The latest addition to the Joe Satriani signature model range is the Ibanez JS2450, based on the popular 24 fret JS2400 with the single coil sized stacked coil DiMarzio Satch Track pickup in the neck position and Mo’ Joe in the bridge position. The only difference from what I can tell from the 2410 is the colour which is Muscle Car Purple. I still prefer the look of the JS1000 personally (which I used to own) as the lower horn looks more natural but I can understand wanting the extra two frets.
Shuriken Guitars is a new Australian guitar brand from Twelve Foot Ninja’s Stevic Mackay. The boutique baritone will incorporate Line 6 Variax technology, high grade maple tops, multi laminate wenge necks, luminlays, stainless steel frets, Graphtec nut, Sperzel locking tuners and alder bodies. RRP TBC but anticiapte between $3,000aud and $4,000aud for standard model (described above) and more depending on any custom requirements (woods, finishes, hardware etc). Left hand models will also be available at no extra cost.
“Line 6’s Variax technology has become part of Twelve Foot Ninja’s D.N.A; the ability to switch between drastic tunings and guitar models on the fly (and often multiple times mid song) is truly remarkable…but I’ve always wanted a guitar that embodied the aesthetic quality and craftsmanship only possible with high end boutique instruments…so I made it happen.
All guitars will be masterfully built by Charles Cilia for Shuriken Guitars. Variax technology provided exclusively to Shuriken Guitars by Line 6.”
December 23, 2014 at 2:42 pm | Posted by Jon in Guitar DVDs
“The Aristocrats have launched the pre-sale of their new live CD/DVD Culture Clash Live, as well as the limited-edition “official bootleg” double-CD Secret Show: Live In Osaka, plus an exclusive new Culture Clash Live t-shirt. The release date is January 20th, just a month away.”
I actually own the last Aristocrats Live DVD and it is great, this one is currently flying it’s way over in Santa’s sack to me as I type and I’m even more excited because Guthrie appears to have attached a Go-Pro to his guitar for this show! Nothing like a good close up of Guthrie’s wizard fingers.
Culture Clash Live is a sprawling, professionally recorded CD/DVD two-disc compilation taken from 6 shows in 5 countries on 3 continents.
Secret Show: Live In Osaka is a 2CD limited-release that serves as the tour’s “official bootleg”. It’s only available directly from The Aristocrats webstore – and the first 1,000 ordered will come signed by the band.
Also available will be the official Culture Clash Live t-shirt - a brand new design by Culture Clash artist Tom Colbie, and again, only available directly from The Aristocrats webstore.
Culture Clash Live DVD Track Listing
Furtive Jack (Tokyo, JAPAN)
Ohhhh Noooo (Bangkok, THAILAND)
Louisville Stomp (Manchester, UK)
Get It Like That (Tokyo, JAPAN)
Culture Clash (Bangkok, THAILAND)
Blues F***ers (Mexico City, MX)
Gaping Head Wound (Mexico City, MX)
Desert Tornado (Bangkok, THAILAND)
Living The Dream (Zoetermeer, NL)
Secret Show: Live In Osaka track Listing
Disc One
Introduction
Furtive Jack
Sweaty Knockers
Ohhhh Noooo
Get It Like That
Culture Clash
Disc Two
Flatlands
Parental Advisory (pronounced “Blues F***ers”)
Gaping Head Wound
Twister (pronounced “Desert Tornado”)
Washed Passport (pronounced “Living The Dream”)
Erotic Cakes
December 22, 2014 at 8:00 am | Posted by Jon in Guitar Pickups
Sheptone has created a set of pickups designed to capture the coveted tone of Jimmy Page, aptly named the ‘Heartbreakers’. These pickups have distinguishing characteristics that are great for classic rock tones, especially those Page style riffs.
“The Heartbreaker Set is built with degaussed Alnico 5 magnets, wound for a woody yet sharp, clear tone, perfectly suited to work together in the middle position. The humbucker pickups are not wound to duplicate any particular Page guitar, but to emulate his classic sound. Still in the PAF range, they’re great for playing all classic rock styles. To achieve that classic Led Zeppelin sound, simply dial the neck volume to 10 and the bridge at 6-7 with the three way toggle set in the middle position.”
