NEWS: Possible Chickenfoot Australian tour in 2010

Billboard is running a little Sammy Hagar interview in which it's revealed that Chickenfoot may do some Australian shows in early 2010 before another US tour. Here's an excerpt:

Currently finishing up its debut mini-tour playing clubs, Chickenfoot is set to make its national television debut on during the first week of Conan O’Brien’s "Tonight Show" on Friday June 5. The band then starts looking ahead to a month-long European jaunt beginning June 20 in Austria before returning stateside for a full North American run slated for August and September. Hagar says the group will then take a break while Smith returns to the Chili Peppers to presumably work on recording that band's next studio effort. Chickenfoot may get back together in early 2010 for an Australian tour with another American leg as well.

The story goes on to say:

While the current outing finds the band playing its debut effort in its entirety, along with unreleased new track "Bitten By The Wolf" and covers such as Montrose's "Bad Motor Scooter" and Deep Purple's "Highway Star," Hagar hints the band isn't adverse to loosening up its set list in the future to include material from the members' star-studded resumes.

"At some point, I think it will be the next album project and tour when we have more songs under our belt, we'll deconstruct Chickenfoot," Hagar says. "So it'll be a little bit of Joe, a little bit of Sammy, a little bit of Van Halen and maybe a little bit of the Chilis. That'll be a wonderful thing down the road when we're in an arena and doing 'An evening with,' but right now we really want to play all of the new songs. And right now we're paying almost two hours, so it's crazy. It's awesome."

The Chickenfoot album is released on June 5 in the US and June 12 in Australia. By the way, my review copy of the CD arrived in the mail today. Expect a review closer to the Australian release date.

(Photo by Bryan Adams)

REVIEW: Marshall 1959RR Randy Rhoads

The late great Randy Rhoads left an indelible mark on the guitar world when he passed away in 1982 with just two Ozzy Osbourne albums to his name, and a pair of Japan-only releases with his original band, Quiet Riot (yes, that Quiet Riot). At a time when Eddie Van Halen was revolutionising guitar playing with his party-guy antics, flashy technique and legendary ‘brown sound,’ Randy provided the Yang to Eddie’s Yin with similar technique and tone but an altogether darker aesthetic.

MR RANDY, WHAT WENT ON IN YOUR (AMP) HEAD?

Before recording Blizzard of Ozz with Ozzy, Randy ordered some Marshall amps direct from the factory, based on the 1959 Super Lead but customised with white Tolex and including several modifications. The most important of these mods is a change to the way the two channels interact with each other. Typically, a Marshall Super Lead would have two channels, I and II, which each have 2 inputs. Players discovered early on that they could run these two channels together by joining them up with a short cable, but the 1959RR offers an internally-facilitated variation on this idea, all in the name of increased gain. The mod, which is only on channel II, cascades both halves of the first 12AX7 preamp valve, feeding the output of the first stage into the input of the second, instead of using each half separately for channels I and II. This effectively makes channel I’s volume control function as a master volume, while turning the channel II volume into a gain control. Or if you are after a classic Super Lead sound, just plug in to channel I, throw in some industrial-strength earplugs and off you go.

QUIET RIOT? IT SURE IS, NOW THAT I’M DEAF

I wasn’t supplied with the matching speaker cabinet for this review, so I plugged the 1959RR into my Marshall 1960A cabinet. I tested it using an Ibanez RG550 with a Seymour Duncan Parallel Axis Trembucker bridge pickup. As it is a non-master-volume amp, the 1959RR needs to get loud – real loud – to achieve the kind of distortion you’d normally be able to dial in quite easily on an amp with separate gain and volume controls. Even with the added flexibility and gain of the channel II mod, you need to wind the level up pretty freaking high in order to get the thick, powerful distortion that the amp was built for. Plugged in to channel II, the amp was loud enough to fill the house with sound when the volume was set to zero. ZERO, people. I found the ideal setting was to turn both volumes up to about 6 (my neighbours, however, might dispute my definition of ‘ideal’ but I argue that little sacrifices such as ‘hearing’ and ‘peace and quiet’ must be made from time to time in the name of rock). The manual indicates that this 6+6 setting was Randy’s preferred level too, and it ensures a healthy mix of volume and overdrive.

Randy liked to increase the signal to the preamp with outboard devices (differing reports suggest he combined an EQ and a Boss overdrive pedal, or used an MXR Distortion + pedal - CLICK HERE to buy one from Music123), and he turned the bass down a little, which helps the speakers to breathe a little more and also keeps the amp’s insane level of power from overwhelming the bassist. Since I didn’t have an MXR Distortion + on hand (although I faked it with the model in my Boss GT-8 just to get a ballpark idea of what it’d be like to play with Randy’s gear), I used an MXR/Custom Audio Electronics boost/overdrive pedal designed by Bob Bradshaw to give the 1959RR a little extra nudge into high gain, and this seems to be the key to going from Randy’s rhythm tone to his lead setting.

The tone of the 1959RR is bright and edgy, with lots of attack and detail. This is not one of those amps that covers up your mistakes with front-end compression, but it rewards clean technique with a rich, punchy overdrive. Make sure you use an attenuator if you want Randy’s tone without damaging your hearing. Seriously.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Sure, this amp will help you sound a little bit like Randy Rhoads, but despite its signature appeal and blinged out white and gold appearance, it’s a straightforward workhorse which will appeal to players of many different genres. There’s a lot to love about this amp, whether you’re a Randy fan or not, and it’s already found its way into the rigs of Paul Gilbert (who used one when Racer X reunited at Winter NAMM 2009) and Dave Mustaine, who used one for his lead tone on the forthcoming Megadeth album.



MARSHALL 1959RR RANDY RHOADS
SPECS

POWER: 100 watts RMS
CHANNELS: 2
CONTROLS: Treble, mid, bass, presence, volume I, volume II
VALVES: 4 x EL34 output valves; 4 ECC83 (12AX7) preamp valves

More info: Marshall.

NEWS: New Divine Heresy album out July 24

Awesome. This just arrived in my inbox. Cool to see that we'll hear something new from Divine Heresy before Dino returns to work with the new Fear Factory lineup (Dino, Burton C Bell, Byron Stroud, Gene Hoglan).

Divine Heresy new album coming soon on Roadrunner Records – July 24th 09

Dino Cazares – Guitars, Travis Neal – Vocals, Joe Payne – Bass, Tim Yeung – Drums

The creative force behind the genre-defying, legendary metal titans Fear Factory, guitarist Dino Cazares, has returned with a mind-blowing, scathing new offering that shatters the boundaries of conventionality with unrelenting intensity, precision and speed. This new offering from Cazares’ extreme metal juggernaut DIVINE HERESY also features one of the genre’s most acclaimed drummers, Tim Yeung (ex-Nile, Vital Remains), bassist Joe Payne (ex-Nile) and newcomer vocalist Travis Neal (ex-The Bereaved, Pushed). This pummeling new offering, Bringer of Plagues, redefines the meaning of aggression and takes extreme to an all new level.

