun using the mode switches almost like amp channel switches. If you set your amp just on the edge of crunch when the guitar is in humbucker mode, you can then switch to P-90 mode for a cleaner, brighter tone.

Since the test guitar had individual volume controls for each pickup, I was able to bring in a small amount of the bridge P-90 to add a subtle little high end and pick attack to the neck humbucker mode, or change the ratio between the two pickups to add a little roundness to the bridge P-90 by fading in a small amount of the neck humbucker sound.

Seymour Duncan recommends another wiring option for the pickup: Normally, in humbucking mode, P-Rails are wired in series, for a high-output sound suited to classic rock and heavier tones. However, when the coils are wired in parallel, the mismatch produces a P.A.F.-style humbucker tone with less phase cancellation associated with standard parallel wired humbuckers, with present upper-mid bloom responsiveness and pronounced string articulation.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The P-Rails is the ideal solution for players who want a maximum number of options with the minimum amount of fuss, and it’s an especially handy studio tool, effectively tripling the number of available sounds from the one guitar.

Music 123 shopping links

Seymour Duncan SHPR-1 P-Rails Neck Humbucker Electric Guitar Pickup Standard

Seymour Duncan SHPR-1 P-Rails Bridge Humbucker Electric Guitar Pickup Standard

REVIEW: Seymour Duncan SH-15 Alternative 8 humbucker

Not content with releasing the Blackout and Livewire active pickups with unprecedented power, Seymour Duncan has unleashed the Alternative 8 passive humbucker. The 8 in the Alternative 8’s name is derived from its Alnico 8 (Aluminium/nickel/cobalt alloy) magnet, and this pickup marks the first time this magnet has been used by Seymour Duncan.

CLICK HERE to see Seymour Duncan pickups on eBay.

PICK ME UP

The Alternative 8 has a DC resistance of 17.68k, making it one of the hottest passive humbuckers in Seymour Duncan’s history, almost stepping on the toes of the mighty Distortion Parallel Axis, a ceramic magnet humbucker which weighs in at an imposing 21.3 k. The pickup features hot coils wound for maximum output, enhanced further by the natural qualities of the Alnico magnet. While a ceramic magnet might sound tight and bitey, Alnico adds warmth and presence to the true midrange as well as the upper mids, while taming the fizzy buzz factor.

Seymour Duncan rates the pickup’s tonal response as Treble: 9; Midrange: 8; and Bass: 7, with a resonant peak at 4.46 KHz. In contrast, the famed Alnico II humbucker favoured by Slash has a DC resistance of 7.6k, and its tonal response breaks down to Treble: 8; Midrange 4; and Bass: 7, with a resonant peak at 7.1KHz, resulting in a more open, airy tone more suited to bands with multiple guitars.

I LOVE TO HAVE A RIFF WITH DUNCAN

I tested the Alternative 8 in a Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul Standard through my Marshall DSL50 all-valve half stack. I usually keep the Marshall’s gain at about half way, and goose the input with an overdrive pedal for a little extra fullness and body depending on the guitar and pickups. This certainly wasn’t needed with the Alternative 8. This pickup is loud, chunky and gutsy. It’s ideally suited for single guitar bands, especially when the guitarist really wants to be noticed. The tone is bright and full, with lots of midrange ‘poke,’ making it a great pickup for lead playing. The dynamic response is a little squashed at medium gain levels – picking harder doesn’t increase the volume, but it fills out the bottom end of the tone response nicely. The pickup’s natural compression also makes it great for legato techniques.

Options include a nickel or gold plated cover, if you don’t like the exposed coil look, and the pickup can be ordered in standard or trembucker size, the latter spaced for Fender-style or Floyd Rose-equipped guitars. It’s important to buy the right size for your guitar, because if the pole pieces of the pickup don’t line up with the strings, you risk a cataclysmic mismatch in volume from one string to another.

THE BOTTOM LINE

This is one of those pickups that rewards the player for putting in a little more detail and finesse. Every little phrasing choice is presented loud and proud for the audience to hear, which can be either intimidating or liberating depending on your approach. But if you have the guts to take on this monster, it’s well worth the tonal payoff.

