Guitar Noize

DunlopTV’s Bryan Kehoe caught up with Zakk Wylde at the Experience Hendrix Tour in Milwaukee. This is the first of a series of interviews with some of the tour’s top performers. Here, Zakk Wylde talks about how Jimi Hendrix inspired generations of guitar players.

Eight string guitarist, Allan Marcus of Arecibo, performs an instrumental version of “Lost in Consciousness” for EMGtv. Allan makes good use of the EMG 57-8 and 66-8, showing off of extended range of these pickups.
Buy EMG pickups at: http://www.emgpickups.com/.

Allan is using a Strandberg 8 string guitar with True Temperament frets.

Luthier Joe Glaser filled in as the Premier Guitar Rig Rundown host and caught up with the legendary Robben Ford and his tech/co-producer Rick Wheeler in Nashville Tennessee to check out his guitars, amps and effects that he is currently using on tour.

AmpliTube Orange is a complete, full-featured guitar/bass amp and effects rig for your iPad that includes a single track (expandable to 8 tracks) recorder for capturing your performances on the go. It features intuitive tools, tones and controls that will inspire you beyond your wildest expectations.

AmpliTube Orange features a “pedal board” section containing 4 slots for daisy chaining effects pedals, an Amp section for amp and cabinet selection, plus a recording section with up to 8 tracks of layering.

Features

• Real-time Orange amp and effects guitar/bass suite
• 5 Classic and modern officially certified Orange guitar amps: OR50, Rockerverb 50, Thunderverb 200, Tiny Terror, AD 30, AD 200 MK 3 Bass Amp
• Matching speaker cabinet models can be mixed & matched
• Selectable speaker mic choices: passive & condenser
• 4 Stomps: Echo Trip delay, Highway Drive overdrive, Shaker tremolo, Noise filter
• Built-in tuner, metronome
• 4 slots for daisy chained stompbox effects
• Single track recorder included (expandable to 8 tracks with bounce feature, master effects via in-app purchase)
• Song section for importing device library music and play-along
• MIDI controllable via iRig PRO or iRig MIDI
• Create and save presets
• Works with all IK Multimedia mobile interfaces like iRig PRO, iRig HD or iRig Stomp
• Standalone app or available as in-app bundle in AmpliTube for iPad
• Full production music suite for your iPad
• Designed and engineered in Italy

AmpliTube Orange includes 6 amps — 5 guitar heads, 1 bass head and matching cabinets. Included are the OR50, Rockerverb 50, Thunderverb 200, the Tiny Terror, the AD 30 and AD 200 Bass MK 3. Speaker cabinets include the 4×12” PPC, 1×12” PPC, 2×12” PPC, 2×12” AD30 and the 1×15” OBC.

In the stompbox section, you’ll find some extremely cool useful effects. These stomps are not Orange effects, but are derived from some of our best effects in AmpliTube.

• Echo Trip — an analog delay with features you’d expect — feedback control (repeat), delay time, effect level and an effect tone control.
• Highway Drive — vintage influenced overdrive pedal with crunch, level and tone controls.
• The Shaker — a beat syncable tremolo with controllable envelope shape, rate and depth control.
• Noise Filter — gets rid of the hiss when the gain gets cranked.

Once you get your tone dialed in, the signal goes into a recording section where you can capture your ideas and performances. The recording section features a single track recorder that’s expandable to 8 tracks with a bounce feature and a master effects section for final production mastering. In essence, you can record and produce a full composition all inside of AmpliTube Orange for iPad. The recorder in AmpliTube Orange supports audio import, copy and audio paste.

For more info check out the IK Multimedia website - http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/orangeipad/

The ToneKone is an interesting new product from the UK that is a simple, lightweight and unobtrusive close mic system, or mic holder, that attaches to your combo amp or speaker cabinet with an adjustable strap and some velcro. Now in the video I use the included Velcro discs which I moved a couple of times until I had exactly the correct position and just after I stopped recording the mic became unattached, so I would strongly recommend that once you have the position of your velcro disc exactly where it needs to be mark the position with masking tape or something that won’t wreck your tolex and then switch to the heavy duty adhesive velcro strip also included. Also included, which I didn’t realise at the time of recording, is a semi-rigid adjustable anchor which can be used to hook into an open back cab, see below:

Below you can see the lightweight plastic ToneKone designed to hold dynamic style microphones, not side address microphones, and weighs just 109g. The ToneKone is 162mm in length and has a 110mm front diameter and 70mm rear diameter. And in case you are worried, Dr Matthew Jones PhD, of The University of Southampton has carried out independent tests on the Tonekone and has verified that it does not adversely affect the sound in any way.