Vocalist Neal has undoubtedly proved that he is the perfect fit for the role as he delivers a debut performance for the ages.

DIVINE HERESY teamed up once again with acclaimed producing team Dirty Icon (Logan Mader and Lucas Banker) who has recently produced Cavalera Conspiracy, Gojira and Five Finger Death Punch. This album undeniably upped the ante in brutality, precision and technicality as the group are more focused and tighter than ever before. Bringer of Plagues features the legendary machine gun riffs that’ll take your breath away, combined with some jaw-dropping double-bass drum insanity. After a year and a half of touring with the likes of All That Remains, Static-X, Arch Enemy, Shadows Fall and Chimaira, DIVINE HERESY have proven that they are a stellar live act and are a force to be reckoned with.

Cazares further comments: “With Neal now having a few shows under his belt, his confidence is coming across through the new material. The songwriting process has been great and the ideas are constantly flowing. Collaborating with Tim Yeung, Joe Payne and Neal, all together hashing out ideas in the practice space has been very therapeutic and enjoyable. We all have a collective desire to take our performances to the next level with this release to undoubtedly prove that we are one of the most devastating bands in the scene today.”

Cazares doesn’t accept second best. As you’d expect from the man who co-founded both Fear Factory and Brujeria, his new band isn’t about to tread well-worn primrose paths. Meet DIVINE HERESY – not so much a metal band for the modern era as crimson innovators ready to transcend time and place. You see, when you’ve already made your mark with bands like those mentioned above, there are two things you can do: “I could have carried on being successful in Latin America with Brujeria, and my other band, Asesino,” admits the guitarist. “But that wasn’t enough. I wanted to do something that would go beyond what I’ve achieved before. Something to take metal into the 21st Century.”

"I know that my fans expect something special from me,” says Cazares. “And I would never let them down. With every project that I’ve done, what’s been important is to ensure that I deliver music that doesn’t just meet people’s expectations, but goes beyond them. That’s important to me. I know that I could coast along and do well on the back of my reputation, but that would be to cheat everyone – including myself. I really do believe that with DIVINE HERESY, I’m once again setting the highest standards.

The metal/hard rock world was anxiously awaiting Cazares return since he left Fear Factory and with DIVINE HERESY’s highly acclaimed debut release, Bleed The Fifth, he quickly proved that he was the force that propelled them to the forefront of the scene in the 90’s. Cazares took his performance to a new level with

DIVINE HERESY whose brutal, unrelenting and overall refreshing sound will quickly garner legions of followers who are starving to hear something devastating and unique.

In 2009, DIVINE HERESY looks to leave their definitive mark upon the genre with their most explosive and dynamic offering yet.

“Bringer of Plagues will be released by Roadrunner in Australia on July 24th.

Official MySpace Page

REVIEW: Line 6 BackTrack

There’s nothing quite like the Line 6 BackTrack out there at the moment. Ever tried to record a guitar riff on your iPod or phone? Not always the best sound quality, huh? Well the BackTrack is a tiny recording device which you can plug in between your guitar and amp, or use the built-in microphone if you want to capture the sound of your amp or even your full band. 

The controls are quite simple. There are buttons for volume up and down, a selector for on, off, and play-only modes, standard tape transport-style buttons (forward, back and play), a Mark button for adding index points so you can easily come back to a riff, and a Play Mark/All switch so you can either play only indexed riffs or go through the whole thing. There’s a USB out for transferring the files to your computer, and in addition to guitar input and output jacks there’s a headphone jack. Notice there is no record button. The BackTrack records everything you play, so as long as you have it plugged in between your guitar and amp, you’ll capture your idea. I mean, what’s the point of a device designed to capture inspired one-off moments if you have to go out of your way to make sure it’s recording, right? Line 6’s decision to have the BackTrack record all the time is so simple and obvious that it’s kind of amazing that such a device hasn’t been around for years. This device is a godsend for me because whenever I’m noodling away in the lounge room someone says “Hey that was cool, play it again” and it’s already zoomed straight out of my mind.

The first thing I looked for when I plugged into the BackTrack was the amp modelling. This is Line 6, after all, creators of the venerable Pod. But amp modelling is nowhere to be found. If you really wanted to use it to record riffs as you noodle on the sofa, consider placing a Pocket Pod between your guitar and the BackTrack. If you record a riff you like and you don’t want to hear it back as just a clean guitar part, simply play it through your amp, and a properly-impedence-matched version will shake through your bedroom or rehearsal studio as if you were playing it yourself live.

You can hook this little puppy up to your guitar strap or even Velcro it to your pedalboard so you can record rehearsal-room inspiration, but if I was to buy one (and I think I might), I would use it for live gigs. I tend to improvise most of my solos, but occasionally, if we record a gig, I find an improvisation I like, and then learn it as the permanent solo. With the BackTrack I can have a permanent record of all my live solos, so I won’t be bound by the economic realities of which gigs we can afford to multitrack, or the technical limitations of a handheld camcorder.

This is such a cool idea that it belongs in every guitar case or gig bag, whether you’re a guitarist or bassist, and while its main use is to record guitar parts through the direct input, it can also be a very handy way of keeping a record of the full band in the jam room.

More information: Line 6.

NEWS: PRS releases new metallic DuPont Hot Hues finishes

Here's a press release from Paul Reed Smith. Please note that PRS sales team member Rick Hodgson is no relation to me, unless he gives out free PRS Starlas at Christmas. Hehe.

PRS Guitars Releases New Metallic Finishes Featuring DuPont Hot Hues
May 22, 2009

Paul Reed Smith Guitars is once again teaming up with long-time partner DuPont and their Hot Hues™ palette of colors to present brilliant new metallic guitar offerings. "Twilight," "Catalina Dream," and "Sinful Cinnamon" make up the roster of new color options offered.

PRS Guitars has been using DuPont paints for more than ten years and has been using Hot Hues™ paint since its inception. Over the span of this partnership, the prominent guitar manufacturer has joined DuPont at two SEMA shows, providing guitars finished in Hot Hues™ colors for the DuPont booth display, and provided a custom guitar for The Jeff Gordon Foundation. This guitar, signed by Jeff Gordon, Chip Foose, and Carlos Santana, was finished in the same paint as the Hot Hues "Heat Wave and Flames" No. 24 DuPont racecar driven by Gordon. PRS also chose the Hot Hues™ line to reintroduce the CE Alder Bolt-on guitar in 2008 with exceptional results.

"We are very proud of our relationship with Paul Reed Smith Guitars and we're very pleased that they have chosen our Hot Hues Custom Finishes for their new line of guitars. DuPont is a company powered by Science and Innovation and that is a great fit with the innovative spirit of PRS Guitars," says Fred Wissemann, Brand Manager for DuPont Refinish and Hot Hues Custom Finishes.