SPECS:
Bass: 7
Middle: 8
Treble: 9

Resonant peak: 4.46KHz
DC Resistance: 17.68k
Options: Gold, nickel covers, standard or trembucker size.

Music 123 shopping links:

Seymour Duncan SH-15 Alternative 8 Trembucker Electric Guitar Pickup Black Trembucker
Seymour Duncan SH-15 Alternative 8 Trembucker Electric Guitar Pickup Zebra Trembucker
Seymour Duncan SH-15 Alternative 8 Trembucker Electric Guitar Pickup Reverse Zebra Trembucker
Seymour Duncan SH-15 Alternative 8 Humbucker Electric Guitar Pickup Black
Seymour Duncan SH-15 Alternative 8 Trembucker Electric Guitar Pickup White Trembucker
Seymour Duncan SH-15 Alternative 8 Trembucker Electric Guitar Pickup Nickel Cover Trembucker
Seymour Duncan SH-15 Alternative 8 Humbucker Electric Guitar Pickup Gold Cover

NEWS: Wizard Modern Classic

Here's a press release for ya. I'm busy as all get-out today so I don't have time to inject my usual charm into this intro.

Wizard Amplification Unleashes Their Modern Classic on the World
April 21, 2009

Advertisement Wizard Amplification now offers their Modern Classic, hand wired point to point, all tube guitar amplifier directly online for purchase. The customer will deal directly with the manufacture that has been delivering the real tone behind the scenes for decades. All Modern Classics are built at time of order and are available in a 50 watt 2 x 12 combos or 50 and 100 watt head configurations.

Wizard Amplification has been building guitar and bass amplifiers 20 years for some of the most influential and prestigious guitar heroes of our time. The Modern Classic offers you the soft, sweet tones of a vintage amp and at the stomp of a switch, the blistering leads of today's high gain units.

Wizard Modern Classic features include:

Two inputs (high and low sensitivity) ideal for amplifier ganging.
Foot-switching capabilities take you from vintage clean to modern high gain with extended bottom end response.
Lead Gain with Pull Channel Select, Lead Master with Pull Lead Boost, Rhythm with Pull Rhythm Boost, Treble, Middle, Bass and Presence controls.
4-8-16 ohm impedance selector.
White or Gold graphics
E34L powered 50, 4T50, and 100 watt models.
Also available in a 2x12" combo.

Cabinets are of 100% Baltic birch in construction with recessed steel handles, high quality speaker mounting hardware and aluminum jack plates with Switchcraft jacks. High grade Tolex covering add to the ruggedness that make all Wizard Speaker Cabinets a thing of beauty and road worthiness.

Available in a variety of speaker configurations and power handling options, Wizard Speaker Cabinets reproduce warm and smooth characteristics combined with solid punch and clarity.

First introduced at the 1995 NAMM musical industry trade show, the Wizard Modern Classic head & combo have grown in popularity far beyond the highest of expectations, now all Wizard Amplification products will be available factory direct to the consumers.

For more information, visit their web site at http://www.wizardamplification.com/.

NEW GEAR DAY: E-Bow

I’ve read about E-Bows for years – stretching back to when Eddie Van Halen used one for the intro to ‘Spanked’ on Van Halen’s For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge – and when the Australian government decided to kickstart the economy with a $900 cash bonus to 7 million or so taxpayers, I figured it was time to splash out on some goodies. So yesterday I marched into Allans Music on Bourke St and let Australia buy me an E-Bow.

If you haven’t seen one before, an E-Bow is an electronic bow for guitarists which uses ‘direct string synthesis’ (otherwise known as some sort of sorcery involving magnets) to make the note sustain forever – or at least until the 9v battery runs out. You place it directly over the string and let it do its thing. There’s a standard mode as well as a harmonic mode which creates a heavenly overtone.

I’m still learning to use the E-Bow so I’m not going to sully this post with a poorly performed demonstration. But go to the E-Bow website and check out this page for some cool demonstration files which show that the E-Bow can be used for a lot more than just holding notes.

One limitation of the E-Bow is that it only works with single notes. If you wish to sustain chords, you might want to check out the Fernandes Sustainer or the Sustainiac.

