Following on from my demonstration of the Little ’59 pickups, I wanted to continue with a few words about the Li’l Screamin’ Demon. Most discussions of single-coil-sized humbuckers tend to drift towards the pickups that make up the Everything Axe set – the Little 59, the Duckbuckers and the JB Jr. It’s a great set – the smoothness of the Little ’59 in the neck with just a little bite to give definition, the Duckbucker in the middle providing bell-like tones on its own and quack when combined with the other pickups, and the searing aggression of the JB Jr in the bridge position for hot riffing and scorching leads.

Continue reading “Li’l Screamin’ Demon for Strat”

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. We recently caught up with Yngwie for a chat, which you can watch here: Continue reading “Yngwie Hits The Road And The Bookshelves”

The subject: A bowl-shaped pickguard that won’t fit.

Pickguards on electric guitars serve a few purposes. As with pickguards on acoustic guitars, they keep the body from absorbing the scratches inflicted by aggressive strumming. However, for many electric guitars, they provide something to mount the electronics to as well. Leo Fender modeled this idea from Henry Ford: it makes the electronics easy to work on or replace by simply removing a handful of screws. Continue reading “How I Fixed My Warped Pickguard”

While there are a lot – and I mean, a LOT – of variations and techniques involved in slap bass (which is amazing, given that the technique itself is just over 40 years old), the foundation of slap bass still rests upon the slap! of the thumb and the pop! of the fingers. In this installment, we’re going to go over the bassics (see what I did there?) of the thumb and its role in slap bass. Continue reading “Slap Bass Bassics – The Thumb”

Welcome to the next installment of my series on the modes of the major scale. This is probably the most popular mode, and the one most associated with music we have learned on guitar. The reason being is that the Aeolian mode goes by another, more common name: the minor scale. Continue reading “Breaking Down the Barriers: The Aeolian Mode”

Continue reading “Pickup Comparison Chart”

Many European and North American bands will cross the Atlantic to play shows far away from home. Bigger bands even commonly tour Asia and South America. How many many bands have you heard about that have played shows in North Korea, Pakistan and Iraq? Jason Carter hails originally from Britian and over his lifetime developed a huge appreciation for the power of music being able to put aside difference and connect people. In his twenty years of touring he has traveled the world and back. Here’s our interview with him where we discuss his adventures and his insight into being a truly international musician. Continue reading “Performing in Pakistan & North Korea”

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 fielded questions on Facebook from our fans, and here’s an edited transcript of the questions and responses for your reading pleasure. Make sure you keep an eye on our Facebook Page for future Q&As!
Alex Skolnick Hi guys. Just out of a rehearsal… in a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Music here SUCKS!!! Anyway, thanks for showing up… it’s great to be here, and I’ll try to get to everyones questions…
Utku Özteke Who is his guitar god ?
Alex Skolnick My Guitar god? There are several. But if I have to point to one- EVH from ’78’84. Also Jeff Beck & Pat Metheny These guys never burned out, and seem to only get better with time. Continue reading “Q&A With Alex Skolnick”

You can hear it here!

In the last Breaking Down the Barriers article, I discussed the Lydian, or 4^th mode, of the major scale. The Mixolydian mode is a very popular one, so you are bound to hear it more. It sounds great with many styles of music too, so you may easily find a use for it.  You can hear this mode in such varied songs as ‘I Can’t Explain’ by The Who, ‘The Number of the Beast’ by Iron Maiden and ‘Louie Louie’ by the Kingsman. Continue reading “Breaking Down the Barriers: The Mixolydian Mode”

Greg Hetson, “the Geordie Howe of Punk”, has been a staple of the L.A. punk scene since 1979. Hetson got his start playing in the influential Red Kross, leaving in ’80 to form the Circle Jerks (featured in The Decline of Western Civilization Vol. I). Since 1984, Hetson has split his time between Bad Religion, the Circle Jerks and a variety of other projects including more recently Black President (with members of Goldfinger, Unwritten Law and Guttermouth), Punk Rock Karoke (with members of NOFX and Social Distortion), and GFP. Greg also finds time to run Stylus recording studios in Encino, California. The guy never stops, but he was kind enough to answer a few questions about his busy musical life, guitars, gear and Seymour Duncan pickups for me recently.
Continue reading “Greg Hetson of Bad Religion”