The most recent application of the Hot Hues™ line will appear on some of PRS' newest guitar models: the Mira and the Starla. Rick Hodgson of the PRS Sales Team said, "We are excited to offer these unique colors. They are brand new for us, and we think they will give these already retro-inspired guitars a customized, Hot Rod vibe." These guitars began shipping to dealers in mid-April.

"DuPont Hot Hues products offer the most user friendly metallic paint system we have tried," says Steve Sears, Topcoat Finish Manager of PRS Guitars. "The ease of application, quality of coverage and variety of colors make Hot Hues™ an astounding product line."

Paul Reed Smith Guitars is a leading manufacturer of high-quality instruments in Stevensville, Maryland and has been providing some of the world's most renowned guitarists with instruments since 1985. More than 260 highly skilled craftspeople produce more than 70 guitars each day for worldwide distribution. PRS Acoustics and PRS Amps were introduced as new product lines in 2009 with support from renowned artists Ricky Skaggs and Derek Trucks. Carlos Santana, Linkin Park, Chris Henderson of 3 Doors Down and Mark Tremonti of Creed are also among the artists currently playing PRS guitars.

NEWS: Chickenfoot CD release date moved forward

Just got this in my inbox:

Hello Friends of the Foot! A lot is going on as we near album release. Read all about it below!

ALBUM RELEASE DAY MOVED UP TO FOOTDAY, JUNE 5!

You read it right-- the album is now dropping on Friday (now Footday), June 5th instead of June 9th-- 4 days earlier to get your foot fix!

We will also be hosting a listening party with our friends at Apple so those who can't quite make it to the store can still take a listen. More news on this as it develops!

GRAND OPENING - OFFICIAL ONLINE STORE

The official Chickenfoot online store is open for business! Check out the latest 'Foot gear and come back as we continue to update the store with new items. Click here.

IN-STORE SIGNING IN LOS ANGELES JUNE 5!

In Store Appearance @ Best Buy (West LA)
11301 W. Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064
Friday, June 5th
8:00 pm - 9:00pm

Come down early for an in-store in Los Angeles and meet the guys and get an autographed copy of the new album!

Note: Due to anticipated attendance, autographs will be first come, first served. Chickenfoot will only be signing their new self titled album, "Chickenfoot".

CHICKENFOOT ON CONAN/TONIGHT SHOW

We're happy to announce that the boys will be joining Conan O'Brien just days into his taking over of the Tonight Show. Tune in June 5th at 11:30pm on NBC.

NEW CHICKENFOOT "CHICKENMASH" VIDEO

We've dropped a hip montage of songs from the new album with exclusive live, rehearsal, and behind the scenes footage. Songs featured are Avenida Revolucion, Soap On A Rope, Sexy Little Thing, Oh Yeah, and Get It Up. Check it out on CHICKENFOOT.US in the Chickenfoot player (embed it on your site/ blog/ etc) and it's also available over at the usual Facebook/Myspace/Youtube Chickenfoot channels.

"12 DAYS OF THE FOOT" video podcast series

In case you haven't noticed yet, we're now a few episodes into our "12 Days of the Foot" video programming in which we join the band as they share thoughts and behind the scenes details on each song (one per day) from the new album. Also included are clips of each song so you can get an early listen to what is in store for you. Check the videos out on CHICKENFOOT.US at www.chickenfoot.us/12days, or on Youtube, Facebook and Myspace.

MORE TOUR PRESALES COMING SOON

We are finalizing the upcoming "Chickenfoot Summer Tour 2009 Part One" cities and dates and very soon we'll be announcing pre-sales to happen for members of the Fan Club. These shows will be in bigger venues and not subject to the extremely limited availability of the Road Test dates. If you want pre-sale access, pick up your Fan Club membership and upgrade your CHICKENFOOT.US account to Premium status. Click here.

NEWS: New DiMarzio Billy Sheehan videos

Here are a couple of great new DiMarzio videos featuring Billy Sheehan.

In this one he talks about discovering hammer-ons from under the shadow of Billy Gibbons' cowboy hat.



And here he shares a secret trick about his unusual picking technique.This one's pretty freaking amazing.



CLICK HERE to buy Billy's new CD, Holy Cow, from Amazon.com.

CLICK HERE to follow Billy on Twitter.

CLICK HERE to follow DiMarzio on Twitter.

NEWS: Melodicrock CD 5 - Writing On The Wall

I've been visiting Melodicrock.com for - jeez, it must be about 10 years now. It's a great source of information, especially if you're a Van Halen fan, and I'll be eternally grateful to the guy who runs it, Andrew McNeice, because he mentioned I Heart Guitar in a story on Melodicrock.com when my blog was only about 1 month old, increasing my traffic by about 500% for about a week when I was still just getting started.

Today Andrew has announced details of the 5th Melodicrock compilation CD. Here's the short version but for the full details and to order the CD check out melodicrock.com.

MRCD5 - Writing On The Wall

I am very proud to announce the track listing and artist details for MRCD5 – Writing On The Wall, due for release Monday, July 6.

Pre-Orders will commence next Monday – June 1. As usual, those that pre-order will receive a stack of additional MP3 bonus tracks to download – several of which will also be exclusive tracks. Details for those will be announced Monday. Audio previews for the tracks featured below will be rolled out each and every day this week!

A huge thank you to the participating artists and thanks also to Richard Jones for the cover art (and the full CD package)!

Writing On The Wall features more exclusive tracks than any of the 4 previous compilations and I believe this is the most diverse musically, while also offering the most consistent song quality of all MRCD releases to date. As you may see, there are 3 spots still to be announced – just waiting for the final confirmation of track titles and will announce and preview those during the week ahead.

The 2CD set (36 tracks) will retail for US$23.00 – which includes airmail shipping to anywhere in the world.

CD1:
01) Cashmir – Josie (Previously Unreleased/Exclusive)
02) Out Loud – We Run (Advance Preview)
03) Jimi Jamison – Dream Higher (Previously Unreleased/Exclusive)
04) W.E.T. – Brothers In Arms (Advance Preview)
05) Big Noize – Battlefields (Unreleased)
06) TBA -
07) Eric Martin – No Turning Back (Previously Unreleased/Exclusive)
08) Eclipse – Sail On (Previously Unreleased/Exclusive)
09) Blanc Faces – Falling From The Moon (Advance Preview)
10) Action – Never Alone (Previously Unreleased/Exclusive)
11) Auras – Beauty Of Dreams (Advance Preview)
12) House Of Shakira – Escape (Japanese Bonus Track)
13) Hansel – Murder 101
14) Geff – Grey Goo (Advance Preview)
15) Kimball Tomita – You're Not The Devil (Unreleased)
16) JK Northrup – That's Gonna Leave A Mark (Advance Preview)
17) House Of Shakira – Demonica (Japanese Bonus Track)
18) Double Cross – Pray (Advance Preview)