Sustaining devices on eBay:
E-Bow
Sustainiac
Fernandes Sustainer

NEWS: Heaven & Hell listening party

Quick! Prepare thyself to have thy brains crushed by the official Heaven & Hell The Devil You Know listening party!

Click here to hear a 5-song preview of the new album! The listening Party Tracklist is Atom and Evil, Bible Black (single), Double the Pain, Rock And Roll Angel and Turn of the Screw. Also, check out this brutal animated Heaven & Hell promo on YouTube.

The album is released on Rhino Records on April 28. I’ll have a review on I Heart Guitar as soon as humanly possible after that date.

Here’s the latest press release:

HEAVEN & HELL INTRODUCES THE DEVIL YOU KNOW

LOS ANGELES -- After finishing several heralded world tours as Heaven & Hell last summer, Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Vinny Appice were tighter than ever before, both musically and personally.

Agreeing that it would be a shame to stop making music together at tours end, the quartet began writing, first in England at Iommi's home studio and later in Los Angeles at Dio's studio. "The band had gotten too good to just walk away," Dio says. "We wanted to show people that we were still capable of giving them new music that measured up to what we'd done in the past."

With that goal in mind, the band once again converged on Rockfield Studios in Wales last winter, the same place they used 17 years earlier to record their last album, Dehumanizer. The result is the long awaited new album THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, featuring 10 soon-to-be-classic tracks from the Dio-fronted version of Black Sabbath. The highly anticipated set arrives on April 28 from Rhino for a suggested list price of $18.98 (physical) and $9.99 (digital).

It took less than three weeks to finish the album, with most of the songs only needing a couple of takes. "It was good to play them live in the studio. It keeps you on edge," Iommi says. "I mean, somewhere along the line we were gonna have to play them live; might as well start in the studio." Butler adds: "We've learned from the past that you can kill a song doing it over and over. The first Sabbath albums were done in two or three days. Technically they weren't great, but vibe-wise they were great. If you capture that feeling, that's all you need."

"Bible Black," the epic first single, begins with Iommi on acoustic guitar behind Dio's plaintive wail before the rhythm shifts to a menacing stomp for the rest of this dark tale about a book of sinister scriptures. One of the first songs written for the album, Dio says it established a tone for the rest of the album. "When you start off with a blockbuster like that, it makes the rest of the album so much easier because it gives you a benchmark to measure the other songs against."

Iommi proves he hasn't lost the ability to inspire six-string envy, unleashing riffs like a pack of rabid hellhounds on "Atom And Evil," "Fear," "Neverwhere," and "Eating The Cannibals," a tune about doing more than biting the hand that feeds. Butler and Appice slow the pace while
ramping up the intensity on "Follow The Tears" and "Double The Pain" and "Breaking Into Heaven," the latter diverging from its glacial procession for Dio's majestic chorus about fallen angels planning an attack on paradise.

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW
Track Listing

1. "Atom And Evil"
2. "Fear"
3. "Bible Black"
4. "Double The Pain"
5. "Rock And Roll Angel"
6. "The Turn Of The Screw"
7. "Eating The Cannibals"
8. "Follow The Tears"
9. "Neverwhere"
10. "Breaking Into Heaven"

NEWS: I Heart Guitar mentioned in Premier Guitar Magazine

The May 2009 edition of Premier Guitar is out now (you can see it online here) and I Heart Guitar and Guitar Noize both scored mentions in an article about Twitter on page 42.

Follow I Heart Guitar on Twitter! For more on Twitter, check out this great article on Jason Shadrick's guitar blog, another Twitterer mentioned in the Premier Guitar story.

As many of you probably know I write for a few magazines here in Australia – Mixdown (where I also have an instructional column called Unleash Your Inner Rock God), Australian Guitar, and Australian Musician Magazine – but this is the first time I’ve seen my name in an American magazine, unless you count the time Guitar Player printed my letter about a million years ago, hehe. So I’m hella excited. Thanks Premier Guitar!

