NEWS: Zakk Wylde to visit Allans in Sydney

The other day I was in Allans on Bourke St (and hello to whoever picked up the I Heart Guitar printed pick by Grover Allman that I 'accidentally' dropped, hehe), and I noticed a Gibson Zakk Wylde Les Paul BFG Buzzsaw (above). 'Cool,' I thought. 'It's great to see Gibson running with the BFG concept and giving Zakk some more well-deserved signature guitars.' Well it turns out lucky Sydneysiders will get the chance to meet Zakk in person at Allans while they check out several new Gibson and Epiphone Zakk Wylde models.

GUITAR ICON ZAKK WYLDE RETURNS TO SYDNEY

SPECIAL APPEARANCE ON THURSDAY DEC 3RD AT ALLANS MUSIC

In the two decades since Ozzy Osbourne hired him away from his job at a New Jersey gas station to become his new guitarist, Zakk Wylde has established himself as a guitar icon known and revered the world over.

And so it is with great pleasure that Gibson announce the return to our shores for a special in-store appearance & signing on December 3rd at Allans Music in the Sydney to coincide with the release of not one, but three new models – Les Paul BFG Bullseye and Buzzsaw plus the Graveyard Disciple.

To attend the Zakk Wylde in-store appearance & signing fans are encouraged to pre-register online at http://www.allansmusic.com.au/

Full details are as follows –

Zakk Wylde Instore Event

Allans Music Sydney

228 Pitt Street, Sydney

Date: Thursday December 3

Time: 4.00pm – 6.30pm

Please note: Zakk Wylde will NOT be performing on the day.

Zakk Wylde is coming. Don’t say we didn’t warn you...

COOL GEAR ALERT: Ibanez PGM100RE

So I was just down at Allans Music on Bourke St here in Melbourne and I noticed in the window this beauty: A new Ibanez PGM100RE, the first of two Paul Gilbert models reissued by Ibanez this year (the other being the not-too-long-ago-discontinued PGM300). The pink of the painted F holes is a little lighter than the original, but these are such stunning guitars that while I was looking at it, a grandma who looked like she had no interest whatsover in the guitaristic pursuits strolled over to admire it. One of the things I dig about this model is that it's very similar in overall design and colour to my beloved RG370, which I wrote about on the Jemsite blog.

One thing I don't like though is the price tag - AUD$5,495. With an exchange rate of 1 AUD = 0.80 USD at the time of writing, that puts this axe at US$4,400. OUCH. Granted, the chaps at Allans would probably be open to a little friendly haggling if you asked nicely, but still, the US list price is $US2,665, which would put the street price at... well, I don't know, but a lot less than five and a half grand AUD.

Then again, these are pretty hard to find in Australia and there are a lot of factors involved in setting the price here, so it's simply not practical to convert the US list price into Australian dollars and expect that to be the local price. So before any Aussies decide to buy a PGM100RE from overseas instead, I'd like to urge them to support the local industry and buy locally - otherwise we'll see less and less of these cool reissues and limited editions on the racks of our local stores. I've had a lot of great dealings with Australian Ibanez importer Australis over the years (they went absolutely above and beyond the call of duty in helping me get my hands on a Jem7VWH - thanks Scott!) and I'm sure they're keeping the price as low as can reasonably be expected. Plus they brought Paul Gilbert down here on a clinic tour last year which gives them extra awesome-points in my book.

If you're reading this and you happen to run an Australian guitar store that has the PGM100RE in stock, email me at iheartguitarblog@gmail.com and I'll update this post with a list of stores where Aussies can find these awesome axes.


More info on the PGM100 here.

NEWS: Mixdown issue 181 out now

If you're in Australia, get to your nearest musical instrument store, studio, CD store or wherever you find Mixdown (for me it's my local Blockbuster but I digress) and check out issue 181. As well as my 'Unleash Your Inner Rock God' and 'What's That Sound? - Tony Iommi' columns, this issue has my reviews of:

Sterling by Music Man AX20

Sterling by Music Man Silo20
Schecter Hellraiser Solo-6
Schecter Classic Solo-6
ESP LTD EC-256
Randall G3 amp
Ampeg J-20 amp

There's also a great interview with former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler, who is heading to Australia to do some drum clinics for Allans Music.

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: News for March 26, 2009

Hammond-Suzuki G37 And G27 Guitar Leslies shipping

Hammond-Suzuki USA today shipped the first production units of their G37 and G27 Leslie speakers designed especially for the guitar. Hammond executive VP Dennis Capiga said “Today marks the fulfillment of a dream, and several years of hard work. I can't wait to hear the music guitarists will make with our baby.”

The G37/G27 is roughly one third the size and weight of a traditional keyboard Leslie Speaker, but has many of the same components. Unlike the last Leslie designed for guitar in the late 60's; the G37 and G27 have a ‘real’ horn spinning on the top and the traditional Leslie rotor on the bottom. A 100 watt channel-switching guitar amp with "tube pre" powers the G37 while the G27 is powered by the user's own amp.

MAP pricing for the G37 is $1495.00, and the G27 is $1325.00.