CD2:
01) Eden's Curse – Sail On (Acoustic)(Previously Unreleased/Exclusive)
02) Starbreaker – Hide (Acoustic)(Japanese Bonus Track)
03) Last Tribe – Tell Me More (Acoustic)(Japanese Bonus Track)
04) Harem Scarem – Coming Down (Acoustic)
05) Mass – More Than A Friend (Acoustic)(Previously Unreleased/Exclusive)
06) Square One – Free Flow Feeling (Acoustic)(Previously Unreleased/Exclusive)
07) TBA -
08) TBA -
09) Oliver Hartmann – Into The Light (Acoustic)
10) Richard Lee – Let It Go
11) Andreas Novak – 2009 (Previously Unreleased/Exclusive)
12) China Blue – Selena (Previously Unreleased/Exclusive)
13) Memoria Avenue – Remember (Advance Preview)
14) Mad Max – Take My Heart And Run (Previously Unreleased/Exclusive)
15) Solna – Dreams
16) Line Of Fire – The Fire Never Dies (Advance Preview)
17) Loud & Clear – Doesn't Anybody Fall In Love (Previously Unreleased/Exclusive)
18) Gregg Fulkerson – Back In The Day (Previously Unreleased/Exclusive)

LESSON: How to sound like Tony Iommi

With the recent release of The Devil You Know, the new album by Heaven & Hell (otherwise known as Mob Rules-era Black Sabbath) it seems a perfect time to look at the monstrous tones of one Tony Iommi. Iommi's pioneering rhythm guitar style defined heavy metal, but while today's players follow Iommi's example by tuning down, they tend to use heavy strings and sometimes even baritone guitars to keep everything sounding tight and punchy. But even in Sabbath’s early days Iommi used the lightest strings he could find, and this was out if necessity rather than choice. At age 19 an industrial accident robbed the lefty of the tips of his right middle and ring fingers. While what was left of his fingers were healing, Iommi could only use his index and pinky fingers for fretting - which placed the classic root/fifth power chord and minor pentatonic scale shapes right under his fingertips, if you'll pardon the pun. Iommi eventually fashioned leather 'thimbles' to replace the missing fingertips, but to further aid his weakened fingers in things like bending and hammer-ons he started tuning down. And down. And down. The combination of light strings and downtuning added a darkness and warmth that you just can't get with a standard tuning or with downtuned heavy guage strings.

CLICK HERE to buy The Devil You Know from Amazon.com.

When it comes to rhythm you'll want to use a relatively low gain sound for early Sabbath. Don't let the overall heaviness of the band fool ya: much of the low end weight is created by not by Iommi himself but by the combination and interaction of Iommi and bass player Geezer Butler. Contrary to modern metal convention, if you’re going for an early Sabbath sound you should favour the neck pickup for your rhythm tone, and as much as possible play chords on the E and A strings instead of switching to higher strings. If played the way Iommi does it, the Iron Man riff should take you up to the 15th fret on the low E. Remember it's often what you play and how you play it, not where the knobs are set. Back in the day Tony used a treble booster to nudge his amp further into overdrive. If you want to go this classic route, check out the Roger Mayer Concorde +.

Another important but overlooked aspect of Iommi's sound is the use of parallel effects. The two best examples of this are the solo of 'Paranoid' and the rhythm guitars of 'Killing Yourself To Live.' In the 'Paranoid' solo, the signal is panned left and right, with the straight guitar on the left and the same performance fed through a ring modulator effect on the other. The result is a fuzzy, slightly seasick sound which adds to the doominess and uneasiness of the song's subject matter. If you just listen to the right speaker it kind of sounds like a bee has flown up to a microphone and started scatting the solo, but when it’s combined with the regular unaffected sound it’s totally killer.

In 'Killing Yourself To Live' (from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath), Iommi used a modulation effect (it's hard to tell what it is because it's at very high speed bit it could be an early phaser) to add a bubbly warble to some - but not all - of the rhythm guitars. In this case it would have been achieved by overdubbing an extra track (panned to the left speaker) with the effect engaged, but you can achieve the same effect by splitting your signal chain and adding the effect to one stream while leaving the other untouched. Check out the PDF on Robert Keeley's website for schematics of a true bypass buffer/parallel looper mixing unit that will allow you to achieve this with a single amp, or use a pedal with stereo outputs early in the chain so you can split the signal off to two amps and apply the pahaser to only one signal. By the way, you can hear a similar effect on 'Atom And Evil,' the opening track of The Devil You Know. The effected guitar is playing a different riff to the main double-tracked guitars, but the overall result is similar to 'Killing Yourself To Live.'

These days Iommi has his own signature Laney head (the GH100TI, pictured left), Gibson and Epiphone SG guitars, and Gibson humbucking pickup. The Iommi pickup is one of the highest output passive humbuckers you'll find, so if you're trying to recreate his later tones you'll need to do some serious boosting with a pedal to get the same kind of effect on your amp's preamp stage.

CLICK HERE to buy the Epiphone Tony Iommi Signature G-400 Electric Guitar from Music123 for $599.

NEWS: Shire Music 10th anniversary celebration this Saturday

Shire Music in Miranda, NSW are celebrating their 10th anniversary this month, culminating with a one day sale this Saturday, May 30. Shire has commissioned an Anniversary Edition of the Maton Miranda, this is limited to 10 units, each with a Certificate of Authenticity from Maton, Gold Hardware and Hand Selected Timbers, available now for $1499.

On Saturday Shire will be offering discounts of up to 40%, with giveaways from Ibanez and Ashton, and a number of one off cost price specials (see them here). One of the big big bargains at the moment is an Ibanez RG770 20th anniversary reissue for $A1,650, down from $A2,995 (to convert that into your local currency, click here). There will also be the very rare and expensive Hoshino Gakki 100th Anniversary model serial #1 on display.

There will be Ibanez guitars signed by Paul Gilbert, Fear Factory and Slipknot’s Mick Thompson. Shire will also have the new Ashton Kombi on-site with Guitar Hero running out of the back.

Shire Music is a full-line, independent dealer in the Sutherland Shire, in southern Sydney. They carry a full range of instruments: Fender Custom Shop Master Dealer, Ibanez Prestige Dealer, Gibson 5 Star Dealer, Maton Custom Shop, Warwick Pro Dealer, Orange, Vox, ESP, Cort, Cole Clark, Gretsch, Jackson, Guild, Marshall and Bugera.

And also they’ve been very cool to me on Twitter so I thought I’d give them this free plug on I Heart Guitar. :)

Shire Music
593 Kingsway
Miranda New South Wales 2228
Australia
Email: sales@shiremusic.com.au
Phone: 02 9525 8700
Int. Phone: 61 2 9525 8700
Fax: 02 9525 4600

NEWS: New magazine - Guitar Aficionado

Future US, the company behind Guitar World, has launched Guitar Aficionado, a new magazine aimed at, let’s just say it, rich folk who can afford mega-gazillion-dollar guitars as well as luxury booty like fine handcrafted watches, solid gold toilets and a real working Millennium Falcon. The magazine will feature collections of prestigious guitars and articles about fine boutique-quality instruments and amplifiers. It will also include articles about non-guitar-related stuff like luxury holidays and executive trinkets like snazzy automobiles and the like. Essentially it’s Colbert Platinum for guitarists.