Premier Guitar’s email newsletter sums up the new issue perfectly, so here’s what they said:

Welcome to the May issue of Premier Guitar! We’re bringing you a genuine ‘plexi fest’ this month with our exploration of that classic Marshall JTM45 tone via an original (1965!), a reissue and five boutique brands that pay tribute in their own way. We also have interviews with Thin Lizzy’s Scott Gorham and jazz maestro Martin Taylor. The issue is also packed with a tone-dripping array of reviews—Louder & More, Genz Benz, Michael Tobias Designs and Xotic, to name a few. Plus, some of you have asked us to throw a little more of the less expensive gear into the mix so we're responding with reviews of an Atomic Guitar Works STD1 ($895), a Danelectro Dead On '67 ($399), an Eastwood Airline Tuxedo ($849) and Fender's Road Worn Series ($949).

NEWS: Guest post on Jemsite

I've just written another guest post for the Jemsite Community Blog. This post is about my awesome Ibanez Talman, named Candy. I've talked about Candy a little bit on I Heart Guitar but not in nearly as much depth as this new Jemsite article. Check it out here.

You can also see my first guest post on the Jemsite blog here.

CLICK HERE to see Ibanez Talman guitars on eBay.

FEATURE: Brutal metal axes

I originally wrote these stories as separate blog posts on Halloween last year. They were fun to write and I’m kinda enjoying these little guitar lists lately. Plus I’ve been following Problogger’s ‘31 Days To Build A Better Blog’ feature and they recommended revisiting an old post. So what the heck: here again but all in one place this time are I Heart Guitar’s most brutal metal axes.

Jackson Demmelition King V

This demonic beast, the signature model for Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel, takes the already brutal Jackson King V and adds even deadlier edges.

The Demmelition King V has a sharp alder body, witha through-body quartersawn maple neck capped with a bound compound-radius ebony fingerboard (12” to 16”) and 24 jumbo frets. Shark fin inlays are one of the most metalworthy accoutrements a guitar can have, so of course they make an appearance on the Demmelistion, in mother-of-pearl form, and the Jackson logo is also inlayed in mother-of-pearl for extra metallic bling factor.

Pickups are an EMG 81 in the bridge and an EMG 60 in the neck position, each with its own CTS volume control. Other brutal features include a Floyd Rose Original double-locking two-point tremolo bridge, black hardware and die-cast tuners. Available in red with black bevels, black with silver bevels and white with black bevels. Grrr.

CLICK HERE to buy the Jackson Phil Demmel Signature King V


Ibanez Xiphos

The Ibanez Xiphos was first released as a 6-string version with an Ibanez Edge III Floyd Rose-style bridge. The Xiphos gets its evil from looking like some kind of medieval weapon, but it also has a touch of glam with its eye-catching colour-change paint. Pictured is the extra-deadly 7-string version, which features Dimarzio D Activator 7 pickups, (designed to sound like actives, D Activators are also on the 6-string Xiphos), and a very heavy, sturdy Ibanez Gibraltar Custom 7 bridge.

Some players are a little anti-Xiphos because the shape is similar to the Jackson Warrior. Being an Ibanez fanboy, it doesn't bother me one bit, and I hope some day they release a Japanese version with an Edge Zero bridge and prestige finishing.

CLICK HERE to buy the Ibanez XPT700 Xiphos Blue Chameleon

Dean VMNT

Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine has had more than his fair share of signature guitars – various Jackson models, the ESP DV8 and Axxion, and now the Dean Dave Mustaine VMNT. One thing Dave’s guitars have in common is their aggressive styling – this is not a dude that you’ll see strapping on a Les Paul. The DV8 is not drastically different from the King V-based Jackson Dave Mustaine model of the 90s, and it has a few design refinements including through-body stringing and a tune-o-matic bridge (his Jackson had a fixed Kahler bridge).

Most VMNT variants also have Seymour Duncan Dave Mustaine Livewire active pickups. Voiced to sound like a Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz set but with twice as much output, these 9-volt active pickups run on low noise, discrete class A circuitry, and can be operated at up to 25 volts for extremely high headroom.

My favourite version of the VMNT is the ‘Angel of Deth’ model, but check out the double neck version of the VMNT too. I guess this one is more of a Flying W than a Flying V.

CLICK HERE to buy the Dean Dave Mustaine VMNT Angel of Deth Electric Guitar

ESP Custom Shop Shinigami

Got $20,000? Then perhaps this ESP Custom Shop Shinigami is for you. Specs are pretty hard to come by but does that even matter, with a guitar as demonic as this? That's no printed graphic either - this sucker is carved and painted. The workmanship looks to be as awe-inspiring as the licks that are sure to fly off this metal machine.

