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Author Archives: Peter
Yngwie Hits The Road And The Bookshelves
Yngwie J Malmsteen never slows down – certainly not on guitar, and definitely not in his work ethic. Yngwie is on the road right now promoting his new album Spellbound (which features some of the most extreme neoclassical guitar magic of his career), and he’s also just released his autobiography, Relentless – A Memoir. Continue reading
Posted in Backstage Pass
Tagged Relentless, YJM Fury, YJM High-speed volume pot, Yngwie J. Malmsteen
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Q&A With Alex Skolnick
Recently we were lucky enough to snag some time with Alex Skolnick (while he took a break in a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf) to talk about Testament, Alex Skolnick Trio, tone, technique, gear and just general life stuff. Alex … Continue reading
Posted in Backstage Pass
Tagged Alex Skolnick, alex skolnick trio, Budda, Facebook, Gibson, Heritage, ibanez, Jim Dunlop, Les Paul Trio, Lou Pallo, Marshall, Q&A, Sh-1, Sh-4, Shawn Lane, Testament, Tortex
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Get Wired: Four Cable Method
Before we get into the guts of Four Cable Method – what it is and what it can do for you and your tone – we need to have a little history lesson. Once upon a time, using effects was … Continue reading
Talking Tone & Thrash Royalty With Monte Pittman
Monte Pittman is one of those guitarists that you can rely on to cover any musical situation you throw at them. Just look at his resume: from Prong to Madonna and Adam Lambert, Pittman has the chops, tone and professionalism to slip into a song with the right balance of musical authenticity and individual personality. In November 2012 he released M.P.3: The Power Of Three, Part 1. Continue reading
Posted in Backstage Pass
Tagged Adam Lambert, custom shop, Dwarfcraft, Flemming Rasmussen, fuzz, Jarrell, Madonna, Metallica, MJ, Monte Pittman, Orange Amplification, Prong
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Gary Hoey Gets The Blues. And Loves It.
We all know Gary Hoey can do pretty much anything on guitar. His cover of prototypical prog classic ‘Hocus Pocus’ was a Top 5 Billboard Mainstream Rock hit in 1993. In 1994 his soundtrack to Endless Summer II single-handedly made … Continue reading
Posted in Backstage Pass
Tagged Blues, Eric Clapton, Gary Hoey, Gary Moore, Interview, Lita Ford, Pearly Gates, Sh-1, Sh-4, Stevie Ray Vaughan, TB-4
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Q&A With Gus G of Firewind/Ozzy Osbourne
Between Firewind and Ozzy Osbourne, Gus G’s got this whole guitar thing pretty well stitched up. And he knows his gear too: he has signature equipment from Blackstar, ESP and of course Seymour Duncan, and he’s got the technical knowledge and musical intuition to put it all to good use on albums like Ozzy’s Scream and Firewind’s latest, Few Against Many. We recently caught up with Gus for a chat with our Facebook fans. Continue reading
Posted in Backstage Pass
Tagged Blackstar, ESP, Facebook, firewind, Gary Moore, gus g, Gus G Fire Blackouts, nightrage, ozzy osbourne, Q&A, randall, Rosewood, Sh-1, SH-6
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Talkin’ Bout A Revolution: Circular Picking
In this lesson I’d like to look at one of my secret weapons. No, it’s not the magic amulet that lets me talk to animals. I’m still officially denying I have that in case that pesky wizard starts poking around again. And it’s not even my winning smile and sparkling wit. Still officially denying I have those too. It’s circular picking. Continue reading
The Poor Overlooked Middle Pickup
I remember the day I got my first electric guitar – a cheap Status brand Stratocaster copy. It wasn’t exactly the greatest axe in the world, but I loved that damn thing. Put thousands of hours of fingergrease into it. And it only took a few weeks of being an electric guitarist to realise – the middle pickup was where a lot of my favourite sounds were. Continue reading
Posted in The Tone Garage
Tagged Cool Rails, Diablo Supreme X, Framus, Middle Pickup, Sh-4, Vintage Staggered SSL-1
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Making Sense of Seven-String Chords
The easiest thing in the world to do with a seven-string is to go straight for those lowest two strings and simply chug out. But there’s a lot more you can do with them, whether you’re into metal or not. So this month I’m gonna show you some of my favourite seven-string chords – chords which can be useful no matter what style you’re in. After all, doesn’t the extended low range of a seven-string make sense in a context like country, for instance? Continue reading
Seven-String Pickup Options
One thing 7-string players continually cite as an attraction to the extended range of the seven is that they can still play everything that they could play on a six-string guitar – as well as getting down into much lower musical territory. And that’s true of tone too: the sounds you get out of your six-string pickups are also available from 7-string versions. Many of our popular models are available in versions for 7-string players, and even if we don’t offer a production 7-string version of a six-string pickup you’ve just gotta have on your seven, the Custom Shop may be able to help! Continue reading
Posted in Product News
Tagged '78 model, 7 string, active, ahb-1, AHB-3 Mick Thomson, Blackouts, custom shop, djent, Formvar, keith merrow, passive, Phase I, Phase II, screamin demon, Sh-1, sh-10, SH-12, sh-16, sh-2, Sh-4, sh-5, SH-6, sh-8, slipknot, SSL-1, stratocaster, telecaster, Wes Hauch
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