Is this magazine for me? Technically, nope! I can already imagine Guitar Aficionado being full of advertisements for $20,000 guitar picks carved from velociraptor talon, and strings hewn from the beard-hair of Neptune himself. But am I going to read it? You betchya. Just because I’m never going to afford a ’59 Les Paul (actually I’d prefer a ’62 Strat) doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy reading about this stuff. On the other hand, I’m not particularly interested in the luxury holiday articles. At least, not until I can actually afford to go on a luxury holiday, so if you want to go ahead and buy a bunch of guitars through my site’s affiliate links maybe I can earn enough in commissions to at least take a day off to have my nails done or something.

Issue #1 of Guitar Aficionado is on sale now with a cover price of $7.99.

VIDEO: A bit of mindless shred

Here's something I whipped up a few months ago just fer laffs.



In the video I'm using an Ibanez RG550MXX 20th Anniversary reissue in roadflare red (#1083 out of 1987), a Marshall DSL50 head, AxeTrak isolated speaker cabinet, MXR/CAE Boost/Overdrive, and MXR Carbon Copy Delay.

FEATURE: Cool Guitars They Don't Make Any More, Part 3

Charvel Surfcaster

The Charvel Surfcaster debuted in 1992 and at the time it was a bit of an anachronism. A little too early to cash in on the grunge-inspired attraction to vintage designs, and a little too late for the kind of clean-toned, ‘The Cure’ type tones it excelled at, the Surfcaster’s most notable user was probably Anthrax’s Scott Ian, who used one for the clean tones in the track ‘Black Lodge’ from The Sound Of White Noise and was pictured with one on the cover of a 1993 edition of Guitar World. These semi-hollow, lipstick pickup-toting axes never quite got the respect they deserved, although those who did buy them evidently loved them because it’s quite rare to see them on the used market. When you do find them, expect to pay around USD$1,000. The Surfcaster design lived on until 2005, by which time it had been shifted to sister company Jackson, with production moved from Japan to India. Personally I’d love to see Surfcasters return to regular production under Charvel.

CLICK HERE to see Charvel Surfcaster guitars on eBay.

Yamaha SGV

I love these retro designs. The SGV series was probably a bit to wild for most players, with its slight upside-down melted Rickenbacker bass look and unconventional whammy bridge which worked great when you gave it a little TLC but was maybe a little too high maintenance for some. The SGV-800 (and the more upscale SGV-1200) had a pair of P90-style single coils which were fat and growly. The SGV-700 (and lower-priced little buddy the SGV-300) rocked a smaller single coil and a very unique humbucker. The retro/modern look wasn’t lost on Meegs from Coal Chamber, who used a black custom shop SGV with twin humbuckers, a fixed bridge, drop-tuning lever on the low E string, and number-shaped fretboard position markers, Jason Becker-style. You can find SGVs on eBay and in pawnshops pretty regularly and while they were underappreciated in their day, a little set-up know-how makes them a bargain well worth seeking out today.

CLICK HERE to see Yamaha guitars on eBay.

Washburn Steve Stevens

These models were advertised somewhat heavily in the guitar magazines when Stevens was a member of Motley Crue singer Vince Neil’s solo band circa 1993. I remember seeing the truss rod adjustment at the base of the neck, as well as the 2-humbucker, 1 volume, 1 tone control layout and thinking “Dude’s trying to make a Strat-style guitar out of an Ernie Ball Music Man Edward Van Halen.” Funnily enough, by the time the Vince Neil tour rolled around, Stevens was playing… Ernie Ball Music Man Edward Van Halens. There were three versions of Washburn’s Steve Stevens signature guitar: two Chicago custom shop-built models (the SS80 and SS100) and the Korean-made SS40. The SS100 had a white front with a Frankenstein graphic and black back and sides, while the SS80 was solid black. Pickups were a set of slanted Seymour Duncan JBs, and the body wood was poplar. Check out this old-school Washburn advertisement.

CLICK HERE to see Yamaha SGV guitars on eBay.

Fender Tommy Emmanuel Telecaster

Tommy Emmanuel is well known for his amazing acoustic playing, but those who started following Tommy’s career in recent years might be surprised to know he once had a signature Fender Telecaster. Very similar in design to Fender’s Nashville Telecaster, this Mexico-made axe was made exclusively for the Australian market, and it added a Strat-style middle single coil to the traditional Telecaster layout. It also had a six saddle bridge with old-school saddles (not those big flat ones like you see on Deluxe series Fenders), and a blue finish which recalled, without directly copying, Tommy’s blue Fender Custom Shop Telecaster, which had three black Bartolini single coils and white body binding. Tommy’s main Telecaster squeeze though was a gorgeous 66 Custom, also with Bartolonis. See that one here. (Fender Tommy Emmanuel Telecaster photo from the Fendertalk forums).

CLICK HERE to see Tommy Emmanuel stuff on eBay.

Ibanez Steve Lukather (SL1010SL)

Steve Lukather’s current Ernie Ball Music Man signature is so kickass a guitar that it’s easy to forget that in the early-mid 80s he had a signature Ibanez. Part of the Roadstar II series, Luke’s model featured a carved birdseye maple top on a basswood body, a maple neck with ebony fretboard, two Ibanez humbuckers (a Super 58 in the neck and an SL Special – essentially an overwound Super 58 – in the bridge position), 22 frets, subtle cross inlays, coil splitting performed via the volume and tone pots, and the much-maligned Pro Rock’r bridge, which had a locking nut and fine tuners but wasn’t as stable as Ibanez’s later Edge series models.

CLICK HERE to see Ibanez Steve Lukather guitars on eBay.


Futher reading:

Cool guitars they don't make any more
Cool guitars they don't make any more 2
Cool guitars they don't make any more 4

NEWS: Chickenfoot live videos!

I've been a bit too busy this week to follow the whole Chickenfoot live fiesta, but luckily Lewis from Japan Guitar Journeys has kept on top of it. Check out this post on his blog, where you'll find live performances of Down The Drain, Montrose's Bad Motor Scooter, Soap On A Rope, Running Out, Future In The Past, Bitten By The Wolf, Deep Purple's Highway Star, and Sexy Little Thing.

Here's Sexy Little Thing to get you started.

NEWS: Win a TS-808 with Tonepedia

Want a vintage 1982 Ibanez TS-808 Overdrive pedal? Yeah, me too. Well you have the chance to win one and also contribute to the great pool of guitar knowledge with Tonepedia.com

Here's some info from Tonepedia:

Here is your chance to win an Original (not a reissue) 1982 Ibanez Ts-808 Overdrive pedal- The most desirable overdrive pedal ever created. Stevie Ray Vaughan used it- and now you can too!

Listen to sound samples we made with it here.