This pic is from Australian store Bmusic's website, which is well worth bookmarking for their huge selection of ESPs, a lot of which aren't available in America, like this, this, this, this, and this. I've never shopped with Bmusic but their forums are a great source of information and I sometimes hit up Shane from Bmusic for ESP info.

Also, while googling for more info about the Shinigami, I found that Guitar Noise reported on this puppy back in January 2008 so check out that story too!

ESP George Lynch Skulls & Snakes

Here's another one that goes back to my very first guitar magazine, the March 1991 issue of Guitar World with ZZ Top on the cover. George Lynch appeared in a Seymour Duncan ad for his Screamin' Demon pickup, posing with this guitar. Naturally it was the coolest f***ing thing in the world to my 13-year-old self, and I've never stopped lusting after this guitar.

Features include a blot-on maple neck on an alder body, rosewood fretboard, 45mm neck width, George's custom neck conour, 22 extra jumbo frets, Gotoh tuners, Floyd Rose bridge, George's Screamin' Demon bridge pickup, and an ESP SH-100 Rail pickup in the neck position.

CLICK HERE to buy George Lynch's 1993 solo album 'Sacred Groove'

CLICK HERE to buy the ESP George Lynch M-1 Tiger electric guitar, since I couldn't find a link for the Skulls & Snakes guitar

NEWS: Jane's Addiction box set out today

The Jane's Addiction box set A Cabinet Of Curiosities is out today. Here are some fun facts from the press release:

First-ever Jane’s Addiction boxed set: 43 tracks on 3 CDs—spotlighting demos, live tracks and other rarities—and a bonus DVD with videos and live performance footage.
30 tracks are previously unreleased!

Deluxe: Housed in a collectible, limited edition wooden box designed after an old-fashioned “CABINET OF CURIOSITIES.”

Standard slipcase version available May 5th

Over 3 hours of music from the band’s legendary original incarnation: Perry Farrell (vocals), Dave Navarro (guitar), Eric Avery (bass) and Stephen Perkins (drums).
Disc 1 opens with five songs recorded during a 1986 session in Venice, CA including an unreleased version of the signature track “Jane Says.”

Also features 11 unreleased demos from ’87, among them seminal versions of future Jane’s classics including “Three Days,” “Ocean Size,” “Summertime Rolls,” “Stop!” and more.

Disc 2 highlights include previously unissued demos for “Ted, Just Admit It…” and “Maceo,” a 12” remix of “Been Caught Stealing,” the Grateful Dead cover “Ripple,” a rehearsal of “My Time” and rare and unreleased 1987 live cuts including the band’s concert staple “Bobhaus” and a roaring version of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.”

The band was legendary for their live shows, and Disc 3 presents a complete concert recorded on December 19, 1990 at the Hollywood Palladium including peak-form unreleased performances of “Mountain Song,” “Whores,” “Ocean Size” and “Been Caught Stealing.”

DVD Disc 4 opens with Fan’s Video: Soul Kiss, previously unavailable only on VHS—selections include the MTV-banned video for “Mountain Song,” a clip for “City” and candid footage of the band.
Also features all eight music videos from Nothing’s Shocking and Ritual de lo Habitual plus a trio of unreleased 1990 performances taped in Milan for MTV Italy.

For additional information, please visit http://www.janesaddiction.com/.

FEATURE: Cool guitars they don’t make any more 2

Kramer Nightswan

This model started life as a design by Buddy Blaze (check out his collaboration with Dean here – and yes, Buddy was the guy who owned and painted Dimebag’s famous Dean From Hell) called the Shredder in collaboration with Vivian Campbell (Whitesnake, Dio, Def Leppard) before Blaze and Campbell hooked up with Kramer. Its distinctive ‘middle and bridge humbuckers’ layout gives it a cool hot-rod custom vibe, and check out that 80serrific finish. The Nighswan featured a mahogany body, two Seymour Duncan humbuckers (a Full Shred and a JB), a flush-mounted Floyd Rose tremolo (no back-pull: divebomb only), a Gibson-like 24 3/4 “ scale neck and an ebony fretboard. The later Nightswan II model had a Seymour Duncan Full Shred and two Kramer rail pickups and a recessed tremolo rout (so you could raise the pitch as well as drop it). Read more about this guitar at VintageKramer.com. Oh and thanks to Chris from the Classical Guitar Blog for suggesting this model.