Listen to the new Queensryche album now!

I got a copy of this to review the other day, but you can check it out for yourself now at the VH1 website! 

Source: Queensryche.

Buy: Amazon.com

Three quarters of Soundgarden reunite

Here’s one that’s bound to put the wind up Chris Cornell and his attempts to become the next Justin Timberlake or whatever: Soundgarden with Tad Doyle on vocals and Tom Morello on second guitar, rocking Spoonman at the Seattle stop of Morello’s Axis of Justice tour.



Source: Blabbermouth.net.

Bruce Kulick to release limited edish EP

Former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick will make a "BK3" limited-edition EP available at his upcoming clinics for Allans Music in Australia. The CD features guest appearances by TOTO's Steve Lukather and John Corabi.

The songs included are:

* No Friend Of Mine (feat. John Corabi on vocals)
* And I Know (vocals by Bruce Kulick)
* Between The Lines (feat. Steve Lukather)

The EP will be available to the general public in mid-April after Kulick's Australia trip.

Bruce Kulick's Australian Allans Music clinic schedule:

April 01 - Melbourne - 7:00pm
April 02 - Brisbane - 6:30pm
April 03 - Adelaide - 7:00pm
April 04 - Sydney - 5:00pm

Source: Blabbermouth.net

NEWS: Bruce Kulick Australian clinic tour

Just saw this one on Blabbermouth.net.

Former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick has scheduled the following in-store appearances/clinics in Australia in conjunction with Allans Music.

April 01 - Melbourne - 7 p.m. (soundcheck 5 p.m.)
April 02 - Brisbane - 6:30 p.m. (soundcheck 4:30 p.m.)
April 03 - Adelaide - 7 p.m. (soundcheck 5 p.m.)
April 04 - Sydney - 5 p.m. (soundcheck 3 p.m.)

Kulick has been back in the studio working on his next solo CD, tentatively titled "BK3". The album will feature guest appearances by a number of acclaimed rock and heavy metal musicians, including TOTO's Steve Lukather, John Corabi (MÖTLEY CRÜE, UNION, RATT, ESP), Gene Simmons (KISS) and Tobias Sammet (EDGUY, AVANTASIA).

Cool! I haven't been to a Kulick clinic before, but I hear they're quite worthwhile, even for non-guitarists who are just going because he was in KISS.

NEWS: Billy Sheehan Oz clinics this week

Just a reminder that bass god Billy Sheehan, he of the flowing blond mane, insane tapping licks and growly tone from albums by David Lee Roth, Talas, Mr Big, Steve Vai, Devil's Slingshot, Niacin and about a billion more, is in Australia this week for three clinics on behalf of Yamaha and Allans Music.

Billy has a new album coming out soon with some very special guests (including ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, Kings X's Doug Pinnick, and Billy's former Mr Big bandmate Paul Gilbert), and Devil's Slingshot recently released their debut album, Clinophobia. The progressive metal band consists of Billy, guitarist Tony MacAlpine and Aussie drummer Virgil Donati, and for a time these three, with the addition of Dave Weiner, were Steve Vai's backing band. You can see them in action on Vai's Live At The Astoria DVD.

Billy has a rad new Yamaha bass to pimp, as you can see from the pic. This one reminds me of the bright pink Yamaha he used to play in the David Lee Roth days.

Dates for Allans are:
Melbourne: October 14, Allans Music, 152 Bourke St, City
Brisbane: October 16, Allans Music, 90-112 Queen Street Mall, City
Sydney: October 17, Allans Music, 228 Pitt Street, City

Tickets are $20 and available from Allans stores and online.

Billy will also appear at Kosmic Sound in Perth on Wednesday, October 15. Email info@kosmic.com.au for details.

CLICK HERE to buy Devils Slingshot's 'Clinophobia' CD

CLICK HERE to buy Billy Sheehan's 'Advanced Bass' DVD.

NEWS: Billy Sheehan Oz clinic tour

Bass god Billy Sheehan, he of the flowing blond mane, insane tapping licks and growly tone from albums by David Lee Roth, Talas, Mr Big, Steve Vai, Devil's Slingshot, Niacin and about a billion more, is coming to Australia for a few clinics on behalf of Yamaha and Allans Music.

Billy has a new album coming out soon with some very special guests (including Paul Gilbert), and Devil's Slingshot recently released their debut album, Clinophobia. The progressive metal band consists of Billy, guitarist Tony MacAlpine and Aussie drummer Virgil Donati, and for a time these three, with the addition of Dave Weiner, were Steve Vai's backing band. You can see them in action on Vai's Live At The Astoria DVD.

Billy has a rad new Yamaha bass to pimp, as you can see from the pic. This one reminds me of the bright pink Yamaha he used to play in the David Lee Roth days.

Dates are:
Melbourne: October 14, Allans Music, 152 Bourke St, City
Brisbane: October 16, Allans Music, 90-112 Queen Street Mall, City
Sydney: October 17, Allans Music, 228 Pitt Street, City

Tickets are $20 and available from Allans stores and online.