All you have to do is to upload sound samples to www.Tonepedia.com.

How do I do that?

1) Visit our site and register.
2) Add your guitar gear to your personal profile.
3) Upload Mp3 sound samples of the gear you added.

The contest ends on June 15th 2009.

The winners will be announced on the 4th of July

What is Tonepedia.com?
Tonepedia.com is a user generated website for electric guitars and gear.
Its main feature is audio sound samples with detailed information about the elements (guitar, amplifier, speakers etc.) that were used to create the sample.
It\'s completely free and anyone can register and contribute.

The user with the best sound sample will win the big prize (The TS808)!
The five runner ups will receive Dean Markley strings!

Remember! The more different samples you upload, the more chance you have to win!

How are we going to decide on the winner?
The sound samples will be judged using the following criteria:
* Tone
* Playability, sound quality, etc.
* Popularity: Number of views and comments.
* Text and information used to describe the relevant gear and sound sample.

Visit Tonepedia for more information, and follow Tonepedia on Twitter.

REVIEW: Sterling By Music Man Silo20

One of the big surprises for most visitors to the NAMM convention in Anaheim, California this year was the revelation that Ernie Ball Music Man were releasing a new sub-brand called Sterling which would recreate some of the iconic company’s best-known designs, while keeping costs down by using Asian manufacturing facilities. “Hang on,” I hear you saying. “Wasn’t that the point of those O.L.P EBMM copies?” Well yeah. Those O.L.Ps (which are quite playable and well-made for the price point) are pitched at the lower end of the market, while Sterling By Music Man is aimed more towards the middle (although the introductory prices seem extremely reasonable). So where does the additional money go, and what kind of guitar do you get for it?

OUT OF THE DARKNESS AND INTO THE LIGHT
The Silhouette is one of Ernie Ball Music Man’s longest standing models, and over the years variations have been used by no less a guitarist than the great Keith Richards, shredder Vinnie Moore and Good Charlotte’s Benji Madden. That’s a pretty wide range of guitar royalty right there, and it gives you an idea of just how adaptable the Silhouette is. The basswood Silo20 has a humbucker-single-humbucker configuration, 5-way pickup selector switch (positions 2 and 4 split the humbucker’s coils into singles in conjunction with the middle pickup), volume and tone controls and a string-through hardtail bridge. The maple neck is attached with a 5-bolt joint, has 24 frets on a maple fretboard, and is topped off with locking tuners.

Construction is very solid for a guitar in this price range. Particular care has been taken with the fret ends. They’re not quite as finessed as a USA-built top shelf Ernie Ball Music Man instrument, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a rough spot along the fretboard edge. Combined with the asymmetrical neck carve, which slopes in towards the treble strings (picture an aerofoil kind of shape but fatter) and the result is a very comfortable, playable instrument which seems to mould to your body.

I AM THE MUSIC MAN
Sterling, meet Marshall. The words kinda sound like a couple of Connecticut guys being introduced at the yacht club, but the sonic results certainly don’t. The Sterling-designed pickups, which are based on Alnico magnets, are very hot and powerful. There’s a kind of dark vibe, with powerful bass and almost fuzzy highs, while with the exception of a little upper-midrange spike they sound quite scooped in the mids. This seems to emphasise the percussiveness of the tone, making the Silo20 a great choice for palm-muted pop-punk riffs or, with higher gain levels, all-out chugging metal. Digging in with the pick brings out some cool overtones, and the excellent upper fret access really shows off how good these pickups sound when you move up to the widdly end of the neck. The high end gets tamed a little and the pickups positively scream, in the best possible way. The single coil is definitely more spanky than sweet, and is especially good for country, funk and soul sounds. The output is high enough that it can hang with the humbuckers without breaking a sweat.

INVEST IN THE STERLING
The Sterling brand is a bold move for Ernie Ball Music Man but I think they’ve got it right. Is playing the Silo20 like playing a USA-made Silhouette? Nope. But taken on its own merits it’s a very well made, great-sounding mid-price guitar that gives a slice of the Ernie Ball Music Man experience without breaking the bank.

CLICK HERE to buy the Sterling by Music Man SILO20 Electric Guitar Black from Guitar Center for $347.13.

CLICK HERE to read my review of the Sterling By Music Man AX20.

REVIEW: Sterling By Music Man AX20

At the dawn of the 90s, Eddie Van Halen aligned with Ernie Ball Music Man to develop his first signature guitar. Though he was previously associated with his self-cobbled creations and some Kramer models, he’d never put his name on a commercially available axe, and the whole guitar world was looking. I’m sure at the time that the expectation was of a single-pickup Silhouette with a Floyd Rose tremolo, single volume knob and a red finish with black and white stripes. So when they unveiled the Edward Van Halen model, with its quilted maple top, Les Paul-meets-Telecaster shape and twin humbuckers, it was quite controversial.

BE A SPORT
Eddie’s association with Ernie Ball Music Man didn’t last, but his model lives on (with subtle changes) as the AXIS, and it’s upon this model’s Super Sport variation that the Sterling By Music Man AX20 is based. The AX20 has the same twin humbucker layout with a Music Man-designed fixed bridge, a 5-way pickup selector switch, and controls for both volume and tone (the Edward Van Halen model only had a single volume control, which was capped with a knob that said TONE, the joke being that when you turn it all the way up you get good tone. Arf). The body, as with the AXIS, is basswood with a maple cap. The decision to use basswood for the Edward Van Halen model was quite controversial back in the day: a relatively flat-sounding wood, it wasn’t typically associated with high-end guitars until Ibanez started using it in Steve Vai’s Jem models in 1987.

The AX20’s maple neck is based on that of the EVH guitar, with an asymmetrical profile which is ‘C-shaped’ on the bass side but almost ‘V-shaped’ on the treble side. There are 22 frets on a rosewood fretboard, and there’s a set of locking tuners on the 4+2 headstock.

AXIS OF …AWESOME
Having reviewed an actual Ernie Ball Music Man AXIS last month in Mixdown Magazine, the first thing I did with the AX20 was give it the ol’ once over to see how closely it measured up. The neck shape is surprisingly similar, the 5-bolt neck joint is very stable and comfortable, and the fretwork is quite respectable. There didn’t seem to be any finishing blemishes or anything of the sort. Unplugged, the AX20 has a little bit of that steely high end and midrange poke that you tend to find on a new guitar that’s not yet broken in, and which seems more present on some new guitars than others. Now, being a big fan of the DiMarzio pickups in the AXIS, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the AX20. My fears were soon dashed though, because these humbuckers sound great. I imagine they’re the same design as the ones in the Silo20 model (see my review of that model here), but the addition of the maple cap on the AX20 adds more midrange and alters the characteristic of the high end compared to the Silo20. The result is a high-output pickup which screams with harmonics and has a powerful, cutting pick attack. The neck pickup sounds full but still has a nice sizzle, and the bridge unit… well it sounds pretty darn close to the famous ‘brown sound’ – certainly closer than one could be forgiven for expecting. By the way, the pickup selections are: bridge humbucker; bridge and neck (single coil); bridge and neck (humbucker); neck (parallel – kinda like having 2 single coils), neck (humbucker). The single coil modes are snappy and funky. For non name-brand pickups these units are pretty damn special.