Below is an image that demonstrates how the strap attaches with the supplied velcro discs but as I said I would definitely use one of the other two methods mentioned above to avoid the disc becoming detached mid gig.

You can buy the ToneKone directly from the ToneKone website for £24.99 (plus shipping).

The Fender Custom Shop is proud to introduce the two latest collections of handcrafted instruments, the Artisan Series and Master Designed Series.

With the Artisan series, the Fender Custom Shop pulls out all the stops for high-end instruments of remarkable tone, look and feel. In a first for the Custom Shop and inspired by Master Built instruments created for the 2013 Tokyo Guitar Show, this series is built to spotlight fine woods with distinctive figures, hand-rubbed stains and gloss finishes. Team-built for a limited time only, Artisan series instruments are also outfitted with a wealth of special appointments and features that contribute to their striking sound and style.

Artisan series Quilt Maple-Top Stratocaster®

The Artisan series Quilt Maple-Top Stratocaster® features a gorgeously figured quilt maple top accentuated by a new “tiger-eye” burst finish. Other highly distinctive features include chrome “lipstick” pickup covers, special chrome control knobs, chrome tuners with ebony buttons, a choice of one-piece maple neck and fingerboard or rosewood fingerboard.

Artisan series Spalted Maple-Top Stratocaster®

The Artisan series Spalted Maple-Top Stratocaster features a dramatically figured spalted maple top accentuated by a new “buckeye” finish. Other highly distinctive features include chrome “lipstick” pickup covers, special chrome control knobs, chrome tuners with ebony buttons, a choice of one-piece maple neck and fingerboard or rosewood fingerboard.

Artisan series Walnut-Top Stratocaster®

The Artisan series Walnut-Top Stratocaster features a beautifully crafted walnut top accentuated by a new “buckeye” finish. Other highly distinctive features include chrome “lipstick” pickup covers, special chrome control knobs, chrome tuners with ebony buttons, a choice of one-piece maple neck and fingerboard or rosewood fingerboard.

The Fender Custom Shop Master Design Series is in essence what instruments Master Builders would build for themselves given the opportunity. In this case, legendary Master Builders John Cruz and Todd Krause conjured up their personal “dream” Stratocaster guitars and worked with the renowned custom shop team to develop and build them to spec. Now, through the Master Design Series, their dream guitars are available in limited quantities to musicians all over the world.

Fender Custom Shop Master Design 1950s Relic Stratocaster®

The Fender Custom Shop Master Design 1950s Relic Stratocaster is the finely crafted work of longtime Master Builder Todd Krause. It expertly evokes the sound, style and spirit of the Stratocaster’s first decade, while offering several modern touches and the impeccably distressed look of a relic finish treatment. Its alder body features a Moss Green nitrocellulose lacquer finish accented by gold hardware, with a maple neck and fingerboard with a comfortable modern 9.5”-radius and 21 narrow jumbo frets. Sparkling Strat® tone comes from three shielded Custom Shop Fat ’50s single-coil pickups, offered here with shielded modern wiring and five-way switching for optimal tonal versatility, plus a vintage-style synchronized tremolo bridge. Includes case, cable, strap, tool kit and certificate of authenticity.

Fender Custom Shop Master Design Series 1963 Relic Stratocaster®

The Fender Custom Shop Master Design Series 1963 Relic Stratocaster is meticulously designed by longtime Master Builder John Cruz to embody classic early-’60s look and soul, with mods under the hood that deliver remarkable modern tonal versatility. Its special Master Design single-coil pickups provide greater output, more midrange and a sweeter tone for soloing, with a reverse-wound/reverse-polarity middle pickup for hum cancellation in positions two and four. Its custom wiring features five-way switching, master volume control, master tone control and a special blend control built into what would normally be the second tone knob. This blend control offers the neck and bridge pickups together in positions one and five, and all three pickups together in positions two and four.

The two-piece alder body has an off-center seam and a faded Two-color Sunburst nitrocellulose lacquer finish that Cruz says “shows signs of period-correct wear without really going over the top.” Other premium features include a quarter-sawn maple neck with a larger “C”-shaped profile and no back finish (for a smooth, fast feel), 12”-radius round-laminated rosewood fingerboard with comfortably rolled edges and jumbo frets, three-ply mint green nitrocellulose pickguard, vintage-style synchronized tremolo bridge with brass block for more overall tonal liveliness, an extra-sturdy larger-diameter trem arm, and nickel/chrome hardware. Includes case, cable, strap, tool kit and certificate of authenticity.

http://fender.com/

Before I tell you about Tosin & Javier joining the D’Addario roster of artists I just want to congratulate the band on their fantastic first week sales for their new album ‘The Joy Of Motion’ which put them at #23 on the US Billboard Top 200 chart, plus #2 on the Hard Rock chart and deservedly so it is definitely my personal favourite Animals As Leaders record and I think because some of the tracks are a bit more accessible and not so “out there” they will attract a whole new wave of fans.