To learn more about Sheptone and the new Heartbreaker Set, please visit www.sheptone.com.
Retail: $199 USD per set.
Check out this demo of the Sheptone Heartbreaker pickups in action. The guitar is a Gibson 58RI Les Paul recorded directly through a Carr Vincent amp, no pedals.
I’ve been a fan of Bohemian Guitars ever since they launched their crowdfunding campaign to get their super cool recycled Oil Can guitars into production. In fact I like what they do so much I asked Santa to get me a Bohemian Moonshine guitar for Christmas but more of that soon… Now aside from the Boho Series of Oil Can guitars Bohemian also make guitar straps made from recycled seat belts. There are two Bohemian Seatbelt Straps currently available, pictured above, Red Stars and Retro Silver both costing $55 and available to purchase directly from the Bohemian Guitars website.
Repurposed seatbelt for backing material
Silver rivets & loops to match chrome Boho Guitars
Dark brown leather end tabs
Ink Color: Charcoal or American Red
Fabric: Organic cotton off-white
Screen printed by hand.
MADE IN THE USA
This looks like an interesting IndieGoGo campaign, Jon Gold former VP of Fender Guitars and co-owner of GJ2 Guitars with Grover Jackson, is making a film about the legendary guitar builder. From Grover’s humble beginnings in the Charvel repair shop to building Edward Van Halen’s Black/Yellow Charvel and the Randy Rhoads Concord Series to creating his own brand Jackson Guitars which has dominated among rock and metal guitar players since the 80’s and now GJ2 Guitars.
“This film will immortalize the legacy of Grover Jackson and inspire musicians/entrepreneur of the future and keeping the american dream.”
As with all crowdfunding campaigns there are a number of perks depending on how much you want to contribute, from signed Movie posters, DVDs and T-shirts to lunch with Grover and a shop tour. Find out more by clicking on the widget below:
December 16, 2014 at 8:00 am | Posted by Jon in Guitar Pickups
You may have seen the new Dino Cazares (Fear Factory, Divine Heresy) signature Ibanez DCM100 here on Guitar Noize last week that featured a video where Dino not only talks about his new signature guitar but also his new signature Seymour Duncan pickups, the Retribution active 7 and 8 string humbuckers. Dino says that these new pickups provide the essential attack, clarity and increased headroom that 7 and 8-string guitars that he wanted.
The Seymour Duncan Retribution pickups feature a specially tuned preamp with “just the right amount of gain, enhanced attack definition and maximum string clarity. Like the standard Blackouts series and Mick Thomson EMTY Blackouts, they maintain an organic open sound that isn’t sterile but instead is huge and powerful with a lower noise level and an increased dynamic response compared to other active pickups.”
Dino Cazares says of the Retribution, “It has a richer tone that’s more evenly voiced so the low string is not fighting with the high string. It’s a very crunchy sound, great for low tunings. It has more articulation in the pick attack and the distortion has less unwanted noise and compression.”
These pickups were designed with extended range players in mind by maintaining definition on the low B and F# strings. The Retribution is the same pickup that is featured on the new Dino Cazares signature Ibanez DCM100 7-string.
Like the Blackouts active pickups series, Retribution comes with wiring schematics and all necessary mounting hardware including pots, stereo jack, and battery clip. They are available separately as neck and bridge models or as a complete calibrated set for 7 string guitars (passive and soapbar sized) and 8 string guitars (soapbar sized). Each Retribution is wound and assembled at the Seymour Duncan factory in Santa Barbara, California.
As you can see Music Man Guitars have announced a new guitar for 2015 under their budget line Sterling By Music Man. The JP170D in Ruby Redburst is a 7 string version of the John Petrucci model - the JP100D.
You may wonder what is the difference between the Sterling JP70 and the JP170D so let me just quickly outline the differences. So yes there are already 3 existing John Petrucci signature model guitars in the Sterling by Music Man range, the JP60, JP70 and JP100D. The JP60 being the most basic 6 string model, the JP70 being the 7 string version of the JP60 and then the JP100D which is “Based on the “Ball Family Reserve” Model JP6. The slightly larger body is capped with a highly figured, quilted maple top, and is available in three exquisite ‘burst’ finishes for 2014″. The JP100D also comes equipped with John Petrucci’s favourite combination of DiMarzio LiquiFire and Crunch Lab humbuckers. The JP170D is essentially just a 7 string version of the JP100D.