AX YOURSELF: IS THIS THE GUITAR FOR YOU?
The AX20 is a great guitar for the money. In fact it’s a great guitar for any money. The playability and construction aren’t quite as finessed as its USA-made daddy, but the tones are very complex, it looks sharp as all get-out, and it’s very easy to play. I feel it’s especially important to point out this: often when one buys a mid-priced guitar with proprietary pickups the first thought is ‘what pickups am I gonna replace these with?’ Well you instantly save yourself a few hundred bucks with the AX20 because it already sounds that good. Is it as good as an Ernie Ball Music Man AXIS? Nope. Does it feel like one? Well the Sterling's neck feels a little slicker and more mass-produced, and the fretwork isn't quite as nice as the AXIS, but the similarities are striking in terms of neck profile and overall playing experience. The AX20 and the AX40 trem version probably aren't going to steal away any sales from the AXIS, and in a side-to-side comparison the AXIS still of course comes out on top - with that kind of pedigree that's a given - but the AX20 comes across as a better guitar than it needs to be for the price range it's competing in, and it more than adequately fills the gap between the cheaper OLP copies of Ernie Ball Music Man designs, and the real thing.


CLICK HERE to buy the Sterling by Music Man AX20 Electric Guitar Transparent Orange from Musician's Friend for $499.


CLICK HERE to buy the Sterling by Music Man AX40 Electric Guitar Transparent Gold (locking trem version) from Musician's Friend for $549.00.

NEWS: Dan Armstrong video by Fat Tone Guitars

Just spotted this video review of the Dan Armstrong AMD100 guitar from Fat Tone Guitars. Think of this as a wood version of the ADA6 I reviewed recently.



Steve from Fat Tone Guitars deserves extra points for playing the Ziggy Stardust and All The Young Dudes riffs in this video.

CLICK HERE to see Ampeg gear on eBay.

NEWS: Dream Theater covers Rainbow

Available now on iTunes is Dream Theater's new cover of Rainbow's 'Stargazer.' CLICK HERE to buy it.

The new Dream Theater album, Black Clouds & Silver Linings, will be released by Roadrunner on June 23.

CLICK HERE to order the standard edition from Amazon.com or the ad to the right to order the 3-disc special edition.

There is also a deluxe box set edition of the album, which costs $130.98 at Amazon.com. CLICK HERE to order the deluxe edition from Amazon.com. Here are the details from Dream Theater's site:

Deluxe Collector's Edition Box Set (3CD & DVD)

Disc 1
A Nightmare to Remember
A Rite of Passage
Wither
The Shattered Fortress
The Best of Times
The Count of Tuscany

Disc 2
6 cover Versions (TBC)

Disc 3
A Nightmare to Remember (Instrumental)
A Rite of Passage (Instrumental)
Wither (Instrumental)
The Shattered Fortress (Instrumental)
The Best of Times (Instrumental)
The Count of Tuscany (Instrumental)

The Deluxe Collector's Edition Box Set includes the full album, a CD of instrumental mixes of the album and a CD of six cover songs (the titles of which will be revealed at a later date) plus the following special features:

DVD

Stem mixes of standard CD (try your hand at producer with isolated audio tracks of the entire album)

Dream Theater mouse mat

Find a silver foil ticket (100 lucky fans win a Meet & Greet with the band)

Lithograph of cover art, numbered (100 lucky winners will find a litho signed by Hugh Syme)

Limited edition audiophile 180-gram double-LP set with exclusive artwork from Hugh Syme

NEWS: New Zappa Plays Zappa vocalist

On May 11 Dweezil Zappa announced on his blog that in the wake of Ray White’s departure, a chap named Ben Thomas has been named new lead vocalist of Zappa Plays Zappa.

Fun fact! Thomas recently appeared in an authorized performance of Joe’s Garage with the Open Fist Theater Company. That's him at 1:11. (If the embedded video doesn't work, here's the direct link)



Here’s an excerpt from Dweezil’s post:

…We made some calls and rounded up a few terrified singers. Imagine the call, "Hello, are you interested in auditioning for a really tough gig, with a highly critical fanbase - with a 5 week tour that starts in less than a week? Still there??? Ideally you'll need to learn 8 to 10 songs for the first week. You do have a passport, right?"

I told all of the singers that if they could walk in and sing the correct melody to "Inca Roads" without missing an entrance they would have a chance of being hired on the spot. The chances of that happening were quite slim considering we needed them to learn this song in the shortest time possible. For some only a few hours...

A few very talented singers gave it their best shot. We didn't even make it through the first verse in most cases.

Things were not looking so good but then it happened. A young blonde-haired guy walks in to audition, says he's heard the song before but never tried to sing until last night.

Joe rolls the toms and Billy initiates the classic marimba figure, first verse arrives - right notes, right rhythms, no mistakes! The song continues and gets increasingly more difficult. After the solo the vocal entrances are pretty tricky, once again no mistakes. After the interludes and keyboard solo we entered the home stretch - no-one made it this far before. The final entrance arrives and... He completes the entire passage on his own, not realizing it's actually split up into separate phrases between himself and Scheila. Ultimately making it much harder on himself because of the shear lyrical density.

After a slow mo "hollywood" triumphant hand-clapping sequence we hired the guy. Ladies and Gentlemen allow us to introduce you to Ben Thomas, our new lead singer.

CLICK HERE to see my 2007 interview with Dweezil.

NEWS: Billy Sheehan interviewed on Talking Metal

The latest Talking Metal podcast(episode 261) includes a great interview with Billy Sheehan about Yamaha Attitude basses, the Mr. Big reunion, his solo album Holy Cow, collaborating with guys like Terry Bozzio, Tony MacAlpine and Bumblefoot (not together – imagine what an awesome band that would be) and those rumours that David Lee Roth tried to reunite his classic Eat ‘Em And Smile band a few years ago.

I only discovered Talking Metal a few months ago (I kinda avoided listening to podcasts for the longest time because I knew that I’d find it addictive once I started) but it’s essential listening. Check it out! Recent episodes have included awesome interviews with Duff McKagen and drummer Richard Christy.

REVIEW: Peavey Windsor Studio

Small amps have been something of an un-secret secret weapon for years. I’m sure we’ve all heard the stories about Jimmy Page using small combos in the early days of Led Zeppelin. There’s just something about a small amp pushed hard that sounds great on recordings, and it’s with this in mind that Peavey designed the Windsor Studio.