Anyway onto the news that Tosin and Javier have joined the D’Addario family as endorsees.

Tosin Abasi plays D’Addario EXL120-7 nickel-wound 7-string Super Light (9-54) electric guitar strings as well as EXL140-8 nickel-wound 8-string Light Top/Heavy Bottom (10-74) electric guitar strings. Javier Reyes also plays EXL140-8 nickel-wound 8-string Light Top/Heavy Bottom (10-74) electric guitar strings, as well as D’Addario EJ45C Pro-Arte Composite normal tension strings from D’Addario, and says, “Tosin and I use D’Addario Strings because they consistently sound fresh with every pack.”

“It has been a pleasure getting to know and working with Javier and Tosin in the studio & during clinics,” says Hugh Gilmartin, D’Addario Artist Relations. “They are true innovators of a new genre in progressive music, and also great teachers and mentors to younger players.”

Abyssal Light is the new album from the band Divine Realm, an instrumental progressive Metal album with some fantastic guitar playing and catchy riffs. Divine Realm is the creation of multi-instrumentalist Leo Diensthuber and now is a collaborative effort between Leo D, Marc Roy, Tyler Brayton, Kyle Gaulin and Alex Lysko. Leo Diensthuber is a full time private Guitar and Drum instructor and you can hear the drumming influence on his guitar playing with his ultra tight rhythmic and quite frankly very challenging riffs.

Leo began writing the first self-titled Demo “Divine Realm” in 2010 and Leo continued writing and producing tracks, joining forces with Marc Roy as an official contributing member of Divine Realm, as well as Tyler Brayton (also an ex-member of Silence the Villain) recording/producing and playing bass along with fellow “Team Bass” member Kyle Gaulin (ex-Pysiedius) and now featuring powerhouse drummer Alex Lysko (ex-Pysiedius) for the recording of Abyssal Light.

Abyssal Light contains 6 tracks of instrumental Metal that have a strong emphasis on melodic themes, if you are a fan of instrumental music like John Petrucci (solo album), Chimp Spanner, Pomegranate Tiger etc. you are going to love this album. Leo is a very technically skilled guitar played with blistering precision alternate picking riffs/licks and tapped melodic patterns but this doesn’t interfere with his songwriting, he has a very strong sense of melody which make the tracks enjoyable to listen to without it turning into a shred-fest.

You can hear a couple of tunes taken from the new Divine Realm album Abyssal Light below and you can stream and purchase the album over on their Bandcamp page here - http://divinerealm.bandcamp.com/.

Neptunian Desert:

Sentiments of Fear and Faith:

https://www.facebook.com/DIVINEREALM

Although Polish guitar company Mayones make a number of different guitar models they are undoubtedly most famous for their Setius and Regius models which, in a pretty crowded landscape of heavy metal guitars they have a unique design that helps them to stand out. The latest model that is due for release is called the Duvell and the guitar was taken to Winter NAMM 2014 where it was instantly snapped up by Periphery’s Misha Mansoor who has long been a supporter of Mayones guitars. As you can see above the guitar is more along the lines of a classic superstrat with very nice figured top and a Wenge/Bubinga neck. Here are some more of the specs:

Mahogany TEW Body (Tone Enhanced Wood; they roast and dry the wood which apparently makes it sound better)
Flamed Maple TEW Top
Wenge/Bubinga Neck
Ebony Fretboard
25.4 inch scale
Bare Knuckle Pickups Juggernaut set with Tyger covers.
Sperzel Locking Tuners
Dunlop Dual Design Straplocks

Misha wasn’t sure about the fretboard radius when posting this information but believes it may be 20″ as it feels very flat. You can see some more photos over on Misha’s facebook page.

Austin (TX) based custom guitar shop Moniker Guitars have announced the addition of an electric guitar case customizer to their website. Moniker have already had great success with their online guitar configurator so it makes perfect sense to expand the business to allow for case customisation and I don’t think any other company offers this as a service. Like the guitar builder, the case customization process allows you to choose pre-designed graphics or add your own graphics or logos. The customizable case as well as shipping is included at no additional cost (on domestic orders only).

“We are always looking to give customers an extra level of customization,” said Moniker co-founder Kevin Tully. “We’ve had a lot of demand for personalized cases and we thought it was a great idea to be able to customize a case to match your custom guitar.”

From the beginning Moniker has differentiated itself from other custom electric guitar manufacturers by offering an easy customization process, an affordable price, and faster turnaround times — about four weeks — compared to the months it typically takes at other shops.

https://monikerguitars.com