Expect to see more pictures and videos appear in just over a month at NAMM 2015!
I’m very excited to add yet another exceptional talent to my series of ‘Top 5 Influential Guitarists‘ series, Stephan Forte. Check out the top 5 guitarists that influenced Stephan over the years:
1: Marty Friedman
Even though I knew Cacophony of course, and was already a big fan of the speed Metal Symphony album (especially the song Concerto at that time) I think I really discovered Marty’s genius with Megadeth’s Rust In Peace. As soon as I heard the classical guitar break in Holy Wars, I knew something was happening. Then, main Holy Wars solo, Hangar 18’s solo, Take No Prisoners solo, and so on…. all those amazing and twisted bends, those uber exotic scales. That was love at first sound! My favorite of all on this album is definitely Lucretia, for the inventive way of choosing such wonderful and unexpected notes. The whole construction and feeling of those solos is unbelievable. Today, Marty is still one of my major influences, and I am still learning a lot from him.
2: Jason Becker
Jason is without any doubt THE absolute Metal virtuoso. A perfect combination of flawless technique and sensibility.
I’ve been heavily influenced by his use of the whammy bar, his neverending and ultra clean arpeggios, the way he used to shred his scales, always faster, always more aggressive..and in the meantime, this very subtle Jeff Beck touch when he plays with the clean tone, letting his senisbility fully express. Still today, he is untouchable.
3: Yngwie Malmsteen
I was 14 when my brother gave me the Rising Force vinyl. I still remember the effect the acoustic intro of Black Star had on me at that time. I knew something was going on, but at that time, couldn’t really say, I was just fascinated. Months later, after listening to it over and over, I finally understood that this blend of classical elements and dramatic edge to the sound was definitely about to be a turning point in my life. That’s when I started to spend countless hours on the guitar, practicing every single lick. That’s pretty much at that point that I knew I wanted to do this with my life. Yngwie’s influence is still very present in my playing, especially in the way I’m doing my vibratos. Above all those incredible lines, diminished arpeggios etc..I think Yngwie’s vibrato is still one of the best in metal today. My favorite albums: Rising Force, Trilogy, Fire & Ice.
4: Shawn Lane
Another genius gone too soon. He was a TRUE genius, the kind of musician who cannot be categorized as a player…To me, what defines a genius, is when subhuman skills meets ultra deep sensibility in interpretation. Everything in Shawn Lane’s playing was perfect: The technique, the phrasing, the tone, the control…His use of the whammy bar also had a huge influence on my playing. Definitely one of the greatest musicians of all time.
5: Derek Taylor
There are unfortunately very few who know who Derek Taylor is. But he is one hell of a shredder and one of my other huge influences. He pushed the concept of legato and tapping very far. I love the ambiguous dissonances in his bendings, his incredible legato chops, his three note per string pentatonic licks, and of course his amazing three fingers tapping extension. One of the most outstanding player out there!
Check out the title track from Stephan Forte’s album Enigma Opera Black featuring Andy James:
Diamond Guitars have teamed up with Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Zoltan Bathory to create a signature Halcyon guitar loaded with Seymour Duncan’s Sentient/Pegasus set humbuckers.
The Halcyon ZB models will come in two colors with slightly different configurations. The first, the Halcyon ZB-FR Black Moonrise model, is a Flamed Maple over Maple body, Maple set neck with Ebony fingerboard, 24 fret, 25.5” scale length, Floyd Rose bridge and Seymour Duncan Pegasus/Sentient pickup set, allowing players to use the thickest string gauge they want but retain clarity and ferocious tonality. The Halcyon ZB-FR Kona Brown model features a Flame Maple over Mahogany body, for a completely different and warmer feel, with Mahogany set neck and Ebony fingerboard with the aforementioned pickups and hardware configuration. The custom inlay on both models, spanning the first to third frets, is a Tibetan Flame encompassing a Double Dorje, which is also a tattoo on Zoltan Barthory’s forearms.