This little Class A, 15-watt screamer arrives from the factory with two 12AX7 preamp tubes and one EL34 power-amp tube, but can also accommodate 6L6GC, 6550, 6CA7, KT88 and KT66 octal power tubes, as well as variations on those types. Controls include preamp volume, master volume, three-band EQ, footswitchable effects loop (with the in and out jacks located on the front panel – very studio-friendly) and a single 12” Peavey Blue Marvel loudspeaker. The footswitchable boost effectively acts as a second channel by increasing the level of the preamp, either overdriving the power amp for more distortion or for a simple volume boost for solos.

If that’s not enough control for ya, or the volume is too loud for recording with a baby in the next room or something, the Windsor Studio includes Peavey’s new Power Sponge output attenuator, which lowers the power output of the amplifier while preserving tone. Further boosting this amp’s stock as a recording guitarist’s Swiss army knife, there’s a transformer-balanced XLR direct output with microphone simulation, so you can plug directly into a mixing desk live or in the studio.

Although the ability to switch out different power tubes is a great feature, I was glad to see that this amp arrived EL34-loaded, as it’s my personal favourite. I just love that warm, compressed vibe from a cranked EL34. You can also get a rather decent amount of drive out of the preamp. It’s no grindcore amp, but there’s enough gain for most varieties of rock and a few metal styles. Combining your ideal preamp gain level with the punch and whomp of the overdriven power section (with the volume tamed to taste by the Power Sponge), you can attain a very responsive, warm lead tone with great sustain. The open back cabinet adds a nice midrange throw, and while the bass is a little lacking, this isn’t really an issue either in the studio or on stage because you’re likely to trim the low frequencies to allow room for the kickdrum and the bass guitar anyway. So you could say Peavey has already voiced this amp to sit nicely in the mix. This is worth considering and you may see it as a negative if you'll mainly be playing unaccompanied by yourself at home though. There’s also a nice roundness to the clean tones, which is great for jazz. The amp inhabits that rare, mystery zone where the individual notes of chords maintain their definition, but the sound is still warm and full, instead of sharp and zingy. Personally I like the zing but that's not for everyone.

The Windsor Studio is obviously designed as a studio tool (and it's a good choice for those who want monster tube-driven tone at low levels around the house), but it has enough volume for certain live applications, and as long as you trust the PA system you could quite happily use the XLR out to feed the signal directly to the house in larger venues. It's not the be-all and end-all of amps, and it's not in the same league as Peavey's higher-price items, but it its own place it's a good alternative in the 'small amp, easy to record' sector. If you're in the small amp market you might still want to check out the Orange Tiny Terror, Bogner Alchemist, Vox AC15 and Hughes & Kettner Statesman just to name a few.

CLICK HERE to buy the Peavey Windsor Studio 20W 1x12 Tube Combo Amp from Guitar Center for $399.99.

REVIEW: Morley Bad Horsie 2 Steve Vai Signature Wah

Legend has it there are few guitarists who are more demanding to design signature gear for than Steve Vai (see my interview with DiMarzio pickup designer Steve Blucher for more on this). You don’t rise to such technical and compositional levels of excellence without being extremely driven, and Vai’s demands on gear companies are the thing of legend. So when he turned to Morley to design a signature wah pedal, I’m sure a few white hairs sprung up on the heads of Morley engineers.

GIDDY-UP
The first cool thing about the Bad Horsie’s design is that it features switchless activation. There’s no chunky switch at the top of the pedal’s travel to stamp down on to start wah-ing. You simply put your foot on the pedal, and the effect engages. Take your foot off, and the wah effect tails off over a period of 1.5 seconds. Or you can pop the bottom off the pedal and adjust a tiny internal trim pot for your preferred off time, from instantaneously all the way up to 3.5 seconds.

The next design twist is the pedal’s operation itself. Instead of using an assembly to rotate a potentiometer when the pedal is moved like other wahs, Morley pedals use an Electro-Optical design which uses an LED light array and a light-sensitive sensor to control the wah sweep. What this means is that instead of stepping on the pedal to rotate a pot, stepping on the pedal brings the LEDs closer to the sensor, and the nearer it gets, the higher the wah tone sweep gets. The benefits are twofold: extremely smooth linear wah sweep, and best of all no pots to wear out and become scratchy and noisy. Some higher end tremolo and compressor pedals use similar technology to regulate the effect dependent on internal settings or the strength of the input signal, but it’s a logical fit for expression pedal effects.

The original Bad Horsie wah pedal – named after the opening track from Vai’s 1995 “Alien Love Secrets” EP – was a pretty big success, but because it was customised for Vai’s particular needs and rig, players wanted a little more flexibility. So the Bad Horsie 2 takes the exact sound of the original, and adds a foot switchable second mode, Contour mode, which enables the user to adjust Q and wah level.

More practical but by no means less exciting features are a Clear-Tone buffer circuit, which maintains a pure guitar tone and signal level whether in wah or bypass mode, and an easy access battery compartment which is simple to operate and extremely durable. It’s also a very heavy, robust unit, and its spring loaded design, while preventing traditional “set in one place as a tone modifier” techniques, is well suited to aggressive “stomp the bejabbers out of the pedal” styles.

PET SOUNDS

The Bad Horsie 2 is definitely not a vintage sounding pedal. Then again, could you imagine Vai going for a traditional sound? Instead there’s a round smoothness to the tone across the pedal’s range, but even so, the treble peaks way up in the stratosphere. The top quarter of the pedal’s sweep is especially good for pulling pinch harmonics out of guitars that usually put up a bit of a fight against such techniques, and it even made my Ibanez’s neck pickup squeal with Dimebag-style harmonics.

Vai’s original Bad Horsie mode is the best way to get a ready-to-go sound out of this bad boy, but fiddling around with the Contour and Level controls in the Contour mode reveals fresh layers of flexibility. With the Contour control down low, the sweep reminds me of the classic fat Jimi Hendrix wah tone, with darker treble and reduced range compared to the wild sweep of Bad Horsie mode, and yet a hi fi sheen that seems to take that classic funky “wow-wow” wah sound of the 60s, grab it by its scruffy neck and drag it into the future.

By way of reference, the original Bad Horsie mode seems to be replicatable by setting the Contour control to 10 and Level to 0. Cranking up the level while on this setting thickens the tone considerably, which you can use either as a gain boost or just to compensate for thinner sounding pickups.

YAY OR NEIGH?

If you’re familiar with the wah tones of Zakk Wylde and Nuno Bettencourt when they used Morley wah pedals in their golden years, or if of course you’ve listened to Vai in the last decade or so, you have a rough idea of the charm of Morley wah wah pedals. The sweep is bold and drastic, and the tones have a glassy sheen which leaves no doubt as to whether the effect is on or not, even under huge amounts of distortion. Vai’s own spin on this classic effect is as extroverted and extravagant as the man himself, and whether you want to put a bit more Vai in your sound, or you just want a flexible and in-your-face wah pedal, it’s worth saddling up this Bad Horsie for a test.

CLICK HERE to buy the Morley Steve Vai Bad Horsie 2 Contour Wah Pedal from Guitar Center for $139.99.