CLICK HERE to see Kramer Nightswan guitars on eBay.

Ibanez Maxxas

The Maxxas was a wild experiment by Ibanez to create a high level sub-brand. I guess when we think of sub-brands we think of stuff like ESP’s LTD, Fender’s Squire or Gibson’s Epiphone, all of which are fine guitars but which are aimed at lower price points than their parent companies. Not so with the Maxxas brand. The Maxxas was an experimental, semi-hollowbody instrument with little resemblance to other Ibanezes at the time. Fun fact: a Maxxas with a custom green and purple snakeskin finish was the guitar Ibanez sent to Steve Vai (as a Christmas present) to try to persuade him to choose them over all the other

 brands that were courting him at the time. Maxxas models go for big bucks if you can find one. Notable Maxxas players include Alex Skolnick of Testament and Alice Cooper’s Kane Roberts. For more on the Maxxas, check out this page on the Ibanez Register website.

CLICK HERE to see if there are any Ibanez Maxxas guitars on eBay. Good luck – it doesn’t happen often! CLICK HERE to see Ibanez guitars in general.

ESP MX-250 II

Often nicknamed the ‘Lawsuit Explorer,’ this beauty is associated with James Hetfield and Devin Townsend, who is pictured with one on the back cover of his Ocean Machine – Biomech album. These babies featured a mahogany body, ebony fretboard, EMG 81 bridge and 60 neck humbuckers, and more attitude than a monster truck full of pissed off komodo dragons. Of course Gibson wasn’t too thrilled that the Explorer shape was rapidly becoming associated with another company, and ESP had to stop making them, at least for the American market. Dig around and you just may find a Japanese-

market version though! The EX shape was introduced to replace it. For lots of info on various ESP Explorer-shaped guitars, check out this thread on the ESP forum.

CLICK HERE to see ESP MX and other Explorer based guitars on eBay.

Washburn EC-36

There comes a time in every guitarist's life when they must say "To heck with 24 frets, I want to make notes that only dogs can hear, and I don't want to cheat by using a whammy pedal." These rebellious guitarists may earn the ire of PETA, but one must admire their tenacity, and it is for them that Washburn made the EC-36 - a 36-fret, single-humbucker guitar. Only 500 of these were made, so if you've got one, look after it and if you want one, start prepping your kidney for sale. They feature the original Stephens Extended Cutaway as later used on Nuno Bettencourt's N4 Washburn signature model. This baby features active electronics and a midrange boost. There was also a 29-fret version (the EC-29) which added a 'neck' single coil pickup, although 'neck position' in this case is a pretty loose term, as the pickup is position more where you would expect a middle one to be.

CLICK HERE to see Washburn guitars on eBay.

Yamaha Pacifica

With much design input from Rich Lasner (formerly of Ibanez - remember the RG550? Jem? JS? Maxxas? Seen the new Vox Virage?), the early range of high-price Pacificas are amazing guitars packed with high-tech features and finished off with Yamaha's notoriously tight quality control. Height-adjustable locking nut, 'total access neck joint,' a tremolo bridge which didn't require you to take the strings off, and stock Dimarzio pickups were just a few of the awesome features of these axes. My favourite thing about this guitar though was the ad campaign, which a quick-witted copywriter headed up with 'Naked girls and flaming skulls do not make a guitar play better. Unfortunately' before concluding that the guitar's various innovative features made the guitar sound and play exceptionally well 'without using a single naked flaming girl's skull.' It's stuff like this which made me want to get into writing about guitars in the first place.

The Pacifica is closely identified with Bill Leverty of Firehouse, and as if the more common 'Superstrat' version wasn't cool enough, check out this Pacifica 1221 MS 'Supertele.'

CLICK HERE to see Yamaha Pacifica guitars on eBay.

CLICK HERE to see more cool guitars they don't make any more.